Alasdair Meldrum
Cape Wrath Ultra® from Fort William to Cape Wrath, 400km over some pretty harsh terrain over 8 days what could possibly go wrong!
Finally after 28 months of waiting and training, and two cancellations (May 2020 and May 2021), we finally set off last Sunday 1st August!! I had purposely not reccied the route, so the whole route was new to me!!
Day 1 - Fort William to Glenfinnan (Approx. 23miles, 500m elevation)
Kit check and briefing had all been carried out on the Saturday, so all we had to do was get the ferry across Loch Linnhe for the start. Start was planned for 10am, but the 2nd ferry group was a bit late in arriving so we eventually set off at about 10.15am.
Everyone was just raring to get going, I think the really long lead into the event, all the planning for kit check etc I for one was desperate just to get started.
The first section was mainly road and then a gradual rise up the forest road, up Cona Glen. After promising I would take day one very easy I somehow ended up in the 2nd small group at the head of the race. It generally felt comfortable so I stuck with it, but by the time I got to the main climb of the day I was starting to feel the heat and tiredness.
My shoes, which I thought I had worn in well, were giving me jip and my feet were sore and uncomfortable (back to my old favourites for the rest of the week!). A nice long downhill towards Loch Sheil and then we finished just before final camp as a bridge was down.
Generally a good day but I thought after all the training and tapering I would have felt better than I had - it felt like a tough start!!
Day 1 - Garmin data 20.75miles, 1,860ft, 3hrs, 34mins and 22secs
Day 2 - Glenfinnan to Kinloch Hourn (Approx. 35miles, 1,800m elevation)
Depending on your previous day finish time, you got a recommended start time. Mine was generally anytime between 7am and 9am. Since there was always a rush to leave at 7am, I generally left it till after 7am before departing. This started off being 7.15am but I did get later as the week progressed. Today's route took us through Knoydart and some pretty spectacular terrain, with 3 main big climbs for the day. I was happy starting by myself as I was keen to run my own pace and not get drawn into trying to keep up with someone else and I also love being by myself in big terrain. Having said that, if I met someone and was happy with the pace, I was quite happy to tag along. My only real plan for the week was that if I felt good I would crack on or alternatively if I felt pace was too quick I would back off.
The first big climb was over pretty quickly and then there was a tricky descent – I think we probably all did that 1st descent too quickly, if we had known what was ahead of us for the coming days. Through the morning I would pick up some of the slower runners who had started at 7am – and this was the theme through the week and it was good to chat to runners as we passed. 2nd big climb passed relatively easily again through stunning country, and then it was time to follow up the side of the River Carnach. By this stage it was roasting hot and the river had some of the most stunning pools, which were providing a significant temptation! I resisted and finally got to the stage where we climbed away from the river. It was here I had a pretty major dip – not sure if it was just the heat, lack of food etc but I found the climb difficult.
Eventually we got to the top, to be met by photographers and drones so felt the need to break into a run. A nice downhill to Barisdale Bay, with regular water stops in route, it was then I learnt the hard way that Cape Wrath miles are not like normal miles.
I think it was about 6 miles to camp so I remember thinking an hour / an hour and half to camp – it turned out to be nearer three hours!! A single track path which went up and down, rocky underfoot, overgrown with heath and bracken – it literally felt like we were never going to make camp!!
Finally made it to a stunning camp at the head of Loch Beag.
Day 2 - Garmin 35.18miles, 6,762ft, 9hrs, 14mins and 9secs
Day 3 - Kinloch Hourn to Achnashellach (Approx 42miles, 2,400m elevation)
I’m afraid to say I cannot remember much about day 3! I remember it was misty and cool – which after the heat of the previous two days was great! The route between The Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine was spectacular.
It was strange getting into Kintail and running along side a road and being back in civilisation for a bit!! At the Falls of Glomach I got stuck in a bit of queue down through one of the tricky bits and decided to check my right heel – it had felt as if it had a stone under it all morning!! I was a bit dismayed to feel a large blister under my heel – I never usually have any problem, but I put more lubricant on (I use songbird massage wax), but I was a bit depressed that I already had a blister on day 3. Shortly after we met runners returning on the path as it was not passable (turns out the path we needed to take was concealed by bracken!). My GPS was showing route much lower so I set off down the steep slope towards the river, followed by Glen Christie – after a tricky descent, and a bit of scrambling we eventually made it back to the route – but the runners who had turned were no place to be seen, so our route was clearly slower!!
Glen and I then ran for much of the day which was to become a pretty regular occurrence for the rest of the week, as we usually met up at some point. Glen annoyingly got stronger at the end of each day and usually left me with the last few miles to go!!
Once you got to top of last climb you could see overnight camp below, however a pretty torturous descent lay ahead. A final river crossing and then into camp.
This was the first of the “midges from hell” camps! All day I was wishing for cool, wet weather for running but then for camp you wanted sun and wind to keep the midges at bay. It never always worked and when the wind dropped the midges came out (NB This race is usually in May and midges would be nowhere near as bad as they were. Everyone also adapted really quickly by covering up etc to manage the midges!).
Day 3 - Garmin 40.96miles, 8,665ft, 10hrs and 53mins
Day 4 - Achnashellach to Kinlochewe (Approx 22miles, 1,400m elevation)
After the last two big days I was looking forward to the shorter day, however we had been warned it was tough terrain. I enjoy the tough pathless sections more than the forest trails so I was looking forward to the day. After the 1st climb we dropped down to CP1 in Glen Torridon, again I was running with Glen – just before check point, the chaffing between my legs, at bottom of short line was getting bad so I stopped to put on some lubricant. Literally by the time I got to check point I was in agony again. I am not quite sure what happened but due to the heat of first two days and the rain on day 3 I had run lots of miles with very wet shorts. I also think the more lubricant I put on, the more it was making the shorts really heavy and just rubbing worse. Anyway I left check point thinking there is no way I can run another 13miles with this level of pain. The decision was made to remove shorts to see if it helped and it made a huge improvement!! Fellow competitors never really cared, and I probably only saw 10 for the rest of the day, I never met any tourists (apart from 2 near the finish) – but I had forgotten about the photographers!! It made for interesting conversation at camp as other competitors heard, over the next few days, heard about some runner who had taken his shorts off. The climb up the waterfall towards Ruadh Stac Mor was pretty spectacular, but the descent from there was up there with some of the hardest terrain I have been on!
For the last big descent I was struggling a bit with a sore right foot – I think I had stepped on a sharp pointy stone earlier in the day and it had bruised the base of my foot. I said to Glen to crack on and then was soon passed by Ian, Sally, Lisa and Sabrina who were having a great time on the last descent!! A few miles of forest path and then down to a road crossing - I did stop before the last road crossing to put on my shorts again, much to the bemusement of the volunteers!!
Great to be in camp early afternoon, time for a swim in the river, rest and a wander to the village shop to get a few supplies for the rest of the route. The camp did however turn into midge hell later that night and the next morning.
Day 4 - Garmin 22miles, 4,993ft, 5hrs 57mins and 12secs
Day 5 - Kinlochewe to Inverbroom (Approx 27miles, 1,400m elevation)
Another relatively short day – another day where I don’t remember very much! I did run a bit with Charles Adams who was struggling a bit with sore knees. I also remember being pretty slow and tired on the last climb after CP2. We seemed to keep climbing all the time while distance to camp was getting less and less and then with under 2miles to go to camp we finally started a pretty steep and torturous descent!!
A lovely camp beside River Broom and a bit of sun and a breeze meant the midge hell camps were behind us!!
The chafing issue had been resolved with some liberal application of K tape!
And the heel was now also taped with K tape!
Day 5 Garmin 25.99miles, 4,498ft, 6hrs, 12mins and 41secs
Day 6 - Inverbroom to Inchnadamph (Aprox 45miles, 1,400m elevation)
The longest day of the event and not one I was looking forward to as it had lots of road and track – my least favourite. I am not sure what it is but I really struggle to keep running on road and track, and often end up walking. For this event I did often choose to walk rather than run as you had to make sure you had something left for the next day!
I had agreed to start with Mark Smith, we had a agreed to leave at 7.30am, but we only got away about 7.45am - Mark was faffing!! I started off with a sore quad for some reason but a couple of squats at a gate soon sorted that out. We made pretty steady progress towards Duag Bridge, when on a flooded bit of track Mark managed to stumble, fall and dislocate his shoulder. After a worrying few minutes he managed to get it popped back in again (he has had issues previously). I agreed to stick with him till next check point just to make sure he was OK. After being cleared by the medics on route and at checkpoint it was good to know Mark was ok to continue!!
The weather was damp and overcast and the tracks were pretty boring in comparison to previous days. We met some others and I said I was going to crack on a bit. Often that just resulted in running yourself for an hour or so and then that person catching you back up again – but I did try and follow the mantra of if feeling good crack on, if not good then slow down!! Mark did ultimately finish the day just behind me so some pretty impressive running considering his injured shoulder. Eventually we escaped the forest roads and made the last final climb to Inchnadamph, back into the pathless, hard terrain I enjoyed.
As we crested the top, the wind was pretty strong trying to push you off the narrow path. Once down lower we got onto a lovely single track, which was quite technical but runnable for most of the way into camp.
It had been a long day, the rain was on and I remember crawling into my tent, feet out the door on top of my bag and lying down for a what felt like a long time. The daily miles were catching up on me and I was feeling tired. The wash area looked like it was miles away so I never washed that night!!
Eventually I dragged myself out for food, and then the heavens opened with torrential rain. Watching the tracker, there were at least 20 runners still out on the course and the ascent and descent would be really tricky in poor visibility and lots of surface water. As each bedraggled runner arrived in camp they got the loudest cheer, which was lovely to see.
No pictures from day 6!
Day 6 - Garmin 40.95miles, 6070ft, 9hrs, 27mins and 43secs
Day 7 - Inchnadamph to Kinlochbervie (Approx 38miles, 1,600m elevation)
I was late leaving camp again, about 7.45am mainly because I had a slight stomach / toilet issue but once running I felt very strong. I climbed a bit of first climb with Sally and Lisa, who had started before me but had a slight navigational issue at the start!
Certainly all morning I felt I was moving well and full of energy, even the track on the north of Loch Glendhu I was making good progress.
The day suited me with some pretty harsh terrain, but even for me the section alongside Loch a Garbh-bhaid Mor, was a painful, depressing slog!! Eventually we arrived on the roadside, about 4miles from camp. Just as I caught a small group and was proudly explaining that I had managed to “stay ahead of the girls (aka Sally and Lisa)”, Sally appears behind us. I really struggled with the road, my feet were sore so I resigned myself to run the downs and walk the hills.
Eventually, you get to top of last climb with the camp below!!
Another long day, but easily my best day of the week! I managed to finish 3rd place for the day a mere 7secs behind George and 2mins from Sally (if only I had not been lazy and run more of the road)!!
The rumour about the hot showers was true, so a hot, but somewhat stingy shower, was enjoyed by all!
Day 7 - Garmin 36.61miles, 6,837ft and 8hrs, 51mins and 19secs
Day 8 - Kinlochbervie to Cape Wrath (Approx 16miles, 700m elevation)
After the miles of the week, everyone was looking forward to this as an easy day but we should have known – it was tougher than I expected.
I started the day with Mark Smith 10mins behind me and Sabrina 15mins ahead, so I had something to chase and be chased!! Again I felt pretty strong on starting, so decided to push on – the weather was lovely, with these big west coast skies you get after a bit of bad weather! Apologies to the family who had drinks and cakes laid out – I ran past before I realised what was laid out and did not want to turn back – I am glad some of my fellow competitors were not quite as rude!!
Mark Canning had driven up from Irvine the night before to try and catch me at Sandwood Bay – so it was great to run onto the beach and meet him – thanks for the photos!!
As we left the beach I had a major dip and just felt exhausted – I had plenty of food with me so just tried to stuff something in. The climbs were hard, and the bog underfoot was tiring. I felt as if I zig zagged across that moor – I felt I was getting drawn into going downhill even if that was the wrong direction. The cloud had closed in so it was not even as if you could see the lighthouse, all you could see was the shape of a moor which appeared to go on for ever. Eventually last climb and up onto the road! But still the route never gave up as road kept climbing – eventually a gradual descent and arrived at the finish. All week there had always been a twist – the easy path turned into pathless terrain, the promised downhill turned into a treacherous descent, so it was a fitting end to get to the end and not be able to see the lighthouse!!
Maybe I just need to go back??!
Day 8 - Garmin 15.28miles, 3,028ft and 3hrs, 18mins and 17secs
The Finish
Coffee, a sandwich and a can of beer and great chat with fellow competitors. We were all piled into the mini bus for the interesting drive down to the pier. The sun was back out so we had a lovely crossing, and then a brief walk to camp. Mark Canning had driven round the road and appeared with some well received ice cold beers – what a star!!
Camp was pretty special that night – the sun was out, big skies, clouds sitting touching the hill tops and everyone was glad to have made it. Camp was complete with a lovely loch for swimming in!
Next morning was wet and grey and I think most of us were grateful we were not having to run again that day.
Thanks
Huge well done to Shane and his team – the volunteers were brilliant and made the journey that little bit easier.
Huge well done to fellow competitors who made it and also those who made a valiant attempt. It was an unforgiving course that tested everyone! It was great to meet you all, however briefly. As usual with ultra events, the support and help from fellow competitors is immense!
Huge respect for the film team who were getting themselves into some pretty remote locations, getting back out and putting some cracking footage together!! Amazing how I could always muster a little shuffle when the drone was overhead!! If you want to get a true sense of the scenery and route visit the Cape Wrath website or social media and watch some of the outstanding output!! It emphasizes the beauty of the route but maybe under plays (a touch!) the hardship involved in completing this epic route!
Also thanks to my little army of dot watchers, who were sending messages – it made a difference to know I was being watched!!
Overall stats
Delighted (and surprised) to have finished 6th overall and 4th male.
Total running 57hrs, 18mins 27secs.
But even more delighted just to have finished this epic route - it's been a huge journey which will take a bit of time to sink in!!
And finally for those entered or thinking about it hopefully some of the following information may help you??
The Training
In many ways the covid delays helped me – during initial lock down I settled into a routine of doing a long run every Saturday. This started at 20miles and gradually increased to 30miles plus as lock down progressed. Staying local presented a challenge but we have a rough coastal path and small hill to the south and a river route going inland and it was possible to fit in 20mile plus runs on some reasonably hard terrain. As soon as lock down opened up, I used the local Galloway hills for training – not very big hills but generally pathless, lots of bog and heathery terrain made them an ideal training ground – typical 24mile route would take 7hrs so great training for time on feet.
I was fortunate that at the start of 2021 I was able to shift to a 4 day week, which helped training enormously. Typical weekly cycle was as follows –
Fri – long day in Galloways 20-30miles – 6hrs plus depending on route
Sat – 20mile coastal path route, still with rough terrain / climbing
Sun. – leg strength session plus body balance (Les Mills Body Balance – a mix of pilates, yoga and thia chia)
Mon – AM all over body strength, PM body balance - with the excellent Emma Oosterbeek
Tue – Seaforth club session (5k time trial, hills, 6x4min efforts etc) plus WU/WD about 8miles
Wed – body balance and rest
Thu – if I had missed strength session then leg strength, if not just 20min on bike, roller mill, step machine, stairs etc – all keeping HR below 150
Repeat
The Kit
This is a pretty random list of what I learnt on the way
I took a stool – it was great – I was the only one who did. Sadly I broke it on day 5 – but take a stool – it does not weigh much and makes sorting your feet it is so much easier!
I took a small matt for the entrance of the tent
I had a liner and a sleeping bag, couple of nights it was very warm so it gave good options
Volume was more an issue in the 80l bag than weight. It will never pack as well as you do it at home so make sure you have some space
I took large down jacket - great for when you got cold and put in a bag and wrapped in a micro fibre towel served as a great pillow
I had track suit bottoms which I hardly used – shorts, and then if it got cold and wet, waterproof trousers was a better option
I used a whole roll of K tape – take 2!
I used a whole tub of lubricant – take extra!
Food – take variety, 10hrs on the hill chewing the same cereal bars is pretty depressing! Also take plenty – you will have long days in the hills
Running Kit
La Sportiva ultra raptors – I took two pairs – I messed up and never bought the new pair early enough (I forgot last few weekends I would not be running but tapering!). I thought I had them worn in but after 1st day my feet were on fire, so reverted to the old ones, which finally split on day 7 – if you are tough on shoes you will easily wreck a pair of shoes over the week. Also the laces and eyelet are almost worn through.
I wore montane gaiters and calf guards – never once did I get a stone in my shoes, and calf guards make going through heather etc easier and less scratchy.
T-shirts, except last day merino wool t-shirts – suit me better when wet and sweaty – 4 for the week rinsed each day.
Socks – I took 4 pairs but was destroying a pair each day – so much so, for day 8 I had to dig into the smelly wash bag from day 3 to get a pair of socks with no holes.
Shorts – I only took two pairs but I think inner leg chafing was caused by build up of lubricant / sweat / rain on shorts – so either take more or wash them better.
Latterly at night I was putting on waterproof socks and shoes – I found that much better than walking about in flip flops and having cold damp feet all evening.
Camp Routine is Key
I was lucky I was generally getting into camp in the afternoon – the long days where it was early evening I found tough – how the others who were getting in at 9pm survived I will never know - big respect to them!
My routine (and I was quite strict about this)
Arrive camp – grab an apple / crisps / peanuts etc
If warm lie down with feet up
If cold go and wash first
River wash – tired legs and flip flops and slippery rocks in rivers are not a good combination – I found it easier to go in, with shoes / running kit still on and then wash and remove once in the water. Shoes were wet anyway but stand on end and take out insole, they were dry’ish by the morning
Once washed more food – chips and soup, and water / decaf coffee
Set up bed, sort kit, and pack bag for the morning
If time, more rest with feet up
Dinner and hydrate
If time I would try and have a slow walk etc
Bed – I usually read a few pages and conk out but really struggled to sleep – I think my body was still recovering, or it was the various camp noises keeping me a awake. Having a kindle with me was great!
I did also struggle to sleep as my hips were sore – latterly I took a couple of paracetamol which helped a lot pre bed!!
Route Navigation
I have to confess I never took the lovely, well designed map out once while on route. I used my watch 100%. I would check and try and memorise main parts of route each evening / morning, and then use my watch for route finding. As backup I had offline versions of route on my phone and obviously also the map and compass. Two main reasons for going off route were –
Blindly following someone in front – no offence to fellow competitors but you soon learnt not to trust anyone!!
Not letting the watch settle on the route when you move arm from hanging down to holding watch in front of you – sometimes it took longer than you expect to show the correct direction
Generally this worked well and there were only a few occasions where using the map would have helped, for example by staying on a path rather than taking the direct route – but any time lost was probably made up for not stopping and looking at map etc
Whatever method you use, you need to be confident as the trackless sections are tricky to navigate and you will find yourself on your own!
What is Next??
The question everyone asks and the answer is I really do not know!!
My toughest days were probably day 1 and 2, I settled into a bit of a rhythm 3, 4, 5, had a bit of a slog day 6, and then felt really strong on day 7 and 8. So I think this type of multi day event on tough terrain suits me. Although I felt strong as the week progressed there was also an underlying fatigue which started earlier each day. I remember on day 4, trying to roll up my sleeping bag and having to rest half way through as I was that tired!!
I have Ben Nevis Ultra in the diary from last year, so going to tick along till then and then plan ahead from there.
I will certainly be doing another multi day event again - just need to work out which one!!
I have enjoyed the training for Cape Wrath and I will need another target to fill the gap!
If you have got this far - thank you. Hope some of this helps if you plan to take on Cape Wrath.
If you are not sure about doing it - volunteer, and then do it the next year!!
If you are on twitter give me a follow - @ameldrum7
Alasdair finally arrives at Cape Wrath lighthouse! ©Bib Number Photography