Scottish Hill Racing News

Monday 30 May 2011

Jura Fell race

Garmin details
race website

Paps of Jura
With the kids packed off to the in-laws for a fun packed weekend in Blackpool, Sarah and I set off for the Isle of Jura for the annual Jura fell race. We were it must be noted the only Helensburgh athletes in attendance this year. However undeterred we made our plans and once Sarah had finished work on the Friday we made tracks for the Kennacraig ferry over to Islay. One of the great things about this race is it attracts a mainly English field of runners who have some amazing travel plans for getting to the race involving all manner of permutations of island hopping and cycling. Our own journey involved getting to Islay then hopping over to Jura followed by an hilly 8 mile cycle to Craighouse. This sounds like a small journey when compared with most but the 8 mile cycle was not very pleasant in the high winds and heavy rain. By the time we reached Craighouse we were thoroughly soaked. Luckily all our camping gear had remained dry in the trailer.

Our orange vango !
The first task was to quickly get the tent up in the windy conditions before it blew away and then head over to the pub for a pint. As we headed over to the pub I glanced over to the paps but couldn't see them as they were surrounded by thick cloud and the rain had reduced the visibility to a few hundred yards. Sarah was in mild panic at the prospect of navigating round the paps and needed a good drink to steady her nerves! A wet and windy night in the tent ensued and I managed to sleep through the worst of it, but I don't think Sarah fared as well.

Had the weather improved any over night ? The talk in the pub had been of bad weather routes and navigational difficulties, but we were relieved to find that although a stiff wind was still blowing the paps were slowly shrugging their blanket of cloud and showing how impressive they actually are. I had run the race the last year but in thick clag and was really hoping the paps would be clear to admire the fantastic island views. After a hearty breakfast and copious amounts of tea we headed over to register and prepare for the ordeal ahead. Good news ! The paps were now clear and the wind hadn't eased at all but the full race route had been given the all clear.

The race organiser had stationed himself just outside the Jura distillery and was clearly enjoying his first time as race organiser as he directed the runners to the start line. He gave us instructions on the tags we had been given at registration that were to be handed in at the eight checkpoints plus the start and finish. We were to deposit the tags in a box by the start as we funnelled through from the car park to the start line, however he clearly got carried away and suddenly announced that it was five seconds to the start and began counting down to everyone's amazement. The horn sounded and the race began with tags being launched in all directions towards a marshal or just thrown on the ground as people vied for position before the narrow marshy section leading to the first three peaks.

The race was on! and I wasn't too fussed that I hadn't got the best start as it is a long one and there is plenty of time to make up lost ground. The first climb takes the runners over very marshy ground with heather and tussocks to negotiate. With all the rain we had the bogs were very deep and needed careful foot work to avoid a deep dip in one. I stumbled over a few and slipped in up to the waist in another. The bogs make running a hard effort and I found the climb to the first checkpoint hard going. Just ahead of me at this point was Alan Smith who I was trying to hang on to as we weaved our way along the ridges of the first three hills. On the way to the third peak and incidentally just after one of the adventure show camera crew Craig Love came flying past going like the wind. I decided to jump on his heels and lift the pace also. As Craig and I descended down towards the first pap I caught sight of Sarah Ridgeway's pink top just ahead and made an effort to catch her. I got past Craig at this point and managed to pass Sarah and could see Jonny Knox, Alan Smith and Fiona Maxwell a little further on, putting Sarah in second place going up the first pap. I felt good at this point and had thoughts about going sub four.

Runners descending to pap no. 2
The first pap is a long one, some call it the 'equaliser'. It is extremely steep and the climb seems to go on forever. I handed in my tag to the marshals, thanked them for doing a great job and cruised along the ridge having now opened a little gap. I was trying to keep Jonny Knox in sight as we descended down over rough scree towards the second pap. I could clearly see the error of my ways the previous year where I had descended down to the right and up to the wrong peak, and was glad the conditions were good. The climb up the second pap came too soon and this one seemed more exposed and the wind was really slowing my progress. My legs felt heavy fighting against the constant buffeting and I was forced to hold on to the boulders with my hands to brace myself. By this point Sarah had caught me up and I could also see Craig a bit further down. We climbed steadily higher but the top never seemed to get closer and I was feeling a little hungry. Eating and climbing can be tricky but is the safest place to do it. Simultaneously trying to breathe from every orifice and also eat a snickers proved very difficult and most of it seemed to be blown from my mouth and whipped away in the wind. After inadvertently inhaling some chewed up peanuts from the snickers that was stuffed in my cheek I had to stand aside a let Sarah go on past while I coughed them up.

The climb was taking it out of me and I watched as a small gap appeared between me and the group ahead, meanwhile Craig was closing the gap to me. I couldn't do anything about it and decided to plod on and hopefully recover in a bit once the fuel kicked in. The hail hit us as we moved along the ridge having just handed the sixth tag in. It was suddenly very cold and the hail was not pleasant. Craig was just behind me as we headed down and tried to escape the hail. My hands had become very cold now and I decided to put my gloves on before my hands became too cold to manipulate the zip of my bum bag. This gave Craig the chance to blast past and out of sight. I continued down the track we were on but became aware the third pap was over to the left and the track was taking me further to the right. I was on my own now and suddenly a little unsure of the way. Craig must have left the track further up and headed over in the direction of the third pap so I made my way left of the track and down some scree. I think I made a mistake here as further over to my left the ground looked more runnable than the boulder field I found myself picking my way over. It was here that I tripped, obviously I was not paying full attention and had been scanning the bealach below for signs of runners and not looking at the boulders under my feet. Luckily there was a boulder each side of me as I flew forwards and managed to get a hand on each to stop my face smashing against the rocks below. As I crossed the bealach I caught sight of Craig and chased after him but I felt truly horrific at this point. The thought of the next climb at this point was not a good one and I could feel the beginnings of cramp in my adductor’s.

The climb was horrific, my legs were slow to respond and felt heavy. The wind threw me about and I couldn't wait to get to the summit and see the back of the paps. Finally the summit came and with just one more summit to do, gladly not as big as the paps, I perked up a little and concentrated on getting a good line off the last pap. Running down the scree is actually exhilarating if you get the line right and avoid the bigger boulder fields. On the way down I spotted an adventure show cameraman in my line of descent and tried desperately to slow down and avoid sending stones towards his camera which he was holding down at ground level filming my feet I think!
Paps of Jura from Islay.


Once of the pap it is a flat run over past some water and up the final climb. Legs now cramping and wishing I had more electrolyte I filled up my bottle from a stream and got some fluids in before the three miles of road that take you back to Craighouse and the finish. The descent from the last hill is easy to forget about but is actually a long taxing descent over bogs and tussocks and a challenging river crossing. Up ahead I could see Craig making his way over the river and he seemed to be taking a while to do it. Once waist deep in the river I realised why as I held firmly on to the rocks for purchase against the swift current.

Both Craig and I followed the wrong track here and I'm glad I glanced to my left and saw the bridge otherwise we would have missed it by about 300 yards. I shouted over to Craig and luckily he heard me over the wind. Finally on the road to the finish and the section of the race almost everyone dreads. 3 miles of tarmac after your legs have climbed around 7900 ft is not nice. I tried my best to maintain around 7:30 - 8:00 min/miles but it was tortuous. After about a mile Craig made his move and sped away towards the finish. I remember passing one or two others struggling along the road before reaching Craighouse and more adventure show cameras to record my pained expression that must have been clearly evident. I finished in 4:24 ish and was actually pleased with that as it is a brute of a race.
Craighouse and Paps of Jura


The post race tea and stickies is great and sitting in the sun outside the Jura distillery I slowly recovered and cheered on the rest of the runners as they came across the line. Everyone was in high spirits and the talk was of beer and the evening ceilidh. There are not many events on the calendar where runners stay and socialise post race but this is one of them and the atmosphere is superb. Great race, a definite annual event for us.

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