Otters

Yesterday I was driving between Salen and Strontian when I spotted an otter in the loch. I stopped the vehicle and was able to spend about 5 minutes watching it cavort in the water and climb on and off rocks. I love seeing otters especially since it always seems pure luck when you do see them. My best sight was one New Years eve when I was out running near Bennachie in Aberdeenshire. It was dark and I had run a long way so I sat down for a breather on the parapet of a small bridge over a stream. I hadn't been there long when I heard a splashing below - something was under the bridge. A head emerged followed by the body of an otter . Oblivious to my presence and not fazed by the beam of my headtorch it slowly made its way upstream sniffing and investigating as it went. It seemed close enough to reach out and touch. I understand that radio collar tracking has shown that otters often travel considerable distances using streams and watercourses as their highways.

Sick otter at the vets

Over the last few days I have seen signs of the coming Spring . In the hills the pools and even puddles are replete with frogspawn.
Today I saw a hawthorn tree in flower and the daffodils will soon be in bloom. I'm never sure whether the saying 'Don't cast a cloot until May is oot' refers to the month of May or the May ( hawthorn ) flowers. In Scotland I think it would be safer to wait until  June before casting any cloots ( cloth or clothes) !

We have had some great days out running recently. Last weekend we went up  the Grey Corries. It was a glorious day, sunny and warm in the valley although there was a fairly vicious cold wind higher up. We ran through the forest then plodded up the broad snout of Beinn na Socaich onto Stob Coire Easain . The view from the top was magnificent- pristine snowy peaks as far as the eye could see. We followed the narrow ridge south west and then descended the slope .We took the opportunity to practise some ice axe arrests and enjoyed glissading- ie sliding on one's bum using the ice axe for control .
Once in Glen Nevis we followed the river down to Steall, where we saw the first people of the day. Steall is a lovely place surrounded by mountains with cascading waterfalls and a beautiful gorge. On this occasion in the golden evening light it was paradise ! It is a fairly long trek back to Fort William especially when you stop every 5 minutes to take photographs of the Ben.

Glen Nevis at Steall in the summer.

Sketch of Steall done nearly 3 years ago in the summer.

Yesterday was another lovely day . We got the train  to Bridge of Orchy and then ran the 35 miles back to Fort William. Unfortunately we were caught out by the good weather ! Expecting rain and cold we had packed loads of extra layers . In the event it was sunny and warm so it all remained  in our packs which were then ridicuously heavy. Still I guess carrying a heavy load increases the training effect.

Quick sketch of the Buchaille from the ski centre where we had a cup of coffee

 It is the first time we've done the Bridge of Orchy run this year and we are not very fit however we had a very enjoyable day.Rhannoch Moor ,Glencoe , The Devil's Staircase, The Lairig Mor they're just delectable.Not only is the scenery ravisingly beautiful but these places we love because of the wonderful experiences we have have had on the West Highland Way over the years.

Woman on the train to Bridge of Orchy

Sketch of the Sound of Mull from Lochaline done on Friday

Kilian Jornet DVD

On Monday I was excited to receive through the post a DVD called 'A Fine Line' documenting part of Kilian Jornet's Summits of My Life series. In case you don't know Kilian Jornet is one of the top ultrarunning and mountain runners in the world. He has been running and skiing in the mountains since he was a toddler. Having competed in (and won) a tick list of ultramarathons he is now working on his Summits of My Life series. He aims to climb in record time  a series of the highest mountains worldwide culminating with Everest. He is an exceptional athlete who deserves to be a lot more famous . He is also passionate about the mountains and being in nature. Having won the 2011 Ultramarathon de Mont Blanc (UTMB) a reporter asked him what was the best point of the race . He replied that it was the sun coming up over the mountains after the first night. It wasn't the winning , it was the experience of a beautiful  run in the mountains.This made me a fan because for me trailing over12 hours behind Kilian the best point of that race was also the unbelievably stunning sight of dawn breaking over the  Alps after a hard night of running.
In a world where people can become household names for sprint races lasting less than 10 seconds. Kilian's committment ,passion, skill,bravery and sheer athleticism is in a different league and he deserves to be better known and supported. If you are at all interested in running or the mountains, check out his website and DVD -you will be blown away.

D33 Race

On Saturday we went to Aberdeenshire to see the D33 race organised by our good friends George and  Karen . It is now the second largest ultra in Scotland.
It was won by Ross Houston who ran the 33 miles in an incredible 3 hours 10 minutes and 40 seconds breaking the course record by 19 minutes .  Everybody seemed very happy and it was a very slick ,well organised event. We were able to catch up with lots of friends we hadn't seen since last year.

View from Hermit's Seat - the western end of Bennachie

Being back in Abereenshire was also a treat , driving past our old stomping ground of Bennachie was a thrill.We ran over Bennachie on our wedding day between the church and the hotel where we held the reception . The scenery on the west coast is spectucular but we do miss the rolling landscape and hills of Aberdeenshire.

View from Mither Tap (the summit of Bennachie) on a misty day

First Signs of Spring ?

The weather has been even more varied than normal . Tuesday was a beautiful Springlike day , warm and sunny with blue skies and fluffy white clouds . It was positively balmy. I had to go to Lochaline  and the view looking out over the Sound of Mull was  simply stunning. There were lots of red deer in the fields - no doubt driven down from the hills by the poor weather at the weekend.
 .At this time of year the birch trees change  colour . The leaf buds start to form giving the ends of the branches a richer reddish  hue which contrasts beautifully  with the grey and white of the trunks .  I get to enjoy this effect on  the way to work because the longer days mean that at least half my run is now in daylight . I'm looking forward to being able to run home without a headtorch too.

Yesterday saw a complete reversal in the weather - high winds and cold, lashing rain .  I wonder which season we will get today ! The sketch above was painted over coffee in the Edinurgh Woollen Mill tea room whilst waiting for the car to have its brakes fixed in the garage.

After the rain.

Since we returned to Scotland it has rained solidly for two whole days and nights - according to the forecast 200mm was due to fall.  Today, for a while, it actually stopped raining: Hooray! This is a view I sketched looking across Loch Eil from Blaich.
Below is a watercolour painting  I did recently of Loch Lochy from the Inverness Road. It's from a photo I took last summer on a day of brilliant sunshine. The loch was sparkling and dancing with light and the sky was a deep azure blue. Now that the days are lengthening I'm really looking forward to summer.

Seeing Relatives

After the St Peter's Way Race we relaxed with my parents in Essex . I managed the obligatory run to Beeleigh but at a very slow pace. Then we went to Norfolk to see the H's family. I did a few sketches mainly  in pen whilst travelling.

Quick sketches  whilst waiting for a bus and then a train.

View of Maldon High Street from The Continental Cafe.

Sketch in the Rushcutters pub .

The Rushcutter's is a lovely old old pub in Thorpe by the river . We had lunch there before some retail therapy in Norwich city centre.

Waiting for the train to Peterborough

St Peter's Way Race

Last weekend we went south to Essex to visit relatives and to run the St Peter's Way Race. My journey was quite complex -I took the  bus to Inverness  on Friday lunchtime ,train to Edinburgh, changed to catch the sleeper to London , took the underground across London , train to Billericay , bus to Witham then car to my parent's house . I arrive at about 9.30 AM - 21 hours door to door .

I didn't know quite what to expect from the St Peter's Way race which  follows the 45 mile long distance footpath from Chipping Ongar to St Peter's on the Wall at Bradwell -on -Sea. Despite lots of rest and trips to the osteopath and copious gels and ibuprofen my back was still painful on Saturday even walking around the house. I decided to attempt to run and only pull out if the pain was unbearable . My sister had asked me to run with her -she is quite new to ultras and her normal running pace is a lot slower than mine so at least I wouldn't be tempted to go too fast .
First impressions of the race were good . Everybody had their kit checked .One runner without a waterproof was initially not allowed to run until one was found . This I like - rules that are enforced for everyone especially when they are for the runner's safety.
We had laminated the race maps but this is not ideal because one ends up running with a  sheaf of plastic . The organiser circumvented this by giving every runner a laminated sheet of the next section at each checkpoint and taking the old one back - so you only had to carry one sheet at a time - simple but effective . The route directions were also very detailed and accurate , although the route was still quite tricky to follow at times. Each checkpoint had a really good selection of sweet and savoury food and various drinks. The volunteers were very helpful and friendly . All in all it was a very well organised race over an excellent route.
My back was sore from the start and the deep sticky Essex clay didn't help. By the first check point ( manned by a cheerful man dressed as a chicken) it was really hurting . However after that it seemed to settle and got no worse. My sister kept up a steady if slow pace. It took a bit of concentration  to run and follow the route as it was easy to lose one's place in the instructions.Althoug the scenery wasn't as dramatic as in Scotand we passed through lots of pictresque villages .The weather was good; clear blue skies and a brisk tail wind.
 By the time we reached Corporation  Farm and Cock Clarks I was back on home territory- the footpaths and villages being more familiar  from runs from my parent's home. The 3rd checkpoint was at The Bell Purleigh which is one of my favourite pubs. For years my parents an I would walk to Purleigh for a pub lunch whenever I came home to Essex. It is just a bit too far for my parents now but we still do shorter pub walks  .
Beyond Purleigh I really began to enjoy myself . The weather was amazing ,it was firmer underfoot and I was coping with the back pain. At Mundon I had the chance to pop in to the wonderful St Mary's church which has been partly restored . Maylandsea seemed to go on forever but finally at dusk we reached the Steeple checkpoint . H had already finished and I was delighted to hear that she was first lady. Such was our slow pace that the sweepers caught up with us at this point although at first they were too polite to say that they were sweepers ( or maybe I was just being a bit dense). I was very impressed to see that one of them had come all the way in Vibram Five Fingers. We got a bit wet in a heavy shower of rain but it soon cleared away. The finish was at the ancient  and evocative church of St Peter's on the wall which dates from 635AD. It stands in proud isolation on the windswept sea wall and was built on the remains of a Roman fort. There there was a warm welcome and lots more food and hot drinks.
All in all it was an excellent race . I cannot fault the organisation at all- it was flawless . Definitively one to do again hopefully when I will be fit enough to race it properly.