Highland Trail Race - Good Luck

[Ian]

You had time for pictures?

Ha, well yes, but only up to the mid-morning Monday.

Here is why:
I was sat in the Whistle Stop Cafe at Kinlochewe at 4pm on Monday having ridden for 8 hours and covered only 56km. My plans for getting to Camban Bothy were looking in tatters, and with it any chance of a sub-4 day finish. After a bit of a rest and some food, I had renewed enthusiasm and pondering my strategy as I rode down to Torridon, I figured the only way to get it done was ride straight through to the finish. So, basically no photos after the infamous Fisherfield section as I'd got my "race head" on.

[Ian]

Stu - can't comment on the knee issue personally, as mine were fine throughout. However, I think that Mark Goldie had knee issues resulting from the hike-a-bike stuff. The crash/ rib compounded the issue forcing his retirement.

[Chew]

Day 1 - 188 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57083744
Day 2 - 194 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57084287
Day 3 - 327 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57084775

After riding part of the route i'm truly amazed Ian

Did you know Shelton was not far behind after Fort William?


To put things in perspective it took me and Stu 2.5 long days to ride what Ian managed on day one

[Ian]

Yes, I did. The decision to ride through the night was also to solve what I called the Alan Sheldon problem. He would typically stop sooner and sleep less than me and I get passed early in the morning and have to play catch up all day. Not stopping seemed to get around this, as long as Alan didn't do the same. However, I knew he was up at 3am and had the whole of Fisherfield to do, so thought it unlikely. On Tuesday morning, I left Camban before Mark, not knowing he was to pull out. I knew I had to keep the pace up for the last 100 miles, thinking I needed to hold a gap over Mark. At Fort Augustus I got a message Mark had quit and that Alan was less than an hour back, so it was back on the pace again down the Great Glen and finally back from Fort Bill.

[didnothingfatal]

Is the answer to the knee issue; supplement the training with more hike a bike and running to strengthen knees, then a supplement program based on fish oil, and liberal dosing with vitamin I?

The training program I have here by Lynda Wallenfalls, includes a stack of hike a bike :?

Was interesting viewing these last few days, congrats to Aidan and Ian

[Mart]

Day 1 - 188 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57083744
Day 2 - 194 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57084287
Day 3 - 327 km - http://app.strava.com/activities/57084775

After riding part of the route i'm truly amazed Ian

Im also sitting here in awe, the route stats speak volumes already without knowing any of the detais
Chapeau Sir

[D Faff Master]

What gear were you running on your singlespeed Ian?

And if you did it again would you use the same ratio or would you be tempted to have a full compliment of gears.

Those calorie totals on your Strava look way out but then again I'm 6ft 5 I'd have to stalk some deer and have a BBQ to keep me going.

Rob is your ride on Strava too?

[jameso]

I was watching this over the last few days, pretty amazed at the pace and hours put in. Riding long days for a week or so is one thing, but these 24hr+ stints are hard to appreciate. A very humbling thing to see unfolding.

[Matt]

The training program I have here by Lynda Wallenfalls, includes a stack of hike a bike

and taxis

FTFY

I can only imagine the hardship Ian and then you get home you just want to sleep but realise that it's now your turn with the kids

[numplumz]

Ian,
Enjoy the Malt.

I'm off up north of Glasgow this summer with a week to burn, and no specific plans except to finally get to Sky.
Which sections of the route would you recommend as a must see and which are hike a bike hell ( I'm useless off the wheels :? )

Recommendations don't have to be solely on the quality of the riding, that's almost secondary.

[FLV]

Well done to FLV of this parish who sadly just (by 17 minutes) missed out on a sub 5 day finish.

Thanks. My spot had ran out of batteries so I had to put more in when I noticed on the finish. More frustratingly than missing out on a sub 5 day by 17mins was the 10 I missed it by!

If I'd known what the last half was like I'd have done more miles on the easier first half.


Staggering distances by the front group!
Ill write a bit more later. Food time, again!

Well done Ian!

[j.c.gillies]

I and the guys I rode with had no knee issues but did suffer from either tired feet, Achilles problems. I was Ok as I went with flat pedals, power grips and inov-8 fell shoes. We all suffered with saddle sore and sore hands. And good effort Ian, I don't know how you pulled that ride out the bag!

[Anthony]

Big respect guys. I think Chew's comment about their 2.5days riding into Ian's 1 really does hammer it home!

Congratulations to all those who took part.

[Ian]

What gear were you running on your singlespeed Ian?

And if you did it again would you use the same ratio or would you be tempted to have a full compliment of gears.

I rode 32:19, which is my standard ratio that my legs seem OK with.
Jury is out on whether or not to do it again, but I'd probably stick to SS. I rode 430 miles and the bike required zero maintenance other than a bit of lube on the chain.

I was watching this over the last few days, pretty amazed at the pace and hours put in. Riding long days for a week or so is one thing, but these 24hr+ stints are hard to appreciate. A very humbling thing to see unfolding.

I was in unchartered territory here. Whilst I'd done many long rides, 100 miles + and the TCW Double by way of preparation, the race was so much harder than I expected. I am surprised by how well my body coped with it to be honest, even if I felt utterly wrecked at the end. All extremely valuable stuff that you can't begin to replicate in training.

I can only imagine the hardship Ian and then you get home you just want to sleep but realise that it's now your turn with the kids

LOL, thankfully I have an amazing wife :D

'm off up north of Glasgow this summer with a week to burn, and no specific plans except to finally get to Sky.
Which sections of the route would you recommend as a must see and which are hike a bike hell ( I'm useless off the wheels )

Recommendations don't have to be solely on the quality of the riding, that's almost secondary.

Jack, take a look at the road that goes over the top from Torridon (Annat) to Strathcarron. Really great trail. Bit of hike a bike but so much more exciting technical stuff to make it enjoyable. I also enjoyed the bit from Morvich (near Dornie) over to Glen Affric. Again, bit of hike a bike, but amazing scenery. Contin to Ullapool was good too. Nice and remote and scenic and good quality riding. Bothies on route.

If I'd known what the last half was like I'd have done more miles on the easier first half.

Well done FLV - nice to finish it. The attrition rate says it all on this event. It surprised me that each day seemed to get harder than the last, notwithstanding general fatigue. Fisherfield was off the scale for difficulty...

I and the guys I rode with had no knee issues but did suffer from either tired feet, Achilles problems. I was Ok as I went with flat pedals, power grips and inov-8 fell shoes. We all suffered with saddle sore and sore hands. And good effort Ian, I don't know how you pulled that ride out the bag!

Cheers James. Real shame you had wheel trouble, as you were going great on the first day and looked strong on the climbs. Didn't get saddle sore, but did have some chamois cream which I used in Poolewe. Neck and shoulders are usually my weak points, and ultimately the cause of my crash on the way back in to Bridge or Orchy. Oh, and I still can't feel my toes properly...

[pedalhead]

Hi guys. Huge congrats to Ian & Aidan (and others) on some great riding...it was a tough route for sure.

With regards to the knee thing...for me it was 100% down to the hike-a-bike. Right to the end I still felt very strong on the bike, but the hour after hour (after hour!) of steep & rocky hiking just destroyed my left knee in particular (it was mainly the downhill hiking that did it). These knee issues slowed me down quite a bit on the Monday, but I'm confident I could have pushed through them if I hadn't then crashed & bust a rib. I rode/hiked with that injury for another 15 hours or so until I reached Camban bothy at 2am on Tuesday, but I knew I wouldn't be able to ride through it for another day so I decided to call it at that point. Turns out that was a sensible decision as I'm now on heavy painkillers and facing a good few weeks off the bike .

This is one route I doubt I'll be attempting again. The scenery is of course stunning but for me there was just too much hiking instead of riding. It felt more a race of attrition than a cycling racing, which I know some people really enjoy, but personally I'd rather be on the bike a lot more rather than the long hike-a-bike sections being the main focus.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Congratulations on a fine effort Mark.

With regards to the knee thing...for me it was 100% down to the hike-a-bike. Right to the end I still felt very strong on the bike, but the hour after hour (after hour!) of steep & rocky hiking just destroyed my left knee in particular (it was mainly the downhill hiking that did it). These knee issues slowed me down quite a bit on the Monday, but I'm confident I could have pushed through them if I hadn't then crashed & bust a rib. I rode/hiked with that injury for another 15 hours or so until I reached Camban bothy at 2am on Tuesday, but I knew I wouldn't be able to ride through it for another day so I decided to call it at that point. Turns out that was a sensible decision as I'm now on heavy painkillers and facing a good few weeks off the bike

It seems that we may have had/got similar injuries. I was gulping down a cocktail of Ibuprofen, paracetamol and pro-plus but it couldn't block out the suffering enough to continue. I too suspect it was the hike a bike downs that finished my knee off ... a month on and still not fully sorted

[FLV]

OK, Firstly, I was staggered by the difficulty of the route and how fast the leaders did it. Had I known I would have changed my game plan a bit.

My GPS claims I covered 454 miles so if anyone knows how to overlay 2 gps routes I'd appreciate it.

The first 2 days were long but not overly strenuous compared and I was trying to save myself for pushing harder nearer the end as I knew I wouldn't be able to go too hard for the full route.
I was expecting the route to remain the same sort of level of difficulty throughout and was slowed significantly by the sections directly after ullapool and over the first part to fisherfield took me hours and broke me for the day, including a very painful tendon injury. I stayed outside the sheneval bothy that night and finished the fisherfield in the morning.
I kept thinking there couldnt be more hike a bike sections, but always there were. My strapped up ankle causing a fair whack of pain making the sections very slow and painful.
Nearing the end I wanted to push through the night but was done in by fort bill and slept for 3 hours by the side of the trail. I took me ages to get moving properly after 3 hours kip but then pushed myself hard for the last 35 miles or so, slipping over the 5 days by 10 mins.

Again? Yes. I think I have a 4.5 dayer in me given the knowledge of the route.
Different? Lighter bike, better chamios, better food strategy (too much stopped time), and I would ensure I was in ullapool by the end of day 2 as a minimum
Knees? Very sore, probably the hike a bike yep, tendons in the left ankle are the biggest problem though
Oh, also lost half a stone somewhere on the trail too if anyone see it....

[Ray Young]

I am stunned by the ability and tenacity of the competitors in this kind of race but I was wondering how long it takes you guys to recover from an event like this, I don't mean from physical injuries but how long to rehydrate, to stop feeling hungry all the time and get back to the usual amount of hours you sleep?

[ScotRoutes]

Interesting reading he comments on the hike-a-bike damage. I do a lot of hillwalking and I've never had a problem so I guess that maybe there's just some more specific training required to beef up certain muscles?

Overall - I can't get over just how much I've enjoyed following it all. I was also sort of hoping that the last finisher would take even longer so that if I ever decided to do this route I wouldn't be the slowest

It would be great to a consolidated lessons-learnt/advice thread after all of this.

[ScotRoutes]

My GPS claims I covered 454 miles so if anyone knows how to overlay 2 gps routes I'd appreciate it.

If you open them up with something like Notepad you'll see that they are just XML files in raw text. You can take the trailer/header record off and just append the second to the first.

If you're having problems, just email them to me and I'll do it for you.

[j.c.gillies]

Recovery, OK I didn't finish but still rode 300 miles on a ridgid SS and I scratched on Tuesday. It's now Friday and my legs feel fine. To be honest they still felt strong on tuesday when I scratched. I can run at my normal pace, I can cycle hard but my arse is still tender. I still have a bit of a hunger on. Last night was my first proper sleep for two weeks (I have a young child) where I slept for 8 hours. I generally feel well recovered already. Of course if I went out for a long hard session with my road club I'd suffer but I'd be compedative. I usually give myself 3 weeks to recover from a distance and effort like this. As such If I can get my wheel sorted then I'm planning a South Downs way double in 3 weekends time.

[Aidan]

A bit of thread resurrection here, but it took me ages to write about the Highland Trail. Here it is, though:

http://www.aidanharding.com/2013/06/hig ... ace-intro/

Hope you enjoy it :D

[FLV]

Cheers Aidan. Congrats on the win too.

I'm going to save that write up for a cup of tea before work in the morning!

[Zippy]

A bit of thread resurrection here, but it took me ages to write about the Highland Trail. Here it is, though:

http://www.aidanharding.com/2013/06/hig ... ace-intro/

Hope you enjoy it :D

Sounds epic - made good bedtime reading that, and made my bed feel comfier

[Ian]

Greg May's HT400 article is up on Singletrack now - it's a good read.

http://singletrackworld.com/2013/07/the ... en-so-fun/