North Country Boy

A slight change of scenery for me today: I'm up in Scotland for a couple of days of fieldwork, so was hoping to stretch my legs amongst the wild Haggis.

However, with business trips so time-precious, to be honest I'd have taken anything. As is normal for me on this kind of working trip, when it's time to pack a bag and jump on a plane, that bag had better be a sleeping bag, as you never really know when you might have chance to crash, or on who's floor.

This trip is all about project handovers, the main item in question being a notorious night run called the "Mighty Deerstalker", held annually in March, within the Tweed Valley. With daylight in such short supply up here, and much ground to cover, the plan was to fly into Glasgow on Monday afternoon, stay with Friend A (who happened to be in the city in his car), spend all of Tuesday "on the ground" in the Scottish Borders, then off to Edinburgh to stay with Friend B, before an early bus, for the first flight south on Wednesday. Time will tell how that plan unfolds, but it’s adding up so far.

When preparing the travel and accommodation arrangements, I had to stress to my hosts that each day would need to include a run, but more importantly (and more boringly for them) a bit of "quiet time" afterwards to jump online and blog. I gave them a bit of a brief as to the kind of run I'd be looking for, and this evening, Gary T (Friend A) completely ignored all my suggestions, and didn't disappoint.

Gary T is a legendary endurance nutjob in his own right, specialising in mountain biking, but with a background in orienteering, hill running, and adventure race design. Until recently he was the record holder of the Ramsay Round in winter, and his exploits into terra incognita are, in a word, extensive. Gary T is currently trying to train the last remnants of a Christmas Cold out of his system, in time for his participation in the 24hr "Strathpuffer" MTB event next weekend; so was glad to offer his guiding services for my run this evening, from his hometown of Strathaven, in the countryside south of Glasgow.

But first, we had a bit of work to do in the city. Stopping and starting in the car, flitting between urban and industrial locations, taking photos, and making mental notes. All in a day’s work for adventure sports event planners. But, the day had become nasty: dark, wet and windy, and a deep layer of water developing on top of the ice of ages underfoot. Gary T suggested an excursion, to begin Scotland's input into my Janathon.

In the clothes we were stood up in, we pushed the security button to be remotely let through a secure gate, and from the Govan side, ran through the Clyde Tunnel. Emerging into similar dreuch conditions on the far side, we continued along surface roads to the northerly entrance, and made the return journey. Mapometer puts it at just over a mile and three quarters. With some “woohooing” on route, the only person in the northern hemisphere who was having more fun was the random cyclist who buzzed past us as we descended from the northern side; who seemed to be aiming for the subterranean land speed record on his way to the fish shop.

Having picked through the remains of the commuter traffic, we arrived at Gary T’s at about eight, enjoyed a cracking home-cooked meal in the fine company of wife Caitlin and darling children, before putting our outdoor clothes on, and leaving the warm house behind. Gary T in cycling gear on his full-suspension MTB, me in running gear on my full suspension legs.

There’s not a lot I can tell you about our route, as Gary T simply said "We'll be out for about two hours", and led the way on his bike, with me following. Occasionally he’d jump off and push uphill, at other times he’d dash into the distance to negotiate a gate or bridge, with his rear light showing up against the snowy hills. We crossed fast running water maybe a dozen times, we went up and down maybe more hills. There was a roman road, and a terrifying cold looking waterfall. There was rain with big teeth, and deep, deep puddles forming in the refrozen snow underfoot. It was awesome.

Loving every minute of it!


Summary:
Today: 13.1 miles, 2:05 hrs, 1520 cals
January: 161.9 miles, 24:03 hrs, 21621 cals