This time last year I was up Carnethy hill watching the hill race. I was half tempted to go again - but running on the West Highland Way was more appealing.
I had heard from Norry that last time he was up there, Beinglass farm was closed for refurbishment. So I phoned them on the off chance, that since it was getting refurbished if we could park there. But no one was there/answering so Drovers Inn it was. I drove up and met Ann, Sue, and Helen there. They put some stuff in my boot then onwards to Auchentyre. We set off about 9am where they were planning to run to Inversnaid and back and I was aiming to do as much as possible.
On Friday I bought I hydro pack as Sue said it would be a lot easier. So thought no better time to try it than the present. The journey up through Crainlarich was awesome. The forecast was snow but in fact it was very mild with high clouds so we got some cracking views. There was still some snow but not enough for spikes. Then after about 3-4 miles I managed to make the nozzle for my hydro pack fall off. I put it back on but I could only get little bits of water out and even that was a great effort. So I was going to Beinglass farm probably having drank 200mls in the first 10 miles. Not an ideal start to a long run especially as I usually try and drink 750 mls for 10 mile stretches or 500 mls for 7 mile stretches.
It was the first time I had been on the section between Crainlarich and Beinglass farm and I really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of terrain and paths. There was also an awesome waterfall which I'll need to get a picture of next time I'm on that stretch.
Just before getting to Beinglass Farm, Helen fell awkwardly on her ankle and was limping for quite a bit. But she still managed to keep going. Once we got to Beinglass Farm we had a chat about a plan of action. I had to go to the car and get bottles of water and dump the hydro pack. So we decided that while I would do that, they would get to Inversnaid and I would turn round when I met them on their return. So I headed off to the car, had a bannana restocked with frusli bars. I was eating marmite sandwiches which I used a lot last year. But I don't know if it was because of the lack of water I was taking in. But I found them really hard to swallow. I also changed into my Hokas to give them a good test on the trails, since there were no icy patches on the high ground.
Off I went to Inversnaid, with some fantastic views down Loch Lomond. I got to the fun bit along the shoreline and found there were a lot of branches along the path from all the bad weather. So I cleared some of the bigger branches, as I was thinking - can't have the lead runners in the Fling getting injured because of branches!
I was wondering how far I would get before meeting them and it must have been about 200-300 meters short of the hotel as I could see it. They had a nice break though. On the way back I started to feel it and I am pretty much certain it's down to not hydrating early enough. I was tripping up quite a bit on the technical stuff. I have to remember that I have to lift my foot up a wee bit more with the Hokas as they have that extra inch on them. But they are fine on the less technical sections and road
I got to Beinglass Farm and ran back to the Drovers Inn, making I reckon about 25.5 mile including getting to the Drovers Inn. The ladies went on to Carmyle Cottage where I met them so they could re-stock before I headed home and they headed to Auchentyre.
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