Leg 1 – Joey
Leg one is the fast leg, 12.something miles from Milngavie to Drymen. Having done leg 3 before this was a fine change and not as challenging on the legs. There were a few hills but nothing that I hadn’t trained for in Monaughty Woods, my back garden.
I set off at a comfortable pace in my superhero outfit and before I knew it I was half way and met by Sally Ally and Karen at the first road crossing.
My overall time was 1hr48 and I was in 12th place. Faye had requested I got a good lead so to take the pressure off her. I don’t think my section is a picturesque as the rest of the whw but it’s still pretty impressive to be a part of the relay team doing the first leg.
The highlight of my day was getting a distress call from Faye during her last few miles. So at her request I went in to rescue her and had an enjoyable few miles on the lochside. That’s the leg I now want to do if we get a team in next year.
Leg 2 – Faye
As team captain of the mighty fine team FlingerBlingers Take 2 I thought it only right I did the longest leg! Leg 2 Drymen to Rowardennan. A decision I quickly regretted as I was about to begin my leg and i realised I was extremely undertrained.
So my report goes like this:-
I started, I hit the wall, I finished.
A few points I’d like to add, the scenery of Conic Hill and Loch Lommond is breathtakingly beautiful. Ultra Runners are the best runners in the world, fact. I have wonderful friends in my team mates. And finally never ever get cocky half way through a run, it can all go horribly wrong.
We had a wonderful day and I for one thoroughly enjoyed every painful minute of my 14.6 miles. I especially enjoyed my dip in Loch Lommond at the end to cool off.
I am very proud of my team, we finished the race in 10hrs 36mins 42seconds and were the 5th ladies team!
Will I do it again? If my team will have me then hell yeah!
Over and out, Superwoman runner number 2.
Leg 3 – Sally
My ‘Leg’ of this years Highland Fling was the 3rd & (most technical apparently) which starts at Rowardennan and takes you up, up & along the side of Loch Lomond for 14.19 miles (as my Garmin confirms) to the next changeover & checkpoint at Beinglas.
As Faye came in from her awesome leg & we swapped the timing chip over, Joey grabbed my jacket off me saying I wouldn’t need it as I would be too hot (& which I was grateful for later) & off I went!
The route starts off right alongside the loch which is stunning and soon you start to feel the incline as you follow the trail path up. I soon came across some of the full flingers who were just over the halfway mark at 27 miles & offered my support to them as I huffed & puffed my way up the hill/mountain! As pretty much most of the full flingers were walking, the ‘incline’ showed no signs of levelling up & nobody likes a show off – it wasn’t long before I was walking along with them!
This part of the fling is very much steep narrow paths which meander along with some very very stony & gnarly rooting to keep your eyes focused on the ground which also seemed to pass the time away but before you know it you’re 10miles in & realising you’re never going be at the checkpoint within the 2 1/2hrs you thought it would take to complete the leg! You are literally following a very narrow path between a sheer drop down to the loch & a cliff face! You come across some beautiful waterfalls & bridges along the route & climbing up & over rocks I actually thought I’d come to a dead end at one point as the path literally stopped??! But there was a clever dog with a couple of hikers who jumped up and over the couple of boulders as big as me & then I realised this was the way forward!! This was just one of the obstacles within the leg as you also have to scramble not only up but down some very steep rocks/stones some which act as as steps, then there’s the ladder & you have no option but get up it!
As you come away from the end of Loch Lomond the land stretches out & the descend across & down into Beinglas allows a good stride & stretch out of the legs (albeit too little too late possibly) I came flying down off the hill into the checkpoint where Karen awaits the chip transfer & she’s off on her glory leg….…
Leg 4 – Karen
Beinglas Farm to Tyndrum ‘The Glory Leg’
Waiting on the path for Sally to come in I was a little nervous I won’t lie. It had been a long, but massively quick day, since we waved off Joey at Milngavie at 6pm and here I was at 3.30pm waiting to take the team home.
The only two things I had known about my leg was that it contained the infamous Coo Poo Alley (Faye was worryingly overexcited that I was going to get properly muddy!) and there was a Roller coaster run to the finish. On Friday night I was also told about a tunnel … A TUNNEL!!
I got the chip from a happy, smiling Sally and was off like a rocket, having not done this leg of the relay I could only go on hearsay with what I was going to be running on. The trail is a proper mix of stony paths, muddy alleys, forest trail and a bit of road …. what I didn’t appreciate was the elevation change I was going to experience! To be honest though, I must’ve done the hill training properly because I don’t actually remember noticing!!
I did march up the very steepest bits but flew down the hills and tried to keep a steady pace on the flat bits … The hardest part of this section is that you are constantly passing full Fling runners who are pushing as best they can towards the end of their 53 mile / 11+ hour journey… and you receive a constant stream of ‘well done’ and other supportive banter …. incredibly humbling and so inspiring.
With about 4 miles or so to go I was lucky enough to have a full Flinger ask to tag on with me as we were going down the steep forest section … he was looking for some company and a steady pace to keep him going … I reckoned I could manage that and we duly rocked up to the finish together, it was magic!
I stopped to take pictures over my 12 mile leg and I was able to look up occasionally and enjoy the amazing scenery… the tunnel was OK and much to Faye’s disappointment Coo Poo Alley was dry!!
All in all my leg was ace and I covered 1336 ft in elevation, covering the distance in 2 hrs 4 mins … the rest of the team were waiting for me and we rocked down the red carpet together … Fantastic and emotional …. Am I tempted to do the full Fling …. Watch this space 😊
Report by: The Supergirls