Saturday 9th July
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0.8mile Swimming across Loch Tay
16 miles Climbing 7 Munros
8 miles Kayaking back along Loch Tay
34 miles Cycling round Loch Tay
• Teams of 2 people (Team “Manathon”)
• Sponsorship Total: £1,255
• Charities: Mercy Corps; Mary’s Meals
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Friday 8th July- Arrival to blissful sun and a dramatic view of the run
• 10,000 ft of climbing over the Ben
Lawers Range, the horizon you see in
the picture
• Hill training: the office spiral stairs.
No hills in London
• Route: Unmarked with 7 checkpoints
to register at (electronic fob).
Supporters could monitor progress
live
• A few weeks prior Mike and I had
done a dummy run of half the Range,
which was a wise move to familiarise
ourselves with the route
Things were looking promising though the forecast had other ideas…
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Friday 8th July- Skills test / Food / Brief
• The time spent packing kit,
getting it checked, and doing
map tests was mentally
exhausting
• The mountain rescue team
would be camping on the
Munro that night in anticipation
• We had a hearty meal before
David Fox-Pitt zealously brought
everyone together with a
briefing
• We bumped in to about 6
people we knew, including 2 of
my sisters’ ex-boyfriends… there
was much comradery and
fortunately more excitement
than dread!
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Friday 8th July- Camp set up
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Friday 8th July- Early night
• Little moles were popping their heads from their tents, watching with envy as, like a well-drilled polish team, we
erected Mike’s palatial yurt
• …this would turn to knowing smiles as they left us taking it down in the rain
• It had seemed a good idea previously for the comfort, and for the fact that everything about this event in terms of
the 5.30am training sessions, the kit, the hours of discussions, and the journey to get there, was ‘immense’
• …Even Mike’s compression suit did not seem out of place, though the dog was confused
 We were taking this seriously
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Bonnie Scotland
…In true Scottish form, the weather for the weekend would be variable.
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The Big Day
Saturday 9th July- The Warm-up
We were in the second wave starting at 7am. An ‘electro’ warm up helped calm the tension
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STAGE 1: The Swim (0.8miles)- Piped to the loch. A call to battle
• The event had fantastic attention to detail, the piper being a great example
• Additionally, the safety. We were guided across the loch in a diamond
formation of safety canoes and speed boats
Mike looks a bit of a wally…
• There were approximately three staff to every participant
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Aiming for the red dot
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STAGE 1: Result (27 mins)
• The early start and the low
wind meant the water was far
less choppy than our trip a
few weeks earlier
• The water was also relatively
warm at around 12 degrees
• Training: Seymour Place Pool
(Edgeware) & the Serpentine
• 6 months ago I was nervous
about the swimming. I was
slow with minimal amounts
of practice since school
• The training paid dividends
improving technique, stamina
and conditioning
Hobbling over the painful/
slippery stones
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STAGE 2: The Run (16 miles climbing 7 Munros)
• The event is weighted
towards this long and
gruelling section
• Laminated maps, a compass,
3 litres of water, water
proofs, thermals etc were just
a few things we had to have
• A significant portion was a
steady grind (walking) up
steep highland hills. Though I
would pay for my lack of hill
walking the following week,
biking had built up enough
muscle strength/endurance
• Visibility was poor but it was
cool with minimal rain until
the heavens opened at the
end
• Food- a lot!
• Few photos due to technical
issues and the effort to take
them!
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STAGE 2: Results (7.5 hours)
• Our route seems direct but we somehow managed to do 17.57 miles
• Total time: Approx 7.5 hours. Longer than anticipated
• We had a strong start going from 41st in the swimming to 28th by
Munro 1 (“M1”), which is 14th as a team (2 people per team)
• The orienteering was a significant factor. In the section where we
were less direct (M6 to Reservoir) we dropped from 45th to 63rd in
the running total
• Towards the end we were hampered by knee pains so paced
ourselves, as you can see from the blue line
• Total ascent: 7926ft
• The grey is the topography, the blue is the pace. We were strong on the ascents
however the most competitive made up their time by flying down the descents
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STAGE 2: The Run Route
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STAGE 3: The Kayak (7 miles)
• We had a slow transition falling to 72nd (my fault, nature called and
indeed had been calling for a while. I had close to 2 miles of
additional compression I had not calculated for)
• I was most apprehensive of the kayak but it was one of our
strongest sections. It was hard to make up place as it was so much
shorter than the run
• We had done a few sizable training kayak sessions, one where our
paddles almost became lightening rods in one the worst storm I
have ever been caught in (the river Wye). This, the fact that we had
eaten well and were using new muscles, put us in good stead
• Time: 1h 45mins. Distance: 7.36miles (according to my GPS watch
which ignores the check in time at Bikini Beach- tracks only moving
time)
Hobbling over the painful/
slippery stones
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STAGE 3: Some photos of competitors
• A team of people to lift
people out of boats. After
the long run and 90+ mins of
cramped sitting, legs were
shaky (people have been
known as having had to stop
at this point)
Hobbling over the painful/
slippery stones
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STAGE 4: The Bike (34 miles)
• Like the kayak, few photos of team Manathon sadly
• Mike and I had to swap bikes mid course due to some technical
issues. There was not much lost time as this happened at the fish
and chip stop where conveniently a bike mechanic was posted
• There were a few hills to test us but on the whole it was a very
pleasant speed around the loch, with the bad weather lifted for a
beautiful early evening
• Time: 2hours 29 mins
• Moving time: 2 hours 14 mins
• Average Moving Speed: 14.9mph
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STAGE 4: The Bike- 34 miles around the loch
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Finish: 12hr 54 mins, approx. 60 miles
The moment
I asked Mike
if he wanted
to do it in
2017…
…The moment
after…!
The best water melon you will ever taste
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The Course Summary
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0.8mile Swimming across Loch Tay
17.6 miles Climbing 7 Munros
7.4 miles Kayaking Loch Tay
33.4 miles Cycling round Loch Tay
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Total: 59.2 miles
Timing Summary
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Finish: The Rub Down
I think Mike got the better deal here!
Picture of the day? …A perfect ending
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Saturday 9th July- The After Party
It was a merry evening comprising a hearty meal, beer (and the obligatory jaeger bomb), comradery and reeling- ‘dance like
you never would again’ was fairly accurate. Much to my irritation Mike was bouncing round like a spring chicken with not a hint
of stiffness the following week
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Final Thoughts- Special Thanks to:
Lucas, our soppy Guard Dog. Thanks for
the cuddles (don’t tell anyone I said
that)
Chief Supporter (and of Security), Emma
Bjorkstrom. Thanks for putting up with this
adventure and all your help bringing it
together. Essential to the fun
…And to all our Sponsors, thank you so much for your support!!
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Home time- what a weekend!
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