Afterbog

Its now a year on from "The Isles", and I was looking back through the daily reports from last year when I realised I hadn't written any sort of conclusion to it.

Obviously, for us, the event was dominated by Andy's accident, and it would have been a very different week if it had gone as planned. But, that being said, I still got a multi-day event and a chance to try out what worked and what didn't under some fairly heavy conditions.

So, what worked? The navigation via watch was excellent, in one of the more difficult navigational ultras I've done. Subject to the limits of getting an accurate GPX file in the first place, there were no problems. Had I had a little more time, I should have run the GPX files onto the Ordnance Survey app on a bigger tablet or monitor sized screen and checked them - and if I'd done that, I'd have spotted the problem with the GPX for day 5 and corrected it before we used it.

Equipment all generally worked. The conclusion for me was that good trail socks are better than anything that claims to be waterproof, and with the right socks running with wet feet all day every day does not actually cause blisters - I got through the week without a single blister. My new Montane running pack worked very well, and gave me sufficient pocketage for everything I needed to carry, along with a pocket that allowed me to get at my phone for backup navigation and photos.

I have a hatred of running in waterproofs that hasn't changed - despite what Goretex may say, anything that can keep the rain out is nowhere near breathable enough to run in without you sweating up inside and getting just as wet. Having accepted that you will be wet anyway, the more important thing was not to get cold, and my Ronhills managed that despite the wind and rain.

I only got to try out my poles on day 5, so they are still a work in progress - I need to get more practice with them so that I can make more use of them. So far for me their real use is towards the end of the day when I am down to a walk, and they were helping towards the end of day 5 - and that may we how I use them in the future. I'm still not sure on the pole carrying attachments on the Montane pack, though - the poles move around when I am running far more than I would like, and that's something to look at.

What didn't work? Mostly me. The weather I can handle, and there were no issues with hills, but the problem is the terrain underfoot. This route has a huge amount of running on either mud or heather, both very slippery underfoot. I simply don't seem to have the balance to be able to get moving properly under those conditions, and without specifically going somewhere I don't have the local conditions to practise. I find I waste a huge amount of energy slipping around, and the power I'm putting down through my feet does not translate to forward motion. And I find that highly frustrating.

So, in conclusion, would I do this event again? Any runner dislikes not finishing an event, and I think I did enough (just over two thirds of the total distance in the end - half of day 1, all day 2, half of day 3, two thirds of day four and all day 5) to prove that without the issues around Andy's accident I would have completed it and probably could again. The scenery in places was stunning, and we were looked after very well by Rat Race, whose organisation was proved by both Andy's accident and the ferry issue on day three - I cannot thank their team or praise them enough.

But I'm just not a bog monster, and the frustration of the conditions underfoot for that long would probably make me look elsewhere. I'd love to do another multi-day event, and I certainly proved that I could handle the routine and the work required. But I'd probably pick one where I have half a chance of being able to keep my mileage going without slipping around. Your mileage, in many senses of the word, may vary.