the beginning and la fin… Written on November 14, 2011, by andys.
Au revoir UK Salomon team
The 2011 running season started and ended in a weekend for me. After a year of ITB niggles I finally managed a good race at the Templiers, becoming the first Brit to take the win in the event’s history. But after one warm up race (Husky), followed by an incompleted training race (Cavalls) and finally this great result, it’s time to draw curtains on 2011 and in doing so say au revoir to the UK team.
I’m going to take this opportunity to thank Tim, Matt and all the runners for the awesome time I’ve had as part of the UK Salomon set-up over the last few years. It remains to be seen whether the French team managers will go to the extraordinarily lengths of getting up at 4am in pouring rain to serve us porridge at the tent door before a 50km mountain run!… – They certainly have a high standard to live up to.
Next year then. As part of the French Salomon team I’ll be focusing on this country’s trail scene, with a few escapades onto the higher mountains of the Sky Running series. After some long hard consideration I finally decided not to do the San Fransisco 50 miler in 3 weeks time, opting instead to save my legs for 2012, kick starting at the Romeufontaine up in the Pyrenees in mid Jan. Despite my only race being 72km this year, next year I’ll be focusing on more moderate distances, 30-40km. The advantage being that these now feel like quite a sprint.
I leave this blog with an extract of an interview I did for a Spanish mag a couple of weeks back.
Salut then!
Interview with Andy Symonds
After a year, you won a race again. How does it feel?
The last year has been a good one on many perspectives, with a move to the south of France, a new job and the birth of our second child, Léonie, in July. But on a running front it’s been a nightmare. Shortly after Cavalls del Vent last year I raced and won the Original Mountain Marathon, and until two weeks ago (les Templiers) that was the last time I raced competitively. So to come back and win a race with very little build up other than a couple of months of enjoyable running in Provence – it feels very good indeed!
Tell us about your recovery. How did you work on it?
When you’re injured for such a long period you obviously try a lot of things to make it right. I did all the usual ITB stuff, stretches, one-leg squats, tons of massage etc etc. I even rolled about on a foam roller (often with my 2 year old son sitting on top of me) for several months. But all of that was to no avail. Eventually I tried a cortisone injection and instead of reducing the inflammation I had an incredibly bad reaction to the jab and was suddenly unable to even cycle any distance without excruciating pain. The final cure came in July this year when I tried some insoles which were custom made by the Salomon podiatrist – as soon as I wore them I could run pain free, it was quite a strange feeling!
What was the hardest part of it?
The hard part of dealing with long term injury is that you never know when it’s gong to clear up. At least when you’re ill you know it’s short term and within a few days you’ll bounce back. Psychologically it’s very hard to watch a season of races pass by, races that you want to participate in, not knowing when will be your next. But it’s not just that – for me running is a perfect means of clearing the mind, it’s the ultimate down-time, and to not be able to practice my favourite hobby was tough.
How is your training right after a recovery like that?
Slightly apprehensive of the injury flaring up again, I was cautious in my return to full training. Starting with 20 minute jogs I built up to 1-hour slow runs and after a couple of weeks was running on the mountains again, after a month I could run 3 hours on the hills and started pushing the pace a little – that’s when I knew that I really was on the road to recovery. I only started doing speed work two weeks before the Templiers race, managing to squeeze in three good sessions which I think made the difference for me in that race.
What would you tell a person who has a year of recovery after an injury, like you had?
Move house and country, change your job and have a child – it’s the best way to keep your mind off the frustration of not being able to run.
After this victory, what are your next projects in trail running?
It’s really the end of the season (even though I’ve only done one race), so I’ll enjoy a bit of a chill period, making sure I fully recover from les Templiers before building up the training again. Next year I’m going to make the most of my relocation to France by competing in a lot of French races and using them to explore France a little. I’d also like to get over to Italy and possibly Spain once or twice to compete in some of the classic Sky Races. For me nothing beats the high mountain races.
Now you are currently living in France. What are the differences between France and Great Britain in trail running?
The difference between the running scenes is huge. In the UK I describe myself as a fell runner. We race up and down hills all over the country. Usually there is no strictly predefined route, and you may not even be on paths of tracks, so you have to find the best route to and between the tops of the hills and back to the finish again. As a result it’s often a wet and muddy affair and hence I’ve been working with Salomon over the last year or so on the FellCross – a shoe specifically designed for this type of terrain. In France however the races really are on trails, only here would I truly describe my sport as “trail running”. Much as I love the British hills, I have to say that it is quite refreshing being able to go out running for several hours and come back clean and dry! The down side though is that I’m not getting to use the FellCross shoes very much!
This year we saw you in Cavalls, but you are a great specialist in stage races. What kind of races do you feel more comfortable at?
It’s a hard question as I’d really describe myself as a big mountain runner. The bigger the hills and the rougher the course, the better for me. And yes, I have had a lot of success with the stage format of the Transalpine run. That said, les Templiers is a very runnable course with very little in terms of real technicality. So I think I’m quite adaptable to different formats really, so long as I do the right training in the build up.
I do love the Cavalls race and will certainly be returning to that race in the future. It’s got some good big climbs and some cracking sections of single-track. This year the plan was always to use it as a training run in preparation for les Templiers, unfortunately I had stomach issues on the day and was unable to finish this year.
This year, Spanish runners made a great race at Transalpine Run, race that you won twice. What is the secret to succeed in this kind of races?
The Transalpine race (especially the western route) is like eight Sky Races back to back. You have to be fast enough to move at speed on the flatter sections, comfortable on rough mountain terrain, willing and able to throw yourself down at a good rate and most importantly able to recover sufficiently to do it again the next day, and the day after, and after and… We saw this year that Jethro and Joe (my brother) were rapidly catching the victorious Spanish team in the later stages – really highlighting the importance of getting the pacing right from start to finish. The Spanish team were obviously incredibly strong this year, but there is no doubt that they were suffering at the end!
If you could choose, what race would you like to win?
There are a lot of races I would like to win! For me, running is a means of exploring different environments in different parts of the world, so I like to change my calendar each year and take on new challenges in new places. That said, there are a few classics which will never loose their attraction for me, such as some of the classic Italian Sky Races.
Trail running is becoming more and more professional. What is your vision of our sport?
Trail running is becoming more “professional” as a result of more people doing it. As a sport develops and starts to attract a wider audience, as trail running is doing, more people invest in the products and more people enter the races. As a consequence a lot more money now circulates around the sport and it is only natural that the top athletes get a share of that. It doesn’t seem right that organisers can draw full blown salaries from events where you’re awarded with a kilo of cheese if you win the event. Most of the big races are now offering prize money for the top runners, along with expenses etc and for me this is normal for a sport which generates a certain level of interest, publicity and cash. It would be great if athletes could benefit sufficiently from their sport to be able to opt to work part time or not at all in order to focus on their running.
Where do you see trail running in the next years?
The races seem to be getting more popular and many of them longer as well. Personally I would love to see a few more real mountain races out there, races where you run up proper summits, even if they are steep, rocky and contain what some might describe as ‘dangerous’ sections. Sadly I think that with mass participation a lot of organisers don’t want to risk treacherous courses and the direction is more towards the safer option of ‘big track running’. Mountain running has really suffered in this respect. The World ‘Mountain’ Running Championship doesn’t go anywhere near mountains – it’s turned into a tough cross-country event (whilst the world cross-country event often resemble road races).
Andy Symonds
ps my new training ground…
Provencal training
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Cavalls, it ain’t easy Written on October 3, 2011, by andys.
Well, I promised a post-race report, so here it is:
45k, 3700m, six hours in, I called it a day. Legs just couldn’t hack it, due to a lack of energy feeding through. I suspect this was in part down to the lack of time I’ve had to get the volume required for 50-mile races into the legs, but it was also largely the result of an unhappy tummy not wanting to accept the food and drink I was throwing at it.
I’ve mainly taken positives away from the experience though:
- cracking weekend in a beautiful part of Spain - a few lessons in nutrition - not too duffed legs (I’m already able to run again, whereas last year it took me over a week!) - a great six hour training run which should put me in good stead for Les Templiers at the end of the month - better than any roller coaster, the ride back from the top of the mountain in the chopper. A four hour flight or a four hour run, anyone?…
Final race results here.
(a number of other top runners dropped out of the race, frankly it’s brutal, including pre-race favourites Kilian and Iker)
Andy Symonds
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Horses of the wind Written on September 25, 2011, by andys.
After a seriously lengthy break from the mountain trails, it’s time to return…
A year ago I had a shot at my first Ultra race, Cavalls del Vent. It nearly killed me. So, after 2 months of running (my knee’s been fine since mid-July) I thought the (un)sensible thing to do would be to return to the hills behind Bagà and do the race again. It’s a combination of the stunning course, the challenge of getting the pacing right for the distance, and the smell of those Sunday morning breakfast Bocadillos shared with Miguel last year, all tempting me back again for a second shot…
Training wise, what have I done? Prior to mid-July I ran zero or close to zero miles for a period of many months. A cortisone jab late last year made a complete mess of my tendon and meant that any more than a couple of minutes of exercise, of any form whatsoever, would find me keeled over in agony. Not a pleasant period. Thankfully the in-soles seem to have finally sorted that out. So for the comeback I’ve adopted a conservative approach to building up the training and have not rushed back into speed work. I’ve now had several weeks at around 60-70 miles, usually including one fairly lengthy hill run and most of the rest made up of the flat 8 miles I run to work (I usually run one way and bike the other). I’ve taken the approach that speed is not yet of the essence, and instead got out for some nice long, but slow, hill runs. I have recently started integrating some fartlek and in the last week or so added the odd session of 800m or 1km ‘reps’ into my run to work. Whilst at only about 5.5min/miling equivalent pace these are not yet exactly what I’d describe as fast, but it’s some progress on the effort it felt to even get up to 7 min-miling just 2 months ago. Running is starting to feel natural again, which is great. I’m sure all runners would agree – the sensation of ‘floating’ – running fast whilst applying little or no effort is hard to beat, especially if you’ve got a nice view!
Having recently moved to Avignon in the south of France, there’s obviously been a few trips to the base of Ventoux – a great place to get a solid 1.5 hour climb in. Also with the relocation to a new part of the world, getting back into running has been especially exciting as it’s allowed me to explore the abundance of local hill ranges, the Luberon, Alpilles, Vaucluse, Ventoux, to name just the closest. I have to say that blue skies and warm air are also fairly coherent with mountain running and I’m not sure we’ll be relocating to Scotland in any immediate hurry…
(click on all images to enlarge)
As a test run, mainly to gauge whether my knee would really hold up for any meaningful distance, at the end of August I ran round the Husky Guillestre Trail. An absolutely cracking course in the Queyras (Hautes Alpes) and it was great to find that my knee held up 100% over a 5+ hour course. My legs however were completely mushed for several days after that.
So, what’s the plan for Cavalls? I have to say – I seriously hesitated about the wisdom of tackling such a distance (85km) so soon after returning from injury, so I came to a comprised plan. The objective is to treat this 9, 10 or 11 hour (???) race as a ‘training run’, in as much as that’s possible. I’m going to run round at a steady/easy pace with Thomas Lorblachet. We’re both competing in the French classic Les Templiers just three weeks after Cavalls and if we don’t shred our legs to pieces (as I did this time last year) then it could be the perfect training run to go into the Templiers with superb leg strength. This year, no matter how good I feel at the half way point, I won’t be putting the hammer down, racing off into the lead, only to have a nasty encounter with the industrial quadricep-shredder some Spaniard had left in my path at the top of that climb half-way ’round…
(Post race report to follow…)
Andy Symonds
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Transrockies Written on September 1, 2011, by matt.
Last week Ricky Lightfoot and I competed in the Transrockies run in Colorado – a 6 days trail race from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek which is run in pairs. The route covered 120 miles with 20,000 feet of ascent. I previously raced the Transrockies in 2008 with Andy Symonds when we finished in a close 2nd. I was excited to return especially as chunks of the course had been improved.
This year we ran flipping well to finish in third place with a total run time of 15h31m. Every day we battered ourselves. The competition was excellent and the conditions tough.
Salomon runners Anna Frost and Rickey Gates ran fantastically well to win the mixed category by a margin of 1h02min. Angela Mudge also raced in the mixed category with Gareth Craft. Gareth bravely stepped in as a last minute replacement when Angela’s original partner dropped out. They ran well and finished in 6th but Gareth arrived late and suffered with the altitude. They had to rely on Angela’s strength and good form.
Results are here.
Below are my highlights and low points from the week:
Highlights
Level of competition: Every stage we battled with the Team Run Flagstaff (Mike Smith & Jason Wolfe), Team Bend (Ryan Bak & Max King) and Colorado Runner/ Inov8 (Alex Nichols & Peter Maksimow). The podium constantly changed and stage records were smashed (often by the first four teams!). I was pleased to run much quicker than in 2008 on the stages which were unchanged.
Team Run Flagstaff was consistently awesome, especially on the climbs and flat. They won the race by 21 mins. Team Bend’s Ryan Bak showed he is dam hard when he suffered falls and ran the last two stages with a broken toe, dodgy hamstring and a gash on his side which required stitches. His partner Max King was mega strong and towed Ryan and they maintained 2nd place. Sadly team Colorado/ Inov8 suffered injury on day 6 and lost heaps of time and places.
Hope Pass: Stage 2 involved a big climb and descent over Hope Pass (12,532ft) which was the high point of the race. We were much more comfortable with the steep running and won the stage.
The entire race was run above 8,000ft with most of stages 2 to 5 above 10,000ft. We had a huge disadvantage compared with acclimated teams such as Flagstaff and Colorado Runners. For anyone thinking of competing in this race I’d recommend 2-3 weeks pre race acclimatisation. We had one week in Colorado before the race –it definitely helped but longer would be better.
Colorado Trail: parts of stage 2 & 3 went over the trail. Magic single track.
Stage 6: The 23mile stage was predominately on single track and included 3 big climbs. The sections of track through the Aspen woodland were stunning.
Running with Ricky: we ran really well together and bloody hard every day.
Camaraderie: The race is a great social. There’s lots of downtime after each stage and a great atmosphere at the camp. Huge thanks to the Salomon Team, race organisers and other competitors. It was a cracking week.
Lows
Stage 1: the opening stage was very runable with not much ascent. It was on open sandy tracks and with the intense heat it felt like a desert. By the end of the stage I felt like I had denatured every enzyme in my body. Fortunately things got better!
Stage 5: Frustratingly, poor marking at the end of the stage meant we lost the route and wasted precious minutes getting back on track – we finished 2nd that day but wanted to put more time on Team Bend who were sitting in 2nd overall.
4wd track and road: the course still had lots of running on these surfaces and it was a case of damaged limitation on these sections. We run better and much prefer the single track and more technical running
.
Next up
Understandably we are keen to utilise the altitude training and race form. Angela and Ricky are both bouncing back from injuries and are in fine shape and I expect they will have great latter seasons (including the Ben Nevis race this weekend). I’ve had a cracking summer and have packed in the long, hard races since April – time for a couple of weeks easy and local.
Tom
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Où suis-je (and a guide to coping with long-term injury) Written on August 12, 2011, by andys.
Nine months is a long time. It’s the magical period of time it takes to “create” a human being. Now, for a pregnant lady, that’s a long time to abstain from alcohol, steer clear of the best blue cheeses, go easy on the cappuccinos and yet at the same time, to gradually increase in size to the point that it becomes impossible to even walk to the car on the day you give birth. That’s what my wife’s been up to the last 9 months and funnily enough I’ve followed a very similar trajectory (- OK no detox for me, and I didn’t quite put on 10kg either)… For the last nine months I’ve been out of running action due to an ITB problem which kicked off just after the OMM in October 2010. And believe me, those nine months have felt very long indeed. Normally missing a single day’s training feels like I’ve forgotten to do something, a week off and I’m starting to get agitated and when you start counting in months, well, it’s a close call as to whether I’ll stay clinically sane or not. However, luckily enough, during this “spell of horror” I’ve had a few personal things to take my mind off the dreadfulness of injury-induced immobility and I’d like to offer the following four-point guide as Andy’s top tips to dealing with extended bouts of injury: 1. Move house 2. Change jobs 3. Move country 4. Have a baby. Without this simple four-point mechanism I would almost certainly not have survived a nine-month out-of-action period. So, yes, in the last few months we’ve moved house, I’ve started work with a great renewable energy developer called eole-RES, we moved to France (the hot bit at the bottom end!), and three weeks ago we had our second child, Léonie.
Just a few days before our daughter was born the Salomon podiatrist sent me a pair of custom in-soles and since then I’ve had no knee pain. From crawling home in agony after 10-minute jogs to being able to run for an hour completely pain free in the space of a week or so – wow, what a feeling. And hence, it would appear that my nine-month grievance is finally coming to an end. Yipeee!
In typical fell-runner style, I’m impatient to get racing again and finding it hard not to scouer the calendar for late-season lung-busters, but with only 3 weeks to go, it would probably be a little silly to attempt my early season ambition of the 100 mile UTMB. That’ll have to wait for another year. No, I’m going to (try to) be sensible. Steady away. Perhaps Cavalls del Vent might be feasible, but I’ll have to play it by ear. The thing is, I really can’t afford another injury like this, – I’d quite like not to have to move house, jobs and country again this year and, err, two kids might be enough…
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Cairngorm Classic Written on June 12, 2011, by matt.
I’ve mainly been running recently so I decided it would be good to get back on the bike for a change – I’ve missed it!!! So last Saturday my dad and I headed up to the Caringorms to ride in the Cairngorm Classic 100 mile cyclosportive . My dad rode the shorter Cairngorm 50 route.
The sportive is organised by Hands on Events who put on cycle events and mountain marathons in the Scottish Highlands. I’ve ridden at three other of their bike races over the past couple of years (Beallach Beag Sportive, Ullapool Sportive and Strathpuffer 24 mountain bike race) - you’re guaranteed cracking routes, organisation and lots of fun. The Cairngorm Classic followed the same formula and was on stunning, quiet roads with 2200m ascent.
I joined a couple of mates, Gordon Bathgate & Sam Hesling, for the ride. It was a reunion of the Strathpuffer winning Team (with the exception of Henry who was working at the event!!!) There was plenty of good banter as we made quick progress, riding together as a trio in mild and dry weather.
For the event I was loaned a Cervelo S2 demo by Billy Bislands Cycles in Glasgow – cheers guys!. It’s a pretty amazing piece of kit and my first time on a totally bling road bike. I know very little about bike specs but riding mega light carbon machine was a real treat – all my effort was transferred directly into momentum and it was a seriously smooth ride… It is true you can buy speed!
Although there was a total of 2200m of ascent over the route, there were also long periods of fast flat riding which I found tough due to my lack recent bike time. The trickiest patch was between 65-80 miles when energy levels plummeted …at times I was hanging onto Sam’s wheel for dear life!!! My solution was to stop at the last two feed stations and eat my body weight in cake - this returned energy levels nicely!
Highlights of the ride included the first descent from the ski centre which was rapido and the final 5 miles or so climbing back up to the ski centre. I felt excellent all day when climbing – probably as a result of riding the Cervelo !
We finished in 4h:54 – joint 24th fastest times (results). We had missed the fast group of 20 plus riders which had started earlier. With the amount of fast riding there was no way we could compete with the bunch.
We rounded off the weekend with a magic Sunday run in the Cairngorms. Highlights included getting up a new munro – Beinn Mheadhoin- which has lots of Granite Torrs.
Top weekend!
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- Start with dad
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- the Strathpuffer team
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- Goat track up Cairn gorm
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- Beinn Mhedhoin
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- Sam on Torr
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Trans GranCanaria Week Written on March 9, 2011, by matt.
Tom Owens made a great training week in the sun even more worthwhile as he won the 42km Trans GranCanaria race this last weekend…
____________
Last week Matt Sullivan and I were in Gran Canaria for a last minute holiday/ Shettleston Harrier training trip in the warmth! It turned out to be a magic week – with heaps of trail running, biking, chilling and it culminated with the TransGranCanaria Race on Saturday.
Gran Canaria is a cracking island – very volcanic, rugged and mega hilly. An ideal island for hill/ trail running and cycling enthusiasts. We hooked up with a very elite group of international orienteers who were making the most of the winter sun. This included Allan Bogle – totally top bloke who lives out there and showed us the best trails, sorted accommodation etc (he helps lots of runners check out his website!!!!).
Highlights from the week included:
- Hill run from San Pedro which included a vertical km over 3.7km distance. The running group included orienteers from Denmark, Sweden, Northern Ireland and Switzerland – including 2010 sprint orienteer Matthias Müller. For once, I didn’t get lost!
- Running most of the Trans Grancanaria race route across the island which passes over breathtaking terrain.The trails weren’t especially well way marked so it was a real bonus Allan could take some time off to show us some cracking routes (cheers Allan!).
- Mountain bike route around the west of the island. I massively underestimated the climb involved (over 3,700m ascent) and it was seriously windy… we were out for about 8 hours!
- Staying in the log cabins in the centre of the island which were over 1700m altitude. No electricity – no distractions.
- Las Palmas carnival which lasts a whole month and is totally bonkers.
- The North Face Trans Grancanarian Race.
It was pure coincidence that this event was taking place on the last day of the holiday! The main attraction is the 123km race option which crosses the island from Maspalomas in the south to Las Palmas in the northwest. The race attracts an international field. There are also shorter options of 96km, 42km and 24km routes which follow the latter parts of the 123km. The idea is there is an option for everyone and the start times are such that all the fastest runners for the different distances finishes around a similar time.
Allan sorted me a very late entry for the 42km event just a few days before the race. It was a ‘descendo maraton’ i.e. pretty much downhill – a first for me! This was good as it allowed me to complete the race with very tired legs by freewheeling down and run on some super single track trails. However, the continuous descending was a total leg trasher! Especially since I had to hop on the aeroplane home a few hours after finishing.
My utmost respect to the athletes who completed the 123km race which included very testing night weather conditions . Zigor Iturrieta (ESP) won the men’s race in 13h:22m and Lizzy Hawker (GBR) won the ladies in 15h:55m – what an effort. It’s got me pretty inspires to give some ultras a crack in the near future…although maybe shorter distances than 123km!
The Gran Canarian’s are massively into trail running (especially ultra races) and it was a wonderful to be a part of such a big, well organised event.
Check out the following for more info:
http://www.transgrancanaria.net/eng/paginas/home
http://activecanaria.com/
http://allanbogle.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-02-08T05%3A14%3A00-08%3A00 max-results=7
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Nick’s Kenyan adventure Written on February 22, 2011, by matt.
Trail Team athlete Nick Swinburn was given an opportunity which he couldn’t refuse late last year – the chance to live and train in Kenya for three months! He grasped it with both hands, and is currently residing at John Mutai’s camp, where he will be until late March…
Nick takes up the story:
__________________________________________
Daily routine is pretty much get up at 5.45, run at 6, breakfast of Ugali on toast, sleep, run again at 10, lunch of Ugali on pasta, go into town in a 5 seater taxi carrying 10 people, run again at 4, dinner of Ugali on rice + cold shower!
The other British runners currently here are Josh Tighe, Matt Pierson, Ally Dixon and Richard Gregory. Camp is organised by Ian Ladbroke a british agent and John Mutai, twice winner of Great North Run (60.52).
Theres no such thing as a flat run round here and its pretty normal for an easy hour run to turn into a 90min race with the Kenyans. Its hard to tell how good the Kenyans we’re training with are, because if you ask them their PB they often make it up in the hope that your an agent, but there’s no doubt that some of them are world class as a lot of them are wearing Kenya kit and a few regularly compete in the Diamond League. There can be up to 50-60 guys doing the same session on the track at one time and each rep is like a race so no wonder the best ones are good.
After I return home my targets for the year are:
March: Reading or Wilmslow Half Marathon
April: 3 Peaks Race
July: Aviva UK 10000m Champs
September: World Mountain Running Champs
October: Marathon TBC
I’ll try and do another blog next month, and see everyone back in the UK soon…
Nick
![DSCF9559[1]](http://blog.salomontrailteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/DSCF95591-150x150.jpg "DSCF9559[1]")
![DSCF9560[1]](http://blog.salomontrailteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/DSCF95601-150x150.jpg "DSCF9560[1]")
![DSCF9608[1]](http://blog.salomontrailteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/DSCF96081-150x150.jpg "DSCF9608[1]")
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Ricky wins Jarrett Jaunt wearing Salomon Fell Cross Written on February 11, 2011, by matt.
New year, new shoes, same old result! Ricky Lightfoot romped to his first win of 2011 last week wearing the brand new for 2011 (summer) Salomon Fell Cross.
Results here http://c-f-r.org.uk/sites/default/files/jarrett_jaunt_results_11.pdf
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Mt Keen to get running again… Written on January 8, 2011, by andys.
After two and a half months of almost no running*, it’s great to be out again and what a cracking run this one turned out to be, my first hill run in what feels like a very long time. 3 hours on Scotland’s most easterly Munro, Mt Keen, with my brother Joe.
*unfortunately I’ve been crippled with ITB syndrome since the OMM in late October. In the last week or so though I’ve finally started to see some improvement – enough to attempt a 3-hour outing on the snowy tops today. Great!
The run route’s on Movecount here.
Andy
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