Cateran Trail Ultra 88K

This will be a fab race. Ran most of the route doing a trial run for the cut offs and marshalling at it this year. Terrain a proper mixed bag. 
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Comments

  • I'm certainly looking forward to it image
  • yes - together with a fellow club-mate (MF7) from Thanet Roadrunners (Kent). Given the distance we won't be able to come recce, so any information on the terrain and ground conditions as the date approaches will be most appreciated - I got the Cateran Trail book and maps for Christmas image

    Are you partaking?

  • I've done the 23 mile race on it and doing it again the week before this one, it goes from Blairgowrie to Spittal of Glenshee. I'd love to do the full one but promised i'd marshall. 3 of us along with the organiser supporting reccyd the whole route in october. I missed out just a couple of sections that i'd done before so i covered 41 miles of it, just to check cut off times were realistic. It's a lovely route and you've got everything in it really. I went up between xmas and new year and did an out and back 20 miles from bridge of cally to kirkmichael and back and added in a bit i like as well. Terrain has not much tarmac but you really feel it on the legs coming into Blairgowrie half way round full route as it's downhill, you've got boggy sections, fields, rough paths, styles to climb over, sheep and cattle to run through, moss. I've got ultras in March, April, June and August so i'm just going to enjoy marshalling at this one. There's a lot of work gone into making sure it's a brilliant race and it will be. i know a lot of the people involved and it'll be fun too. Oh dear, i've waffled, can you tell i love the route!! Some of the maps in the cateran book aren't spot on as the route has changed a wee bit with it being used farm land but you'll get full details. There are way markers along the way as well, got to be aware that the route doesn't always follow the path you are on and sometimes you are veering of the path onto a field or such following exactly the direction of the marker. The run down Glenshee to finish is fantastic, after you have a look at the views from the top of course. 
  • Thanks KarenD I'm really looking forward to this now my running buddy bo-bo found this event for us so its all her fault (thought I should get that in now)image I too received the Cateran trail book as a Christmas pressie.  My wife And I have had several wonderfull holidays in your part of the country staying at the Kirkmichael Hotel and on the Glenfernach (sorry about the spelling) estate staying in the farmhouse and the lodge We have even plaid a round of Golf at the Glenshee Hotel Course chasing the sheep from the fairways is an experience LOL .  I can also remember taking a walk up to the Devils Elbow near the Ski lifts and standing on the side of a hill lwith the RAF jets  pasing level with us as the did low level training.  Cant wait Im so excited image

  • You know the area well then MF7image. Brilliant. I live about an hour and a bit from the route and it's amazing how quiet it is. I did a training run on the route last year in the summer time, about 30 miles and only at the end did i see walkers at Bridge of Cally. In the May race i did, no sheep were in the fields but when i did the summer training run i had to run through hoards of them, certainly got rid of my mild fear!! There's one HUGE bull called Hamish in the first half of route and on our run in October we were flying through his field as fast as we could, one of the guys had red trainers on and Hamish did a jump!! We started at 6am in the morning too so in one field we thought the way markers were flourescent but turned out it was actually the cows eyes shining back with our headtorches on. Looking forward to meeting you both.

  • Karen you did not mentioned that you have a special affinity with cow poo which is a distinct advantage on this route.image

     Hi guys look forward to meeting you at the race.
  • Oh yeah i forgot about it, blocked from my memory.image
  • oh no dont mention Cow poo.  bo-bo has some very bad memories from last years London to Brighton when I managed to stomp right in the middle of a huge sloppy cowpat and splatter it all over her image

    Look forward to meeting you guys at the race or as bo-bo and I prefer to call our little jaunts "event" as there is much less presure to go fast if you call it an event image

  • I landed in 2 cow poops MF7. Left and right hand at different times. Luckily they weren't fresh but they were greenimage. I was strong and tough though, just flicked it off and carried on.image Nice way to look at it , an event indeed. I call my events bimbles.
  • I like the sound of a bimble through the cow pats  - though when map reading is involved it qualifies for the definition of adventure, you never can tell where we might end up image

    <note to self carry - purchase solar shower for the pit crew car>

  • Their is not to much map reading involved, its just that the path is not well defined and at times you just have to run from one way mark post in the direction it points looking for the next one. This can be hard in the dark and snow as I have found out, but race day we will not have those problems.

    Also the official guide with the updates is still not correct as their have been more changes and add to that the alternate route the race is using from Alyth to Blairgowrie .

    You will be supplied with a map so no worries,

    If you have the technology and I can figure it out I could send you a GPX file of the route it just misses last few miles as battery ran out but you cant get lost on that bit anyway.

  • I just love your confidence Loon Dod "you cant get lost on that bit"  you have clearly not seen my map reading or bo-bo's confusion with her left and right hand image
  • Wow Bo-bo just like me then. I don't do left or right either. I get laughed at at boxercise cause i keep leading with the wrong hand. I don't do maps either. image
  • I just like to keep everyone guessing - in my own defence I always get there! image

    I did the Winter Tanners 20 last w/e in snow & ice, the conditions made for some very interesting slips and slides,  so I hope we are bathed in Spring sunshine come May!

  • cant fault your map reading bo-bo the only time we had no idea where we were on L2B was when you handed the map to me image
  • nonsense MF7 - we knew exactly where we were! I've learnt since that the actual finish altered image but that won't be a problem this time.. ...just need to work out what size iron is required to smooth out some of the creases in the terrainimage
  • Only 7600 feet of climbing Bo-Bo so no worries their.image

    When you climb over the Larig gate you get a glimpse of the Hotel , its all down hill from then till the finish.

  • well I've just spent a very enjoyable 2.5 hours plus bimbling around the Downs - not quite the ascent, but plenty of slippery stiles, mud and horses. Sadly no cow pats to practice on though image
  • Oh god not horses image please tel me there are no horses on the route image
  • LOL, nope no horses MF7. You don't have a horse phobia do you? I'm sure i seen a bear though.image

    Well done on run Bo Bo, i did 2 of my local hills yesterday - AND didn't get lost. Plenty sheep scaring to be done. 

  • bo-bo had to protect me from the horses on L2bimage they seem to know its me and come running over to try and savage me.

    I had a lovely run this morning while bo-bo was out bimbling on the downs I managed 20miles along the coastal paths not very hilly but is my first long run since november image

  • You werent carrying carrots or sugar lumps were you? Well done on the 20 miles, brilliant. I've got an off road 10k race next Saturday then a 28 mile training run on the Sunday. image
  • No suger lumps I think they just realised there was someone who was scared of them so thought it would be a laugh to try and bite him image

    Managed a very slow 8.4 miles yesterday morning and my little leggies are tired today. club run tonight approx 5 miles then 2 days restimage

  • 6 tempo miles (thanks to the sleet that began to fall 1 mile in) around Canterbury tonight, up and down St Stephens Hill and Whitstable Hill playing with the cars sat in commuter hellimage When I got back to the car the way was clear
  • I was like that with sheep MF7 but I'm getting much better. I did my double hills again yesterday and legs tired tonight.

    Well done bo-bo, snow up here but not on the ground thankfully, just on higher ground.

  • any chance of snow on the tops in May ? going to bring a camera with me on this one
  • Some photos of March race last year on cateran

    Hopefully this works Bo-bo. This was first attempt at the ultra by a different organiser last March with lots of roads closed and was a bit of a shambles. Well organised now with this one with the west highland way race organiser on board. 

  • wow fab pics Karen hope its not that snow covered this year.image

    Did about 5.5 m last night in about 55 minutes with the club.  Loads of the lads kept asking if I was OK as I was bimbling about at the back having a nice chat on the way round image

  • Has race entry limit been reached?
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