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Simpson and Symonds - Kings of the Bens

As ever Joe tells a great story of how their yachting and running weekend escapade panned out:

__________________________

When I was in my first year at university, one of the neurology lecturers casually dropped into a Thursday morning lecture that he was looking for a “hill runner”. I raised my hand and he asked to see me at the end.

It turned out that he was looking for a last-minute replacement runner for his Scottish Islands’ Peaks Race team, and the race started the very next day. Having previously only run a maximum of 12 miles in one go, I was launched into a weekend involving 65 miles over rough mountain terrain.

That was back in 2002. This year I started my 9th SIPR.

This classic event is loved and loathed by hill runners. Loved for the amazing opportunity to run on stunning mountain terrain in some of the most beautiful islands in our country. Loathed for the potentially nauseating voyage between them. Typically teams have 5 members – 3 do the sailing and 2 do the running (although some crazy folk decide to do an event called the all-rounders which involves both!). For details of the course see the excellent event website.

The rules are relatively simple – everyone sets off from Oban at midday on the Friday, runners have to be taken to land at Salen (Mull), Craighouse (Jura) and Lamlash (Arran) from where they run unmarked mountain routes, depositing numbered tags at various checkpoints along the way. The winner is the first team back to the mainland, finishing at Troon.

For the runners there is a “race within the race” called the “King of the Bens” – this is awarded to the runners with the fastest aggregate time for the three long runs on Mull, Jura, and Arran. The King of the Bens record was set in 1990 by Jack Maitland and Alan Farningham at 9 hours 34 minutes 47 seconds.

I’ve done the event with a number of running partners through the years – Jethro Lennox, Andy Murray (who ran from Scotland to the Sahara desert last year), and on three occasions with my brother Andy. In 2009, when running with Andy, we flirted with the idea of trying to break the King of the Bens record. We got off to a great start with a record breaking run on Mull, but conditions were poor on Jura and we lost some time. Due to appalling sailing conditions around the Mull of Kintyre that year, we, like most boats, didn’t make it to Arran to complete the course.

This year, my running accomplice was Robbie Simpson, the 20 year old prodigy from Deeside who last year took a bronze medal in the World Long Distance Mountain Running Challenge. Thoughts of the 22 year old record once again crept into my head.

Oban 1200, Friday

The race gets under way with a 4 mile undulating run round the hills to the south of Oban. Most runners will have had an easy week’s training so the nervous energy on the start line is palpable. Robbie and I set off far too quickly, blasting round the course in 24 minutes and 25 seconds. We have broken the record for the course and have a 4 minute lead on the nearest team behind. We just hope we won’t pay for overexerting ourselves later.

Salen, 1530, Friday

Several faster boats have overtaken us on the sail over to Mull and we land on the island in about 15th position overall. We keep up a relaxed and steady pace on the road which leads out to Ben More, Scotland’s only Island Munro that is not on Skye. We gradually overhaul all but 2 teams (both sailing on fast multi-hull boats) before the route takes us onto the mountain proper.

We catch Don Naylor and Dan Gay as we approach the summit ridge of the Munro and find Sam Hesling and Andy Fallas on the summit itself. Having made it to the top in under 1 hour 45 minutes, a sensible descent and steady road run home will have us on course for the record.

We make it back to Salen in 3 hours 12 minutes: 6 minutes faster than I ran with Andy in 2009, and 13 minutes under the official race record of Rob Jebb and Mark Rigby. Our sailors are over the moon to find themselves leading the entire race as we head down towards Jura, with many much faster boats behind.

Craighouse 0440, Saturday

The overall race lead doesn’t last long. Obedient, the huge catamaran carrying Don and Dan comes steaming past us about an hour after leaving Salen. We manage to wolf down shed-loads of spaghetti bolognase and try to get some rest before the Paps of Jura. We are sailing fast and the concern is that we may end up running Jura in the dark, which is not easy.

Another two boats come past us before Craighouse, and several more are rapidly bearing down on us. Fortunately dawn has just broken before we get running. The Paps are steep, rough and unforgiving, but I love them; and I now know a counter-intuitive route off each one which minimises the jagged scree that can almost bring you to a standstill.

Good visibility means we don’t need to get the map out and just make a beeline for the first pap from Jura Lodge. The views across to the west coast and to Islay are stunning. Robbie twists his ankle quite badly coming off the last section of the final Pap, but by the time we get back to the road he is recovered enough to manage sub 6-minute miles for the 3.5 mile finishing straight. We complete the course in 3 hrs 7 minutes, just 3 minutes shy of the record. At some point on the course we came past a team, as we are the 3rd boat to leave Craighouse.

Lamlash 0030, Sunday

This is it. The final run. If we can get round in under 3 hours 13 minutes the King of the Bens record will be ours. Jethro and I ran Arran in 2 hours 55 minutes in 2011 but that was in the daylight. The major disadvantage this time is that it will be pitch black the entire way round.

The descent off Goatfell will be very slow. We decide on a tactic to run hard on the climbs and flat sections and to use the descents, which will have to be slow, as recovery. Just as we leave Lamlash we see Don and Dan running back to their boat, looking sure of overall victory.

On the way up Goatfell the silhouette of the mountain glistens with the lights of head torches as runners make their way up and down the ridge. We make it to the summit in 1 hour 33 minutes and are filled with confidence.

All we have to do is get back to Lamlash in the same time and the record is secure. We tip toe off the summit, barely faster than the speed we ascended. A broken ankle at this stage would be irritating for a number of reasons (not least because the GB team trial of the European Mountain Running Championships is just 2 weeks away).

We make it safely back down to sea level and quicken the pace again, crossing the line in 2 hours 56 minutes 50 seconds. We have completed the running in 9 hours 17 minutes, taking 17 minutes off the 22 year old record.

Troon 0900, Sunday

Lack of wind prolongs the sail back to Troon. Although we left Arran in 4th place overall we drop back to 7th by the time we cross the finishing line: once again overtaken by fast “racing” boats. On the positive side, we arrive just in time for breakfast at Troon marina. That will be two “Megabreakfasts” please.

Robbie seems very relieved to be back on dry land.

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