08/03/25 – Race write up for the John Muir Way ultra. I hadn’t planned to run this, a week ago I didn’t even have a place but when I realised it was on the 8th of March and not the 9th, I knew I could do it and stuck an entry in. I’d run it a few years ago but really shouldn’t have. At the time I was injured, and the physio had warned me that if I ran it, I’d put myself back a month. By the halfway point I realised I should have listened to him and by the end I was in a lot of pain. I did put myself back and maybe should have listened to him, hmm? This time I was fit and decided I would use it as my long training run for my Cape Wrath race prep. I had tried that approach two weeks earlier at Glentress marathon but got caught in race head, so I was going to stick to the plan.
Registration was at Foxlake Adventures near Dunbar then a bus along to the start at Port Seton Promenade. Arrived at the prom and the sun was already shining and warm. I had been debating the clothing options and so glad I went for shorts and t-shirt. Massive group pic with all the runners then line up and go. The route primarily follows the well-established John Muir Way, and the instruction was keep the sea to our left and then shouldn’t go wrong. Race brief says it takes in Longniddry Bridge, Aberlady, Archerfield, Yellow Craig, North Berwick, Balgone, East Linton and Preston Mill.
The trail was a mix of trails, sand, woods, fields and pavement. We meandered through several historic towns and villages which were quaint. I ran that section with a lovely group of folks and the chat kept us going (maybe a little bit too quickly). As we entered North Berwick, we found our own paces and the I put my tunes on. The lifeboat station was the halfway point but now it got harder. The sand section zapped the energy and smallest child decided to phone me. I was trying to eat, run along the sand plus have a phone call. The life of a mother runner. The legs were tiring but I kept counting my park runs until there was only one left.
The sun was also quite sunny. I’m not quite ready for running in the heat yet. Then suddenly there was a sign saying 400m to go to the finish at Foxlake. The sprint was on. Crossed the line, stopped the watch and then realised it said 49.97km in 4hrs 42min. No chance I was running 23m to hit 50km. Nice wee surprise to see I’d come 1st FV40 and 8th female overall. Refuelled on a cuppa and pizza whilst chilling in the sun. Foxlake is a fantastic adventure activity centre. One day I’ll come back with the children to have a shot on everything. Fantastic way to celebrate International Women’s Day! Now on parenting duty to spend my Saturday evening at the swimming pool being a supportive parent…
Update – swimming went well and more importantly they had tea and scones.
