07/10/23 – Not quite the race it was supposed to be as the weather warnings rolled in and the rain came flooding everything. Unfortunately the EpicTrails crew were supposed to be taking part in the Dunoon Ultra but landslides cancelled that. I was signed up for the Glen Clova duathlon so fingers crossed.
Came up the night before and drove some of the bike route but driving it in the darkness didn’t really work as a reccie. Registration done and it turns out I had a wonderful box with my kit in it. Made sure I was well hydrated for the race with a pint (or two) of beer which is full of electrolytes. Night spent in the van listening to the rain hammering down and knowing what’s about to come.
Up at 7am and time to decide what I’m actually wearing as no matter what it will get wet. Really hoping the race was still going ahead as I was getting more updates from back home about how bad the weather was. Route discussions by the organisers and they decided race was definitely on but needed to be a change to the route. The hill section was a no go due to flooding of river crossing meaning no-one could safely get to the hill so the team came up with plan Z.
Bike was a 20km loop back to the hotel with surface water and wind. Run was a 5km up and down to Loch Brandy. If only we got a brandy at the top instead of wind and mud. The bike was wet but not too bad except for my feet going numb. Quick change in transition then up the hill. I enjoyed the downhill. All done in under 90min and came in 9th female. Wellies and Dryrobe back on then into Glen Clova Hotel for delicious soup before the long drive home. Thank you Tayside Mountain Rescue and the volunteers for a great event. I’ll need to go back and try the full thing….
