John O Groats to Lands End Relay

Shortly after my Coast -Coast run in May I received a phone call asking if I would be interested in joining some of Rotherham Harriers in their JOGLER2010 relay; a run they do every 5yrs for charities. Having just run W-E across the country the prospect of running N-S with in the next few weeks was too god an opportunity to miss. I have taken part in several relays ranging from the huge national Great British Fun Run in the 1980s where as part of an ultra team of 4 we ran 25mls each every day for a month to our own Derwent Valley Heritage club run. They are always good fun and so much easier and more enjoyable than a solo effort. The End- End run was one that I had never attempted though I had always wanted to have a go at the female record. The opportunity to do so had never arisen and I took on other challenges. This was too good a chance to miss. My only reservation was that as part of a team of 16 runners I might not get as much mileage as I would like but decided to bide my time and see how it all worked out.


We set off from Rotherham at 1pm on Friday 18th June and were split into 4 teams of 4 runners each to a car. After a civic send off we made our own ways up to the overnight stop at Dunfermline. The following day we continued up to John O'Groats. On the way we did some sight seeing and marvelled at the beautiful Scottish Highlands. From the Forth road bridge we were following the route we would run down and could take in the wonderful scenery. We also realised that as the designated Team B we would get the infamous climb up Berriedale hill; a horrendous climb going on for a mile. Each team of 4 was given a 30ml stint which they could split up as they liked. Most teams decided to run 4mls each and then 31/2mls each but as we travelled up I discovered that Carl and Pete were both carrying injuries and were concerned that they wouldn't be able to stick to that plan. Carl had been involved in a bad road accident only a few weeks before and though he could run quite quickly for about 1ml he couldn't continue much after that. Pete had a troublesome hamstring. Stan, the fittest 77yr old I have come across and myself were fit but slow.
John O' Groats was a major disappointment. The good weather had departed and the hills had given way to a barren windswept landscape. It was pouring with rain and freezing cold. A very bleak and uninviting spot. Team A got us underway at 7am the following morning and we had already decided that Carl should run his section in 2mls stages interspersed between the rest of us. It fell to me to run the infamous Berriedale Bank and following my efforts I was rewarded

It thus fell to me to take on all the major climbs during the rest of the run. Day 1 saw team B go from Lybster to Bora. Rain had given way to light showers but a strong headwind was with us for all the run. Our first base was the Scout hut at Inverness. The back up team had food waiting for us and we consumed soup, pasta and endless cups of tea. The nearby Bannatynes health club allowed us to shower but there was no time to indulge in their super facilities as we had to leave by 8pm and had only just arrived! We bedded down on the scout hut floor by 8.30pm but sleep was impossible. Rowdy teenagers outside and the other teams leaving or arriving made it too difficult so we were all up in good time for our next stage. We headed down to Aviemore and began our next run at about 6am. The scenery was fantastic, the weather OK and the running easy----straight along the A9. 8mls yesterday, 9mls today no probs. We finished our stint at Drumochter and then drove down to Perth for our next base at the scout hut there. This time we were able to make good use of the super facilities at Bannatynes where we found some of Team A asleep on the sunbeds. Today the sun had come out and it had been very pleasant. The hard floor of the scout huts was not conducive to a good sleep. our next stage was from Edinburgh city centre to Tranquair. This was our first taste of running through the night and was it dark. How I wished I taken a torch as out in the country with no lights it was pitch black. Another 9mls on this stage. The night was quite warm and we were able to run comfortably in vest and shorts. We then had a stunning drive through the Scottish borders to our next base at Carlisle. Once I realised that our next stop was to be at Carlisle I contacted a running friend who lived there to see if she could put up with 4 very tired and sweaty bodies. As we arrived there at 5am it wouldn't have suited many but friend Kathy is a post lady and was already up when we arrived. She made us tea and toast and then left us to shower and sleep. Luxury a proper bed at last. We managed about 4hrs sleep before next door's hound rudely woke us and we left for the scout hut where our back up crew fed us and we could get a massage. This was a scout hut par excellence and we had hot water, bunk beds and even a shower. Our next departure was at 2.30pm and by now it was very hot. We took over just north of Shap and went to Carnforth. The very hot day and injuries to Carl and Pete were taking there toll so we cut down the mileages for them and I ran 11mls in 3 stages. Warrington was our next stop.


The scout hut at Warrington had several small store rooms and we were able to bed down with racks and boxes of theatrical costumes. Stan, our pro. actor was in heaven and amused us all by dressing up as a pierrot clown. By 1 am we were all in our sleeping bags and did manage to sleep despite the synchronised snoring going on at the far side of the room. Up at 7am for brekky and then on our way to our hand over on the very busy Whitchurch bypass. Not a pleasant stage running over roundabouts and down the dual carriageways to our finish on the A49. Another 9mls today in 3 runs for me. Pete's home at Church Stretton was only a few minutes from our finish so we were able to find hospitality there with a huge lasange waiting for us. The lads watched the second half of the England match with Slovenia but I was much more interested in the longest match ever at Wimbledon. in the end I had to leave it and go to bed. 5hrs sleep in a proper bed---heaven. We left at 1am for the long drive to the Bristol suspension bridge. Pete took the first stage as the route was very difficult to follow and he was familiar with the area. We lost him for a while and he ended up running 6mls which was not good for his troublesome hamstring. Another very not day but we were finished for 10.30am at Burham on sea. The scout hut at Exeter was our next destination. Here we pushed 8 chairs together to make some sort of comfortable sleeping arrangement. By 8pm we were on our way again to make our final changeover. There was a beautiful sunset as we sped along to take over on the A30 and run to Tavistock. This gave us the section across Bodmin Moor. Occasional swirls of fog led to a very atmospheric feel not helped by Stan's howling in imitation of the infamous Hound. Pete was barely able to run by now so I was able to get as much running as I wanted by taking on his sessions. Fortunately the traffic was light otherwise this would have been a rather tricky section.
Our job was done now as we handed over to Team C for the last time. We drove down to Penzance for our last Scout hut. This was the most basic of all and not surprisingly not conducive to a good sleep. Carl and I were up for 6am and with nothing better to do ran down to the sea to dip our feet in the customary fashion. Then we packed up for the last time and drove to Lands End to welcome in Team D. The whole route took us 5days and 3hrs. As JoGroats was disappointing so too was Lands End. Now owned by Americans it is very commercialised. We fled to Penzance where we lazed on the beach and swam in the sea; thoroughly enjoying some relaxation at last.