Dumyat Hill Race

I ran this Hill Race last year and despite having been a tough 5 miles I had a great night. So far this year my West Highland Way Race preparation has followed the same line as that of last year and see no reason to change it. Although admittedly the three Ultras run so far (D33, Anglo Plate and Fling) haven't gone as well as I had wanted. I keep having to remind myself that its all about the bigger picture and that all the races before June are only really for training purposes. So I approached the Dumyat race as just a hill training session and run it to enjoy it. And 'shock horror', I ran it without a camera!!

I took some pictures before the race started and my thanks to Karen and Norry for taking some of me during the race. Also thanks to them and Jo and Beth, Karens daughter, for the cheers as I ran past. It was damp, windy and muddy this year. I started right at the back and just plugged away to work my way through the field to finish in 54.46 (181st of 254 finishers), but more importantly I enjoyed it because I hadn't put pressure on myself by setting a target.

I plan on running the Cateran 55 mile Ultramarathon using the same 'run to enjoy' approach and not get myself bogged down by setting split or overall targets. Plod along and finish without any injuries. This will be my 3rd year running this event up in Glenshee and is a small intimate event with around only 70 runners. This will be my 4th Ultra this year and my 24th overall. With just over a month to go before the WHWR this will be the last 'long' run and between now and the WHWR.