Inspirational Woman Inspires an Inspirational Man to Motivate

Ok, so I said yesterday's post was my last before the biggest race of my year and the one which inspired me to start this blog- the West Highland Way Race. But you'll probably not be surprised to see that I couldn't resist one last post.

I'm sat in Mrs Mac's sitting room, just had breakfast and feel a bit woolly headed after her and I larged it last night in the pubs of Strathaven. My mission was to dually carbo load and hydrate. Mr Arthur Guinness produces a substance that meets both these criteria and he provided a few pints of that stuff last night.

I spoke with my support crew who, as we speak are trucking north on the M6 with my fellow WHW Race runner, Martin Hooper the Paratrooper. I then decided to check the West Highland Way Race forum one last time and a posting by a great WHW Race veteran motivated me to a final blog post.

Twelve months ago I was shifting through the West Highland Way Race at a reasonable pace. At the half way point I was on course for a sub 24 hour time and was weighed by a very attractive woman at Auchtertyre Farm. She told me that my weight maintenance and hydration tactics we 'perfect' before sending me on my way (twelve months later I'm sitting in her house and look forward to being weighed again at the half way point).

Then I began to feel awful. Vomiting began at Bridge of Orchy and hallucinations began as I crossed Rannoch Moor. The seemingly ever-present pain in my left knee bit harder and by the time I reached the 75 mile(ish) point at Kingshouse I was in a very wretched state.

I tell myself that my withdrawal at Altnafeadh was justified by the diagnosis of Campylobacter a few days later. But at the back of my mind there's a voice that says:

'You could have carried on....you should have carried on.'

Watching the successful finishers win their prized crystal goblets made the fact that I'd failed to get my third even harder.

Failed. What an utterly depressing and soul shattering word.

Well, anything that is guaranteed comes with little worth and reaching the finish of a 95 mile race across the highlands is definitely not guaranteed. Failure is an ever-present option and this makes the race's completion something to be applauded. Motivation is hard to find when you're in the dark, both literally and metaphorically.

I read the great WHW Race veteran's post and I hope he doesn't mind me repeating it here 'cos it's motivated me.

Yesterday I went along to the talk in Edinburgh by inspirational yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur that I flagged up in an earlier thread.

For further talks around Britain see http://www.roundbritain.org/index.php/audience/

It was very interesting, and there were certainly quite a few parallels between her experiences and ultradistance running experiences. In the question & answer session at the end someone asked her if she had ever considered giving up.

"Never" was the response.

If you are feeling a bit downhearted and self-sorry and blistered at some point in the next few days, it may help to think about this, and to adopt the same mindset............. She was going solo unsupported non-stop around the world for about 70 days with a maximum of 3 hours sleep in a 24 hours period. "Giving up" might not have been a very practical option in the circumstances.

But if you are feeling wretched, and your support vehicle is right there, ready and willing to whisk you off to a hot bath and a beer or two, you may have to dig pretty deep to resist the temptation and continue on to the end to win your hard-earned finishers crystal goblet. Think about it........ You may have to dig pretty deep, or give up........

Murdo McEwan