Craggy Island Triathlon The Adventure Show

Madness. What else would you do at ten o'clock on a Sunday morning?

'Hello, and a very warm welcome to 'Hello, and a very warm welcome to

the Adventure Show.' This month, we're near Oban for the Craggy

Island Triathlon. It takes place on the island of Kerrera, over there.

I'll be getting a ferry, not so our competitors, who'll have to swim

the first part of this gruelling race and I can tell you, the water

is pretty cold. 'Terrified.' 'Really?' Yes. What's worrying you?

It's my first proper triathlon, it's different, it's off-road, it's

the third time I've been in open water. So yeah, you can see why I'm

terrified. But that swim is just the start. From there, it gets

tougher as the racers complete a challenging mountain bike circuit

of the southern half of the island before tackling a wild and boggy

run through the centre of it. The three parts of this race are taxing

in themselves, but there's a sting in the tail of all triathlons and

that's how quick a turnaround competitors can make between each

discipline. The really crucial part of the race where you can make up

time or really lose time is in the transition zone. Here, the first

transition is from swimming to mountain biking, there strip off

the wetsuit, get into your biking shoes, get the bike ready and get

out as fast as possible. Then they've got a 15 kilometre ride and

come back into transition where you're going to get off the bike

and into your running gear. Preparation is key to success here,

with the added complication that everyone must bring their kit over

to the island before heading back to the mainland for the start of

the race. So if you've left anything on the wrong side of the

water you'll have to manage without. I've left my running shoes in the

car, so that's the first thing I'm trying to sort out. Hello. You do

know that the wet suits are compulsory in this race? No, I've

decided I don't need it any more. Good, that's very tough.

definitely didn't put it on backwards. And the good thing is

that no-one noticed, it's not going to be on the telly(!) It's the very

first time a triathlon's been held on this tiny island.

This is technically a sprint race, it may be a shorter course, but

there are many challenges in store for the competitors. I'm unaware of

another race in the world that swims from the mainland to an

island. It doesn't happen anywhere else and that's caught people's

imaginations. Fabulous. Any chance of a pull? I'm hearing from a few

people, that the bike circuit is pretty technical. It's got its

moments. There's a couple of little descents on the far side of the

island that are steep, scrabilly, rocky and loose, and the unwary may

well come a cropper there. And there's also a section that takes

you down round the Gylen Castle itself. It's a wee bit kind of

rollercoasterly. Nice, grassy and smooth, but it's up and down,

twisty, turny, and yes, there's some technical stuff in there.

the run itself, it's a 4K run, but... Yes, it's got a slight twist

though. You start at sea-level, go to the highest point and you come

all the way back down again and finish at Gylen Castle. And there

aren't really any tracks, it's proper rough, open, tussocky,

heathery, brackeny hillside. It's going to be great.

Also in this month's Adventure Show, we'll be discovering more about the

island of Kerrera and its history. We'll find out why one woman

believes the best way to travel is by open canoe, and we'll be joining

Cameron McNeish as he heads into the Scottish hills. It's on the

mountain tops that we are in wild Scotland. It's on the mountain tops

that we see so much of the wildlife that we talk about. Even today we

have been watching the antics of a couple of ravens who are really

playing in this very, very strong gusty wind.

But first, to the Kerrera Triathlon. It's just after nine o'clock in the

morning, I'm at the start and there really is a sense of nervous

excitement. There are slippery rocks, there is mud, there are

puddles. Right? 'Over 200 people entered this brand new race.

'Conditions today are wonderful. 'There are no waves out there,' the

swim shouldn't be too bad, but the race for every competitor will be

extremely tough. I'm just trying to keep calm. Thinking about the swim

stroke and not trying to take in too much of the sea water, which

will be the key for today. It's freezing water, it hits your face,

you can't breathe properly and then you're off and you're trying to

swim fast and you can't breathe, which makes it hard work. I've been

in a reservoir once and that's it. Really? Yeah. And it was cold and

it was not the best experience in the world, but yeah, I'll give it a

go. You know what? I'm looking forward to it, because usually when

I sight open water I seem to zigzag across, so I'm hoping that because

it's a straight line it should be easier, but I'm also wondering

about the currents. When you're standing at the start of the race,

what are you thinking about? thinking, "This is ridiculous."

It's Sunday morning and I'm in the water. But then I manage to flip my

psychology and I think, "It's fine, this is amazing," and usually I

look up and I look around and I'm like "I love off-road, this is why

I do it". Here we go. The start of the Kerrera Triathlon 2011, 550

metre swim. On the ferry slip at Gallanach, across the sound of

Kerrera onto the island itself. Beautiful conditions today. There

were concerns that the Sound of Kerrera could get pretty choppy.

But the sun is out, slight breeze, perfect conditions for this first

ever Kerrera Triathlon. After the swim, they head to 15 kilometres

off-road on mountain bikes, on Land Rover and quad tracks and paths,

pretty technical section it is as well. And then they finish off with

a four kilometre off-road run up the hill on Kerrera, right up to

the trig point, over 600 feet of climbing and then down towards the

castle and the end of the race. But that's a long, long way away. At

the moment, it's all about the swim. The start is always an absolute

melee, you've got people with arms around your neck, you know, and the

water's going in your mouth. It's really hard fighting for your own

little bit of space and after that, it's about getting into a rhythm

and having a little peek up every now and then to make sure you're

not going off course. I've only swam in lakes before and it's nice

and still usually. This will be totally different, salt water as

well, and I'm just not really sure what to expect. It's going to be a

challenge, yeah. The swim in particular is one of those things

that people find hard. It's probably the barrier to entry to

triathlon, and here that's no exception. There's a certain amount

of trepidation of going across the sea. Yes, it's lumpy and bumpy out

there, for sure. Organisers had to make sure, as this is a fairly busy

channel, that the ferry wasn't running this morning, that they

were on slack waters so that there's no tide running through the

channel at this point. Already the field really spread out, and just

as I speak, the wind's started to blow down the channel here, in the

Sound of Kerrera and that will start to push some of the

competitors away down towards Oban, but a few already are going nowhere.

Yes, I'm a really poor swimmer but you tend to find in off-road

triathlons that it's not people that are good swimmers that do it,

it's people that are mountain bikers or hill runners and they get

the swim out the way. Actually getting on to the island, the first

550 metres I think will be the hardest one, the rest of the

kilometres will take care of themselves. I have had to learn to

swim for this, virtually. I mean, I can swim breaststroke till...you

know, forever, but I've had to learn front crawl for this. Even

though it's slack water, there's still a slight current running so

you'll see the swimmers heading up into the left and then drifting

back down onto the slipway. Some of these competitors are really

serious, some of the top-end guys and girls, and some of them are

here for their first ever triathlon, just testing it out to see how they

get on. But for every single person here it's a serious, serious

challenge. This swim is a tough one. So for the faster racers, way, way

out in front, very, very strong indeed, probably about 30 yards

ahead of the rest of the pack. Towards the end, you start to try

and get some blood into your legs, because when you get out of the

water, you're a bit wobbly and things. If you can start kicking

for the last few minutes, then it helps to kind of stabilise you when

you get out. At the moment in transition, everything is peaceful

and quiet. The swimmers are in the water just now and it's only when

their feet will hit the concrete of the jetty will they start thinking

about how they're going to make their transition, where their bike

is, how quickly they're going to do it and then it's straight out onto

the hill. It's over eight minutes into the

race and the fastest competitors are already close to Kerrera.

That's an astonishing achievement. Out in the lead is former Scottish

national and international swimmer, Steven McKeown from Glenrothes.

He's completed this part of the race in just nine minutes 48

seconds, well ahead of his nearest rival. But there's a group of five

chasing him and currently in second place is one of Britain's top

female triathletes, Kerry McPhee. Well, that was a pretty impressive

swim. Did that go to plan? Yes. I usually struggle with the swim so I

was really pleased with that, really pleased. Are you warm? Just

try to get the muscles working. fingers are a bit cold but it won't

take long to warm up hopefully. Good luck. Thank you.

'A slick transition for Kerry McPhee as she heads onto her bike.

'She's now neck and neck with the first person out of the water,

'Steven McKeown. 'Kerry's currently ranked second in the UK 'so she's

an expert in this crucial discipline in triathlon - 'the

transition. 'It's a real art 'and vital seconds can be won or lost

here.' The cold in the water, you've got to get out of your

wetsuit, it's quite awkward, and then immediately you've got to

change the way your legs work, that's a very difficult thing to do.

It is quite difficult to get going sometimes. The bike course starts

with quite a big climb actually. I have this underneath my wetsuit so

I'll be quite cold coming out of the swim. But it's not a problem on

this bike course, because I'm hoping to be quite warm after five

minutes. Your legs have just come off a swim, they may be cramped,

you've tried to get out of a wetsuit, you need to make sure you

don't crank up a hard gear and make it look as if you're tough, because

you're not hardcore, you'll just collapse, you'll probably rack your

gears as well. You don't have very good balance once you come out of

the water, so if you've got nothing to hold onto when you're trying to

pull the wetsuit off, you can sort of topple over, which doesn't look

very professional. Just having your kit laid out really well organised,

so you get your helmet on, your shoes on and everything, and out of

transition as quickly as possible. I passed so many people in

transition trying to put socks on wet feet, and you just don't bother,

I don't think it's worth it. Back on the jetty, most of the

competitors have taken less than 12 minutes for the swim which is

pretty impressive. They're now starting up the first hill of the

off-road bike section. But for quite a few swimmers there's still

a long, long way to go. We're taking a short break from the

action here on Kerrera. Right now, we're leaving the water to join

Cameron McNeish on terra firma as I've just left the shores of Loch

Earn in Stirlingshire and I'm climbing up through the historic

lands of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich towards two very popular Munros,

I always think that Glen Vorlich is a magical kind of place especially

on a lovely autumn morning like this one, and the house that I

passed at the foot of the Glen, Ardvorlich House, has a couple of

stones in it, or a least used to, I don't know whether they're still

there, and they had magical qualities. One of them, the Clach

Dearg, you used to be able to dip it in a bucket of water, twiddle it

around three times, sun-wise, and the water took on healing qualities

in the diseases and infections in cattle. The other stone that's in

the house, the Glenbuckie stone, was similar. If the woman of the

house twiddled the glenbuckie stone around three times sunwise then

anybody who drunk that water would have their wishes fulfilled. Nice

stories, whether they're true or not I have no idea, but certainly

my wish today is that this weather stays the same all day long. The

forecast is for rain and strong winds but I'm kind of wishing that

the sun just stays like it is at The estate here is very keen for

walkers to stick to the footpaths to avoid damaging the remnants of

heather here in Glen Vorlich, and at this time of the year, when the

heather becomes this beautiful purple, you can understand why this

lovely plant has become synonymous with the Scottish Highlands. But

there's another wee plant that you might find in between the heather,

this little yellow plant called tormentil, and it's said, in days

gone by, this was a cure for nervous diarrhoea. Now, it wouldn't

be any great problem going up Ben Vorlich, but anybody who doesn't

like steep ground might want to take a few mouthfuls of this before

That's the summit ridge just ahead In many ways this is my favourite

time of the year, it's certainly a toss-up between autumn and spring.

In spring-time I know I've got the whole of the summer to look forward

to. In autumn I know I've got the winter to look forward to. But we

generally get better periods of good weather in autumn and there's

something kind of special about the hills when they take on this sort

of brown ochre-coloured hue that you don't get at other times of the

year, plus this anticipation that winter is just around the corner.

It's almost time to start looking out the cold gear, looking out the

ice axes and crampons for what we I think we're picking up the tail

end of the hurricane that's swept the east coast of America. It

certainly feels hurricane force Over in the Alps, there's a couple

of mountains called Pollux and Castor, they're the celestial twins

of the Bernese Oberland and here in Scotland, there are quite a number

of Munros that we kind of twin together. We think of the likes of

Ben More and Stob Binnein, or these two that we're on here today, Ben

Vorlich and Stuc a'Chroin. But these two couldn't be more

different, Ben Vorlich has a nice footpath running away up to the

summit and on Stuc a'Chroin there's no real paths to speak off, it's

rugged, it's steep, it involves a bit of scrambling, so it's

Wow! Ben Vorlich, it means "The hill of the sea bay" and I assume

that's all the bays down in Loch Earn. And it's not to be confused

with the other Ben Vorlich in the Arrochar alps. It's about a good

eagle's flight over in that direction to the west. Well, that's

the easy one done. The real difficulty in this wind will be

scrambling up Stuc a'Chroin across One of the real beauties of hill

walking in Scotland, when you're on the top there's always this great

sense of wildness and I think that's maybe what attracts a great

number of us to the hills, because once you're above the sort of

forestry line then you are in a land that's not dictated to by

agriculture. There's not paths and tracks all over the place, you kind

of really are in the wildness of Scotland, particularly when you go

above 2,000 feet. It's on the mountain tops that we are in wild

Scotland. I think another reason why I enjoy this particular part of

Scotland is it's the land of my ancestors. The McNeishes were a set

of the clan MacGregor and this is all clan MacGregor territory. Rob

Roy MacGregor himself was buried not very far from here at

Balquhidder in the churchyard there, and my own clan McNeish lived just

at the far end of Loch Earn and it's said that they had a pretty

fierce battle with the traditional enemies, the MacNabs, and the

McNeishes were pretty well annihilated and the story goes that

only one boy survived that fight. So there's a few McNeishes left

today, not many of us, but there's a few and we probably all come from

that one lad who survived that fight on Neishes' Isle at the far

Well, that wasn't too bad, was it? When you look across here from Ben

Vorlich at this black face of Stuc a'Chroin it looks almost impossible

but when you get close to it, when you get beneath that face, it kind

of rears back and all you have to do is follow the zigzag path up

through the crags and as scrambling routes go it's fairly benign. But

we're not at the summit yet, it's 200 or 300 metres that way. It's a

disappointingly flat summit for such a nice wee scrambly route, but

here we are, Stuc a'Chroin and I guess I've been quite lucky to have

had two of my three wishes granted. The wind has decreased quite a bit

and I didn't need the tormentil on the scrambly bit. But granted,

wishes are not important on a day like this because beyond the casts

of Stirling I've got the whole of the lowlands in front of me, and

around the side of it the whole of the Trossachs are reared before me,

and then to the north, all the hills of Breadalbane. I'll tell you,

it doesn't get much better than Welcome back to Kerrera. Before we

head to the Craggy Island Triathlon we're going to find out a bit more

about this small island and its history and I'll be with Duncan

MacEachen who was born and brought up on the island. And I'll be

catching up with Duncan's partner, Susan, who runs the local tea shop

here. I'm getting a reputation for someone that eats a lot of cake.

And I'm visiting the spectacular and rather tragic Gylen Castle, a

16th century monument to bad strategic planning. The island is

around five square miles in size and is home to around 40 people.

Now, it's just a short hop and skip from the mainland but unless you

want to plunge into the water like our hardy triathletes, you have to

get here by boat. It's a vital lifeline service in the full

context of the phrase. Royal Mail, Hydro Electric, British Telecom,

farmers' hay, fuel, coal, sheep, everything goes across in the Gylen

Lady and it runs seven days a week all year long. Christmas day and

New Year's day? The two days that I do get off are Christmas Day and

New Years Day. But I have been known to do odd trips on those days

as well. It's a commercial ferry and there's been a lot of talk

about subsidies and there's a big national review to introduce road

equivalent tariff and we're watching with interest to see how

that will impact on Kerrera. about getting around the island, is

it easy or is it challenging as well? It's very challenging and the

roads on the island are very basic, they're just farm tracks and

they're very narrow, they overgrow with vegetation in the summer time,

there's no road linking the north and the south, so you actually have

two communities within the island of Kerrera, the north end and the

south end, and it makes for very interesting practicalities.

Tell me a wee bit about your history with the island. Born and

brought up on the island and I went to the local primary school when it

was still open. You have total freedom to roam around and you're

not worried about buses or lorries or traffic or any of the other

modern trappings, you're just left to roam naturally and freely and

roam in and out of people's houses and get fed wherever you turn up

and you feel very relaxed and laid back, as it should be. Today, there

are several young families on Kerrera, including Jill, her

husband Tom and their son, Oliver. Like Duncan, Jill was born and

brought up on the island. I went to primary school on the island. There

were seven of us, seven kids in my primary school. It was the church

building down the road. We had one big classroom, all of us at

different tables in there according to what year we were in. One

teacher. It was magic! But there's not enough kids on the island at

the moment. There's four of them of preschool age, not enough to set up

a school. So you've been investigating home-schooling.

What's happening with that? I can home school him myself, which I'm a

little bit reluctant to do because I don't want him to be home-

schooled on his own. But if we set up a school that has Olli and James

and Alexander, the twins at the top, then I think we run into problems

with insurance. And what would be the alternative if that doesn't

work? The way it's worked at the north end, their parents would put

them in a boat to take them across, a taxi would pick them up from the

other side and take them into school, and then if the weather

looked like it was coming in then the parents, Karen and David would

phone up the taxi company and the school and say "could you go and

collect the kids and put them on the boat to come back"? Because I

think originally they were told, you know, "well, if the child can't

get back then it's all right, we can put them up in a hostel" and

Karen was going "they'll be five" you know "that's not right". Well,

it will certainly be an interesting school life really, it's not a walk

down the corner to go to school. have a kind of romantic idea of him

paddling in, him and paddling in together to school, kind of getting

a couple of kayaks and off we go. Today Kerrera is a vibrant place

both to visit and live, but the island has had a turbulent past.

The castle was built here by the chief of the clan McDougall in 1587,

basically to control access from Mull to the mainland, to control

the cattle trading and some of the ports. But sixty-five years later

something dramatic and tragic happened. So the McDougall's

obviously thought this was a very strong and strategic and safe place

to hide up, and this fantastic oriel window above me has two huge

holes in it where the defenders would literally drop rocks and

obstacles and boiling water or oil or whatever they had, on people

trying to get through the main door. However it didn't work out that way.

In 1647 a covenant or a group of troops attacked and laid siege to

the McDougall garrison in the castle, all seemed to go well and

the McDougall's held out for quite some time, so the story goes, until

they ran out of water. The well that was in the castle was not

sufficient to sustain the troops and eventually they had to

surrender, they were all massacred, bar one McDougall son. So the

castle was then ransacked and the clan McDougall lost their most

precious possession, the brooch of Lorn, which as legend has it was

attached to Robert the Bruce's cloak. Since the sacking the castle

has remained roofless and uninhabited. While Duncan's looking

to the past I'm looking to the future. Today there's a much warmer

welcome for visitors. I'm taking a break at Kerrera's only cafe. The

tea garden here is now run by Susan Marshall, much to her own surprise.

I just came up for the summer to work here and then at the end of

the season the people that were running it were leaving and so I

took over, and that's been me ever since. Did you have any experience

at all of running a tea room or a cafe? No. On the first day Joy said

"do you want to rustle up a soup" and I said "ooh" and that was when

it dawned on me that actually I had to do all the cooking and I had no

idea of how to cook for large quantities. What about producing

food on the island, is that possible? Well, we do try to grow

some things in the vegetable garden but as the summer gets busier and

busier that then becomes quite difficult keeping on top of all

that. We do have salads and chives and potatoes and a few things that

we grow, and make everything from scratch. I bake all the cakes and

the scones and make my own breads by hand, no bread machines, just

the traditional way. So they're getting not a lot of choice but

very, hopefully good quality foods. What is it about Kerrera that's

kept you here? It's just such a special place. It's a beautiful,

beautiful island and it's quite unique because you're not a million

miles away from the mainland but that wee ferry ride and you feel

lovely and remote and all this Welcome back to the Craggy Island

Triathlon, and after completing the first of three disciplines, already

there are some pretty tired bodies out there. It's cold, very cold,

but I'll be fine once I get myself. I need my glasses. I can't see

without my glasses on. Out on the bike Kerry McPhee who finished

second in the swim is now leading the race. She stole the lead from

Steven McKeown during the transition and is now powering up

the first hill. I'm really pushing the climb and then as soon as I get

to the top of the climb I think "don't stop pushing, keep going". I

find a lot of people maybe ease up on the climbs. I don't know if

that's just me using my psychology to get ahead, and then people might

ease off on the down hill because it feels like they're going fast.

So that's the kind of thing I tell myself, I just say "go for it" I

relax my elbows and just go for it and enjoy it. A wee way behind in

second place is veteran racer Dai Gittins. Dai finished in the top

ten in the World Championships earlier this year. The first place

swimmer Steven McKeown has already fallen behind and both he and Dai

are being chased hard by adventure racer and iron man athlete Sean

McFarlane, whose tactics for the bike section are different from

most other competitors. I picked a cycle-cross bike for the bike

course and I think I've seen actually one other cycle-cross bike,

and I biked the course yesterday and I'm not sure that's the right

choice. The difference of course being that a cycle-cross bike has

got smaller tyres. It's got thinner tyres. It's basically just a racer

with drop handle bars but with slightly thicker tyres than a racer

obviously. But I'm not sure it's the right bike. But we'll see,

we'll see, we'll see. Well, they're back, the rest of the pack are

heading up the first hill and they're still recovering from the

swim. The swim was pretty cold. It's getting better now the swim

done. Was it hard? I just don't know how to swim, that's that

problem. Really hard, really cold. But yes, it was good. So I'm just

hoping it get's better. How are you doing? Not well. Hard work so far.

Brutal. Feeling OK. Biking is my best bit. It's my first one so I've

got no idea how I'm going to do. Taking a traditional triathlon and

making it an off-road event is a recent idea. It's a pretty brutal

way to spend your weekend. So, what's the attraction? Because I

get really muddy and it's really fun. It's a good all over, all

rounder fitness. You don't have to be fantastic at anything. And you

particularly like off-road ones I've noticed. Yes. Why's that?

more interesting, otherwise you just get tarmac boredom. There's

not much tarmac out here is there? If you find any can you tell me?

love the fact that it's you know, a bit diverse. I love the fact that

the people who take part in triathlon, particularly the off-

road variety of triathlon, are a wee bit kind of hardy and they

don't require their handholding. They just get on with it.

they're as hard as nails. Most of them are in fact as hard as nails

and slightly nutty. I think it's just the challenge. It's all

different aspects, you're cycling, you're running, you're swimming. So

the training's never boring and it's, I mean it's in great settings

and you can't ask for much more on a day like this. Because the

terrain's different, different people are better at hills,

different people are better at rough ground, and actually that's

quite enjoyable because you see different people in the event that

you wouldn't normally see who would disappear off on like a road

triathlon because they're much better roadrunners. But maybe once

the terrain's a bit rougher they come back towards you. Is it

important then to not panic if people are getting away in front of

you because you know that your Well, you just enjoy it and you

know that if you go out far too hard on the

bike that you're going to really,$$NEWLINE really struggle on

the run and not enjoy the run. Because I'm a slightly weaker

swimmer, usually when I get out there's like hundreds of cyclists

ahead of me and so it's really good fun then, you can just pick them

off, just hammer a line along the right

hand side or something and just pick off as many cyclists as

possible. It's actually my target, I see

somebody up ahead and then try and catch them up.

Some of it gets technical. Some of it is steep and some of the steep

hills have very loose gravel and chucking stones and so on which

easily could throw you off the bike. So it's not going to be

straightforward, it is a mountain bike and it's accurately described

as a mountain bike. Out on the course and many of the

athletes are right at their limit. This is one of the hardest bits and

John Anderson has had a serious tumble.

Are you all right mate? Medic! In events like this everyone must

be prepared to help out and our camera man is no exception.

Are you all right mate? Can you get a medic down there?

First indications suggest that John has suffered nothing worse than bad

bruising. Just sit down. It's OK. Slow down.

But he's taken to Oban hospital for a thorough check-up.

He'll certainly remember his first Craggy Island Triathlon.

Meanwhile the other racers continue onto the castle at the southern tip

of the island. If I could see and breathe it would

help. Iron man is definitely easier. I think I need to do a bit of

practicing on off-road. It's really, really quite difficult

and a bit scary at times, I have to say.

I've got to get back on this otherwise everyone's going to be

gone home by the time I get, there'll be no tea and cakes left.

Meanwhile at the head of the race the lead has changed.

Alex Johnson from Oban is now out in front in spite of a poor start

to the race. Horrific swim.

That's my first open-water swim ever and it was just really quite

brutal. I ended up doing breaststroke for

the majority of it so I think I got out of the water in about 100th or

something. Really? So I had quite a lot to do

on the bike. I got through transition with a

couple of team mates, so we just absolutely went for it on the bike.

Alex's team mate, Chris Bell, is right behind him.

This is only Chris's second triathlon but he is really strong

on the bike. I spent the last two summers as a mountain bike guide in

the French Alps, but I'm not used to short courses like this. In the

instruction manual for the race they said just go off as fast as

you possibly can on the bike and wait untill you taste blood. So I

think that's the fun. So back to the leading pack, Kerry

McPhee has dropped down a few places but she's still way ahead of

her nearest female rival and putting most of the men to shame.

It's tough but it's good tough. you know if you're going up a climb

that there's going to have to be a and it really keeps you going and

it pushes you and makes you dig in and that's the part that I love

about it and I love that it's in the countryside and it's wide open

and lots of unknown elements, especially when you're doing a race

organised by Paul McGreal. How did you get into this in the

first place? I only started doing triathlon about maybe a couple of

years ago and my first off-road was roughly about this time last year,

it was the Durty Triathlon and it went quite well and since then I've

kind of progressed. It's just brilliant. I just love it, and

we're in the perfect location. I mean Scotland and off-road are

the perfect marriage, aren't they? Especially on a morning like today.

For the men, Sean McFarlane is now sitting in fifth place. Right

behind him is Mick Nally from Dunfermline, and then it's local

man Steven McKinnis. This is only Steven's third triathlon and like

Sean McFarlane he's opted for a cycle-cross bike. I'm kind of new

to this sport really. I mean I'm a hell runner mountain biker, but

swimming, I'm not a swimmer. I think I was out of the water

probably about 80th position or something, which is pretty terrible.

But I managed to get back in on the bike so I was pleased with that.

The competitors are now scattered throughout the course and the

leaders are approaching the next transition, a leap out of the

saddle to swap bikes for running shoes. But there's a surprise for

the organisers with the leaders being faster than expected. Alex

Johnson and Chris Bell are the first in. We're much, much quicker

than expected. We have the first two cyclists in, both of them from

Nevis Cycles in Fort William.$$NEWLINE So a quick

transition into the running. That was a pretty good cycle? Yes, it

was all good. The lycra felt good too. Right, he's just in. Good luck.

Nearly a minute behind the winning pair is John Woodrow. He came in

third in the Durty Triathlon earlier this year, so is someone to

look out for. Hard on his heels is Steven McKinnis and there's only

about 20 seconds between these two. Right. Do you think the choice of

cycle-cross bike was the wise thing today? Yes, perfect, perfect. It

was a bit of a dodgy decision before then but it turned out to be

perfect. Transition is both pressured and confusing. While

Steven nearly heads off the wrong way, Sean McFarlane has made a

super quick change and is powering out ahead of him. The legs are a

little bit sore but you tend to find after about 500 metres that

your legs calm down. Initially when you get off of the bike your legs

are saying "no more" but then through experience you know that

that pain will go away hopefully, and it usually does so we'll see.

But I'm looking behind you and seeing the hill that we go up and

so I'm not too sure today. Still having an incredible race, Kerry

McPhee enters transition in 6th place overall. So, an impressive

cycle, all good? Yes, so far so good. Fingers crossed. It won't be

too much of the run. Legs working? Hopefully. Good luck. Thank you.

Usually towards the end of the bike I'll maybe get into a bit of a

lower gear and get my legs spinning a little bit quicker, just to get

the blood flowing through my legs and get that kind of running motion,

and then as soon as I jump off the bike it's just go for it, just push

hard. I mean you've got a hill your legs are going to hurt anyway

aren't they? So just do it, just go for it. We'll be rejoining the

action here on Kerrera shortly. Now we're back to the mainland to join

an expert paddler who says there's no better way to travel through the

Scottish landscape. Paddling allows you to be part of

the landscape I think more than working through it or biking

through it, because you're taking your time more often, you're often

getting the chance just to explore around little corners that you

wouldn't necessarily get to by walking. An instructor at her

national outdoor centre, Glemore Lodge, Nancy Chambers is passionate

about canoeing and the journeys it leads her on.

Her expeditions have taken her to Norway, Canada and across the

length and breadth of Scotland. Today with water levels looking

good she's heading out on a trip down the River Spey. So I've got my

paddles, I've got a throw bag and I've got my helmet. So what I'm

putting on just now is some swim lines on the back of the boat, my

rescue bag, my repair kit just in case and buoyancy aid. We'll have a

few other bits and pieces as well. So right now we've just started on

the River Spey and we're doing a little section from Ballindalloch

down to Knockando, a beautiful section of the river, a nice grade

one, grade two, and today the water level is a fantastic level. It

should be big and bouncy but not too scary, so it should be great.

I'm looking forward to it. For me the open water is definitely a

journey, love it. I love being able to get away, go for a couple of

days, even if it's just half a day, and just getting out in the boat

and going from A to B, it's all about the journey. Steering the

boat is nice and easy. As I'm coming along what I'm doing is I'll

put my power in and then I'll twist my blade and then I can manoeuvre

the boat around or back again with the single blade.

If I'm moving really quickly I can just use the blade as a rudder here,

and that's the general steering. I'm just going to cross the river a

wee bit here, just so we get onto the best line for going down the

rapid. I love being in the wilderness. I absolutely love it.

There's no feeling like it. But being in the wilderness we're

making every decision and every decision has to count, it brings a

new edge to it and it's a fantastic feeling at the end of the day to

get down a section of river or across a section of loch where

you've made all these decisions and you've come out of it perfectly and

you're sitting there around the camp fire at night having a cup of

tea, spin the yarn, chatting about what you've got on today and what

wildlife you've seen, where you've been and just having a good time

with some of your mates as well. It's great. We've got the first

little rapids just coming up and we're just going to go down the

centre of it and there's just a couple of little waves. You're

standing up in your boat seeing what's going on, as you're going

down every decision has to count, it brings a new edge to it and it's

a fantastic feeling of, "girl My parents were really into the

outdoors and they sent me on a kayaking course, I think, when I

was only about twelve or thirteen, and then I went to work at a

sailing school when I was about 18 and they did a bit of sea kayaking

there and that really got me into it, and I had a history of sea

kayaking, canoeing, river kayaking, since then. This little section

here, we've got to an area called Craigellachie and there's an old

railway bridge just behind us or just in front of us, and there's a

real nice little camping spot for the Speyside Way folks up there and

it's great for camping if you're going to be doing a descent as well.

When you're travelling on the river, the river has some input into the

pace that you're going at as well. So, sometimes you'll be going at

15k an hour because the river's taking you at that speed, sometimes

you'll be going at less than 2k an hour because you're battling into a

head wind or you're trying to move up river. There's a big white water

section and there's always butterflies, there's always that

anticipation of what's going on and what's going to happen. Then you

get a bit of a view of the river and you're starting to think about

the line that you're taking, whether you want to take the

"yeeha" line or whether you want to take the dry line. The "yeeha" line

is definitely the wettest line, best fun, bounciest line possible,

and they're brilliant fun, you can't beat it sometimes.

But there are other times when you want to stay dry, as well. I love

that rapid, it's such a nice rapid. The river height might be exactly

the same, the boulders might be exactly the same, but each time,

you'll take a slightly different line down it or you'll be with

different people or the weather is different. It just makes it a

different experience. It's not always the paddling, it's being out

in the environment and the people that you're with, I think, that

make it. Sharing her passion for canoeing is Nancy Chambers from

Scotland's National Outdoor Centre at Glenmore Lodge. But if you're

keen to record your exploits in the outdoors, then we may be able to

Kendal Mountain Festival is one of the biggest in the world, and

during the festival, there's an Adventure Film Academy for aspiring

camera people, editors, producers and directors. This year, for the

first time, it's being run in association with The Adventure Show

and BBC Sports Scotland. Not only does it offer the chance to learn

from leading industry professionals, but students make their own short

films, and we hope to showcase some of those later in the series.

signed up for the Adventure Film Academy because I'd been thinking

about doing a film making course for a while, so when I saw the

adventure one, that was perfect because I'm quite outdoorsy, and I

think it's one of the best courses I've ever been on, it's changed my

whole life. From that, I started working as an intern on the

Adventure Show, so I've been involved in all kinds of events and

trips and had real hands-on experience in adventure film making.

It takes people who are from all walks of life but have an interest

in adventure sports which can be climbing, it can be kayaking, it

can be mountain biking, and it really teaches them the absolute

basics of camera work and editing, so that they can go out and record

Today's course is a swim down at the pool, just down there. It's a

400 metre swim, and there's a cycle route which goes around

Ingleborough, which is 23 miles, I believe, which is quite a tough

ride. Then there's a run up Ingleborough which is seven miles

and a 2,000 foot climb. From the first day, we were out with the

cameras, and although I really wanted to do filming, I was quite

nervous about the first time I actually did some. We were out with

some mountain bikers and they really threw you in at the deep end

with the practical work. We have a strong belief that the best way

that people learn skills is by doing, and for that reason, we

really try to avoid too much talking. We really like to get

people engaged very early on, get hands-on with equipment, learn by

making mistakes. So, from day one, it's all go. We tend to use Sony

V1E HDV cameras. We're using GoPros as well, especially being in the

outside environment, GoPros tend to be quite bullet-proof, they're used

all over nowadays. But we can also do some quite interesting tricks

with them. The editing skills that you would tend to get would

probably be the equivalent of four weeks of training, whereas

importing footage, it's splitting it up into different bins, working

with markers, with in-points, with out-points, with a timeline, using

transitions, using texts, trimming, rolling, rippling, you name it, we

do the lot, but we do it in an immensely condensed amount of time.

It's a rollercoaster ride of fun, to be honest. It's good. I've just

completed a BA in film and TV production and I saw the course

advertised online, that was linking directly to adventure film making

and working directly with industry professionals, and with them giving

you tips and guidance was really beneficial.

You might be doing something the way you thought was good, but then

one of them would say, "Think about it in this way", and it opens your

eyes up to completely new practices. The Film Academy is great because

you really are working with the people that are at the top of their

game. They've worked on all the kind of major adventure films and

series that are going on at the moment, so you know that you're

getting the best tuition that you can, and you never feel afraid to

ask questions or have a go at things because they're really

supportive and they just want you to get stuck in and have a go.

gentleman should always raise his hat to any passing lady. 'The

Adventure Film Academy is a week- long course. 'After three days of

intensive tuition there's just two days left 'for participants to make

their own short film. 'A chance to make an initial idea right through

to a finished product.' The film has to be no longer than two

minutes. We found that two minutes is

actually a perfect length because it's achievable in 48 hours. You

think, "Oh, no, 48 hours is masses, "you can make a lot longer than

that" but this has to be to professional standards, it has to

be broadcastable so that when it's made, it can be shown on TV to

those high standards. One of the best bits of feedback that we get

after Film Academy week is done is that they're expecting to learn a

lot and they clearly have, but the high pace and pressure of the week

is the one thing they remember, and often a year later people will come

back to us and say that it's one of the best things they ever did in

their life. It's really, really good to see how people get

empowered, how people start being completely bewildered, and at the

end of the week, they're like, "Hey, I can make a film". If you'd like

to take part in this year's course and try your hand in adventure film

making, follow us on Facebook, where you'll find more information

and all the details you'll need to Welcome back to the triathlon. I'm

heading to the finish line near Gylen Castle as the lead

competitors hurtle across the hillside to this southern tip of

the island. Back at transition, though, most of the racers are

changing from two wheels to two feet. Do you feel ready for the run

now? Give me two minutes and I'll find out! Hopefully, my legs are OK.

A decent cycle? Brilliant cycle, really good, lots of steep descents

and fast, loose, rocky descents, and a few technical bits in there.

The run, I'll just wait and see what happens, it's not my strong

point. You've got proper fell- running shoes, though, so you're

prepared well. Yes, you caught me there. I get better running down

hill than up hill. The bike to run transition is the hardest, because

the minute you get off the bike and start running you tend to have a

lot of blood pooled in your legs so it's very difficult when you first

get going, so the first few steps are quite wobbly, the blood's

draining from your brain and you're in debt, it's quite awkward. So it

takes about the first 100 metres or so to get your legs properly sorted,

and after that, you've just got to plod on. It's a bit of a survival,

the run. Loving it! A lovely way to start the day. The running is not

my strongest point. Still going! I'm hoping I can fast walk, jog,

we'll see. It's hellish, but it's brilliant. There's about 200 metres

of hill to climb, some quite steep climbs in that.

So, that's going to sort a few people out, I imagine. Hopefully,

to my benefit. So not competitive at all?! Oh, no, no, no. Yes!

No...! There, yet? It's a proper hill run and some of the vegetation

is grass and heather and bracken, but most of it is very runable and

green grass, and it will be very enjoyable for them to do. It's a

sprint triathlon, but for those who are used to doing normal sprint

triathlons, just how different will this be? I would hesitate to call

it a sprint triathlon. If you try and sprint it, I think you'll burn

out before the end, especially on the last hill section because you

do climb up to over 600 feet. The fastest racers are now

approaching that high point, and it's Alex Johnson still in the lead.

But not far behind, he's being chased by Sean McFarlane and Steven

McKinnis. Mick Nally from Dunfermline has powered into fourth

place, and the leading woman, Kerry McPhee has moved up to fifth place

overall. She's having a tremendous race. I really like hill running,

this type of running. I don't know why, I just enjoy getting off the

bike and going, although the last three races that I've done I've

been sick on the run. My nutrition has been a nightmare so today is a

test of nutritional strength to see if I can hold off being sick and

just go for it. So how important is it to get the nutrition and the

hydration right? It's pretty important if it ends up making you

sick. But this isn't too long a race, so it shouldn't be an issue.

I had my porridge this morning and my cup of coffee, so that should do

me. By now, the competitors have completed the 550 metre swim, 15

kilometre bike ride and are well into the run. The body is beginning

to ache and the steepest uphill section is still to come. This is

where those hours of training pay off. At the moment I'm using this

race as a tune up for the British Champs. So the type of training I'm

doing is about five or six swims a week just now. Lots of road biking,

actually, just to bring up my bike strength and then lots of running

as well. I do one long run, about an hour-and-a-half a week, and then

one threshold one which is just as fast as you can hold, and then one

interval session which is fast and slow, and then a few more fillers,

it's nice and easy. An intense training regime for someone at the

very top of this sport. But everyone in today's race has

prepared for it in their own way. always do a bit of recreational

running, I do a lot of long days on hills, scrambling, climbing, things

like that. What are your strengths then? Keeping going. I think that's

probably my only strength! I don't train as much as I should. I mean,

I don't practice transitions or anything like that. So for me, it's

just a way of keeping fit. So I go out every week, do swimming maybe

twice a week, running a couple of times a week, cycling a couple of

times a week. I don't take it too seriously. My main aim is to make

sure I keep moving. It's so tempting on the steeper sections to

just sort of stop and that just loses you time. I want to keep

going, so that will be my aim for success. If I know I've done the

run as best I can, then that's great. Grinning through it, yes.

Training and endurance is key to enjoying this race, especially when

organised by Paul McGreal. Paul's got a reputation for choosing

locations which will test competitors to the full.

We're taking them on pretty much a grand tour of the island hotspots.

They'll be seeing the coast and fabulous views across to Mull and

back to the mainland and down the sound and across to Oban. They'll

see some great sights and they'll be well and truly exposed in full-

on Scottish countryside. I know Paul McGreal organised it, so I

knew it would be off-road almost the whole way, and it was tough.

There was one part, he'd said in the race briefing I'm sure, that at

no point would you be on all fours, but there was one part that we were

on all fours climbing up the summit, actually using our arms. So it was

a tough run, a very tough run. We're at the top and it's all

downhill. It was great fun, great fun. You've done it! A breeze!

a wonderful day. Whose idea was that?! By now, the fastest racers

are running for home and once again the lead has changed.

Sean McFarlane has moved up from second place to take the lead. He's

closely followed by Steven MacInnes, and Alex Johnson has dropped from

first to third place. I was leading the run up until the top and then

Steven MacInnes caught me and he just passed me as we started to

descend off the top and then we went the wrong way, so by the time

we'd rejoined, me and Steven had dropped down to second and third.

Just behind this front group, Mick Nally is hanging on to fourth place

and Kerry MacPhee is still in fifth. But back up the hill, there are

some tired limbs. Ah! Yes! Downhill now. Nice. I'm not in pain. But at

the finish, it's Sean McFarlane over the line first in a fantastic

time of one hour, ten minutes and ten seconds. Steven MacInnes is a

very close second, just four seconds behind. A first place for

you, but a tight one. Yes, it was a struggle today. There were a few

bits and pieces, we went the wrong way. There were a couple of guys in

the run that were just ahead of me coming off the hill and they went

the wrong way. I would have caught the second-placed guy, but the

first-placed guy was pretty strong. I'd gone the wrong way on the bike,

but it was tough today. It was very tough. And it's weird because

conditions were fairly benign, it wasn't windy, it was... No, it was

just the off-road element of it. The whole thing was off-road and it

wasn't even on tracks all the time, so it was through heather, bracken,

and it was beautifully marked, I have to say, but you're not always

looking at the ground and looking for markers... I made that mistake

on the bike and then those guys made it on the run. But it's up to

competitors to know the course, so yes, it's our fault. A very close

second-place finish for you. Yes. A bit close. I tried to pull it back,

but just no chance. I was in the lead just about half a mile before

the end and I took a wrong turning and it probably cost me there, the

win. But, hey-ho. Third to finish is Alex Johnson who completed the

course in one hour, eleven minutes. Just 15 seconds behind, Mick Nally

achieved a very close fourth place, and what an amazing performance

from Kerry MacPhee, fifth finisher overall and the first woman to

cross the line in a time of 1 hour 11.24. That's just over a minute

behind the first man, a fantastic achievement. Brilliant race, really

good fun. First over the line, you must be absolutely delighted.

really pleased. Yes, really pleased, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe

because it was so short, but usually you have patches in a race

where you're like, "What am I doing?" But it was really fun. I'm

really pleased to come first. what about this place? It just

looks incredible. It is amazing. I mean, how many races are there

where you swim to the island that you're going to bike and run

around? It was amazing. It was really, really good, really

kind of wild, although on the bike, I got to a gate and it was locked,

and I thought, "I don't know which way to go, I don't know if I'm

supposed to open the gate." That doesn't usually happen in a race.

So I just waited until the next person came and I was like, "Is

this the way?" So it really was just like bike around the island

and run over it. Further back, most of the racers are now on the final

stage of this Craggy Island Triathlon. The end is almost in

sight. I'm still alive, all evidence to the contrary. Are we

nearly there yet? I really enjoyed it. It's really good, yes. Yes? Yes,

the scenery's beautiful. Whoa! really IS a Craggy Island Triathlon,

even if our cameraman can't stay upright. Living the dream, son. How

was the run? Oh, you know, up and down.

It's been a perfect day for this very first triathlon on Kerrera.

Hard. Lovely route though. Marvellous. Marvellous. Great track.

Hyperventilating all the way round. Good race though, great race.

at the end, there's a great way to cool off. I really enjoyed it. I'm

enjoying the finish as well. Terrific finish. Terrific spot.

just a reminder of the final But for everyone, this has been a

tremendous achievement. I'm going to be last but I'm going to finish.

But you've done it! And that's it for this month's Adventure Show.

Next time we have a special programme - we head to the