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Hello, and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

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This month we're in Torridon for the inaugural

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Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon

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and when they say extreme, they mean it.

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With over 200 kilometres of biking

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past some of Scotland's most breathtaking scenery.

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Morning!

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After well over five hours in the saddle, the competitors then

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have to run a marathon over one of Scotland's Munros.

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It's been described as one of the hardest days of your life.

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This guy here, he's so enthusiastic.

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"Come on, you can make it, two kilometres to go.

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"Only 15 minutes, you'll make it!"

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But it all begins here with a three kilometre swim in the chilly

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depths of Loch Shieldaig.

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The weather, the terrain and the distance will have a big factor

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in a race that even the fastest guys will take over 12 hours to complete.

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Oh, that's cold!

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I think it's going to hurt a bit, but...

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Is that the attraction, hurting a bit?

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I suppose so, yeah. Yeah, it's just to see what you can do.

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You're one of the more upright ones.

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Is pain an attraction for you?

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I do quite like a little bit of pain.

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It's just a big adventure so,

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I think it's a really lovely part of Scotland and I'm just really

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looking forward to going out there and seeing it all.

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-Hi!

-So I just wanted to do something a little bit different,

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a bit of a change, and this has really ticked the box. Love it.

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Nice one.

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Also in this month's Adventure Show, we join Cameron McNeish as he

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explores one of Scotland's smaller hills that packs a big punch.

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We meet a young cyclist who is determined to emulate the best.

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I like Bradley Wiggins.

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And we catch up with one of the new hotshots on the climbing

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scene to discover that it's possible to use ice axe

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and crampons in the comfort of your own home.

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I built these two walls just so after work I can just

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come down and train, whatever hours I want, as much as I want.

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But first to the Celtman Extreme Triathlon.

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This may be its very first year, but it has all the makings of a classic.

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It starts with that chilly swim across the open sea waters

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of Loch Shieldaig, then it's off with the wetsuits and into

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the saddle for over 200 kilometres of cycling, first to Kinlochewe,

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then down the shores of Loch Maree to Gairloch before heading

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round the coast and back inland past Dundonald, then along the A835.

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There's a final push through Achnasheen to

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the forest of Achnashellach.

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The run's no pushover either - 42 kilometres along forest tracks

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and over the wild, remote

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Coulin Pass to Glen Torridon and

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then there's a sting in the tail.

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A race up one of Beinn Eighe's summits, Ruadh Stac Mor.

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And there's a final dash to the finish in Torridon.

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By any standards this is an extreme test of fitness and endurance

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and this inaugural year is full to capacity.

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There are a couple of people here that are fully professional

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athletes. The majority are just the very top end of the...

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The kind of amateur field, if you like. These are people who,

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you know, have done sprint triathlons and standard distance

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and Half Ironman and Ironman, and they've just kind of taken the whole

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thing just another step, which is what this race is -

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it's another step up.

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Welcome, everybody, to Celtman Extreme Scottish Triathlon.

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There's something very special, clearly,

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about being at the first edition of a race - you guys are the pioneers.

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And some of those pioneers have made a very long journey indeed.

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Approximately 50% are international entrants.

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I think it raises the stakes in one sense.

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The local Scottish and British competitors don't

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often come across international competitors in these quantities.

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There's a lot of very strong Scandinavians in particular,

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a lot of Germans.

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We'll see what happens. I'd love there to be Scottish winners.

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I'm not sure there will be.

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It's 4.50 in the morning on the banks of Loch Shieldaig,

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ten minutes before the start of this race at five

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and there are some pretty sleepy looking people around.

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But others, amazingly, are raring to go.

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It's just about keeping going and keeping your pacing right, I think,

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so I'm just going to set off and all the nerves will

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disappear as soon as I start and I'm just going to kind of do my own race

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and get my head down and just enjoy it and just get into a good rhythm.

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-How long have you been up?

-Since two.

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Yeah, I'm pretty excited.

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It's just a big adventure so,

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I think it's a really lovely part of Scotland and I'm just

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really looking forward to going out there and seeing it all.

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-Now, where are you from?

-Germany.

-Why are you here?

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What's the attraction of this?

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I don't really know.

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Last year I said I want to do the hardest

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triathlons in the world, and that's the first one of them, I guess.

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You're looking a wee bit worried this morning, I have to say.

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-Other people are looking excited.

-Yeah.

-You're a wee bit pensive.

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If you have a look round, there's a field full of athletes.

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I'm not an athlete.

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I'm doing it for charity so what seemed like a good idea...

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"Oh, yeah, I like mountains, I like bikes, yeah, I'll do that."

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Then I've got on the coach this morning and seen all these

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athletes with muscles and that kind of stuff, and looked down

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and thought, "I should've had some of them, but I haven't."

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So, yeah, I'm a little apprehensive.

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-Have a great day.

-Thank you very much.

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-Two minutes to race start, how are you doing?

-Yeah, good.

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Cometh the man, cometh the moment.

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-You're the last person in the water.

-The last in the water.

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I think that's from a little experience.

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I don't know why they're in such a hurry to get in there.

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There's plenty of time to be in there.

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Ten seconds to go. This is a couple of days after the longest day

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and the water temperature here is still less than 15 degrees.

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It's a long, long swim.

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-KLAXON BLARES

-And they're off!

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150 competitors taking on this gargantuan challenge through

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some of the most breathtaking and spectacular scenery in Scotland.

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There it is - suddenly the water, from being very calm,

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has turned into a boiling cauldron, with the arms and legs kicking,

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just trying to get the heart beating, get their breathing

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regulated, and settle in for a very long and very, very hard day.

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I'm here in the village of Shieldaig waiting for the racers to

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finish their swim section.

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Once out the water they'll be changing from wetsuits

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into biking gear, and they'll want to be as fast as possible,

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but if they get something wrong here they're going to have a long

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time to regret it later.

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We don't expect everyone to finish this race because it's

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so tough and so demanding, so even to enter the race

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and get to the start line shows a certain mental toughness.

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It's probably the limit of what you can do.

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Certainly, you know, professional athletes would be training

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all year round for this,

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so if you've got a normal life and you try and do a job

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and everything like that, you know, it is quite difficult to fit it in.

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This water was way colder than what I'm used to.

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This must've been 12 degrees or something.

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Today's swim was always going to be cold so I, this year, tried to swim

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in what they call open water,

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i.e. lochs or the sea, quite early in the year,

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just to get used to swimming in the open water and the cold.

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Just 15 minutes into the race

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and already the field is very, very drawn out.

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The fastest swimmers are way ahead,

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but it doesn't matter where you are in the water at this stage,

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because if you're strong on the bike or indeed strong running,

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you can make time up against people who are stronger in the water.

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But the difference between the leaders at the moment

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and the people who are still passing the island is quite far already.

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Well done, mate.

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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First out of the water

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and way ahead of the rest of the field is Bobby Oag.

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Take your time going up there.

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He's from Orkney so maybe he's used to these kinds of temperatures

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because he's completed this three kilometre swim

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in an amazing 39 minutes and 54 seconds.

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Hiya, how are you doing? How was the water temperature?

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Well, the same story in Orkney all winter so it's not that bad.

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-At least I did one part right, I guess.

-That was great.

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Are you looking forward to the bike?

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Well, ask me again at the end and I'll tell you.

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Just over a minute later is Lefteris Paraskevas from Greece.

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He completed the swim in 41 minutes ten seconds.

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Another fantastic time

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and from someone who's surely more used to the heat than the cold.

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-How was your swim?

-Cold. You don't feel your legs.

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Aargh!

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HE SPEAKS GREEK

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No-one was quite sure how long the swim would take.

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Bobby and Lefteris have made much better time than anyone

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expected, and they've established a strong lead.

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It's well over three minutes before the next swimmers struggle up

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to the first changeover point at the village of Shieldaig.

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Have you done as well as you wanted to in that section?

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-Yeah, it's good.

-Which bit are you looking forward to most?

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I think the mountain, I think.

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How was that swim for you?

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Started off cold but on the face,

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but after about half an hour you got used to it.

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Looking forward to this bike section?

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Yeah, really. It's a really nice road to bike on.

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The first woman out of the water is Susanne Buckenlei from Germany.

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She's been competing since 1998

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and has won the Norseman Extreme Triathlon -

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an event described as the toughest in the world - three times in a row.

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Morning. Well done, that was a great swim. How are you feeling?

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I'm very good. I'm looking forward for the bike and run now.

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Did you feel like the swim went quite well for you?

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Yeah, I was OK. I'm not a good swimmer.

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Oh, you looked pretty good to me.

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The bike and the run is normally better.

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-OK.

-And now I'm happy that I'm out of the cold water.

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But it was fine, it was OK to swim.

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Pretty cold in the beginning but then it was good.

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So at the end of the first stage of the Celtman,

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the placings look like this.

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For the men, Johan Nykvist from Sweden

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was 3rd out of the water with a time of 44 minutes 35 seconds.

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Greece's Lefteris Paraskevas was 2nd with 41:10.

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And waving the flag for Scotland, in the lead, was Bobby Oag from Orkney.

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For the women, Laura Sarkis is in 3rd place with 52:37.

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Rosemary Byde's time of 51:53 puts her just behind

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Susanne Buckenlei who completed the swim in 50:54.

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But there's still a long way to go

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and Susanne's not taking anything for granted.

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In these races you never know what will happen,

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so it's a long day. I will do my best.

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-Well done.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

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We'll be back with all the action here at the Celtman shortly,

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as they tackle the next leg of this extreme race -

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the 200-plus kilometre bike ride.

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We're heading east to the edge of the Grampians.

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Here in Moray, one mountain dominates the skyline,

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but this is also whisky country, which perhaps explains why

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Cameron McNeish has made it this month's destination.

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It's been said that the city of Rome was built on seven hills,

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but here in the Northeast of Scotland, the village of Dufftown

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was built on seven stills.

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Now Dufftown has its own hills too

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and I'm going to climb one of them today - it's called Ben Rinnes

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and it's universally known as the "Whisky Mountain".

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Ben Rinnes rises above the River Spey,

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and it's actually the Northeast terminal of the Grampian

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mountain range, and everything you look down on from this

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mountain is associated with whisky, and some of the names

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that are on the map round about here are the very names that would stir

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the heart of any whisky enthusiast, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Knockando,

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I could go on and on. This is God's own country.

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Climbing up the hill,

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you realise that it's not too fanciful a notion to regard

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the mountain as the provider of the ingredients of uisge beatha -

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the water of life.

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If you think of the snow melt in spring,

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providing all that clear, cold water,

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all these great peat banks -

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the peat once used to fire the distilleries -

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and the fields of the best quality barley down in Glen Rinnes

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and in Strathspey, and you realise

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that there's such a close connection between mountains and whisky.

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One of the nice things about walking on this side of the country

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as opposed to the west coast is the names are all very different.

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There's not a lot of Gaelic here although Ben Rinnes itself is Gaelic.

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It's thought to mean headland hill although some

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people might argue that Rinnes means rhinns, which means pointy.

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I know this isn't exactly a pointed hill but there is a little series

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of granite tors on the summit that give it a kind of spiked appearance.

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'The last time I climbed Ben Rinnes, oh, ten years ago,

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'the path up this final ridge was a wide, eroded scar

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'but a local volunteer group, The Friends of Ben Rinnes, raised

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'quite a lot of money and reinstated the path and put in

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'some nice curves and zigzags instead of straight, right up the ridge.

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'They've done a fantastic job and it struck me that it

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'might be a good idea

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'if we could get local groups to look after various individual mountains.'

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We could maybe start an Adopt A Scottish Mountain scheme.

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I think that would be a great idea.

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In 1803, a minister from Edinburgh, the Reverend James Hall,

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climbed Ben Rinnes on a pretty wild day.

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He got himself completely soaked through, he was very frightened

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and lost, but when the mist cleared and he saw some views,

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he proclaimed the experience as,

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"A calm satisfaction, a secret enjoyment

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"and a religious fervour which no language can fully explain,"

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and I think most hill walkers could very much empathise with that.

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The craggy tors just ahead of us, these granite tors,

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mark the summit of the hill.

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These granite tors are quite a feature of the summit of

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Ben Rinnes and they've been created over many, many thousands of years

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as the wind has eroded down the surface area and the hard granite

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protrudes and they are quite a feature of the Cairngorms landscape.

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We tend to think of tors, granite tors, as something we get in

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Dartmoor, but we get quite a lot in Scotland too, and in fact they also

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feature in one of our best known traditional songs, Kate Dalrymple.

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In describing this old witch, the song says,

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"The Cornelian and Cairngorm pimples

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"That were hanging fae the craggy face of Kate Dalrymple."

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You just don't expect these sort of rocky features

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on the summit of what looks like quite a nice easy hill.

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And the summit of the hill is on top of this tor.

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HE HUMS TO HIMSELF

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The summit of Ben Rinnes - the "Whisky Mountain".

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840 metres and what a fantastic viewpoint it is. I'm looking

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right across to the Cairngorms and the arc of the Cairngorms

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swings right round to Ben Rinnes' cousin across here -

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the other Corbett, Corryhabbie Hill on the other side of Glen Rinnes.

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And I think at this point it's a good time to toast the Whisky Mountain

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and in the words of our national bard, Robert Burns,

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"Freedom and whisky gang thegither. Take aff your dram."

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Slainte mhath.

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Welcome back to the Celtman Extreme Triathlon.

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I've taken the shortest and easiest route by car from the race start

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at Loch Shieldaig to Achnashellach.

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This is where the competitors will drop their bikes,

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put on their running shoes and take on the mountain marathon.

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But first there's the small matter of over 200K in the saddle.

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We're taking the fabulous bike route that goes round via Gairloch

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and Gruinard and all those kind of amazing places.

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We wanted to show the area off.

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We also had to achieve a course that was logistically manageable,

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and actually physically manageable.

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We want it to be tough and extreme, but it's got to be achievable.

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So the first one out the water, Bobby Oag, senior racer,

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Scottish racer, and doing pretty well indeed. Looking comfortable

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and confident there. Just climbing up over the valley here.

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So in second place, Johan Nykvist.

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A long distance behind Bobby Oag. Five minutes by now.

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But that really is not going to matter too much on a 12-hour race.

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That can be grabbed.

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But the strongest swimmers obviously get on the bike and get out.

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They get the clear roads.

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In third place is Stuart Macleod from Edinburgh. He is a veteran

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of extreme triathlons, so how does he train for an event like this?

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People would probably laugh asking me that question

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cos I've got the most unorthodox approach to all these things.

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What I do is I just try and just keep it fun. I'll go out

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and ride on my bike sometimes

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and I'll go and swim from time to time. Do a bit of running.

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So I try and keep it fun

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and that's it, and at least you get to change the

0:19:510:19:54

disciplines that you're doing, which keeps it a bit more interesting.

0:19:540:19:57

And there's loads of kit to buy as well, which is fun.

0:19:570:19:59

It's all about the bling?

0:19:590:20:00

Well, there's lots of that. There's lots of fancy bikes

0:20:000:20:03

and stuff like that.

0:20:030:20:04

-Get your wetsuit off and get dry.

-That's it. Well done.

0:20:050:20:09

Are you OK to stand? I've got you.

0:20:090:20:11

While the fastest swimmers eat up the miles on their bikes,

0:20:110:20:14

back at the transition from water to land,

0:20:140:20:17

there are some very, very tired bodies.

0:20:170:20:19

Really good!

0:20:190:20:21

That's it. Watch your feet up here.

0:20:210:20:25

It's amazing, the gap in the field already is huge.

0:20:250:20:28

It's at least about maybe 20 minutes

0:20:280:20:31

for such a short section

0:20:310:20:33

and there's so much of the race still to go.

0:20:330:20:36

You can still see some swimmers really far out.

0:20:360:20:39

There's probably another ten,

0:20:400:20:42

15 minutes worth of swimming before they arrive here so...

0:20:420:20:45

And then they've got the transition as well, so it's going to be

0:20:450:20:48

a wee while before folks get on the bike and get going.

0:20:480:20:51

I'm still alive. I'm so happy!

0:20:510:20:53

You looked really cold when you came out the water there,

0:20:530:20:56

was that quite a tough swim for you?

0:20:560:20:58

I've got Raynaud's syndrome

0:20:580:21:00

so I lose the circulation on my hands and my feet.

0:21:000:21:03

-Oh, wow! OK.

-They're just like blocks of ice.

0:21:030:21:05

-So I can't feel anything.

-They're freezing.

0:21:050:21:08

-Warm up on the bike though.

-Yeah.

-It's good weather so...

0:21:080:21:13

Exactly. Are you used to being in this kind of water temperature

0:21:130:21:16

or are you used to something much warmer?

0:21:160:21:18

Used to swimming in like the Adriatic and all that.

0:21:180:21:21

-She's Italian so...

-Ah, OK.

-It was a beautiful swim.

0:21:210:21:24

-Was it?

-It was really clear

0:21:240:21:25

-and you could see lots of jellyfish and wildlife.

-Was there? OK.

0:21:250:21:28

Well, OK, just jellyfish. Not any other wildlife but it was great.

0:21:280:21:34

-This is your first time competing in an event like this, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:21:340:21:37

-Well done.

-Are you putting them on or taking them off?

0:21:370:21:41

CHEERING

0:21:410:21:44

And one of the huge difficulties of a race that starts at

0:21:490:21:52

five o'clock in the morning and goes on for a long, long time

0:21:520:21:55

is making sure you've got enough fuel on board.

0:21:550:21:58

Very difficult to get up and eat at that time of the morning

0:21:580:22:01

and these guys are going to be burning a huge amount

0:22:010:22:03

of calories so it's so important that you take on food, you take

0:22:030:22:07

on drink and the best and easiest place to do it is on the bike.

0:22:070:22:12

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

0:22:120:22:14

Get the fuel on, get the hydration on board on the cycle section

0:22:140:22:20

and the more you put on now,

0:22:200:22:22

the better it'll be for you later in the race.

0:22:220:22:24

Halfway through the ride, just before Dundonald,

0:22:270:22:29

the lead has changed.

0:22:290:22:31

I'm supporting Bobby Oag, so he was leading just now,

0:22:310:22:34

just got overtaken. But he is a really strong swimmer

0:22:340:22:38

so he did really well there, got a good lead. Was pretty strong

0:22:380:22:42

on the bike but just got overtaken. But the run will be the toughest.

0:22:420:22:45

He's still a strong runner but it's, with the two mountains as well,

0:22:450:22:48

with the pass and the mountain coming up,

0:22:480:22:50

it'll be very, very tough, and especially with such a hard descent.

0:22:500:22:54

That means Johan Nykvist of Sweden is now in the lead.

0:22:540:22:58

He completed an Ironman in Hawaii last year,

0:22:580:23:01

but is not so used to mountain running,

0:23:010:23:03

according to his chief cheerleader - Mum.

0:23:030:23:06

He has won the Swedish competition O till O,

0:23:080:23:11

which is quite a tough one where you swim between islands and you

0:23:110:23:17

run on the islands. 55 kilometres running and 12 kilometres swimming.

0:23:170:23:23

But the smaller, lighter racers

0:23:230:23:25

are starting to catch the heavier competitors.

0:23:250:23:29

Stuart Macleod is hanging on to third place,

0:23:290:23:32

and making his way up the field is Alex Glasgow from Plockton.

0:23:320:23:36

Alex is well known in cycling circles,

0:23:360:23:38

but he's never done a triathlon before. So why now?

0:23:380:23:42

I saw it in the Free Press, the West Highland Free Press,

0:23:430:23:45

and it was on my birthday, today,

0:23:450:23:47

so I just thought,

0:23:470:23:49

"Well, that's just, you know, I've got to do it then."

0:23:490:23:52

And it said in the Free Press, all the spaces, you know,

0:23:520:23:56

it's full up, but there may be concessions for local people

0:23:560:24:00

and it was more sort of, "Well, I'm local. Maybe I can do it."

0:24:000:24:03

I e-mailed them before I even sort of thought, "Do I want to do it?"

0:24:030:24:06

I just... It was just, "That means I can probably do it."

0:24:060:24:10

They went, "Yeah, you can do it if you want."

0:24:100:24:12

And that was, "Oh, right, OK."

0:24:120:24:13

So I put myself up for it accidentally.

0:24:130:24:16

Six hours 40 minutes into the race

0:24:170:24:19

and the support teams are arriving at the transition.

0:24:190:24:22

We're expecting bikes fairly soon.

0:24:220:24:24

The midges have arrived as well. That'll be great fun

0:24:240:24:28

when they're changing over. Not.

0:24:280:24:31

There's a strong Scandinavian presence in this inaugural

0:24:310:24:34

Celtman Triathlon.

0:24:340:24:36

Johan Nykvist from Sweden is one of the best

0:24:360:24:39

and he's first to the changeover from bike to run.

0:24:390:24:43

THEY SPEAK SWEDISH

0:24:430:24:46

The last 30K were tough. Headwind and...

0:24:460:24:50

OK, the first 170 weren't easy.

0:24:500:24:53

But you're in the lead just now

0:24:540:24:56

-so are you feeling confident at this point?

-No.

-No?

0:24:560:24:59

My goal is to finish top ten and not get beaten by any girls.

0:24:590:25:04

That was my agenda from the start and I'm sticking to that.

0:25:040:25:07

-OK, good man.

-Yeah.

0:25:070:25:10

Remember to dib out.

0:25:100:25:14

Second in, but a full eight minutes behind Johan,

0:25:140:25:17

is Stuart Macleod from Edinburgh.

0:25:170:25:19

-How are you doing, Stuart?

-Not too bad.

0:25:190:25:21

A bit glad to get off that bike, to be honest.

0:25:210:25:23

-There was a bit of headwind there, was there?

-Yeah, probably.

0:25:230:25:27

I'm not very sure to be honest.

0:25:270:25:29

-It's a bit like you're just kind of riding along there.

-Yeah.

0:25:290:25:31

Not sure what's going on, but one thing's for sure,

0:25:310:25:34

-it was a long bike ride.

-Yeah.

0:25:340:25:37

Discarding their bikes, the next stage is a 42 kilometre run.

0:25:370:25:41

This is divided into two parts -

0:25:410:25:43

the first is on tracks that leads up and over the wild

0:25:430:25:46

and remote Coulin Pass, then they tackle the Beinn Eighe

0:25:460:25:50

summit of Ruadh Stac Mor, where for safety they are joined by a support

0:25:500:25:55

runner but some have chosen to run as a pair from this point onwards.

0:25:550:26:00

I'm buddy runner for Alex Glasgow who,

0:26:000:26:03

when he finishes the bike section, will come up here to transition,

0:26:030:26:06

then he and I will run the final run leg together.

0:26:060:26:10

My role is a bit of emotional support in the last few miles.

0:26:100:26:14

Yeah, so this is my rucksack. This probably weighs,

0:26:140:26:18

I don't know, that might weigh four, five kilos.

0:26:180:26:21

This is Alex's rucksack which seems to be somewhat lighter.

0:26:210:26:25

I'm not actually allowed to carry stuff for Alex so he's got to

0:26:250:26:27

carry this the whole way.

0:26:270:26:28

He's been muttering about loading this onto me

0:26:280:26:31

but, you know, you've got to play by the rules.

0:26:310:26:33

Cyclists are now starting to pile in,

0:26:340:26:36

and the next to transition is Oyvind Evensen from Norway.

0:26:360:26:41

He was one of the last out of the water

0:26:410:26:43

so he's had an amazing ride to work his way up the field.

0:26:430:26:47

Running up the Munro, it'll be exciting.

0:26:470:26:50

You're looking OK, though. You're looking strong.

0:26:500:26:53

-Yeah, hopefully I'll stay strong.

-He was 120th.

0:26:530:26:56

-A couple of more hours.

-Oh, really?

-After swimming, 120th.

0:26:560:26:59

-I was so cold.

-You were 120th after the swim?

0:26:590:27:02

-Yeah. I started to shiver in my body.

-My goodness!

0:27:020:27:05

When I passed the last island, it was so cold.

0:27:050:27:09

I couldn't feel my fingers for the first 20Ks.

0:27:090:27:12

Difficult to change gears and to drink and everything but...

0:27:120:27:18

So you smashed that cycle there. You absolutely flew it, yeah.

0:27:180:27:22

Yeah, I'm no swimmer.

0:27:220:27:24

Oyvind Evensen just behind me,

0:27:240:27:25

3rd place so far in the men's competition, was 120th

0:27:250:27:27

when he got out the water this morning. Quite extraordinary.

0:27:270:27:32

That cycle he's just put in there is incredible, but how much pain has

0:27:320:27:35

he inflicted on himself and how much energy has he taken out his body?

0:27:350:27:39

He's got the run in the mountains now.

0:27:390:27:42

He's looking pretty good, though.

0:27:420:27:45

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

0:27:450:27:48

21st after the swim,

0:27:480:27:50

Alex Glasgow is another competitor who's had an excellent bike ride.

0:27:500:27:53

It's his strongest discipline

0:27:530:27:56

but he's not too sure of his exact position.

0:27:560:27:58

So far, so good.

0:27:580:27:59

-Amazing! I think I'm 9th or something.

-Yeah, it's fantastic!

0:27:590:28:03

And the weather was OK for that cycle, was it?

0:28:030:28:05

Perfect! No wind.

0:28:050:28:07

No wind and nice and cool,

0:28:070:28:10

and now we've got some rain to just cool us down even more.

0:28:100:28:14

But you're feeling good though, you're feeling fine?

0:28:140:28:17

I really haven't got a clue. I'm about to find out.

0:28:170:28:20

-7th at the moment.

-7th?

0:28:200:28:21

-OK. Sitting at 7th, yeah.

-8th was just behind you.

0:28:210:28:23

OK. Let's see if I can run.

0:28:230:28:25

-Alex, what were you after?

-The bottle.

0:28:250:28:30

Good luck, boys.

0:28:300:28:32

-Make sure you dib out.

-Am I not supposed to dib again?

-Dib out, yes.

0:28:320:28:36

Hard on Alex's heels is seasoned triathlon racer

0:28:360:28:39

Sean McFarlane from Dollar.

0:28:390:28:41

-How are you doing?

-All right, Dougie. I'm all right, yeah.

0:28:410:28:44

-You all right, yeah?

-Yeah.

-Looking good, looking strong.

0:28:440:28:46

-Yeah.

-How was the cycle?

0:28:460:28:48

The cycle was all right.

0:28:480:28:49

-It took me about six hours to warm up from the swim.

-Is that right?

0:28:490:28:52

-I think I'm just about warm now.

-You like the running bits.

0:28:520:28:54

You're always fine with that, aren't you?

0:28:540:28:56

-We'll see. Ask me that in six hours.

-OK. Have fun.

0:28:560:29:00

See you later.

0:29:000:29:02

The first woman here is Susanne Buckenlei

0:29:020:29:04

and she's also currently 20th overall.

0:29:040:29:07

An amazing achievement, even for someone with her experience.

0:29:070:29:12

And to make things more interesting, it's now pouring with rain.

0:29:120:29:16

It was tough on the bike.

0:29:160:29:17

And the weather's wet now.

0:29:170:29:19

-Changed dramatically.

-It does.

0:29:190:29:22

I hope it will not change anything for the mountain.

0:29:220:29:24

But if it's like that, then we cannot change, of course.

0:29:240:29:27

Good, good. You're feeling strong, feeling OK?

0:29:270:29:30

-Yeah, I feel OK.

-Well, enjoy the rest of the day.

0:29:300:29:32

Thank you. Oh, I will.

0:29:320:29:33

So, at the end of the bike leg of the Celtman Extreme Triathlon,

0:29:330:29:37

it looks like this -

0:29:370:29:38

for the women, Isobel Joiner is in 3rd place

0:29:380:29:41

with a total of eight hours 29 minutes and 32 seconds.

0:29:410:29:45

Rosemary Byde is just a couple of minutes faster with 08:26:39

0:29:450:29:50

and with a time of 07:46:07,

0:29:500:29:53

Susanne Buckenlei is well in the lead.

0:29:530:29:57

For the men, Oyvind Evensen from Norway is currently in 3rd place

0:29:570:30:00

with a total time of 07:15:06.

0:30:000:30:04

Stuart Macleod is in 2nd place with 07:07:17 but out in front

0:30:040:30:09

is Johan Nykvist from Sweden. His time is 06:57:11.

0:30:090:30:14

But as they reach the top of the Coulin Pass,

0:30:140:30:17

the lead has already changed.

0:30:170:30:19

Johan Nykvist has been overtaken by Stuart Macleod. Oyvind Evensen

0:30:190:30:24

is still 3rd but just seconds behind him

0:30:240:30:26

is Alex Glasgow with his support runner, Ben Thomson.

0:30:260:30:30

It couldn't be tighter as the runners start the first

0:30:300:30:33

descent before the long, long climb to

0:30:330:30:37

the 3,011-foot-high summit of Ruadh Stac Mor on Beinn Eighe.

0:30:370:30:41

We'll be back with all the action here at the Celtman shortly but

0:30:410:30:45

first we rejoin Cameron McNeish for a very different type of bike race.

0:30:450:30:49

Ten seconds.

0:30:570:30:58

It's been a fantastic summer for cycling

0:30:580:31:01

and we Scots have been playing our part too.

0:31:010:31:04

-Two, one, up!

-Up, up, up, up!

0:31:040:31:06

Who can forget Chris Hoy's wonderful Olympic golds

0:31:060:31:10

and David Millar's tremendous stage win in the Tour de France?

0:31:100:31:15

But the season's not over just yet.

0:31:150:31:17

The road season traditionally ends with a series of hill climbs up

0:31:190:31:23

and down the length of the country and I'm at one of them today -

0:31:230:31:26

the Kingscavil Hill Climb in West Lothian.

0:31:260:31:30

This isn't a long race, it's only a mile in length

0:31:300:31:33

but it's brutally steep.

0:31:330:31:35

Now, traditionally in the Adventure Show the presenter will have a go

0:31:350:31:38

and I was looking forward to this event very much, training fairly hard

0:31:380:31:42

for it, I have to say, until about a week ago. I was climbing up a little

0:31:420:31:46

slope near my house and something went "ping" in my thigh,

0:31:460:31:49

and unfortunately it ruled me out so I'm not going to get a go at it

0:31:490:31:53

today, but I'm going to enjoy watching everybody else do it.

0:31:530:31:56

Someone who's tipped to do well today is Jen Taylor from Edinburgh.

0:31:570:32:01

She's been having a terrific year and recently won the gruelling

0:32:010:32:05

Tour of the Trossachs race. But for her, cycling is more than just speed.

0:32:050:32:10

I guess when I'm on the bike it's probably a bit of a cliche,

0:32:100:32:13

but it's a complete stress buster, it clears your mind.

0:32:130:32:16

All you really... Whenever I'm on the bike

0:32:160:32:18

all I think about is the road,

0:32:180:32:20

what's going on with the bike, what's around me, fresh air.

0:32:200:32:22

It doesn't matter if it's weather like this.

0:32:220:32:24

Is that what goes through your mind when you're racing as well?

0:32:240:32:27

No. When you're racing, you're just completely focused.

0:32:270:32:31

Depending on what race.

0:32:310:32:33

If it's a time trial like the Tour of Trossachs then

0:32:330:32:35

you're sort of concentrating on keeping your power up.

0:32:350:32:38

You just don't stop pedalling

0:32:380:32:40

and don't ease off and just focus and watch the road.

0:32:400:32:43

Now that event you just mentioned, the Tour of Trossachs,

0:32:430:32:46

it's a fairly long event. This is a much, much shorter one.

0:32:460:32:49

The Tour of Trossachs was just under 29 miles

0:32:490:32:52

whereas this is just one hill.

0:32:520:32:54

The fast guys all do it in just over two minutes.

0:32:540:32:57

-Jen Taylor!

-CHEERING

0:32:570:32:59

You have to get out the saddle and probably in this

0:32:590:33:02

weather your back wheel will be slipping and, depending on how

0:33:020:33:04

much you're pulling up on your front, your front wheel might.

0:33:040:33:07

It's quite tricky, especially in these conditions.

0:33:070:33:10

-Is it going to hurt?

-If you try. It will hurt, yeah.

0:33:100:33:15

In hill climbing weight is everything.

0:33:170:33:20

You'll see bikes here specially lightened with no rear brakes

0:33:200:33:23

and just one gear.

0:33:230:33:25

One competitor has even made his own bike.

0:33:250:33:28

This is made out of a garden clothes dryer, the main tubes are the...

0:33:280:33:31

-A clothes dryer?

-Yeah.

-A garden clothes dryer. Good heavens!

0:33:310:33:33

What's actually holding it all together?

0:33:330:33:35

-It's nylon tights and epoxy.

-Nylon tights?

-Yes. Yeah, it's very strong.

0:33:350:33:38

-Like ladies' nylon tights?

-Yeah, DIY wonder material, yeah.

0:33:380:33:43

All sorts of uses.

0:33:430:33:44

Go, go, go, go!

0:33:440:33:47

Four, three, two, one. Go, go, go, go!

0:33:520:33:56

Hill climbs are time trial events, with riders setting off every minute.

0:33:560:34:01

This one's very popular with juniors.

0:34:010:34:04

I caught up with one 12-year-old with big ideas.

0:34:040:34:08

What are your ambitions?

0:34:080:34:10

Would you like to be a pro road cyclist at some time?

0:34:100:34:12

Yeah, like Bradley Wiggins.

0:34:120:34:14

We have with us today Mark Young from British Cycling.

0:34:140:34:17

Have you got any questions you want to ask Mark at this point?

0:34:170:34:20

Well, it's just how I pace myself, like how hard I should go off,

0:34:200:34:25

like percentage-wise? And then where I should really be getting

0:34:250:34:29

to the point where I don't want to carry on.

0:34:290:34:33

You're going flat out but flat out

0:34:330:34:34

and then just a little bit 1% back from that and I think,

0:34:340:34:38

really, what we'll do is we need to try the hill and figure out

0:34:380:34:41

where we should be doing these

0:34:410:34:42

little subtle changes in our effort level.

0:34:420:34:44

It's certainly not going to be 50% and then 100%,

0:34:440:34:47

it's going to be 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 98, like that.

0:34:470:34:51

You get to the point where you really start to think why you wanted

0:34:510:34:55

to do it, but you just need to forget about those feelings and just

0:34:550:34:59

push through it and you know that there's not far to go and you're not

0:34:590:35:03

going to be having that pain for too long

0:35:030:35:05

so you just need to keep going.

0:35:050:35:07

-It's just really hard.

-This is quite impressive talk from a young fella.

0:35:070:35:11

That's exactly what we need from the young riders.

0:35:110:35:14

They need to find their limits.

0:35:140:35:17

It's not good for us to set the limits for them.

0:35:170:35:19

They need to find the limits of their own ability.

0:35:190:35:23

Maybe he will fulfil his dreams one day

0:35:230:35:26

and become somebody like Bradley Wiggins.

0:35:260:35:28

This is the steep part of the climb and I'll tell you,

0:35:350:35:38

it's hard even walking up here, never mind cycling.

0:35:380:35:41

Go, go, go! Looking good, well done!

0:35:410:35:44

Pick a gear! Go, go, go, pick a gear!

0:35:440:35:47

That's the winner there, Steven Lawley,

0:35:470:35:49

setting a new course record of two minutes ten seconds.

0:35:490:35:54

Young Sean Flynn's time was two minutes 54, and Billy Minto

0:35:540:35:58

reached the top on his home-made bike in two minutes 50 seconds.

0:35:580:36:03

Now it's time to reveal Jen Taylor's time

0:36:030:36:05

and it's another record breaking one.

0:36:050:36:07

She's the fastest woman ever in this race.

0:36:070:36:10

Jen, 2:53, are you pleased with that?

0:36:110:36:14

-Yes. Is that the official time then?

-Yeah.

0:36:140:36:18

Yeah, really pleased with that.

0:36:180:36:19

I think, really I was thinking it was 3:15, really. A good target.

0:36:190:36:24

I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get my full effort out,

0:36:240:36:26

but, yeah, pretty pleased.

0:36:260:36:27

So what do you mean by that?

0:36:270:36:29

I wasn't dying at the top, draped over my handlebars.

0:36:290:36:32

This event at Kingscavil has been a real eye-opener for me and I

0:36:340:36:37

previously didn't know that cyclists put themselves through this sort

0:36:370:36:41

of torture and to watch them on the steep section there, with the face in

0:36:410:36:44

pain and the thighs obviously burning up was something else. Although

0:36:440:36:49

I have to say that I do feel a bit disappointed I didn't really get a

0:36:490:36:52

chance to tackle it myself, but that might be something for the future.

0:36:520:36:56

My only great fear is that I suspect I could well have been lapped

0:36:560:36:59

and it's a straight course.

0:36:590:37:00

Winter is now upon us and many keen mountaineers will be heading

0:37:090:37:13

out with their ice axes and crampons.

0:37:130:37:16

Scotland has always had a reputation for producing world class

0:37:160:37:20

climbers and the latest in a long line of these is Greg Boswell.

0:37:200:37:24

His family moved up north of the border when he was three

0:37:240:37:27

and he's made the Scottish hills his own.

0:37:270:37:31

Now he's pushing the limits on the hardest routes,

0:37:310:37:34

especially in winter.

0:37:340:37:36

I think the thing I like most about the winter climbing is you get

0:37:360:37:39

so many different aspects.

0:37:390:37:40

You don't just turn up to a crag and go rock climbing,

0:37:400:37:42

you've got the weather to contend with, you've got

0:37:420:37:45

brutal, mean conditions, you've got the cold,

0:37:450:37:47

you've got to suffer a lot more, you've got to fight on the routes,

0:37:470:37:50

and there's just a whole more aspect that just makes it a lot more

0:37:500:37:53

enjoyable and take up a lot more of the experiences.

0:37:530:37:56

There's much more coming at you and it's really good.

0:37:560:38:00

You get that feeling where you've got up a route in winter

0:38:000:38:03

and you've battled through the cold and the elements and you

0:38:030:38:06

get to the top and it feels really, really good and it's just amazing.

0:38:060:38:10

Then having the bad days, the good days make it worth it.

0:38:100:38:13

Greg works on a farm in Fife and that's not the easiest place

0:38:130:38:16

to train for these kinds of routes. So he's also become

0:38:160:38:21

an expert in a very specialised form of climbing - one where he can

0:38:210:38:24

fit in practice sessions

0:38:240:38:26

when it's too dark to work outside on the land.

0:38:260:38:30

After that kind of hard work, most people would want to spend

0:38:300:38:33

the night sitting in front of the TV.

0:38:330:38:34

But for Greg, the really hard work begins.

0:38:340:38:37

Wait till you see what he's built in here.

0:38:370:38:40

'I built this, these two walls just so that after work

0:38:430:38:46

'I can just come down and train,

0:38:460:38:47

'whatever hours I want, as much as I want.'

0:38:470:38:49

So I don't have to worry about paying to go climbing,

0:38:490:38:51

I can train and go straight to the mountains

0:38:510:38:53

as soon as they're in condition.

0:38:530:38:55

This is dry tooling. You climb with ice axes but there's no ice.

0:38:550:39:01

Greg is one of the best in the UK.

0:39:010:39:03

Dry tooling is a funny one.

0:39:030:39:05

It originated from... One aspect was people training.

0:39:050:39:08

People used to train for winter climbs, they wanted to get used to

0:39:080:39:11

using their axes and their crampons so they would train

0:39:110:39:13

on climbing walls and on rock and under bridges and stuff

0:39:130:39:16

to get used to using these axes and crampons in action.

0:39:160:39:20

And then the other aspect was a very continental style over in Europe,

0:39:200:39:25

Italy and France, where you had these big, dry rock caves

0:39:250:39:27

with big hanging icicles at the end of them

0:39:270:39:30

and people wanted to get to those amazing-looking icicles

0:39:300:39:32

so they would climb the dry rock with their axes and crampons,

0:39:320:39:35

ready to get straight onto the ice because the rock would

0:39:350:39:38

be all frozen and icy and too cold to climb with your hands.

0:39:380:39:41

Then people developed whole crags just for this type of climbing

0:39:410:39:45

and training for all these different aspects of the sport. So it's

0:39:450:39:49

just developed into its own type of climbing genre in its own right.

0:39:490:39:55

They have competitions in dry tooling.

0:39:550:39:57

They have whole crags and grading scales in climbing -

0:39:570:40:00

a grade system just for dry tooling, so, yeah,

0:40:000:40:03

it's definitely developed its own little aspect of genre of the sport.

0:40:030:40:09

So that all looked mightily impressive

0:40:090:40:10

and in the great tradition of the Adventure Show, I'm going

0:40:100:40:13

to have a go, just to show you how difficult it truly is.

0:40:130:40:16

Greg, take me through it now, the basic principles of dry tooling.

0:40:160:40:19

OK, what we'll do is I'll start off teaching you how to

0:40:190:40:21

use the axes then you'll have a bit of a climb

0:40:210:40:23

and I'll give you some pointers from there, and we'll see how you do.

0:40:230:40:26

There's quite a few different hand positions to use with these axes.

0:40:260:40:29

What you'll want to do is to

0:40:290:40:30

keep your hands on the rubber black handle,

0:40:300:40:33

then if you get to a point where you want to swap

0:40:330:40:35

hands or swap over, you just stick your hand on the other handle here.

0:40:350:40:38

-And then grab the other axe.

-Okey-dokey. Here we go.

0:40:380:40:42

So straight away, I'm seeing this big fella here.

0:40:420:40:45

-That's a really good one.

-And I like big fellas. And feet where?

0:40:450:40:47

Stick your feet wherever feels comfortable.

0:40:470:40:52

OK, this bit looks definitely for the left hand, and then...

0:40:520:40:56

And stick your feet on wherever you feel comfortable.

0:40:560:40:59

OK, here we go.

0:40:590:41:01

Yeah, that's brilliant.

0:41:010:41:03

And can you do left axe up to the number two? Nice!

0:41:030:41:06

And then if you straighten your legs so that you're on your...

0:41:060:41:09

There you go, and can you put two axes on this hole, and this is

0:41:090:41:12

what I was talking about earlier, about keeping the pole down.

0:41:120:41:15

Now you've got to keep the pole even.

0:41:150:41:19

-That's it, walk up and move your arm over.

-Which one?

0:41:210:41:25

That one, yes, that's it.

0:41:250:41:26

If you pull it back, there is a hole drilled into the end of the...

0:41:260:41:29

Oh, blimey!

0:41:290:41:31

There is a hole drilled into the... Right here.

0:41:310:41:35

-There you go. That's the jug hold we were talking about.

-Oh, dear me!

0:41:350:41:40

If you swap feet and put your left foot on here

0:41:400:41:42

then what you'll be able to do is match the hold with your...

0:41:420:41:46

over the thumb, like I was saying.

0:41:460:41:47

Now you'll be able to grab the top of the tool.

0:41:470:41:49

So I want to be putting my...

0:41:490:41:52

So, can you slowly release your right foot?

0:41:520:41:54

Yeah, then if you just try

0:41:540:41:56

and roll that foot off and roll that one up.

0:41:560:41:57

Perfect. Left foot over here, and then if you take that

0:41:570:42:00

and stick it over your thumb. Grab the top handle. There you go.

0:42:000:42:03

-And stick it over your other thumb.

-What, to hold it on?

0:42:030:42:07

Yeah, on the top hand, perfect, that's brilliant.

0:42:070:42:10

Then you're ready to move again, out to this hold here.

0:42:100:42:13

There's another jug hold in this green...

0:42:130:42:15

There you go, now you're on an even steeper one.

0:42:150:42:18

Oh, my goodness gracious! And now I'm stopping.

0:42:180:42:21

Wow! I mean, that's just

0:42:210:42:24

so hard and my arms are feeling so pumped already.

0:42:240:42:27

-Yeah, it's crazy how your arms start to take it in.

-Yeah.

0:42:270:42:29

Yeah, you get tired pretty quick.

0:42:290:42:31

I don't think I'll be worrying the dry tool competitions over

0:42:310:42:34

the next few years. But with the skill and dedication of Greg,

0:42:340:42:38

he can push the sport to a whole new level.

0:42:380:42:40

I basically set my sights as high as they go

0:42:400:42:43

and just train until I can fulfil those goals, basically.

0:42:430:42:46

Pushing the sport, progressing the sport, taking it to new limits.

0:42:460:42:50

Not just my limits but the boundaries of the sport.

0:42:500:42:53

Things are getting a bit demanding.

0:42:590:43:02

Welcome to the Celtman Extreme Triathlon.

0:43:020:43:05

We're here in Glen Torridon waiting for the racers to come through

0:43:050:43:08

the checkpoint for the final leg of their journey -

0:43:080:43:10

the mountain run.

0:43:100:43:11

And that's just the small matter of going up and over Beinn Eighe.

0:43:110:43:16

And the battle is on for the lead.

0:43:170:43:19

Johan Nykvist from Sweden has once again squeezed

0:43:190:43:22

ahead into 1st place, but the crux of the whole race lies ahead and

0:43:220:43:27

Johan's support runner,

0:43:270:43:29

Bodil Norrborn, is worried about this section.

0:43:290:43:32

I think the scree is somewhat terrifying.

0:43:320:43:34

Not terrifying but it's somewhat scary.

0:43:340:43:37

You have to really pay attention to what you do and what you don't do.

0:43:370:43:40

HE SPEAKS SWEDISH

0:43:400:43:42

You've got two minutes, don't worry.

0:43:440:43:46

And what a race it's turning out to be.

0:43:460:43:49

Stuart Macleod's just 41 seconds behind.

0:43:490:43:52

Yeah, OK.

0:43:520:43:55

The bike was good and the swim was good as well.

0:43:550:43:58

The running is my weakness.

0:43:580:44:00

These guys caught me pretty early, after four kilometres or something.

0:44:000:44:04

I think he has some stomach problems or something.

0:44:040:44:07

I'm happy about that but we'll see.

0:44:070:44:10

Like I said before, I wanted to finish top ten,

0:44:100:44:13

and not get beaten by any girls.

0:44:130:44:15

When you start running, it's different from the bike.

0:44:150:44:17

You can't eat as much and everything's, kind of,

0:44:170:44:20

it's a bit distressing. So it's difficult, but it passes.

0:44:200:44:24

Are we good? Are we good?

0:44:240:44:25

Yeah, good luck!

0:44:250:44:27

Dib out, go, go!

0:44:270:44:30

They've been racing now for over nine hours

0:44:300:44:32

yet there's only seconds between the next three runners -

0:44:320:44:36

Sean McFarlane, Oyvind Evensen, and Alex Glasgow.

0:44:360:44:39

Your support, your kit, all of it. I need to see all of it, please.

0:44:390:44:43

-How are you doing?

-Am I allowed to talk with my mouth full on camera?

0:44:430:44:46

Of course. It's much more interesting.

0:44:460:44:50

Aah! Yeah, not too bad.

0:44:500:44:52

Not too bad. So far, yeah, we'll see.

0:44:520:44:55

-How are you feeling about this next section?

-I'm scared.

0:44:550:44:59

Still in the lead for the women and now in 19th place overall is

0:44:590:45:02

Susanne Buckenlei from Germany but she's still not confident of a win.

0:45:020:45:07

The thing is, I don't know that mountain yet

0:45:070:45:10

so I have no idea what is going up there...going on up there,

0:45:100:45:15

so this is of course different.

0:45:150:45:17

But I know I will do one step after the other and then

0:45:170:45:20

I will come to the top and then we have to run down in a careful way.

0:45:200:45:24

So I think we're ready to go.

0:45:260:45:28

Further up the hill, birthday boy Alex Glasgow

0:45:300:45:33

and his support runner, Ben Thomson, have taken the lead. Emerging from

0:45:330:45:36

the mist they've passed three other runners to be first to the summit.

0:45:360:45:40

It's an amazing achievement.

0:45:400:45:43

Alex is no stranger to winning but normally on a bike.

0:45:430:45:47

This is his first ever triathlon -

0:45:470:45:49

one he's been meticulously preparing for.

0:45:490:45:53

I recced Beinn Eighe twice. Both times I fell over.

0:45:530:45:56

The second time, I splatted my knee into a rock, hard, and I...

0:45:560:46:02

You know, when you crash you sort of quite often

0:46:020:46:05

just get up and on you go.

0:46:050:46:07

This time I was down and went, "Oh, dear, dear."

0:46:070:46:09

And I spent five minutes sitting on the ground but it's

0:46:090:46:12

sort of taught me to concentrate. You've got to absolutely focus.

0:46:120:46:15

As soon as you start drifting off in your head,

0:46:150:46:17

you'll get something wrong.

0:46:170:46:20

There's a change in 2nd place too. Now it's Sean McFarlane.

0:46:200:46:24

He reaches the shrouded summit of Ruadh Stac Mor, 980 metres,

0:46:240:46:28

3,011 feet above sea level.

0:46:280:46:31

-Yeah, what race number are you?

-49.

-Cheers.

-Let's go. Well done.

0:46:310:46:34

Go for it.

0:46:340:46:36

That means Stuart Macleod

0:46:380:46:39

has slipped from 2nd to 3rd place on the climb.

0:46:390:46:42

Perhaps his stomach pains have returned.

0:46:420:46:45

That's it. Nice one. Cheers. Take it easy on the way down.

0:46:470:46:50

-Cheers, thanks.

-Well done!

0:46:500:46:52

Still 4th at the summit is Norwegian Oyvind Evensen.

0:46:520:46:56

-Well done!

-Thank you.

0:46:560:46:58

You're doing really well.

0:46:580:47:00

-You're 12 minutes behind the first guy. You're 4th.

-Yeah, I know.

0:47:000:47:05

-Thank you.

-Plenty of time to catch up.

0:47:050:47:08

Yeah, I have to wait for my support runner.

0:47:080:47:10

You can go straight down, yeah. Don't worry about him.

0:47:100:47:13

-He's struggling. I have to train him harder for next year!

-Well done.

0:47:130:47:16

Take it easy on the way down.

0:47:160:47:18

Oyvind had a really strong bike leg but he was worried about the run.

0:47:180:47:23

Actually, I only done seven run trips in four months

0:47:230:47:28

because I have the injury in my leg.

0:47:280:47:30

I have a broken bone in my left foot. I had, it's good now.

0:47:300:47:34

Hopefully it's still good. I'll feel it tomorrow.

0:47:340:47:37

But, you have to run, you have to run a lot. And uphill

0:47:390:47:43

and rocky places, that's the key thing here.

0:47:430:47:47

It's heavy. Hard going upwards.

0:47:470:47:51

However, the big Swede, Johan Nykvist, has dropped from 1st

0:47:510:47:56

to 6th, struggling on the mountain as he suspected he might.

0:47:560:48:00

-We were in the lead when we entered the mountain.

-OK.

-That was then.

0:48:000:48:04

-This was tough. Tough.

-Then you had to carry me around.

0:48:040:48:08

-Let's go.

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

0:48:080:48:11

-Take it easy on the loose bits.

-Yeah.

0:48:110:48:17

You're doing brilliant!

0:48:170:48:19

The first woman racer to the top is Susanne Buckenlei.

0:48:190:48:21

Leading the women's competition as she has from the start.

0:48:210:48:26

You have to train regularly for this so it does not make sense to

0:48:260:48:29

sign up and then start the training three months before.

0:48:290:48:32

I think a year is...

0:48:320:48:33

If you really start at zero then you should use a year

0:48:330:48:36

and then start with the short distance, middle distance

0:48:360:48:39

and maybe in three years then a long distance.

0:48:390:48:41

I don't like if people say, "Oh, I have to do that too,"

0:48:410:48:44

and then three months later they have to do that.

0:48:440:48:46

Then they walk, and it doesn't make sense.

0:48:460:48:50

-I have been grumpy today.

-That's putting it mildly.

0:48:500:48:53

I've shouted at them a few times.

0:48:530:48:56

-Stroppy would be a better word.

-More like a teenager.

0:48:560:48:59

-Enjoy.

-Thank you.

0:48:590:49:01

Are you having a good day?

0:49:010:49:03

Yes. It depends.

0:49:030:49:04

It depends on your definition of good, mind.

0:49:040:49:07

What's your definition of good?

0:49:070:49:09

Swaying in between pants and OK.

0:49:110:49:16

You've still got to get down.

0:49:160:49:18

It's quite a tricky path on the way down so

0:49:180:49:20

hoping to do a bit of running on the way down.

0:49:200:49:25

But I'm enjoying this, just walking up to the top.

0:49:260:49:29

Yeah, it's great.

0:49:290:49:32

Currently in 2nd place for the women is Rosemary Byde from Edinburgh.

0:49:320:49:37

-How are you feeling?

-Tired.

-Yeah.

-I just keep plugging away and

0:49:370:49:40

don't think about how much it hurts.

0:49:400:49:43

How has the race been for you so far?

0:49:430:49:46

Better than I expected.

0:49:460:49:47

I thought I'd be a bit slower on the bike

0:49:490:49:51

so I was really pleased with the bike leg. I really enjoyed it

0:49:510:49:55

when it got to the second half with the long, sustained hills.

0:49:550:49:58

I'm just trying to keep it up doing the run. Run, walk.

0:49:580:50:02

I'm also going to say it's been great, all the supporters,

0:50:020:50:05

not just mine but everybody's been cheering like along the road

0:50:050:50:08

and on the tracks and

0:50:080:50:10

it's been really great cos it's such an encouragement when you're

0:50:100:50:13

feeling tired, to see people shouting

0:50:130:50:15

or doing highland flings and things like that.

0:50:150:50:17

-Does it really help keep you going, do you think?

-Absolutely it does.

0:50:170:50:20

It really does.

0:50:200:50:21

-Awesome route, that. Awesome.

-You get good views?

0:50:210:50:25

Yeah, it cleared just a little bit, then back into fog. OK.

0:50:250:50:30

-This is where we go down?

-Yes.

0:50:300:50:32

It's loose, it's loose, very loose.

0:50:320:50:34

-Slightly easier on the right.

-Slightly easier on the right.

0:50:340:50:36

It's very loose. Be careful, if you knock any stones off you have to

0:50:360:50:39

shout down below because there's boys below you, OK?

0:50:390:50:43

On a hill like this, going down is often harder work than going up

0:50:430:50:48

and more dangerous too.

0:50:480:50:49

We can just see the first runners reaching the bottom

0:50:520:50:55

of the great scree slope that runs down from the Beinn Eighe ridge.

0:50:550:50:59

As they draw closer, it's clear Alex Glasgow is not only hanging

0:50:590:51:03

on to the lead, he's extending it.

0:51:030:51:06

The rocky stuff at the top of Beinn Eighe and down the back

0:51:060:51:09

of the triple buttress is really like mountain biking. You're

0:51:090:51:13

just down, da-da-da-da, you know, and picking your line and

0:51:130:51:17

keeping looking forward and you're just dancing down it.

0:51:170:51:20

Sean McFarlane is descending fast,

0:51:200:51:23

trying to catch Alex on the downhill.

0:51:230:51:25

He was obviously good on the hill cos I was going OK on the hill.

0:51:250:51:28

I'm not a bad hill runner, especially for a triathlete.

0:51:280:51:31

But he came past me on the hill, heading up.

0:51:310:51:33

Although he was walking but he was walking fast.

0:51:330:51:35

I thought, "Right, if we get to the top and do some running,

0:51:350:51:38

"I'll probably catch him," but he pulled away.

0:51:380:51:40

It was quite misty and every now and again the mist cleared

0:51:400:51:42

and you'd see him, and he was a good bit away.

0:51:420:51:46

3rd and 4th place racers are running side by side.

0:51:460:51:49

It looks like Stuart Macleod

0:51:490:51:50

and Oyvind Evensen have dropped their support runners.

0:51:500:51:54

By now the competitors are spread all over this mountain.

0:51:540:51:59

-Wait till I do my hair.

-What hair?

0:51:590:52:02

-Well done. Good one.

-Cheers. Nice one, thanks.

0:52:020:52:06

-Hiya.

-I couldn't wait to do this.

-You're doing great.

0:52:070:52:10

This is Pete, Stirling Triathlon Club, he's doing a great job here.

0:52:120:52:16

-I'm just the mere support man.

-Last top, then it's home.

0:52:160:52:21

How are you doing?

0:52:210:52:22

-Looking forward to a pint.

-I'll bet.

0:52:220:52:25

Down at the finish line in Torridon, and the end, for some at least,

0:52:270:52:30

is in sight.

0:52:300:52:32

Alex Glasgow, incredible performance from this man. Quite sensational.

0:52:330:52:38

CHEERING

0:52:380:52:39

Brilliant, brilliant swim this morning. A wonderful cycle

0:52:390:52:44

and that run -

0:52:440:52:45

mountain marathon with a Munro thrown in for good measure.

0:52:450:52:49

He absolutely smashes it and that is sensational.

0:52:490:52:54

The Celtman champion, the first time they've run this race

0:52:540:52:57

and it's won by a Scotsman. Did absolutely brilliantly.

0:52:570:53:01

I hadn't swum or run for 20-something years at school.

0:53:010:53:06

-Really?

-Seriously, I hadn't.

0:53:060:53:08

Like I'd messed about on the beach, you know, swimming a wee bit.

0:53:080:53:11

I hadn't even run for a bus for 20 years

0:53:110:53:14

and it's my first triathlon.

0:53:140:53:17

It's just shocking!

0:53:180:53:19

Here, coming up in second place, Sean McFarlane,

0:53:220:53:25

again, a brilliant run from this Scotsman.

0:53:250:53:28

CHEERING

0:53:280:53:31

He did so wonderfully well on the swim.

0:53:310:53:33

He kept it together on the cycle ride

0:53:330:53:35

and that run, again, is just sensational as well.

0:53:350:53:40

Sean McFarlane, over the line, a bit of blood on the elbow there.

0:53:400:53:43

But that is a great, great race.

0:53:460:53:48

-Congratulations, a 2nd place finish, and tight at the end.

-Yeah, it was.

0:53:480:53:53

I could see the guy in 1st coming down the roads and at one point he

0:53:530:53:56

seemed quite close and then I think at the end he put in a big effort

0:53:560:54:00

to get away from me. And he did. So, yeah, but it was pretty tight, yeah.

0:54:000:54:04

It was good though, it was good. I'm over the moon with 2nd. Fantastic.

0:54:040:54:07

-Did you know Alex Glasgow beforehand?

-No.

0:54:070:54:09

Cos this was his first triathlon.

0:54:090:54:11

Oh, don't tell me that. I feel terrible now!

0:54:110:54:13

Alex is very well known as a biker. Clearly he's a pretty fit guy.

0:54:130:54:16

Yeah, I was surprised how good he was because I've not seen many

0:54:160:54:19

triathletes who are technically good on the hill

0:54:190:54:21

because they're used to concrete

0:54:210:54:23

and that's where I make up a lot of time.

0:54:230:54:25

I'm not good on the hill but compared to triathletes I am.

0:54:250:54:27

I thought, "Right, I'll get him on this," and then he just went.

0:54:270:54:30

So, no, he's good, he's good.

0:54:300:54:32

Yeah, honestly I can't really explain why today went so well.

0:54:320:54:36

I have no... I can't believe nobody's quicker.

0:54:360:54:40

Like they've come from all over the world,

0:54:400:54:43

a bloke from just down the road's won it.

0:54:430:54:45

It's mad.

0:54:450:54:47

And coming over the line in 3rd place,

0:54:480:54:51

Oyvind Evensen from Norway, again, that was a fantastic run from him.

0:54:510:54:56

He had a terrible, terrible swim earlier on,

0:54:560:54:59

a brilliant bike ride and a...

0:54:590:55:02

that was a brilliant run! Very, very impressive indeed.

0:55:020:55:05

So Scotland, one, two, Norway, three.

0:55:050:55:09

-Congratulations to you, a 3rd place finish, brilliant!

-Thank you.

0:55:090:55:12

Thank you very much. I'm really surprised.

0:55:120:55:15

I didn't expect this at all. It's my second long distance triathlon.

0:55:150:55:21

And I was far behind after the swimming. 120th or something.

0:55:210:55:26

And then really good biking, OK running.

0:55:280:55:31

It was good enough for 3rd place, at least.

0:55:320:55:35

So here comes Susanne Buckenlei from Germany.

0:55:370:55:42

She's won the Norseman over in Norway.

0:55:420:55:45

She doesn't know her way to the finish line however.

0:55:450:55:47

Excellent effort there. Absolutely brilliant.

0:55:470:55:50

She led after the cycle, looking really strong,

0:55:500:55:54

really comfortable and it's her birthday today,

0:55:540:55:58

just like Alex Glasgow, the winner of the men's race.

0:55:580:56:00

-It's your birthday.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

0:56:000:56:04

-It's my birthday.

-It's yours? Congratulations!

-I won as well.

0:56:040:56:07

-No, really!

-Obviously destined to be birthday people.

-That is great!

0:56:070:56:10

-That is really cool. How old are you?

-43.

-OK then.

0:56:100:56:15

I knew half way that I have a big lead

0:56:150:56:18

but I didn't want to slow down because of that.

0:56:180:56:21

I really want to push myself to do a good race here

0:56:210:56:24

and now it's first time so it's a record.

0:56:240:56:26

So it has to be broken once. So of course you want to be fast and that

0:56:260:56:30

is hard for the next one.

0:56:300:56:31

So, yeah, I really enjoyed it but it hurt a lot.

0:56:310:56:34

It's a tough race. It is, yeah.

0:56:340:56:37

And confirmation of those final results. In the women's race,

0:56:370:56:41

Isobel Joiner from Edinburgh came in 3rd with a time of 16 hours

0:56:410:56:45

five minutes and 34 seconds.

0:56:450:56:47

In 2nd place is another Edinburgh lass, Rosemary Byde,

0:56:470:56:51

who completed the course in 16 hours and 23 seconds

0:56:510:56:55

and taking the top spot for the women, and 15th place overall,

0:56:550:56:59

is Susanne Buckenlei from Germany

0:56:590:57:01

with a great time of 13 hours, 55:33.

0:57:010:57:05

For the men, 3rd place goes to Oyvind Evensen

0:57:050:57:08

with a time of 12 hours, 27:44.

0:57:080:57:11

Sean McFarlane is in 2nd with 12:12:13

0:57:110:57:16

but the winner here today, in his first ever triathlon,

0:57:160:57:19

is Alex Glasgow with a time of 12:09:48.

0:57:190:57:23

And that's almost it for this month's Adventure Show

0:57:240:57:27

but just before we go, here's Cameron with news of two special

0:57:270:57:31

programmes for the Christmas period.

0:57:310:57:34

Despite being able to boast some of the finest walking routes in the

0:57:340:57:38

world, Scotland's never had a long distance walking trail that starts at

0:57:380:57:41

one end of the country and finishes at the other.

0:57:410:57:45

But it has now.

0:57:450:57:46

The Scottish National Trail begins in Kirk Yetholm

0:57:460:57:50

amongst the lovely rolling hills of the Borders

0:57:500:57:53

and works its way through the country to finish at Cape Wrath,

0:57:530:57:56

the most northwesterly point on the British mainland.

0:57:560:57:59

In between, the route visits both our national parks, our capital

0:57:590:58:03

city of Edinburgh and passes through some of the finest landscapes you'll

0:58:030:58:07

find anywhere.

0:58:070:58:08

So why don't you join me as I walk Scotland, end to end?

0:58:080:58:13

For full details of those special programmes

0:58:130:58:16

and all the Adventure Show news, follow us on Facebook.

0:58:160:58:20

In the meantime, our congratulations to the organisers, competitors

0:58:200:58:23

and supporters who have made the Celtman an instant classic

0:58:230:58:27

and one that Scotland can be truly proud of.

0:58:270:58:30

From all of us, bye for now.

0:58:300:58:32

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0:58:340:58:38

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