Glencoe Marathon The Adventure Show

I wasn't expecting to be knee deep in a bog trying to get out.

This is actually fun.

I've never sweated so much in Scotland in my life.

Hello and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

This month we're in the imposing landscape of Glencoe

for what must be one of the most

beautiful and rugged marathon courses anywhere in the UK.

It's magical. I usually do the races on the West Highland Way,

so squeezing in an end of season one.

And this isn't just any old marathon.

As well as a distance of 26.2 miles,

there's also 1,600 metres of ascent,

including a gruelling 500 metres

up the eastern edge of the Aonach ridge,

aptly known as the Devil's Staircase.

I'm leaving soon for good,

so I have to embrace the place that I love so much.

There's no other place like Glencoe.

It has been described as Scotland's hardest marathon,

and it does look like a fantastic challenge,

crossing through some of the most beautiful country in the land.

Right down towards the finish at the base of Ben Nevis.

I tend to do things and then think about it.

Should be running really.

Whereabouts is the Devil's Staircase?

You've just done it.

Oh, right. Is that it? Piece of cake.

-See you later.

-Bye.

Also in this month's Adventure Show,

we'll be looking ahead to deep winter,

as we catch up with young Scottish snowboarder Ben Kilner.

I think at first what gripped me to it

was probably just the fact that it was so hard to start with,

I was really determined to actually manage to do it.

It was frustrating me that I couldn't perfect it.

We'll be joining up with

long distance hiker and wilderness guru Chris Townsend

as he prepares for the long dark nights.

I think the mountains are at their most glorious in winter

when they're snow covered. They're absolutely fantastic.

And then it really does feel like a true Arctic wilderness.

And Cameron McNeish will once again be heading up into our mountains.

And it's a wild walk with a difference.

I want to combine some coastal walking,

a walk through a lovely woodland with a visit to the summit

of Ben Bhraggie, where I'm going to visit Golspie's very own Mannie.

But first to the Glencoe Marathon,

and this is only the second year this event has been held.

And the winner got round last year

in an incredible time of 3 hours 50 minutes, so that's the time to beat.

For many competitors, though,

just getting round in one piece will be enough.

I'm really nervous because I done it last year

and it was a proper struggle,

and basically I couldn't walk properly for about a week without pain.

So I'm really nervous because I know what's coming.

I've done the West Highland Way Race three times.

And I've done the Devil of the Highland

which takes from Tyndrum to Fort William, I've done that five times.

So, yeah, once I get to the Devil's Staircase,

yeah, it's familiar territory for me.

The race starts at the Red Squirrel campsite

just outside Glencoe village.

From here, the runners head east

through the heart of Glencoe

before turning north

to tackle the Devil's Staircase.

Once at the high point

with the Aonach Eagach ridge

breaking the skyline to the west,

they race downhill

into Kinlochleven.

The second part of the event starts with a tough incline

as the route snakes through the mighty Mamores,

before powering down into Glen Nevis

and the finish at the foot of the Ben.

Well, you may well expect with an event like the Glencoe Marathon,

that Dougie, Deziree, or me, Duncan, would be running the event.

But no, we have another D - Dominic - who is our running secret weapon.

Dominic, you're running the Devil's Staircase with a camera.

How do you think that will be?

Well, I actually ran up it just before to have a look

and it's not too bad.

It's sort of winding, it's a pretty good path,

there is a lot of loose rocks on it as well,

so the runners are going to have to concentrate on that.

They don't want to be going over on their ankle, that sort of thing.

But it is short and sharp, it's quite steep in sections,

but when you get to the top, it's about a five mile downhill

to Kinlochleven, so I'm sure they'll be looking forward to that.

It's quite demoralising you can do that with a camera.

Of course, I would have done it myself,

but, well, it's a little too easy to show off.

Anyway, there's no doubt about one thing.

This is a tough route for tough racers.

I'm very nervous. I think I've got a long day ahead of me.

I haven't done anything like this before.

I have only done a few half marathons, city half marathons.

This is my first ever mountain marathon.

You know... I've not done anything like this before.

I just hope that I make it to the end and that my training will carry me through.

Would you not be nervous if you had to run up these hills?

So here is the countdown.

And they're off. APPLAUSE

And it's going to be all about careful pacing today.

There's a lot of people who have a chance to win the race,

and many people who are just wanting to finish.

But, even for the best runners,

they're going to need to pace themselves very carefully.

The first five miles is a long drag up Glencoe.

Just 200 metres ascent, which is not too bad,

but it's a bit strength-sapping.

And then the Devil's Staircase.

And it was described to me as a quick 500 metre push up,

and then a long drag along the hillside into Kinlochleven,

where the real meat of the race is -

the last few miles out of Kinlochleven to the finish.

Woo-hoo! Freedom!

Last year saw the very first Glencoe Marathon.

Today, people have flocked here

from right across the UK and further afield.

The reason we chose this is because it's so beautiful,

but it's a tough route. I did it myself last year,

and a lot of mud, especially before you join the West Highland Way.

So we're pioneering this route.

People are now wanting to do the off-road marathons more.

They're getting kind of bored of running on the road,

more injuries on the road.

An event like this is iconic, absolutely stunning,

probably the most beautiful marathon in the world.

It really is incredible.

And I think it will grow - just under 300 this year -

but hopefully that will grow.

I've never done a marathon.

So this is quite a big thing

to kick off to start your marathon running career?

Well, I would never do a road marathon, never.

It's... Never had any desire to do a road marathon,

and this just happens to be a marathon, but it's in Glencoe,

so that's the only reason I'm doing it.

I suffered a heart attack last year at age 37,

so it was a bit of a shock for me.

I thought I was quite healthy and doing everything I could

to prevent any medical problems, but there you go.

So six months with the help of the BHF and my local hospital

to get me back to health

and then now I sort of picked up the reins from there, and here I am now.

It was my wife actually signed up three months ago believe it or not,

I didn't actually know about that.

But, no, I think it's a fantastic venue,

the scenery around here will be fantastic.

And obviously it is quite a challenge.

Running a marathon is a challenge enough as it is,

but with all the ascent that's involved in this,

all the descent, this is going to be difficult.

I'm in the Army and was out in Afghanistan and thought,

"I fancy entering in a race when I get back."

Unfortunately my appendix burst on tour, so I've only had a month to train for it,

so I'm just going to give it a shot and see how it goes.

So we're only about 25 minutes into the race,

and already there's a breakaway group of three runners

who are setting a pretty good pace up Glencoe.

So they've done the first couple of miles,

now they're coming up on the old Drovers Road that leads

up on to the flat of Rannoch Moor.

And out in front at this early stage

is Christopher Darling, James Crozier and Alan Ross.

I've only done a couple of road marathons.

There's not really any comparison.

The training's enjoyable because you're training off-road

and because you need to train for similar types of terrain.

Probably not so much of a toll on the body

from the sort of faster miles that you would do on the road.

So, the appeal's there. You can do these I think into your - I don't know - 80s.

You can do them for a long time certainly.

I think your body doesn't get hurt as much by them.

And as these three head off towards the relative flat

of the upper part of Glencoe,

before the Devil's Staircase, they are well out in front.

The nearest runners are about 300 metres behind already.

Leading the women's race is top ultrarunner Lucy Colquhoun.

She holds the record for the fastest female on the West Highland Way,

but says she has not been doing much training recently.

-You sure you don't want to swap?

-I thought you said you weren't fit?

-I'm not!

-Keep going.

-This is just the beginning.

-Go on, Luce.

There's nowhere to hide in a road marathon, it's a relentless pace.

You know what time you're going for and you just have to bang one mile

out after the next, much more intense obviously and no variety.

I much prefer off-road because you've got the ups and downs -

literally and figuratively.

The scenery distracts you from the hard work.

It takes longer, but you're just in beautiful surroundings.

It's a much more kind of holistic experience.

With the Devil's Staircase looming up ahead for the competitors,

we're going to take a short break from the action here at Glencoe

and look ahead to winter with one of the rising stars

of the Scottish snowboard scene.

Meet Ben Kilner, born and brought up in Banchory, now taking

the snowboarding world by storm.

Yeah, woo.

I was nine years old when I first kind of discovered snowboarding,

and that was through sledging down at my local golf course,

seeing these guys going off these little jumps

and I just thought, "I really want to do that."

I think at first what gripped me

to it was probably just the fact that it was so hard to start with,

I was really determined to actually manage to do it.

It was frustrating me that I couldn't perfect it,

and it still frustrates me to this day that I can't perfect it.

I never thought that I would be addicted to it until I have

a long break and I'm just like, "Wow, my body really needs something here."

And you realise actually, "I need to go snowboarding, I need to go

"and fill my body with adrenaline again."

It's a massive excitement I think you get that we always strive for.

I think we'll never get bored of being filled with adrenaline.

Yeah!

Ben is one of a new breed of snowboarders.

The grunge stylings and reverse baseball hats

may still be part of this sport,

but along with this comes the serious training of

a dedicated, top-class sportsperson.

'I mean we don't have the best reputation but that comes from

'history, I think. Now things have changed a lot. We are considered'

athletes now so we are very kind of professional about things.

And we know now that if you are not fit for the game,

then you end up with injuries and things like that.

So, yeah, we just try and keep on top of things.

We know that fitness is the key to performing well.

Nice.

Very nice, Ben. Good force.

Ben first competed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.

He's confident about his chances for

selection to the Sochi games in Russia next year.

The Olympics has been a dream for me ever since I was young.

I saw the Salt Lake City games in 2002

and I just remember being sat in my room.

I just saw my heroes on TV and just thinking, "I really want to do that."

Let's go, let's go, chest up, chest up.

I feel I've got another Olympic Games in me after Russia,

so, I mean, that allows me to

go another four years with a lot of focus.

One more set.

Ben's Olympic success would not have been possible without

the support of friends and family, particularly his mum and dad.

Done.

In the early days, it was a real burden.

We had to sort of 100% finance him.

And because snowboarding, you can't particularly do it,

you know, on a professional basis with what we have available,

the facilities here,

he had to travel abroad so it cost a lot of money.

As he became accepted as a professional athlete,

then sponsorship came along, and it became easier.

I think the support from family and friends has been something that's

driven me to where I am today, they've been absolutely brilliant.

And, I mean, snowboarding full-time, you really have to sacrifice

education and your friends and family in order to get where you are,

so it's hard doing but they've continued to support me.

It can be quite barking, I think.

It depends which way you look at it.

You can look at us as being completely and utterly mental,

or you can look at us being crazy, but in control crazy.

I think that's the difference.

Someone that just throws themselves upside down

and has never done it before, that's to me crazy.

But someone that can throw themselves upside down

and know that they are going to land back on their feet,

that's in control crazy.

And the best of luck to Ben both for this season

and those upcoming Russian Winter Olympics.

We are staying with the winter theme as we head into

the Scottish hills with wilderness expert Chris Townsend,

who enjoys this time of year more than any other.

In winter, when the mountains are covered in deep snow,

then they're wilder and seem bigger

because all the scars of summer - the cairns, the footpaths

are buried under the snow,

so you really have an untouched landscape to go out into.

Chris has spent a lifetime exploring the world's wild places.

His walks range from a mere 500 miles to ones of over 2,000.

There's nowhere he knows better though

than his local Cairngorm Mountains.

He is the star of a new film produced by Terry Abraham

celebrating this landscape in winter.

The Cairngorms are one of my favourite places,

I love wild places and I love the Cairngorms.

They're also my home mountains now,

places where I feel I can go to when I need to restore my spirits.

Where the forests and the mountains are familiar

and feel like friends,

friends, however, that I know I have to be wary of

as the weather can be so savage at any time.

As autumn turned into winter, we met up with Chris

to discover why this range of mountains inspires him so much,

and at a time when many of us just want to sit in front of the fire.

It feels much more like exploring than it does in the summer,

and, of course, the one thing with snow is

it can be different every day.

So you can go out one day and the snow would have drifted

in such a way and will have such a texture,

you can go out the next day and it's completely different,

and all signs that you were there the day before have gone.

It's the light which is a real northern light.

I think it's to do with the combination of sunshine,

and snow, and clouds.

And you always get long shadows, so the lighting,

even when it's bright, it's still got that Arctic feel.

And the other thing the low sun does is

it brings out the texture of the snow and of any rocks,

because they are being lit from the side,

so you see all the variations in the snow, all the shadows,

all the little ridges.

Winter in the Cairngorms can be wild and savage.

On a sunny day, when it's warm and dry in the shelter of the trees,

it's easy to think that it must be the same high up.

But just look up and see the clouds racing overhead

and you'll realise that it can be very different.

Winter storms can be really exciting, really fun,

it's really exhilarating.

When you have a blizzard blasting across the tops

you really feel you could be anywhere.

It really, really feels remote.

You cannot see outside the storm.

You are in the storm, and the whole world is the storm.

The most spectacular day of filming was the day when

we camped on the summit of Mullach Clach a'Bhlair,

which is one of the Munros above Glen Feshie,

because that was a perfect winter's day,

crystal clear views to the distant horizons,

and we camped almost on the summit itself.

There was a wonderful sunset, and then a beautiful starry sky.

It was a completely calm night,

very cold but no wind at all.

And then the next morning, the dawn was absolutely wonderful.

That is the best high level camp,

winter camp in Scotland I've ever had.

Most people are out on the hills between nine and five,

and I think they miss the best times to be out.

You know, they miss the dawn,

they miss the sunset,

they miss the starry skies at night.

And it's especially great in winter,

lie in the tent looking out at the stars

because you can hear the wind,

you can hear snow skittering across icy surfaces,

you can hear any creatures that are about.

Sometimes it's stormy and you can wake in the morning

and the world has completely changed.

When there has been snow overnight,

even the tracks you have made walking to the tent,

and walking around the tent the night before have gone.

And you look out and the world has been renewed

while you were asleep.

Don't forget going out into the Scottish mountains in winter conditions

requires a high level of skill and experience,

and should rarely be attempted alone.

The good news is that a number of mountain instructors

and organisations teach the necessary skills.

To find out about them,

the film Chris made, and all our other news,

follow us on Facebook.

Welcome back to the Glencoe Marathon.

Now competitors are getting stuck into the steepest part of the course

the Devil's Staircase.

-How are you doing?

-Good, thanks.

-Lovely day for it.

-Beautiful day.

Out in front, one of the three early leaders has managed to break away.

Alan Ross lives in Lochaber

and, for him, being local is one of the attractions of this race.

I have a young family so it was nice to do something

where I don't have to travel hours and hours to get to it.

I did a race in the summer over in Braemar,

that was a similar race to this but a lot further away.

And there's something nice about such familiar terrain.

You know, growing up here I spent a lot of time in this glen,

in Glencoe skiing and doing all sorts of different sports,

so there was something really special about this.

Hello, you are doing a great job there, how's it going?

Not too bad.

-You are looking really fresh still.

-Aye.

Well done.

Close behind is James Crozier from Fife,

he's having a great run so far,

in spite of being relatively new to this kind of event.

I only started running last year. My weekends were taken up

with just having drinks and I decided that enough was enough.

I kept going to watch videos and DVDs

and my wife was saying we have already watched that,

and because I was just getting drunk and watching them

I could never remember that I had watched them,

so I thought, "Right, that's it." So I got a pair of running shoes

and just started running up the local hills in Fife.

I enjoyed it that much I just kept running more and more and more.

One of the early leaders through Glencoe, Christopher Darling,

is currently in third place

close behind him as they start the climb up the Devil's Staircase,

Michael Tweedley from Edinburgh, is in fourth.

He's better known as a climber.

Got injured so just started doing running and stuff.

I did like running before so

just started doing more stuff like that - triathlons and stuff.

-So you're fairly new to this type of activity then?

-Yeah, yeah.

Just this year I've just entered three events

and this is the final event.

Going uphill especially, I feel that's my strong point.

So I did sort of think that if I took it steady up Glencoe

and then got to that point, I could make up some places.

Are you still smiling?

Yeah.

How's the race so far?

Pretty good, yeah, a bit boggy.

-All right?

-Aye.

It really feels like here at the Devil's Staircase is where

this becomes a mountain marathon, it's the threshold.

People leave the road and they are journeying up

into some real wilderness terrain.

I often think one of the best things about doing a marathon like this

must surely be the incredible scenery

that you get to journey through,

and on a day like today, the play of the light on the mountains

is just absolutely incredible.

Also enjoying the scenery, and the hard work that goes with it,

is experienced fell runner and our cameraman Dominic Scott.

How's it going?

Oh, it's good, man. That section's killing me.

That boggy section is really killing me.

Are you doing the marathon, aye?

-Aye.

-How's it going?

Not too bad, not too bad.

Great, isn't it? I am looking forward to getting to the top now

and cruising down to Kinlochleven.

There's not a lot of running going on, but it's only the first half,

and people have talked about the first section as being really,

really tough, and the boggy section as being really tough.

So I think people are finding it quite difficult to be honest.

Yeah. How easy is it for you, trying to film folks

on this kind of terrain?

It's quite a narrow path so it's pretty difficult to film,

and it's pretty difficult because I've got to keep one eye

on the path and one eye on them which doesn't always happen.

But, it's... Yeah, it's quite tricky.

-How are you?

-You should be doing this.

Well, I'm doing a bit of it!

Still leading the field for the women is Lucy Colquhoun.

As an ultra runner, used to tackling far longer courses,

she's taking this 26.2 miles in her stride.

If you're doing a long trail run, you don't have to watch out

and you're not hammering down at speeds,

so you do lose yourself in it.

If you're fit and the land is such that you can run,

it's a lovely feeling where your muscles work

and the pace is what you want it to be and you feel

just very within your own body, it's quite hard to describe.

You find out just what you've got within you,

it's the solitude that I like actually.

About seven minutes behind Lucy is Kim Stewart from Stirling.

This is the first time she's run a marathon

and she only signed up for the event seven weeks ago.

Is this one of the toughest sections of it?

I don't know, I'd say the bog was pretty bad.

This is steep so just having a walk,

-but I have never done it before...

-OK.

I've never been up here before.

Oh, fantastic, you are doing a great job then.

-It's good.

-A third of the way through.

-Yeah.

-We'll let you get running.

-Excellent.

-Good luck.

-Thank you...

Because you're running

and you're constantly watching where your feet are,

you're constantly looking at the surroundings,

you're not really clock watching,

you're not thinking, you're not knocking off the miles.

Like, even in 10K or half marathons you're knocking off the miles,

whereas this you're just running and looking around.

It was great.

I love Glencoe, I love just coming anywhere near Glencoe

and completely off-road and I just thought, "That's the route."

And the fact it was a marathon kind of put me off a bit,

but, at the end of the day I just went for it.

The third woman to tackle the staircase

is Glasgow based Debbie Martin-Consani.

Like Lucy Colquhoun,

she's an athlete more used to ultra marathon distances.

How's it going?

Good, yeah, loving it.

-Why?

-I love the West Highland Way, it's magical.

I usually do the races on the West Highland Way,

but I haven't done any this year, so squeezing in an end of season one.

So what made you come and do this one then?

I just love this section, fabulous.

Apart from the first bit - I don't really like mud.

Oh, it's tough.

Running in these hills is not only a test of strength and stamina

but also of tactics, so Duncan McCallum met up with

current leader and top endurance athlete Lucy Colquhoun.

to discover the tricks of the trade.

It's a pretty nice, warm autumn day here in Glencoe

and this is my normal hillwalking kit.

Got a windproof top, a base layer, trousers,

lightweight boots, not too heavy,

and a rucksack full of the normal stuff for a day out on the hill,

and it weighs about five-and-a-half kilos.

Lucy, we've got an event, the Glencoe mountain marathon,

normal hillwalking gear is simply not appropriate, it's too heavy.

What would you carry for an event like that,

for a long distance, high altitude mountain run?

I've got everything that I would take in here.

-Just in the bum bag?

-Yeah, just a wee tiny bag.

Some water which I might not even take

because quite often you can get some from streams or from aid stations.

I've got waterproof trousers, a hat.

And in here I've got an emergency blanket,

and some food and some gloves.

So is that the requirement for an event like this?

Yeah, you usually need a compass, whistle, full body cover,

enough food and drink should anything happen,

-that's pretty much it.

-It's pretty lightweight,

it's a fifth of the weight that I'm carrying.

Yeah, I mean, obviously the less you are carrying,

the quicker you can cover the ground in theory.

So it's a quick change of gear for Duncan

to see what difference that makes.

The challenges can happen at any point,

you know that you'll have a dip,

your energy levels might go or your motivation might go.

But you just know that you'll get through it.

I think I can kind of cope with the road stuff,

how do you deal with something like that though

because this is really mountain running?

You're probably going to be walking rather than running up that,

so it's a lot of pressing on your knees.

I find not to look up at the top.

I think that can just put you off when you realise

how far you have got to go, leaning forward

and I sometimes count in my head to make the time pass.

OK, driving arms obviously?

Yeah.

Even the top people, you'll see them on the stuff that's

just too sheer an incline, it does help to push off

or you can put your hands in your waistband,

whatever helps to get you up there.

Oh, now we've crossed the stream.

That reminds me, I think we probably need to stop for something to drink

before you get too far ahead.

This looks like a good place.

I was told by a mountain runner that the best thing to do was

to carry a water bottle and not a bladder,

because you could refill them and it's much faster to refill in a race.

Yeah, it's easier, yeah. Less leakage.

So this is proper anything goes territory, isn't it?

Yeah, this is hands on knees I think.

Well, that seems like quite enough uphill.

Lucy, what's the secret for - good excuse to stop -

for descending?

Brakes off, brain off is what they say.

-What, just go for it?

-Yeah, really loosen up,

the minute you start tensing, you're likely to fall.

I'm certainly not a good descender, but shall we give it a go

-and see what happens?

-Yeah, let's give it a go.

So, lean forward and look far ahead.

So you can't be landing on straight legs,

you must be landing on bent legs.

Yeah, so I think to kind of keep supple.

If you can take off your natural instincts to be careful

and go for it, as I say. Yeah, it's better people than me that are

expert at it, people are going to laugh so much when they see this.

Well, that's been an interesting introduction to me

about hill running, something that I hadn't really considered before.

But maybe I am inspired to go a little bit faster

and a lot lighter on the hill.

Back to the Glencoe Marathon.

Many of the competitors have made their way up the glen

and are now starting the gruelling ascent over the Devil's Staircase

to Kinlochleven.

Beautiful scenery, lovely part of the country to be in.

Excellent. Good race.

Is this the kind of worst bit to get out the way?

I think so, I've heard a few guys saying it's the worst bit.

It almost seems like you can't walk on it without falling over.

Yeah, sure.

I made the mistake of running up it last year,

I am not doing it this year.

Cheers.

This must feel like a really great point to get to,

because you've done all the hard slog up the Devil's Staircase

and there's now a beautiful long kind of

gentle descent through some absolutely terrific terrain,

with just amazing scenery to look at as well.

This must be really one of the highlights of the race I think.

I actually found the Devil's Staircase much easier than I thought,

and we're just starting the descent now.

So, actually feeling OK at the moment.

Very boggy at the start,

That was the hardest thing I've ever run over.

You're looking remarkably glamorous still.

I've got spray tan!

I keep looking round to see if my husband will pop up somewhere but...

Did you get that done just for this today?

I always get a spray tan on a Thursday.

THEY LAUGH

Took it very easy at the start.

The boggy bit I knew from last year really saps you.

So it's best just to tiptoe through that

and take it really easy, I think, because the second half

is a bit more undulating, there is a bit more of a grind you know.

Even if it's sore for the first few miles you soon get into a rhythm

and you often... I think people surprise themselves with

how they can get through these things no problem.

Lovely day for a run.

Like today you'll get very, very highs

and quite a few people get lows.

Your emotions can go up and down a lot - it's brilliant.

It's nice to have a chance to see the view!

What you learn to do is you need to eat and drink a lot more often

than you'd normally get.

Like hillwalking, if you go out and you've not eaten you can be tired,

but if you take the running aspect,

you've got to have the energy on-board to keep on going.

-Is your knee all right?

-Yeah, fine, aye.

At the front the fastest runners are now pounding through Kinlochleven.

This is the halfway mark

and local competitor Alan Ross is still out in the lead,

just a short distance ahead of his rivals.

He runs through this landscape almost daily.

I run to and from work,

so that's about three-and-a-half miles there

and three-and-a-half miles back,

and I can extend it actually by going up the hill beside us there

to get back home, so... it's not a huge number of miles.

I'm able to get a long run in at the weekend -

that's probably the mainstay, plus just the regular miles,

and maybe one session that's a bit towards working on speed.

And lots of the training runs are quite hilly anyway,

so probably, I don't know, not more than 50 miles a week.

Christopher Darling and James Crozier

are just 18 seconds behind Alan

as they all run out of the town to the start of

the second big climb of this course, up and over the Mamores Ridge.

Behind them Michael Tweedley is pushing hard in fourth place.

The main thing's just the whole training that you do

before the event.

The event sort of just...

It's, yeah, it's anti-climax really.

I think it's the big build-up to it that I enjoy.

In the women's race Lucy Colquhoun has a seven minute lead,

and is right up there amongst the fastest men.

Kim Stewart is currently in second place for the women

with a three minute lead over third place Debbie Martin-Consani.

But whatever their position, the runners we spoke to

were all agreed on one thing -

the wonderful setting of this mountain marathon.

It's more an adventure possibly.

It's the freedom of it I think.

You know, you're just running around, you have got a bit of water

and a bit of food in your pack

and you just go and you test yourself, you push yourself.

I think it's the challenge of it.

On here you've got to look - everything's different,

every step's different.

It is easy.

I only heard about this last week and it was just music to my ears.

The last one of the season and probably the most scenic setting,

one of the most scenic settings in the world.

This is the first time I've ever run through here.

The Glencoe marathon looks set to become a classic mountain event

and a permanent fixture in the Scottish racing calendar.

-Looking good.

-Someone who took part in the inaugural event last year

is Tracey Innes, who's travelled over from Aberdeenshire.

Every single minute last year was just stunning, so I really loved it.

It was a really good atmosphere as well.

Lots of people chatting, good support,

so I just enjoyed the whole thing really.

The biggest battle for any event is just beating your mind

and I kind of feel like, in this event,

you don't have those mind battles cos it's so stunning.

I don't really know...

I didn't have that battle where I usually do at the end of a marathon

of keep going, keep focused cos I just enjoyed it all so much.

Can't explain it.

I'm just hoping to get to the end in one piece today.

No time in mind.

How are you feeling?

Good. Halfway point.

Tough on the knees on the way down. Good though, good.

-Feeling good?

-Oh, yeah.

I would say I am probably a lot tired than

I expected to be at this point.

Chris McDougall, the guy who wrote Born To Run,

says that we are programmed to run, it's what we have been doing

since the dawn of time. And I really believe in that.

And it's a really good solitary... gliding along, taking in the scenery,

but also challenging yourself physically as well.

It's the closest that I think you can be to totally free.

Many competitors have now reached this halfway point,

while the fastest are now well into the next section on the Mamores.

We will be back with them shortly.

First we are joining Cameron McNeish for his monthly wild walk,

and this one is just a little bit unusual.

There is an old music hall song that goes along the lines of...

# Where the heather bells are blooming

# Outside Granny's door

# There as laddies they would play in days of long ago

# 'Neath the shadow of Ben Bhraggie

# By Golspie's lordly stane

# How I wish that I could see my granny's heilan' hame. #

I have always found that song to be very evocative, particularly

because my own granny's home was a tenement in Govan in Glasgow,

where heather bells were very few and far between.

But it has encouraged me to come to Golspie in Sutherland

for my wild walk, and it is a wild walk with a difference.

I want to combine some coastal walking,

a walk through a lovely woodland with a visit to the summit

of Ben Bhraggie where I am going to visit Golspie's very own Mannie.

HE HUMS

We are following a lovely old path that runs north from Golspie

all the way to Brora. And I have to confess

I really enjoy coastal walking.

I think coastal walking and mountain walking have an awful lot in common.

A lot of the same elements - the wide open skies,

the sense of wildness, the breeze on your face.

And of course what you don't get mountain walking is that...

HE SNIFFS ..lovely smell of seaweed.

Welcome to the grandest house in the Highlands,

or so it has been described.

This is Dunrobin Castle,

which is the family seat of the Clan Sutherland.

Its origins go way back to the Middle Ages, but most

of the present building was built in the middle of the 19th century.

There are apparently 189 rooms inside, which makes it

not only the grandest house in the Scottish Highlands,

but the biggest house in the Scottish Highlands.

The Sutherlands are quite an interesting bunch too -

they sided with the British Government

during the Jacobite uprisings.

And later on, the first Duke of Sutherland gained quite

a notorious reputation for himself for the part

he played in the Highland Clearances, but more on that later.

I have resisted the temptation of a tour round

the rooms of Dunrobin Castle. And I am glad I have, because

I would like to spend a bit more time following this little river.

It's the Golspie Burn, but it is known locally as the Big Burn.

And while it is quite gentle and peaceful down here,

higher up it becomes a series of roaring, cascading falls.

And I have always liked waterfalls.

I have never walked up by this burn before,

but I am really quite taken by how beautiful it is.

And how fresh it feels

considering this is the sort of fag-end of autumn.

But there is a wonderful, wonderful mixture of deciduous trees here.

There is oak, and there is birch, there is rowan,

and there is some aspen. And all the time there is this lovely

little burn just tinkling along below it all.

Wow, this is wonderful, what an impressive gorge,

it's almost like the Himalaya.

You know, the poet Norman Nicholson once suggested that any poet,

no matter how poor his attainments, can write about a waterfall.

In a sense I know what he is talking about,

there is something about the imagery of a Highland burn or a waterfall.

Would you listen to that,

that is the voice of the mountain talking to anyone who'll listen.

For as long as I can remember,

the people of the north-east of Scotland have referred to the statue

on top of the Ben Bhraggie, or Ben Vraggie, as the Mannie.

His name was George Granville Leveson-Gower,

and in 1875, he married the Countess of Sutherland

to become the first Duke of Sutherland.

Almost immediately, he started to clear people from the clan lands

to make way for sheep, aided and abetted by his two factors -

James Loch and Patrick Sellar.

Now it wasn't the fact that he was clearing people from the lands -

that was happening all around the Highlands -

but it was the manner that which people were evicted.

Reports from the times say that these evictions were

particularly vicious.

Ah, this is Lawson's Well - a natural spring.

It was apparently built in 1837, for the workmen who were carrying

the statue of the Duke of Sutherland up to the top of the hill here.

And Lawson was the name of the engineer in charge,

so here we have it - Lawson's Well.

I love the concept of trails and tracks on the hill

being used for multi-purpose activities like this.

The routes up here on Ben Bhraggie are used by a lot by walkers,

but they are also used a lot by mountain bikers.

And they all make up part of the Highland Wild Cat Trails,

mountain bike trails that were established in 2005

and appear to me to be coming more and more popular every year.

Oh, wow! Impressive!

A number of years ago, a friend of mine - Councillor Sandy Lindsay

from Glenmore - proposed to a Highland Council that this monument

should be removed

because of its associations with the Highland Clearances.

Other councillors didn't agree with him and said

that is the very reason it should stay -

because it reminds people of the Clearances.

So Sandy then compromised by suggesting the whole kaboosh should

be taken down and put up somewhere in the grounds of Dunrobin Castle.

I can see the arguments on both sides,

but I think Sandy's compromise was quite a good idea.

And I don't think I would cry if this was taken down to Dunrobin Castle.

But at the end of the day,

what's the Highlands without a good controversy?

Welcome back to the Glencoe Marathon.

Competitors have been on the go for over two hours now.

And most are across the Devil's Staircase and are heading

down towards Kinlochleven, the fastest are even further on.

They are now well into the Mamores, and they are racing hard.

Still out in front is local runner Alan Ross from Lochaber,

he's led for most of the race but he is currently finding it tough.

Coming out of Kinlochleven, I was thinking,

right well, I'll probably get passed by a lot of people from now on.

-CAMERAMAN:

-Hey, how's it going?

-Not so good.

I guess you can't see pain on the outside. HE LAUGHS

But no, it was tough, a really tough race.

Only seconds behind, pushing Alan hard, Michael Tweedley has passed

James Crozier and Christopher Darling, he's now in second place.

Aged 42, he thinks that his best running days are still to come.

I don't know for sure but I have heard a lot that the older you are,

the more sort of endurance you have got.

We were just talking on the way down on the last leg there,

and I said to the guy there about the West Highland Way.

And the guy that was in front said leave it until I am older,

I will have more endurance.

Holding on to third place is James Crozier,

an amazing achievement for someone who only took up running last year.

Tackling the gruelling climb into the Mamores,

he needs something to keep his mind off the pain.

Kept my music on and that seems to help me,

at certain stages when I'm really suffering.

My first ever race was last year, it was the Glencoe Marathon.

I saw it in a magazine, and I saw a picture and I thought that

looked absolutely stunning.

So I thought, I have got to try that.

At this stage in any race of this length, the body is hurting,

and the mind is ready to give up.

And although the Glencoe Marathon is only in its second year,

it's already gaining a reputation as one of the hardest in Britain.

Those who did it last time know exactly what it's like.

It was a proper struggle, and basically

I couldn't walk properly for about a week without pain.

I am doing it again because my mum passed away in the last year,

so I just thought, last year it was...

I just thought I would do it again in sort of a tribute to her.

As a celebration as opposed to...

It's for positive reasons this year.

Try and get some positive to come from a pretty bad negative.

CROWD CHEER

Because it is for a good cause,

there is plenty of people in the world that are worse off than you.

And in relative terms, it will be over in a couple of hours and that's

nothing, a couple of hours of pain, in the grand scheme of things, is

nothing compared to how much other people are suffering in the world.

That's an inspiring thought for those facing the most

demanding section in this race.

The ascent in to the Mamores is very steep indeed, yeah.

So again, I think there will be only the elite,

the more hardy runners running up that.

It's a wee bit higher as well, it goes up to about 300 metres.

Devil's Staircase is about 250 and it is,

it certainly looks quite a bit steeper.

-A bit warm.

-CAMERAMAN:

-Halfway gone.

Halfway, I know. Yippee!

Do you know what, I have done a few road marathons

and I think it is just really different in the hills.

I think the biggest battle for any event is just beating your mind.

I kind of feel like in this event you don't have those

mind battles because it's so stunning.

-Hi there... CAMERAMAN:

-Smiling.

-So far, good day.

Freedom! Oh, I'm happy.

Can I ask, is this the right way?

Last month I cycled Land's End to John O'Groats,

and I booked that the same time as I booked this, earlier in the year.

So I thought if I am going to do another marathon,

let's make it a hard one.

Once you get on the road, on the track bits, it's OK.

Well, tiring. I've got to go.

-Take care.

-Good luck, man.

So we're here on the West Highland Way,

about nine kilometres from Fort William.

And it's exactly three hours into the race,

and the first runners have just appeared over the brow of the hill.

Fine going, good timing, and now Glen Nevis into the finish.

Leading out here is Alan Ross,

and being chased down by Mike Tweedley,

one of Scotland's finest climbers.

Well done, Alan, keep going. Fantastic.

So, Mike proving not only can he use his arms,

he can certainly use his legs. Great running, Mike, keep going.

Mike doing what many of the runners do - carrying the water bottles,

it's much easier to carry them and dip.

It's important to keep them just in touch

for the last few miles of the race.

On the West Highland Way now is James Crozier,

who was actually in the lead group out of Glencoe at the very,

very start of the race. He has been overtaken but he's third place now.

Looking pretty strong.

And he is about a kilometre behind the leading two.

But at the moment,

he's at least 500, 600 metres ahead of everybody else.

Not worrying about the wet feet,

just going straight through everything now.

Not far ahead is a welcome sight -

the final refuelling stop of the race and a touch of luxury.

We have got the Gucci cheeseboard,

this is known as one of the most exciting check points.

Look at that cheeseboard, look at that - Wensleydale,

Scottish cheese, you name it.

And we come around here now onto the sweet board.

Every type of sweet, there's an oasis of goodies.

Can we get you a High5, water, Lucozade, Coke?

-Water, please.

-Water, please. Get the water ready, water.

Dip in here, please, dip in here. Thank you very much. Well done.

Alan Ross is the first to this point.

This is the bit I know, so.

But Michael Tweedley is right behind, and decides not to stop.

He's the first to head up the final hill, but Alan's not despondent.

When Michael caught me it was quite good cos we chatted a bit,

swapped a little bit of food and drink and stuff like that

and sort of encouraged each other.

We were both aiming for a time to get under four hours,

so, yeah, we were definitely hoping

to drag each other over the last climb.

James Crozier is still in third place,

but the race is taking its toll.

I've got cramp. I am starting to get cramp now.

But I am doing all right. I had a rough spell coming

out of Kinlochleven, so for about ten minutes I was really rough.

But I am feeling a lot better now so hopefully I'll get to the end.

-Chicken soup here?

-Right thanks, son.

Hey, how's it going?

All right. Nice day.

Still with a commanding lead in the women's race is Lucy Colquhoun.

She's powering over the ground.

So, Lucy, who thought she wouldn't do very well, is well out in front.

Maybe it's just all strategy to put everyone off

and when she digs in it all comes -

years and years of trail running experience.

A nice smile for us.

Well done, Lucy.

Great.

I never pay any attention to other people.

You can't change how much preparation they've done,

so you need to turn up on the start line knowing you are in the

best position possible. You can only control what you control.

So, who turns up, and what their preparation has been is beyond you.

How do you keep yourself going on a long, a long distance race?

I've often got music in my head, I don't tend to run with music

but I can have a tune going round.

But I count as well, I quite often count up to 1,000 over and over.

And just think about things,

sometimes as trivial as when I'm going to have the next jelly baby.

And, you know, you are distracted by the scenery, I find that helps,

but I don't look at my watch, I am not worried about time.

Yeah, just keep going.

How many?

So some way behind Lucy Colquhoun is the second lady in,

Debbie Martin-Consani, and she is looking fine,

looking very, very fast, strong.

Go on, Debbie.

I've a full-time job, I have got a child, I'm a wife, you know,

so I kind of fit running around that,

but, yeah, and I take it seriously.

I traditionally do ultra distance running,

so a marathon is a bit on the short side for me to perform really well.

I run for GB for the 24 hour racing,

and I have just done a race in the Lake District,

which 105 miles with a lot of cheeky ascents.

So, today will be short and sharp and hard.

Kim Stewart, now behind Debbie, is currently in third place

for the women. How are you getting on?

-Oh, I went on a nice little detour.

-Oh, no.

And she has been making this tough race even harder.

There was about eight of us who went, added an extra mile,

-a little loop on.

-Oh, really? Oh, my goodness.

-That was a bit demoralising, to say the least.

-Oh!

-How are you doing?

-Good, thanks, cheers.

I've not done a lot of races, I've only done a couple of races

and that's the extent of my experience.

Not very much.

Marks out of ten for it so far?

-It's lovely.

-Ten.

The uphills aren't too bad cos I'm not fit enough to run up them,

so I kind of take them leisurely, relatively leisurely.

But trying to run down the hills is pretty tough, watching your footing.

I have seen a few people fall last year and it was pretty scary,

so hopefully that won't happen to me.

How's it going?

How's it going up to that hill? The cheek of you.

This is my tenth marathon, nine of which have been on roads.

So London, New York,

and another...the five in Scotland.

The training's not been great,

but, yeah, I will get round anyway, that's for sure.

How do you find that hill? It's just horrible, isn't it? Brutal?

It has its ups and downs.

How are you getting on?

It's tough. I thought I was three quarters of the way there but...

6.2 miles to go.

Happy days, yeah, I feel good so it's awesome.

Out at the front and with the end almost in sight,

the lead has changed again.

-How are you feeling?

-Good.

During the descent, Alan Ross overtook Michael Tweedley

to regain first place and it's looking pretty good for him.

And into the finish, Alan takes top spot, what an amazing run from him.

Oh, Alan, I am not even going to bother talking to you just now,

I am going to let you catch your breath.

But look behind you, you are on the video, well done, Alan, well done.

So, Alan Ross, first over the line, that's a fantastic result.

Yeah, good. Better than expected, really.

I mean, if I hadn't come in that position

maybe I would have felt a bit worse, but, no.

I was aiming for under four hours and I think I got that.

So I am happy, it was a nice route, really enjoyable, actually.

Did you have any sort of inkling that you might come first,

or is this a complete surprise to you?

I really didn't know what to expect.

I looked at the times from last year

and I guessed I could get close to those.

So I guess I knew with the right day I might have done OK.

Just 19 seconds after Alan, Michael Tweedley comes in second.

Good work, well done.

-So, second place today...

-Yeah.

-..which is a terrific result.

I am really chuffed, actually.

I had a certain time in my head to do and I got it so it was good, yeah.

I wasn't too bothered about positions, it was just times,

but second is pretty good.

Come on!

On the final woodland stretch, an exhausted James Crozier

is grinding out the last few yards.

But that won't worry him as he takes a well-deserved third place.

After Kinlochleven I went through a really bad period,

about just as you got to the top after Kinlochleven.

I thought, "I am not going to be able to finish the race."

But I was just fuelling the issue, so once I got some fuel down me

I managed to recover a bit and then keep going.

But you never forget that last five or six miles, it's horrible.

In the women's race, no-one has threatened Lucy Colquhoun.

She's not only the fastest female but the sixth fastest over all.

What a great run she has had today.

First lady over the line

and not too far behind the first guy, which is amazing.

Yeah, I'm quite surprised.

I didn't have any expectations, it was just a fun day out.

I think I entered it last week, it was just nice to get out

and stretch my legs and I enjoyed being back in Glencoe.

24 minutes behind Lucy, Debbie Martin-Consani

is the next woman to complete the course.

-You got second place today...

-Yeah, I think so.

-..that must feel great?

I thought I was third all the way until I finished,

and then found out I was second, so.

And second to Lucy Colquhoun is pretty much a win in my books, so.

I feel really, really good, I really, really enjoyed it.

I had a great race, I felt really strong throughout.

I didn't particularly like the first eight miles.

My motto is, I don't do mud, I don't do cross-country.

So when I was up to my knees in mud, but I just got on with it,

and then as soon as I hit the trails, I came into my own,

so I kind of started picking off people thereafter.

But I really, really enjoyed it.

So confirmation of those results.

For the men, in third place, despite suffering from cramp,

James Crozier completed the race in 3 hours 59 minutes and 28 seconds.

Second place went to Michael Tweedley in a time of 3:45:09.

Just 19 seconds faster, Lochaber man Alan Ross

came in first in 3:44:50.

You are just doing as well as you can, but actually it's quite

a lonely race. So, I was out basically by myself

for a lot of the time, but, yeah,

I mean, I got a rhythm, it's nice runable countryside.

For the women with the time of 4:45:11, third place went to

Kim Stewart, and she will certainly be celebrating -

this was her first ever marathon.

Debbie Martin-Consani came in second in 4:31:40.

And coming in first for the women and sixth overall

was the unstoppable Lucy Colquhoun with the time of 4:07:13.

I am just doing it for fun, not competitively.

Didn't look at my watch once the whole time, and, yeah, just enjoyed

running and quite hard work at the beginning, it was very wet underfoot.

But the last four miles is just all runable downhill,

so it was a nice day out.

Well, that's it for this month's Adventure Show.

We'll be taking a break over the festive period.

But we have two special programmes

with Cameron McNeish to look forward to.

I have often said that Scotland

is the most beautiful country in the world,

and on this, my latest long walk from coast to coast,

I have had that thought confirmed over and over again.

Watch out for that just after Christmas.

Meanwhile, I'll see you in the New Year.

Until then, bye for now.