Episode 8 The Adventure Show

Don't let anybody say anything else - this is a stupid hobby!

Hello and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

This month we've headed south to Jedburgh

for the Three Peaks Ultra Marathon.

This is the fourth time this event has been held

and with 250 hardy souls signed up, this should be an absolute cracker.

It's great being out in places like this.

If you go slow enough, like I do, you can

see all the views as well. It's brilliant!

Yay! Thank you!

The race is a hefty 38 miles long - that's one and a half marathons.

And to make it even more demanding, there's 2,800 feet of ascent

over three extinct volcanoes.

Totally awesome! Amazing!

I can't even believe that I'm doing this.

Third hill! We're going home

and it's stopped raining - yay!

Pacing's going to be really difficult. Cos you've

got a flattish bit and then suddenly there are three big pointy hills.

There's a bit of technical stuff on the hills but not too much

but the rain this morning will have made it quite slippy as well so erm

I'll probably stand at the top of the hill and go, "Ooh, I'm going to die!"

Also in this month's Adventure Show, we're off to an event that's

already transforming the adventure scene in Scotland.

Competitors came from around the world for the inaugural

Glencoe Skyline Hill Race - and what a race it is.

Up Curved Ridge and Buachaille Etive Mor, then the return

on the other side of the Glen on the infamous Aonach Eagach ridge.

How you doing?

Pretty good! Enjoying myself!

We're here not just to watch the 150 runners taking part in this

gruelling challenge

but to see it through the eyes of psychologist Lucy Rattrie.

And stay with us

because she'll explain that it's not a choice of competing all out

or enjoying the event - you can have your cake and eat it.

Enjoy it and you can do even better is her message.

If you're having moments of doubt and moments where, you know,

you think "I really need to keep going - I don't know if I can do this,"

sports performance psychology encourages you to

just accept those thoughts and commit to getting through it.

We're talking, you know, fun and performance.

But first to the Three Peaks Ultra Marathon.

It's just after 9am and I'm making my way up through the Eildon hills.

These three peaks make up this ultra marathon and their steep

slopes are a distinctive feature of this landscape.

But the competitors not only have to run up and down them,

they also need to take on the 15 miles to and from the start.

Most people say when they've done one they wouldn't do one again

but then a couple of weeks later they're going,

"Oh, do you know what, I might!"

I think they're a little bit addictive.

Happy days! Loving it!

In terms of time, what are you hoping for?

-Eight hours, less than eight hours.

-Right.

I've got dinner booked at half seven in Edinburgh, so...

You better be back!

I've got to get...I've got to be back for that, yeah.

Now this is the sort of route that I would normally do over a long

weekend with perhaps a B&B or two thrown in for good measure

but the fastest runners here will do it in around five hours

and that, frankly, is just staggering.

All downhill to the end now. Hey-hey!

I just keep smiling, that's all I do - I just keep smiling.

Yeah, I'd love to do an action shot for you.

We'll speed it up!

It all starts here in Jedburgh in the shadow of this

magnificent 12th-century abbey.

First up, the competitors head out cross-country on tracks,

paths and lanes until they reach the village of Maxton.

From there, they follow the route of the River Tweed through St Boswells.

Now 17 miles in, the ascent up the triple peaks

of the Eildons starts in earnest.

But they will be rewarded with one of the best views

in the Scottish Borders if conditions clear up.

Then it's down the other side through the village of Bowden before

rejoining their original route for the long, long journey home.

Conditions are extremely tough today.

It's raining very heavily indeed and the wind on the tops will be brutal.

OK, and countdown, five, four, three, two, one!

CHEERING AND KLAXON

So there we have the Three Peaks Ultra Marathon 2015,

250 people out running in this event,

all looking very chirpy, cheery at this point but they have

38 miles ahead of them and 38 tough miles it is, too.

The first 16 or so, fairly flat, just to get the legs nice

and warm and then onto the Eildon Hills - that's the three peaks of

the name of the event and that's when it starts to get pretty painful.

Back onto reasonably flat terrain after that

and then back towards Jedburgh for the finish

and two horrible miles on the road will feel like misery.

The weather's going to be the thing this year.

Last year was a beautiful day, hardly a breath of wind,

but today with being windy, it's going to be a bit challenging.

I've been eating loads of carrot cake, chocolate, crisps,

probably all the stuff that you shouldn't eat.

The thing I've been told is just it's an eating competition

with a wee bit of running in it so that seems like a good,

a good day out to me.

Donald and I came down in the summer and we recced part of the route,

we ran over the Eildons and it was stunning.

And I think at this time of year, with the changes in the trees,

it'll just be stunning.

I'm just a bit worried about the weather because it

looks like it's going to be very windy and wet, so a bit challenging.

Just a couple of miles along the course, the field is already

opening up and Ken Sutor, from the Cheshire Hash House Harriers,

is one of the front runners.

This is the first time Ken's competed here

and psychology is a key part of his preparation for these events.

You might say well how,

how do you know what pace to go off at and that's actually a very

difficult question to answer and I think you engage into your mind

that it's roughly that length of time, that distance, and you just

kind of go off according to that and you do it subconsciously, I think.

There's a degree of being affected by, you know, what the

people around you are doing, but clearly if someone's going, what for

you is an unsustainable pace then you're not going to stick with them.

The Jedburgh Three Peaks is an ultra marathon.

It's held the day before the clocks go back

when the autumn colours are at their best.

In the four years it's been running, it's become a showcase for the Borders.

Race organisers are Noanie Heffron and Angela Barron

and they took on this role almost by accident.

It was a local person who set the route which is lovely

and some of the organisers got in touch with

the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series and they put a call out on Facebook.

Noanie and myself both said we can help thinking we were coming down,

we'd be coming down to marshal and actually we ended up becoming Race

Directors and we've become so fond of it that we've just kept doing it.

It's one of those things if somebody doesn't do it, it doesn't get done

and the race wouldn't have continued so, yeah, completely...

I'm still amazed anybody put me in charge of anything, to be honest.

I wouldn't put me in charge of anything.

For me, as well,

I didn't have any experience of doing an ultra. I had literally

done my first marathon, which was a road marathon in Edinburgh in the

May, and had enthusiastically signed up for a marathon in November.

But it means that on the recce, that was the first time

I went through ultra distance so I've become quite emotionally

attached to it, because it's the first place I went ultra as well.

CHEERING

I've got my road shoes, cos it had been a little bit slippy but pretty good so far.

Did it last year, yep, this is my 11th ultra, I think,

so I should manage OK.

Keep it slow, steady, nice and even and er, see how I get on.

Ooh!

What we've got is, you know, proper narrow trails and tree roots

and leaves and rivers to fall in - don't say that!

It's a lot less manicured than a lot of other races.

This route is not that well-used at all.

Ten miles underfoot and the competitors get to the

village of Maxton and the first of the food stops.

A brief moment to reflect on the events so far

and this year's conditions.

Wet! Yeah, a wee bitty moist but apart from that, all good.

What's your tactics for today, guys?

-Finish!

-Keep running, keep working!

CROWD CHEERING

It's been fun.

It's...we've done...we're local, we live in Jedburgh

so we've done a lot of the trails already and been lost and got dirty.

We've trained in all the nice summer weather and then today erm,

yeah, we've got this, it's a bit of a nightmare.

Oh, it's not a nightmare, is it - it's fun!

It's lovely, beautiful. First time down here, can't complain - so lovely.

-This way?

-Oh, no, that way, yeah!

I just see ultra marathons as running with a picnic

so I like eating my picnics along the way.

My plan is just hopefully to finish before...er, just finish.

Hopefully, they won't time you at any of the checkpoints,

so just keep going one foot in front of the other.

Seven miles further on and today all eyes are on Lee Kemp from Surrey.

He only took up ultra running three years ago

and came first in the 2013 British Ultra Trail Championships

held on part of the West Highland Way.

Not only that but he set a new course record.

Lee took an early lead in this race but

heading through the woods near the River Tweed,

he took a wrong turn and has dropped back down the field.

The path sort of went to the left

and there was a little bridge to the right and there was no sign

so I sort of went up and round up to the main road,

couldn't see any signage, came back and thought, well, there's no signs

on the bridge - I'll go back. Maybe I'll go across the main road.

Went back again and then turned back around and there's a wave of us

all coming up and we're shouting, "No, we're going the wrong way!"

But, yeah, there's ten or 15 of us that took a wrong turn, unfortunately.

That mistake means that approaching the first of the

Eildon Hills, Ken Sutor has taken the lead but close behind him and

challenging hard is Ian Symington from Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire.

Ian knows he's up against strong competition

but has a well-rehearsed strategy in place.

I have a look and see who's in it and then

I have a couple of friends who are in this as well and I know

one will be ahead of me and another one might start off more steady

and so just, just try and not get carried away and don't try and run

with the leaders at a pace that I probably...isn't sustainable for me.

And then, as you progress in the race, just try to pick it up

and just try and get as much out of yourself as you can.

Out in the lead for the women is Lorna McMillan.

Lorna grew up near here at Traquair

so is well used to running in this terrain.

And she especially likes these longer races.

The good thing about ultras

is you get to run a bit slower than in the 10K.

A 10K is hard and fast and it's actually pretty horrible.

And when I started doing marathons, it just seemed a lot more

relaxed and you know, you could have a bit of a blether with folk

round about and certainly in ultra marathons, that's what you do.

And especially if you're...like the first half of the race, you know,

when people are all running together, you end up

being in your little groups and you chat to folk that you've not

spoken to before and you've not met before.

I think with an ultra marathon, you need to run at a pace

that you can talk at, you know that, folk say that if you're,

if you can't speak, then you're probably running a bit too fast.

Lovely course!

Any hard bits, or...?

Er...yes, all of it!

-This the pub? Is it, which way?

-The path round to the left.

-No, the pub. I'm looking for the pub!

Oh, you're looking for the pub. You'll get it down in Bowden.

Woohoo!

Right now, the leaders are just about to

start their ascent of the Eildon Hills behind me

and regular viewers of The Adventure Show will know we like to

really get a taste, a sample if you will, of all the events we cover.

No, I haven't volunteered myself,

Deziree Wilson is on the case.

After 17 miles on fairly gentle,

straightforward terrain, the runners arrive

here at the Rhymer's Stone and this is where the route really changes

character as it heads up towards the steep slopes of the Eildon Hills.

The Three Peaks Ultra Marathon is named after these three hills.

The first stands at 404m,

and I can tell you, it's a pretty steep, unremitting climb.

From up here, you can get a real sense of where we are, with the

town of Melrose to the north and the Cheviot Hills out there to the east.

And just behind me is the site of an old Roman fort which was

called Trimontium, which as you might guess, means three hills.

And there's more interesting history associated with this first summit,

which was the site of an ancient Bronze Age fort around 1,000 BC.

Apparently over 6,000 people inhabited this fort at one time.

They must've been a fit bunch!

From here, you can see that the hard work isn't over yet.

Just ahead of me is the highest of the three Eildon Peaks,

which stands at 422m. Better get on with it, then.

The course really starts to feel a bit more technical after

the first summit, where you really have to think pretty

carefully about where you're placing your feet.

It would be really easy with tired legs to misjudge a step

and go over your ankle.

And this is the top - not high by Scottish standards

but very definitely the biggest hill around here for miles.

Just here is a memorial to Sir Walter Scott, who wrote the ballad

of Thomas the Rhymer about these hills, where Thomas meets the Queen

of Elfland on the slopes of Eildon and is shown three roads to take and

when he chooses the road to Elfland, he's not seen again for seven years.

Better check the route markers off carefully here, then!

And this really feels like about the most technical

part of the course that we've come across yet.

We're just kind of moving on broken scree - it's quite difficult to build up

any kind of speed without losing your balance and your footing.

Imagine running down here full pelt...

..in wet conditions would not be easy.

The scree on here as well is on a fairly, even muddy surface so

it kind of feels like it's designed to be even more slippery than usual.

Almost there but there's a steep little

sting in the tail before I reach my third and final summit.

The last top!

I can't feel too smug, because I still need to make it back to

where I started from this morning but at least all the ascent

is done now and it's downhill all the way home.

Thanks, Deziree, for showing us not just the route

but also why the Borders are such an atmospheric place.

Next we're heading north to the high mountains of Glencoe for a new

and dramatic addition to the Scottish adventure scene.

The Glencoe Skyline is an entirely new event based on the growing

sport of sky running

but we're here to see this event through the eyes of Lucy Rattrie.

She's a psychologist who believes that it's not

a choice between either enjoying an event or being completely

focused on achieving a personal best.

She says you can both maximise performance

and get more fun at the same time.

And Lucy speaks from experience - she's a keen triathlete

and endurance enthusiast.

For my job, I'm a chartered psychologist

and I absolutely love doing endurance sports events.

Over the years, the most fun part has been all about the challenge

and pushing myself

but I've found it's just become too much about the numbers.

Getting personal bests, comparing myself to other people

and always trying to go faster -

it seems as if the fun's gone out of it.

But I want to see if I can use psychology to put the fun

back into performance.

Ah, awesome!

Lucy's come to the Glencoe Skyline to put that theory to the test.

This is an extreme endurance event with over 4,000m of climbing.

First it's up Curved Ridge, onto Buachaille Etive Mor

and along the southern skyline.

Then there's the descent into the glen before climbing back up

and along the Aonach Eagach ridge.

The competitors today are going across a range of mountains

that most people would walk in probably two to three days.

We're looking at 53km with almost 4,300m of ascent

over some grade three scrambling and they will not be roped in.

The rocks are a bit wet today, it's a bit slippy

but everybody's psyched up.

Amongst the competitors is experienced fell runner Dave Sykes.

He's been competing in events like this for 12 years

and has volunteered to see

if Lucy's approach will make a difference to his day.

So good morning, Dave. It's race day - how are you feeling?

A little apprehensive up until sort of getting into my rituals.

Er, and it rained really heavily during the night and it,

it was pretty loud at times in the camper van

but it doesn't look too bad a day. It's not too bad.

What are you looking forward to the most about today?

Just trying to enjoy it, I think

and then finishing - in that order, probably.

As the competitors wait nervously on the start line, Dave has a new

set of techniques to test out.

CHEERING

He's going to be trying something called the MAC Technique.

Anne McDonald is a sports psychologist who's a firm

believer in its benefits.

So there's three pillar stones - mindfulness, which is essentially

trying to help the athletes be in the present moment and be able to

be aware of their thoughts without necessarily trying to change them

but being able to observe them and recognise that they're there.

The second part is acceptance, so this is where the athlete then,

once they've identified their thoughts, they're OK with them.

They don't try and battle them,

there's no psychological struggle where they lose energy trying

to change whatever they're thinking or feeling.

So if they are internally very anxious and perhaps they're

getting sweat, it's OK - it's part of the experience that they're living.

The third part of the MAC model is commitment and the really important

aspect here is that the athlete considers what their values are -

what do they associate with their sport,

what are the reasons they're out that day doing their sport

and if they're able to make this association, regardless

of what they're experiencing internally and regardless

of what they're experiencing externally, they stay focused

because they have a deep-rooted sense of why they're there.

And that's also very much linked to the enjoyment of the day,

which can really help, actually, an athlete perform to the best of their

abilities, if they're enjoying the here and the now of their event.

So, how do these work in practice?

Yesterday, Dave met Lucy.

They produced a profile about him

and now she's devising some key strategies designed to help him.

They're based on the MAC approach.

We'll start with the mindfulness aspect.

So what we want to do here is to maybe choose say one

strategy that will help you tomorrow really stay

connected to the present moment.

And that strategy is called a body scan technique

so you start at the top of your head

and focus on relaxing the muscles in your forehead, concentrate on

imaging the fibres behind the eyes relaxing, then the jaw and

work down your body concentrating on each muscle group or ligaments.

How do you feel about using that as a strategy?

I think it'll be quite good.

We actually asked one of our children to do that

-because she has difficulty going off to sleep.

-Mm-hm.

So we've asked her to do something very similar

so I'd quite enjoy doing that for that reason, anyway.

The next part is really about dealing with your thoughts

because if you're thinking it's going to take nine or ten hours,

that's a lot of time to be thinking

and if you're having any negative thoughts that, focusing on those

can actually be a waste of energy - certainly a waste of mental energy.

Quite often if I lose concentration

and start thinking about something else then,

er, say I'm running with somebody, I just find myself drifting back

and er, you know, then you have to work quite hard to get back.

What I'd like you to try and remember is

if you do start drifting off and having thoughts that aren't great,

we want you to just accept those thoughts

and one way to do that is to try and use the word "and".

So for example "the heavens have opened and that's OK".

"My body is aching and that's normal."

You know - it's reframing it so you've got the "and that's OK,

"and that's acceptable, and that's normal, and I can work with it

"and that's why I'm here and this is part of the enjoyment."

Hello!

So give me some examples of thoughts tomorrow that might

come into your head that you could really use this for?

I would say "It's raining and that's the same for everyone."

Well, yeah - perfect! Yeah.

Erm, "I'm quite hungry and thirsty, but...

"and I have a rucksack full of food, so I can have something to eat."

Phew! Close-up of fear.

The other things that came up through

the profile was the camaraderie of the sport, the social element.

Er, well, I very much enjoy that aspect of it.

That's brilliant!

At numerous times during the race you are with other people, to some

extent you're racing against them, but you're also racing with them.

And often it's somebody that you don't know, so there's,

you know, the novel side of things.

If you're going round for eight or nine hours with somebody

who you don't know, you probably do get to know them by the end of it.

So, taking on board Lucy's advice, Dave, in green and black,

has made a good start.

We'll be back later in the programme to see how

Lucy's strategies are working out in practice.

Right now it's back to the Jedburgh Three Peaks Ultramarathon where,

up on the hills, it's wild and windy.

Welcome back to the Borders, where I've made my way to the

summit of the second of the Eildon Hills.

And it won't be long before the fastest runners arrive here, too,

which will be a great relief, I'm sure.

Not only is this the highest point of the race,

it's almost at the halfway point, too.

And this looks like 219, Ken Sutor. Well done, Ken!

How you doing? Fantastic!

Thank you.

You've got a great lead there. Well done!

Ken's an experienced long distance runner

who regularly finishes in the top ten.

The big mileage is no barrier to him.

What gets you up to the longer distances is just doing it more.

You know, you start to enjoy it to the point that you spend more hours

a week doing it and it's also just discovering where your talents lie.

So sometimes it might be just entering something which

feels a bit unlikely and just going for it

because there's obviously a degree of physiology.

There's a degree of, you know, having, having good health,

er, having the time to put into it.

So there's a variety of things that have to come together. It's not,

it's not just about whether physically you can do it,

there's a lot of other stuff that has to come right.

-You look like you're really enjoying yourself?

-Yeah, I am!

-Good.

You should always feel incredibly happy

because you are privileged, there's no question.

Just a minute later, the next competitor to this high point

is Ian Symington.

Well done! Fantastic! Good effort!

Great stuff, well done!

He's been called the "Ironman" of Yorkshire's Calder Valley

and he's after a top place.

I'm a very competitive person.

It's just not, not panicking, you know,

you've got a long way to go

and if you're struggling on the hills just,

just sit in and just, you know, keep focused and, and just don't stop.

Just relentless forward progress just keep going, keep going,

and, you know, that's probably the key thing about an ultra, is you

can have a bad spot where you think "This is rubbish, I'm going slow."

And then, you know, five/ten miles later

you've had a bit of food, you've relaxed,

you can just pick it right up and you can be fine again.

So, you know, if it's a five/six mile race, you know, that doesn't

really happen but on an ultra, you can come back.

This is a race that attracts competitors

from south of the border.

People like Lee Kemp, who's next to this summit.

He's a member of the British Ultra Trail team

and competes internationally.

Well done! Fantastic, great stuff!

His mistake earlier in the course means he's currently in third place

but he's less than 30 seconds behind Ian,

so this race is still wide open.

And he's now really putting on the pressure.

For me, I find the flatter sections quite tough because you're trying to

keep a decent cadence, you're trying to keep a fast pace. So when we,

we got the three hills, it sort of broke, it changes, it changes

your stride patterns, it helped sort of relieve your legs a little bit.

But, yeah, um, I mean a lot of the,

the paths along the river are similar to the ones back at home, so...

And with all the leaves and the beautiful colours round, you know,

it's just inspiring being out there, so it sort of keeps you going.

But, yeah, it is tough

because it is, you know, it's potentially a very fast race.

And like I said, trying to keep that cadence high can be quite difficult.

Whilst the leaders are now over the final summit,

the majority of runners are starting up the Eildon Hills.

But that doesn't matter.

Like many ultramarathons, this event prides itself on its friendliness.

-Taxi!

-Hardest bit done!

-Yeah!

-Thank you!

Hello!

I, I used to run marathons and started in a few of the ultras.

And it's such a friendly atmosphere all the time,

it's more like a big long picnic,

you're going along chatting to people and admiring the scenery,

and it's so much better than running on the roads doing a marathon.

Oh, take one more step you think you'll die, but you never do.

At least you can't go any higher.

Great run that!

Top of the world!

I've actually discovered, at my grand age, that I have got

this incredible endurance and I can go well over 30 miles, which is,

was quite a surprise to me at my age and I'm absolutely delighted

about it and at the end of it I feel it's a real achievement.

It's much more of an achievement than it is to run a 5K or a 10K

and be at the back of the field.

To be at the back of the field of an ultra is, for me,

is really quite an achievement.

It's the prettiest race in the country.

I'm actually the race sweeper, so I run at the back,

make sure everybody's safe and bring them back in at the end

of the day, in the dark probably, and it's good fun.

It's a moderately short distance - it's not too hard,

not too far, the countryside's nice, a wee bit of climbing, a wee

bit of mud, a wee bit of road and a wee bit of weather, as we see today.

Beautiful, fantastic view! Gorgeous!

The route is actually absolutely stunning

and at this time of year, with the autumn colours, it's beautiful.

Coming down to recce the route over summer, it's different

colours, but it's still...

Every season it's quite stunning and with the

three peaks as well, the views that you get - it's absolutely gorgeous.

And it's become a little bit more competitive at the pointy end,

as well, because we had

a new course record last year from Matt Williamson,

-so there's people maybe coming to try and beat the course record.

-Well done, guys.

I don't know if it's the same everywhere

else as it is in Scotland, but the people that turn up

and run these races, for the most part, we all know each other,

we help out at each other's races, we run each other's races.

Well done!

It's not the race, it's the whole event,

it's usually a whole weekend if it's a long enough race.

Well done! Great stuff!

Running it is almost secondary really - it's just being part of it.

Three, two, one, smile! Yeah!

Oh, fabulous, yeah.

At this point, the highest part of the race,

folks will have run

almost a full marathon, so this last steep hill up to the

second summit is going to feel pretty brutal.

-"The Borders," I thought, "there cannae be any hills in the Borders, is there?"

-What's that?

There's nae hills in the Borders, is there?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Have you been duped?

-Are you enjoying the race?

-About halfway, I reckon, eh?

-Yeah, this is pretty much halfway.

-Aye, aye.

-How's it going so far?

-Good, yeah, just paced it, you know,

so hopefully keep it going from here in, see how it goes.

Cheers!

The weather conditions have improved slightly.

It's certainly still windy and cold, but it's dried up quite a bit.

So the conditions are reasonably good for running today.

Oh, I'm overdressed the day!

Would you say I'm nearly over the hill?

Lorna McMillan is still in the lead for the women.

Earlier in 2015,

she took third place in the 96-mile West Highland Way race

and she also won bronze in the Scottish Ultra Trail Championships.

When you're running such long distances, to keep it interesting

you quite like a bit of variation, so a bit of up or

a bit of down, sometimes with the ups you get to get a bit of a walk in,

which is quite nice and obviously the downs you get a bit of a rest.

-Ah! What a great race!

-Doing well!

-Thank you!

I've kind of changed tack today.

My boyfriend, who's also running,

said that he was going to go out quite hard from the start and that's

not something that I normally do but we were kind of having a bit

of a...a competition between the two of us today and I thought well,

you know, I'll just see whether I can go out hard from the start.

It is a faster course because it's a bit flatter and it's a bit shorter

than I normally do, so I wondered whether it would be sustainable.

Caroline McKay is currently in second place for the women.

She's only two minutes behind Lorna, so is very much in contention.

She's got a great race pedigree - second in the Highland Fling,

winner of the Devil of the Highlands,

and she's completed the full

Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in a very impressive time.

You start out with a different mind-set

depending on the distance that you're running.

A massive part of the attraction is just

racing on trails as opposed to roads.

I find road racing really monotonous now.

And just racing in beautiful parts of the country.

And the community's just so special,

like, the ultrarunning community - I've made some of my best friends

through it, so it's just such a positive thing.

And even people that you don't know in a race, you end up just

chatting - and it's just a lot of fun.

Third to this summit, just a minute behind Caroline,

is Elaine Omand from Dundee.

Only one more hill to go!

Her first ultra race was in 2013 -

where she took the top spot for the women

and came in sixth overall. So she's in with a real chance today.

It's definitely a tough mental challenge.

Erm, I think you just have to remind yourself that you can do it.

I tend to think of it -

because there's a checkpoint every ten miles here - it's a

ten-mile run at a time,

and you get to a marathon and then it's just an extra ten miles

after a marathon, which is nothing. And you just

have to keep telling yourself - "You know you can do it, it'll be fine."

Make the most of the scenery as well, try and look around.

It's beautiful out there, so going up the hill...

You have to slow down and walk on the hill anyway,

so I was looking around and making the most of it.

That's a view shared by everyone here today.

The view is absolutely fantastic and even

getting here - the trails along the Tweed, absolutely brilliant!

I actually come from Glasgow originally and moving down here...

On your doorstep you walk out and you can just start running.

It's just so different, it's beautiful, really is.

It's a sense of euphoria and then you look round

and you just see, and if it's a good day and you see all

the scenery round about you, and you see Peniel Heugh

over in the distance. It's a great feeling, it really is.

I constantly think about form, how I'm running - because when you,

when the body starts to get tired you can get kind of sloppy,

so the hips will drop and things like that,

so I'm constantly thinking

about form and I'm constantly thinking about time as well.

You know, if there's someone in front of me I want to...

I want to catch...

I mean, today I had the first lady...just in front of me,

and my usual thing in a race is to end up coming in just behind the

first lady, so for once I wanted to come in in front of the first lady.

Feeling good!

'Competition's always with yourself.'

He lies.

But of course, you get to know people who do these things -

it's the same people that tend to turn up at all the Scottish ultras.

So it's not really competition, but it's just a... Quite nice

if you came in behind them in one race

and you're a little bit ahead in another race, that you've

maybe improved so, yeah, it's just, it's just kind of good fun.

So that's the top men

and women through this high point on the Eildons.

As you can see, there's still plenty more people making their way up

and over these summits.

We'll be back to see how they get on, shortly.

Now it's back to the Glencoe Skyline, where psychologist

Lucy Rattrie is anxiously waiting to see

if the techniques she's been working on with Dave Sykes are helping him.

So we're over five hours

into the race, no sign of Dave yet,

but I'm sure he'll be along any minute

and hopefully those strategies have really worked.

Dave's trying out three key techniques that should

increase both his performance and enjoyment of this demanding race.

The first requires mindfulness,

in this case achieved by mentally scanning your whole body.

Secondly, there's ensuring a positive outlook using the

"and" word to help accept negative thoughts.

Finally, there's commitment.

In Dave's case, this means concentrating on the sense

of companionship that's one of the reasons

he takes part in these events.

Lucy meets up with Dave at the halfway point.

So how are you feeling?

-HE SIGHS

-Pretty good, considering.

Er, I have had some adversity and I have...tried to use what

you've told me and it's working thus far and er, yeah,

we've done the worst of it, I think, another big climb to come.

So, what strategies are you going to use going forward?

I'm-I'm using "and" quite a lot, which is working.

And I have used my mindfulness... on occasion, just to take my

mind away from where I am. And those are the two I've really had to use.

Obviously the companionship, I've used that to great effect

from going over Bidean and I stuck together with a lad

that I don't know,

but we're having a nice time, so I'm going to continue.

Right, thank you for your support.

Well, I'm not sure I'd be quite so enthusiastic with

the Aonach Eagach looming ahead of me. But Dave's been embracing

these new techniques and is having a fantastic race.

The MAC approach offers a different way of thinking

about sports performance.

Traditionally, sports psychologists tend to use

a cognitive behavioural approach, and what I mean by that is...

They look at the thoughts and the emotions that the athlete is

experiencing... And to try and identify if there's some unhelpful

thoughts in there and then they try and change those.

So, for example, turning negative self-talk into positive self-talk,

so that it has a positive impact on the behaviour of the athlete -

and this has been used for many, many years.

The MAC approach is very different

because it's an acceptance-based approach.

What they want is to be in the zone,

what we call in a state of flow.

And if they're able to accept all the thoughts

and the emotions and the physical sensations that are happening

and not be distracted by them,

then they can remain in that state of flow.

You enjoying yourself?

Yeah, just all the other bits. Wow!

It's such a cool race.

Brilliant!

You don't feel like you're tired, because it's so nice.

How do you think using the MAC approach

affects an athlete's enjoyment?

We train them to be in the moment.

We train them to appreciate everything,

through all the senses - what they're doing

and therefore they're remembering the reason for being there

that day, they're remembering why they're doing what they're doing.

This is far more effective than, than other approaches which,

which try and enhance a certain psychological skill.

Starting to hurt yet?

Ah! Yeah, some time ago...

Oh, man, it's been some race.

Today, Dave's put the MAC approach to the ultimate test,

because in the first part of the race he took a nasty tumble.

I had a fall really quite early on... I hurt,

I hurt my hands - both hands.

I hurt my thigh, I hurt both knees, it really took the wind

out of my sails and I got up and I started running again

and I thought...

"I've had a fall and I'm still enjoying this.

"I've had a fall and I can keep going.

"I've had a fall and the pain's gone already."

Now it's nearly all over.

Dave had an ambition to complete this race in under ten hours.

As he approaches the finish line, he's achieved that with

a time of nine hours, 57 minutes.

It's a great performance.

So, Dave, you're at the finish line. Well done!

-Thank you.

-How was it?

Er, pretty, pretty hard work.

I have done quite a few hard things and that's up there.

I can't explain how hard it is just coming up the final

bit from those trees that you can see down there, just to here.

That's the, the smallest hill that we've been up, yet it was

the hardest, because you had to keep running, people were coming

up trying to overtake you and you just had to keep going.

And my legs were just really starting to hurt a little,

just because I was desperate to get under ten hours - which doesn't mean

anything really, but it just looks quite nice if it's in single digits.

Tell us - how did you use the strategies?

When it was getting hard, I used my body scanner quite a lot,

to take my mind off how much it was beginning to hurt.

And also, I don't know whether you noticed, but I finished with

a lad and we've run together quite a lot on the way round

and it's been really useful, we've helped one another.

He came past me actually on the flatter bit

and then we worked together on this final little hill

and that was the camaraderie and companionship.

Well done, mate.

No, I found it useful.

I will use it again - beats singing my usual repertoire of

James Bond songs or Beatles songs.

And er, I'm... I'm going to go and have a milkshake

and then I'm going to go and have a pint.

Isn't it incredible, such an epic extreme event obviously takes

a huge amount of training and dedication.

But what we've found today is that using some psychological techniques

can really, really help you enjoy the day.

And just for the record, the Glencoe Skyline was

won by one of Scotland's great athletes, Joe Simmons,

in a time of seven hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds.

To be honest, though, I'm not sure ANYTHING would make

a route like that fun for me.

And I've got a confession as well - later this year I'll be competing in

an off-road triathlon that includes running up and down Ben Nevis.

I'd better start some positive thinking right now.

Welcome back to the Jedburgh Three Peaks Ultramarathon.

Now the lead racers are well and truly over

the top of the Eildons we can see behind me, and

are on the home leg.

But there are still plenty of racers out there on the hills.

It's the best bit, honestly...hills.

And it's a great time away from Austria. I'm from Austria.

-That was amazing. It was gorgeous!

-It's breezy up here, eh?

It's really interesting to note just how little some of these

runners are wearing - bare legs, bare arms -

and if you look at what I'm wearing today, I'm totally togged up.

I've got two duvet jackets on, thick gloves, hat,

hood up and I'm still freezing.

You really need to know that you can carry enough kit to stay warm

enough if something goes wrong,

but that isn't going to slow you down over this kind of distance.

-Well done!

-Nae bad.

Last hill and the weather's not as bad as expected, so...

-CHUCKLING:

-See you!

They said this would be fun.

-Is it?

-Er, no, no quite.

Down from the hills and heading back through Maxton - Lee Kemp is

showing why he's the race favourite.

He's not only overtaken both Ken Sutor and Ian Symington

but he's also built up a lead of over a minute and a half.

With all races, I've done some longer ones as well -

-I break them down into the checkpoints.

-114...

Most of the time they're sort of six miles/seven miles.

It's like doing a smaller race then.

And once you get to those checkpoints - grab some more

drinks/food, say hi to all the great volunteers

and marshals who cheer you on, and then back on again,

another 10K until the next one.

Do you want this filled or not?

No, that's good - I'm all good to go. Cheers, thank you.

I think it's not getting daunted by the distance.

If you think of each checkpoint as a 10K event, you know you can

do 10K, and it's just keep, just keep going, you know, stay positive.

Erm, and I think a big thing for me

is that I know at some point during an event I am going to feel awful,

I am going to feel rubbish, but it's not going to last forever.

So that's Lee's secret for success.

Next to this checkpoint is Ken Sutor.

He's dropped down to second place

and is being chased hard by Ian Symington.

-Cheers.

-Well done!

-See ya.

But Ian thinks races like this are about far more than

just who comes first.

If you're just starting, you're not going to be able to run it at the

pace that Lee's running the pace at. But a huge percent of the population

could walk the course today and it would be tough and it would be

a massive achievement, but they could do that.

So if you realise that you can get round it, it's just

how quickly you get round the course and you focus on that

and then train, and you just start running, running the easy

sections and you just build it up and build it up and build it up.

And if you look at the people today, they're not all looking

like elite sportsmen. And that's what's quite nice about this,

is that you can have a whole range of abilities and they've all done

something really, really worthwhile and it's a really good achievement.

This is our first and our last... No, it's not our last.

This'll be an annual thing for us now, I think.

We do plenty of road running, marathons and everything else,

but ultra's a bit different,

you get to chat to people from far and wide.

We can't believe

how far some people have come to run this thing today.

-From Asia, from a hot country.

-OK.

Yeah, so this is my second time here.

And what draws you to this particular race?

My friends, my warm Scottish friends.

Getting there, eh?

We're lucky that the weather's cleared.

The view is absolutely fantastic

and even getting here - the trails along the Tweed.

Absolutely brilliant! Really enjoyed it so far.

Looking forward to a good beer at the end of it, you know.

The winds have blown us up here, which is good.

-It's all downhill from here, is that what they say?

-Exactly!

Now on the home straight, Lorna McMillan is

still in the lead for the women.

She's a comparative newcomer to ultramarathons

and is having a fantastic day.

I ran my first one in 2012.

I thoroughly enjoyed it

and I think for me, I was born and brought up on a farm,

in the Borders actually, but it's a way to be outside, which is

something that I've always loved, being surrounded by nature.

And a day like today, you know, why would you want to be indoors

when you can be outdoors all day long?

Oh! Almost there!

Caroline McKay is five minutes behind Lorna

and currently in second place.

She took up running fairly recently, and it's literally changed her life.

When I look back five years, I've got a completely different

lifestyle from what I had back then.

But when it's something you really love, you don't see it as a chore.

I mean, obviously, not every run you love! It's sometimes hard

to get up at, whatever, 6am and go to the gym and do hill reps.

This year, I've done quite a lot of racing, so this is my final

and actually I can't wait to not have any more races over

the next couple of months!

Just a wee jog home now.

Today, many of the competitors are still making their way over

the Eildons and are looking forward to life after the race.

-Oh, sorry!

-Oh, that's OK.

You're going... Try to keep it going.

I need a bit of a push.

Downhill and home for burgers and chips.

Not forgetting the beer.

Yeah, oh, yeah, lots of beer.

I used to do a lot of orienteering and my eyesight started to go,

so I started doing ultras.

I expect when my knees go, I'll have to go to cycling.

HE CHUCKLES

No, it's something you can switch off, you know, you just run

and it's great being out in places like this.

You go slow enough, like I do - you can

see all the views as well, it's brilliant.

Yeah, that's it now, all downhill.

Best bit!

All downhill to the end now. Hey-hey!

I love running because it's my version of a midlife crisis -

because it's cheaper than having affairs!

It's better than buying a sports car

and safer than a motorbike.

-I've just started this year.

-Why?

Why? Adventure Show.

The Glencoe Marathon Adventure Show and er... So, Dougie Vipond...

Oh, dear, what have I started?

Back here in Jedburgh, it's nearly five hours after

setting off this morning - the end is in sight for the leaders.

So here he comes - number 114, Lee Kemp,

a member of the GB Ultra Trail Team.

The record on this course was five hours and two minutes

and it looks to me like he's inside it!

CHEERING

Absolutely... Just gently jogging over the line,

doesn't even bother breaking the tape.

Look at that!

Gold medal round the neck and a new record.

And that is a fantastic performance.

Looks like he's just been out for stroll in the park of an afternoon,

but he's done 38 miles and he's done them very quickly indeed!

What a great run for Lee Kemp. A time of four hours, 56 minutes and

36 seconds - he's smashed the course record by over five minutes.

Really pleased with that.

I didn't think I'd get it, you know, after going, going wrong.

Matt Williams is a friend of mine - who had the previous

course record - so I was hoping I could sort of get close to it

and then a bit of banter afterwards maybe...

when I speak to him.

But, yeah, yeah, really, really pleased with it.

It was tough, the last few miles - really, really felt it.

So this is Ian Symington, a fantastic run for him.

Battling with Ken Sutor for second and third place

but Ian has really put in the miles towards the end, really dug in deep.

And he has broken last year's record as well, disappointment for him,

though, that Lee Kemp is quite a few minutes ahead

but a very fine run indeed.

Second place today, you must be pretty pleased with that?

Really pleased.

I know Lee... I recognise Lee Kemp's name and I would think he's

probably a much better runner than I am,

so, very pleased to come second.

And I think I got about the best out of myself, so, very pleased with that.

The amazing thing, as well, you broke the course record from last

year, just inside, but Lee was just that wee bit faster.

Yeah, it doesn't count then, it's, er...yep!

I mean, Lee's obviously ahead of you,

but not that far ahead of you on a race of this size?

No, he, he came past me just on the peaks

and he was going at some rate.

I sort of stuck with him for maybe half a mile

and thought, "Oh, it's a bit fast for me,"

and sort of dropped off and just hoped that

he'd break a little bit later but he didn't, he was really strong.

And this is our third place...

This is Ken Sutor, English runner.

He was leader of the Lakeland 100 for 70 miles

last year, before having to drop out through injury.

Crosses the line, smile, hands in the air...

Good, good run.

What a battle he had with Ian Symington as well.

But erm... That's a great run from this fella,

he's a real top-drawer athlete - and a good finish.

So, Ken, third-place finish today and a great finish, yeah?

Are you happy with that?

I am actually, yes, yeah.

I was up against quite a strong field, I think.

You know, I've had a couple of race wins this season, so...

one might say, "Well, I could've expected or hoped for more."

But when you feel you've had a reasonably strong run anyway,

if you're beaten by two people

who are better on the day, you know, at the end of it, it's just a hobby.

So...yeah, you can't really complain!

So, confirmation of those winning results for the men...

CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING

And here comes the first woman over the line -

Lorna McMillan from Glasgow, originally from Traquair.

Came second in the West Highland Way race in 2013, placed third at this

year's West Highland Way race and came fifth at the Highland Fling.

But this year she's the winner of the...Jedburgh

Three Peaks Ultramarathon

and a great performance from Lorna McMillan, the winner 2015.

Lorna, congratulations, a fantastic performance.

Thank you very much.

It's a lot tougher than I expected it to be.

I was given the impression that it was going to be flat,

but it's actually quite an undulating course.

I quite like a hilly race, so I found it a lot tougher

than I expected.

Some of the long straights are quite kind of...

You've got to just keep going and dig deep where... When it's an

uphill or a downhill, you get a wee break now and again but, yeah, so...

Well, listen, well done! Superb!

And here's the second woman -

Caroline McKay, from Edinburgh, pounding up to the line.

Like Lee Kemp, she took a wrong turn early in the race -

so she finishes 12 and a half minutes behind Lorna.

Well, Caroline, congratulations,

a second-place finish behind Lorna, but you had a tough one today?

I had a really tough race, actually.

It started out really strong, felt really good. It's such

a beautiful trail and I ran this race three years ago.

So it was a really tough race three years ago

because it was really muddy,

so today was not as muddy and I was feeling positive, feeling good.

But then, I'm not actually sure the mile... I think

it was probably 13 or 14 miles - we took a wrong turn

because some signage had been taken down.

When we realised, we came back

and then I realised we'd been passed by about three ladies!

-Right.

-So it's really hard because then you get into a really negative mind-set

and it's hard to dig yourself out of that in a race,

because it's so much about your mental strength, I think,

and I was just struggling mentally after that.

And I could see Lorna bobbing ahead for a while, and I thought

"I'm not going to catch her, she's running really strong today."

Taking the final steps to the finish line - Elaine Omand

came in second last year.

This time she's in third place, 11 minutes behind Caroline

but still a tremendous race for her.

I'm so happy. I'd sort of been injured for most of the year

so I came into this thinking, "If I can get round and finish it

"and try and enjoy it, then I'll be happy." Hadn't really expected

-a place at all, so I'm so glad with that time and position.

-Uh-huh.

And a very impressive time as well.

Yeah, I'm really happy with that.

I think I actually beat last year's time, even though

I felt pretty rubbish at the start of this morning.

Erm, so yeah, really happy.

So, confirmation of the women's results...

CROWD CLAPPING AND CHEERING

Many congratulations to them and indeed to everyone who competed.

Finishing a course like this makes everybody a winner.

CHEERING

I don't think I'm at the back - but not far off it.

Ah, so what. I don't mind.

Exactly, who cares! I don't care!

I'm not very quick, so the further I go the less it stands out

because everyone else starts going slowly as well.

LAUGHTER

Running just for the camera.

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

Next time around, we're joining Michael Stewart as he takes

on a kayak journey that was first done way back in the 1930s.

This trip's going to be a great physical exertion,

a great physical challenge...

but it's an adventure that is going to be fantastic.

Michael will be recreating a pioneering trip first

undertaken over 80 years ago by two young

men from Edinburgh -

Alastair Dunnett and Seamus Adam.

They became known as the Canoe Boys,

and this epic journey from

Glasgow to the Isle of Skye captured the imagination of the whole nation.

Michael will be reliving their experience.

-I'm looking forward to it.

-HE CHUCKLES

I'm saying that now, you know, once you get me at the other end,

hopefully get me at the other end, then I might've changed my tune.

Michael is undertaking that journey in a replica canoe from that

bygone age, but there's one problem.

Last time Michael was in a kayak, he was just a wee lad -

so joining him

is one of our most experienced sea paddlers, Brian Wilson.

Right, if you keep your weight right in the centre you'll be

-absolutely fine.

-First off - a quick crash course.

There we go...

You can have a bit of fun with turning it

if you just head towards something.

Oh! I'm going to hit this boat.

Almost hit that one...

-I know.

-Almost hit this one...

Haven't hit me yet. I'm trying to get out of your way.

LAUGHTER

Michael has had only a short time in the boat and

these boats are slightly unusual, you know,

they're very open and very short. But he's handling them well

so far, it's just we've only been in flat water.

The original Canoe Boys paddled these waters to discover more

about their Highland heritage. In doing so they had a great adventure.

And there's no doubt this WILL be an adventure for Michael.

After just a few hours on the water, he faces the

dangerous whirlpools of the Dorus Mor.

It looks nice and calm and placid,

but I'm pretty sure as soon as we get out past the headland

it'll be a different ball game completely.

Fine, it's picking up now - you can see it over there.

Just in front of us, is the mainstream running west.

Feel it starting to push you around a wee bit?

Turn it right round and then go in point first - if you can. Nice and slow.

-That was good.

-Punch into it, Michael, lean forward, give it a bit of welly.

Keep heading out to sea, this way.

-Yee-hoo!

-Well done!

As the pair head north - there are good times...

Ha-ha-ha! I'm going to have some oatmeal brose.

..and bad.

The crossing to Eigg is Michael's lowest point.

I've had enough.

Temper...

Temper taking a big swipe into the water...

Blade didn't catch it...

It's bounced up... and snapped

and smacked my chin.

Not exactly an enjoyable crossing.

For once, the phrase "Up the creek without a paddle"

seems absolutely right.

Hopefully you can join us for that, to see

if Michael really enjoys that Canoe Boys' journey.

In the meantime, from all of us here,

thanks so much for your company. Bye for now.