Episode 5 The Adventure Show


Episode 5

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-Ya!

-They told me it would be fun and easy.

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Hello and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

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This month Loch Tay is the centrepiece

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for the Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

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Competitors are here for almost 60 miles of swimming, mountain running,

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kayaking and cycling through this glorious and majestic landscape.

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Fresh as a daisy.

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Just brilliant.

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You couldn't get better, could you?

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No-one told me I was putting my life at risk.

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It all starts with a swim across the full width of Loch Tay,

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before the racers head up into these hills,

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where they'll run 15 miles over no less than seven Munros.

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It's a massive day out by any standard.

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But this is just one element of today's race.

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This event attracts everyone

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from weekend warriors to hardened endurance athletes

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and they come from right across the UK to Highland Perthshire.

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Some competitors will spend ten hours in the hills,

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before taking to the water for a seven-mile paddle up the loch.

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Then there's the final leg, a 34-mile cycle around Loch Tay.

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Now, this event requires a huge range of skills -

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mountain experience, biking prowess and ability in and on the water.

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But make no mistake about it,

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this is a monster challenge for everybody.

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High five.

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The view was amazing.

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But you have to keep moving, you have to keep moving.

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-How you doing?

-Tired.

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There's intense rivalry in the 2017 Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

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Everyone races in teams of two and last year's winners,

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Drew Sharkey and Sean McFarlane,

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are back, but they're competing in different teams

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and only one of them can come first.

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I think there's been a bit of a miscommunication between

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me and Drew Sharkey. He is a good friend and hopefully still is.

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He is racing with Stuart Macleod,

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who's a very good athlete, and I'm racing with Andy,

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so it's going to be fascinating having a main competitor team

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composed of someone that I've raced with and seen him at his best

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and at his worst, so it's going to be fascinating.

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It's been a marriage break-up.

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-Yeah.

-I mean, it's been better, quite clearly.

-Yeah.

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We're still going through the courts to see who gets the kids at the

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moment. A lot could depend on the result.

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But these two teams aren't the only show in town.

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For many years, Paul Daccus and Stuart Gregory have competed

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together in the Kindrochit.

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They came second last year, just three minutes behind Sean and Drew.

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I think we are running out of time now in terms of years,

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so five years later we still haven't managed to win this.

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We've had a second and a third.

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But, look, it's the sort of race where you never really know.

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There are so many variables in terms of the weather, the route,

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you just have to get out there, try your best and see what happens.

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-Aye-aye. Hi.

-So this year is all set for a classic

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Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

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Later in this month's Adventure Show,

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Duncan takes to his wheels in search of an amazing challenge

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in Scotland's last great wilderness.

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Seems like the perfect way to spoil a good hill walk, by carrying this

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thing up here.

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This is a pretty mad scheme.

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And film-maker Dan Bell

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shows why there's nowhere better than Scotland for adventure.

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The whole river is on this massive big rock slab, which makes the

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perfect natural flume.

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It's like the best aqua park in Scotland.

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But first to the Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

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It's coming up to six o'clock in the morning

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and competitors are getting ready to hit that chilly water.

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How are you feeling? Have you done lots of training?

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Done some training, wishing I'd done a little bit more at this stage,

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but I'm sure it's going to be a great day.

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Yeah, pretty excited last night,

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but I'll be honest it's been replaced with nervousness now, so,

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looking forward to getting across, really, and then hitting the Munros.

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Good morning, ladies, good morning. How we doing? How we feeling?

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Terrified, to be honest. So Fern's done all the training

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-and I've done none.

-I've trained for two.

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Yeah, that's how it works!

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Because of the popularity of this event, competitors set off in

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two waves, one at six o'clock in the morning and one at seven.

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Now, the fastest racers could be in either wave,

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so it makes for an intriguing tactical challenge.

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-Nine, eight, seven...

-And here they go.

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..six, five, four, three, two, one...

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CHEERING

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And the first wave of the Kindrochit Quadrathlon 2017 is underway.

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Ahead of them, 57 miles of swimming, hill running, kayaking,

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then cycling round Loch Tay.

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The day ahead will be glorious and long,

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but it's all about keeping it calm just now

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and getting across the other side.

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I can swim. I can swim.

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But I've never been really strong,

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so the last few months I have been practising

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and building up speed, so fingers crossed I make it across.

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This time last year I couldn't swim a length,

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so I'm a bit nervous about the temperature.

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I think I can do the distance but I'm nervous about the temperature.

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We swam in a quarry two weeks ago as a test and that was quite scary,

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but hopefully we've got over it a little bit.

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Yeah, you're very aware that there's nothing below you, but...

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It was actually OK with the wetsuits and stuff,

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it's quite buoyant so we shouldn't sink, hopefully.

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First out of the water is Jamie McLeod.

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He's taken just 20 minutes to get across the loch.

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-Ah!

-Cold?

-That's fresh.

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Shall I do it again?

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-Yeah, yeah. Perfect.

-So that's our first swimmer out.

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It's a very, very good swim.

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And the mass of people have now spread out all across the loch.

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The last swimmers are at least 400 metres, if not more, from the end,

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so now the transition to the run up the hillside and to get away from

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the terrible midges.

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You must be pretty pleased. It was about 20 minutes.

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Yeah, that's what I was aiming for, but minus the cold.

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It takes five or six minutes to get used to it,

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and then just head down.

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Hopefully the shore gets a bit closer as you go.

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It looks like you need the hot drink after this swim.

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Yeah, I haven't got a lot of fat,

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so I do need something warm to warm me up.

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-Hi!

-So you can see that the first swimmers of the first wave coming

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out now. Look in good shape.

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But for many, they will be in the water for at least another 20 or 30

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minutes. And it's cold,

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it's really cold, so the transition from swimming to now the hill run or

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the hill walk, fast hill walk, is pretty difficult for some people

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and it's something they'll have to manage for the first four of five

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minutes when they come out of the water and change into the hill gear.

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That was nice and cold.

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It's a shock when you first get into the water.

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You can hardly speak because your...

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Everything just kind of seizes up but

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there's obviously the adrenaline and the kind of buzz of doing the event

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-as well.

-So with the early starters now heading up into the hills,

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it's time for the second wave of swimmers to take to the water.

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-How are you feeling?

-Incredible!

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-Yeah!

-Excited?

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Very excited! When am I ever going to be escorted across the loch by

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millions of kayaks and other totally ripped men?

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So I'm feeling pretty excited.

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This is the second wave of the Kindrochit Quadrathlon 2017.

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Interestingly, this is a bigger wave than the first wave.

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First went off at six o'clock in the morning, it's now just approaching

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seven o'clock.

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Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray there.

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This is always the tricky bit.

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Interestingly, Andy and Sean just keeping themselves away from

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everybody else, just going out to the outside,

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because as soon as the race starts,

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the water will turn into a boiling cauldron of knees, elbows,

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arms and you will not see very much at all.

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And quite interestingly,

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Drew Sharkey and Stuart Macleod are at the other side of the start line.

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Here we go! The second wave of the Artemis Kindrochit Quadrathlon

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2017... CHEERING

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..is off and running.

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One of the great things about the Kindrochit Quadrathlon is

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the piper leads you across the water, so if the wind isn't blowing,

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you can actually listen to where the

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piper is and he'll be going in the right direction.

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Ahead of them,

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0.8 of a mile swim,

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15 mile run over the hills,

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with seven Munros and then a long kayak up the length of Loch Tay,

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then 34 miles on the bike around Loch Tay to finish off.

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It's a huge day, it's a fantastic day.

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The fastest swimmers from wave two are just leaving the water and going

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into the transition before they head up onto the hills.

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They're cold, so they'll need a bit of time to change from cold

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swimming legs to warm running legs, but soon they'll be up on the tops.

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The toughest phase is the hills. You can actually see them all now,

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a wonderful view of the hills,

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and that seven Munros over about 16 miles and that'll take anywhere

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from two and a half for the quickest to up to about seven, eight,

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nine hours, depending on how quick they are.

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And we've got the Tayside Mountain Rescue manning all the Munros.

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Each one has a dibber at the top, so with SPORTident,

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they get checked in.

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Granny at home can even monitor on the internet.

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I'm at the bealach between the first two Munros,

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Meall Greigh and Meall Garbh.

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The runners will be here soon,

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but it's also a bit complicated because they start in two waves

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an hour apart. So we won't actually know who's in the lead till much

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later in the day.

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How's the race going for you?

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Very well, indeed. I'm having a bit of a birthday trek for my friend

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-down here.

-OK.

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So, I'm making sure we get plenty of happy snaps for him and his family.

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-OK, great.

-But fantastic.

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Is this a big birthday, or...?

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-Big birthday?

-Yeah!

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-Well, not big.

-Big enough.

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-This is big enough.

-Big minus two.

-THEY LAUGH

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Why are you doing this for your birthday?

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-Cos it's fun!

-SHE LAUGHS

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It's good craic. See you, guys. Cheerio!

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Well done. Have a great day.

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It's not really a run, it's a mountain stage.

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You're actually up there, it's a forced march

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and so I think once you get up high,

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it's going to be a lot easier mentally, as well.

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Knowing what you're doing

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and then being flexible is the way forward.

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What's the worst that can happen? It can take you a bit longer,

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you have to take a little bit of a break and figure out what you're

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going to do next. If you feel good for one minute,

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you're going to feel bad for the next. If you feel bad, you're going

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to feel good, so the key thing is get your head down, keep on going,

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one step after the other, and you'll be fine.

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Hi, girls, how are you doing?

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-Hello!

-Hello!

-You're doing great, first female team through.

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-That's brilliant!

-Yeah, it's good!

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It's such a nice day!

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-Wonderful.

-Fastest swim of both of our lives, so...

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-Is it?

-Yeah.

-That's good.

-And it was beautiful, clear water.

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So you're both smiling just now. Is this going to be like this all day

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-or is it going to...?

-It could be make or break for our friendship,

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I feel. But it's going well so far.

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All the women's teams started the race at six o'clock,

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and Emily Lester and Fern Adams are the fastest so far.

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This race is not just about fitness and stamina.

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Teamwork is vital.

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Emily and Fern met in Cambridge and have been friends ever since.

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We've got a really good rapport, Emily and I.

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We've been friends for a long, long time.

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-Yeah.

-We've had some real low points together.

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We've been through horrendous exams together, so, I think, yeah,

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-we've got a history of that.

-We might have a small fall-out,

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but we'll get over it, we'll carry on.

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And we tend to oscillate,

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so I'll be at a high point when Emily's at a low point, usually.

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-Yeah.

-So we'll pull each other through. It'll be fine.

-Yeah.

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But Lydia Ashby and Alice Parsons from London

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are just a couple of

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minutes behind and they say they've got a love-hate relationship to

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-teamwork.

-Hello!

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Hello, how are you doing?

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-Come have a chat, then!

-Oh!

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-Oh, no!

-I think we will never stop if we start talking.

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I think we'll definitely be friends.

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-Yeah!

-There might be a few moments en route where it's like, "Shut up,"

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-and then it will be fine. We'll be 100% friends.

-If I don't like her,

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I'll push her back down the mountain.

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Meanwhile, with that hour separating the two swimming waves,

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transition is still a hive of activity.

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-How was your swim?

-It was OK.

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It was a bit competitive at the start, a few elbows flying around,

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but, yeah, I just took it easy. Survived.

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-That's main thing.

-Are you looking forward to the hill?

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Yeah, of course. Look at the scenery.

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Any experience in Scottish mountains before?

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No. No Scottish one. No.

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French one, Austrian one, but I will be enjoying it.

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Lovely people, lovely scenery, so just enjoy.

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-How you doing?

-Cold, very cold.

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Thank you. Have a good one.

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-Running for the camera!

-Yeah!

-THEY LAUGH

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For both waves, the swim is now over.

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But that's just the appetiser

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in today's Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

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We're taking a break from the action here at Loch Tay but we'll be back

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to see how everyone gets on with the run, the kayak and the bike shortly.

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Right now, Duncan's off to the north-west for a journey through

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the wild, isolated landscape between Kinlochewe in the south,

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Gairloch in the west and Dundonnell in the north.

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And he's set himself a challenge that will test him and his bike to

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-the limit.

-This is the start of what's called the Great Wilderness

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and about 18km along this track is a remote Munro called Sgurr Ban.

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This one will be a bit of an adventure.

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Ahead is a two-day bikepacking journey combining mountain biking

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with camping, carrying everything he needs on the bike.

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It's an adventure on two wheels.

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The mountain bike is a revelation.

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It can take you out to these incredibly wild places and you can

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go far and quite fast.

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And the reward is this.

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This is remote, beautiful and quite extraordinary.

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You never know how deep those things are.

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I first camped in these sorts of places when I would have been about

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12 or 13.

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I started climbing to escape Sundays in the house.

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Started hill walking

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and the first-ever real kind of wilderness camping experience

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was behind Stac Pollaidh.

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And that was great.

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So you can see behind that I've just left the loch and now the track

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disappears into the wilderness.

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It's still quite good. It's certainly cyclable for as far as

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I can see and I can just start seeing the mountain I want to do,

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Sgurr Ban, just around this corner.

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No idea what's ahead, no idea what the track's like.

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Now it gets interesting.

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What's really nice about camping wild is that with this lightweight

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gear you really can go pretty far

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without the effort that it used to be.

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Gives you a lot more freedom to get out there...

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..and to wake up - on a good day -

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with an amazing view, in an amazing place like this.

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Duncan's heading right into the heart of the Letterewe wilderness

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to camp by Loch an Nid at the foot of Sgurr Ban.

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It's nearly ten miles from the nearest road

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and the riding is challenging.

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HE PANTS

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Definitely now time for wet feet.

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Things have definitely become a little bit tougher.

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No track at all and then forcing my way through this bog.

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And it's amazing how much you use the bike to lean on and the brakes

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to stop you falling over.

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Duncan was once one of Scotland's best climbers,

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so his love of the outdoors

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originated on the crags and rock faces.

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It's also what led him, inadvertently, to mountain biking.

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I had a really big injury,

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I mean, I literally landed on the floor and broke my back and broke my

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arm, and it was like hitting a wall.

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Suddenly all of that stuff that was important, the training, the gym,

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chasing a grade on a route, suddenly I thought,

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"Actually, I'm just really quite glad I can get up and walk about."

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And then, "I can get out and walk about and go outside." And,

0:16:480:16:51

"I can get up and walk about and actually get on a mountain bike."

0:16:510:16:55

So after my climbing injury, I started mountain biking.

0:16:550:16:59

So over my shoulder here on the right is Sgurr Ban

0:16:590:17:03

and just peeking out over this ridgeline, the foreground ridgeline,

0:17:030:17:07

is a rock slab and that's the objective for tomorrow.

0:17:070:17:10

It's the biggest sweep of clean rock in the UK.

0:17:100:17:14

Absolutely incredible feature.

0:17:140:17:17

It runs from almost the loch, almost to the summit.

0:17:170:17:20

Completely stripped of vegetation.

0:17:200:17:22

There's lots of big boulders at the top but somebody has ridden that on

0:17:220:17:25

a dry day on a mountain bike and that's what I'm going in to see

0:17:250:17:29

if I can do, or certainly admire the task.

0:17:290:17:33

Oh! On we go to a campsite.

0:17:330:17:35

This looks like a great place. Nice and dry, not too rocky.

0:17:400:17:44

Just look at the place.

0:17:450:17:46

It's amazing.

0:17:460:17:48

And a huge crag behind us.

0:17:480:17:49

For me, the difficult task is not the doing it, not the camping,

0:17:510:17:57

not the technology, nothing like that.

0:17:570:18:00

It's actually making your mind up in the first place to go out.

0:18:000:18:04

You know, the couple of weeks before, the day before,

0:18:040:18:06

that you decide you're going to do this.

0:18:060:18:08

And when you do and you commit to it,

0:18:080:18:12

it all pretty much is easy and just all falls into place.

0:18:120:18:16

Always have to keep reminding yourself that this is

0:18:160:18:18

very, very easy to do.

0:18:180:18:19

Absolutely, Duncan. Really, really easy!

0:18:220:18:25

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

0:18:250:18:29

Oh, that carbon pole's completely disintegrated.

0:18:290:18:33

-HE LAUGHS

-Now I've got a bit of a problem.

0:18:330:18:37

It was all going so well.

0:18:380:18:40

Now I've got some work to do.

0:18:400:18:42

With a bit of tape, a lot of effort and surprisingly few obscenities,

0:18:430:18:47

Duncan's back in business.

0:18:470:18:49

Phew! Good.

0:18:490:18:51

Now I've got somewhere to sleep.

0:18:510:18:53

Ta-ra!

0:18:550:18:56

So it's finally time to enjoy what must be one of the best places in

0:18:570:19:01

Scotland to pitch your tent.

0:19:010:19:02

Just in the distance you can see one of the

0:19:040:19:06

rock towers on An Teallach, just coming out of the cloud.

0:19:060:19:10

It's really spectacular.

0:19:100:19:11

And it's amazing to think this is all a huge mix of rock and then

0:19:120:19:16

suddenly, just over the other side of there, that's all sandstone.

0:19:160:19:19

Slainte mhath. Until tomorrow.

0:19:210:19:23

Sleep well, Duncan, and make the most of it

0:19:240:19:26

because we'll be back later in the programme to find out if you can

0:19:260:19:29

ride down that massive slab of rock.

0:19:290:19:32

Welcome back to the Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

0:19:410:19:43

An hour and a half after they started,

0:19:430:19:45

the fastest competitors from the second wave of racers have powered

0:19:450:19:49

over the first of the seven Munros.

0:19:490:19:51

Now, thanks to modern technology,

0:19:510:19:53

we know which competitors currently have the best times.

0:19:530:19:56

-Morning, guys.

-Hiya.

0:19:560:19:58

And only a few seconds separates the top three teams.

0:19:580:20:02

Well done, guys. Three pairs from this second wave are now through,

0:20:020:20:05

overtaking loads from the first wave.

0:20:050:20:08

Andy Gray and Sean McFarlane right out in front.

0:20:080:20:10

It's early days yet but I'm going to stick my neck out and say at the

0:20:100:20:14

moment I think that the winners of this race are going to come from the

0:20:140:20:18

second wave and not the first.

0:20:180:20:20

Deziree could well be right about that because right now

0:20:200:20:23

Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray have the fastest overall time.

0:20:230:20:27

-Yeah, good so far.

-I think you go through highs and lows.

0:20:270:20:31

So I think you might go through a dip whilst your partner's feeling

0:20:310:20:34

strong and you pull each other through.

0:20:340:20:36

If you're closely matched, I think that helps cos you're kind of...

0:20:360:20:38

You're roughly the same pace most of the way through.

0:20:380:20:41

Once you're on the ridgeline, it's not too bad.

0:20:410:20:43

You can kind of just get into your stride a bit more but it's probably

0:20:430:20:46

over half the race up in the hills.

0:20:460:20:48

But Andy and Sean are only four minutes ahead of Drew Sharkey

0:20:480:20:51

-and Stuart Macleod.

-He made me come here.

0:20:510:20:54

-He didn't tell me about this.

-Now, don't be deceived.

0:20:540:20:58

Stuart may joke about it but he knows full well

0:20:580:21:01

what this race involves.

0:21:010:21:03

The running part is the largest component, I think.

0:21:030:21:05

But I actually don't know how long the run is,

0:21:050:21:07

so that just shows you how much I know. I don't actually know a great

0:21:070:21:10

deal. I've not actually looked at the details.

0:21:100:21:12

But Drew assures me I will be able to finish it, I hope, so we'll see.

0:21:120:21:16

I think Stuart's telling one or two big porkies.

0:21:160:21:19

As they race over the hills,

0:21:190:21:20

he and Drew are having a fantastic run and they're closing the gap on

0:21:200:21:25

-Andy and Sean.

-Nice steady pace.

0:21:250:21:29

Nothing's gone wrong yet.

0:21:290:21:30

And the lads are just in front of us.

0:21:310:21:33

Despite their team name, Getting Too Old For This,

0:21:340:21:37

Paul Daccus and Stuart Gregory are currently in third place.

0:21:370:21:41

And as they head up An Stuc, they're just ten minutes behind the leaders.

0:21:410:21:45

They've competed here five times before and Stuart knows that this

0:21:450:21:50

Munro is the most technical of the hills.

0:21:500:21:53

Up An Stuc is clambering on all fours,

0:21:530:21:57

it's not the sort of thing I'd like to take my kids up.

0:21:570:21:59

It's quite steep. I wouldn't say it's necessarily dangerous but you

0:21:590:22:04

do have to be careful for falling rocks, too.

0:22:040:22:06

Many of this year's competitors have raced here before,

0:22:070:22:10

so know what to expect on this part of the run.

0:22:100:22:13

I've done it once before and I don't remember it being

0:22:130:22:16

-quite this steep.

-THEY LAUGH

0:22:160:22:18

Others decided to check it out beforehand.

0:22:180:22:21

We had quite an adventure getting up there cos we had no idea how

0:22:210:22:23

rocky it was going to be. That really tested us.

0:22:230:22:26

We hadn't prepared enough, which was silly, for that.

0:22:260:22:30

But it was fine in the end.

0:22:300:22:31

So I'm quite looking forward to doing that one again.

0:22:310:22:33

We look better on radio at this time of the race!

0:22:330:22:36

It was a really good climb but we got sort of halfway and we didn't

0:22:360:22:39

want to go further up because it was too rocky but I didn't want to go

0:22:390:22:42

down, so we were just sort of sitting.

0:22:420:22:44

We had nowhere to go. But once we got to the top it was

0:22:440:22:46

absolutely fine.

0:22:460:22:48

I don't know what you expect when you sign up for something like this,

0:22:480:22:51

so it's...

0:22:510:22:52

Certainly this one's proving tough.

0:22:540:22:56

The weather's amazing, the view's fantastic.

0:22:560:23:00

Yeah.

0:23:000:23:01

We've done the swim. That's the main thing.

0:23:010:23:04

-Great. Lovely.

-Watch out.

0:23:040:23:06

-Heads!

-Heads!

0:23:060:23:08

Heads!

0:23:080:23:10

Still in the lead for the women are Fern Adams and Emily Lester,

0:23:100:23:13

who now live in London.

0:23:130:23:15

They're having a fantastic race

0:23:150:23:16

and really enjoying this unfamiliar terrain.

0:23:160:23:19

There were no photos of this bit in the brochure.

0:23:190:23:22

-SHE LAUGHS

-Are you enjoying it, though?

0:23:220:23:24

Yeah, it's beautiful.

0:23:240:23:26

It's stunning.

0:23:260:23:27

I've never done a triathlon or anything like that before but this

0:23:270:23:30

had a huge draw just cos of where it's set and the setting

0:23:300:23:33

and how beautiful it is and being out in the wilderness.

0:23:330:23:35

That's what it's all about.

0:23:350:23:37

We're really lucky with the weather because when you get to the top of a

0:23:370:23:40

peak, you know, of a big mountain or whatever,

0:23:400:23:42

it's a real boost to have a great view, so I think...

0:23:420:23:47

Yeah, the weather and the location are really important for an event,

0:23:470:23:50

something like this.

0:23:500:23:52

We kind of thought that we'd be making the Ben Lawers checkpoint

0:23:520:23:54

at sort of one minute to two, so...

0:23:540:23:57

-Oh, you're...

-We're doing all right.

0:23:570:23:59

-..miles ahead of schedule, then.

-Massively.

0:23:590:24:01

-Ahead of schedule. I like to be early.

-Most unusual for me!

0:24:010:24:04

Just 15 minutes behind,

0:24:050:24:07

the second women up An Stuc are Alice Parsons and Lydia Ashby.

0:24:070:24:11

Also, you can just kind of like hold on, pretend you're not here.

0:24:110:24:17

They also live and work south of the border,

0:24:170:24:19

so preparing for a steep climb like this hasn't been easy.

0:24:190:24:23

-Are you having a good day?

-Yeah, surprisingly.

-Not really!

0:24:230:24:26

-Oh.

-THEY LAUGH

0:24:260:24:27

But nothing's going to stop them today.

0:24:270:24:30

I manage to forget pain quickly, sort of.

0:24:300:24:32

-We run quite a lot between us.

-Mm-hm.

-Flat mainly.

0:24:320:24:35

-Yeah.

-We've done, yeah, a few marathons, but no hills.

0:24:350:24:39

If the worst comes to the worst,

0:24:390:24:41

-we will be able to roughly work out what we're doing.

-Yeah.

0:24:410:24:44

I have a vague idea how to use a map and compass but I just can't really

0:24:440:24:47

remember, but I'm sure...

0:24:470:24:48

When push comes to shove and we're freezing at the top...

0:24:480:24:51

Yeah, it'll come back.

0:24:510:24:52

I really don't know what they're worrying about.

0:24:520:24:54

Currently, Alice and Lydia are 20 minutes ahead of

0:24:540:24:57

the third women's team.

0:24:570:24:59

Karin Brogtrop and Chantal Klijnhout are from the Netherlands,

0:24:590:25:03

somewhere that's not noted for its hills.

0:25:030:25:06

I did a marathon in Tehran, actually, two months ago,

0:25:060:25:09

which is... Tehran is super hilly,

0:25:090:25:10

so I had a little bit of practice there.

0:25:100:25:13

In France, we're doing with the line.

0:25:130:25:15

And a guide!

0:25:160:25:17

I've climbed once in Edinburgh.

0:25:180:25:21

There's also a hill near the city.

0:25:210:25:24

And I climbed that one, so I know how steep they are.

0:25:240:25:26

The racers are now spread out across the length of this mountain range.

0:25:270:25:31

This is the longest and

0:25:310:25:32

arguably most endurance-sapping part of the race and it's where many of

0:25:320:25:36

the competitors will find out if they're up to the challenge.

0:25:360:25:40

A lot of them are looking pretty tired already.

0:25:400:25:43

-SHE LAUGHS

-This is so funny! So difficult.

0:25:430:25:46

Well, I live on Primrose Hill, so this is about 3,000 times bigger.

0:25:460:25:50

Today will be a challenge but...

0:25:510:25:53

I'm a runner, so hopefully my legs are in good stead to get

0:25:530:25:57

up the hills.

0:25:570:25:58

Just going to take quite a while, so we've got plenty of hydration,

0:25:580:26:01

plenty of energy bars, snacks, stuff to keep us going.

0:26:010:26:04

For me, at this point it's not about coming first.

0:26:050:26:08

Because it's not going to happen.

0:26:080:26:09

But it's just kind of seeing how well we get through it

0:26:090:26:12

and how quick we can do it.

0:26:120:26:14

Probably haven't trained enough.

0:26:140:26:16

Slightly too fat. I should leave London for ever.

0:26:160:26:19

It's an amazing place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely.

0:26:190:26:22

If you see the feeling here on this event, the spirit, the people,

0:26:220:26:26

I think that also is an important factor to keep us going.

0:26:260:26:29

The people are so cool and so excited, so that will help us also.

0:26:290:26:33

-They never told me rock climbing was involved.

-No!

0:26:330:26:36

I thought it was a runner. A casual run.

0:26:360:26:38

Are you by yourself?

0:26:390:26:40

No, it's just I'm hoping I'm going to spur him along

0:26:400:26:43

and he'll do the same to me a bit later on.

0:26:430:26:44

I think it's part of a fermenting midlife crisis

0:26:460:26:49

that we're both undergoing,

0:26:490:26:51

so we're trying to justify, validate our masculinity,

0:26:510:26:55

would be the number one reason.

0:26:550:26:57

But it's an amazing challenge, you know,

0:26:570:26:59

we did it together four years ago

0:26:590:27:01

and I think we feel like we left a bit on the mountain

0:27:010:27:04

and we've come back and try and beat our from last time.

0:27:040:27:07

Yeah, a couple of years ago, it was tough.

0:27:070:27:09

A part of John's still living up in those mountains.

0:27:090:27:12

I think I left something up there!

0:27:120:27:13

We had some tears, so we're going to...

0:27:130:27:15

We're going to come back and try and get that bit of Crompton back.

0:27:150:27:18

Yeah, that's the main reason, to be honest.

0:27:180:27:20

I'm not sure I'm enjoying this as much as I thought I would actually,

0:27:200:27:23

surprise surprise.

0:27:230:27:24

BAGPIPES PLAY

0:27:240:27:27

It's 10:05am and we've just seen the first racers

0:27:270:27:30

breaking the ridgeline behind us.

0:27:300:27:32

They're going to run down to the checkpoint at Lochan-na-Lairige.

0:27:320:27:35

Now, this is where they drop lots of height.

0:27:350:27:38

They'll have done six Munros by this point, they have another one to do,

0:27:380:27:41

so quite soul-destroying, cos they'll see the drop and then they'll see

0:27:410:27:44

the big climb on the other side, but these guys are going at a fair old pace.

0:27:440:27:48

This is truly incredible stuff.

0:27:500:27:52

This is Andy Gray here and he's Sean McFarlane's partner.

0:27:520:27:56

Andy, well done. You're looking really good.

0:27:560:27:58

That's three hours and 12 minutes to this point, as I understand it.

0:27:580:28:01

-That's about right, yeah.

-You're absolutely flying.

0:28:010:28:04

All right, so, here we go. We've got neck and neck.

0:28:040:28:06

This is amazing.

0:28:060:28:08

So, here's our first competitor. This is very good.

0:28:080:28:11

Interesting stuff.

0:28:110:28:12

There's Stuart and Drew, Andy and Sean, neck and neck.

0:28:120:28:17

There's Sean McFarlane coming in.

0:28:200:28:21

Andy Gray's partner.

0:28:210:28:23

Well done, boys.

0:28:230:28:25

Now, we wondered how tight this race was going to be and there's the

0:28:250:28:28

answer right there. It's going to be incredibly tight.

0:28:280:28:30

Sean and Drew, who were first last year as a pair,

0:28:300:28:34

they split up and they now have separate partners.

0:28:340:28:37

They are racing neck and neck, head-to-head, toe-to-toe, the full thing.

0:28:370:28:42

Four runners together.

0:28:420:28:44

They got to this point in three hours and 12 minutes.

0:28:440:28:46

That is incredibly fast.

0:28:460:28:48

Now, they will be pushing each other on and they now know that

0:28:480:28:53

if they all keep it together, this could be a sprint finish.

0:28:530:28:56

Unbelievable stuff.

0:28:560:28:58

Six Munros done, one to go.

0:28:580:29:00

And my goodness me, four guys that know each other very, very well indeed.

0:29:000:29:05

Sean's looking a wee bit tired at the back there.

0:29:050:29:08

Drew and Stuart at the front are just getting it done.

0:29:080:29:11

And Andy Gray is leading Sean on, Sean in the blue.

0:29:110:29:13

My goodness me. The race is on.

0:29:150:29:18

I've made my way down Loch Tay to the transition point

0:29:200:29:23

between the hill run and the kayak.

0:29:230:29:25

And for a lot of people, they'll think this is going to be a bit of a rest

0:29:250:29:28

after the 2,000 metres of ascent and decent.

0:29:280:29:31

However, when you sit in the boats,

0:29:310:29:33

you suddenly start getting cramp, then you have a seven-mile kayak down the

0:29:330:29:36

loch and that is going to be tough.

0:29:360:29:38

As they pound down the final Munro,

0:29:390:29:41

Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray couldn't match the pace of the leading team

0:29:410:29:45

and the gap has widened.

0:29:450:29:47

So, Stuart MacLeod and Drew Sharkey have done an incredible run,

0:29:470:29:51

overtaking Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray,

0:29:510:29:53

and they've absolutely blasted them on the descent from the mountain.

0:29:530:29:57

Stuart, good. Well done.

0:29:570:29:58

Aye. Yeah. Good, thanks.

0:29:580:30:00

So, at 11:31 they have made really fine progress.

0:30:010:30:05

That must have been a very, very fast descent, with hill runs.

0:30:050:30:09

The boldness of your running downhill is as important,

0:30:090:30:13

if not more than important, getting your speed up,

0:30:130:30:15

so Stuart and Drew are heading off down the loch and look at that,

0:30:150:30:20

straight into a nice rhythm.

0:30:200:30:21

And they already have three minutes

0:30:230:30:25

ahead of Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray,

0:30:250:30:28

who we think are coming in just behind them.

0:30:280:30:30

Me and Sean are good mates and we get on well,

0:30:310:30:34

so it should be a good bit of banter and Sean's really good

0:30:340:30:38

at this stuff.

0:30:380:30:39

Sean's forte is going all day and not slowing down.

0:30:390:30:43

And so it should make for a pretty interesting race, I think.

0:30:430:30:46

So, coming in now, Andy Gray and Sean McFarlane.

0:30:470:30:51

A good 13 minutes behind the leaders.

0:30:510:30:54

-Sean, how was that?

-It was tough.

0:30:540:30:56

It was tough. We kind of died on the second half of the run.

0:30:560:30:58

How far ahead are they? 13 minutes.

0:30:580:31:00

13. Right. Unlucky for some.

0:31:000:31:02

They said they died a little bit on the second-half of the hill run,

0:31:020:31:05

just lost the legs,

0:31:050:31:07

so hopefully they can just push a little bit on the kayak and they are

0:31:070:31:10

very, very strong cyclists.

0:31:100:31:13

So, Andy, how was that descent?

0:31:130:31:15

It was tough. It was thrashy. Tough on the legs, actually. Yeah.

0:31:150:31:18

You're used to going up and then all of a sudden you are going

0:31:180:31:21

-on the legs on the way back down.

-Right, good luck on this.

0:31:210:31:24

So, as we see Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray head off,

0:31:240:31:28

they are probably 14 minutes now behind the race leaders

0:31:280:31:32

of Stuart MacLeod and Drew Sharkey.

0:31:320:31:34

They've got a bit to catch up.

0:31:340:31:36

It'll be a pretty tough ask now.

0:31:360:31:38

And the lead team are very strong on the bike.

0:31:400:31:43

So they will have to make up a lot of speed here.

0:31:430:31:46

A bit like the swim, the kayaking leg is not really where

0:31:470:31:50

you're going to win or lose the race,

0:31:500:31:52

but this is an energy-sapping slow boat

0:31:520:31:55

and they're all exactly the same.

0:31:550:31:57

They're really hard to paddle, they're very flat bottomed,

0:31:570:32:00

they will not glide in this water and, with the tailwind,

0:32:000:32:03

they're going to push you all over the place,

0:32:030:32:05

so you need really good technique in these things

0:32:050:32:07

to actually survive it with any sort of energy for the cycle.

0:32:070:32:10

So, paddle well and keep in a straight line.

0:32:100:32:13

Can be demoralising.

0:32:150:32:16

Last year we had a team that we started kayak with and they had a good kayaker

0:32:160:32:19

with them in their team and they paddled away from us

0:32:190:32:22

and actually Drew Sharkey was equating their time ahead of us

0:32:220:32:24

to how long that would be

0:32:240:32:26

on the road on the bike, so it's easy to get caught up

0:32:260:32:28

in what's going on around you,

0:32:280:32:30

but the kayak is just, get it done,

0:32:300:32:32

keep taking on board nutrition at that point, which is vital,

0:32:320:32:35

because a lot of folk forget that, and then prepare for the bike.

0:32:350:32:38

Well done.

0:32:380:32:39

Third into this transition are Paul Daccus and Stuart Gregory.

0:32:390:32:42

They've had a great run, but the first two teams are flying over this

0:32:420:32:46

course, which means Paul and Stuart are now 38 minutes behind.

0:32:460:32:51

So, Paul and Stuart are out there into the loch.

0:32:510:32:53

The wind has picked up again, so they'll have that behind them.

0:32:530:32:56

So they'll get a nice flying kayak down there.

0:32:560:32:58

There's a huge gap between them and the first two teams, though.

0:33:000:33:03

So now what they're going to try and do is protect their third-place

0:33:040:33:07

position. They just need to get their...

0:33:070:33:09

..strokes in order, so they're paddling at the same time.

0:33:100:33:13

There we go.

0:33:130:33:14

Obviously getting instruction from behind.

0:33:140:33:16

So, Paul and Stuart heading off down the loch with a strong tailwind.

0:33:160:33:21

I think with the kayak being the third leg,

0:33:220:33:25

that actually makes it quite tough,

0:33:250:33:27

because your legs are exhausted after the run

0:33:270:33:29

and then they sit still for over an hour

0:33:290:33:32

and then you have to get them moving again on the bike.

0:33:320:33:35

The weather makes a very big difference.

0:33:360:33:38

Last year our kayak time was about 12 minutes slower

0:33:380:33:42

than three years prior, and yet we've done more kayak training.

0:33:420:33:47

So that just doesn't make any sense and it's all about the wind, really.

0:33:470:33:50

So, many of the racers here are quite experienced triathletes,

0:33:520:33:55

so they bike, they swim and they run,

0:33:550:33:57

but kayaking is going to be their least familiar discipline.

0:33:570:34:00

For those who can kayak, all they have to do is cope with

0:34:000:34:03

a little bit of fatigue as they head down the loch.

0:34:030:34:05

For many, though, this will be the first time in choppy water

0:34:050:34:09

and it's really difficult to

0:34:090:34:11

cross our ferry glide across the loch to the cycling transition.

0:34:110:34:15

That will be a tough ask.

0:34:150:34:17

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

0:34:180:34:20

Now, let's join a young photographer who is inspired by those elusive

0:34:310:34:35

moments and jaw-dropping scenes

0:34:350:34:37

that make this landscape of ours so special.

0:34:370:34:41

You might think Dan Bell has always had a passion for the outdoors.

0:34:410:34:44

But that's not the case.

0:34:440:34:47

We did actually go on quite a few family walks, and at the time...

0:34:470:34:51

..I remember not enjoying them at all.

0:34:530:34:56

It was kind of just a big long walk

0:34:570:35:00

with no computer games or video games.

0:35:000:35:04

It wasn't the most exciting thing to do.

0:35:040:35:07

I don't think there was, like, a clean-cut moment of just like,

0:35:080:35:11

"Oh, I love nature now."

0:35:110:35:12

But during uni I hadn't really found something

0:35:120:35:15

that I could get really into.

0:35:150:35:16

I think when I started taking pictures

0:35:180:35:19

I could, like, really get into it,

0:35:190:35:21

so I found it was something that I could really spend a lot of time on.

0:35:210:35:24

Today Dan combines his photography with video blogging and,

0:35:240:35:28

in a complete about-face, he is now passionate about our wild places.

0:35:280:35:33

Indeed, the wilder the better.

0:35:330:35:35

Oh! Oh!

0:35:350:35:39

It's so cold! It's so cold!

0:35:390:35:41

Bit of a drop.

0:35:410:35:42

And Dan wants to share his enjoyment with everyone.

0:35:440:35:48

For him, this is as good as any computer game.

0:35:480:35:51

So, I was on Google Maps looking at this area a few months ago and had

0:35:510:35:56

found a place that we wanted to camp

0:35:560:35:59

and it had a lochan and running down from the lochan there was a river,

0:35:590:36:03

so I thought it might be funny

0:36:030:36:05

just to kind of have a wee bit of a paddle in the river,

0:36:050:36:07

but I didn't expect there to be, like, a proper flume.

0:36:070:36:10

The whole river is on this massive big rock slab,

0:36:110:36:14

which makes the perfect natural flume.

0:36:140:36:17

This thing is so fun and it's free!

0:36:170:36:19

It's like the best aqua park in Scotland.

0:36:190:36:22

Woo-hoo!

0:36:250:36:26

And I think the video worked out just cos I was genuinely so excited

0:36:260:36:29

to be on a water slide.

0:36:290:36:31

Woo-hoo!

0:36:310:36:32

Dan takes a DIY approach to his travels.

0:36:320:36:35

Walking, biking or catching ferries

0:36:350:36:37

in order to explore the most exciting parts of Scotland.

0:36:370:36:41

I've just had this crazy realisation.

0:36:410:36:44

I'm starting up the road and I'm heading down to a loch,

0:36:440:36:48

which would probably mean this is going to be downhill.

0:36:480:36:51

HE LAUGHS

0:36:530:36:54

And he's learnt as he's gone along.

0:36:540:36:56

Some of the first times I went camping,

0:36:560:36:58

I really didn't know what I was doing

0:36:580:36:59

and one of the main things that I didn't bring was a roll mat.

0:36:590:37:02

And what I didn't realise was that if you're camping in the cold,

0:37:020:37:05

those things are absolutely essential

0:37:050:37:07

because it means that your body heat's not going

0:37:070:37:09

straight back into the ground.

0:37:090:37:11

So, I was camping near Loch Lomond...

0:37:130:37:14

..probably about November time and I didn't have one of these roll mats

0:37:160:37:19

and it got colder and colder and colder,

0:37:190:37:22

and I genuinely started to get worried

0:37:220:37:24

that I wasn't actually going to sleep at all,

0:37:240:37:26

just cos it was absolutely freezing.

0:37:260:37:29

But I had one of those, like, foil survival blankets,

0:37:290:37:34

so I used one of those over my sleeping bag

0:37:340:37:36

instead and that kind of works.

0:37:360:37:38

But ever since that trip, I was like,

0:37:380:37:40

"A roll mat should probably be one of those things I should bring."

0:37:400:37:43

But when everything goes right,

0:37:450:37:47

Dan has found himself in some fantastic locations...

0:37:470:37:51

..including this amazing sunrise on Suilven.

0:37:530:37:56

This is what he loves,

0:38:040:38:06

being out on his own in Scotland's most dramatic landscapes.

0:38:060:38:10

Trips with friends, it's fun,

0:38:100:38:13

but I think it's just different to be out by yourself as well.

0:38:130:38:15

To find out more about Dan's work

0:38:170:38:19

follow The Adventure Show on Facebook.

0:38:190:38:21

And, as we always say, have a great time but travel safely.

0:38:210:38:25

We can't afford to lose you.

0:38:250:38:27

Now let's follow our own and substantially older adventurer

0:38:350:38:40

on his two-day trip through the Letterewe wilderness.

0:38:400:38:42

Time to wake up Duncan.

0:38:420:38:44

The weather's great today and there's a big challenge ahead.

0:38:440:38:47

Amazing. Not a cloud in the sky.

0:38:480:38:51

Get some tea on.

0:38:520:38:53

Fantastic.

0:38:550:38:57

Duncan's plan today is to try and ride down the huge slab of

0:38:570:39:00

rock that leads from the summit of Sgurr Bann.

0:39:000:39:04

The conditions are dry but there's been weeks of rain,

0:39:040:39:07

so it's touch and go.

0:39:070:39:09

Only a few people have done this before.

0:39:090:39:11

There's some black streaks on it which might not be rideable,

0:39:130:39:15

but I'm definitely going to check it out.

0:39:150:39:17

It looks really complicated.

0:39:200:39:22

The top part's fine.

0:39:220:39:23

The lower part of the slab looks really steep,

0:39:250:39:29

so I imagine there's a huge set of zigzags to be done.

0:39:290:39:33

HE PUFFS

0:39:350:39:37

Definitely too steep to push the bike.

0:39:370:39:42

Too many tussocks.

0:39:430:39:44

We are really far out here.

0:39:460:39:47

Definitely have to ride within my capabilities.

0:39:490:39:53

But, yeah, that looks like quite a challenge.

0:39:530:39:55

It's challenges like these that Duncan has pursued

0:39:570:39:59

since he turned from rock climbing to mountain biking

0:39:590:40:02

over 20 years ago.

0:40:020:40:04

And since he was a teenager,

0:40:040:40:05

it's being at the leading edge that motivates him.

0:40:050:40:08

That looks OK, just there maybe.

0:40:090:40:12

If I don't drop the bike into the abyss.

0:40:120:40:14

This is where I really want walking poles rather than a machine.

0:40:180:40:22

Ooh! Does look like the only access.

0:40:220:40:25

Let's see.

0:40:250:40:27

Don't want to drop this, cos it might go the whole way down.

0:40:300:40:34

Seems like the perfect way to spoil a good hill walk,

0:40:390:40:43

by carrying this thing up here.

0:40:430:40:45

The further I get up, the more I think this is

0:40:460:40:51

a pretty mad scheme.

0:40:510:40:52

Might be better higher up, but for me this is unrideable.

0:40:530:40:57

Hopefully some of these wet patches will disappear,

0:40:590:41:01

because they're totally slippery.

0:41:010:41:03

But the idea is to look at it a bit like a ski journey.

0:41:040:41:07

You don't want to go straight down the hill,

0:41:070:41:09

you want to try and go to little points of safety all the way along

0:41:090:41:13

and then re-reference yourself and then try again.

0:41:130:41:16

But at the moment it's looking like a really crazy challenge.

0:41:160:41:20

After a big effort,

0:41:220:41:23

Duncan's nearly made it to the top of the rideable slope.

0:41:230:41:27

Pretty much I've decided to go from here.

0:41:270:41:30

There's about 400, maybe 450 metres of vertical between me and the loch.

0:41:310:41:36

And it feels really out here.

0:41:370:41:39

There's 1,500 feet of descent roughly,

0:41:390:41:43

the summit's pretty close and the rest of the slabs above me are definitely

0:41:430:41:47

something I don't want to be riding on my own, so I'm going to go from that little rock there,

0:41:470:41:51

and see how far I can get.

0:41:510:41:53

So this is it. A quick change of jacket and Duncan's ready to go.

0:41:540:41:58

Right, tally-ho.

0:41:580:41:59

Slightly nervous about this.

0:42:000:42:02

Keep brakes on on the dry and just let them off slightly

0:42:030:42:07

on the black bits and the wet bits so it runs over.

0:42:070:42:10

Much, much less friction than you'd think.

0:42:120:42:15

This is nice, though.

0:42:150:42:16

We are so far from anywhere and every so often you come up with these little overlaps

0:42:180:42:21

and there's little tyre stoppers,

0:42:210:42:23

so I'm going to go pretty gentle to start with.

0:42:230:42:26

In fact, I'll go gentle all the way down.

0:42:260:42:29

It's just the scale of it, it's just huge.

0:42:290:42:31

But it's so hard to spot the line.

0:42:320:42:34

I've kind of lost it now. It's much, much more complicated here

0:42:340:42:38

on the bike than it was walking up just looking at it.

0:42:380:42:41

Just need to be careful where there's a bit of moss

0:42:430:42:45

because that is very, very slippery indeed.

0:42:450:42:47

Good fun, though, so far.

0:42:470:42:48

Oh, dear. You spoke a moment too soon there, Duncan.

0:42:510:42:54

That was pretty interesting!

0:42:540:42:56

I just was crossing between a little rivulet of water

0:42:560:43:00

and the front wheel hit it

0:43:000:43:01

and it skidded around and then it got jammed.

0:43:010:43:06

When it gets wet, it goes really fast.

0:43:060:43:09

But it's quite an experience. It's exciting.

0:43:090:43:12

Now it drops off into the area that I had to carry the bike up.

0:43:120:43:16

And you really, really don't want to fall off there.

0:43:160:43:18

Well, it didn't quite go as I planned.

0:43:180:43:20

It's much, much more difficult than I thought it was going to be.

0:43:200:43:23

But as an adventure it's incredible.

0:43:230:43:25

So, time to go home.

0:43:260:43:29

Well, it's not quite time for us to go home yet,

0:43:290:43:31

because now we're heading back to the Kindrochit Quadrathlon.

0:43:310:43:34

Woohoo!

0:43:420:43:44

Welcome back to the action here at Loch Tay.

0:43:440:43:47

There's now a steady stream of people coming off the hill and into

0:43:470:43:50

transition to the kayak.

0:43:500:43:52

But for some who are still up there there's many, many hours to go.

0:43:520:43:57

Well, I don't know whether we've gone a bit too hard too early,

0:43:570:44:01

but this is hard.

0:44:010:44:03

It's one of those things you look back on the day after you've done it

0:44:030:44:06

and you say, "That was amazing."

0:44:060:44:08

And then even during the day, if the weather is fine, then, you know,

0:44:080:44:11

it's amazing up the Munros.

0:44:110:44:13

And the will to conquer things after that.

0:44:130:44:16

-Feels good.

-SHE LAUGHS

0:44:170:44:20

Today you can certainly see why Scotland's been voted the most beautiful country in the world.

0:44:200:44:25

At the moment, there are nearly 300 people out on the course

0:44:250:44:29

and all of them have their own personal reasons

0:44:290:44:31

for taking on this challenge.

0:44:310:44:33

We are doing this to raise funds for the Mercy Corps, for the refugees.

0:44:330:44:37

So, I think that was a good cause to embrace

0:44:370:44:40

and a nice challenge from a sport perspective as well.

0:44:400:44:44

The reason we are both doing this is because of Mary's Meals,

0:44:450:44:48

because we are supporters of Mary's Meals,

0:44:480:44:50

so hopefully that will keep us going

0:44:500:44:52

no matter what happens, and in the whole day

0:44:520:44:54

we'll keep going because of that.

0:44:540:44:56

I think we will have raised enough money

0:44:560:44:58

to feed 16 children for an entire year with Mary's Meals

0:44:580:45:01

when we finish it. That is the aim of the whole thing.

0:45:010:45:04

We hear lots of stories

0:45:040:45:05

of people that have to carry 60kg of stuff up hills,

0:45:050:45:08

just so their children can eat food.

0:45:080:45:10

So if they can do it, climbing seven Munros is nothing.

0:45:100:45:14

So, back here in the water, the kayak, like the swim,

0:45:160:45:19

is somewhere you might not win the race,

0:45:190:45:21

but if you're struggling with the water and struggling with the wind

0:45:210:45:25

it really will sap a lot of energy.

0:45:250:45:26

In the women's category it's neck and neck between the two fastest teams.

0:45:270:45:32

Now, Lydia Ashby and Alice Parsons have taken the lead.

0:45:320:45:35

But they are only two minutes ahead of Emily Lester and Fern Adams,

0:45:350:45:39

so the race is still wide open.

0:45:390:45:42

I've done a fair bit of kayaking and we've been on canoeing expeditions

0:45:420:45:45

and stuff together, so...

0:45:450:45:46

I think the kayak is probably the bit where we

0:45:460:45:48

are most comfortable.

0:45:480:45:50

Yeah. That'll be fun.

0:45:500:45:51

That'll be to sit down after being on our feet...

0:45:510:45:54

Relax, sing a few sea shanties.

0:45:540:45:56

Paddling, paddling.

0:45:560:45:58

I have never kayaked before, ever.

0:45:590:46:01

-Ever?

-No.

0:46:010:46:02

We thought about it. In London, it was impossible to find somewhere we

0:46:020:46:05

could kayak without doing loads of training in a pool and stuff,

0:46:050:46:09

so we figured we'd just...

0:46:090:46:10

-Just going to risk it for a biscuit.

-Yeah.

0:46:100:46:12

Our biggest bag of food is at the kayak,

0:46:120:46:14

-so we will sit...

-And eat our way through it.

0:46:140:46:17

Currently in third place for the women are Karin Brogtrop

0:46:170:46:21

and Chantal Klijnhout and for them this is also a new experience.

0:46:210:46:25

-We have to figure it out here.

-No clue!

0:46:250:46:27

And there was some training you could do at home with the rowing machine

0:46:270:46:32

but, really, it was so warm,

0:46:320:46:34

in the Netherlands it was tropical weather,

0:46:340:46:36

so it was on top of the house

0:46:360:46:38

and it was too warm to practise, so we thought, OK...

0:46:380:46:41

We focused on the running, on the swimming, and on the bike.

0:46:410:46:45

Back here is the transition between kayak and bike

0:46:460:46:50

and the first kayakers are approaching the beach.

0:46:500:46:53

It is Stuart MacLeod, and Drew Sharkey,

0:46:530:46:56

and there's been a tailwind up Loch Tay

0:46:560:46:58

and they're putting in a big, big performance.

0:46:580:47:02

Faster than anyone expected. Drew, how you feeling?

0:47:020:47:05

-Yeah, good.

-You're looking great.

-I feel great.

0:47:050:47:07

Miles ahead from last year.

0:47:070:47:09

Yeah, we paced the mountain really well.

0:47:090:47:13

Nice and easy on the first hill.

0:47:130:47:14

We'll stop and get the fish supper at Killin.

0:47:140:47:16

Is that allowed? Drew is the team captain, though, so he decides.

0:47:160:47:19

I just do what I'm told.

0:47:190:47:20

-We can go after!

-I just do what I'm told.

0:47:200:47:22

-There's no stopping.

-Well done, boys.

0:47:220:47:25

Bit of a slow start to the cycle, which involves running uphill,

0:47:250:47:29

and I have to say that Drew Sharkey and Stuart MacLeod

0:47:290:47:32

are looking in great shape.

0:47:320:47:35

I wonder just what Sean and Andy will look like

0:47:350:47:39

when they come into transition

0:47:390:47:41

because they'll know there's a huge amount of work to do.

0:47:410:47:44

Five hours 45, and they're heading out on the bike.

0:47:440:47:48

So, here is Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray, our second-place racers.

0:47:500:47:53

Sean won, of course, last year with Drew Sharkey.

0:47:530:47:56

This is a huge performance from Sean McFarlane and his team-mate

0:47:560:47:59

considering, last year, they got to this point at quarter to two.

0:47:590:48:04

It's now one o'clock,

0:48:040:48:05

so they are 45 minutes ahead, but bad news for them

0:48:050:48:08

is Drew Sharkey and his partner are a further 20 minutes ahead of that.

0:48:080:48:12

How are you feeling, all right?

0:48:120:48:14

Yeah. A bit stiff, actually.

0:48:140:48:16

You come off the hill and then you're lodged in a canoe,

0:48:160:48:19

so your knees and hips and thighs can get a bit tight

0:48:190:48:24

and it all stiffens up a bit.

0:48:240:48:25

There's no easy parts of the course, so you have to, kind of,

0:48:250:48:29

keep pushing forward the whole way, really.

0:48:290:48:31

Test yourself, put yourself out of your comfort zone

0:48:310:48:34

and really get to see quite how much

0:48:340:48:37

you can endure through the course of the day, so it is a good challenge.

0:48:370:48:40

So this is Stuart Gregory and Paul Daccus

0:48:420:48:44

getting a nice little rhythm going there.

0:48:440:48:47

Just as I say it, they break the rhythm.

0:48:470:48:50

Paul at the back, Stuart at the front.

0:48:500:48:52

And they are 15 minutes behind Sean McFarlane.

0:48:520:48:56

-Third, boys, well done.

-Thanks.

0:48:570:48:59

-Paul, are you feeling OK?

-Yeah.

0:48:590:49:01

-Yeah, feel very good, yeah.

-Looking comfortable.

0:49:010:49:03

-We will see how I feel after the bike.

-Only 34 miles, boys, nothing.

0:49:030:49:06

A little Sunday afternoon stroll.

0:49:060:49:08

-Have a lovely time, boys.

-Thank you.

-Excellent effort, well done.

0:49:080:49:12

We will see you in a couple of hours, eh?

0:49:120:49:14

-Yeah, hopefully!

-Cheers.

0:49:140:49:16

So Stuart MacLeod and Drew Sharkey speeding their way

0:49:160:49:19

over the beautiful bridge at the Falls of Dochart, here,

0:49:190:49:21

making their way into Killin.

0:49:210:49:23

Looks as though they've opened up a big lead.

0:49:230:49:25

It is a wee sprint for Stuart.

0:49:250:49:27

It is a marathon for me but it's a wee sprint for Stuart.

0:49:270:49:30

That is the interesting thing about the two of us,

0:49:310:49:33

is that Stuart can go all day, in fact, he can go for multiple days,

0:49:330:49:37

and I am the slight risk in the whole thing

0:49:370:49:41

that I could crack towards the end

0:49:410:49:43

but we will just have to manage that carefully.

0:49:430:49:46

You're always a team, so you're only as quick

0:49:460:49:48

as the slowest man in that discipline.

0:49:480:49:50

So I think you just need to discuss it, manage it,

0:49:500:49:52

you're not racing each other. You're a team.

0:49:520:49:55

So, I think that's it and you have to talk about that,

0:49:550:49:57

or else it is not going to work out well.

0:49:570:49:59

So this is Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray,

0:50:000:50:04

making their way across the bridge now.

0:50:040:50:06

It looks to be about a 20-minute gap at the moment

0:50:060:50:09

between the frontrunners and these guys.

0:50:090:50:12

Can they make up that time with the distance they have left?

0:50:120:50:16

I would say it is unlikely.

0:50:160:50:18

People think racing in pairs is easier

0:50:180:50:19

but it is actually, in many ways, more difficult

0:50:190:50:22

because any difference is really accentuated.

0:50:220:50:25

And it can become a big problem,

0:50:250:50:27

so you need to be almost perfectly matched.

0:50:270:50:30

That's the key. And no-one is.

0:50:300:50:32

No pair is perfectly matched and any discrepancy is really amplified

0:50:320:50:34

in a race of this nature, so it is quite difficult.

0:50:340:50:37

Paul Daccus and Stuart Gregory in third place.

0:50:390:50:43

They were 15 minutes behind the second pair at transition

0:50:430:50:46

and that gap has now widened.

0:50:460:50:48

On the bike we're pretty evenly matched,

0:50:500:50:52

so we take our turns and we make good progress.

0:50:520:50:56

If somebody starts dropping back the best thing to do is to

0:50:560:50:59

leave them and then they have to catch up even faster.

0:50:590:51:01

It is about encouraging the other person

0:51:020:51:04

because, over eight hours of exercise,

0:51:040:51:06

there are times when you feel good and times when you don't.

0:51:060:51:09

So a little, sort of, happy word from your colleague

0:51:090:51:13

makes a bit of difference.

0:51:130:51:14

Sometimes a bit of stick, sometimes a bit of carrot.

0:51:140:51:16

Racers are now piling into the transition from kayak to bike.

0:51:170:51:22

And everyone has a story to tell.

0:51:220:51:24

The wind is amazing out there. It takes you all over the place.

0:51:240:51:27

Yeah, the waves, you occasionally catch one

0:51:270:51:29

and it feels like you go about ten metres, it's great.

0:51:290:51:32

We couldn't stay straight.

0:51:320:51:34

I think the legs need to wake up a little bit.

0:51:340:51:36

Yeah, it is pretty tough.

0:51:360:51:38

Do you get cold in the boat, or were you OK?

0:51:380:51:40

Not too bad, actually, the weather is perfect today so it is great.

0:51:400:51:45

At one stage my partner and I nearly fell in

0:51:450:51:47

so thankfully we made it safely back.

0:51:470:51:48

It has taken me a good ten minutes to warm up.

0:51:480:51:50

I'm not going to lie.

0:51:500:51:52

It is still a close-run race for the women.

0:51:520:51:54

Alice Parsons and Lydia Ashby in the lead,

0:51:540:51:57

but only by three minutes.

0:51:570:51:59

How are we doing?

0:51:590:52:00

Good. We were taking this quite uncompetitively

0:52:000:52:03

but we have suddenly become competitive.

0:52:030:52:06

We didn't capsize. It was all right!

0:52:060:52:08

Thank you, goodbye!

0:52:080:52:10

Well done, guys. Keep it going.

0:52:100:52:12

And it's neck and neck now between the top two women's teams,

0:52:120:52:16

Fern Adams and Emily Lester are now in transition.

0:52:160:52:19

Fern is raring to go, but Emily is suffering.

0:52:190:52:23

Oh, she's struggling. Look at that. She can barely walk!

0:52:230:52:26

What's happened to you? Have you got blisters?

0:52:260:52:29

Oh, yeah. Oooh!

0:52:290:52:30

That just gives you a sense of the effort these girls have put in.

0:52:300:52:34

A horrible case of blisters.

0:52:340:52:35

Every step is miserable.

0:52:350:52:38

And when you get on the bike, who says that will be much better?

0:52:380:52:41

Hello! A bit hard.

0:52:410:52:44

It's going to be a fun one.

0:52:440:52:47

That is going to be the longest cycle I have ever done.

0:52:470:52:49

I have done about 30 miles but the extra four, I think,

0:52:490:52:52

on the stretch home.

0:52:520:52:53

At least, if you start pedalling, you keep rolling on the bike.

0:52:530:52:56

So that's a good thing.

0:52:560:52:58

With swimming, or walking, if you stop, you stop.

0:52:580:53:01

Hey!

0:53:010:53:03

The road stretches ever onwards for Fern and Emily,

0:53:030:53:07

but the fastest men have only a few turns of the wheel to go.

0:53:070:53:11

Well, this is incredible stuff from the top two performers here

0:53:110:53:15

at the Kindrochit 2017, Stuart MacLeod and Drew Sharkey.

0:53:150:53:20

Drew Sharkey won this last year with Sean McFarlane,

0:53:200:53:23

and this year he has won it with Stuart MacLeod

0:53:230:53:26

and he's won it by a country mile.

0:53:260:53:29

The course record in the Kindrochit Quadrathlon

0:53:290:53:31

is eight hours and three minutes.

0:53:310:53:33

With a time of seven hours 37 minutes,

0:53:330:53:39

last year's champion Drew Sharkey, alongside Stuart MacLeod

0:53:390:53:44

become champions 2017.

0:53:440:53:46

A new course record.

0:53:460:53:48

Absolutely smashed it.

0:53:480:53:50

Great effort. Great effort, boys, amazing.

0:53:530:53:55

Look at the pair of you.

0:53:550:53:56

You look like you have been out for a wee stroll in the afternoon.

0:53:560:53:59

My main concern was us.

0:53:590:54:00

You have just got to manage the effort

0:54:000:54:02

and everyone else is obviously doing their thing.

0:54:020:54:04

And I knew at the end, I knew when we are cycling at the end,

0:54:040:54:06

me and Drew have ridden bikes before,

0:54:060:54:08

so I knew if we just jumped on our bikes we would be quite happy.

0:54:080:54:11

I think we conserved our energy on the first hill, which was key.

0:54:110:54:14

-Right.

-We just took the first climb really easy

0:54:140:54:16

and then just warmed up into it.

0:54:160:54:18

So that is all the sweeter this year, is it?

0:54:180:54:20

Yeah, quite nice.

0:54:200:54:22

Well, the course record at the Kindrochit Quadrathlon

0:54:240:54:27

is...eight hours and three minutes

0:54:280:54:32

and here comes Andy Gray,

0:54:320:54:34

leading Sean McFarlane down into the finish.

0:54:340:54:37

They are seven hours 54 minutes into this race,

0:54:370:54:40

so if they get a bend on

0:54:400:54:42

they will break the record.

0:54:420:54:44

However, they are 20 minutes behind this year's champions.

0:54:440:54:48

Look at that, the leg coming off the bike nice and slowly.

0:54:480:54:51

Here we go, this is an amazing performance.

0:54:510:54:54

And they get to the finish line in a time of seven hours 56 minutes,

0:54:540:54:59

which would have broken the record

0:54:590:55:02

but, of course, Drew Sharkey and Stuart MacLeod

0:55:020:55:06

came in in seven hours 37,

0:55:060:55:09

but second place for the pair of them.

0:55:090:55:11

We are friends again! Kiss and make up.

0:55:120:55:15

Hats off to these guys, these guys were...

0:55:150:55:17

We're happy, we are very happy for these guys.

0:55:170:55:19

They are untouchable, just incredible.

0:55:190:55:21

If you said at the start of the day,

0:55:210:55:23

"Here is the time, do you want to take that?"

0:55:230:55:25

-I would have said yes.

-Absolutely.

0:55:250:55:27

And then if you have said, "And you'll come second."

0:55:270:55:29

Fair enough.

0:55:290:55:31

So here's our third-place racers,

0:55:320:55:34

Stuart Gregory and Paul Daccus.

0:55:340:55:37

That is a monstrous bike leg they put in there.

0:55:370:55:39

Incredible performance.

0:55:390:55:40

Absolutely flying in. Looking quite comfortable.

0:55:400:55:43

Third-place, fantastic.

0:55:440:55:46

-8.13.

-We finished 8.13.

-Which is amazing.

0:55:460:55:50

If you had said 8.13 at the start of today,

0:55:500:55:52

-we definitely would have taken it.

-Yeah.

0:55:520:55:54

I can't believe the other guys' times.

0:55:540:55:57

You don't mind not winning to guys like that.

0:55:570:56:00

So, confirmation of those final results for the men.

0:56:010:56:05

Paul Daccus and Stuart Gregory

0:56:050:56:06

came in third in a time of eight hours 13 minutes.

0:56:060:56:08

Second place were Sean McFarlane and Andy Gray in 7.56,

0:56:090:56:15

but nearly 20 minutes faster,

0:56:150:56:17

Drew Sharkey and Stuart MacLeod

0:56:170:56:19

outstripped everyone else to come in first

0:56:190:56:22

in seven hours and 37 minutes.

0:56:220:56:24

And they set that new course record.

0:56:240:56:26

Now it is nearly all over for the women and this is amazing!

0:56:280:56:32

12 and three-quarter hours after setting off this morning

0:56:320:56:35

there's only a minute between the top two teams.

0:56:350:56:37

We finished! Wahoo!

0:56:370:56:40

Alice Parsons and Lydia Ashby are, much to their surprise,

0:56:400:56:43

the first to complete the bike.

0:56:430:56:44

Yay!

0:56:440:56:46

Let's not believe it until we're actually through.

0:56:460:56:49

After swimming across Loch Tay,

0:56:490:56:50

15 miles of running, a seven-mile kayak, and 34 miles on the bike,

0:56:500:56:55

Alice and Lydia come across the finish line in 12 hours 46 minutes.

0:56:550:57:00

OK. Again!

0:57:010:57:02

It could hardly be any closer.

0:57:020:57:04

Fern Adams and Emily Lester power over the line

0:57:040:57:06

in 12 hours 47 minutes.

0:57:060:57:08

What a fantastic result for both teams.

0:57:080:57:11

I honestly thought we'd be rolling in at about 10:30pm, so...

0:57:110:57:15

We've got loads of time!

0:57:150:57:16

Big high one!

0:57:160:57:18

So after a long, long day of racing,

0:57:190:57:21

the women's results look like this.

0:57:210:57:23

In third place, Chantelle Klijnhout and Karin Brogtrop

0:57:230:57:27

from the Netherlands completed the race in 15 hours and two minutes.

0:57:270:57:32

Emily Lester and Fern Adams were second in 12.47,

0:57:320:57:36

but, just one minute faster,

0:57:360:57:38

Lydia Ashby and Alice Parsons came in first in 12 hours 46 minutes.

0:57:380:57:43

The action and this year's Artemis Great Kindrochit Quadrathlon

0:57:450:57:49

has been truly epic.

0:57:490:57:50

Our congratulations to every single person who's competed here today.

0:57:500:57:54

We'll be taking a short break over Christmas but, worry not,

0:57:540:57:58

Cameron McNeish will be back once again

0:57:580:58:00

exploring this great country of ours.

0:58:000:58:03

I am going to be visiting some fascinating places

0:58:030:58:06

that are rich in legend, folklore, and culture.

0:58:060:58:10

And I hope you will join me during the festive season,

0:58:100:58:13

as I take another journey on Scotland's roads less travelled.

0:58:130:58:16

This time around the very heart of Scotland.

0:58:160:58:20

So, lots to look forward to

0:58:200:58:22

and in the New Year we will be back

0:58:220:58:24

for the one and only Strathpuffer 24.

0:58:240:58:27

Let's hope there's plenty of snow.

0:58:270:58:29

In the meantime, bye for now.

0:58:290:58:31

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