Yeah, I run Ultras but I also consider myself to be pretty epic when it comes to crewing. It’s an art & a science. A job that can be done well and not so well. Your role is to provide the additional support that your runner needs in order to optimise performance and mindset. That doesn’t matter whether your athlete is top, middle or back of the pack. Your role is care (when necessary), arse kicks (when needed) and practical help & assistance to make the stage they are in as smooooooth as Nutella.
I won’t go into the micro details of effective & efficient crewing here as that’s for a whole other article.
Let’s talk about Ultra Scotland. An event put on by GB Ultras. The team is headed up by Wayne, Ian & Laura and what a bloody good job they do. Like with every single event there’s learning points and further tweaks and improvements that can be made but the GB Ultras events are ALWAYS meticulously planned & superbly executed. EVERY single runner matters. They care for every person out there like they are members of their own family. Everyone’s achievement is celebrated.
As crew you get the privileged experience of being in a position to see the race from multiple aspects & dimensions.
As I write this I know that there’s been a whole stack of keffufle over the last couple of weeks about trail events that haven’t quite lived up to the expectation. It’s important to know that that is NOT a reflection on the whole ultra/trail events industry. The majority of Race Directors CARE and they care A LOT! I would imagine that it is probably listed as their biggest strength & their biggest weakness. Everyone who gets involved in their events is important to them and the safety of participants on the course is THE most important issue.
So, let’s run through a wee bit of crewing.
The race starts at St Johns Town of Dalry Town Hall, – do not confuse this with Dalry (different towns! I nearly feel foul of that one when we booked our hotel).
The first section of Ultra Scotland is fairly long for participants with crew as crews aren’t able to access their athletes until checkpoint 2. The athletes can of course use the checkpoints on route regardless of whether they have crew or not so are able to restock their fluids and grab any nutrition that may suit them from the aid station. Checkpoint 2 was wonderfully stocked with volunteers, fluid & nutrition. The checkpoint is in Sanquhar. A large village/small town with shops, a petrol station etc (just in case crew need refreshment too). There’s plenty of space to park (on the road at the side of the hall) and a good outside area that you can watch the runners come in from. For me this was probably the checkpoint where the weather was the best!
I then made my way to the next checkpoint at Wanlockhead. Oh my! What a stunning drive it is between those 2 checkpoints. An absolute delight and I might just go so far as to say that it was my favourite road ever to drive. The weather was starting to close in. The sat nav will take you to the little museum within the village, the village hall is behind the museum. Another well stocked checkpoint with loos (also the museum has a tearooms if crew need a wee refreshment too).
The next checkpoint is an outdoor one. It’ll depend on numbers to whether you are able to park here. At my point in the field there was parking available, there may not be at peak times. It is important for the runner to know that you may not be able to stop and be available there in case there’s anything specific that they need for the next section of the course. If it comes as a curveball then that can knock a runner. It’s very exposed at this checkpoint and the weather was a little on the yuk side!
I then moved on to the finish. Arriving at the finish in Moffat well before the runner. Again, this is a good size town with lots of provision if the crew need to refuel. It’s a checkpoint for the 100 runners and the finish for the 50 runners (and it’s not 50miles 😉 but a wee bit further). The finish is at the rugby club. The GPX file used by my husband didn’t take him there so just make sure you’re aware.
As I’d arrived early I mucked in with the jobs needed to set up the finish line and to get ready for the runners arrival. The weather went from ok to bleak on a constant basis. I did ask whether this race had ever had favourable conditions and was told it haven’t – just so you know.
Insofar as the actual route is concerned, whilst I haven’t done it personally and can’t comment with any specificity I know it’s tough, it’ll ask you questions and you’ll experience peat bogs, wet feet, your fair share of ascents and exposed spots.
I’ve now crewed GB Ultra events ~ Chester 50, Pennine Barrier 50, Manchester to Liverpool & Ultra Scotland 50 and just want to reiterate that if you’re looking for an ultra event where you’re valued as an athlete, well looked after & your safety is paramount then you can’t go wrong with GB Ultras. I’d highly recommend. That doesn’t mean that these events are easy, that they are walks in the park or that they are molly-coddled style trial events, never underestimate an ultra 🙌
