Lockdown Can Make a Man do Silly Things...

A few days ago I sat down in my home office to start my latest week (I think seventh, but who is still counting really?) of lockdown home working. As usual, procrastination eventually led me to check my personal inbox, the one that I keep for signing up to websites so is mostly full of junk. “Your Amazon order of A Pet Rock…” “Extra 15% off running shoes you don’t need…” “Enter our COVID Competition” “A company tangentially related to running has organised a virtual 5km” “14 things to do stuck at home that we can sell you stuff for” “Cape Wrath Ultra - Your waiting list invite expires…” “Bargain summer holidays- BOOK NOW” Hold on, one of those was important. One of those was telling me that over the weekend my spam filter had probably sent into my junk folder an invite to leave the murky and uncertain world of a race waiting list and step into the glorious and painfully bright light of the Entry List. I was in the 2021 Cape Wrath Ultra! If you know me and my running history well, dear reader, you are probably almost as surprised as I am by this news. The Cape Wrath Ultra is 400km of some of Scotland's finest and wildest terrain over eight days. Back in 2019 I saw Claire Maxted (ex editor of Trail Running Magazine turned YouTuber at Wild Ginger Running) give a talk about her 2018 attempt at the race. It looked incredible. For over a year the seed has been growing. One day I would do the race. One day when I have some good long races under my belt and am ready for the challenge. Maybe we will call it lockdown madness, but by the time the entries went live at the start of May I had convinced myself that waiting was a mugs game. Who knows what the next few years will bring. The chance to do the race is now, and with over a year to train I am backing myself all the way. Since getting my entry sorted I have at times felt like I was drowning in research… I need to check my kit and buy more; I need to find out how to train for an ultra; I should get the route guidebook and maps; Are there any races I can do to get experience at multi day races? Should I plan to run with poles? And on….and on it goes I have been watching videos about the race on Youtube. There is one called “Running North” that follows the entrants from the last edition in 2018. Near the end of the film there is an overhead shot of a competitor running towards the lighthouse at the finish. Well, he isn't running really, he is skipping, he is leaping, he is waving his pole in the air. Watching that I can almost feel his joy, that is my race goal! Reality check time. I have a year. I have time to train, I have time to learn, I have time to practice. There will be set backs, there will be mistakes, in training and in the race. I need a plan, probably a plan B, and definitely flexibility. They say that you should do things that scare you. I won't lie, that email scared and thrilled me in equal measure. Right now I am an ultra running impostor who has probably entered a race out of his depth. When I get to the start line in Fort William I will be ready, and I will be “an ultra-runner” For now, I’m off to find a socially distant, dark room and take lots of deep breaths!