56 miles at 56 years old, The Annandale Way challenge.
My connection with the Annandale Way started back on the very day it opened when as part of a relay team with my old running club I ran the last leg of the Way from Brydekirk to Newbie in 2009. As the Way runs close to my home during the 2020 lockdown, I found myself again running on the Way more due to being unable to go far to exercise.
In January 2021 I started training for two big races in the spring, a 2 day adventure race in the Alps and the Snowdon Ultra, however as ongoing pandemic continued these races were postponed leaving me to look towards a local challenge which could be undertaken within Covid 19 restrictions.
My thoughts turned to the Annandale Way, the Way is a 56 mile trail which starts in Moffat and finishes south of Annan on the shore of the Solway at Newbie, it is normally walked over 4 to 5 days as I am 56 years old and the Way is 56 miles long it seemed the perfect challenge for me. I started to look into who had completed it in the fastest time to give me something to work for, A team from Moffat Mountain Rescue had walked it, I knew my former club mate Johnny Minto from Moffat had ran the Way, I also found out that club mate Ryan McCrindle from Dumfries Running club with a couple of friends had run the Way in 14 hours. (I am a member of DRC and the Coach for Hartfell Hill Running Club.) So, a plan was put together.
More easing of the Covid restrictions made an attempt possible, under Scottish Athletics guidance we were allow 15 members to be part of a bubble, also there could be 6 different households together. I put a plea out to members from Hartfell Hill Running club for help, and I soon had a top team together.
The plan was for a couple of support runners to run 10 to 20 miles each with me. I watched the weather for the coming weekend, and the Sunday looked to be slightly cooler so that is the day I picked for the attempt. On the Saturday night it was brought to my attention that two local runners I know from Dumfries Harriers, Andy Beatie and Caroline Moles had ran the way in 13:07, they had done it without support runners just having “drop bags” with water and food in at various road crossings, much respect to them.
At 7am 25th April I was standing by the Ram Statue in Moffat with Mark, Rory, and Johnny who came out to wish us well. Me and Rory set off with a target completion time of 12 hours. At the top of the Beeftub we were meet by Michael, by the time we were back in Moffat we were 30 minutes up on our schedule which wrong footed some of our support runners but with the aid of modern social media Adrian, Norman, Elysha and Amanda caught up with me. By the time we reached Corncockle I was 45 minutes up on the schedule, it was great to see my friend Graeme there with his camper van on road support duties. Elysha, Adrian and Nigel on the bike supported me from there, at Lochmaben Adrian dropped out he had run around 20 miles, myself Nigel and Elysha carried on, at various road crossings her husband Steve and her children would appear to cheers us on which was great, but by the time I was climbing up to the local landmark the Joe Graham Monument I was feeling it a bit, I said to Elysha, look there are some people up there already as we got closer we saw it was Steve with the children again, which helped picked me up a bit, after the monument we had both Nigel and Ian join us on there gravel bikes.
We made it to Hoddam well with in the target time of under 12 hours, here Elysha dropped out, she had meant to run 15 miles with me but got carried away and completed 33 miles, what are runners like!!! After a short stop for a cup of tea and a cheese sandwich I set off again this time in support I had Alison. Janet. Ciara and Ruth this is a section by the river Annan I know quite well and is very flat. I started well but after 3 or so miles I started to fade a little, but still I kept going, we made it to the finish on the shore of the Solway in 11 hours and 11 minutes.