Pawel's short summary:
I set of at 6am on Saturday. Finished at 01:30:09 am on Sunday,
The conditions were good with snow showers throughout the day. The temperature stayed around 0-2*C most of the day and night.
The wind chill made it much colder to feel. There was snow in random places and mostly on higher grounds.
The snow was at melting/freezing point below the snow line creating an ice rink on longer sections.
The run was good and I was faster on many sections.
My team was amazing and consisted of runners and cyclists, friends, supporters and random people that wanted to join for a short or longer run.
Pawel's full account:
This weekend I completed the West Highland Way with a support team in 19h 30min 09s setting a new record on the trail. 154km with 4200m of elevation.
I like to start the year with a big challenge and without a doubt it was it! West Highland Way always makes it challenging.
I completed the route 3 times now. Once unsupported setting a record in the summer, in a race finishing 4th and now Supported in Winter conditions.
The weather was kind to me most of the time. I had a couple of snow showers and towards the end the wind started to pick up increasing the wind chill. The temperature was around 0-2°C but the wind was going right through my body making it feel much colder.
It was a very long day on the cold trail keeping my body temperature up.
My amazing team consisted of: Ryan, my brother-in-law, Scott Brown from SBF Irvine, my wife Ashley navigating the social media, Monty, Ben Miller, Ruairdh Oliver-Jones from Lochaber AC, Stuart Malcolm and Manny Gorman from Carnethy AC, and Coalin Finn.
The whole team worked very hard and we had an amazing time on the trail. Nonetheless it was very hard work.
I had a 5min break every time I stopped at a CP to refuel, refill and readjust myself. Anything longer than 5 min break was resulting in my body temperature to drop and I started to shiver. It was very hard to control it. I managed to stay on top of it for most of the way.
The biggest challenge here was the cold wind, ice, frozen rocks on higher grounds in random patches that required constant 100% focus, keeping my head in the game, focusing on eating and drinking plenty so my body had the fuel to create energy to regulate my body temperature. Also some of the WHW sections are quite technical with many roots and sharp rocks sticking out of the ground.
The hardest section for me was the last 11km of Loch Lomond from Inversnaid to Beinglas where I couldn't find a good rhythm because of that. It was very frustrating and I was slowly losing focus. Next more runnable sections I started to get my composure and faith back!
My team worked very hard to keep my spirits up. We chatted, we shared stories and we enjoyed our time out on the trails.
I had many positives on the trail. There were many sections of the WHW that I managed to run in my own record time. Like running from Milngavie to Inverarnan or Bridge of Orchy to Glencoe Mountain Resort and then to Kinlochleven. These sections were absolutely amazing in my opinion. They felt the best.
The darkness plays a big part in winter long distance running. You have to be comfortable with that. I have no issues running in the dark. I felt good.
I had a few trips and slips throughout the run but nothing that would put me off until I was on the last leg from Kinlochleven to Fort William. I rolled my right ankle on a rock, twisting my body and putting a lot of pressure on my right hamstring and lower back. This caused a lot of discomfort and unusual pain. After I quickly snapped out of it I kept moving but noticed that my body started slightly twisting towards the right side and my right hamstring was tensing up slowing me down.
I had 16km (10miles to go) to Fort William. I had to grind it out. I was very focused on my body and trying to keep everything aligned so I would not cause more damage. I was chasing the clock as well. I knew I would grab the record if I just kept pushing it. It was a real fight and I made it! Thanks to my support team who never gave up on me and pushed me to the end!
Through many years of challenges and pushing myself on long distances in Scotland, England and in Wales I realised that it is important to respect your body and to look after it! I am planning to keep doing this as long as I can. It's the way of life I choose to have. I am a hard worker, a son, a husband, a father, an ultra running coach and an athlete. I share stories, I teach people how to be better every day. I try to motivate everyone to work hard! I have big dreams and ideas of what I would like to achieve. One day it will stop and I will have all the memories to pass onto my grandchildren and everyone that wants to listen. My list of stories and experiences is constantly expanding and I will keep it that way as long as I can. I am only 37 years old. I am planning to keep going until I'm 60 or more!
Here I will add that this run was part of a bigger project to jumpstart my ultra running year. I was planning to run West Highland Way and Great Glen Way in one go. A total of 273km and 6500m of elevation. The whole adventure didn't come together but I wrote a part of history setting a new Winter Supported West Highland Way record that I'm really proud of! It wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the amazing team that I had!
More details and photos available on my website.
https://mymountainlab.uk/winter-west-highland-way-supported-record-of-19h-30min-9s/