The British Ultra
The British Ultra - Day 1
The British Ultra Team / 26.05.2008
It\'s at times like this I wish I had paid more attention in my English classes. With my limited vocabulary, after the pre race build up to this inaugural race, I am running out of superlatives to describe the events of today. But I won’t let such inadequacies stop me from trying. In typical British style, let’s start with the weather. Whilst it has been chucking it down in Wales (and Monaco for the Grand Prix) up here on the Scottish West Coast it has been simply glorious. The sun has shone all day which has been a mixed blessing for the athletes. The sun always makes everyone happy although with the first climb of the day coming about 6 miles after the start, one or two of the athletes would have been happy with something a little less warm.
I am getting ahead of myself now.
With many of the support crew heading for the hills at 5.30am, it wasn’t long after that the first of the athletes arose in preparation for the start of the race at 8.00am. The morning ritual for many of delightful dehydrated food was made all the more pleasant with the views from the camp over the backdrop of the beautiful rugged coastline.
At 8.00am on the dot the race was started by “Rab� one of the Islay’s many wonderful characters. Following an undulated country lane for the first 6 miles from the start at the Ardbeg Distillery, it was Oliver Sinclair from London that headed the highly competitive field. In the ladies race Jo Kilkenny was first to arrive at the foot of the first mountain of the day very closely followed by her chief rivals, Barbara James and Tatty MacKenzie Clake. With the sun beating down by the summit of the first ascent Oliver was still just ahead of a chasing 4 athletes, but a slight navigational error on the descent saw Paul Murgatroyd in the front by the time they returned to the lanes at 21km.
The lead Paul had at this point was just a fraction over 15 minutes which he maintained over his chaser until the finish of this 28 mile first day. The later half of the route today saw the athletes on a mixture of quiet country lanes, forest tracks and coastal paths. A civilised, but stark contrast to the conditions the athletes will have to endure over the next 4-5 days.See All Event Posts
