Adie Turford ran from Glasgow to Edinburgh on Saturday 10 October, finishing in 13 hours and 2 minutes.
He was taking part in the GB Ultras Glasgow to Edinburgh event, which sets off from the Riverside Museum on the Clyde in Glasgow at six in the morning and finishes, 57 miles later, on the athletics track at Saughton in Edinburgh.
In between the two cities it follows the River Kelvin, the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Union Canal, and finally the Water of Leith. There is a 16-hour cut-off, and it is canal towpath followed by more canal towpath, with the route taking in engineering marvels like the Falkirk Wheel and running alongside the historic Antonine Wall, marking the Roman Empire’s northernmost frontier.
Adie had his own frontiers to cross in his first ultra-endurance event.
“After becoming well versed in running marathons I was looking for another challenge and decided on an ultra,” he said. “Being a road runner I selected one that was virtually flat and on a paved surface.”
He ran the first 23 miles, then settled into a run walk pattern for the 34 that remained.
Bryony Turford and Wiggy Wigmore crewed him for the duration, which on an ultra means the deeply unglamorous job of being in the right place at the right time, hour after hour, usually in the cold and increasingly in the dark. Adie called them the dynamic duo. When he made it down the home straight under the floodlights a little after seven in the evening they were both there to cheer him in.
He was just as warm about the race organisation. “The organisation by GB Ultras was superb, as were all the volunteers manning the course and check points.”
His own summary of the day was characteristically short.
A chuffing long way and survival was the nature of the day.
And afterwards, with a medal round his neck and 57 miles in his legs:
I got there. Never again, mind.
He also reported the loss of a toenail, no blisters, thoroughly knackered legs, and then, in the same breath, wondered aloud if there was time for a run in the morning before heading home. Oh, and straight after the race he did jumping jacks on the track.
His finisher’s medal is, by any standard, enormous.
Thinking of doing one?
Adie’s advice is that the training matters less than you would expect. “I would suggest being used to eating during runs, and not being too worried about running massive distances in training. The most I did outside of two marathons was about 23 miles.”
He also broke one of his own rules. “I used headphones during the event, which I never do, as it is such a long time to be alone with your thoughts.”
Congratulations Adie. Enjoy the medal, and give your toenail our regards.
