RACE REPORT
Jonny Wolf looks back on the Loch Ness 24
It’s taken a few recovery days to be able to write this but what an adventure we had at the new Loch Ness 24 last summer. It was a 24-hour trail race like no other on the banks of Loch Ness, with rolling grass hills, technical forest sections and leg-sapping pebble beaches.
The course started with a short hill climb before dropping down into the forest for some much needed respite from the rare Scottish sun. The trail then looped back and forth for a few kilometres, which led runners towards the dreaded beach section and offered the first amazing glimpse of the loch.
The first few hours on the beach were tough – as was the wooded section between gnarly and multidirectional tree roots. The course then flattened to a nice, runnable trail to the last checkpoint before climbing another hill. From there it was a short downhill and around a few turns to get back to the transition area, only just to do it all over again, and again, for the next 23 and a bit hours!
I had started steadily, and the hours slowly ticking by as I chatted and laughed with other runners on the course.
The day was hot by Scottish standards and it didn’t take long before I could feel a few hot spots on my feet getting sore. After dipping them in the loch to cool off (to no avail), I decided to switch to a more padded road shoe, only possible because the trail was so dry. This was a relief for my feet.
As the moon chased the sun over the horizon, the darkness settled in and made for tough forest running. I loved the first few hours in the dark as the trails seemed quiet and peaceful but, in true ultra-marathon fashion, I was destined to experience some big lows, too.
I had a couple of slower laps around
