Who am I?
My name is Jonny Kilpatrick and I’m a 36 year old ultra runner and sports physiotherapist based in Glasgow, Scotland.
What am I doing?
At the end of May 2020, I intend to take part in the Cape Wrath Ultra and have my journey on the race documented in the Journal by 'Proper Adventure’. The Cape Wrath Ultra is an eight day event that will take competitors and ‘journeymen’ like myself through 400km of epic trails, mountains and world class coastal scenery. It starts at the highland town of Fort William and finishes at the most North-Westerly point of the country at the Cape Wrath Lighthouse.
The Cape Wrath Ultra is now in its 3rd Edition having been run bi-annually in 2015 and 2017. It is organised by the excellent team at Ourea Events who also organise other epic events in the UK such as the Dragons Back, Lakeland 3-day and the Glencoe Skyline. Previous Cape Wrath Ultras have been truly life changing experiences for those who have participated. Even people who’ve spent considerable time in the beautiful Scottish outdoors are gobsmacked at the rugged beauty and challenge of this route.
The route starts by taking a ferry across Loch Linnhe before running west to the Glenfinnian viaduct. This is where we will get our first experience of the camp that will be set up for us each night to eat, sleep and socialise. From day 2, we will be forging a route North taking in beautiful scenery in remote areas such as: Knoydart, Wester Ross, Torridon and Assynt. The daily distances over the eight days will certainly be a challenge and are; Day 1: 37km, Day 2: 57km, Day 3: 68km, Day 4: 35km, Day 5: 44km, Day 6: 72km, Day 7: 61km and Day 8: 26km. This is before taking into account the considerable ascent and descent while pushing on through the ever changing conditions underfoot including forestry path, single track, mountain paths and then all of the trackless bogs and numerous river crossings. To really make this the complete experience we’ll also be expected to navigate the unmarked route making sure to make various check points before cut off times. Check out the Cape Wrath Ultra Website for full details.
Why will I be doing this?
In a nutshell, I absolutely love the North West of Scotland. This route can get so remote that it will take us through areas that I’d never get the chance to visit easily with my busy life juggling a family and my business. It merges my two passions of trail running and hill walking. Having successfully competed in several challenging distance events including; completing the West Highland Way Race in 2018 and the Lakeland 100 in 2019, I’ve decided to try something totally different in the format of a multi-day event. The idea of covering these large distances each day for 8 consecutive days throws up so many unknowns and challenges for me physically, mentally and even tactically in terms of getting myself through this in one piece - while at the same time trying to enjoy the experience, which is my main priority. I love the idea that all the participants will be in this together and we will no doubt make new friends and share experiences that will be unique to those of us running and camping each day. I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie with other participants that you experience on the longer Ultra Marathons and I think that camping, eating and racing together for over a week will be just brilliant. I like the minimalist nature of this event and that we will all have to become very flexible, adaptable and accommodating to overcome such a challenge. This will no doubt enrich all of our lives to some extent after it. I don’t take being away from my wife and daughter for over a week lightly, but I know what I will gain from this experience will make me a better person and in turn, a better husband and father.
How do I plan on being ready?
The whole challenge seems very daunting this far out from it and I’ve been guilty of overthinking it at times. I think though that I made a real breakthrough with my mindset by travelling up North to recce section 4 in December 2019. The weather was atrocious, the terrain was hilly and challenging and the description of a large trackless section seemed like a real understatement while I was on it. In nearly 6 hours I only saw four deer and zero humans. With this in mind, I absolutely loved it and the penny really dropped for me that this ‘race’ will be much more about taking things slow and steady, looking after myself physically and mentally and just trying to enjoy being in such remote and wild places as the miles tick along. Realising this has lifted a huge internal pressure from me and I’m now really looking forward to it.
Obviously I will need to be physically in great shape to be able to complete this event and that side of my conditioning will be guided by my running coach Neil MacNicol of RunRecover who has done a fantastic job with my training in the past. I’m also fortunate that I live near the Kilpatrick Hills which will allow me to train a few times a week on a huge variety of classically challenging Scottish Terrain that I’ve found will mimic that of Cape Wrath. Ideally I plan to recce at least another 3 sections having already completed section 4 in December. If I can prevent excessive fatigue with my training and make sure I don’t develop any new injuries as well as continue to get rid of a groin niggle I’ve had for a few months I think I’ll be ready to go by the time the start line approaches. All that remains is to keep building my conditioning along with getting used to moving over a wide variety of terrain using the equipment and skills I’ve developed for this great challenge.
I plan to write another update in April on how my training progress and share my experiences and thoughts regarding the event.
