It was the Oykel Bridge Hotel - They Really helped me out, I need to get in touch asap and thank them. I hit there at the wrong time of day to make use of the fishing huts for shelter.
Most nights I slept in my foil blizzard bag as a bivi/sleeping bag in one with a small tarpaulin covering head/torso if I thought there was risk of the weather closing in.
My whole sleeping system weighed in around 700g - Blizard survival bag, silk liner, half a thermarest z matt, the outer of a tent cut in half to form a micro-tarp over my head.
I had never come across a Bothy before this journey, I made use of three - on the southern upland way a purpose built log cabin - now ruined with grafitti and people partying there who have started using the logs of the cabin to burn for fuel to close to a road and location given away on google earth).
Glen Affric - a lovelly building in the most amazing location, and on a night when I really needed to be warm and dry.
Someone had left a nearly full bottle of 15YR old Dalwhenie whiskie there!
I couldn't believe it - I felt so terrible that day (running in a storm/rain most of the day, falling over lots) and sorry for myself I was tempted to sit by the warm fire and drink the better part of the bottle-and take the next day as a rest day, I may well have done if I'd had any more food.
As it was I had one large dram, two paracetamol some of tesco's knock off snickers bars and promptly slept sound all night.
I never knew how to choose just one single malt as a favourite - Dalwhenie is now mine - i discovered it in Glen Affric, the highest collection of Munroes in one place I'd ever seen, and upon reading hte bottle I discovered it's produced at the highest altitude whiskey distillery in all of scotland - in the mountians, perfect I was running a mountain marathon, was left a drink by a generous stranger in the mountains and it's produced in the mountians - it will always bring me fond memories, and so now I've chosen my favourite single malt!
I also stayed in a private bothy (maintained by estate not MBA) Bendronaig lodge- this is a fantastic location and really well maintained building with no less than four working fire places to keep people/groups warm. The owners here are very generous, making sure there was logs, kindling, paper and matches prepared by the side of the fire. Also candles for light, and a bag of hard boiled sugar sweets above the fire! - even a working toilet in the building. I slept well here also.
As for publishining- I think I will go down the print-on-demand self publishing route, I don't know how large an audience will be interested in this story, at least this way I dont have to pay for hundreds/thousands of books to be printed at once and then leave them in an attic gathering dust - it will also be registered on Amazon so people can find it.
I found I began running Ultra's after spending a year or two reading others accounts of their runs
John Annerino - running wild, first person in modern history to run the whole of the grand canyon, a fascinating read and very inspirational.
The long walk - not a run but true story of prisoners escaping siberian prisoner of war camp in the war and walking all the way to India!
Hugh Symonds - Running high I think this is the most impressive run I've ever heard of. He ran every mountain in the uk and between them, over 2000 miles and 300 mountians - absaloutely amazing.
when I was running in the Highlands, whenever I got tired I looked up at the peaks all around me and imagined just how tiring it would be to run up the mountains - all of them not just over the shoulders of a few passes and around them - I imagined Hugh running there and told myself 'you got it easy so quit whining' - other times I imagined I was Hugh, that I could run that strong and so I had nothing to worry about - I knew I could make it, might sound strange - I never met the guy but his book inspired me so much - it's the reason I attempted the LE-JOG mountain marathon.
Pam Reed - going the extra mile. An incredible story I can relate to in many ways.
Twight-Confessions of a serial climber. A brilliant entertaining read and an insight into the psyche of one of the worlds top athletes, can be read by mountaneers and everyday folk alike.
There are many many more - after a while though I got fed up of reading about amazing stories - I was literally on Amazon looking for another book to purchase when I decided enough is enough - you need to make your own storie, have your own great adventure not just read about someone elses. I think I re-read Hugh symonds book several times.
People say you become what you think- or you become like your peers. I live in Devon not a hot spot for fell running - I tend to run solo most of the time, still my 'peers' - those who I chose to let influence me are the authors of these accounts, I found they encouraged, motivated me and led me to believe that it is possible to push myself, reading accounts of what others had done allowed me to dream bigger, as I had proof it could be done.
It's why I plan to write my book - apart from never wanting to forget the run. memories fade in time - I'd like to sit down in my eighties and read through the book and re-live my adventure, hopefully I'll have a grandkid or two to read it also. But primarily I hope that someone who is probabally just a kid today will read my book in ten-or more years and get inspiration to push themselves. Hugh Symonds book was published in 87 - 22 years later I found the inspiration to live my craziest adventure thus far becasue he took the time to write his story.
I'm not too concerned if it sells many copies or not, a mass publishing deal would be great but I don't expect it.
Originally Posted by Splatcher
Hi Kevin. A bit knackered from racing this morning, but now I've read your posts properly I'm not going to complain about being a bit tired ever again...or for a week or two anyway
I'm sure a lot of us recognised some bits of the state you got into towards the end of the run, but I for one have never been near getting that many of them at once. Credit where it's due for keeping going anyway. You just can't fail that close to something as epic as that can you? Not unless you physically can't move any more. I guess what some won't realise is just how remote some of that country is though. I'm pretty sure you could hang around on the Knockfin Heights for weeks without seeing a soul, even in the distance.
Thanks for you kind comments about my book (pause for blushes). PM me or email me (see my LEJOG website). If you can remember the details of the errors I'd like to put corrections up on the website. Mind you I suspect there's enough interest in this thread to continue on the forum for a bit longer, so I'm happy to continue on here as well for anything of more general interest...
...Such as getting a book published. To be honest you'll be very lucky to get such a book published by a mainstream publisher. It would have to be a really good book: an account of an epic journey in itself isn't enough. Most LEJOG accounts have been self-published or published by "vanity" outfits, i.e, you'd have to pay for it and do your own distribution. One thing you could do though is to write an article & see if you can get it published in one of the running or outdoor magazines (e.g. TGO). If you've got some good photos to accompany it that would make a difference, & you'd need to get moving, before the run's too far in the past. That would then be something you could use on publishers. (Not that I did that: it's easier to get a guidebook published, as long as you hit a gap in the market.)
Oh, & I was wondering which hotel saved your bacon. Sounds like Oykel Bridge to me - if so, good for them! I ate there when I walked LEJOG, then slept in one of the fishermen's huts further up the river. Newly creosoted - the smell was with me for days.
Anyone else got publishing tips they can pass on?
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