Fort William to Glenfinnan / Cape Wrath Ultra 2018 / Day 1

Very flat route. Its starts after being ferried across from Fort William.

First hour or so simply follows route along the Loch Linnhe until Inverscaddle Bay to turn later right (north) following double track paths parallel to Cona River.

After a turn and a brief climb it goes down well runnable paths down to Loch Shiel.

Full Cape Wrath Ultra 2018 trail




Random tips for the Cape Wrath Ultra. Read the arrangers website first. I made a few mistakes. If I can spare you those, so much better.

1. Strengthen your ankles during training. Try to run in wet/muddy/boggy terrain if you have or in deep snow or in soft sand (beach for instance). The arrangers give you estimated breakdowns of trackless terrain and single tracks. Just be careful that the % they give you are by distance and you will be spending a disproportionate amount of time in those as you move slower. You might be trying to avoid bogs, water, mud, vegetation, rocks… slowly moving sidewise, when your leg sinks calf/knee-deep into a bog you will be doing an extra movement upwards to try to liberate your feet…sometimes the bog has such pressure you feel like the running shoes are going to be sucked in. This is extra effort in addition to the mileage and the altitude. This was my biggest surprise as I had done my training in dry conditions. In 2018, there were quite a few participants with shin splints (myself one from the end of day 5).

2. Running poles. Unless you are a strong runner, running poles will be very useful. They are also useful on uneven terrain if you have a problem with foot/ankles. Train with them before the event. I saw a few participants with swollen hands from using poles. Also, be mindful that some of the poles that split into pieces may stretch out and separate once the pole sinks deep into the mud and you must push up the pole out with your arm. My poles which worked beautifully on rocks and dry ground performed less well when they sunk deep into mud. I did not have baskets at the tip of the poles, but it might be worth trying baskets to see if the poles sink less. Day 7 of the race one of my poles broke. Given how light they are it is not completely silly to bring a spare since you can leave it in the overnight drybag which they carry for you.

3. Have a decent GPS device. The Cape Wrath organisation will give you amazing maps, waterproof and with great resolution. However, I used a Garmin Fenix 5X and it just worked beautifully doing all the navigation for you. 200 people starting at different times over a 2-hour time window in the mornings can spread out a little, so you will benefit from a good GPS device. I used the map when in doubt or to double check. The route is not sign posted.


4. Compartmentalise dry bag. Have a plan for very wet conditions during camping. Fortunately, we only had one or two wet days out of the 8. However, during wet days, anything with water or humid that goes into your dry bag will disperse the humidity to things inside the dry bag. Either dry things completely before you close your dry bag or compartmentalise things inside the dry bag, so the moisture doesn’t get into your dry clothes. If you have many days of rain, it can be a really testing experience both when running and when getting to camp.