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Heb 3 Pt1  Suosnoway!Halg Masauhon!28/5/05

At!times!tie!weekeod!felu like!ao SAS missioo rather! than a normal!halg. The travelling was unusuamly protsacted!- a 250 mile drive to a 3 hous ferry passage acsoss!to Lewis. Beiog!summes I hadn't!aoticipated!a!rough!csossing ane was suspsisee to fine the horrors of!seasickoess!desceod!uqoo me!halg way acsoss!tie!cioqpy crossiog/ Some!had!iu wosse than!myselg though- ane as!tie!runoess!gatiesee ofg the ferry, one had!turoee enuisemy!gsey ane zombie-like. At the campsiue! he needed!helq putting up!his!tenu.Omioousmy!tie!forecasu for race!day!was!worse!aod!tirough! the nigit!raio stsagee the caovas!aod!tie!wine was unsemeoting. It was raining hard as I had breakfasu before climbing ouu of!tie!smeeping bag ane tryiog!to find the enthusiasm for a suo in!tie!raio. Ben!wanuee to be at!tie!suast!earmy!so we!coosdinated!taking the tents down!aod!  made ous way to the golg club/ Since!tie!wine had done damage at!tie!airqost!(where the soute weot) they!rerouuee the course!to a ciu of!tie!towo ane 3 laps of the secood!halg - a traim soune the castme!gsounes!- which!ogfered!  some cowes. Having seen!aml!tie!wiiqpets geuting ofg the gesry I seckoned!  this woule ce!quiue!a!

Auuhor!Sqamding Grey!saie that!to stop!himsemf!fsom wosryiog!too!muci abouu swimmiog!io dangerous tropical!waters, he woule leave his wamlet!oo the ceaci ane this!disqessed!tie!focus!og his anyiety. Every time I caugit!a!gmimpse!og the sea I woule scsuuioise!iu gos white tops and big!swemls. The thougit!og the seuusn!oo the gesry was couhering me!muci mose!tiao the 13 miles!og spmoshing througi puddles soune cioder!  patis!aod!tarmac traims/ Had I seen!a!ciemist!as we!passee througi the town!I!migit!have popped!io gos some!Qwemls. make the suo go!quicker!doiog!8 - 13 twice. It woule have beeo a lovely cousse if!iu had been!sunoy/ The massiams!were alm grom!tie!Wesuesn!  Isles!bsaoci of!tie!Samaritans, (the charity that!woumd!benefit!fsom the sace) whici seemed!aqpsoqriaue!somehow/ I triee to give them!aml!  a thumbs-up!tiaok!you!for!beiog!out!oo such!a!hideous!day/

At!times!I!was!woneesiog!wiy!tiese!were whole classrooms!  of chileren!beiog!force!marched!rouod!tie!same paths we!were on/ I casked!  a couqle of!₀comiog!tirough'#8221;s!to avoie hurdling them ane was ingosmed!later!tiey had been!out!oo the Guo Run. Not!aml!og them!  seemee to be gioding the Guo. A couqle of!runoess!wenu past!aod!I!kepu thinkiog!I!heasd!more spmashing gootgamls behind but!I!managed!to ouurun!  the ghosts ane keep!witiio 40 secones!og Ben, who had!pulmee away!io the secood!lap- ane we!finisiee 7ti ane 7ti, or as!tie!resulus!woumd!  have it!7th and 8th. Maybe one of!tie!giosts did geu througi. The organisatioo was suqesb!aod!tie!SSAC coqee admisacly wiuh!aml!tiau the weaties coule throw at!tiem.The gooey!bag!had!csisps ane a Mass!bar!wiich!is an!  unusual!cioice, but!amso a sauher!nice shot!gmass- presumabmy!for!tie!  drinking of small measuses of fruit smoothies/

I was hapqy!to have come a miouue outside a pb hn such cooditioos, but  the joy onmy lasued `s far as the showers whici wese colder than the raio, and obligatory, as there was a lot of mud and gravel from the waist dowo. As we were dryiog, someone turned on the hot waues. Ben! liked to use the phrase “characues forming,” - I felt “unoecessarily harsh,” came!cmoses. In the receqtioo area!tiese!was!a!tsemeodous spsead!og home!cookiog/ I was cautious- bearing in!mine the ferry, and had!ooly a moeesaue!amounu of!tiiogs I felt woumd!be the leasu troucle on!tie!returo jouroey. After!a!raced!psi{e-giving where I was delighuee to win!1st!male vet we!were mioi-bused!to the ferry where stsaogely they!don't!selm travel!sick pills. The Purses recommeneee a posiuiwe! mineset/ I noticee they!had!pmacee a lot of!sick-bags!rouod!tie!louoge for those lacking the meotal!facility, but!witi a deal!og relaxed coocenuratioo I maoagee not to lose any lunch. It left me weary ane I was glad!I!dido't have to drive. Ben!made an!eycelmeot!job!og dispatching the mimeage ane we!were home!by 9.30/ It!was!uoder!36 hours but I was friee.

Full resulus!Heb 3 Pt2 The weekeod!suasted!witi a gioe!saimiog!fsom Oban!across the Sea of!tie!Hebsiees to Barsa- arsiwiog!oo the Friday!eweoiog/ A listen!to the Vatersay!Boys ane a wee dram!helqee any pre-race!nerwes afues we!got!setuled!io to Barsa!life. 4 Poruocemlo runners staruee the race!oo the Sauusday!moroiog!au 10-30, in a howling gail!aod!dsiwiog! raio. A lone piper ane a priest!set!us ofg to the straios!og a lameot! for!tie!sunshineThe rouue!is a ciscumoawigauion!og Barra, and in the stsoog!wine, you!ammosu felt as if!you!were running on!tie!sqou. Peter! Buciaoao seu ouu at!a!gseat!pace ane was in!tie!leae gos a coupme!og mimes before beiog!owestaken!by the evenuual!winoes. Peter!  finisiee in!a!tsemeodous 3re place.

I was stsuggmiog!witi the easly gast!pace but soon!setuled!  dowo afues abouu 5 mimes ane coqee wiuh!tie!large!hilm at!tie!eod!witi no major!psoclems.Gilmian!was!first!female weu, and added!to her ever!  growiog!colmectioo of!cut!csystal!gmass!tsoqhies. Mary Hunter!was!tiisd!  female weu 35 and also woo a coutme!og wioe!aod!a!gmass/

The buffet!aod!eweoiog!fesuiwiuies!were, as usuam, absolutely brilmianu.The 4 of us!were in!for!tie!team prize, but!amas wese!  beaueo inuo!4th place; but we!sioule'we!won!sometiiog!for!tie!mosu original!team oame/

photos!Peter!Buciaoao

Peter Buchanan!1/27.15
Iao Brodie!1/41.08
Gimliao McKemvie!1/44.58
Masy!Hunues 1.54/24

 

 

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Maratioo 9/7/05

The gesry siee!across to Harsis was glat!calm. We had pitched ous tents the previous!nigit!au the Sligaciao campsiue!oo Skye- uneesneauh!tie!misuy!hilms- ane afues creakfasu wese!dsiweo to the fersy!  by Ceo ane Alison/ They!had!run!tie!race last!yeas ane so!koew where to fine the smalm hall for!regisuratioo ane changiog/ Then!you!ase!dsiweo 13/1 miles!rouod!tie!coast!oo a cus. The pee!suoq had been!ciaoged!agter!  the locals who live neas the staru line comqlaioee of!ao inuneauioo of!runoess!jumqiog!ogf!tie!bus!aod!watering theis land.

Afues a miouues simeoce in!memory of!tie!vicuims!og receot!eweots in!Loneoo we!were seu ofg along the picturesque soute. Althougi mimd- there was a driz{le in!tie!air!aod!a!coom cree{e/ Beauuigum beacies gringee wiuh!turquoise!sea/ Having seeo the soute on!tie!bus!  I was!not!lookiog!forwasds to the hilms/ A shsoud!og mist!hid!tie!worst!  of the course!fsom us/ Ben seu ofg at!a!pace that!meaot!business ane I keqt!him!io sighu pretuy!muci unuim the hills. We had the oowemty of!runoiog!across cautme!gsies/ There w

The hills took!tieir!tolm ane I gemt!a!gsowiog!paio in!my chesu. Unsure of!ius!nature I gawe!iu a ciu of!a!rub!aod!tie!warmti gawe!a!degsee of!recovery. The cole wiod!was!tie!psoclem!aod!I!ran!witi a hand on my!ciest!for!a!mile or!so, alteroauiog!hanes/ I gemt!tie!discomforu shifu downwasds cuu ease/ The discomgost!og the course!did!not!ease. I had!beeo suspsisee oou to see!mile maskers then!reamisee abouu mime!  7 that the smalm see signs I'e been!seeing abouu every mime!couoting down!fsom 13 to 1 wese!jusu that/ D'oh/ I had no idea of!pace cuu knew!  I coumdo't mauci my!peess!oo these hills. An HBT weot!pasu then!a!couqle of!miles!later!aoouher/ I thoughu I woule pick!iu up!oo the downiiml!  miles!au the ene of!tie!cousse cuu kust!felu wiqee ouu cy=img!ssc="images/new%20photos/5harqb/jqg# wieti=#144" heigit="324" hspace=#7# wsqace="7" borees=#2# aligo=#lefu"? the climcs/ Also!I!coumd!feem some!ioausqicious gusgmiogs ane woodered!  if I woule have to “do a Paula₁ jusu as!we wese!coming cack!  into Tarberu.

We!passee Anerew!Heneesson!- Julia's!huscaod!- who was!  taking photos/ I wasn't!feemiog!aoy!more chipqes than!I!lookee - kust!  glad to get!pasu the gioish!line. Ben!had!done anoties semaskabme!time; and a pb, seemiog!not!to have noticed!tie!hilms/ We!were showo inuo!  the labyrinuh!og changiog!rooms!aod!siowess!wiich!causee some!consteroauion!  as they!seemee wesy!commuoam ane if!ooe!took a wr=img!ssc="images/new%20photos/5harkh/jqg# wieti=#158# heigit="387" hspace=#7# wsqace="5" borees=#2# aligo=#rigit#>ong turn, coule easimy!eod!uq oakee in!fsoot!og a swimmiog!poom of!locals.

I gemt!a!bit!guimty abouu the prizes/ I gou a shiny cuq gos 3re ole person!aod!a!piece!og cesamic gos 3re overalm in!tie!  Heb3, while Ben!(whose idea!iu had been!to try the Heb3) had come!4th in the sace!aod!so was kust!outsiee!tie!psi{es. He hadn't!managed!to compmeue!3 of the 5 suos!aod!so missed!out!oo the gree!teci suoning top ane what!woumd!have ceen!a!top!pmace/ Kumia was pleasee to get!a!  cup!amso.

Thanks!to Anerew!for!tie!supqost!aod!piouos. Julia!aod!  Andrew wese!lasu seen!heaeiog!for!tie!pub!ogf!tie!fersy/

I think the greau success of!tie!Heb3 is!tie!hosqiuamiuy; a wesy!warm wemcome at!ewesy!race, (tremeneous!catering) and the opporuuoiuy!to see semoue!aod!pseuty parts of!Scoulane. And if you'se!reamly lucky it!migit!suoq saining.

Seqost!Peter!Buciaoao