A Fell Runner’s Guide to the Glen Clova Duathlon

In March I had a serious disagreement with a cattle grid and fell off my bike, sustaining a very stubborn injury to my hip. As frustrating as it was at the time (and still is, 6 months later), it set the wheels in motion (pardon the pun) that put me nervously on the start line of my very first duathlon on Saturday 24th September 2022.

A week after the injury I got covid which knocked my running back even further, but ironically I could still ride my bike, so out went the running shoes and in came the wheels. I was recounting my running troubles to my friend Imogen who recommended Glen Clova as something to aim for. I was sceptical because I never thought I would race a bike and the Cairngorms seemed a long way to go for a race. However the thought obviously stuck in my head, and a few weeks later, after a few beers and a really good bike ride, I signed up. My hip still hurt too much to run but I figured it would be better by then, and this injured runner might have some compensation for all the miles on the bike.

Glen Clova is a beautiful place that I had never visited or even heard of before the race. The duathlon is organised by Tayside Mountain Rescue Team and all profits go back to them. It starts with a 30km road cycle, then a 14km fell run up two Munros (Mayar and Dreish) then a 6km cycle back to the start/finish. It appealed because training for a 30km road ride felt eminently doable, a 14km fell run was well within my ability and the idea of going up two new Munros sealed the deal.

Over the summer I decided the best way to improve my cycling was to try some cycling events. Another friend recommended the BMBO cycle orienteering events, which were local and on the roads and so I decided to try a couple. These events almost deserve a blog entry of their own, but in short: two hours of tearing round back lanes whilst looking at a map (and not always at the road), searching for control points and getting back to the start before the time (or rider) expired. I had never pushed myself so hard on a bike and it was thrilling (and sometimes terrifying) and it definitely got me more excited about the prospect of the duathlon.

I had a bit of a hip blip in the summer, after too much time in a tent and tackling Welsh mountain ridges, but thanks to the physio (and more cycling), got back on track and managed a few fell races as the season went on. I only had one disaster which wasn’t hip related at all, where I finished a longish race in tears and about to vomit and dramatically decided I had meningitis, when in actual fact I think I had just neglected to eat and drink properly. That experience taught me an important lesson about fuelling – perhaps now I’m over 35 I can’t just run for 3hrs on two jelly babies and half a bottle of water.

Back to Glen Clova: the instructions were brief (something along the lines of bring waterproofs and a stackable box to take to transition) and I was extremely nervous that I would cock everything up. I travelled up to stay with Imo and Stu in Fife the night before, for decent food and rest, then we left theirs early on Saturday to get there in time for registration. I guessed that my transition box needed to contain my running gear, handed it over, got an electronic ankle tag (for timing purposes) and my race number. We had numerous debates about what to wear: the weather was beautiful but the wind was cold and the MWIS was being predictably pessimistic about conditions on the tops (minus 3 wind chill – but do we ever believe them?), and I had no idea how to plan clothing for a low level cycle ride and a high level run that would involve the least faff. In the end I went for 3/4 leggings and long sleeves; resultantly I nearly melted on the bike and the early part of the run, but was really pleased with my decision when it genuinely felt like -3 on Dreish.

The pre-race brief was also brief and I still wasn’t sure if I had put the right things in my box or even which way round the run went, but I decided to go with the flow. The cycle started great, I genuinely thought I was amazing, travelling fast, and pushing Beryl (my bike) as hard as she would go on smooth road surfaces. Then we turned 180 degrees and met the head wind. My speed pretty much halved and my dreams of cycling glory were dashed. I finished the ride in just under 60 minutes and came to the first transition, I jumped off the bike and my jelly legs nearly collapsed under my own body weight. I pulled myself together, swapped cycling shoes for fell shoes, pulled on my running vest and set off. The first section was in the woods and by this time the sun had come out and we were sheltered from the wind. I was melting and plodding, but my slow jog managed to get me past a few competitors who were fast hiking, helping me shake off the cycle legs and giving me a bit of a boost. The route wasn’t flagged and I didn’t really know where I was going, so was squinting at the tiny paper map I’d been given and looking at the other runners when I had a shocking realisation: many were following the route on GPS devices. They were also using poles. I was scandalised! Then it dawned on me: I am utterly indoctrinated by FRA (Fell Runners Association) rules, which explicitly forbid GPS devices, and are generally anti-pole. This competition was not under FRA rules, so GPS devices and poles are completely allowed. For a fell runner, it was mind-bending.

Back to the beginning of the race: we were started off in staggered groups to prevent bunching on the cycle route. I started in the final group about 6 minutes after the first, and initially this had proved psychologically advantageous as I did a lot of overtaking and with hardly anyone behind me, wasn’t really overtaken much. On the run it proved a bit frustrating. Lots of the competitors were much better cyclists than me but not necessarily fell runners and on the narrow path up Corrie Fee it was sometimes hard to get past. The optimist in me observed that focusing my efforts on trying to get past people probably spurred me on a bit faster and this may well have proved true. Either way, the run was epic, a proper fell run and up two new Munros in spectacular weather. Members of Tayside mountain rescue were placed at strategic locations (including two vehicles impressively on the 830m saddle between Mayar and Dreish) which generally meant I didn’t have to do too much navigation and I only asked some walkers on one occasion if they had seen other runners passing this way… On the final descent my legs were screaming and I was not looking forward to getting back on the bike, but was spurring myself on with the thought of the expected tailwind on the return leg and the finish being tantalisingly close. In the end the final cycle was almost blissful: my legs actually appreciated a stretch out on the bike, the wind behaved and the undulations weren’t too punishing. I finished in something over 3 hours and was 4th lady, just missing out on a podium slot but thrilled at such a great result for my first duathlon.

I don’t think there are many duathlons like Glen Clova, and I was lucky that it played to my particular strengths (short road ride and reasonably epic fell run) so I’m sure it’s not the start of an illustrious duathlon career, but rather an introduction to more fun things to do in the mountains. I also want to say thank you to Beryl the bike for impeccable behaviour with smooth gears, no mechanical mishaps and still providing me with excellent adventures after 13 years together.

The whole event was really well organised, very friendly and evidently involves a huge amount of work over many months for the mountain rescue team. Thanks to the incredible efforts of the volunteers and good relationships with local businesses, almost all the money we paid goes back to mountain rescue. The cut offs are very generous allowing people of varying cycling and running abilities to enter on a whole menagerie of bikes (from serious time trial bikes to creaking mountain bikes) and hiking the mountain route if they wished. As a further note, the Glen Clova hotel, which was the base for the event, was genuinely lovely and had real ale on tap, a rare find in a Scottish pub.

The following morning I went for a swim in the reservoir next to Imo and Stu’s house. I managed 17 minutes in the water and a few strokes of front crawl interspersed with mild panic. Open water swimming is truly terrifying, but I’ve heard there’s a really good “extreme triathlon” and perhaps with a bit of practice, that could be my next goal!

Glen Clova Extreme Duathlon:

Bike 1: 27km in 59:17

Transition 1: 02:17

Run: 14km in 01:54:46

Transition 2: 01:59

Bike 2: 6km in 10:27

Total: 03:08:44

Note: the winning man (who also broke the record by 16mins!) did his transitions in 35 and 45 seconds respectively. Perhaps something for me to work on before next time…