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Week 10
Day 40
Day 40 and day 10 of my January challenge. Bit tired today after a crappy night’s sleep – waking at 4am and not being able to get back to sleep again isn’t the best way to start the day – but I managed to do today’s 5 1/2 miles in one go so not too bad.
Another day running along the picturesque B970, passing Balnespick, Insh (probably best known as the location of the RSPB Insh Marshes Wildlife Reserve), Inveruglass and Drumguish, and the Speyside Distillery.
Today’s run took me over the 200 mile mark – finishing the day at 201.5 miles – and also the 40 hour mark as far as time on the treadmill goes. 40 hours and 38 minutes spent running in the garage so far on this adventure, which means I’ve got at least 160 more hours to go at this rate before this journey is finished…mental!
Route
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Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 41
Day 41 and day 11 of my January challenge. I’d planned on splitting today’s miles, doing 3 at lunchtime and then 3 after I’d finished work, but I ended up working through lunch so I did all 6 once I’d signed off for the day.
They weren’t too bad – watching something on my phone as I run definitely helps to while away the minutes on the longer runs – but I can definitely feel the longer runs in my legs now. God knows what they’re going to be like by the end of this month!
The route today took me through Ruthven, across the A9 into Kingussie, and through Newtonmore.
The name “Kingussie” comes from the Gaelic, “Ceann a’ Ghiuthsaich” which means “Head of the Pine forest”.
The ruins of the early 18th-century Ruthven Barracks lie near the original site of the village, which was moved to avoid the flood plain of the River Spey. The Hanoverian Barracks were built on the site of Ruthven Castle, the seat of the Comyns, Lords of Badenoch in the Middle Ages.
According to the Guinness Book of Records 2005, Kingussie is the world’s most successful Shinty team of all time, winning 20 consecutive leagues and going 4 years unbeaten at one stage in the early 1990s.
Some years ago, the TV series Monarch of the Glen was filmed in and around the area of Kingussie, and Kingussie featured in the 8-time Oscar-winning Danny Boyle film Slumdog Millionaire.
The village of Newtonmore is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland.
Jimmy Bain, bassist for Rainbow and Dio was born in Newtonmore.
Route
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Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 42
Day 42 and day 12 of my January challenge. Being a bit more sensible today I split the day’s miles into two runs, giving my legs a bit of a rest over the course of the afternoon, which was nice.
Today’s route took me along the A9, but not actually along the A9, thankfully. Most of the day’s run was along a pathway that ran alongside the A9, before picking up General Wade’s Military Road. Now that’s a road I want to see in real life! The scenery looks stunning!
I didn’t pass much of note along the way except for the Hairy Coo Shop.
A network of military roads, sometimes called General Wade’s Military Roads, was constructed in the Scottish Highlands during the middle part of the 18th century as part of an attempt by the British Government to bring order to a part of the country which had risen up in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
The roads were constructed to link the Central Lowlands with a series of fortified barracks located strategically across the Highlands. Their purpose much like the network of roads constructed by the Romans more than 1,500 years earlier was to suppress and exert control over the local population. The engineered roads of the Roman period did not extend into the Highlands, which was where these later roads were constructed.
The first four of these roads were constructed in the 1720s and 1730s under the direction of General George Wade (an Anglo-Irishman) and are commonly referred to as General Wade’s Military Roads or simply as Wade’s Roads.
The network was subsequently expanded considerably under the direction of Major William Caulfeild though his name is now largely forgotten and each of the roads that he had put in place are referred to, on Ordnance Survey mapping for example, simply as “Old Military Road”. A further road was constructed by Caulfeild in southwest Scotland in the 1760s.
Route
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Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 43
Day 43 and day 13 of my January challenge. As I did yesterday, I split today’s miles into two runs: 4 miles at lunchtime and 3 miles once I’d signed off for the day. The plan seems to be working and my legs are holding up okay, surprisingly!
Today’s run carried on along General Wade’s Military Road into Dalwhinnie – passing the Dalwhinnie Distillery (the highest distillery in Scotland with a visitors centre at 1,154 ft (352 m) above sea level) – and following along the side of the A9 for the rest of the day’s miles.
I have to say it, but watching the street view video once again showed why I love Scotland so much: the scenery is absolutely spellbinding! I will go back and explore the Cairngorms National Park, oh yes I will!
Route
[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/virtual-jogle-day-43.gpx”]
Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 44
Day 44 and day 14 of my January challenge. Wasn’t really feeling today’s runs, starting this morning with a bloody earache! Thankfully I managed to kick that into touch and the miles sorted themselves out.
Not a great deal to say about today’s route, following along the side of the A9. That said, the hills look pretty amazing so I think I’ll definitely be driving up that neck of the woods when the country’s back to normal.
I did however pass the geographic centre of Scotland, or so Google Maps told me.
Route
[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/virtual-jogle-day-44.gpx”]
Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 45
Day 45 and day 15 of my January challenge. I wasn’t feeling up to a run at lunchtime today, even knowing I’d have to do today’s 8 miles after work. So, I worked through lunch, signed off a little early and hit the treadmill.
I’m pleased to say that – although a bit tough near the end – I ticked off today’s 8 miles in just over 1 1/2 hours. Not too shabby for a nearly 50 year old I suppose?
Not a great deal to call out on today’s route other than the scenery again. I almost made it to the Falls of Bruar, somewhere we visited while in Scotland last summer with the girls. Steve came up for a couple of days and we headed out for a walk up the falls for the day, and boy was it worth it; very impressive!
Oh, and today’s miles just tipped me over the 25% mark leaving me just 701.2 miles to go until the end of this crazy challenge!
Route
[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/virtual-jogle-day-45.gpx”]
Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
Day 46
Day 46 and day 16 of my January challenge. 8 1/2 miles today, so I’m getting close to the serious mileage days very soon! I know I did yesterday’s miles all in one go I don’t think I’ll be doing that for the rest of the month, being semi-sensible and all that.
Today took me past the Falls of Bruar, through Blair Atholl (where we spent our summer holiday last year), and out through Killiecrankie, or Kill-a-granny as I named it while there!
The Falls of Bruar are a series of waterfalls on the Bruar Water. They have been a tourist attraction since the 18th century and were immortalised in a poem by Robert Burns, The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl, supposedly from the river itself entreating the Duke to plant some trees in the then barren landscape.
The falls were probably formed some time in the last 10,000 years, after the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age. The waters slowly cut through the rock which had been pushed up by the geological forces which formed the Scottish Highlands some 500 million years ago. The layering of the rocks means that the water has cut a meandering path through the softer rock and left the harder rock untouched. This has led to the creation of deep pools, outcrops and, in one place, a natural arch. The falls consist of two large falls and a number of smaller drops. The water is often coloured brown from the peat through which it flows.
The total drop of the falls is about 60 metres. The narrowness of the gorge means that the falls are most impressive after heavy rain, but since the construction of a hydroelectric power scheme in the late 1940s, water is extracted farther up the river and the falls no longer reach the volumes they once did.
Blair Atholl’s most famous feature is Blair Castle, one of Scotland’s premier stately homes, and the last castle in the British Isles to be besieged, in 1746 during the last Jacobite rising. The Castle was the traditional home of the Earls (later Marquesses, now Dukes) of Atholl. The Duke of Atholl is the only person in the United Kingdom allowed to raise a private army. This army, known as the Atholl Highlanders, conducts largely social and ceremonial activities, and primarily consists of workers on the extensive Atholl Estates.
n 1689, during the Jacobite Rebellion, the Battle of Killiecrankie was fought on the northern edge of the village. The Highland charge of the Jacobites took the government forces under General Hugh MacKay by surprise and completely overwhelmed them in only 10 minutes. Donald MacBean, one of William II of Scotland’s supporters, having lost the contest, is said to have cleared the pass, from one bank to the other, at “The Soldier’s Leap”.
Now, Eleni and I stood on the tops of the rocks at “The Soldier’s Leap” and trust me, we doubted very much that either of us would make that jump! Still, who knows what you’d be capable of doing if your life depended on it?
Route
[sgpx gpx=”/wp-content/uploads/gpx/virtual-jogle-day-46.gpx”]
Route Video
Below you can see a video of the route, showing Google Street View images from along the route.
Photos
Some photos from my virtual run.
