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The last thing Andrea said as I left the house on saturday afternoon was "remember, it's a walk, not a race!!). No problem thought I, I'm quite happy to wander along in the middle of the field and enjoy the night.
The Ghost Train Walk uses the Dava Way running from Grantown On Spey to Forres and starts at 10pm - as the website says, at this time of year in Scotland on a clear night and with the full moon there can be as little as 2 hours of dusk - not last night
So, up the A9 and parked up in the swimming pool car park next to Forres Academy for 6.15 with registration due between 8 and 9pm.
What a beautiful night, not what I was expecting - could the weather hold for another 10 hours??
Fed my face with some choccie biscuits and listened to some music to pass the time while contemplating whether or not the event had been cancelled, finally a car parked up at 7.50pm and a bloke got out with a rucksack - looks like it's on then.
By 8.15 a few people turn up to register.
- Early birds
- Getting busier half an hour later
One of the marshals told me there were 120 walkers registered so I started to look round at my competitors (sorry, fellow walkers) to see who looked like they could be quick. Two or three guys standing aloof from the others look fit with all the gear, better keep any eye on them. Another group of three that look fit, would they stick together and walk at the pace of the slowest or would they split - hell, what do I care, I'm here for a walk..
The buses turn up and we're on our way to the start at Grantown On Spey. By now the rain has started but by Dunphail the road looks dry and the rain has stopped. A couple of miles from G on S (which took ages and made the walk back feel like it was really long) a marshal takes the mike and tells us some of the rules of the race (I mean walk). There will be two pace makers for the first 3 miles and they cannot be passed (pace makers, surely that makes this a race). The race will be started by a station master as he blows his whistle (sound like a race to me - official start).
- Grantown On Spey - 10pm Saturday Night
All off the buses, there are people warming up (wow, this is serious) so they are added to my list from Forres of peeps I need to watch (that is if it was a race but as Andrea said, this is a walk).
The stationmaster decked out in what looked like late 19th century attire brings us to attention and asks us to line up at the start - I'm in the front row and genuinely didn't mean to be, I hadn't even noticed the start). After a few words the whistle blows and we're off. The two pace makers set off at a surprisingly fast pace (had assumed they would be slow to bunch us up for the first 3 miles) with a group of three guys close behind, their clearly together as they chat away. I settle in behind the pace setters and the group of three as we head out of G on S. We pass a dog walker and I ask him if he's out for a quiet walk with his dog, he smiles and says yes so I suggest he looks behind him - "bloody hell where did that lot come from and where are you all going at this time of night?". Forres I tell him, he just looks at me, I think he believes we may be a touch soft in the head!.
Out of GonS and on to the disused railway line the pace setters are marching on, the group of three are tucked in behind, I'm 5 yards behind them and a quick look back tells me that the original group of 120 is now down to six as there are only another two guys within 10 yards of me with a gap developing back to the pack - why am I talking like this, it's just a walk.
We stay in position for a couple of miles till the first section of tarmac since leaving GonS when blondie appears from nowhere and passes me and then the group of three - pace to burn!! After the tarmac there is a short single track section through woods before linking up with the disused railway line again. The group in front are doing a pace that is hard to keep up with but I decide that whilst the track is wide I'll try and pass them and eventually I make it despite them taking up as much space as they could, the other chap follows me through so blondie has 40 yards on me and I'm second heading on to the Dava moor with the light fading. I couldn't live with blondie's pace and he headed off, likewise the guy behind me seemed to be struggling to keep up with me so we got a bit spaced out by the time we arrived at Dava which was the first race, sorry walk, registration point.
A marshal told me to head for the glow light and turn left down to the caravan to register and stop for a cup of tea/coffee. Stupidly I headed straight on past the first light as I saw another light in the distance which the path was heading straight for, after 300 yards I realised I had gone wrong and was heading for the light of a cottage so had to turn round and head back. At the caravan blondie was having a tea, I registered but didn't stop as only 7 miles gone and I would settle for the next stop 8 miles further on at Dunphail.
After the caravan there was a short road section before again linking up with the railway and by now the head torch is on as it is getting very dark. After leaving Dava behind I linked up with a marshal who walked with me for a mile and suddenly I realised I was leading (had assumed the guy behind me during my muppetry back at Dava had nipped ahead of me). Looking back I could see a light slowly catching me up and eventually the guy who had been behind me all the way so far was now ahead and setting a really tough pace. The marshal switched his attention to the new leader and now walked with him as the rain started and gradually worsend to the point where it was just humping it down.During this spell Blondie also went past and strangely at 1 in the morning I saw two shapes coming towards me as a Victorian dressed man and lady politely said "good evening " to me as they headed back towards Dava .I was determined to keep the leader and blondie in view but they were edging away and in the hellish weather it was getting harder and harder to see the light from their head torches.
- Dava Moor before the rain came on
The last 4 miles to Dunphail were probably the hardest walking I've ever done, trying to keep a fast pace and absolutey drenched (no way was I losing ground by stopping to put on waterproofs that would just slow me down) while walking through the wettest part of the track.
At Dunphail I could see the distant light through the trees and I could smell cooking sausages and bacon so definitely stopping after checking in with the marshal. Blondie stopped but the leader kept going (how can anyone walk past the smell of sausages and bacon???). After a cup of tea and a bacon roll I grabbed a sausage roll "to go" and was back on the track in second but well behind the leader.
It was now a case of going as fast as I could as if Blondie could keep his pace up in the last section he would get ahead of me and be second so no break from the pace and head down, at least the rain has eased and it's only pouring now. Some fairly wooded sections followed and the marshalling wasn't as good as it had been for the first few miles and my 2nd piece of muppetry kicked in 3 miles from Forres. I could see a narrow track heading off to the left of the main track but couldn't see a sign directing me off the track I was on so stayed on the wider track. Went past a couple of cottages (which I couldn't remember from walking the way a couple of years ago) and then arrived at a junction where I couldn't find a Dava Way sign. Realised where I had gone wrong and headed back to the indistinct turn off and yes there was a wooden sign tucked away behind the foliage and very difficult to see in the poor light - 15 minutes wasted and no idea how many peeps had nipped in front of me??
Only a couple of miles to go now to the finish at Dallas Dhu distillery so tried to finish as quickly as I could arriving at the distillery at 3.45am so a time of 5hrs 45 mins for 23.5 miles with a moving average of 4mph - unheard of for me!.
I was chatting to the marshals at the finish and mentioned that whilst it was a walk and not a race, out of curiosity, how many people finished ahead of me - just the one mate!!
Collected my certificate, watched Blondie finish 6 minutes behind me and floated the last mile and a bit in to Forres to pick up the car. I was only in the car for 10 minutes when the heavens opened so my timing was good but it must have been really miserable for those still out walking.
Told Andrea I'd probably be home between 10 and 11am, arrived at 7.15 to be greeted with "you bloomin raced didn't you, I knew you would!!"
Think I'll enter this walk/race again next time they run it but my thighs are asking me to treat it as a walk next time and accept my rightful place back in the pack.
That was tough!!
PS It's now 30 hours since I slept, I'm hungry but have no idea whether it's for breakfast, lunch or tea also not sure whether to have a kip or stay up till tonight then sleep till Tuesday
