UKC

I am driving up to Jura tomorrow evening to do the fell race, hoping to get under 4 hours so I win the engraved whisky glass. Any tips?

Also, we were planning on going to the Islay Whisky Festival for a few days after, but it looks a bit pants, all expensive tours, and expensive tastings, not enough standing round, drinking whisky and listening to folk music. So were thinking of going to Mull or Arran for a few days afterwards, again any thoughts or suggestions?

Andy

In reply to ablackett: The route isn't logical.. especially off the last pap.. talk to others.. know who you can follow.

Take it easy early on, its fast running really but you then have a long descent to the start of pap 1 climb.. take that easy then hit the climb hards. Each pap is less ascent so it gets easier.

But even off the last hill you can still go wrong so concentrate.

Very weather dependant, in good weather sub 4 isn't that hard, in bad it is..

I've done 3:42 and 4:05 or so.. but was 4th with 4:05.. I think only one person went sub 4 where as when I ran 3:42 I was 9th and 20+ made sub 4.

In reply to ablackett: Counterintuitively, the worst bit of the route is the final stretch on the road...don't assume it'll be easy in other owrds.

In reply to ablackett: The hardest bit is finding the descent gulley off, I think, the third Pap, it's an easy compass line, which I remember as 90 but after all this time I could be wrong, a friendly competitor will probably clue you in, it's a nightmare if you don't get the right line and the head of the gully is quite narrow.
Beware of depression on the last three miles of road which is dead flat and dead straight and you can see it reaching before you all the way to the finish.
I can't remember my time but I came tenth and we won 6 bottles of Jura Malt as the team prize
I did it 3 or 4 times and we always did the Goatfell race on Arran which was the weekend before (and free entry), then went on to Jura.
I think my last time was 1984 because there were a lot of Orwell freaks there to celebrate his writing of the book there, Apparently they went up to his house and quietly read a chapter of the book.
Don't miss a trip to view Corryveckan the biggest whirlpool in the Uk, it's sometimes more impressive than others, depends on tides/winds etc, but when I visited it , it was truly impressive and scarey.

In reply to Al Evans: the last pap descent is the one where you go the wrong way.. there is meant to be a direct route.. Holmsey was describing it but a) he always gets lost and b) its risky as if you get it wrong you lose lots of time if not your life..

But you descend down to the right as you come up, after going back on yourself first, then traverse into the col, then climb to the last summit.. IRC.

The road twists a bit but the chimneys stand clear.. I don't mind that bit.

If Mike Robinson is there.. long blonde hair.. follow him, he is always sub 4 and knows it well.