Burgh’s Becky leaves her rivals trailing as leading lady in West Highland Way event

Walking, though, was far from Becky Beale’s mind as she completed the 96-mile West Highland Way Challenge in just 21 hours and 33 minutes – the fastest woman in the race and the sixth-fastest competitor overall.

Becky slashed more than three hours off the time she recorded when she last tackled the event in 2018 – an impressive but frustrating 24 hours and 59 minutes, hampered by hydration and digestive issues.

A total of 99 athletes started the race, with 64 finishing, as Becky – a member of Helensburgh Amateur Athletics Club, and manager of a chemical plant in Grangemouth by day – completed the course almost seven hours ahead of her nearest female challenger.

In contrast to her 2018 attempt, when she tackled the Way from south to north, this time Becky opted for the north-to-south option from Fort William to Milngavie – and smashed her own target of a sub-24-hour time, setting off from Fort William at 10am on the Saturday and crossing the finish line at 7.33am on Sunday.

It was just before 10am on Saturday morning and I was standing on the start line of the West highland Way Challenge race. There was a buzz in the air as everyone gather round to listen to the race briefing. Everyone was eager to start, and after three weeks of taper I felt like a coiled spring. The countdown started and we were off! Becky said: “I felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension as we all started running along the road towards Braveheart car park – was I running too fast, not fast enough, how was the race going to go – lots of thoughts were swirling round my head.

“Was there going to be a repeat of last time – where I had bad stomach issues or would I manage to avoid that discomfort. All I needed to do is keep on top of my nutrition plan and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

My target was to finish the race in under 24 hours and to beat my last time of 24h59 (ran in the West Highland Way race in 2018). The high-level plan split the race into three sections – Fort William to Bridge of Orchy, Bridge of Orchy to Rowardennan, and Rowardennan to the finish. I wanted to get to Bridge of Orchy in seven hours, from there to Rowardennan in another nine hours and from there to the finish line in a further six hours.”

Becky reached her first pit-stop in Kinlochleven 15 minutes inside her target of two hours and 40 minutes, and - after a surprise meet-up with friends and supporters Gayle and Douglas Samson and their dog Nancy, waiting on the trail to cheer Becky on at the Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe - she was an hour ahead of time when she reached Bridge of Orchy.

“The race rules required you to carry an 800g sleeping bag and orange survival bag between Bridge of Orchy and Rowerdennan,” Becky continued, “in case you become incapacitated and need to stay warm until help arrives, or you decide to take a small nap.

“The extra weight was a shock to the legs, even though I had trained with a heavy backpack. Even though the extra weight of equipment was only 1kg, my bag felt more than 1kg heavier.”

Becky met her first support runner, her friend Suzanne, as well as her partner Colin and dog Amber, just before Beinglas, with the pair running together through the night and Suzanne continuing on to Drymen along with two more friends, Laura and Xanne, who joined the duo at Garadhban.

And despite bruising and blisters, Becky was able to up the pace for the final stretch, crossing Mugdock Park in 45 minutes and smashing her target in style – as well as comfortably beating the 26hr 26min time of the fastest female finisher in last year’s event.

“I really enjoyed the race,” Becky added. “The marshals were excellent, and it was well organised.

“I preferred running from north to south and starting at 10am, rather than the 1am start and the south to north direction I had done in the 2018 race.”

I

was dreading Mugdock park – as mentally you feel like you have finished, but there are still a few miles to go. As we entered the park my friend Laura said to me “if you can complete this last 4Km in 45 minutes you will get a sub-22-hour time” Wow, I thought to myself. I was only hoping for sub-24. Well, if sub-22 is on the cards, I better just go for it. So, I upped my pace and Mugdock park flew by and before I knew it, I was running through Milngavie centre and onto the finish. I ran up the steps and into the hall and finished. I had smashed my goal of sub 24 hours, finishing in 21h33, coming in 6th place overall and first female.

I really enjoyed the race; the marshals were excellent, and it was well organised.

This would leave me 2 hours leeway. I had a more detailed plan which gave timings from checkpoint to checkpoint – but I knew from experience this would be too complicated to follow during the race.

I was feeling strong as I ran up the hill and away from Braveheart car park. The pace felt good, and I was up at the front. I was sitting behind 4 runners who were just slightly too slow for me so pushed a bit quicker and past them. The views across towards Ben Nevis were stunning and although the trail was going uphill, it was very runnable. I chatted with a fellow runner for a bit until our paces differed and we separated. It was not long before I reached the top of the hill, and the trail went off to the left and flattened out. The section to Kinlochleven was very runnable and I was able to enjoy it. I settled into a steady pace and enjoyed the scenery as it passed by. Lundavra came and went and before long I was running down into Kinlochleven to be greeted by the friendly and helpful marshals. A couple of bits of tomato, a cheese and ham sandwich and I was off again.

I was pleased with my time to get the Kinlochleven – I had allowed for 2h40 in my plan and I had arrived in 2h25. I knew the walk out of Kinlochleven was going to be long – I had decided to use this as an opportunity to refuel. As I started walking up the hill, I got a flapjack to munch on some solid fuel. I had been consuming Mountain Fuel gels at approximately every hour, but also wanted to get some solid fuel in. The sun was still shining, and I was passing lots of walkers going the other way who were cheering us on. I wondered what they must be thinking as they passed all the runners going in the opposite direction. Most people take 5 days to complete the West highland Way and here we all were going to complete it within 36 hours and for me hopefully less than 24 hours.

In what felt like no time at all I was at the top of the Devils Staircase with an amazing view towards the Buchaille Etive Mor; one of the most iconic and picturesque views in Glen Coe if not Scotland. Back to running and on towards the next checkpoint at Glen Coe Ski centre. At Kings House hotel I had a lovely surprise as two friends, Gayle and Douglas Samson and their dog Nancy, were on the trail cheering me on. This was a great lift.

At Glen Coe ski centre I scoffed a couple of cocktail sausages and topped up of my water and then it was on to Rannoch moor. I had really enjoyed running this section on one of my training runs and I was looking forward to running it again. Once I had completed the short uphill section out from Glen Coe ski centre, I was enjoying the amazing, long, slightly downhill section, all the way to Inveroran. I unfortunately started to get a stitch as I was running this section. This was really frustrating as it limited the speed I could run at – I hoped I would be able to run it off. But sadly, it stayed with me until just after Beinglas. Even with my running pace and gait slightly hampered I was still able to catch up with and overtake some of my fellow runners and before long I reached Bridge of Orchy. I was happy with my time, and I had managed to complete the first section in 6 hours – so I was ahead of schedule by 1 hour.

I was dreading the next section as I had to pick up my safety backpack. The race rules required you to carry an 800g sleeping bag and orange survival bag between Bridge of Orchy and Rowerdennan. This is in case you become incapacitated and need to stay warm until help arrives, or you decide to take a small nap. I had not been as organised as I could have been – so I also had my race vest (for Rowerdennan onwards) stuffed in my emergency backpack – the extra weight was a shock to the legs, even though I had trained with a heavy backpack. Running on the flat section between Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum was a struggle, and it was not long before I was passed by a couple of runners. Could I manage to keep going with this extra weight? Even though the extra weight of equipment was only 1Kg, my bag felt more than 1kg heavier. “Just keep putting one foot in front of the other – you can do it” – I said to myself as I pressed on. I passed through Tyndrum and onto the next checkpoint at Auchtertyre. Here I sat down for about 10 minutes and had a cup of tea and some soup. Glad to give my legs a short rest.

I had reached Tyndrum in 8 hours, if I could complete the remaining distance, 53 miles, in 16 hours then I would achieve my goal of sub-24 hours. I had run this section as a training run in 12h33 – so 16 hours sounded achievable.

The next checkpoint to aim for was Beinglas, I just needed to get through the lumpy section between Auchtertyre and Crianlarich. I was meeting my first support runner at the Falls of Falloch – this kept me going. I met up with my partner Colin, my dog Amber, and my support runner Suzanne just before Beinglas. This was a great boost to see friends and knowing I would be running with someone through the night. At Beinglas, the fantastic marshals looked after me making me a cup of tea, giving me some crisps, a couple of salt tablets and sending me on my way. The salt tablets got rid of my stitch – what now I think was cramp – and I was able to run a lot better. Night was falling, I managed the first few miles without a head torch but needed to get it out not long after the bothy. The loch side section is never my favourite no matter what the time of day. My friend Suzanne kept me going with chat and some great tunes on her iPhone. It seemed to take an eternity to reach Inversnaid but we got there and the next section to Rowerdennan went by without issue. I was glad to reach Rowerdennan and ditch my heavy backpack. I had another cup of tea, brushed my teeth, and gave my face a wash and I was ready for the final third.

After ditching the heavy backpack, I felt like I was floating. My feet were feeling good and the only issue I had was a bruise on the top of my left foot – caused by having my laces too tight. This only gave me discomfort after I had been walking, but once I had warmed up again the pain lessened.

My pace increased from Rowerdennan and I felt like I was flying along the trail and I soon caught up with and passed other runners, the trail flew by. As we were approaching Balmaha the sky started to lighten as the sun started to rise. To match the mood Suzanne played some Café del Mar style chilled tunes which took us into Balmaha and up Conic hill. After running approx. 70 miles, Conic hill felt like a mountain, and I was glad to reach the top. By the time we reached the top the sun had appeared over the horizon, and it was light enough to see without a torch. The legs still felt good, and I was still managing to run along the trail. I walked most of the uphill’s at this point, but made sure I ran every flat or downhill.

As I was ahead of schedule I was concerned that I was going to be too early for my next support runner, Laura, who was meeting me just before Tyndrum. Laura has been tracking my progress through my Garmin InReach device (purchased as a tracker) and had checked early to see my position and had seen I was ahead of schedule. As I came towards Garadhban car park Laura appeared with another friend Xanne. I was so happy to see them both. This was the point where Suzanne would finish support running and Laura take over. Suzanne had run 33 miles with me – an epic effort which I will always be thankful for. Xanne was just running back to Drymen with us. But even those few miles were significant. I waved goodbye to Suzanne and Xanne and continued with Laura. Just 12 miles to go – I can do this!

This final section is relatively flat. I was never sure how I would be when I reached this final part. In my training run from Tyndrum to Milngavie I had struggled with very sore feet on this section and in the final miles of the 2018 race every step was like walking on broken glass; so I was expecting to feel something similar. But surprisingly my feet still felt OK. I could feel there were blisters on the inside of my feet and a bruise on the top of my left foot, but nothing was too painful to hinder my running and running I did. The miles past by and apart from the uphill section just after Drumgoyne I manage to run all the final section. I

was dreading Mugdock park – as mentally you feel like you have finished, but there are still a few miles to go. As we entered the park my friend Laura said to me “if you can complete this last 4Km in 45 minutes you will get a sub-22-hour time” Wow, I thought to myself. I was only hoping for sub-24. Well, if sub-22 is on the cards, I better just go for it. So, I upped my pace and Mugdock park flew by and before I knew it, I was running through Milngavie centre and onto the finish. I ran up the steps and into the hall and finished. I had smashed my goal of sub 24 hours, finishing in 21h33, coming in 6th place overall and first female.