I thought I would just rock up and give it a go and see how far I got. I seem to be pretty tired much of the time at the moment, so even before I set off I was only aiming for Fort Augustus. A run from 'Fort to Fort' had a nice ring to it and it was the section of the GGW that I hadn't been on before - having cycled the Eastern section only few weeks previously.
Strangely (!) I was the only passenger on the 5.30am bus from Inverness to Fort William. It became apparent the close I got to the start that I hadn't picked a great day. I was chilled from the start with the first proper frost of the autumn and there was an atmospheric low lying mist. From the rather inauspicious start on a roundabout on the bypass, the first section was a mixture of narrow path alongside the loch and river before heading through some rather grim housing scheme roads. After about 30 minutes I was on to the canal which is followed until Gairlochy. The beech trees alongside the track were turning and remnants of mist clung to the utterly still water of the canal. Absolutely stunning. I had only a vague idea of the distances of each leg so I ran this flat section far too fast. I fact I was nearly half an hour up on schedule, but I was feeling great.
From Gairlochy the Way follows the northern shore of Loch Lochy along a fantastic little path, only forsaking the lochside for the road when the bank steepens too much. The views back towards Ben Nevis revealed it's north face, accentuated by clouds draped over the buttresses. I was still cold and to cap it all a head wind sprang up. Dropping onto a forest track after a few miles of quiet single track road I got the first twinges from my hips and thighs. 'A bit early for a rough patch' I thought and just kept on running hoping it would go away. Having driven down the shores of the loch dozens of times on the A82 and thinking it a small loch, I soon came to be proven otherwise. It just seemed to go on and on and by the time I reached Kilfinnan I was seriously struggling to keep running. The forestry track wasn't exactly interesting, but the views were still worthwhile.
Laggan Locks was passed and on to another delightful section of track through some woods, restoring my faith in the route. A quick crossing of the A82 to reach the disused railway which runs alongside Loch Oich. As the path wound through birch forest and my pace slowed, I decided that my hips hurt too much and called in a lift to get me back from Fort Augustus. With now no pressure to go much further, I just chilled out and enjoyed the countryside jogging as much as I could. At the Bridge of Oich it was back to the canal tow path. Running even on the flat was difficult, but necessary as walkers began to appear at regular intervals. There was no way I would be seen to have had to resort to walking.
After an age of trying to guess how far I had left to go and desperately hoping to see the locks at Fort Augustus around the corner, I arrived just 10 minutes short of 6 hours after leaving Fort William - the last section having taken some 20 minutes longer than even my rough schedule allowed.
So that was 50km or about 32 miles at an average pace of 5.3 mph, although the first section was dispatched at 7mph pace. Not great, but a nice little run and a great day to finish my running year on. A couple of months off running now for time to plan for next year...
