Scott Brown to attempt double West Highland Way
This weekend, Scott Brown, from Dundonald in Ayrshire, will be attempting to complete a double journey on Scotland’s iconic 96-mile West Highland Way. In the process, he hopes to lower the existing Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the challenge.
You can track Scott’s progress HERE.
Note: The tracker is set up for two seperate journeys. Initial image is Scott’s Northward Journey. To track his return journey, click the left side tab showing WHW to Fort William to switch to WHW to Glasgow.
Brown will set off from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, the southern end of the trail, at 4 pm on Friday afternoon, July 11th.
Most people who walk the trail or run the annual race every June, are more than happy to finish at Fort William and then return home by motorised transport.
However, once he reaches Fort William, he will turn around and head south for the 96-mile return journey to Milngavie.
Brown is an experienced ultra-distance runner who has run the annual West Highland Way Race before. He placed 6th in 2019, in a time of 17 hours, 53 minutes and 50 seconds. He also has victories in several Scottish ultra races, including the 102 km St Cuthberts Way, the Ultra Scotland 50-mile and 100-mile events. He has also completed multi day events that include a victory in the 215-mile Race Across Scotland, along the full length of the Southern Upland Way. He is also a finisher of the gruelling Winter Spine race along the 268 miles of the Pennine Way.
The double West Highland Way has been completed before. On the weekend of June 17th to 19th 2016, Keith Hughes, originally from Australia but a resident of Edinburgh for many years, covered the double in 64 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Hughes, a multiple finisher of the annual race and numerous other ultra-marathons ran his attempt north to south and then back north again. He started and finished in Fort William at the Lochaber Sports Centre, which at the time was the finish of the race. The race now finishes at the Nevis centre just beyond the railway station, further into town.
You can read Keith’s account of his little adventure HERE.
Brown, who is running north from Glasgow, will use the current official finishing point of the trail at the statue in Gordon Square in Fort William High Street as his turn-around point, running approximately a kilometre further each way than Hughes.
Speaking the day before his challenge, Scott said.
“ My preparations have gone well, and I am really looking forward to the challenge.
The forecast looks like it will be hot, and my support crew will have plenty of ice to help me keep cool when they meet me.
When I ran the Race Across Scotland, we encountered a really hot weekend as well, with temperatures touching 30 degrees in the glens. I remember reaching one checkpoint and taking a dip in a nearby burn to try and lower my core temperature. I put my dry robe on while I sat and refuelled at the checkpoint, then cracked on. Hopefully, I will try and deal with things as they happen, problem-solving on the move.”
“Keith put down a good marker when he ran his attempt and has been in touch to wish me all the best in my attempt. My main aim is to finish, but I have set myself a goal of going under 48 hours. Anything can happen in these events, so we shall see.”
Scott will have a support crew meeting him at appropriate places. If you are out on the trail this weekend and see him, do offer your own support.
He is also raising money for Circle, a charity that provides whole-family support services, helping children and families facing multiple disadvantages due to poverty and structural inequality. You can donate HERE
NOTE ; A fastest known time, or FKT can be set in a race on an iconic route or, as in Keith and Scott’s attempts, in a solo personal challenge. The American FKT Website acts as a central database to record FKT’s golbally and anyone can subnit a route, following the guidelines laid down.
The below exert from thier website explains What qualifies as a route?
“The Fastest Known Time community exists to track and celebrate the progress of speed attempts on the best running and multi-sport routes in the world. Not everything is an FKT route. Each approved route must be notable and distinct enough that others will be interested in repeating it. Ideally, routes should have beautiful scenery, historical or cultural merits, a history of competition or high level of public popularity, and a logical and aesthetic line on the landscape. We recognize that not every route will meet all of these standards, but this is what we will aim for when evaluating route submissions for inclusion on the website.”
The FKT’s for a single West Highland Way are the current race records of Rob Sinclair, for the men at 13 hours 41 minutes 08 seconds on 24th June in 2017 and Lucy Colquhoun who ran 17 Hours 16 minutes and 20 seconds on 23rd June 2017.
More details on the West Highland Way Race at the website HERE
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Adrian Tarit Stott.
The author is a former GB 24-hour ultra international with over 100 ultra race completions. He has also been involved in organising ultra-distance races for over 30 years. Still an active recreational runner, he is currently a volunteer member of UKA’s Ultra Running Advisory Group (URAG) and the Mountain and Trail Advisory Group. He also contributes as both a selector and team manager for both Scottish and GB ultra teams. A freelance writer in his spare time, he contributes articles and reports to several websites and magazines including Athletics Weekly and Irunfar.
