Post race Chat with 2024 West Highland Way Women’s race winner Alison McGill.
Alison McGill ran her third West Highland Way race on June 22nd and recorded her second victory in a row. The West Highland Way is Scotland’s oldest, and most iconic, long distance trail. It runs from Milngavie, just north of Glasgow, 95 miles north to Fort William at the foot of Bern Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain.
Ally joins a list of eight female runners who have won two races since the first event in 1985. Wendy Dodds, Sue Ashley, Kate Jenkins and Rosie Bell have won two races in a row, while Pauline Walker, Sharon Gaytor, Lynne Allen and Sharon Law have also recorded 2 non-consecutive victories in the race.
I caught up with Ally for a chat a few days after the race.
You can read about Alison McGill’s 2023 race HERE
AS. Just briefly remind us, when was the seed sown for running the West Highland Way within yourself?
AM. Around 2019, when I went to a running weekend with Peak Runners, an amazing running community founded by Andy Brooks” I ran the Devil of the Highlands that year as a way of getting a qualifier. That worked out well, and I progressed from there. I did the virtual West Highland Race during lockdown, which was brilliant, and then, fortunately, we were able to do the race the following year, or the year after that, and I managed to get in.
Training for 100 miles.
AS. So You have now run it three times and keep coming back for more. How do they all compare? Or, put another way, your first one in 2022 was a big step up. It was your first “100-mile” effort. How did you find moving up from 50 miles or 100k to 100 miles, both in training and in the race itself?
AM. The training wasn’t too much of a step up because I was training for 100k. I had been in the Scotland team for the Anglo-Celtic Plate in 2021 and 2022, and it’s not a major step up from that. It’s more the physical prep and the mental prep. Just absolutely everything about it. You have to think of everything differently, from nutrition and clothes to crew and knowing the route. It’s just a whole other sport.
AS. What did you learn most from your first West Highland Way?
AM. Not to go into the race overconfident. I think the first one, I thought I was ready. I had a really good run at ACP 100k at Perth. That was like the race of my life to date.
Note: Ally finished 5th in the Sri Chinmoy 100km at Perth, which included the British Championship and was selected as a “non-travelling reserve in training” for the GB team for the World Championships that year.
I thought two or three months later. I’ll be fine. This will be a breeze. It’s not that much further. But I completely underestimated the race, the whole race. I didn’t have a bad run, but I learned a lot.
AS. What were the major lessons you learned, in the race itself? Apart from being overconfident.
AM. Learning how to pace a 100 miler and learning to know the route better as well. I’m trying to think back now. I must have changed about 80% of the things that I did from that year to the next. There were a lot of things to learn.
AS. In 2023, you came back and took your first victory. What changed in those 12 months, in terms of anything in your training or your whole mindset or outlook towards the race?
AM. I gave it a lot more respect. I did a lot more recce runs. I was fortunate enough to be able to do that. I went up three or four weekends and did back-to-back runs with good elevation.
AS. This is slightly tangential, but do you think that the more you get to know the route, there are places where you can push on and also times when you’ve got to ease back a little, to respect the terrain?
AM. So this year, I used a lot of visualisation. Physically I knew what I
had to do, but mentally, I was more prepared. I visualised each section. When I reached Drymen, in my head I knew exactly what I had to do to get to the next point in Balmaha. That helped push me on and just kept me going. There are less unexpected things happening. There’s so much else going on. If you can decrease the amount of things that might surprise or stress you, then you’re on to a better start, I think.
AS. So in terms of overall training, did the volume of training change much, or was it just more familiarity with the course?
AM.So, it was a different approach this year. I ran the 50k at Perth in March as I was building things up. Then I had the Highland Fling four weeks after that. They were like building blocks towards the full West Highland Way. That was completely different to what I did the previous year. As you know, in 2023, I got injured before the ACP 100k and had to pull out, which left me ten weeks to get the volume in. This time, I had a lot more time to get volume in.
It was maybe slightly too much volume over six months. It wasn’t 100% correct what I did.
AS. You’ve had club coaches help you in the past, and you’ve had online coaches and gone down that road. You’re self-coached at the moment. Do you feel that self-coaching works for you just now?
AM. I used the same scheduling that I did last year. But again, I had to try and break it up to be able to race in the build-up. A coach might have helped me plan that a bit better. But I was kind of experimenting, I guess.
AS. Are you someone who’s totally rigid with your training plans, or if you’re feeling tired, do you like to take an extra day before you do your next hard session?
AM.This time, yes. I know the difference between being tired, and, “I can’t be bothered going out.” I was quite strict that way because once you’re out, you’re absolutely fine. After a couple of minutes, you’re warmed up and feeling good.
What I was flexible on was when I started getting little niggles that lasted more than a week or two, then I started cutting back. I had been careful with the loading but had to adapt the plan this year.
AS. Do you feel that’s an essential thing you learn when you’re building up to 100-mile races? You have to be slightly flexible with what your body is telling you. It’s giving you these little warning signs that say, hang on, treat me gently this week.
AM. It’s either that or you risk not making the race at all.
Building up to this years race.
AS. Building up to this year’s race, you had a few issues, mainly with your knee. Do you want to tell us how far out from the race that flared up and how you managed to manage it so you actually got to the start line?
AM. So, that was a couple of weeks after the Fling Race, and about six to seven weeks before the West Highland Way Way. It was a period where I was trying to build up again and was trying to get 80, and then 100-mile weeks. The knee thing came out of nowhere, to be honest. It was a little tight, and then it was there, then it came back, and I started feeling it during the day. That’s when I went to physio and said, you know, what is this? What’s the prognosis?
At that point, I need to know in my head what I can and can’t do.
AS. For anyone else who’s going through the same thing, you mentioned there you went and saw a physio. How important is it from your experience, having been through this a few times over the last few years, to go and get a professional diagnosis as quickly as possible so you know what you can and can’t do?
AM. Yeah, it’s the most important thing. I think if you Google a diagnosis, it is the worst thing you can do because the chances are you’ll get the prognosis wrong, and then you’ll make it worse.
Or you’ll try and fix it yourself. But yes. The best thing is to go to a physio. If you’ve got a physio that knows you really well mentally as well as physically, that helps. Knowing what it is gives you a sense of relief, and then you can make a plan from there. You can work out a solution if you figure out what it is. From there on, you can make that plan. Otherwise, you’re just stabbing in the dark a little bit.
AS. So for anyone reading this, thinking about doing a hundred miles and building up the mileage, as sure as night follows day, you’ll get niggles. It’s having someone on hand to be able to tell you, “What’s going wrong and things you can and can’t do.”
AM. The physio gave me exactly what I needed to do to enable me to carry on training. He said, “It might still hurt, but I needed to cut back while carrying on training. Mechanically, I could still run if you like. It wasn’t a terminal injury as such. It was just a bit of overloading from the previous build-up.
And so we figured it out and, and just monitored it throughout and adapted training a little bit.
AS. So when you have a little injury a few weeks out from your “A” race for the first half of the year, how does that mess with your head?
When the injury crops up, you think, “Oh my gosh. It’s not going to happen.” Does it go through your head that you think the whole year’s gone? Do you just try to be strong to stay above it all and say, “OK, we can deal with this.”
AM. Yes, I did have an initial panic, and then you wait till the next day, and it’s still there, and you’re still worrying. That’s the point, you have to go and see someone who can tell you exactly what it is.
AS. What you’re saying is, that you had to adapt your training
a bit in the last month, so it wasn’t quite as perfect as you would like it to be. The schedule you might have written down back in December or January, for the final three or four months went a bit out the window, yes?
AM. So last year, I loved doing back-to-backs. I’d run like a 35-mile one day, then 30 miles the next on a couple of weekends. That’s what I had to change this year because I did a 40 mile, and then the next day I was meant to do maybe 20 or 25 miles, but I just rested and didn’t do anything at all. My knee just said, “No!”. I just let it calm down and then, you know, started again the next week and just listened to it, so it was happy.
AS. Was there ever a point where you thought you wouldn’t make the start line?
AM. YES! But that was a different issue the day before the race.
AS. Would you like to elaborate?
AM. Yes, I was out for literally my last run before the race, just bouncing along, quite happy and thinking, “How’s the body feeling? How are the legs feeling? Everything was great, and then, just out of nowhere, my tendon from an old ankle injury just stopped me from running comfortably. It was nipping, and it was just continuous. I had to walk back up the road.
So when I got home, I looked up my physio’s schedule, and I saw he had an appointment the next day.
That would have been at 9 am on the Friday of the race, and we’d be travelling up to the race on the Friday night! I decided to e-mail Stefan and tell him, “This has happened. What can you advise?” I knew that rather than driving an hour and a half down the road, it would be better to sit and rest. I was so grateful he actually phoned and talked me through it. He asked what I was feeling, and as it was a previous injury, I got the right prognosis, and everything seemed right.
Just for him to say, “This is probably what it is, or this is definitely what it isn’t was invaluable.
“Here’s what you need to do and basically, “You’ll be fine during the race. It may hurt a little, and hurt afterwards, but you’ll be okay. I was feeling it the whole day on Friday and honestly thought that within the first mile. “That’ll be it. You know, I’ll be limping back to Milngavie”,
AS. Before talking about your race. Do you want to give your physio a name check?
AM. It’s Stefan. Stefan Sparkes, at Life Fit Physio and Wellness. They have clinics in Falkirk and Linlithgow.
How the race unfolded.
AS. Coming on to the race then, you’re there, on the start line focussed on getting to Fort William. In the back of your mind, you know your knee hasn’t been behaving properly, and there is a potential for anything to happen.
Just talk us through the race and how the knee was playing up. Were you trying to keep it in check, as it were, both mentally and physically?
AM. I started, and I was a bit anxious. I was probably more anxious about my foot and wasn’t worried about my knee because that was feeling really good. It was a lot stronger, and I was quite happy about that. I was thinking about the foot, but that was fine and now I know that was just taperitis, and I was overthinking things. So that’s a lesson learned.
Going into the race, I was happy and quite relaxed.
AS. Having won the year before, did you feel any pressure to do the same again, or were you going into it with an open mind to just enjoy it, knowing anything could happen?
AM. Probably both. My nutrition has never been my strong point.
That was my main focus this year. Ensuring I kept drinking and eating throughout the whole race. I knew if I could do that, then I would be a lot stronger and feel more comfortable throughout, especially in the last third.
AS. Were you aware of where anyone else was in the race, specifically the lady’s race? Or Were you just happy to run your own race?
AM. No, I was just happy running my own race.
AS.Just talk us through the lochside. You’ve got to Drymen, and you’re aware of your knee grumbling, but it’s under control.
Going up the lochside, did you find the rougher ground had any impact on it, or was it just staying the same?
AM. Yes, so I found coming up to Balmaha, over Conic Hill, was good actually. The downhill on that wasn’t a problem. We thought it might be slippy, but it was absolutely fine. I was quite happy with that. I met my crew at Balmaha and had a good run up to Rowardennan, but a few little things were bothering me. I was very wet, and things were rubbing here and there. I just didn’t feel that relaxed, or as relaxed as I felt last year. I can’t put my finger on why.
I also suddenly remembered where running along to Drymen that we had forgotten to drop our drop bags, but I had time to think of a plan before meeting the girls. So when I met them at Balmaha, I laughed about it with them. They said, “Yeah we remembered after we left, so have hatched a plan together” Basically, at Rowardennan they were going to give me all my nutrition in my hydration pack bag to see me through to Glen Bogle above Crianlarich. It made it a little heavier which was fine and wasn’t a problem. It’s just one of those things that happened, and you deal with it.It’s just one of those things that happened, and you deal with it calmly at the time.
I kept my gloves on along the lochside because I knew I’d be scampering over rocks, and tree roots and whatnot. It just seemed really long this year. It always does, but that was fine. I just kept moving forward.
AS. Do you look forward to getting to Beinglass because you know that the trail is going to be more runnable again after that?
AM. The stretch up to Bogle Glen was a bit harder than I expected. I’d practised it and I’d run right through that point during training to have the confidence, to find it runnable, but I still found it quite a drag up there.
AS.So you see your crew again at Glen Bogle, not having seen them for a few hours, and you have fresh supplies. Just talk us through the roller coaster above Crianlarich and going through Tyndrum up towards Bridge of Orchy and Glencoe.
AM. The rain had come on when I was running towards Bogle Glen, so it was quite wet by the time I reached the crew. I dried off, put my rain jacket and whatnot on, and then went over the roller coaster. I don’t remember much of it. There were no dramatics. No drama. I was just enjoying the run and monitoring the knee,
AS. So one of the main dramas with the race was the unfortunate accident in Glencoe, resulting in the main A 82 road being closed for a few hours. That meant a lot of runners crews had to adapt and have a slight change of plans. A lot of runners also had to adapt and have a change of plans.
As Ian ( Race Director Ian Beattie) has said, it was good to see how everyone just pulled together and adapted to help each other in various ways. All of which will probably be revealed in people’s blogs as they appear over the next few weeks.
You weren’t aware of any of that until you got to Glencoe, and your regular crew were not there. Who did you find when you got to Glencoe?
AM. I was thinking about this. You’re bumbling along the trail. You’re just out running and having a nice time. You’re pretty oblivious to what’s going on around you. I got down into Glencoe ski centre, pretty happy, looking forward to seeing the girls and maybe getting some hot food. Then my Mum appeared at the bottom of the trail, telling me about the accident.
The guys at checkpoints were frantically shouting, “Dibber! Dibber!” at me”. So I ran, got my dibber dibbed, and then Mum had caught up to me, and I was looking for the girls and I was like “What’s going on?”
Then Mum just gave me the story. “There’s been an accident. The girls are driving on to Kinlochleven, via Oban, and will meet you there.” as many crews had to.
You need this kit with you, which I now know was mandatory. I put my mandatory kit in my bag, which I didn’t think was mandatory at the time, Mum just said you have to have this with you. I was like, “This weighs so much.”
Note. Due to the road closure incident, Race officials, uncertain when and where crews would meet their runners again, made the decision that all runners should carry “Wet weather gear from Glencoe “
We put all that in and refilled my bottles. I grabbed my food and snacks. Then, off I went down the road. I was thinking, ” You’re in your little zone. You’re in the flow, and suddenly, you don’t know what’s going on, but you go with it and keep running.”
I could see there was a big rain cloud ahead over the Devil’s Staircase, and I thought, oh, I better get all my kit back on as It did look pretty wet ahead.
Then I went up over the staircase and as I was running down towards Kinlochleven, several runners were running back up towards me.
It took me a while to realise it was support runners, who had driven around from Oban running back to meet their runners.
I was thinking, it was a bit early, but I didn’t question it because there’s all sorts of things going on.”
AS. So you got to Kinlochleven, and your regular crew was there.
AM. Yes, that was good to see them again.
AS. I’m assuming you were well aware you were well in the lead by then. Or were you still mentally looking over your shoulder thinking, “What’s going on behind me?”
AM. I was constantly, asking the girls, what’s the gap? Because in my head, even if you know, a good sized gap, I still think, “Oh, they could catch me, because you’ve still got, like, 15 or 20 miles to go, and anything can happen in that time.” But, yes, when I got to Kinlochleven, the crew allowed me to sit on the back of the car for a couple of minutes, which was my first and only sit down.
AS. Was that the only time you sat down the whole race, though?
AM. Yes. The rule we agreed beforehand with the crew was no sitting down at all this year, which I think helped I had a wee perch at the back of the car, had some hot food and had a nice chat with them. It was relaxed, and it was a very nice moment. Then they sent me off on my way again.
That was probably the point I was most looking forward to the whole day. You know, you’ve just got that long climb out of Kinlochleven, and then the sweep around over the Lharig Mhor before you drop down to Lunadvra, the last checkpoint.
AS. It’s a great stretch if you are actually feeling good.
AM. This year, I was feeling really good and my head stayed in a positive place through-out despite some discomforts along the way. I remember smiling as I passed Cow Hill because we didnt have to run up it.
AS. This is your third West Highland Way race now. You’ve won it before. You get out of the forest, or the forest that’s been felled and isn’t there anymore, and up onto that fire road. You see Ben Nevis ahead of you. Then you know you’ve just got that lovely 5k downhill and flat on the fire road and the road into the finish. You’re pretty sure you’re going to win again. What’s going through your head? Are you just sort of grateful, tired happy?
AM. All of the above and more. All of that, yes.
I just loved that last last run-in. My legs were feeling good for some reason. I wasn’t hammering down because, you know, it wasn’t possible, but It seemed like I was sailing down just having a great time. There was also a growing sense of complete relief.
AS. Couple of other questions. You have a very busy job. For those who don’t know, you are a chemical engineer with a company called Celtic Renewables in Grangemouth, producing green chemicals. How do you balance having a very busy professional job and trying to train to the level that you do?
AM. I guess it is what I love doing and is a big part of my life, and my company have always been very supportive. Also if its something you are passionate about you find the time.
Some of my mid-week runs are done very early. I had two mid-week runs for about six weeks. They are two hours each, so yeah I would get up at 4 am and run for a couple of hours and then go to work. Or after work, I would run until, you know, get back at 8 p.m. You just find a way if that’s your passion and that’s your goal. So there’s not really anything else I’d want to fill that time with.
Recovering from the big efforts
AS. Talking about recovery and leaving aside the knee issue, which will need a bit of recovery. This is your third West Highland Way. What has your overall recovery been like so far? Do you have another race planned in the foreseeable future?
AM. No, I don’t. ( laughs.). But I was thinking about looking at things today.
AS. If you were advising someone who’s running the West Highland Way, or any 100-mile-ish race for the first time, what sort of break would you have? What recovery would you advise, or have found works for you? Are you back into training in a week, or two weeks, because you’ve got a race coming up in a month?, Or are you just trying to think, “Let’s enjoy summer for a while and let the body recover?”
AM. Some people say, you know, a day of recovery for every mile raced. It’s true, you might feel ready on one level, but then today, I was just walking to the shop, and I felt a bit breathless. So, I will just take it day by day and not rush back into anything.
It’s just listening again, listening to your body and the physiological side. But it’s not just your legs and whatnot, it’s how your body’s coped with putting it through 100 miles and giving it time to recover well.
I’m in no rush to get back to anything competitive because last year that was the big mistake I made. I had a race planned. I did the Law Breaker, which was maybe a couple of weeks out. It’s not a long race, but it is pretty steep uphill. I just wasn’t recovered enough and that started the path leading to a fracture in my foot. So yes. Big mistake, but I’ve learned from it now. So yeah, just allow yourself proper recovery.
AS. Accepting it’s all relative and one person’s first park run achievement is another person’s West Highland Way.
There will be people reading this or hearing about the race who think The West Highland Way is way out of their comfort zone just now but maybe one day…..
They might have done marathons or a few little trail races. They just have this impossible dream that, at some point in the future, they’d like to have a go at the West Highland Way because it’s just THE thing to do in Scotland. What’s your best advice for them?
AM. Probably take the time to train for and run a 50-miler. Either the Devil of the Highlands or the Highland Fling are perfect races in Scotland to try as they form part of the full course, There are plenty of others elsewhere too.
That gives you just a little insight into what the whole race is like. I love those races as well.
So build up gradually. Try a smaller one and see how you cope.
AS. Do you think everyone is suited to 100 miles though? I
There can be a fixation and even runner peer pressure to think, “I’ve got to do this, got to do a 50 mile, I’ve got to do 100k, got to do 100 miles, got to do the Spine and so on”
Do you think that everyone is suited to doing 100 miles? Is it just too much for some people to take on?
AM. I think, yes, there are two sides. Training for a 100-mile race is a big commitment There’s the physical and the mental side. I’m now a believer of, like we train and run every day or almost every day but we also need to train our minds to race the big races and that’s a hugely important thing.
AS. Lastly, well two things lastly. You were in your little bubble doing your race but were you aware that Jarlath and Robbie were “giving it welly” at the front of the race? and how fast they were going.
AM. I didn’t have a clue. I remember looking at my watch at one point and thinking, “God, the boys are probably finished now. Lucky them.”
AS> And seeing the time Jarlath did, any thoughts on that?
AM. Yeah. I knew it would be around that time, but I didn’t think you would get the three guys with Robbie and Paul also going under 15 hours.
I am chuffed to bits for Robbie as well. he has worked really hard for this.
Future Plans
AS. So if you have no races planned for the immediate future, looking further ahead, any thoughts of coming back for three in a row? Or have you got to the point where you are done with the West Highland Way? That’s it! Move on.
Do you have other bucket list races? What are your thoughts long term?
AM. The first thing that people are saying to me is a “hat trick”.
Note: The Hatrick for ladies has not been done before. Even Kate Jenkins with her her 7 victories never won 3 in a row.
Paul Giblin has achieved it for the men 2013-2015.
AM. It’s not over yet. I mean, it’s not just the race. It’s just everything about it. The whole weekend, everyone that’s there, the community. It’s just a brilliant event.
AS. Some people even say the West Highland Way race experience changes their lives. Would you go as far as that?
AM. It makes your life a little richer. Definitely.
And you learn so much more about yourself as well, along the way.
AS. One can’t argue with that. Thanks for the chat.
More reading
Read Scottish Athletics 2024 West Highland Way race report HERE
You can read about Alison McGill’s 2023 race 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 organising ultra distance races for over 30 years. Still an active recreational runner, he is currently a member of UKA’s Ultra Running Advisory Group (URAG) and part of the selection and team management for both Scottish and GB ultra teams.He is also a freelance writer in his spare time, contributing articles and reports to several websites and magazines including Athletics Weekly and Irunfar.