I caught up with Inverness-based Alec Keith who has been a prominent figure in Scottish hill running over the past 30 years. One-time holder of records for the Cairngorm 4000s, Cairngorm Big Six and Mullardoch Round, Alec revels in good long days out in the mountains, often alone, and he was quietly doing what he loves in the hills long before most of us were eating hot dinners! Over the years Alec has made the top few places in rough, rugged races such as Glamaig, Glenshee 9 and Jura Fell Race. We talk through some of his top hill memories, touching on the Hebridean Challenge and Scottish Islands Peaks races as well as hearing about the best way not to carry 22 bananas on a 60 mile run...

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On 28th August I completed the second fastest Bob Graham Round ever, touching the steps of the Moot Hall in Keswick in just under 13 hours - less than 7 minutes slower than record holder and all round megastar Kilian Jornet's time. I had an incredible support team who helped me to push myself further than ever before, forging memories that will last a lifetime. I'm delighted that endurance running godfather Martin Stone offered to interview me about my run.

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The Lake District's Kim Collison chats about his 24hr Munro Record set in July this year. Kim is no stranger to long distance running records - he holds records for the Paddy Buckley Round, Winter Bob Graham Round and Lakeland 24-hr Peaks. The 24hr Munro Round is simple on paper: how many different Munros can you tag in 24hrs, starting and finishing at the same point? In practice of course it is a gruelling physical, mental and logistical challenge. Kim's round took in 33 Munros in the Cairngorms/Glenshee region in 23hrs 48mins, over 160km with 9000m of ascent. This bettered the record of 32 Munros set by Sasha Chepelin in 2020. 

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I saw from Strava that Lakes-based runner Josh Jardine was up in Scotland on a climbing trip. He came round for a cuppa and four hours later still wouldn't accept a second! We chatted about his running and climbing projects, in particular hearing about the Lakes Classic Rock Round which he completed in September 2019 with fellow Helm Hill runner Pete Rigby in a then pairs record of 18hrs 59mins. The route involves climbing the 15 Lake District routes from Ken Wilson's revered book Classic Rock in a continuous 40 mile quest around some of the Lakes' best rock climbs.

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In this conversation I'm delighted to chat to previous British Fell Running Champion Kelli Roberts of Ambleside about her experiences on the Cuillin Ridge of Skye. In August 2020 she improved the female record for the 12km ridge traverse to 5h56m46s from Anna Wells' 6h34m set in 2016.

The record is timed from end to end summits, starting at Gars-bheinn and finishing on Sgurr nan Gillean. Kelli and partner Pete Rigby first traversed the ridge in 2018, and returned last year to learn the route and practice the climbing sections. On the record traverse they simul-soloed the whole route including the 4 'climbing sections' which are traditionally included in a record attempt. It was a very hot day and lack of water added to the challenge.

More details on Kelli's record can be found at: www.ukclimbing.com/news/2020/08/kelli_roberts_breaks_womens_fkt_on_the_cuillin_traverse-72450

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On 2nd September 2020 Donnie Campbell completed his human-powered Munro Round in a record time of 31 days, 23 hours and 2 minutes. He completed all 282 Munros by running, biking and kayaking between them, starting on Ben More on Mull and finishing atop Ben Hope in the Far North. This improved on Stephen Pyke's 2010 record of 39 days, 9 hours and 6 minutes which itself knocked a significant chunk off the previous record before it.

I talk to Donnie and Stephen (Spyke) about all things Munro Round on a Zoom call for the Fort William Mountain Festival. I found it really interesting to get into the scale of the challenge, logistics, and highs and lows with these two - who both clearly had incredibly memorable experiences on these journeys.

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In this episode I speak to Roger Wild - my father - about (some of) the history of ski touring in Scotland before moving on to describe our 2010 'Scottish Haute Route'. This 7 day journey from Ben Nevis to Gairnshiel near Ballater was around 155km in length with 10,000m of ascent. We pre-placed food caches, stayed in bothies, and skied on Nordic free-heel skis carrying our overnight gear with us. The route linked up the high ground through Lochaber to the Cairngorms, ascending numerous Munros and Corbetts along the way. 

Roger is a retired British Mountain Guide and a former Royal Marines Commando. 

Notes: 

1. We talk about grip wax which goes on the ski under your foot on nordic skis to allow grip when that foot is weighted - not to be confused with the wax used to improve glide on downhill skis (and tips/tails of nordic skis)

2. Dr Adam Watson (1930-2019) was 85 when we met him near Banchory in 2016

3. For some reason I said I was a student in Aberdeen in 2010 - I'm not that young and was in fact a junior doctor then

4. We mention skimo race skis a lot but don’t acknowledge that of course modern standard touring setups have gotten way lighter too - most people seem to like something in the ‘light standard‘ range rather than full race skis - which are harder to ski in some conditions, less stable, more expensive and less durable. For long journeys obviously low weight is key.

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In January 1987 pioneering long distance fell runner Martin Stone completed his goal of a solo, unsupported midwinter Bob Graham Round in classic full winter conditions (in 23h41). This had taken 4 attempts over 6 years and was not repeated in similar style until just recently in December 2020 by Shane Ohly. The journey was such an indelible personal experience that Martin recorded his thoughts on the round in detail the next day. Over 30yrs later he has unearthed the tape and agreed for it to be shared.

Shane's account of his recent record should be available shortly at www.shaneohly.com

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠

I talk to Robbie Simpson about his progression from junior hill runner through some European highlights such as Sierre-Zinal and Jungfrau Marathon, to road marathon and his 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medal. We talk about having season goals and specific training, as well as his entry onto the ultra racing scene in recent years. Bringing it back to the Scottish mountains, we touch on the Lairig Ghru race (which  he won in 2020) and Cairngorms running.

Robbie is sponsored by Adidas Terrex

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Georgia Tindley kindly made time while passing Fort William to stop for a chat about the brilliant Glencoe Skyline race which she won in 2019. We also talk about the World Skyrunning circuit which she blasted onto in 2019 with some top performances. Georgia is an English teacher who has moved progressively further north in Scotland to access the mountains since she left her childhood home in London. We also talk about books and the pressures of tourism on remote communities. 

I mention The Lost Pianos of Siberia interview which can be found on The Adventure Podcast episode 50.

Georgia can be found online at georgiatindley.com and @gtindley on Instagram.

If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠