Personal Best There is so Much More to Running Than City Streets

By Fiona Russell

LAST weekend, we embraced our very own 21st-century GPS. We touched it. We ran with it up hills, through dense, colourful heather and along scenic forest trails. Thanks to it, we never once had to think about getting lost. We felt its warmth and its enthusiasm, and we chatted to it for hours. Funny way to treat a gadget, you might think.

But it – sorry, she – was no hi-tech, hand-held black box. She didn’t come with a 200-page instruction manual. She didn’t have any buttons to confuse us. She is the new breed of GPS – a running guide in the shape of a very fit, personable mum of two.

Don’t you just love it when things come full circle? In today’s hi-tech world of flashy gadgets designed to take all the hassle out of life, it’s a wonderful revelation to find that the best new products come without fancy packaging, headacheinducing manuals and plug-in rechargers but in the shape of something rather old- fashioned – a warmblooded human being.

Our hallelujah moment happened while running a seven-mile hill trail with fitness instructor and guide Ruth MacKenzie, part of a weekend holiday with new venture Running The Highlands.

The brainchild of Neil Stewart, a former HR director of a multinational oil services company, Running The Highlands was set up in July and organises "holidays for people who love to run". Based at Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire, Neil – married to Emma, a ballet teacher, and the dad of two young boys – creates customised running breaks that make the most of gorgeous Eastern Cairngorms and Royal Deeside countryside.

The holidays are not just for elite runners – all abilities are welcome. Neil will tailor a break lasting from a weekend to weeks, for solo runners, couples or groups. Clients can choose to do as much running as they want and on routes that are graded in a similar way to ski runs – from shorter and easier green runs, through blue and black up to diamond black, a tough, longdistance route.

Aside from running, the holiday can include accommodation to suit all budgets from bunk-style to four star hotels; sports massage; podiatry advice; training programmes; and other outdoor activities.

"I’d had this running holiday idea for years, " says Neil, 48. "I have run many, many miles in this area over the years and I like to try new routes all the time. Over the course of training for races, I have run a lot of different trails.

"More and more friends would ask me to take them out on a run so they could try a different route or trail and they loved what I showed them. The countryside in the north east of Scotland is wonderful.

There is nothing like running in the hills and the mountains – all that fresh air and beautiful scenery."

Earlier this year, Neil’s oil company asked him to move permanently to Houston, America, to work but knowing his family would not be happy, he decided "just to go for it and set up my new business".

"I want to give others a chance to experience the joys of running on these trails, and to perhaps learn a bit about the area – its culture, history and wildlife. The objective is to exceed our guests’ expectations.

We want to remove any hassle for our guests and provide them with the chance to maximise their time in the area by ensuring that they stay in great value accommodation – at whatever level – and take them on the best trails available. This area has so much more potential as a tourist destination and so many people are now getting into running to keep fit."

Neil, who runs very respectable times for 10ks, half-marathons and marathons, does some of the guiding himself, but also has a team of other experienced runners he can call upon. Ruth, our guide for the hellishsounding Press on and Die run, comes with an impressive fitness CV. Not only does she teach aerobics, swimming and fitness classes as a daytime job, she also competes in hill or endurance races most weekends throughout the summer and has an impressive personal best time of 39 minutes for a 10k.

But Ruth put no pressure on us to run at her normal (powerhouse) speed – quite the opposite, as she let me set the pace for the entire run and guided us from behind. The "red" rated Press on and Die, so-called because of the hill we climbed, Pressendye, on the edge of the village of Tarland, saw us cover seven miles and a total ascent of 1791ft. We followed grassy tracks, forestry trails and, on the descent, a narrow course through a couple of miles of bouncy, overblown heather. It was a relaxed outing.

Ruth is very knowledgeable about the geography and history. But she didn’t force the information on us, rather it came out in casual chat as we bounded along.

The previous day we’d followed a "black" run entitled The Balmoral Cross.

We covered 10.7 miles, and ascended a total of 1742ft, in breathtaking, on-the-turn autumnal countryside on the Balmoral Estate. For much of the way we had sight of the River Dee and a slight detour on the route took us up to a dramatic waterfall.

We chose to run unguided and Neil supplied us with a detailed route map and a contact number in case of difficulties. We also took our prized, wristwatch-sized GPS. Neil drove us to the start of the run and collected us some two hours later at the other end. We came back exhilarated, raving about the scenery.

We didn’t ever stray far off the route, but we had to stop a number of times to check we’d taken the right track, to ogle at the GPS (we’d only read about a quarter of the instructions) and we had a tiff at one junction. After being guided on Sunday’s run, we then wished, in retrospect, that we’d taken a lovely, amiable guide along The Balmoral Cross.

It’s this guiding, on uncharted routes through scenery rich in atmosphere and views that must surely bring success to Running The Highlands. Whether you’re a novice jogger or an experienced athlete, running is a fantastically fresh way to discover a new area. Running for fitness has become increasingly popular. It’s a well-known fat- buster burning on average 100 calories for every mile covered, and even more if you’re running off-road or upsteep inclines. Many annual events, such as the GlasgowWomen’s 10k, the Great Scottish Run, the marathons in Edinburgh and at Loch Ness to name a few, have grown significantly in recent years, with many new, smaller events springing up across the country.

It’s early days but the website (www.

runningthehighlands. com) is taking 200 hits a week and Neil has already hosted a range of runners including a London man in his 40s on his first trip to Scotland.

"He came for five days, ran 52 miles of guided routes and ascended 8600ft in total.

He was bowled over by the scenery and he didn’t want to go home again, " says Neil.

"He’s already booked another week with us. A lady also contacted me to ask for help with a marathon training programme. She can run only a few miles at the moment but she wanted to know how to build up her training. When she comes to stay with us we will be able to discuss a schedule to suit her. This is another part of our services – writing tailor-made training programmes."

On our Running the Highland weekend, my partnerVik and I were also treated to a leg massage by sports masseuse Catriona MacFarlane. If she hadn’t gone to work on our aching limbs after the "black" run, I doubt we would have been able to climb the hotel stairs the next day, let alone run a hill.

Gillian Duncan, a podiatrist and gait analyst, gave us advice on our running form, too. She pointed out that my overlytight calf muscles were most likely caused by running too much on my toes and she suggested a number of new stretches to help with inflexible hamstrings.

More alarmingly, Vik appears to run favouring his left side. Catriona noticed that while running on the treadmill, he had a larger left calf muscle and limped slightly.

Looking back, it appears that Vik may never have properly recovered from a sprained right ankle a couple of years ago.

She also insisted Vik look into buying new trainers with better stability. Neither of us realised how important body maintenance is in preventing running injuries.

Nowwe know. We also knowwhere we’ll be heading again when we want to run for miles in the Scottish wilds, minus our ironically hampering GPS system, of course.

Fiona Russell stayed at the four-star Balgonie Country House in Ballater.

Set in four acres of quiet, mature gardens, it offers very friendly service and provides excellent Scottish meals.

The lowdown on Running The Highlands

GRADED RUNS

Green: a relatively easy run of three to five miles Blue: a slightly more hilly run of five to six miles Red: a run of about six to 10 miles on hilly terrain Black: a generally hilly run or 10- plus miles Diamond Black: a classic, long-distance run.

TYPES OF HOLIDAYS

A la carte: you choose everything from length of runs, timings, content of break to accommodation.

Options from bunk house to four-star hotel. Prices from GBP150 per person for a twoday weekend to GBP385 for three nights’ B&B. Longer stays available. Includes massage, transport around the area and lunches.

Special events: weekend packages with guided group runs and guest speakers. The next event will be based at the Hilton Craigendarroch in Ballater from November 11 to 13.

Race events: holidays based around races in the area. In 2006 there’s the Balmoral 10k and Moray Marathon for example.

Passing through: for people with limited time in the area. Perhaps you can fit in a one or two-hour run plus a sports massage.

COSTS Guided runs: GBP20 an hour per person.

Sports massage: GBP25 for 30 mins.

Running form/gait analysis: GBP40 for 45 mins.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Deeside Activity Park:

quad biking is GBP35 per hour per person; 4×4 driving is GBP130 for 1.5 hours. This covers two people driving.

Kart racing is GBP45 per person for 90 mins.

Fly fishing (including equipment hire) costs GBP45 for half a day (including two hours with a ghillie).

Mountain biking costs from GBP10 for a half day and GBP15 for a full day; guided cycling also available.