At 4pm on Friday November 16th a team of Scottish ultra runners will be attempting an incredible running feat for charity. They plan to run the West Highland Way, the famous 96 mile route from Milngavie to Fort William. Sounds pretty hard already, right? Except this team will run it, turn round, then run back again. And they’re trying to do it in under 24 hours. It’s called Pyllon Endeavour.
Led by three-time West Highland Way Race winner, Paul Giblin (also known as Pyllon), the team will run the route as a continuous relay, with each of the eight athletes running at least three sections and approximately 26 miles. The team includes four GB team ultra runners and one Irish mountain running international.
The run is aimed at raising awareness of mental health wellbeing and raising funds for local charity, SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health). Paul Giblin commented:
“Ultra running is a difficult sport. And running 100-miles is said to be like living the many ups and downs of life in just one day. It has become our way of managing the stresses of everyday life and we know that running has the potential to help many others. The sport has done so much for each of us, so tackling this incredible challenge as a team, is our way of celebrating the challenges we face individually every day. And whatever the outcome, we know that the strength of our community will shine through”
Running the West Highland Way twice in under 24 hours is going to be an exceptionally difficult task, particularly, they acknowledge, with the unpredictability of the weather in that region in November. Is it possible? The men’s record for the race (run solo) is 13hrs 41mins (held by Rob Sinclair), so it’s possible that a relay team could do one West Highland Way traverse in under 12 hours. But two in under 24? It’s a very tall order. But they have highly experienced and talented runners on the Pyllon Endeavour team.
- Paul Giblin – 3 x times WHW champion, 3 x times WS100 top 10
- James Stewart – WHW, Rocky Racoon and Tooting 24hr winner and GB 24hr athlete
- John Connolly – Devil of the Highlands winner and 2nd at the Highland Fling
- Graham Connolly – Kintryre Way winner
- Marco Consani – Lakeland 100 winner, GB 24hr athlete
- Chris Cowley – Hardmoors 160 winner, podium at Glenmore 24
- Robert Turner – British 100K champion and GB 100K athlete
- Eoin Lennon – Irish national mountain runner, podium at Devil of the Highlands, multiple hill/fell race wins
Good luck to all the runners!
You can follow the attempt live via the tracker at http://racedrone.net/event/pyllon-endeavour. Or get out on the course and support the athletes.
Find out more at www.pyllonultra.com/endeavour
Support by donating at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pyllon-endeavour
