Sidlaw Ultra 2025
If you have read my very recent report on my DNF at Gran Trail Costa Blanca, you will be aware that my experience in that race caused me to re-evaluate some of the direction I have been taking with the running events I have been getting involved with.
To be absolutely honest, and as is often the case, I wrestled with my decision to abandon the Winter Downs 200, but I still came back to the same conclusion. The chances of the event holding my interest long enough to finish were minimal. I would incur a lot more expense in order to prove that correct, which simply did not seem like money well spent.
Thus, I stand by my more general thoughts on what I would like to focus on going forward.
That said, in the days following my DNF in Spain, I was increasingly dissatisfied at the prospect of ending 2025 on such an untidy and lacklustre note, particularly given the number of disappointments that the year has already thrown up.
I needed a shot in the arm; something to show for the significant effort I have put into training this year, despite injuries. However, ultras in the UK in the winter are few and far between but I thought immediately of the Sidlaw Ultra. I knew it was at the end of November as I was entered last year but had to withdraw after trashing my ankle ligaments at the end of October. Unfinished business in more ways than one then.
I checked the website and found that entries for 2025 were closed but undeterred, I emailed on the slim chance that the organiser might look favourably on a late entry. It took a few days, but Ben Finch of WeeRunEvents pinged me back on the Tuesday before race weekend. He was happy to re-open entries to allow me to enrol. Much appreciated Ben!
This will be the third year of the Sidlaw Ultra and it is effectively a local race for me. In fact, I am familiar with some good chunks of the route through my own training excursions. It is 69km in length with about 1,400 metres of elevation ( my Garmin would later record elevation in excess of 1,600 metres). The race starts in the grand setting of Glamis Castle then meanders its way west along the spine of the Sidlaw Hills to eventually descend past Perth to finish at the equally iconic Scone Palace. It is mixed surface with few stretches that would qualify as really technical, unless you count the likelihood of some very muddy sections as technical!
Weather-wise, Thursday and Friday were windy AF here in Dundee, but the forecast was for it to calm down overnight with Saturday being dry and with sunny intervals, with minimal wind and temperatures in low single figures. Possibly ideal then.
Mandatory kit for the race is a very short list. Even a waterproof jacket might be off the list unless rain is forecasted. I am all for lightening the load, but I am not sure I concur with that one to be honest. I am not convinced that encouraging runners to venture out into hilly country in Scotland, in November, without a waterproof is setting the best example but that is just my personal opinion. I will carry an appropriate jacket regardless. Same goes for a first aid kit.
There are three well-spaced checkpoints (although the third is a little too close to the finish to be really valuable in my view) and a drop bag available at each so that is ideal from both nutrition and weight-carrying perspectives.
All things considered, an ideal platform to have a good day and put in a reasonable performance. Hopefully….
Race goals? The usual, a top 50% finish but I really wanted to stagger away from this one feeling that I did well. I also set myself a rough target of a 9hr30mins finish.
It was an early start on the Saturday morning. Up around 0400 to eat something, have a quick shower and do a last-minute kit reckoning. Then into the car for the quick spin through to Scone. The bus from Scone Palace to the registration/start at Glamis Castle would leave at 0630.
The bus was a little late leaving but the heating was on so no complaints. We alighted at Glamis Castle and I joined the registration queue in the café, picking up race number, wrist timing chip and GPS tracker.
Thereafter, it was just a case of hanging about for the start and I ate a couple of bananas and topped up with water. Then it was out into the cold and first light of the day for race briefing.
We headed off about 0810 on the long, slightly uphill drag of the castle drive. There were the usual few racing snakes at the front but I had resolved to try and hit the first hill ahead of a good percentage of the pack. Thus, I ran more than I usually would in the first mile and a half but this set me up in a good position once we turned off road at Charleston and headed up into the woods for a very pleasant section of single track across the hillside.
We then descended fairly sharply and joined the Denoon road, heading south into the back of the Sidlaws.
I settled in and around a small group as we commenced the climb on increasingly wet and muddy ground, eventually hitting the high point of the entire route on the north side of Auchterhouse Hill.
The route then levelled on a winding single-track through heather before a longer section of forest track as we headed for Kinpurney Hill. This was all good, solid running and soon, we glimpsed the tower.
After a short, sharp climb to the top, we were up by the tower. Like many of these things, the tower looks grand and impressive from afar but fairly shitty and dilapidated up close. However, the views to the north over Strathmore and beyond were impressive but no time to hang about and I launched down what turned out to be a long but enjoyable descent down to the outskirts of Newtyle below.
I let others forge ahead on the tarmac into Newtyle as my intention was for a Formula 1 pitstop at the checkpoint. I nailed that, ditching rubbish, replacing supplies and topping up water in a couple of minutes at most then I was off. I gained about six or seven places in the process.
Leaving Newtyle, we climbed onto the old railway path then traversed around the hillside on a tricky little wooded path. A boggier section followed, after which we began the climb proper to the scenic ridge above Long Loch.
The ridge path is familiar training territory, and I enjoyed the undulating single-track path and the sunshine as we headed for the masts above Lundie Crags. Having covered the final short but steep track up to the masts I then headed along the fenceline path above the crags with a steep drop off to the left.
Another downhill stretch of wooded single-track then took us down to Ledcrieff Loch and a nice gentle descent down to the main Dundee to Coupar Angus road crossing. Lots of good running at a decent pace.
Crossing the road, I negotiated the inevitable mud before the very pleasant path and accompanying views as I ran alongside Laird’s Loch.
The forest road that winds around Ballo Woods followed and that allowed for another extended period of running as we popped out onto the road for a long tarmac downhill towards the Collace road. Again, I let others forge ahead on the road as that is not my forte and of the entire route, it was the three-mile stretch of undulating tarmac along to Collace that I was least looking forward to. I didn’t feel great on this section but applied myself to a progressive run/walk in the knowledge that I would come back into my own once we headed offroad once more. In the end I don’t think I really lost much on that section although a couple of runners already ahead may have got a bit further on. No matter.
I power-walked up through Collace then put a reasonable effort into the very steep climb up Dunsinane Hill (yes, the one of Shakespeare’s Macbeth fame), passing at least three people who had passed me at the end of the road section.
The descent off Dunsinane Hill was possibly the most technical part of the route as it combined rocky ground with heavily rutted and muddy ground churned up by cows. This was a tiring and frustrating section which eventually ended with a turn onto the road for a quick downhill to Checkpoint 2.
By this time, I could really feel my running legs returning and I found myself running at a reasonable pace rather than the customary ultra shuffle.
Again, I went for a speedy turnaround at the checkpoint and gained a few more places in the process. I had managed to reduce my placing from around 35 to around 26 or 27 and we were pretty much halfway at this point. I resolved to try and hold my position as best as I could for the second half.
By leaving the checkpoint sharply, I had quite a lot of distance to the next person behind which allowed me to relax and enjoy my running. I ran really well on the following tarmac section and this continued onto gently undulating farm tracks until we hit the Rait Road and the start of the next climb. This was a long gradual climb but all on minor roads so a good pace and rhythm was possible. After the final uphill stretch after the turn onto the Kilspindie road, I turned off onto what was to be the hardest and least pleasant section of the race. The track was level across the moorland for around two miles but it deteriorated quickly into a heavily rutted and muddy path where a good running line and overall progress were nigh on impossible.
To make matters worse, thick gorse encroached across the track. This wasn’t just your average scratchy gorse, it was the heavy-duty, leg-lacerating variety and there was no option but to plough through it and accept the blood and pain. I was at least grateful for my long socks, but my knees and lower thighs took the brunt.
At the end of this section, I caught another runner who had remained tantalising ahead of me for a number of miles. I wasn’t trying to catch runners and in fact this was the last runner I would overtake during the race. However, there was no-one visible behind which was also good. I forged ahead on the downhill to break his spirit which seemed to work as I then left him behind fairly quickly.
Passing the Murrayshall Golf Course, I turned uphill for the last short but significant climb of the day, up to the Lynedoch Obelisk. Fantastic views were available at the monument, looking back east along the route taken that day.
The next section was a combination of open ground and wooded single-track, but I was running strongly at this point. To be honest, I was surprised at how well I was running overall, and I remained strong over the final ten miles or so to the finish.
There was then a long, meandering woodland section on single-track and forest road, leading around Deuchny Woodland until the Jubilee Carpark was eventually reached. Crossing the road there was a gradual climb up to Kinnoull Hill and the iconic tower that sits above the high crags and overlooking the River Tay and A90 below.
Difficult to get very excited about the tower for two reasons. Like Kinpurney Tower, it is quite shitty up close. Secondly, it is also one of Scotland’s most iconic suicide spots.
I had managed to that point, but the sun was setting and the headtorch had to come out for the gloomy descent through the woods. I ran well down through the woods and eventually popped out at Checkpoint 3. I uplifted all of my drop bag calories but knew that I was well placed as I had more than enough to get by. Thus, I didn’t replenish my Tailwind and ended the race with most of the calories from that last drop bag intact. To be honest, I could probably have gone to the finish on fumes from that point.
The descent continued, down the back of the Murray Royal Hospital before hitting the suburbs of Perth at Gannochy. Only about 2.5 miles to go now but it wasn’t to be easy. The last mile and a half were on dark woodland single track and the course marking wasn’t great. I really needed the GPX track to correct myself when I strayed from the route on a couple of occasions. I lost at least five minutes with navigational nonsense.
Finally, the road crossing at Scone Palace was reached, and I was then running like a hero down the straight driveway to the finish line. I had achieved the revised goal I created in the last hour or so of the race which was to get a sub-9-hour finish. By my watch, I crossed the line in 8:56 which the chip time later confirmed.
Also confirmed by the official race stats, I finished in 24th place overall from just over 120 starters. A top 25% finish.
General thoughts, conclusions etc?
First and foremost, a great personal result and I don’t mind saying that I will continue to reflect on this as a great performance, for me that is! I far exceeded my pre-race goals. I have never moved so well in an ultra of this distance and if I wanted a race and outcome to redress the balance of a lot of this year’s disappointment and re-direction, then this was certainly it. More than ever, I am convinced that this is more my distance and type of event going forward.
Nutrition etc was great. I had to keep forcing the calories in, but I never flagged at any point, and I spent minutes only in the checkpoints. The weather was very kind (particularly given the gale force winds the two days prior), but I was very happy with my kit choices. I was never warm or cold, and the Salomon Thundercross were a perfect balance of grip for muddy conditions with some comfort for road running. No blisters or hotspots and I stayed on my feet throughout in some fairly slippery conditions.
In terms of organisation, nothing really much to criticise at all. Everything went well and the volunteers were simply excellent and upbeat, as always. Thanks go to them. Grateful too to Ben Finch for allowing me to participate at the last minute.
I am not sure the course marking was the best in all locations. If I was struggling in places with the GPX track, anyone without the latter could have gone badly adrift and I know of some that did. The guy that finished after me would have been well ahead but I know he went off course at least twice.
The variety and scenic value of the route cannot be underestimated. This is a little-frequented area of Scotland, unless you are local of course, but it is fantastic in such good weather. The route changes continually to hold interest and boasts a huge variation in surface and terrain. The hills are enough to tax you, but they don’t dominate the race.
The event deserves to go from strength to strength, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for an ultra of this distance in Scotland.
