Back in August, Susan Lister took on the Devil O' The Highlands, a 42 mile race along the West Highland Way. Here's her story:
The Devil is a 42 mile race on the latter part of the West Highland Way. I got up early to catch the 4am bus from Fort William to Tyndrum where the race starts. I’ve done this race a couple of times and the sister race “the highland fling”. I am always, happily, at the back of the pack , aiming to get to the end before the sweeper and still be alive. As always it was a wonderful atmosphere at the start as numbers were pinned on and drop bags distributed to the various vans and cars.
We set off at 6am and I settled in. It’s such a friendly race you find yourself chatting to other runners and the miles pass by quickly. The route is stunning, and I always spend way too much time stopping to take photos. The first real climb is out of Bridge of Orchy. At the top you have a wonderful view across Loch Tulla to the hills beyond. Coming down the other side the paths turned into rivers from all the earlier rain. The sun did come out as I headed across Rannoch Moor and there were many rainbows to highlight this wild and remote section. The running in these early sections is great, taking me all the way to Glencoe Ski centre and my first drop bag. I’d been eating well and quickly replaced my food bags and topped up my water bladder. It was dry here but I could see big black clouds over the devil itself and new the weather was on its way. More lovely running over to the foot of the Devil then its hiking for me. I marched up in good time ensuring I also ate and drank as I went. (Strava tells me it was my fastest Devil ascent). Remember to look back here as the view is absolutely breath-taking. Over the top and it’s a long way down to Kinlochleven. Some rocky bits to begin with, then it turns into easy paths. Again, these were all rivers on race day but it’s really enjoyable running.
I had nice food to look forward to in my Kinlochleven drop bag ( Bagel with Scott Jurek western states sheeze , spinach and tomato, alpro chocolate pudding. Yum Yum ). I filled up water again and ate as I walked out towards the next big climb. The rain started again as I headed up towards the Lairigmor. Once on the pass itself the wind also got up and it was pretty harsh conditions. The ground was swimming and I reminded myself that continually cold wet feet would never get hot and sore so I should be grateful. I generally don’t run with headphones but it felt like time. I popped them in and slipped into another world of my audiobook while I got my head down and made forward progress over the rocky ground. This is probably the toughest section for me as it’s a gentle uphill and uneven under foot, locks of rocks to jump over. It’s a very long 8 miles to Lundavra. Eventually it appears like an oasis. I accepted a cup of coca cola and some fresh water delighted in the knowledge that I now only had 7 miles to go. I felt great, my legs were fresh and my mind was really positive so I decided to just get going to the end.
I picked up the pace, comfortable that I didn’t need to save anything as I was almost there. I overtook lots of people on this final section ( very rare for me) and could not keep the smile off my face as I ran all the way to the finish , crossing the line in 10:39. Its not breaking any records but 2hrs before the sweepers so a comfortable finish. The finish line is always well supported and I was delighted to see so many friendly faces there cheering me over the line. Straight to the food tent for the lentil soup I’d been dreaming about for the last 10 miles. It’s the best I’ve ever felt at the end of an ultra. No injuries or niggles, tired obviously, but feeling really strong and ready to go again.
I finished:
305 / 415 overall
78/135 female
16/38 FV50 (plenty old ladies like me. There were also 4 FV60 and 2 FV70 runners)
I’d definitely recommend this race to all. It’s a stunning route and the running is really enjoyable. The race is well organised and you feel supported no matter where you are in the field. The organisers of the race try really hard to encourage equality. Almost 35% of the field were female. In 2025 the date has been changed to April and this time, in a further attempt to even the field, the ballot opened with 300 female places and 300 male places. The men’s places have all gone but there are still about 40 female places left.