First Place in Celtman 2022
At 5am on the Saturday before the summer solstice I was treading water in Loch Torridon readying myself for the start gun to fire to get the 2022 Celtman underway.
The Celtman is an extreme triathlon and part of the XTRI world series held in the North-West of Scotland. The race is a 3.4km swim followed by an iconic 200km bike, finishing with a 42km mountain run. I have followed the race for years and have always aspired to compete in it one day. 2022 was the year to put it off no longer and take part in my first triathlon!
Although leading up to the race I had managed to put in some good training I always prioritised riding my bike and running in the mountains as that’s what I love doing. Pulling my wetsuit on and plunging into the icy waters of Loch Morlich always felt like a necessary evil. However, I do admit as time went on and I got braver in the cold water and less terrible at swimming, I did start to really enjoy it too!
The day before the Celtman the buzz around Torridon and Shieldaig was amazing as athletes from across the globe gathered in the remote corner of the Scottish Highlands to compete in this monumental race. Scotland put on a show as always with breathtaking scenery, welcoming locals and weather to remember (or forget!). At 0300 on race day morning, walking up Shieldaig’s shore to sign on at race HQ, westerly winds of 30 gusting 50mph were whipping up waves in the bay and the rain was lashing against the windowpanes on the shorefront houses. At this point I knew the wild forecast was going to be correct and a tough day lay ahead of everyone taking part in the Celtman. The question in everyone’s mind was whether the organisers were going to shorten the swim to avoid the long, open crossing on the proposed course. As we boarded the coaches that were to drive us around the headland to the swim start that gave a 3.4km straight line to the transition zone it was evident that, despite the wind, it was game on for the full swim course.
As the clansmen banged their drums and the flames burnt bright, we made our way into Loch Torridon to the floating start line ready for the race to get underway. The water temperature was around 12°C and it felt like what I’d trained in at Loch Morlich. The sea at the start line was well sheltered from the headland but as I looked out across the bay to Shieldaig Island I could see a large swell and strong gusts ripping across the swim line. I knew that it was going to be a hard fight to swim the 3.4km to reach the slipway at the other side of the bay. The swim was as expected and the exposed 1.5km between the islands was a real battle, contending with a strong crosswind and a large swell. I swam in a group of around 10 swimmers, and I followed a set of orange kicking neoprene boots that held a fantastic course across the rough waters. (Whoever those boots belonged to, thank you!). I’ve heard stories over the years of the jellyfish infested waters of the Celtman swim and as I swam the opening couple of kilometers, I spotted the odd one or two and thought, ‘Hey what’s all the fuss? This is cool!’ As I reached the sheltered waters behind Shieldaig Island, I quickly realised that this was where all those jellyfish had been drifting. There were millions! The only way I can describe it was like swimming through jellyfish soup or a ball pit of jellyfish, scooping tens of them with every swim stroke. At last, the torchlit pier came into view and I was met by my wife Jess as I staggered up the rocky pier towards Transition 1, having a swim time of 55.13 and coming out of the water in 15th place. I came out of the water feeling pretty warm which was a great relief as I was very worried about getting super cold on the swim and not being able to warm up on the bike.
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Transition 1 was a slick operation led by Jess who managed to pull me out of my wet swim gear, feed me, and get me changed into my bike kit before she saw me 200km later at Transition 2. I was 6.44 in transition which is definitely shortest time I’ve ever taken to get ready for a bike ride. Normally I like to sip a coffee, take a look at the route, tinker with my bike, check the weather, sip some more coffee then finally start pedaling!
Living in the Scottish Highlands I’m pretty used to bad weather and, in a weird way, quite like it. I was however quite apprehensive about just how windy it was forecast to be on race day, especially for the bike. I was riding a Cervelo P3 time trial bike which is designed aerodynamically to slice through the wind by using an aero frame, deep section wheels and narrow handlebars. This is great on a calm day or even with a head/tail wind but with any crosswind it becomes super sketchy! Long sections of the bike course follow exposed coastal roads and have highspeed descents where the wind was forecast to be 35 gusting 55mph. My concern was whether I would be able to keep the bike upright in those winds. The day before the race I made a few tweaks to my setup to reduce how much the bike would be affected by the crosswinds and hoped I’d have the bike handling skills and strength to keep it upright on race day!
I knew that with my background as a professional cyclist I had a great opportunity to put in a strong performance on the bike to make up time that I’d lost in the water, so I set out of Transition 1 on a mission to ride a strong 200km and see where I was in the field going into the run. On the bike route you have a support driver to hand across food, drink, clothing and encouragement. I had my mum (Mags) supporting me who in her hay day was Elite British Ironman Champion. As I picked up my first bottle and ditched some layers 20km in, I was told that I was now sitting in 6th which was encouraging. As I got in my rhythm along the shores of Loch Marie, I knew the legs were feeling good and I was able to keep picking off riders, working my way up to second place at the top of the climb before descending to Gairloch. At that point my time check was 4mins to the leader. At the race briefing we were instructed that on the course there was one set of traffic lights for a narrow section of roadworks with the delay being 3mins and under no circumstance were we able to jump the light. If we did, it would be disqualification. As I rolled towards the lights, I saw them switch from green to red – nightmare! As I scoffed food, waiting in frustration the three minutes for the lights to change, I knew I had a big job to do to close the time gap again. The 70km between Loch Marie and Braemore junction is the most grueling section of the course with exposed coastal roads which are rarely flat, three big climbs, and a high côl under the mighty Munro of An Teallach. It was always part of my race plan to ride this section hard as I knew I’d feel at home on the tough roads and in the bad weather. It was super encouraging to receive time checks from Mags that I was eating into the gap and as I exited Poolewe I was in the lead. It was an incredible feeling to be the Celtman race leader and I knew that I had to stay cool and keep to the plan – no heroics! A particular high/petrifying moment was on the long descent after the Dundonnel climb; clocking over 100kph with a ripping tailwind on the skis of the time trial bars had me thinking this is seriously fun but on the edge. The standout suffer fest (which I’m sure was the same for everyone) was those final 40kms battling the most savage headwind I’ve ever encountered back into Kinlochewe for Transition 2. All I could do was tuck up as aerodynamically as possible and remember that everyone’s legs would be screaming as much as mine were! It was an incredible feeling to descend Glen Docherty into Transition 2 in Kinlochewe knowing that I had the race lead by a sizable margin. The other part of me was fighting tooth and nail to keep the front wheel on the tarmac as the gusts hit me from the side and I was touching 50mph on the fastest parts of the descent.
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It was a very welcome sight seeing my support team of Jess and the kids as I climbed off the bike and put my trainers on and prepared myself for the final leg of the race. For the run there are two routes depending on mountain conditions. The high route goes over Beinn Eighe and a low course goes through the mountain pass between Beinn Eighe and Liathach. The race organisers and the local mountain rescue team made the wise decision to use the low course as the summit conditions were +100kph winds, poor visibility and wind chill of -10°C, all together pretty darn grim! Waving a cheerio to the family as I exited Transition 2, I knew it was going to be 40kms of tough running until I saw them at the finish line. Despite pushing hard on the bike I felt pretty good when I started to run. How I’d feel was a complete unknown as I’d never done a bike into a run as part of my training. I just hoped for the best come race day! I set out on my own for the opening 18kms of the run until I met Giles, who was my support runner, at the start of the mountain pass. I knew that I had a good lead going into the run and the Celtman was mine to lose, my mission was to keep it steady and not blow or injure myself. The first part of the run took me through the stunning Coulin estate, across open hillside trails and along the picturesque shores of Loch Couilin before meeting the glen road and entering the mountain pass for the final half of the run. At this point I met Giles who was a welcome sight, as I really needed some company and someone to shelter me from the headwind! Giles is a colleague of mine at Glenmore Lodge where I work as an instructor and we have raced together over the years, most recently in the 2022 Scottish Islands Peaks Race. Giles did a sterling effort to keep me fueled, entertained and motivated all the way to the finish. As a climber I’ve been into the pass many times to winter climb on Liathach and Beinn Eighe but it was my first time in summer, and it’s a truly stunning trail surrounded by some of Scotland’s most dramatic mountains. To sum up the conditions as we ran through the pass, Mountain Rescue team members were hunkered in survival bags and shelters to hide from the hammering rain and gale force winds. Despite this, they were so encouraging and upbeat! Thankfully, we were on our way out of there and were staying warm by running fast. After an incredible 10hrs 35mins of racing I’d crossed the finish line of the Celtman in first place and was handed the best tasting bottle of beer from Stewart Brewery that I don’t think even touched the sides!
I said going into the race that the Celtman would be my first and last triathlon but maybe I’ll have to rethink that statement once the body has recovered, and the jellyfish stings are less sore!
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Special thanks to:
Transition support team Jess (wife), Struan, Fionn (children)
Bike Support Mags (mum)
Support runner Giles Trussel
Torridon Mountain Rescue
Swim sea kayak safety
All race marshals and volunteers
Avium Medics
Ryans Bike surgery/Thompson homes for the Time Trial bike
Bruce, Bri and Ben for the aero kit and wheels
Jess for the use of her wetsuit!
Rab for providing some of their latest trail running clothing
Photo credit to Steve Ashworth Media