Jura fell race

Race: Isle of Jura fell race (28k/2370m)
Peaks: Dubh Bheinn (530m), Glas Bheinn (562m), Aonach Bheinn (500m), Bheinn a'Chaolais (733m), Beinn an Oir (785m), Beinn Shiantaidh (757m), Corra Bheinn (573m)
Time/Position: 4.36.57 (69th from 213)
Probably the most interesting and memorable mountain race in the British Isles. A magical event, with a superbly challenging and scenic course accentuated by its location on this inaccessible island: just getting to the start is an adventure in itself. We finally managed to combine the race with our usual Whit family holiday in Scotland, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the journey via Dumbarton to Tarbet and the north of Kintyre to the Port Ellen ferry. A nice day exploring the delights of Islay, including several calling corncrake, then we took the small ferry across to Jura and a sunny but windy camp near the little river running down to the sea from the island's only hotel. Venison lasagne was good ballast for the race, which started in perfect sunshine next morning, the few remaining tendrils of mist peeling away from Beinn an Oir as we began the long but gradual climb into the wilds leading up to the first hill of Dubh Bheinn. The views of sea and mountain soon become spectacular: out over Islay, then over to Kintyre, Ben Cruachan and Mull. Lovely running past beautiful little lochans over the steeper second peak of Glas Bheinn led to the highlight of the day: a perfect runnable ridge to Aonach Bheinn with the sea glistening below, Colonsay coming into view and the first Pap (Bheinn a'Chaolais) towering above the deep cleft of Astaile. The first very steep descent follows, losing thousands of feet down to the deep and wild valley of Gleann Astaile. Here lies the only water source, so I drank tactically from the stream and filled a collapsible bottle which I sipped on the massive climb up Chaolais. Hard to exaggerate the steepness and length of this quite intricate ascent up the first of the Paps. A little cloud passed over the summit, giving some shade, but it was a superb place raised directly above the Atlantic and the beautiful beaches of Colonsay (the Irish hills of Antrim visible in the distant south?). The next descent was one of the roughest I've ever experienced, steep and exciting initially, then a combination of unhelpfully large scree and small boulders. A 'controlled fall' down this, starting to pick up a few places after a very slow start, led down to another superbly wild col between the two highest Paps and above Gleann an t-Siob. Then it is straight into the next big climb up the wonderful highpoint of the island, Beinn an Oir (Hill of Gold). This has a little light scrambling to ease the pain, and if anything is steeper than Chaolais. The climax of the hill is a narrow and bouldery ridge, and more stunning views now focused on the wild north and west of the island - completely uninhabited and untracked. An easier descent leads to a short and mercifully flat, broad col, before the third and final Pap of Beinn Shiantaidh. I was tiring now, and ate a bit on the climb (no water source, so I was glad I'd been so diligent at the stream on Chaolais). The descent from Shiantaidh is perhaps the worst of all, certainly the most notorious, as a direct line to the final peak leads over a crag. This means that a circuitous route down arduous shifting boulders, intertwined with good runnable scree, leads to a long and easy contouring route (far from direct) down to the remote Lochanan Tana and the cruel final climb up the 'extra' peak tagged to the end of the route. This was hard, steep and heathery, and a few sweets on the summit of Corra Bheinn were welcome. Hot sunshine now for the very long and very boggy descent down to the road: arduous and knee-deep mud in places. After the final checkpoint at the Three Arch Bridge (crowds, people, tarmac!) a 5k+ section of road leads past a series of lonely white-sand beaches to Craighouse and the finish at the Distillery. Went past 6 or 7 on the road but still finished miles down the field: still, I had no intention of racing even if I'd been capable of doing so over this distance. It was lovely to jog round in 'holiday mode' and savour the views. A truly wonderful circuit: I'd always felt that the Laugavegur in Iceland (done in 2008) would never be beaten as a mountain running experience, but this got very close to it (and my other longstanding favourite - the Jungfrau marathon).