I've never run this section of the JMW and initially the tracks were ok, with some mud but I was still able to run on them fairly easily. As usual with trails in East Lothian I had to run though several farms, and as usual they were smelly and manky! There was no-one about, but with the wind whipping through the derelict barns and sheds it did make me slightly nervous. I often have visions of yer man from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre running out of a barn and chasing me up a track. I also often wonder if my little legs would save me or whether I'd be chopped into pieces and never seen again!! Probably the latter!
The map had told me the route was 5 miles, but the signs soon told me it was more like 7. That was fine, I had thought 5 wouldn't be enough to satisfy me today anyway. My legs felt heavy and my lungs weren't working all that well, so I was going through moments of pleasure and pain in equal measures. At about mile 4 the farm tracks turned into a wonderful wooded track, which was dry and undulating. This was more like it. A little flock of chaffinches followed me through the trees and I could hear rustling around me in the bushes. I could have run on this trail for ever, but unfortunately after only about a mile I was back on the most horrendous track at the edge of a field. There was no way I could run, the mud was so deep and there was no way around it, so I grumpily trudged through it for about half a mile. A short section on road was quite welcome and then downhill on a track that leads you right to the foot of North Berwick Law. I did swither whether to have a 'run' up the Law and to be honest I would have, had it not been for the fact that it was teaming with folk and their children and dogs! It's bad enough trying to get my big bum up a steep hill like that when there's no-one around, but with that many people around there was just no way my body or mind would have coped. So I headed on the trail that leads around the South side of the Law up towards a steading near Space. It was so narrow and muddy that I could hardly even walk, let alone run. Grumpy again, I made my way along the path and was very glad to eventually come off onto a road. I had to stop and clean off my shoes as I had half the trail stuck to them!
Downhill on road and into Space, where I felt very conscious of being covered in mud. No-one seemed to notice though and Matt and Ruby are used to it, so I treated myself to a bowl of butternut squash, sage and honey soup which went down a treat!
During my run I thought that maybe the JMW would be a good choice for my first foray into ultra distance, after all it's local and I could probably do it unsupported. But the problem for me is the amount of disgusting farm tracks you have to negotiate. I mean John Muir was a great man who devoted his life to protecting stunning landscapes, so why East Lothian Council felt is was necessary to honour him with a trail that takes you through some of the most manky farmland in the county is beyond me. I'm considering a strongly worded email to ELC to ask them to get their act together and at least make the paths usable.
I enjoyed my 6.4 mile run, mostly, but I think I'll attempt it again when the ground is drier!
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