Speyside Way 50k

My seventh ultra marathon – Speyside Way 50k – Saturday 15^th August – 5 hours 55 minutes

The Speyside Way has been on my radar since I completed the 53 mile Highland Fling last September. Once I had recovered I naturally started to wonder if I could go further. 100k seemed like the next logical step, and I felt it was achievable, especially on a route with a lot less elevation than the Fling. In November 2025 I entered the 100k – kindly gifted by race director Kyle as we work closely with Moray Way Ultras – and intended to swing from Devil o’the Highlands into 100k training.

It didn’t work out like that.

Life and hormones made Devil training very different to Fling training, despite following the exact same plan. Winter training was a factor, but something felt off from the very start. I still don’t really know what it was, I do think it is related to hormones though. My head was not in the game, and Devil training – let alone the 42 mile event itself – really took it out of me. 

I participated in the Lairig Ghru race, Brig Bash 5 mile race, and Perth Half Marathon (which turned out to be a hard fought PB of 1.47!) over the summer months but I knew fairly early on after the Devil that 100k was going to be out of reach for me this year. I was initially disappointed but actually the logistics had become quite tricky, and the event was 3 days before school returned, so once I’d made my peace with it, the 50k was by far the more sensible (and appealing!) option. 

I didn’t really train specifically for it, but the aforementioned races, some speed sessions and some easy runs were going to have to be enough to tide me over. (The lack of long runs would become obvious as I got to marathon distance of the ultra).

The event itself was fantastic! So well organised as Moray Way Ultras always are, with great volunteers and community on route. I LOVED the 11am start – I’m not a morning person so 6am starts are a battle, but having that time in the morning worked really well for me. Dave and Totty gave me a lift from the caravan, around a 45 minute drive to the start at Tamdhu Distillery. It was great to see some of the places that Dave had run through on his Dramathon last October!

I was nervous, but calmer than any other ultra prior. I had taken the pressure off myself, and was just looking forward to a nice day out.

I started steady, at a 10 minute mile pace which was straightforward to maintain on former railway lines and forest tracks, past distilleries, through trees, it was just lovely. I was hot, but I was okay. It was a slightly cooler day than most Moray Way Ultra events are!

The first checkpoint was at Craigellachie and I loved the entire route to that point. It was especially cool to see Aberlour after our cheer team day out for the Dramathon! I collected my drop bag including my roll for lunch, and continued on the road which immediately went uphill.

Photo credit: Ray Liversedge

There’s a lot less elevation on the Speyside Way 50k than previous ultras, however there were a couple of inclines especially around the Ben Aigen section. I stuck with my Fling/Devil/all running tactic of walking the hills and it worked well. Walking with purpose and using the uphills as an opportunity to eat is the BEST way. However…I still got in my head when lots of people ran past me. They looked so strong on the hills, I started to question my abilities and fitness. This thankfully went out my head fairly quickly – I wasn’t racing them and I was very happy to walk uphill! 

Photo credit: Stuart Ross

The views were incredible, Speyside is so beautiful. I also really liked the mixture of trail and road. There was probably more tarmac than I expected, but at times it felt like a nice change from tree roots and trails. 

The second checkpoint was at Fochabers around the 21 mile mark, and I was mostly feeling okay. I had struggled to eat all my roll – I did finish it in the end but it took me many miles to do so! As I held it in my hand, I didn’t use any of my other fuel, which in hindsight was silly. I have found that I prefer to run whilst holding something – headphones, drop bag, watermelon skin, anything really! But my brain thought that by carrying my roll, and very occasionally nibbling on it, I was “fuelling”. I wasn’t. I did take an ice pole from Fochabers checkpoint which was delicious (and some very kind walkers nearby offered to take my litter with them to put in a bin! So kind, but I told them about the holding thing!).

So it’s no real surprise that lack of proper fuelling and lack of long runs came back to bite me around mile 23 or so, and for quite a few miles after that. Very annoyingly, I tripped over a tree root and landed hard on my right arm. I got a fright, and a big lump appeared on my arm, but I was fine. Just ahead of me, a lovely lady called Pauline heard me fall and came back to help me. I told her to carry on but she stayed with me, and we spent the next few miles walking and running and sharing in our combined misery at that point! She was cramping up, I was a bit sore. We both knew we’d finish, but sometimes it’s nice to find someone in the same boat as you and spend some time together. We were both too tired for much chat, but we kept each other going until Spey Bay. There, her friend was waiting for her and kindly gave me an orange slice. It saved my day! It was a reset and although I didn’t exactly sprint to the finish from there, it definitely helped in those last 5 or 6 miles.

Photo credit: Stuart Ross

Pauline stayed at Spey Bay for a wee bit of time to sort her cramp out, so I was on my own for the last section, but it was a section I’d done before on the Moray Coast 50 in 2024. I knew what was coming. It was a bit of a grind but I knew the fastest way to the finish was just to keep going.

A random burst of rain here felt quite refreshing. Once you see the sign for Buckpool and Buckie, it is actually a wee bit further than you’d think. I had to walk a wee bit then run, and when I hit an uphill section a kind lady said “just 5 minutes to go” – that’s half a mile!! Thankfully there was only 500 yards to go at that point, although it was uphill. 

The orange carpet came into sight, and I saw Dave and Totty waiting for me, so another memorable finish with my wee girl! I felt pretty spent at the end, and needed to sit down for a wee bit before feeling okay to head back to the caravan. A free ice cream helped!

We got a fish supper from Lossiemouth on the way back, and I felt mostly fine once I’d replenished some calories. I was pleased not to feel too sore after, and I am sure that with some proper training and better fuelling, I can feel strong right up until the end next time.

All in all, a really enjoyable day out and an event that I look forward to doing again. For me, the perfect mix of a good challenge without it demanding the same as a longer harder event such as the Fling or the Devil. Great scenery, great medal and goody bag, great people.

Photo credit: Ray Liversedge