West Highland Way from Balmaha

Ramblings

BBC

Science, Nature, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2013

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Clare Balding walks a section of the West Highland Way, north from Balmaha, with twin sisters Pauline Walker and Fiona Rennie.

Pauline and Fiona are both 'ultra runners' and they haven't, before, walked the West Highland Way. However they have run the entire route, non-stop, several times. It's one of their favourite challenges on the ultra-runner calendar; running through the night, dealing with hallucinations, and pushing themselves to the limit is all part of the experience.

Clare hears about their adventures, their close and supportive relationship, and Fiona's recent battle with mouth cancer as they slow to an unfamiliar pace to enjoy the beautiful scenery north of Balmaha.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	11 climbers appeared to have died on the world's second highest mountain K2.
0:06.4	It was one of the deadliest days in mountaineering history.
0:09.9	Rock falls, avalanches.
0:11.6	Huge pieces of ice.
0:12.9	All are big enough to kill you.
0:14.3	He just flew out into Devoid, and he was gone.
0:17.3	How did it all go so wrong?
0:19.2	And is it really worth risking death to feel alive? Why would
0:23.1	somebody pay to go to a place called the death zone on vacation? Extreme, peak danger. With me,
0:29.9	Natalia Melman Petrazella. Listen to the full series now, first on BBC Sounds. This is a BBC Radio
0:36.4	for download. You're listening to me, Claire Balding,
0:39.4	with another edition of Ramblings. I'm standing on high, looking down at Loch Lomond. The hills
0:47.5	rising in the distance have just got cloudy hats on them. And it's a warm day. The birds birds are singing strongly the blue bells are just about to
0:56.7	finish but they're strong enough that their colour is still brightly indigo and they have lined
1:02.3	the sides of the path that we have just climbed because i'm walking a section of the west highland way
1:07.8	and i'm walking it with two women who would not normally travel this slowly
1:11.8	they would not normally stop to admire the view
1:14.0	because they are both ultra-marathon runners
1:16.4	and they run the West Highland Way
1:18.4	now it's 96 miles
1:19.8	and Pauline Walker and Fiona Rennie
1:22.3	are twin sisters
	...

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