Loch Rannoch Marathon
Once upon a time there was a Loch Rannoch Marathon.
It didn't come into existence by chance. I will say something of it, but not all of it because I dwelt in the dark computing underbelly, without which, the Loch Rannoch Marathon would not have seen the light of day.
It was the brainchild of Arthur Andrews, Nevill Mangin and Andrew Hillier to name but three. They coordinated, liaised and conspired with the Loch Rannoch Hotel. Out of tiny beginnings came a National Event. The favourite National Event for some.
Loch Rannoch lends itself to marathons - it needs only a slight extension to create a marathon worthy distance. It is a course which is beautiful and yet challenging with undulations (others call them hills) and capricious weather.
Over the years the number of runners increased and a Marathon became a Half Marathon and a Mini-marathon for schools. The number of runners swelled to about eight hundred.
Rannoch and Rannoch School punched above their weight in no uncertain manner.
The roads were never closed to traffic but a police presence ensured that things went smoothly. The route was anti-clockwise around the loch (as befits the northern hemisphere) with appropriate extensions at the triangle and through Dall.
I once did a half marathon on a very hot day when there were a number of collapses from heat stroke - yes really. Every other year I spent the entire day from early morning to late a night in recording the results. (Was it 12 years?). This was done from within the bowels of a Rannoch School minibus parked near the Loch Rannoch Swimming Pool. These were pioneer days - not for us computer chips that automatically record the runners’ times as they pass the finishing line. Such sophistications did not yet exist.
For us it was surfing the wave of enthusiasm that was the BBC computer produced by geniuses in Cambridge. Like many teachers I was intrigued by the BBC computer - first the Model B then the BBC Master and then the Archimedes. I acquired a Model B and taught myself - what fun - BBC Basic and Wordwise Plus. What fun coding.
The cry is now schools must teach coding, having passed through the valley of the shadow of Microsoft Office death.
Odd - that's how we started. ‘Tis written, “in the beginning there was coding”. I spent an absorbed Easter holiday writing a graphics program on the Archimedes in BBC Basic. It worked well. Even now BBC Basic still has a following and it can be compiled on Windows.
Wordwise Plus is/was a word processor but it came with a script language. It was amazing what you could do with it - it could be forced to be a database. I forced it to be a database to record the marathon results. It was the App of the dinosaur age which came on a chip to be plugged into the inwards of the computer. How soon the sophisticated becomes primitive. How soon today’s sophistication will in turn be primitive.
At first, one computer was enough, but as things burgeoned two were needed. One teacher was not enough. A teacher and a pupil were needed.
Welcome Robert Kennedy. Hello Robert - “I know you are out there in cyberspace - and so greetings”. You too will have happy memories of hours spent in a minibus with streams of runners passing by. Oh the panic! when six runners arrived at once with only photos to sort the order. The fear of power cut (powercutophobia) or computer failure was ever present. Well done Robert! - with speedy fingers and focused mind.
We never saw the closing ceremonies or met many runners. If we had there would have been no results.
This account is very partial because if you are focussed on a screen in conditions that would induce claustrophobia in a troglodyte, much passes you by in terms of organisation and participation -
the sweat, the tears, the fatigue, the training, the glory, the record breaking, the congratulations, the family support, the prizes, the ceremony, the exultation, the scenery, the weather, the crowds, the bonhomie, the politics, the eventual demise.
Oh yes, the end - the Loch Rannoch Hotel pulled out and Rannoch School did not have the resources to continue alone. All very T.S. Elliot with whimpers and no bangs.
In a small way the Loch Rannoch Marathon is born again with ‘Run Scotland’ maybe it will grow to its former glory?
There is much that cannot be seen when crouched over a screen in a minibus or when the evening is spent on the computer rationalising the data and printing and printing and printing. There is much more to tell.
It is for this reason that I invite reminiscences from those who were above ground - the instigators, the organisers, the participants, the relatives, the spectators and all.