For those of you that blinked and missed it – we had two whole days of summer in the UK this year and I was lucky enough to spend them in beautiful Arran taking photos for the epic new RatRace Ultra Tour of Arran.
They say Arran is Scotland in miniature - from dense forests and coastal scenery in the South to crumbling castles and dramatic mountains in the North. The Isle of Arran delights at every turn. The Ultra Tour of Arran was a 2 day off-road running adventure which saw the competitors covering a staggering 50km each day. On Saturday, they covered the south of the island before moving on to the North on Sunday with completely different terrains to challenge them each day. Fortunately, the weather was kind to all involved with only a little rain on the Sunday afternoon.
After a long drive on Friday from the East Midlands we boarded the ferry in Ardrossan and had a very smooth ferry crossing to Brodick. A 7 hour journey meant that when I arrived at the bunk house I was very ready for bed. In the morning, we set off to our individual pre-allocated locations. For my first post I had a costal shot not far from the start with a wonderful backdrop of the edge of Brodick.
An hour and a half later I was off Kildonan on the southernmost point of Arran for my second location. This time half way up a hill with a panoramic coastal view behind the runners as they came past me. Many of the runners were initially disgruntled at someone taking photos as they panted and puffed their way up the hill but once they saw they backdrop they were more than happy to show off for the camera.
On the Sunday, I drove 30 miles north to the view point at Newton, the sun was out and it was surprisingly warm. They say the weather brings out the best in you and it definitely brought the best out in the competitors, they were all more than happy to wave and play to the camera which again made for some epic images with the wonderful views behind.
Then it was back to Brodick to the finish line to capture the very, very tired runners that had completed this epic two-day event cross the finish line, one or two even still had the energy to do press ups on the line and jump with joy. I knew these people were crazy.
I hope this inaugural event was a huge success for the organisers and it takes place again next year as I would love the opportunity to cover it again. It is a truly beautiful place to have such a fantastic race.
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