Part 1 can be found here https://twinbikerun.com/2020/09/15/running-the-lairig-ghru-part-1-iain/

Due to lockdown restrictions I haven’t been to to a pub since March. Is there a better time to return to a bar than the night before a marathon? I didn’t think so the night before the run I treated myself to a couple of pints.

I enjoyed my drinks and ordered some food to go with it. The food was slow to arrive, it was overpriced but it was absolutely delicious! It was the first dinner I’ve had in six months which was not cooked by either myself or my wife. I could have been served cat food and I would still have found it delicious just because it was a change from what I’ve been having for months on end.

The forecast for the run was sunshine. Which meant it was unsurprisingly raining when I woke up.

The start of the run is the old police station in Braemar. I didn’t realise there was an old station so I started at the nice new modern one.

The plan was to run the first 10K to Linn of Dee where I would meet some friends.

Normally I would run with two 500ml plastic water pouches but I’d forgotten to take them with me so I improvised and bough some capri-sun orange pouches. The pouches fitted easily into my backpack and I thought they would collapse to a small size once empty.

What I didn’t realize is that the straw in the pouch is very sharp. A pouch with a straw bounces around whilst running. A sharp straw easily punctures bouncing pouches. Within a couple of hundred metres I had orange juice pouring out my backpack. Oh well, the plan was good in theory!

The first 10K was relatively easy. It was initially on the road and then I cut through Mar Lodge estate.

The building is the third lodge on the estate. The first Mar Lodge was damaged in a flood. the second was was destroyed by fire and even the current one was damaged by a fire.

If that happened to my house. I’d take the hint and move somewhere else.

It was only once I got to Linn of Dee that the run started to get a bit harder…