The night before the night before

This time tomorrow, my cough and I will be tucked up in our hotel in Haddington, just a short drive away from the start of the John Muir Way Ultra.  I'm still quite excited about this and aside from worries about my cold, I've stayed fairly positive throughout training.  But now, this close to the start, some anxieties are creeping in.

First, there's the weather.  Depending on whether one looks at BBC Weather or the Met Office, the forecast for Saturday includes 13-17mph wind (with gusts to 25-30mph), 30%-50% chance of rain, and 3-5 degree temps.  With the windchill, that takes it into minus numbers.  Sigh.   Once, just once, I'd like to run a race in reasonable weather.

Second, the adverse weather has thrown up all sorts of issues about what to wear.  My shoe choice has been made (Saucony Excursions) but everything else is up for debate.  Waterproof jacket?  If yes, the winter-weight one or the lighter spring one? Long tights or capris?  If long tights, compression vs windstopper vs the ones that make me look thinner?  Base layer is sorted, but the mid-layer will depend on which jacket I choose and whether I actually think I'll be wearing the jacket or just carrying it in case it rains heavily.  Old hydration vest, with its sticking zips and lack of pockets on the front but very broken in, or new hydration vest with lots of pockets in the front but which I've only worn for two one-hour runs.  And then there's the different versions of  the buff, ear warmer headbands, and gloves....good thing that I'm driving down, as I'm leaning towards emptying my running drawer into the boot and making a final decision on Saturday morning.

And finally, it looks like there may be navigational challenges.  My understanding was that the route stuck to the well-signed John Muir Way, but apparently it deviates in places to avoid town centres and to give more time on the trails.  The route notes are along the lines of 'Turn left at the third toadstool; follow the trail to the secret door in the hidden wall; take the next turning through the graveyard whilst avoiding zombies; and finally turn right before the bridge.  If you cross the bridge, the trolls will get you.'  We've been assured that there will be marshals (with stakes for the vampires, of course) at the more confusing junctions, but I suspect that this whole thing may be more of an adventure than I was expecting.