{"id":1614,"date":"2013-06-24T21:12:35","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T20:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=1614"},"modified":"2013-06-24T21:12:35","modified_gmt":"2013-06-24T20:12:35","slug":"highland-cross-i-did-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/24\/highland-cross-i-did-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Highland Cross: I did it!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Streams of runners heading up to the waterfall above Glen Lichd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Myself and Matt at the end of the Highland Cross. Picture: Jim Sweeney<\/figcaption><\/figure>I’m pleased to say I made it to the end of my first Highland Cross still in one piece but a fair bit soggier than I started! I completed the 50-mile coast to coast duathlon in 5 hours 29 minutes, half an hour faster than I had estimated.<\/p>\n

I had a slower run than I expected, the tough climb out of Glen Lichd sapping a fair bit of my energy as well as torrential downpours adding to the challenge of the day. I ended up doing more walking than I’d hoped to do, especially on the yellow brick road, but I was able to make up some time on the bike section.<\/p>\n

Getting onto two wheels really gave me a boost and I enjoyed the 30 miles between Glen Affric and Beauly, having changed into my cycling gear (and waterproofs) so I was warm – if not completely dry – for the ride. The hills even at Aigas didn’t give me much trouble and I was even able to stay away from using my granny gears the whole way!<\/p>\n

My team-mates Matthew McCann and Iain Blackburn were way ahead of me – in 4.54 and 4.32 respectively. Well done guys!<\/p>\n

Read the full review of my first Cross in Active Outdoors<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

* You can still sponsor me on my Just Giving page. Thank you!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Team members (from left) Iain Blackburn, Matthew McCann and John Davidson before the start of the Cross.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m pleased to say I made it to the end of my first Highland Cross still in one piece but a fair bit soggier than I started! I completed the 50-mile coast to coast duathlon in 5 hours 29 minutes, half an hour faster than I had estimated. I had a slower run than I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[92],"class_list":["post-1614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-highland-cross"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5M0xs-q2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1585,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/02\/get-set-for-the-highland-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":0},"title":"Get set for the Highland Cross","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m taking part in the Highland Cross - a 50-mile duathlon (20 miles running off road and up hill followed by 30 miles road cycling) going coast to coast across the Highlands - in a few weeks\u2019 time. The Highland Cross has a history of raising money for charities that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "John's blog"","block_context":{"text":"John's blog","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1899,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/22\/highland-cross-2014-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":1},"title":"Highland Cross 2014","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The legs are slowly recovering after completing my second Highland Cross. I knocked around seven or eight minutes off my time from last year, coming into Beauly 5 hours, 22 minutes and 12 seconds after setting off from Kintail. The coast-to-coast duathlon involves a 20-mile run including a huge climb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highland Cross"","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8130,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2022\/06\/05\/ready-for-the-return-of-the-highland-cross-in-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":2},"title":"Ready for the return of the Highland Cross in 2022","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Like so many other things, the Highland Cross has been absent from the calendar for the last couple of years, meaning the last time the coast-to-coast challenge took place was 2019. That's three long years with no Cross to look forward to, so it's great that the event will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highland Cross"","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14871,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2025\/07\/11\/heat-is-on-after-trophy-triumph-at-highland-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":3},"title":"Heat is on after trophy triumph at Highland Cross!","author":"John Davidson","date":"July 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"John Davidson looks back at the 2025 Highland Cross and the wider impact of the annual event on the region","rel":"","context":"In "Highland Cross"","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6089,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2019\/11\/21\/charities-get-share-of-5-3-million-highland-cross-funds\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":4},"title":"Charities get share of \u00a35.3 million Highland Cross funds","author":"John Davidson","date":"November 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The community behind the annual Highland Cross fundraiser came together to mark another year of giving at a ceremony in Inverness. Five Highland charities were awarded new vehicles or funding on November 20 after being selected to benefit from the proceeds of this summer's event.","rel":"","context":"In "Highland Cross"","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Receiving cheques from the 2019 Highland Cross are (from left) James Dunbar of New Start Highland, Miriam Veals of Cantraybridge College, Annabel Mowat of Birchwood Highland, Jenni Campbell of SNAP and Dr Helen Charley of Puffin Hydrotherapy Pool.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Highland-Cross-charity-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Highland-Cross-charity-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Highland-Cross-charity-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Highland-Cross-charity-1.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2999,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2017\/06\/20\/raffle-winners-highland-cross-2017\/","url_meta":{"origin":1614,"position":5},"title":"Raffle winners – Highland Cross 2017","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Well done to my #paerntsontherun team-mates for completing this year's Highland Cross! We had a great time on the day and helped raise cash for some deserving charities helping those in need across the north of Scotland. After the conclusion of the event, we drew the numbers for our Highland\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highland Cross"","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-parents-on-the-run-team-shot-960x540.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1614"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1627,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions\/1627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}