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Page 1 of 6 The 2010/11 football season welcomed Inverness Caledonian Thistle back to the Scottish Premier League, bouncing back at the first time of asking following relegation to the Scottish First Division in the 2008/09 season. This would mean the return of the dreaded 'Split' system (or 'Splitus Daftus') operated by the SPL. Due to 'Splitus Daftus', the Highland Marchers would have to wait until the middle of April to know the destination of the 9th annual outing, however this did not stop the troops from discussing the potential routes and destinations open to them.
A fantastic start to the season saw ICT comfortably sitting in the top half of the table by November, but a dip in form around Christmas and New Year meant the Highland Marchers had no way of guessing for certain where they would be heading, such as the tightness of the league at that stage. With Kilmarnock, Motherwell, St Mirren and Hamilton all at their disposable, they knew this year may yet again prove to be tough. By taking into consideration the fixture list that was available pre-Split, the troops began to make a few calculated guesses and came to presume that HM9 would see the troops head 'away' for the last game of the season, with Hamilton Accies being the 'worst case scenario', and shorter trips to Aberdeen or St Johnstone (Perth) also an option.
Come mid-April, the post-Split fixtures became available and Hamilton was drawn out the hat as ICT's final league game of the season, yet this 'worst case scenario' was set to get alot worse, if that was ever possible. There was to be the added news that the penultimate fixture was indeed a mid-week fixture against Hibernian in Inverness. The challenge for Highland March 9 would therefore mean 162 miles of walking and only 67 hours in which to do it.
The Highland Marchers, to a certain degree, are not stupid people, and realised early on that training for this year's event was to be stepped up and started as soon as physically possible, regardless of knowing where the route would or wouldn't take them. On New Years Day, the majority of the troops set out for their first training jaunts, keeping a log of their training miles for reference.
For the first time since the troops walked from Falkirk on Highland March 6, the would be a new recruit welcomed on board in the form of BA, and he was quick to catch the Highland March bug and get himself out walking. Accompanied by Gringo Jnr, BA soon came to recognise antics such as Ambushing (ambushee rather than ambusher) , Trash Cash, Number Plate Poker and Yellow Car. His own stupidity and attitude towards Highland March became apparent when on a training jaunt with the amigos Gringo, when he bagan to sing to the white line road-markings, as well as making up football chants that had no rythm or structure. Amassing over 350 miles in the months leading up to the off, he certainly showed his desire to be a part of the Highland March setup both physically and 'mentally'.
Another first since Highland March 6 saw the troops decide on raising money for a worthy cause after having done the past 2 events for sheer pleasure. It was agreed that the new CLAN Supporters (Club Link for Additional Needs) would be this years beneficiaries, and they would take total control of all of the fundraising aspects. This allowed the Highland Marchers to concentrate soley on the other aspects of organising, such as route planning, booking accommdation, arranging the support vehicle and of course getting in some much needed training.
Overnight walks have become the norm' for the troops during events, but seldom do they attempt overnight jaunts as part of their training. Knowing the highly likely probability of needing to do some of this years event overnight, the troops agreed on some night walks as part of their training; a fact finding mission to see where they could all better prepare on an individual basis, as well as taking the opertunity to overcome fatigue that would certainly be with them during this event.
As the troops all live in different areas of the UK, mobile phones were an excellent way to keep in touch with other people on the overnight training jaunt. Games of I-spy proved to be slightly difficult and pointless, yet in some strange way entertaining. Chumba, Yompa, Gringo and Gringo Jnr all took part in the exercise, with the latter pairing calling it a day last at 5am, having all set off together at 10pm the previous night.
One main aspect of night walking came to be discovered for one of the troops - concentration! Half way into the fact find, Gringo sent forth a text to the others, informing of a slight mishap, having fallen off a kerb stone and hitting his face on the asphalt, leaving him with a cut to his hand and latterly, a rather large black eye. Ouch!
The second overnight exercise proved to go alot smoother for the two Gringo's, having both completed around 28 miles in just 8 hours, only calling it a day when Mother Nature had her say in the early hours.
Having CLAN on board to raise funds off the back of Highland March meant there were one of two meetings to be held in an effort to make the whole experience go smoothly. CLAN are a relatively new organisation that aim to provide better matchday experiences for Caley Thistles' disabled fan base, their families and their carers. Due to all the other organisational aspects of Highland Marching, it was agreed amongst the troops that all fundraising was done through CLAN in the form of donations and bucket rattles, although it was optional to take part in a personal sponsorship. It was also agreed that members of CLAN would join the Highland March ar some stage to show their support to the cause. It's safe to say that everything ran smoothly, and Highland March was just about as good as ready for take off. All that was needed now was a support vehicle and a finalised schedule for the route to Hamilton.
Various 'v-hickle's' have served us proud over the years, having used people carriers, mini buses and 4x4's in the past, and we were not to be disappointed this time around either. It's always imperitive to keep personal costs down and Gringo Jnr answered the call for support vehicle arrangements by using his staff discount priviledge to order said support. A VW Caddy was sourced and it proved to be a real gem!
Finally, there was the route and it's schedule. Having 162 miles to cover and only 65 hours in which to do it meant that the Marchers would have to structure their effort almost to the minute. This would require guestimating average walking speeds over various terrain and working out how best to break each stage down, in order to get in sleep and rest. This proved to be so structured, that only 8 hours worth of stoppages were allowed for the entire route, meaning the end-to-end attept would have to average 3.25mph. That may not sound like a lot, especially over shorter distance, but all the Marchers knew that with very little rest at their disposal, this was going to be tough.
The route would start at Caledonian Stadium and head South along the A9 to Daviot. Out along the Moy road and up the hill to Slochd, where stage one would be complete at 21 miles. Planning in just 2-3 hours of sleep, the marchers then planned to go off-road over the Monadhliath Mountains to Linwilg Farm, via Kincraig to Tromie Bridge and then onto the much loved section of Glen Tromie. Once out the other end at Dalnacardoch Lodge, the route would then follow the reverse of their usual route from Kenmore, finishing at 62 miles at Keltneyburn. That would bring the troops to the very early hours of Friday morning, and with just 3 hours sleep again factored in, they were next due to head South to Creiff and finish another 60 mile stage at the Carron Bridge Hotel, a few short miles from Kilsyth.
Camping out to keep costs down, the schedule would see the troops with 21 miles left to get to Hamilton on the Saturday, aiming to reach New Douglas Park Stadium in time for kick off. The latter stages being into Kilsyth and onward past Broardwod stadium, through Coatbridge and Bellshill before skirting round the Strahclyde Loch for the final anslaught.
A very tough schedule indeed, but stepping up to the plate were veterans Yompa, Gringo and Gringo Jnr, regulars Chumba and Dunco, and new recruit's BA and Capital Caley. The Highland March also welcomed back support driver Carbon Footprint following a fun filled outing the previous year.
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