MILL Hill couple Jo and Jon Meek returned from Scotland having won the mixed pair Nokia Scottish 'Coast to Coast' adventure race.

The race started in Nairn on the east coast and finished in Glencoe on the west and involved 106 miles of running, cycling and kayaking.

The organisers, RatRaceAdventure, offered different classes to compete in and Jo and Jon, as Team Weasel, entered the one day racer class. The race was spilt in to an off- road seven mile run, a 50mile on- road cycle, a one mile kayak, a 16mile off- road cycle, 17miles of cycling back on the roads, 14miles of running off- road and a final one mile kayak across Loch Leven to the finish.

The race started at 7am on a Sunday morning and Team Weasel reached the first transition at Cawdor Castle in just under an hour. The drizzle was now rain, but they were off on the bike. With Jon setting a steady pace, and Jo suitably drafting, they were only passed by a couple of people. The team choice of bike was mountain bikes but with slicker tyres ready for the off road section later.

The road to Fort Augustus was notable for the distinct lack of scenery - not because it wasn't there, just that you couldn't see it through the fog and rain. Jo had to keep cycling as fast as possible for fear of freezing!

At Fort Augustus, they got a wee (as they say in Scotland) break in proceedings for a quick run and kayak session.

Before long, it was time to get back on the bikes and ride southwards, this time along the path adjacent to the Caledonian Canal. The canal path then turned into a mud-fest single track. Mountain bikes now very much in their element but before long, the 'fun' of the single track was over, and 16 miles of road cycling remained.

Fort William was the next transition, where the bikes were left and Team Weasel was soon heading off on foot up the side of Ben Nevis. From the side of the 'Ben', running up into the hills on the West Highland Way proved hard work!

Jo told the Times: 'After 80 plus miles, walking the 'ups' and most of the 'flats' and running the 'downs' was all Jon could manage despite Jo's encouragement.

'The last 14miles took 3hrs 40mins of determination! Had it stopped raining by this point? Of course not —we didn't even get to enjoy the views from the top of the mountain. The final part involved a jog/run/slide/tumble all the way down to Loch Leven. The event finished with a kayak across the sea loch to the finish.'

Team Weasel finished in 11 hours 18 minutes; 28th place overall and first mixed pair.

Jon and Jo were delighted although cold and wet with plenty of aching muscles!