It was bitterly cold this year for the race and when we went to pick our numbers up at Beeslack High School we were warned that it was the worst weather they had ever had for the Carnethy 5. Long sleeved tops and leggings were added to the kit list in the days leading up to the race and most people took this on board and dressed accordingly. It was great to see Bill there at the start and we all did our best to warm up our legs a bit before the charge towards the hills. The piper at the start is such a nice touch and made all our hearts a little braver. The first push up Scald Law was the usual frenetic battle as runners tried to get a good position. The higher up we got the more slippery it got and I lost my footing several times here. Usually its a relief to get to the top, but this year it was like the arctic tundra. Several hardy marshalls were there to point us in the right direction. Up on the summits the wind and sleet was blasting us in the face so it was an effort to see which direction to go and at times I was just looking at the feet of the runner in front for guidance. Once over the kips we got a bit of respite from the wind and slid and tumbled our way to lower ground. There is a nice stretch of running to the ‘Howe’ where Dave was posted diligently taking numbers. Jan and Ellie were there giving support which was lovely. As we made our way up the hill there was Billy Colvin with his camera and dog, I think he had managed to find the only vaguely sheltered part of the hill.
The slog up Carnethy was tough as ever, but I was glad of the fire created in my calves to stave off the cold. The sleet was like needles on my thighs, I have no idea how anyone managed to run that race in shorts (Des!). The top of Carnethy was just wild and once I rounded the top I could not wait to get down out of the tempest. Once at the finish I wasted no time getting into one of the tents and getting some more layers on, even with a cup of tea and something to eat I pretty soon started to shake uncontrollably, so we headed home for hot showers. Even after that it took a bowl of hot soup and lots of warm clothes before I felt myself defrosting. That said I think we all enjoyed the race in a masochistic sort of sense and were so grateful to the organisers and superhuman marshalls for enabling the event to go ahead despite the difficult conditions.
60 534 01:04:37 Stuart Sanderson M50 4
65 189 01:05:18 Duncan Ball M50 5
86 24 01:07:01 Des Crowe M50 10
150 611 01:13:12 Rob Wilson M40 37
157 343 01:13:44 Michael Greens MJ 4
174 369 01:15:30 Alasdair Hind M40 45
180 289 01:15:41 Allan Dunbar M40 46
196 381 01:16:16 Yan Horsburgh M50 28
215 65 01:17:45 Julie Hand F 20 13
220 243 01:18:15 Billy Colvin M40 60
317 337 01:24:28 Gregor Gorjanc M 115
351 158 01:27:54 Andrea Wilson F40 58 24
352 588 01:27:57 Robert Walker M50 66
353 286 01:27:57 Tim Doyle M50 67
361 268 01:29:39 Craig Davenport M40 92
369 29 01:30:30 Christopher Downie M50 71
391 83 01:33:35 Sadie Kemp F40 71 27
415 206 01:38:33 Andy Briggs M 127
419 105 01:39:22 Susie Maxwell F40 84 30
432 102 01:41:34 Gilly Marshall F40 87 31
471 492 02:06:13 Ngeme Ntuli M50 88
Our guys came 8th in the team results.
8 Stuart Sanderson, Duncan Ball, Des Crowe, Rob Wilson
Our ladies came 5th.
5 Julie Hand, Andrea Wilson, Sadie Kemp
It was such a surreal experience. Tough, but I really liked it! Poor marshalls – at least we were warm due to running. Looking forward to next year.
Great turn out for the club! Hard as nails in that weather too. Spectating was hard enough, but lovely to see you all still smiling on the approach to Carnethy 🙂
Great report Sadie, I agree with everything that you said!! 🙂
Well done to each & every one of you. Some of Sadies photos fully illustrate the severity of the conditions and everyone did so well to get round (although from a personal point of view I think 1986 was worse, like Des I ran that one in shorts in blizzard conditions – power o the people!). Great to see so many of you “warming down” at Kevins’ fund raiser on Sunday to – great effort!
Great report Sadie, I was sitting here shivering just reading it. Congrats to 21 brave Harriers who survived quite dreadful conditions; and I must pay tribute to the marshals, including our own Dave Cairns, who coped with every marshal’s nightmare, low temperatures, constant snow and wind. Going back to the runners, I noticed that the winner Finlay Wild, a many times Ben Nevis winner, was more than 5 minutes outside the record. This puts the Harriers members’ times into perspective: congrats all.