It has taken me four years to gently persuade Andrea to run a mountain marathon (MM) and the final Highlander seemed like a good opportunity. As Andrea’s first, and my second (I ran the LAMM B-course in 2009 with Julian Hall), we decided to start with the “easy” course – D.

There are five course options, D through to A and Score. At about ~20 kms and 1000m climb per day, we felt that this was enough for a first time 2 day running event. Distance, height and navigation gets longer/harder up towards A. At ~£90/team pair, it might not be the cheapest race on the planet but as it includes food on the 1^st night and at the finish, plus a ceilidh with fabulous organisation and camaraderie, I can honestly say that the last 2 days were the most fun I have had for ages.

All we knew for the last month was that registration would be up in Cannich (near Glen Affric). We blitzed up there on Friday evening, registered and went for a leisurely beer at the one bar in the village – already full of runners buzzing with chat.

Day 1 – 19kms, 1010m

We decided to go for the 8.30am start, allowing some time for my creaky old body to unstiffen from camping. It was while getting ready and having a Latte at the campsite café that we bumped into Tim and Kate Darlow. Arrgh – they were doing the D-course as well. What started out as a leisurely 2 days jog through the hills, suddenly got a tad more competitive. Game on!!! They were starting at 9.30, so would be an hour behind us. Hopefully they would not overtake us. Kirsty Loudon was also running the D course and was a tad nervous.

Runners were bussed to the start – at this point, we still did not know where we were going, but it was soon clear that it was not Glen Affric and we took the windy road up into Glen Cannich – being dropped off up near the dam.

The way these MM’s work is that your time is electronically tagged at multiple way points which you must navigate between. Miss a point – disqualified! This is therefore not simply a hill run, the navigation is crucial and the terrain is rough – few paths. You also need to carry in food, stove, tent etc, so you cannot think – och – just like Dollar – no worries – under 2 hrs.

At the start, you are given a waterproof map, and a list of waypoints (OS coordinates). A quick frantic marking on the map of the points, check with your partner that you both agree – berate Andrea for getting 3 points wrong and then sprint off up the hill towards the first checkpoint (CP) and 19kms and 1010m of hopefully problem free running.

Now – you might have had lovely sunny weather these past few days, but Saturday morning in Glen Cannich was overcast and grey with low cloud. Already CP 1 was in the cloud and as we got higher the mist just got thicker and thicker – visibility being 50-100 meters. Far from ideal when one is trying to find a small orienteering kite. I will not go into a lot of detail, but finding CPs 2 and 3 was really tough in the mist. Andrea would put it down to my navigation skills, but to be honest, there was a luck element. However, with only minimal discussion and double checking, we hit the CPs bang on. At CP4 the weather started clearing up, the cloud burning off and by the time we were down in Glen Strathfarrar, it was pleasantly sunny but not too hot. The final 5 CPs were straightforward as most of the climbing had been done earlier. Like any long race, the key issue is nutrition but I think we both did a pretty good job on Day 1 – certainly only minor cramp at worst. The final km descent to the campsite was a nice grassy track and after the bogs and tussocks was a nice end to the day. We still had juice in our legs which was important as not only had we a second day ahead of us, there would be a ceilidh in 6 hours.

Overall, we did rather well. We came 3^rd in the D course in 4:58:30. Tim and Kate had problems on one of the CPs in the mist and came in 6^th in 5:16:07. All to play for in Day 2. (Andrea: Oh no – could see Rob’s competitive eyebrow twitching when he saw our time. I knew day 2 would now not be the same leisurely cruise. Treated myself with 2 beers to psyche myself up). Kirsty and partner came in at 10:12:05, but not last so I think she was happy.

Campsite

Unlike the LAMM, the Highlander is a rather civilised affair. There is a huge marquee with food and a bar, tables, chairs and space for dancing. There was plenty of space for the 100s of small 2 person tents (> 500 runners) and the weather was lovely. The wind was stiff enough to keep the midges away while not cooling the air temperature down. We all lounged around drinking beer, eating copious amounts of pasta, chips and burgers (trust me, you cannot eat enough!) and when the sun went down behind the hills, we gravitated back into the marquee for the ceilidh which was a laugh although I toned down my usual energetic approach to dancing as I did not want to injure myself 🙂 . I tried to get Tim drunk, but he was adamant on having only a half – secretly, I think he was taking our little battle seriously – I know I was!!

Day 2 – 16.5 kms, 960m

So – me, Tim, Kate and Andrea (Andrea: Why did he put me last? Subconscious mistrust in the running partner?), being within an hour of the leading pair were in the chasing start. What this means is that from 7-8am, the bulk of the runners start off at their own leisurely speed, but we started in reverse order at specific times relative to our time behind the leaders. So the leaders started at 8.30am, Andrea and I at 8.09 am (a nice lie in actually) and Tim and Kate ~16 mins before that. Andrea only got one point wrong – getting better!! 🙂

The first kilometre was flat and quick and I was amazed how good my legs felt (Andrea: Great for some. My legs felt like 2 well rooted tree stumps). We caught Kirsty up around CP2 and missed it by accident because I was busy saying Hi. Luckily we realised quickly and backtracked and then started the scrubby climbed up the first hill. This was probably the toughest part of Day 2 as we climbed up through mixed pine/deciduous woodland with copious amounts of deep heather. After shredding our legs for about 15 minutes and getting quickly tired, I found a deer track which took us to the edge of the woodland and the ascent was much easier and we soon started passing multiple D course participants. We again entered the mist, but it was already burning off by 9.30 and by the time we got to CP3, patches of sun were already breaking through.

Just as we got to CP3, Tim and Kate came loping towards us – somehow we had caught them up – they had again gotten a little lost – Game on indeed. The pressure was now on them. At CP4, we were above the cloud and the views were amazing with mist still down in the valleys below us. However, it soon became clear that it was going to be a hot one. We managed to keep just behind Tim and Kate until CP6, but Andrea was starting to flag a little with the heat (Andrea: and the extremely hard effort I put in that day! When I finally caught up with Rob – too sick to even utter a word, he asked me if I wouldn’t mind speeding up a bit. “Are you not even a little bit competitive?”)   and T+K slowly edged away. The good news was that we had done the hard climbs already and from CP8 the route was straightforward and the terrain not to tortuous on our ankles. From CP 11, we could already see Cannich and the finish in the distance and from CP12, there was a good track all the way down to the road. I would not say we flew down but we made it. Of course, once we hit the road, we still had a km to go. It was then that my legs decided to start cramping. Ugh! Despite the ungainly nature of the last 500 meters we still came in under 4hrs at 3:53:17. Tim and Kate had made up for their lost time at 3:53:29. I missed Kirsty coming in; their time was 7:17:05.

Full results for the D course are here: http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2016/Highlander/overall/d_class.html

Summary:

Andrea and Rob: 3^rd overall (1^st mixed vets, 2^nd mixed team, 2^nd vets): 08:51:47.

Kate and Tim: 4^th overall (3^rd mixed team): 09:09:36.

Kirsty and Ina: 48^th (from 49 completing pairs): 17:29:10

The prizing giving logic was a little confusing, but got excellent trophies for 2^nd vets.

What a fabulous weekend. I think we might have the bug and am pretty sure we’re going to do another MM. Tim and Kate would have been on top of us if they had not slightly messed up their navigation so we are pretty much agreed to do the LAMM next year – possibly the C course!!!

If we could get more Harrier’s pairs to do this, it would make a great weekend, although this was the last Highlander. The LAMM is more serious – no ceilidh and extra food – but the running similar. You have to bring your own entertainment.

Rob and Andrea

PS. Thanks to Sarah for tent and Julian for the sleeping bag

What a lovely day to be beside the seaside.

Well done to Yan on coming second in his category.

10 29:29 Yan Horsburgh male SV
75 33:20 Sadie Kemp female vet

Full results: http://www.portobellorunners.co.uk/component/content/article/534-porty-beach-race-2016-results

Gilly and I hadnt done an OCR for a while and decided to give this one a try. This was Michael’s first OCR so he went on ahead to see what kind of time he could get. Gilly and I decided to go at an easy pace and have a few giggles along the way. Well this race delivered. There was plenty of mud to crawl through, we were in the river a few times and there was an inflatable water slide that was alot of fun. 🙂

7958 1:41:21 1:41:02 Gilly Marshall (F) V40 3.67 mph 16:20 min/mile
7944 1:41:21 1:41:03 Sadie Kemp (F) V40 3.67 mph 16:20 min/mile
7922 1:07:31 1:07:18 Michael Greens (M) U20 5.51 mph 10:53 min/mile

Full results: https://www.britmilfit.com/major-series/results/

Plus we raised some money for the Royal British Legion.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sadie-kemp2

Another great turn out for the club. This is such a fun race and getting a free beer at the end is a bonus!

58 YAN HORSBURGH 28:43
189 RACHEL DRUMMOND 32:10
211 MICHAEL GREENS 32:39
233 GILLIAN CAIRNS 32:57
237 ANDREW MCDERMOTT 33:04
386 TRACY PHILP 35:33
406 SADIE KEMP 36:00
486 RACHEL MCGAVIN 37:00
609 MICHAEL PHILP 38:51
755 GILLY MARSHALL 41:41

Full Results: http://www.blackrock5.org/results/2016

We got cracking weather for the 5 miler, and some great times for the harriers. Amy came first 40W and the ladies were second womens team. Derek was first home out of the harriers and the guys were fifth mens team:

29 30:58:00 Derek Newport 50M
35 31:18:00 Yan Horsburgh 50M
64 34:01:00 Amy Kerr 40W
66 34:21:00 Rachel Drummond SW
69 34:33:00 Allan Dunbar 40M
76 35:29:00 Michael Greens JM
94 37:25:00 Sadie Kemp 40W
102 38:05:00 Rachel Mcgavin SW
128 46:04:00 Julie Young 40W

full results here: http://www.caac.org.uk/sites/all/_files/_publicdocuments/caac52016.pdf

We got great weather for the 2 races with it just becoming too warm in the last few miles of the marathon. Some great times for the harriers well done all. 🙂

Half marathon:
534 Rachel Drummond (17412) 1h 33m 51s (6th in age category)
790 William Dickson (16318) 1h 36m 59s
1231 Louise Campbell (18680) 1h 41m 4s
1592 Rachel Mcgavin (19917) 1h 44m 19s
1674 Ezmie Mccutcheon (19514) 1h 44m 59s
3333 Ngeme Ntuli (24849) 1h 55m 31s
6775 Sandra Vick (26702) 2h 19m 16s

Marathon:
1160 Sadie Kemp (3604) 3h 38m 46s
2397 Tracy Philp (5133) 3h 59m 44s
5300 Christopher Burns (10292) 4h 58m 52s
6233 Vicki Lyon (12351) 5h 41m 53s

Well done to our hairy haggis team (position 83 out of 429) :
1st Leg Mark Snodgrass (8.3 miles) : 1h 5m 34s
2nd Leg Eugenio Garcia (5.5 miles) : 43m 38s
3rd Leg Julie Young (8 miles) : 1h 16m 27s
4th Leg Michael Philp (4.4 miles) : 37m 44s
Gun Time:3h 44m 41

I had wanted to do this race for some time, so when Mel and Jan mentioned it on Facebook I was tempted. When Jan suggested we indulge in a bit of fancy dress I was sold on the idea. We got money off the race entry for making the effort too. We had Jan the Zombie, Michael the Pirate and I was a fairy. When we arrived at registration there were a lot of club vests and we appeared to be the only ones in costume. So we started our warmup and tried to blend in.

Nearer the start nuns, clowns and spartans to name but a few began to appear and we were reassured that we had not fallen for a dastardly trick. The race is 2 miles up, 2 miles along and 2 miles down roughly, so after the hill you can really let yourself go and enjoy the downhill. I enjoyed it so much I tweaked my hamstring slightly and was grateful to Jan for some ‘biofreeze’to ease it. This was a really fun race with a lovely atmosphere and lots of locals out to give support. There was one water station halfway round but although it was a warm evening I didn’t need to stop. At the finish we were handed a bag with water, a banana, a cereal bar and a voucher for a free coffee at ‘Craigdon mountain sports’. I just might have to go along for that coffee and a browse….

results:

21 37:45 Derek Newport
46 41:41 Michael Greens
47 41:44 Kevin Anderson
66 43:07 Jan Dawson
90 44:45 Sadie Kemp
108 47:22 Mel Dunbar

It was a beautiful sunny evening as we left Penicuik. As we got closer the Peebles the skies blackened and the rain began. It would stay like this until after the race, when the sun found its way out from behind the clouds. We were all thoroughly soaked as most of us had dressed for the summer. This didn’t dampen our enjoyment of the race though and we were all smiles at the finish. Great turn out again for Penicuik harriers. Nice to see Scott and Rob out supporting too.

23 Des Crowe 0:37:35 121.0%
25 Yan Horsburgh 0:37:53 121.9%
34 Billy Colvin 0:39:00 125.5%
37 Mike Brooks 0:39:32 127.3%
52 Gillian Cairns 0:41:48 134.5%
55 Michael Greens 0:42:03 135.4%
65 Andrew McDermott 0:44:26 143.0%
72 Christopher Downie 0:46:23 149.3%
73 Tracy Philp 0:46:37 150.1%
74 Sarah Burthe 0:47:44 153.6%
75 Sadie Kemp 0:48:39 156.6%
76 Melanie Dunbar F40 0:48:46 157.0%
70 Rachael Lees 0:45:51 147.6%
78 Kate Crowe 0:49:30 159.3%
82 Ali Hilton 0:50:55 163.9%
83 Michael Philp 0:51:04 164.4%

A DOUBLE REPORT FROM DUNC AND ROB

Rob’s bit 

Torridon is one of my favourite regions of the Scottish Highlands and I cannot believe I have waited this long to finally run the Slioch Hill Race. Slioch is a beast even for fell walking – its Gaelic meaning is “the Spear” – and the mountain dramatically dominates the skyline at the eastern end of the Torridon region. This is the 2^nd race in the Scottish Long Classic Series.

http://www.scottishhillrunners.uk/Championship.aspx?ChampionshipID=C-006

The conditions were very wet this year and the race officials decided to shorten the race a wee bit and cut out the full horseshoe (about 1km shorter) which was a real shame as the weather did improve and I am pretty sure we would have had no problems on the descent off Sgurr an Tuill Bhan. Anyway – the edited route is shown below and at ca. 18.2 kms and 1100m climb, it is still not an insignificant race and in fact race times appeared quite similar to previous years.

Slioch Race Route 2016

Duncan and I stayed at his brother’s house in Inverness the night before so we had a leisurely start on race day and got to Kinlochewe with plenty of time to register, cogitate the alternative route and jog the mile to the start. The rain had lashed down all night and it was still raining when we were all huddled at the start line. Despite the rain, there was little wind and the air temperature was mild, so deciding on what to wear was not that easy as it was mild at the bottom but presumably colder on the peaks.

At noon the start “bell” rang and we sprinted off. The first 4 kms was a relatively flat trail (minor undulations) but a little technical in places as it was so wet. Rocks were slippy and all the streams coming off the hillside were in spate. I tried to keep up with Steve Fallon for a while who was loping along in his usual style but he kept going his own route through the undergrowth so decided to follow the main line of runners on the track. Duncan passed me after about 1 km meaning I could finally concentrate on running (and enjoying?) this race for the first time with no pressure of trying to beat a PB.

Slioch race profile – full route

After crossing the bridge at the bottom of Gleann Bianasdail, the route started to climb – gently at first, but after about a kilometre, the route left the main path (more often a river actually) and went straight up to the summit of Sgurr Dubh. The cloud was down at this point so all one could see when looking up was this behemoth of a mountain disappearing into the cloudy murk. If you think the climb out of Glen Sax on Stuc a’ Chroin is steep, then you’re in for a shock if you do this race. Best technique – doggy style – all fours!! The main issue for me was that I assumed we would have to come down the same route (should have looked at the map) – that would have been horrendous so I was cursing the climb while mildly panicking about the descent. Luckily, the return descent was on the other side of the hill along the track although that was far from easy.

On reaching Sgurr Dubh, the route became nicely runnable and the cloud lifted for a while and we had great views. Bar a steep sandy/gravely section after the 2 lochs, the broad ridge traverse to Slioch submit was great fun and my legs soon loosened up after the steep climb. The wind kicked up for a while around the final summit and I had to put on my hat and gloves, but these soon came off again on the downhill plunge after the turn around.

One does not really fully appreciate the technical nature of a race until you are trying to sprint down a mountain. The descent was horribly technical and the wet rocks and bog made the descent a gnarly, slippy uncomfortable run. I fell quite a few times – my right arm having quite a few scrapes now – but did not do any serious damage. I mostly followed a V50 lady as she seemed to know the optimal route which only became embarrassing when she popped off the path for a pee. Enough said! Having made it down to the bridge at the bottom, there remained the nice leisurely “flat” 4km run back to the finish. However, despite sucking on an energy gel on the final descent, there was nothing left in my legs. What was a nice sprint out, was now a slow stumbling jog back with me reduced to walking every little rise.

This was a tough race. Although shorter and less height than Stuc a’ Chroin 3 weeks ago, the conditions really made this quite technical and was far from ideal for someone trying to overcome Achilles tendonitis. I would love to do this in dry conditions though – next year!!! Bar the technical nature of the terrain, the worst part is the ascent up Sgurr Dubh. From there to the summit is an epic few kilometres which I would love to do on a sunny day – the views are epic.

Now unfortunately (written Sunday), as my final training weekend before the Highlander in 2 weeks, I must go for a run today and see how well my legs function!

——————–

Dunc’s Bit

Although Slioch is a shorter distance than Stuc a’ Chroin, which we suffered three weeks ago, I was still slightly nervous about this race. I had walked up Slioch twice before and it had taken hours and hours! But mainly due to the 4km walk-in from Incheril – although, this is not usually a problem because of the great path and stunning scenery.

It was a bit miserable at the start with most people wearing their emergency waterproofs to keep warm and fend off the rain (except for the usual manic ones with just vests). And as well as the prospect of mist and no views, we wouldn’t even be running the horseshoe ridge (due to the poor conditions). A couple of minutes before 12:00, we stuffed our soggy tops into our backpacks and waited for the starter’s cow bell (the hooter had been dropped in a burn or something).

Once going, we soon warmed up, forgot the rain, concentrated on the wet path and tried to keep up with Steve Fallon of Carnethy. He seemed to be powered by something other than carbohydrate and we soon gave up – not even turbo-Stuart would have been able to stay with him. The field was obviously high quality (he says hopefully), as there seemed to be lots of runners in front of us. But I had resolved not to go too fast, pace myself and enjoy the run as much as possible.

Being used to the ‘tourist route’ up to the coire, the steepness of the climb was a mild shock, but having done the Arrochar Alps last year which had at least three such climbs, I wasn’t too perturbed. And, unlike Rob, remembered that we wouldn’t be coming back down the same way! From the top of Sgurr Dubh, it was much more pleasant and I was mostly running with three other runners – one of which was the first lady, so I must be doing OK.

We did get a bit of a view at the summit and could see all the way down to Kinlochewe and across to Beinn Eighe in some places through the patchy mist. Of course, we could also see the horseshoe ridge which looked perfectly runnable and quite inviting. But it was good to know that it was now all downhill, and I wondered if I had been going hard enough and had left too much in reserve. That thought soon disappeared as we slipped and slithered back down towards the main coire. By this time the rain had stopped but it had all been dumped onto the hill which was now beyond soggy with happy new burns appearing every few feet.

I thought that my down-hilling had improved over the last year or so, but I couldn’t shake off any of our small group and almost came a cropper a couple of times attempting it. After many slippery rocks, burns and bogs, we reached the raging torrent at the bottom of the hill and started the flat slog to the finish. Despite having eaten a gel and plenty of energy drink/electrolyte, my legs were not functioning all that well on the bumpy path and the first lady and the two other runners slowly pulled ahead. However, it was still a respectable pace and the finish appeared after not too much pain and joyfully no cramp!

I think I can truthfully recommend this race (in better weather) and the organisation was great with stupendously good soup/stew stuff in the hall and a bottle of beer for all finishers. We will definitely have to come back sometime to do the horseshoe. Now I have to get back to the Birthday Cake and Birthday Beer.

——————–

Full results here:

http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0214&Year=2016

Winning time was 2hrs 12 seconds. Of 61 runners, Duncan came in 21^st (2:24:18 – 2^nd lady) and I stumbled in 38^th (2:49:10 – 3^rd FV50).

Rob and Duncan

Thanks to all who took part in the 33rd Penicuik 10k Road Race – finally some excellent weather for running (and marshaling, being involved, supporting and recording!). Although some of you might have thought it was a little too warm… Well done and thanks to everyone – runners, marshals, supporters and anyone who gave up their time to make it happen.

Results are now online at http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/10k-road-race/10k-race-results/.

Category winners are available here http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/10k-road-race/10k-race-results/race-results-category-winners/

Some video of the start and finish will follow in the next few days, however, in the meantime, long term friend of our race Bob Marshall has already uploaded a load of great photos which can be found here https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPudhna-wlVR2uo-LdrCYHnrt1AZjSFPAYBsxViYelfh-riZGTyYfrn6gwpnzXHGg?key=dnI0ZFRqSzBITnlhdnZTanlGWkR6b1JLc3lxNnVn Thanks again Bob!

We’ll also be adding to our own photo album which has had a good head start with photos from young photographer Jake Horseburgh; thanks Jake! https://goo.gl/photos/E5zmmK181wpWwMv66

Update: Also, plenty of photos now on our Facebook Page (thanks Chris Burns).

Thanks again and see you all next year

Susie, Race Organiser

Bit of a last minute decision to do this one, but it had always been on my list as it’s another long distance effort (20 miles) through my lovely home county. But maybe too long after the 50k two weeks prior? At least I’d be trained up for it! So, after some car-sharing-shuttling shenanigans was hastily arranged, Allan Dunbar, Ngeme Ntuli and I set off for Porty Prom.

The weather was pretty grim on the day. No rain, but cloudy, cold and most importantly – very windy. North Easterly too, in the exact direction we were heading. Looking back on the race’s history this seems to be a common occurrence. Well, it is a coastal run so it’s sort of to be expected, even in early May. So, after faffing about with various kit combinations I settled on a thin base layer, club vest, gloves and buff and combined with a pair of shorts to catch any rays of sun that might eek out through the clouds. We gathered at registration pretty early so Allan could drive all the way to NB to drop off his car where his mate had gamely agreed to pick him up and drive him back to Portobello. Ngeme and I set off for the start-line about 10:40, which is just as well as it was a fair walk to the start line from the Sports Centre. At the start coach Dave (officiating on the day) was trying to mark out a line in talcum powder, which was a challenge in the wind! Lining up with a nice smell of talc in our noses, Ngeme and I saw Allan dashing up to the start just in time for the gun (11:00).

Off along Porty Prom we went, Allan and I running together while Ngeme decided to hang further back and enjoy the distance at a more leisurely pace. I was expecting to be left for the seagulls by Allan pretty early on but by some miracle this didn’t happen, which was probably a result of a knee injury he sustained on a training run we did in the Pentlands a month before, where my constant gabbling led to a momentary lapse of concentration on the marshy track! The gabbling continued a fair few miles into this race too, to the consternation of one runner who we kept passing/kept passing us, and who remarked “You’re obviously not trying hard enough if you’re talking so much!”. Ah well, it took our minds of the headwind. But I did keep hearing Dave in my head shouting “If you’re talking you’re not running!”. Sorry, coach.

Despite the chatting, glances at my Garmin showed a pretty steady sub-8min mile pace for the first half of the race. There were a few spectators out to cheer but mostly it was a dedicated set of marshals following us along the course who provided the encouragement. It was odd not seeing the familiar landmark of Cockenzie Power Station to help judge the distance, and running past the ghostly remains of it was even weirder.

By the approach to Gullane the constant pounding on tarmac was beginning to hurt, and I kept looking longingly at the nice soft John Muir Way trails that were tantalisingly close to the roads we were running along. The wind too, when out of the built-up areas, was getting pretty tiring. Along the golf course into Gullane I struggled with my bumbag to get some fuel and started to lag behind Allan. By the time we’d reached Dirleton though I’d caught him up, and slowly passed him on the way into NB. The long approach into town seemed to take forever, and I was counting each breath in and out just to keep going. Just past St Baldred’s Church there was a welcome bit of downhill, where my dad was waiting to wave me on. Then a short slog across the green to the finish, were Dave was recording the finishers. A quick chat with him and a hug from my dad and there was Allan, just behind.

A tough race, but a really good one. Made tougher by an uphill walk to the Sports Centre to pick up bags, coffee, tea and snacks. Even tougher still as I lead Allan and another runner the ‘scenic route’ there! Oh well, good to loosen off stiff legs before a stretch.

Mark and the kids were waiting at the Sports Centre. I didn’t stay for the prize-giving, as I was really cold and had the promise of BBQ food at my dad’s nearby. Later that night though I got a message from Dave – 2nd L40 over the line. Turns out there are some advantages to getting auld after all!

Results:
Jan Dawson – 2.40.22
Allan Dunbar – 2.41.38
Ngeme Ntuli – 3.28.26

Full results here.

I have googled the meaning of “Stuc a` Chroin” and there appears to be two definitions bouncing around the inter-web.

1. Peak of the little sheepfold
2. Peak of harm or danger

For anyone who has ever run this race, I think they would all agree that the latter definition is probably more apt.

I have ran Stuc twice before (the first time in 2012 failing due to a pulled muscle) and the 2^nd time in 2013 in probably the worst weather conditions I have ever experienced on a hill race. For more on that, see the 2013 report:

http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/2013/05/06/stuc-a-chroin-hill-race-2013/

so, it was high time for a nice weather problem free iteration of this race. Ha!

Last year, they changed the route slightly and instead of the first (and last) 3 kms being a nice easy forest road (blue), the route now passes through poorly trodden and very boggy woodland tracks (red). In fact, the distance of the new route is ~1km shorter, but this beginning and end is much more technical than the old route (with major implications for tired legs after 3 hrs of running!). This has therefore turned an already technical race into an uber-technical race and there is almost no respite from intense continuous concentration through boggy holes, half sunken trees and rocks.

Stuc a`Chroin Hill Race Route and Profile

So – this race is really not for the faint-hearted and while Yan, Kevin, Tracy, Chris, Susie and Gilly plodded their way along 53 miles of the Hoka Highland Fling Ultra (slackers!), me, Duncan, Stuart, Mike, Tim and Andrea braved the Munro Stuc.

The forecast was cloudy with bright periods and bar some drizzle at the beginning and some hail at around the half way point, the weather was actually almost perfect – I would have overheated if I had ran in my leggings! The ground conditions were however far from perfect. Very soon from the start, we already entered the melting snow line and the run up through the wood for the first few kilometres was a rather slithery affair. Fine when one is fresh, but did cause some anxiety for the return. The melting snowy/boggy mess continued after we left the forest and traversed northwards up towards Creag Mhadaidh. Strangely the steep plunge down into Glen Ample was snow free although typically wet and slithery. However, this is where I started picking up places and really enjoyed this rather reckless descent and only slithered on my tush once.

Blah! What can I say, the steep > 400m climb out of Glen Ample up Bein Each is horrible. Really no way to pass anyone on the thin very steep muddy track even if you had the energy in your legs. However, on reaching the top, despite quite a lot of residual deep snow in places, I raced an American along much of the ridge for the next 20 minutes or so and passed several runners who were taking the rather treacherous route more sensibly. This was the best section of the whole race. It was only on the final ascent up Stuc itself through the deep snow that I realised that maybe I had pushed a little too hard and my leg muscles were already starting to twitch.

Just before the summit, Stuart, followed closely by Duncan, came flying past (well – actually – it was more of an uncontrolled slither with mad desperate looks in their eyes). Blimey – I was not that far behind them – again – clear evidence that I had probably ran far too fast. I quickly chomped my way through yet another muesli bar to ward off cramp. From the peak, the profile hints at a mostly continuous run down. However, the course really does undulate rather annoyingly and my steadily tiring legs were now losing their precision control and I was less than spritely down to the turn off from the ridge. I took the descent down into Glen Ample steadily – the melting snow and contouring not making it very easy on tired legs. I lost a few places, but decided that a steady slower place was better than forcing myself towards a cramping disaster.

Although relatively short, the return ascent out of Glen Ample is a grim steep affair. I passed one guy who was suffering awfully from cramp and I stuffed down my last muesli bar to hopefully ward of a similar attack. From the top, it was all downhill although by no means easy. The snow had continued to melt and was probably even more slippery than on the original ascent. The return through the wood was exactly how I had worried earlier – slippery, hidden boggy holes and slimy slippery fallen tree stems – urgh! However, I somehow kept plodding through. For some reason I had 3.25 as my 2013 time and felt that I might just be able to beat it. Alas, I was a tad deluded on that score, and in the end was a tad slower than my previous time of 3:18. So, not a PB, but with the conditions, was very happy how the race went.

This is a serious race – a fabulous race and a perfect start to the Scottish Long Classics Series:

http://www.scottishhillrunners.uk/Championship.aspx?ChampionshipID=C-006

Here are the final results with individuals BPs to highlight how much tougher the new course and conditions were:

163 runners completed the race.

Winner: Finlay Wilson: 02:25:24 (BP = 2:12:51)

Stuart Sanderson: 36^th: 03:06:28 (1^st time)

Duncan Ball: 39^th: 03:10:30 (BP = 2:53:51)

Rob Wilson: 60^th: 03:21:52 (BP = 3:18:05)

Mike Brooks: 90^th: 03:37:26 (BP = 2:58:03)

Tim Doyle: 121^st: 04:02:56 (BP = 3:53:13)

Andrea Wilson: 150^th: 04:28:55 (1^st time)

Roll on Slioch in 3 weeks

Rob

Distance 6.5 km
Climb 240 m

Michael and I parked some distance away from Arthurs Seat and with only about 15 minutes until the start we were still looking for registration. The gazebo where this was happening was tucked behind a little hill. We were just about to turn round and go in the other direction when we spotted it. The weather was changeable and there had been hailstones as we left Penicuik. As we got our numbers on the sun began to come out and we stripped down to our race vests. There was time for a quick picture and then we were lined up at the start. The race is fast and furious with a couple of steep hill sections and the aptly named ‘radical road’ to contend with. This is a fun race with plenty of tourists to dodge and of course great views over Edinburgh. Its no nonsense and for £3 for SAL members and £5 for non SAL, its a steal. As such there are no niceties like water at the end, and I was cursing my lack of preparation at the finish. Luckily Daniel was meeting us and brought us a big bottle of water as I was parched. As the prize giving went on the hailstones came on again and Gill and I were huddled under an emergency bothy bag belonging to one of the HBT. At this point I put on all the layers I had. At least I had brought clothes even though I had forgotten to bring anything to drink. Duncan and Gill both came first in their categories and won some beer. Well done folks. 🙂

Results:

POSITION TIME NAME CATEGORY
20 32:05 Duncan Ball MV50
40 36:46 Gillian Cairns FV40
46 38:03 Allan Dunbar MV40
54 39:50 Michael Greens MJ
63 42:06 Chris Downie MV50
66 42:47 Sadie Kemp FS

The race has changed slightly from when I ran it 2 years ago. It used to start from the primary school, but now starts at Winton house :
‘A dramatic and historic castle only half a lunch hour from Edinburgh, Winton lands predate the Magna Carta; and the Setons built the House before Leonardo da Vinci established his reputation. Their architect, the King’s Master Mason, didn’t work on ordinary castles! His carved, twisted chimneys still herald the palace within and his ornate plaster ceilings are the most elaborate in Scotland.’

Its a great venue for a race, the grounds were smothered in daffodils. We were surprised to be allowed to use the facilities, a rabble of runners queued up for the loo under the portraits of ancestors. The race has a gala day feel. There was bouncy castles for the kids. ‘Saltire radio’ were there doing the PA and there was even a man dressed as a daffodil having his picture taken with runners. I think he actually ran in this garb and probably finished in front of me. They do a fun warmup too:

There is a 3.5k, a 5 k and a 10k route. Each winds around the Winton estate through the woodland and there isnt much hill making for a race that feel a bit like a cross country.
‘The Winton Trail run 10K, 5K and Family 3.5K Fun Run offers a unique opportunity to run off road through some of East Lothian’s most beautiful countryside and the estate of Winton House. Formally the Pencaitland Fun Run, the event is now into its 5th year and supports the work of Marie Curie and local registered charities, the Pencaitland Primary School PTA and Pencaitland Playgroup, with the funds raised. There are clearly marked and marshalled off road routes’

At the end of the race you are handed a goody bag, with water and a macmillan daffodil pin. You also get a biscuit medal that you can decorate with icing and sweets. Both children and adults were making the most of that!

10 K Results:
Place Racer name Finish time difference to winning time
39 Michelle Walkingshaw – Kevin 44:11.9 +10:29.5
45 Michael Greens 44:55.2 +11:12.8
68 Rachel Lees 46:56.5 +13:14.1
79 Sadie Kemp 48:42.6 +15:00.2
119 Michael Philp 52:47.5 +19:05.1

Kevin was running as a Michelle.
We were hoping he might end up with a podium finish, that would have been interesting!

3.5K Results:
179 Lily Dunbar 28:17.1 +14:34.5