Loch Ness marathon – Sunday 29th September

So in terms of magnificent views, organisation and running banter I am not sure you could beat the Loch Ness marathon. A great mornings run along the south side of Loch Ness.

The day kicked off at about 7.30am where all 3,500 runners met at Bught Park so they could get transported to the start line at the other end of Loch Ness – somewhere in between Fort Augustus and Foyers. The start was literally in the middle of the hills with only sheep there to cheer you on.

The first two miles were straight down hill which was probably my first mistake – I think I made the first mile marker in 5 minutes 40 seconds….ooops there goes the big marathon alert buzzer for stupidity. Anyway caught up in the fever I continued onwards at a slightly slower pace but enjoying the view and watching the miles burn away. I think my 10k time was about 38mins, 13 mile time of 84 mins and implosion time at 20 miles of 132mins. Things were going quite well up until then. Unlike the Edinburgh marathon in May when my entire body went into meltdown this time it was just the legs…but boy did they buckle. From there on in it was head down and a really tough last six miles to the finish. Final time of 3hrs 15mins. It literally took an hour for me to complete the last six miles. Pacing, Pacing, Pacing….must remember that for the next time!!!

Despite all that as a marathon course and event I thought it was excellent and after the largest bad boy burger one could buy and consume quickly it was back home to Edinburgh on the train…happy days.

The one extra prize of the day was receiving a free tin of Baxters soup in the goody bag at the end. The only thing that topped that off was seeing one of the other punters on the train drink his cold from the can on the way home….I think he got off in Kirkaldy!!

I would certainly recommend this race for next year if anyone is looking for a good marathon experience. No sign of any other Harriers so apologies if I have not made any particular mention. I think maybe Vicky was doing the 10k.

Cheers, Mark

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Langdale Half Marathon 2013

I went down to Great Langdale campsite the night before the race with my family. I had a good sleep in our tent and a nice breakfast of muesli and boiled eggs. I was glad of that as the race start time said 11 on the website but turned out to be 12 on the day and in fact was delayed until 12.15 for some unknown reason. It wasnt too bad as we had the stickletavern to wait in so I had a cup of tea and made use of the wifi.
When we got started the weather was quite overcast with alot of low cloud and a bit of drizzle. I quickly took off my waterproof jacket though as not long into the race there was a pretty steep hill and I was feeling the heat.
The route meanders through the hills and past a couple of little lakes and through a few homesteads. The cloud lifted a bit and I was able to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
The other runners were very friendly and there was lots of marshals to give support. There was water stations about every 3 miles and even some chocolate and winegums being handed out. This was welcomed by me and I am sure by the full marathon runners who were doing the same route twice!
I really enjoyed the race and had another night camping at the national trust campsite. I also indulged in a pint at the stickletavern where they had a live band on and there were lots of other runners there to share race stories with, we even had some energy left for a little dance. 🙂

I finished in position 104 out of 297 with a time of 1:51:59
06/017 for my category
The winner got a time of : 01:21:37 (a Portobello runner)!

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The Merrick Hill Race……..well – almost!

Waking up to dire warnings of 100 mph gusts on Cairngorm, the day started in a state of minor apprehension for our sojourn down to the Galloway Forest to run the Merrick.

It is a long drive (2 hrs 45 mins) and Jan (driver), Sadie and I left Penicuik in good time to get to Loch Trool to allow a decent warm up and stretch. The forecast was not brilliant (to say the least) and the drive clearly showed us that there was every opportunity that we would experience high winds, heavy rain and poor visibility. As the Merrick is also a rather technical hill race, this was one race in which I was happy to have full body kit, map and compass. That could not be said for the two gals and I made fun of Sadie the whole trip who steadily got more anxious about not having a map.

On getting to Loch Trool, the heavens duly opened with very heavy rain while we registered which sounded horrendous in the small caravan as we signed the forms. However, the race start was very calm as essentially the first hill of the race nicely sheltered us from the stormy westerly winds somewhere above.

Just before 1 pm, 32 runners gathered for a photograph and pre-race briefing. The marshalls had just abandoned the Merrick summit as the winds were > 80 mph. The race organisers decided that the race would be shortened and the turnaround would be Benyellary instead. This was a great shame as the section between the Benyellary and Merrick summits is normally the most runnable section of the whole race. Therefore, instead of 12.4km (780m), the new route would be 9.5 km (580m).

I cannot really describe the first slope up Eshoncan. It is probably the most technical piece of ground I have ever had the “pleasure” to run up/down. It is a steep slope with thick bracken with a rough route trampled down to expose an intermittent rocky, muddy “path” with water running down it. I am not sure if there is normally a small stream, but with all the rain, it just seemed to be an endless tangle of rocks and small ankle deep pools interspersed with mud – all hidden by a layer of trampled bracken. Going up was bad enough, but I was deeply worried about the descent.

Starting off in relatively mild conditions in the knowledge that somewhere above you were potentially 80 mph gusts makes it rather difficult to judge what to wear. As usual, I leant towards dressing warm which initially I was cursing as I was way too hot as I got to the top of the first rise and crossed the bogs and forest track towards the ascent up to Bennan. However, about half a km before the summit of Bennan and skirting around it to the east, the weather finally hit us with full force. The strong westerly wind made the heavy rain feel like hail. I soon pulled down my sleeves, pulled up my Buff and put on a hat and was incredibly thankful that I had experimented with contact lenses as I would not have had a hope with glasses in those conditions over the rough terrain. The next kilometre or so was just a blur of stumbling (not really running), trying to stay upright and not being blown constantly to the right. Luckily (especially for Sadie), the route was well marked at this point. At the wall rock style above Corse Craig where the route turns right to the NW, the conditions were truly atrocious. I had hoped that the westerly wind might have helped a little following the wall up Benyellary. Unfortunately, it was mostly a side wind from the left and you can imagine how much I had to lean sideways to retain some semblance of balance.

Finally, there was some relief when the route joined the main tourist trail. Although the wind was still whipping from the left, the path was a relative joy to run along. Waving mad thanks to the poor Marshall waiting at the Benyellary summit and thinking that I was glad not have been him, the return trip back down to the stone style was great fun. Despite the wind, I think I really picked up the pace (it has been a relatively slow race until this point) and passed one guy and had my eyes set on someone about 200 meters ahead. The return trip was thankfully much quicker although there were sections around Bennan that had to be taken cautiously due to the wind, hidden boggy holes and slippery rocks. At one point, my map pouch flew out of my jacket to strangle me as the wind tried to blow the map away with the string nicely wrapped around my neck. The two marshalls at the forest road near Eshoncan, just before the final descent, seemed in very good spirits as I passed. Probably just happy that people were returning from the stormy weather above and they did not have to go up and look for us – or perhaps they saw my dance while trying to get my map under control.

As my legs were still quite fresh, I tried to slip into neutral for the final dreaded descent, but it was simply too technical and I went much slower than I wanted to. Very frustrating as someone overtook me who I had kept ahead of since Benyellary. However, at least I made it down without spraining an ankle and the sun even popped its head out as I crossed the finish line.

 

Of 31 runners (lead time: 1:07:26), we came in at:

13th: Rob Wilson: 1:21:49

23rd: Jan Dawson: 1:38:56 (3rd woman – likely missing out on a prize as we left quite quickly)

26th: Sadie Kemp: 1:47:09

All in all, a great day as usual. Despite being a long drive, I will have to go back as I still have not ran the Merrick and it has been 33 years since my dad dragged a wee 9 year old boy up there. Hopefully next year the weather will be better. Although an extreme weather challenge once in a while is fun, I do prefer to run instead of stumble.

Rob

 

Quote of the day:

That was worse than Tough Mudder, and we got electrocuted at that!

Sadie

 

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Muriston 6k Trail Race: 2013

Got a free entry to this race when I ran the Corstophine 5 earlier in the year so thought I may as well make use of it. It was quite an intimate affair with only 41 runners. Most of which were in club colours. The route is a mix of road, path and track with a couple of sections of decking which were a bit slippy and treacherous. The route meandered through a wood and had a couple of slight inclines but was mostly flat. A nice little race with a friendly atmosphere. I came 21st with a time of 26.33.

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Devil’s Beef Tub

It was a very wet morning when Jan, myself and a fellow runner from Edinburgh Uni, Ross, started our drive down to Moffat for the race. We were very pleased it cleared up for the run on the 50 minute drive south. We thought it would be very busy with the sad news of the race’s founder, John Blair-Fish’s death on Wednesday, so we wanted to get there quite early. 37 runners turned up for the race which I think was a record, one year they only had 3! A quick registration in the field next to Corehead Farm, then a short trek up to the start in the very dramatic centre of the Devil’s Beef Tub. There was a minute’s silence to remember John Blair-Fish after a speech about what a running legend he was and how he’ll be missed by so many which was very moving.

There was then a mad scramble up this incredibly steep 45 degrees hillside to the top! I’ve never noticed the very bottom of my calf muscles having to strain so much! Clinging onto ferns and grass we pulled ourselves up to the top with no running involved at all! Three friendly faces cheered us on at this small monument at the top and pointed us on our way. I kept wanting to look at the stunning view but couldn’t take my eyes of the track for a second as it was so uneven with the rain turning the ground into a quagmire before heading up the next hill. It was great to finally start running though and enjoyed the dash round the ridge, even though it was very tough going. At the top of the last hill we were pointed down in the direction of the finish as many runners often go too far down the ridge. When we came to running down towards the finish the view was fantastic, just like looking down from an airplane to the finishers far below. There’s some great official race shots in the link at the bottom of this post. It looked suicidal to run the first part, so had to take it easy with my trail shoes, no fell shoes yet with still being a road runner really. I managed to get a zig zag motion going though and really enjoyed the dash down the hill which took some time before a proper run to the finish on the other side of a small burn. For a 3km race it was a hard one and at 36 minutes 34 seconds I’ll have to do a bit more hill sessions to get better but was pleased with the time for my first hill race.

Jan: what a race! The most bonkers race I’ve ever done. Thoroughly enjoyed it though! There was no way I was beating any records, but thanks to the low female to male ratio I managed to bag third lady, at 36:56 (there were only 4 lady runners!). I won a bottle of beer and a box of beef stock cubes from the ‘lucky beef dip bag’. Mark has kindly offered to drink the beer for me while I make a nice casserole…

I think we did John B-F proud – would like to think he was there with us in spirit and kept the rain away.

Some great photos of the crazy race courtesy of Alan Gebbie below…

http://www.carnethy.com/ri_beeftub.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64932248@N04/sets/72157635427431724/

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Ben Nevis Race 2013

A weird mixture of being terrified and elated when I got my entry for this race!  I’ve trained all Summer for it, hitting the hills every Friday evening and whenever else I could because I was so scared of not being strong enough for it. Bill showed me where to practice scree running on Scald Law & Carnethy although was at pains to say it wasn’t as tough as the Ben (boy was he right) and I bought some gaters because my poor ankles didn’t like the rock bashing they were getting whilst training.  Bill also gave me great advice and support in my efforts to be Ben ready – thanks Bill 🙂

Had a great journey up in the car with Tim Doyle & Robert Walker, very educational, random and funny 😀 I dished out marshmallow cake & banana bread enjoyed the chat and marvelled at the amazing views – bliss 🙂

When the race started and we were heading for a mile along the road I asked Chris if this was the way back, unfortunately yes it was. Chris’ wife and friends gave me a lovely cheer from the Ben Nevis Inn just as we hit the hill/mountain and then the climb began.  Not too steep and very runnable for a while, I managed to pass lots of people by taking the chicken runs at the side however did get stuck behind a guy on singletrack who kept on slipping and he just about kicked me in the head on a really steep muddy bit! So I got passed him and ended up with a lovely bunch from Lochaber who were so friendly and seemed to know everyone passing us on their way back down. I got to the Red Burn which was beautiful and got a “c’mon Penicuik” shout from Janice’s husband Derek which was just what I needed.

Finlay Wild passed me (on his way down) when my watch said 1.09, it’s hard to gauge where I was but I was on scree and still a long way off the top (which I got to in 1.52), he was incredible, no-one else came along for ages. He finished in 1.30.

The rocks were tough to run’/climb on as they moved all the time, more so however when you are running back down – nothing stays still when your are really, really hoping that it will.  I saw Tim on his way back when I’d got to the flatter bit at the top, I handed over my badge thing, started Strava and just totally hoped I could get back down in one piece!

I can’t say I was being cautious and going slow I just couldn’t go fast!  Chris came by me pretty quickly 🙁 As I said before everything moved and I was just really scared of hurting myself but I did manage to get going on some bits which felt great and then I hit the Green Wall and pretty much slid and jumped my way down this section. Janice passed me here 🙁 We crossed the burn again to join the tourist path and it was great because I could actually really run again, well run and jump off the rocky steps and constantly thank the walkers who move out of your way. Gave the rest of the route down everything I had and even managed to pass 4 people on the road back to the shinty field, lots of great shouts from locals to help you get through that last bit.

Crossed the line in 3h 06m which I could only improve on if I pushed harder on the uphill and got some courage from the Chris D school of downhill running.  I had a wee tear in my eye at the relief of having completed this ‘great race’ and was with such nice friends who were just so lovely to me, sniff!

Have made a wee album of photos that I pinched from Robert Walker and some he took with my camera.

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Devil O the Highlands

OK, so I’m almost a month late with my story about my last adventure but hey, who’s counting?

THE DEVIL and ME – Race reports are funny things. Backin April, I spent ages on my Fling story and am now trying to work out what else to say about the Devil. Truth is that most all of the Fling story applies to my encounter with the Devil but there are a few wee twists here and there which I hope are of some intrigue. For anyone not in the know, the Highland Fling is a trail race over the first 53 miles of the West Highland Way in late April (Milngavie to Tyndrum) and the Devil o the Highlands is run over the remaining 43 miles (Tyndrum to Fort William) in early August.

POST FLING BLUES – All runners know that recovery is important but the balance between this and then ramping up for the next big adventure (and then tapering down) is yet another challenge. I used the Edinburgh Marathon as a prop (and a way of staying in the AYE Club – year 11) and then tried to squeeze some longer runs in as best I could. As always, there is never enough time: my only seriously long run was 29 miles (though having my son Andrew with me on his mountain bike made this fun) and speed work was almost none existent. However, by way of compensation, 20 miles round the Vendée countryside whilst on holiday was just sublime. All done, the confidence generated from not just surviving but actually enjoying the Fling is a powerful ally – know yourself.

GOOD FORTUNE AT WORK – working shifts has a long list of downsides but yes, there are some ups! On my 10 week rotation I have 2 lots of 6 days off and one of these just happened to start on Friday 2nd August – just perfect to get to race in good time, do it and then recover. Just occasionally, there some rewards for those long night shifts.

REST AND BE THANKFULL – for me, there was only ever going to be one place for basecamp – The Kingshouse Hotel in Glencoe. It’s well placed geographically being just 19 miles from Tyndrum and, of course, the West Highland Way / Devil route runs past the front door. Also, it has a long history for me: my Dad spent many a happy time in Glencoe climbing (including time with the legendary Robin Smith), I have also spent many exhilarating days up high on the Buachaille, the Aonach Eagach and Bidean and one of my best pals got married beside Loch Achtriochtan with reception (inevitably) held at the Kingshouse. And so it was that me and my crew headed north from West Linton.

BEHIND EVER RUNNER IS A PATIENT FAMILY – how I ever swung this one, I will never know but the chance of a night at the Kingshouse (including bar supper) followed by 3 days at North Cottage (more on this later) definitely improved my chances! I think it’s fair to say that Aileen, Andrew and Jennifer still remain to be convinced as to why on earth anyone would want to spend 11 hours running in the pouring rain especially when they have been volunteered for support crew duties. Given this, I am so lucky they agreed to this plan which would, without question, have foundered on the rocks without them.

HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND – the biggest test for me always is (and always will) be getting out of bed when it’s a) 04:00 hrs, b) pitch black outside and c) raining like you need to head for your Ark. Still, caffeine and lashings of maple syrup helped ease the struggle. As Aileen and I headed for Tyndrum, the weather was so bad, I’m shamed to admit that I did say I was ready for a dignified withdrawal from the race if this was the right thing to do. Yea, I know, what a wimpish thing to even think, let alone say out loud before I’d even started out – don’t worry, I gathered myself, there will be no retreat and there wasn’t.

KEEN BEANS – though this was to be my 5th ultra after 3 D33’s and a Fling, at registration I found myself in awe as each person I passed seemed to be an even keener bean than the last, but this is exactly the time on any race day to take a firm grip and say ‘run my own race in my own style, be happy with what you can do, be in awe of the big mountains around you and above all, be humble that you can do’. Keen they may have seemed but the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. And so it was that Aileen waved me off from Tyndrum in light rain at 06:00 hrs.

HIGHWAY to HELL – OK, so I committed a minor school boy error by not turning my Garmin on 5 mins before ignition but hey, AC/DC ‘Thunderstruck’ on the iPod kind of fired me up the hill and got me going – Garmin caught up soon enough.

CAMERADERIE – The first leg from Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy is relative straightforward and as I padded along in the rain, there were friendly exchanges with various fellow runners. By and by, a chap (Alan?) drifted alongside and not only did we have a fascinating chat but he helped to draw me along at a more lively pace. We covered life, the universe and the WHW Race which he had just done and let us just say never say never, watch this space. As my new pal advanced ahead of me, I had a very happy time to myself especially as I climbed up the drovers track from Inveroran. By now, the rain was lashing down and everything was just as it should be for a good day out on the hills in Scotland. I did smile to myself as I listen to music on my iPod – just one good track after another, how could this be? I then I remembered I had spent the past 3 years compiling this playlist – dawh! One thing I did notice on this section is that the drovers track is made up of flint like hard smooth rocks which are quite slippy in the wet.

THE COE – I always pleased to see the Coe hove into view but somehow, the appearance of the road far below me as I descended from the heavy cloud cover was extra special. It meant that real progress had been made and it was all downhill to the check point at Black Rock cottage and then over the road to my RV point at the Kingshouse. Another 2 litres of Nuun, more gels, cereal bars, mini Mars Bars and, of course, Hula Hoops – which never tasted so good! And of my support crew – never, ever underestimate the morale boost as you see them and they fuss around helping you to stay upright and cheering you on your way to relentless forward progress.

HELL AIN’T A BAD PLACE TO BE – as route follows along the valley, the giant Buchaille disappears into the mist and I did become a little weary of long legged 20 years olds with huge rucksacks marching along at a remarkable pace and leaving me behind as I started my way up the Devils Staircase. This climb is seriously hard work but by some strange quirk of coincidence, as I neared the top, what should be playing in my ears but ‘Misty Mountain Top’ from Local Hero soundtrack. Happy days at the summit cause it’s more or less downhill all the way to Kinlochleven. The path becomes a track as it descends in an increasingly green valley with more and more trees dripping with rain. One strange thing was that during the Fling, I had absolutely no cramp but did suffer recurring bouts of nausea (though I never did end up chucking). Here, on the slopes down to the Loch Leven, it was the other way round. No nausea but a couple of chunky cramp attacks which were duly stretched on and then run out.

FOIL VILLAGE – Even from my first and all be rather brief visit, Kinlochleven is a truly remarkable place. It sits at the head of the loch with unbelievably steep slopes up to huge cliffs looming. And of course, for many years Alcan had an aluminium smelter there and the legacy of some extraordinary and very large buildings are still there. Some very clever people have even turned one of them into a giant freezer so that you can go ice climbing all the year round. The second formal checkpoint is in the middle of the village and a very cheery marshal welcomed me – the efforts and smiley faces of people who volunteer for these roles cannot be praised too much – especially when the rain is lashing down. I was also greeted by the uber support crew and filled up with yet more supplies. I was asked if I was up for the final push to the Fort Bill and of course you know the answer . . .

HERE COMES THE SUN – I had been warned of yet another 1,000 foot climb up into the Lairig Mor and so it was. The one blessing here was that the forecast had predicted that the rain would finally give up and eventually it did. No sun yet, but there clearly are some advantages to not being hugely swift along the trail. My one big regret here was not changing socks at Kinlochleven – while I was certainly still mobile, my feet were so wrinkly from the rain that they were beginning to suffer a little. The climb rises up through the trees and then onto yet more open hillside. Eventually, as you start to turn the corner towards Fort Billingham and begin loosing altitude again, you enter major forestry country.

THIS IS THE BEN, MY OLD FRIEND – just when I was starting to think this adventure couldn’t get any better, two very specials things happened. Firstly, as I turned a corner, there in front of me was the unmistakable mass of my old friend, the Ben! Not only was this a simply stunning sight but it also signaled the very last stretch of the encounter with the Devil with downhill pretty much all the way to the finish line. And secondly, as the weather improved and some kind of sun appeared, my jacket was finally stowed away and the signature shades worn. It may be that I could and should have started to run faster earlier but my cue was meeting the Glen Nevis road. I rose to decent speed over the last mile and was absolutely delighted to reach the finish at the original end of the WHW. Warm welcome from the finish team, other runners and, of course, my crew. Received what is definitely the most original race momento yet – a perfectly race shoe fashioned in some alloy.

SHOWERS, CHIPS and a HIGHLAND RETREAT – rarely do showers feel quite so good as they do after 9 hours in heavy rain! We then jumped in the car and headed north to Kyle for a fish supper and the onward to Applecross and 3 days of retreat and recovery at our wee place in heaven. Lots of good food, fine wine, hours in front of a peat fire and gentle walks all worked wonders for the weary legs. And as if this were all not enough, I have always been a keen ocean swimmer and huge fan of the therapy that swimming in the cold salty sea brings and the swim on this visit was just brilliant, complete with sunshine and a view across to the Cuillins – sublime!

So, another adventure completed. I can honestly say that for most all of the race I was truly happy and that is how it’s meant to be. I never forget one of my big inspirational figures, Paula Radcliffe, being asked just how long she will keep on running and the answer was clear – “as long as I’m enjoying it”. Yes, there is a lot of sweat, strain, self doubt and occasional swearing involved but these things are all part of a will that allows for relentless forward progress and lets you Run and Become.

Postscript: a massive thank you to the organisers and marshals – an absolutely fantastic job all round in very challenging conditions.OK, so I’m almost a month late with my story about my last adventure but, hey, who’s count in?

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Speyside Way Ultra – 24 August

I have been looking forward to writing this blog for months!

With registration opening at 6:30am in Buckie (a 4 hour drive from home) I chose to drive up the night before and found a nice and well priced B&B in nearby Cullen. I had a quiet night and ate well at the Three Kings Inn before getting a good night’s sleep.

I didn’t need my alarm having been awake about every hour and in the end rose at 5:45am to get organised and get some porridge into me and a coffee.

I set off from the B&B about an hour later and got to registration about 7ish where a steady stream of bleary eyed runners were now filing in. One guy crawled out of the back of his van where he had obviously slept for the night.

With registration done and my drop bags for the two checkpoints at Craigellachie (mile 12.5) and Fochabers (mile 24) sorted I waited for the bus. I bumped into a nice guy from Glasgow who had also recently taken up running at the same time as quitting smoking. I was in good company.

On the bus and it was a nice drive to Ballindalloch. I sat alone and just took in the scenery not thinking too much about the race ahead. We were piped in as we got off the bus which was a great touch then had a quick race briefing before mustering at the start line.

I was more organised than I’ve been for any race with my pace per mile, per hour etc all mapped out. I had also organised all of my food and drink into how many calories and carbs I could process each hour. It was measured out into ziplock bags. It seemed like overkill but during the race it made it easy for me to know what I’d had and still needed to have. I stuck pretty closely to both fuel and pace strategy.

The route itself is stunning. Right through whisky country. We passed Tamdhu distillery, Aberlour and many more. Each wee place along the route nicer than the last. The first leg to CP1 at Craigellachie was all trail and a gradual downhill. I breezed through the CP, collecting my bags and keeping moving. Next was a long slow climb on road then trail up Ben Aigan. The height wasn’t an issue but it continued for some 4 or 5 miles which was tough going.

Once at the top I got to make some time up by flying down the other side. I absolutely love downhill running and was knocking off the miles in record time. Coming off the hill we were soon onto a tarmac section which continued for quite a while. Midway through the first section I’d got chatting to a couple of guys in front who were at the same pace as me – a father and son from Lossiemouth Bill and Richie. We had a laugh and kept each other company for a good while.

Bill dropped back and Richie and I continued through to CP2 at Fochabers. We both agreed it would be sensible to stop and take some time to stretch off a bit and re-fuel. Bill caught up and after a few minutes we got underway again. Both Bill and Richie were tightening up by the time we had done a marathon so I cracked on and kept my head down.

The next few miles back on trail were good, I was mentally strong but my hamstrings were tight and I was tiring a bit. I reached more tarmac at Spey Bay, a short stretch and was soon back off road. By this point I was past 30 miles and was quiet chuffed with myself but starting to wonder if I had taken a wrong turn as no one else was around and I was running through small forest track.

I soon saw signs and popped out again into the daylight where I wasn’t far from Portgordon. A marshall said 2.5 miles to go but my watch counted at least another 1 on top! I was aware of someone on my heels and decided with just a couple of miles left I would actually race a bit now, having been very controlled throughout not to do that. I picked up my pace and we played cat and mouse right to the finish.

Alan Thornburrow

I crossed the line in 6:45:28. My planning had been for a 7 hour finish, possibly 7.5 depending on fatigue so I was really pleased overall. I stretched out, got some pictures and waited for Richie and his dad who weren’t far behind at 7 hours 15 minutes. We all headed up to the community high school for a cup of tea, sandwich and hot shower.

I then had 4 odd hours to reflect on a great day out on my drive home. Thoroughly enjoyed it, felt pretty good throughout and other than the odd dodgy toenail I am in excellent shape and ready to run later this week. Next up is the Borders Three Peaks Ultra in October, pushing it slightly further to 38 miles this time.

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Baddinsgill Round Hill Race: Let the “baddle” commence!

On a tip from Tim Darlow, a few Harriers signed up for this relatively new local race (1st time last year). At 17.8km with 700 m climb, it had the potential to be a very runnable race although everyone who knows the southern Pentlands said that the terrain would be much rougher than what we see in the more manicured north.

Despite the forecast stating that it would be cloudy most of the day, the mist had already burnt off and the cloud was only just touching the tops as we started the race at 10am. In fact, the weather conditions for the race were perfect. Just sunny enough to be comfortable but not too hot.

Anyway – 4 Harriers (Andrea, Mike, Julian and me) plus Hillary (who had turned up for a 9am start – she gets more blond by the year!) and Kate Darlow (who had the kid freedom ticket for the day).

The first 500meters was a sprint along a tarmac road (of which I am happy to say I was 3rd :-)). However, very soon on the ascent up Faw Mount, Mike, plus many others, passed me. Oh gawd – here we go again! This is the longest ascent of the race so once on Mount Maw, the route undulates with the route following either a fence or stone wall. In fact, the route follows pretty much the estate boundary, so theoretically the route should not be too difficult to follow – even in the mist – as long as you have a 1:25 000 map. The 1: 50 000 map does not show this detail! After a big grinning Chris D shouted encouragement somewhere after Mount Maw, we were on our own to battle our inner demons and keep upright through the more technical sections.

Mike steadily extended his lead I assumed that this was one race I was not going to have much chance keeping up with him. However, on the ascent up Wether Law, I suddenly found that he was only about 100-200 meters in front of me. I tried to push a little on the descent but then fell in a boggy hole and twisted my ankle (no badly). In fact, it was my left knee that took the strain and my patella tendon screamed. To recover, I had to slow down on the climb up to East Cairn Hill and my knee was still grumbling down the steep unpathed rocky descent. Mike had left me in the dust! Luckily, after crossing the old Thieves Drove Road, the pain seemed to dissipate and I managed to get back into a reasonable rhythm.

On the final climb up to west Cairn Hill, however, I looked back to see Hillary only about 100 meters behind. Typical – I thought she was supposed to have a sprained ankle. I focussed on Mike in the distance and was determined to push ahead. The moorland track and the ever so slight descent off West Cairn Hill was a lovely runnable section. Not too boggy and just enough track that you could really go for it. After about 2kms however, the track veered off to the west and the race route went south across a 1.5 km stretch of heather and bog towards Wolf Craigs. This is the roughest and toughest section of the whole route and if you’re gonna twist an ankle anywhere, this is the section. My legs were still relatively fresh and I battled through trusting my compass (and a Carnethy bod ahead of me) to take me in roughly the right direction.

As I crossed the burn at Wolf Craigs and started the ascent up Byrehope Mount I suddenly realised that Mike was just ahead of me – closer than Hillary was behind. I shouted at Mike that Hillary was just behind us which probably did not help me as he seemed to dig deep and push ahead. We were now in the final few kilometres. On the final ascent up Kings Seat, Mike was about 200-300 metres ahead and Hillary was only about 50 metres behind. The summit was marked by a simple wooden post which we had to run around before heading in a north and north-westerly direction towards the finish. Initially the ground was very tussocky and I
tripped very gracefully (I might add) which resulted in a summersault. Unfortunately, despite my acrobatics, Hillary still managed to pass me.However, I overtook her going up a slight rise up Lamb Rig. At this point, we joined a grassy path with a simple sprint to the finish. My legs felt fine, but I simply could not keep ahead of Hillary and she slowly cruised effortlessly past me. :-(. Despite having a mental breakdown and now living with eternal shame about this, I honestly can say this was the best final kilometre of any race I have ever done. Just the right gradient not to hurt the legs and it was a pure pleasure to blast over the finish line.

 

Full results are here:

1st man came in at 01:38:49. Of only 38 runners we came in at:

 

16th: Mike Brooks: 02:00:54

17th: Hillary Holding: 02:01:15     1st Lady!!!!       Race record!!!!

18th: Rob Wilson: 02:01:31

25th: Julian Hall: 02:17:43       Looks like he had his own battles with some Corstorphine gals.

33rd: Andrea Wilson: 02:29:54

34th: Kate Darlow: 02:30:38

 

what a great race – perfect weather and a great competitive spirit.

Thanks to the organisers who took time at the beginning to discuss some of the sections of the route. Much appreciated.

I would heartily encourage other Harriers to run this race next year

Rob

some piccies

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Lomonds of Fife 2013

Below is the link to Rob’s report from last year which describes the route so well, especially the slope coming off W.Lomond that was so steep and sheer it was almost vertical, it made me stop, swear a bit and then sit down and slide!!! Grassy and thick all the way, got up to run again and just sat back down using my shoe grips for brakes. You don’t get taught that at Thursday hill training 😉

I went over with Mike & Stu (they needed a tortoise) and met Kevin there, beautiful day and all keen.  Lovely walk up a path to the start and was having a lovely blether which made me forget that I was actually there to run a 10m hill race.  Rob doesn’t mention the beautiful run up to E.Lomond through the woods which was just gorgeous with the sun shining through.  I didn’t see S,M & K for much of the race except when they were flying off E.Lomond as I started climbing it. The run round the hill on thin sheep trod to and from W.Lomond has such a steep drop that a harness would be very reassuring but may rub a little…

When I finished I ‘ran back down the track’ to find Stu & Mike fed, watered and ready to go, Kevin had already gone. All enjoyed the race immensely although I enjoyed it for a bit longer than the guys 🙂

Don’t know proper results but think Stu 28th 1.45, Mike 35th 1.47, Kev 2.10 & Susie 2.28. No photos.

http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/2012/08/19/lomonds-of-fife/

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Caerketton Hill Race

Great race at Caerketton tonight, thanks to Carnethy for organising. Since 2011 the race has been extended to 3.6km with 300m climb and you head up the steepest path as opposed to zig zagging up the hill.

Rob, Kevin, Mike, Sadie and myself all turned up for this race and I think we all quite enjoyed it. Rob & Mike did their swap positions thing they do and Sadie got away from me on the uphill when I realised cycling to a race maybe is not the best preparation 🙁 Finishing order was Mike, Rob, Kevin, Sadie then me. Kevin & Mike muttered something about a football match and needing to get away so missed being in the photo. Recommend this nice local race to all of you, a good end to the Hill Grand Prix too.

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Vertiginous views and veritable feasts at the Forth Road Bridge 10k

It’s all about the cake at the Forth Road Bridge 10k – well, at least it has been for Mark and I since we began running this race 5 years ago. As fairly novice runners back then the course was quite tough – lots of uphill as well as down – and the wind… and the rain (2009 was particularly dreich). So, walking (limping) into the little community hall at the top of North Queensferry and being confronted with tables groaning with sandwiches, cake and biscuits, lovingly made by friends and family of Pitreavie AAC, was a sight to behold. And all for FREE. Safe to say, any effort expended on the Bridge itself was quickly outdone by mountains of sugar-laden treats. As it has been most years since!

The course itself is scenic and undulating. It seems to attract a large number of club runners and young, gisele-like elite-types every year (winner was 21-year old Kyle McLellan from Nithsdale AC in 00:32:27). The weather was warm and clear with a fair bit of wind, but the downpours that came later held off until after the finish. Starting at the top of the hill in North Queensferry, you run down past the train station and turn sharp left under the railway bridge. Passing Gordon Brown’s house (no police guard this year, I noted) you start the long downhill of Ferryhill Road. A quick in and back to the scrapyard at the bottom of Ferryhill then it’s onto the A90 and a long, steady incline to the north end of the Bridge. Over the Bridge the scenery is stunning (if you get the weather and you don’t suffer from vertigo) and takes your mind off the fact the Bridge is a lot curvier than it appears. Then it’s down into the underpass on the south side and up and onto the other side. As I turned onto the Bridge again a marshal shouted “Not long till cake!” which reassured me that I’m not the only one who does this for the home-baked goodies on offer! Visions of cake were interrupted only by the sight of the foundations of the new Forth Crossing (or Caledonia Crossing or whatever it’s going to be called) emerging from Port Edgar. The wind was quite strong on this side too but thankfully hitting us side-on, not face-on. Behind would have been better but hey-ho.

Up until this point I had barely looked at my watch, convinced I hadn’t trained enough to beat my 45:45 PB. At 9km I glanced down and squinted in disbelief at 44 min, so ramped up the pace to try and finish within 45. Didn’t quite manage it but still beat the PB by a good 20 secs. Seems those track and hill sessions have made a difference! Mark also beat his PB and bagged his first sub-50 min 10k.

We were actually quite restrained with the cake at the finish this time… the sweetness of success enough this time perhaps?

Jan Dawson – 00:45:22 (pos 99)
Mark Dawson – 00:49:05 (pos 160)

Full results here: http://www.pitreavie-aac.co.uk/files/Owain/ForthRoadBridge10K2013.pdf

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Two Inns Race: The Ultimate Pub Crawl?

Well – as I had reccied the route last month, I had to do the race.

Recce report: http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/2013/07/18/a-recce-of-the-two-inns-hill-race-route/

Race route map: http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2Innsmaps-update.pdf

Race route profile: http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/TIprofile.jpg

 

Unfortunately, many of those who had been interested to run the Two Inns were unavailable:

Duncan (broken pinkie), Hillary (sprained ankle), Tim (marital obligations – anniversary) and Sarah (navigationally challenged :-)).

That just left me and Mike.

 

So – we left Penicuik around 8am and drove the 3 hours to the start at Creagan Inn. At 24kms (1770m), the Two Inns is part of the Long Classics series and probably is not so well known compared to other races such as the Two Breweries, Pentland Skyline etc. Therefore, at 12pm when the race started, there was only 44 runners and they all looked pretty bloody fit. I had hoped that Mike and I would have had time for a quick half Guinness to power us on our way, but it was all a little rushed getting kit organised for the car that would be at the finish. Alas, we would have to have the beer at the end.

Well, as I said in the recce report, the longest climb is right at the beginning – 2.3 kms (535m). Not the steepest climb of the race, but pretty relentless which took me just over half an hour. At the top, the leading group (at least half the field!!) had already disappeared off into the thin mist. Bugger – they were quick up that first hill. I did not see Mike and assumed I had stupidly ran off too quickly and he would soon pass me when my legs gave up. However, it was not until about 5kms into the race that I heard him huffing and puffing (+ the odd grunt) behind me.

Between the first (Checkpoint 1) and second (Checkpoint 2) peaks, the route (pathless!) goes through nice squidgy bouncy peat and heather. It was MUCH wetter than last month, but not disastrously so, so in fact this was almost pleasurable. The weather was warm with a breeze on our backs and the cloud was just touching the peaks.

Mike stayed just behind me through checkpoint 2 and up (the steepest climb) to the highest point at checkpoint 3 (Fraochaidh). At this point, Mike and I were with 3 other guys in a fairly tight cluster. I told Mike that from Fraochaidh that it was now all downhill – which on average it is, but well – I guess there is the last peak J. Let’s just say Mike was cursing me later. From Fraochaidh there is a couple of kms of ridge with a clear path. This is probably the most runnable section of the race and one’s legs are still quite strong at this point although it takes some time to get them working again after such a steep ascent. At checkpoint 4 (~ 12 kms), Mike finally passed me. I am not sure if he had stayed with me all this time to ensure that he had the correct route, but from this point, you could see the whole route and away he went. Although my knees were behaving (I was admittedly feeling a little sick from all the Ibuprofen), I took a Hillary approach and took my time on the descent as I knew there was still a long way to go and the path would soon slowly morph into a pathless heathery scrub again.

At ~16 kms, the final ascent starts up Sgorr a’ Choise (Checkpoint 5). I never actually counted this as a hill in my mental map as it is not so steep as the three previous hills and is more of a rocky scramble. Well, Mike (cursing for some reason!) and another runner were obviously struggling here as I passed them both. At the top, the kindly Mountain Rescue marshals congratulated me and showed me the way to go – which was a friggin cliff. Last month, we had continued along the ridge a little before descending, but I assumed the locals knew the best way so I went where they pointed. Well – 20 meters below the peak, standing on a grassy ledge with a 10m drop below me, did not fill me with much confidence that this was the best route. I had to side-step to the left and scramble down to get to a more safer slope. Mike had the same problem. Sheesh!

Anyway, after this, I began the descent which had caused me so much problems with knee pain the previous month. Although steep, thankfully, I was not yelping. However, I was aware that the tussocky final descent was going to be difficult. I had spent quite a bit of time perusing Google Earth and OS maps trying to identify a better route, but the reality of being there clearly showed that the way we went last time was probably correct. Bugger – I would just have to grit my teeth and hope not to twist an ankle in the tussocks. Just at the top of the last minor summit, Mike caught me up again. We briefly chatted about a best route for descent and in the end just went for it. Mike was ahead, but was heading to the right (south) as he was trying to follow the next runner ahead in the distance. This did not look right to me, so I stayed left and basically took a compass bearing to the final checkpoint. My strategy obviously worked as I reached checkpoint 6 and the track before Mike. He of course was not far behind and soon passed me again. However, the race route did not stay on the track, and turned off (nicely marked at this point) through a field around some buildings. The track had been “laid” with stones to stop walkers sinking into the bog. I somehow still had some leg strength to skip my way through here. Mike cramped up, and I passed him again.  I guess by this point, we had somehow come to an unspoken understanding that we would not stop for each other. Survival of the fittest and all that!

The route then returned to the main track for about half a kilometre and to ensure that runners are not killed on the A82, goes through someone’s garden (literally) and contours around the slope until there is a style at the old car park near Clachaig. Well – this was the only bit of the race I had not reccied and I really should have looked at the map instead of blindly hoping that the way would be clearly marked. After the house, the route was marked by red and white flagging. Possibly blinded with exhaustion, I did not see them, and Mike caught me up and was the one who saw the one near the bridge that crossed the burn. We ran off together, but the ground was tussocky and I tripped. Shite – it was my turn to cramp up while on the ground. I managed to get up and stumbled after Mike, but I had lost valuable seconds. After the bridge, we should have taken an ENE bearing. Instead, I followed Mike and another runner who also obviously had had problems finding the route of this final stage as well. They basically ran north which was clearly wrong as I saw a marshal to the NE waving at me to come his way. I was in two minds. Follow Mike or cut across unknown boggy ground. I followed Mike. The route was easy and we got to the road quite quickly, but then had about a kilometre on the road which was hellishly busy. I was about 200 meters behind Mike and the other runner who were running side-by-side. Cars were flying both ways and I was pretty sure I was going to see Mike get hit. I quite understand why the race organisers did NOT want us to run along the road. Oh well, we know for next time.

Anyway – with semi-functioning legs, we crossed the line in not too sorry a state. All 44 runners made it. Mike and I came in 27th and 28th respectively with times of 3:52:15 and 3:52:59. The winner did it in 2:44:50. Respect!

http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0256&Year=2013

In the end, we did not have a beer at the Clachaig Inn but a cup of tea instead. How English :-)! After chilling out for about an hour, we cadged a lift with the Glencoe Mountain Rescue ambulance back to the start, and had our Guinness on the way home when we had supper. All in all, a fabulous day. I personally don’t think I could quicken my time much. We possibly could have shaved a few minutes off due to all the shenanigans over the last 2 kms, but that is something for next time. Is this a harder race than The Two Breweries or Skyline? I think Mike and I agreed that it is. Skyline is both longer and has more elevation gain, but we were both much slower in this race. The lack of paths makes all the difference.

Rob

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Haddington Half Marathon

A great afternoon’s run was had by all yesterday along the undulating (I really must look up the dictionary definition of that word but extremely hilly seems to fit for me) hills through East Lothian.

A strong field of about 270 runners left from Haddington at 2pm including two from Penicuik’s own Harriers…myself and Sadie who I am convinced runs every race (road and hill) there is going!! And why not!! She managed to take thirteen minutes off her time from the same race last year…fantastic effort Sadie!!

The post race refreshments were just the ticket and in the space of about six minutes I managed to replace and perhaps double the amount of calories spent during the race.

Cheers, Mark

Harrier times
Sadie Kemp – 1hr 37mins 10secs (69th)
Mark Snodgrass – 1hr 25mins 12secs (23rd)

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Musselburgh 10k

Lovely sunny weather, a bit on the hot side but I guess we shouldn’t complain.

Musselburgh 10k

There were 4 harriers taking part this year:

  • 93rd Amy Kerr 44.55
  • 136th Sadie Kemp 47.45
  • 142nd Tracy Philp 48.03
  • 224th Robyn Telfer 54.54

3 wearing their Harriers vests for the first time, and there were a few PBs too!

Davy was there to give support which was much appreciated. 🙂

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