JD's Wanderings

2011 TOTALS

2012-01-09T18:42:00.000Z

RUNNING = 1415 miles ; 207,000 feet ascent ; 200 runs ; 17 races ; 288 hoursCYCLING = 1649 miles ; 102,000 feet ascent ; 42 cycles; 120 hoursGYM = 58 hours ; 66 sessionsWALKS = 19 walks ; 168 miles ; 49,000 feet ascent ; 90 hours ; 18 Munros ; 9 Corbetts

Loch Ossian Westies Trip

2011-11-25T21:12:00.001Z

Running in the Polish Tatras

2011-10-20T00:23:00.000+01:00

Spent a great week with the guys from Lomond Hillrunners in the lovely Polish Tatras. Great weather, fab mountains and a generally good fun.

Ken Laidlaw Cycle Race

2011-09-16T20:58:00.000+01:00

Had a great cycle with Paula, and came in about 7 hours, a few minutes quicker than before. And this time the route was cycled in reverse!

Cycling in Majorca

2011-08-23T16:38:00.004+01:00

Paula and I enjoyed a hot and sunny week's cycling in Majorca, based in Puerta Pollensa. Highlight was the cycle down and then back up the 700 metre climb to/from Sa Calobra.

Clyde Stride 40 Mile Trail Race

2011-07-18T12:39:00.005+01:00

SAT 16 JULY 2011
40 miles 560 metres ascent

Thought I'd give my local ultramarathon my support again this year, despite being nowhere near as prepared as I was last year. Never mind, treating it as a sort of "journey run/day out" up the Clyde I toed the line at Partick Railway Station. 6hrs 37mins later I dragged my weary but happy body across the finish line in New Lanark, 20 mins down on last year, but still chuffed. I had a good steady first 20 miles, a bit of a wobble between 20 and 30 miles, but rallied a bit on the lovely trails from Mauldslie Woods onwards. Tarmac, trails, woods, rivers this race has it all and superbly organised by Lee Maclean and her team. The winner was about 4hrs 45mins, amazing!

Clyde Stride website

Mont Blanc Ascent

2011-07-07T23:28:00.004+01:00

Just back from a successful and enjoyable trip to Chamonix to climb Mont Blanc, with my Glenmore Club pals Gordon, Ania, Mary and Malcolm. Summitted on Wed 30th June at about 11am and it was sunny and wind-free, with amazing views all round.
Trip was superbly organised by Vincent of France Outdoors. Check him out for adventures in the Alps at = http://www.franceoutdoors.com/

Bridge of Balgie Bagging

2011-05-15T15:28:00.006+01:00

SAT 14 MAY 2011
12 miles 4,000 feet

2 Corbetts - Cam Chreag (862m) and Beinn Dearg (830m)

Bruach Na Frithe

2011-05-15T15:03:00.007+01:00

Inn Pinn & Sgurr na Banachdich, SKYE

2011-05-03T20:31:00.005+01:00

SUNDAY 1 MAY 2011
8 hrs; 7 miles; 4,500 feet

A fantastic day for my 3rd and Paula and Ania's 1st climb of The Inn Pinn, guided beautifully and safely by Gordon.

Sgurr nan Eag & Sgurr Dubh Mor, SKYE

2011-05-03T20:08:00.010+01:00

SAT 30 APRIL 2011
9 hrs; 10 miles;5,000 feet

2 Skye Munros with Paula and Gordon

Beinn a' Choin

2011-05-03T19:52:00.010+01:00

WED 27 APRIL 2011
3h 15m; 10 miles; 2,840 feet

a trot round a nice horseshoe of a Corbett, near Loch Lomond.

Cairnsmore of Carsphairn

2011-05-03T19:45:00.003+01:00

TUESDAY 26 APRIL 2011
3 hrs; 9 miles; 2,760 feet

A trot round one of Ayrshire's Corbetts on a sunny and breezy day, followed by a lovely pie and beans in Cairnsmore's cafe.

Inchnadamph Corbetts with Lomond Hillrunners

2011-04-18T21:03:00.003+01:00

Another great training weekend with my mates in Lomond Hillrunners. Did Suilven on Sat - claggy and cold on top. Quinag on Sun - bright and breezy and fantastic views. An all-round great weekend with fine company in an amazing part of Scotland.

Corbett-bagging in Glen Lyon

2011-04-10T18:45:00.007+01:00

SAT 3 APRIL 2011

Meall nam Maigeach (779m) then Meall nan Subh (804m).

S'no Fun

2011-03-27T13:45:00.008+01:00

SAT 19 MARCH 2011

Actually, it was lots of fun. John and Paula were out for a bit of navigation practice for their impending Mountain Marathon debut, and I was tagging around for fun, pretending (unsuccessfully) that I knew a bit about hill navigation. We headed off to the top of Loch Lomond to meander round Meall an Fhudair (764m) using an old LAMM map with some controls shown on it. Once on the hill proper there was tons of snow, making progress slow but fun, gaining the ridge via a steep gully that provided some hairy few minutes as I kicked stepped my way up with my fell shoes. Once on top it was a case of cartoon cantering down deep snow covered slopes, finding innumerable deep hidden holes that on occasion almost swallowed us. A grand few hours, rounded off by mobile karaoke on the way home to John's classy CD of "Hits From The Pin Up Stars of the 70s and 80s".

(reverse in) Run Skyline Pentlands

2011-03-05T18:25:00.004Z

SAT 5 MARCH 2011
17 miles 5,500 feet
Garmin route

Had a grand and grafting trip round the Pentlands with Stuart Barrie and John Telfer. Followed the Pentlands Skyline Race route, but anti-clockwise and the reverse of the usual race direction. Took just over 4 hrs, including a wee side trip to visit Castlelaw Fort and Earth House, which Stuart proclaimed was finer than his Galashiels but'n ben and had to be draggged out of screaming. Thanks guys for a fine day out.

Mamores Mountaineering

2011-03-04T17:42:00.006Z

Spent a great weekend in Kinlochleven with the Glasgow Glenmore Club. Started at Mamore Lodge, along the WHW a bit, then up Sgurr an Iubhair, Am Bodach (with hairy alpiine descent on crampons) then over Stob Coire a' Chairn and down the stalkers' path.

Then on Sunday a fab day up Beinn na Caillich, an almost Corbett, near Kinlochleven.

SAT PHOTOS
SUN PHOTOS

Clyde Walkway Trail Run

2011-02-20T20:12:00.004Z

SAT 19 FEB 2011
20 miles 1100 feet

Graham did dote on the Dee;
And Paula was on for the Don;
But John's West Coast pride,
Said it had to be the Clyde,
So the scene was set for all three.

From New Lanark we did head off,
With our pockets full of some scoff;
We checked out the Falls,
And lots of bird calls,
As fluids were exchanged between all three!

Downstream it was all the way,
All three running okay;
We entered the Park,
'fore the onset of dark;
And headed for cakes and some tea.

Westies Ochils Hill Run

2011-02-06T22:29:00.005Z

SUN 6 FEB
9 Miles 2,600 feet

Garmin Route

A solid Sunday run in the hiils with good company. Despite the "roadrunner's start" right up by the Castle, we managed over 2,500 feet of ascent. The mist cleared a few times to give views of windfarms, glens and greenery and we almost got snowed upon. The slackers departed promptly, leaving me and Murdo to enjoy a nice pint of Bitter & Twisted down in Dollar, to round off the day in style.

Johnston's Report= John, John, John, Johnston, Murdo (Iain, surely?) and Peter (Johann?) jogged round a variant of the Dollar race route, taking in Saddle Hill, Whitewisp, Tarmangie, Andrew Gannel, King's Seat and Bank Hill, before crossing and re-ascending Dollar Glen to the controversial high car park start point, much denigrated by Donnelly. The chosen finish seemed to placate him, giving the requisite ascent for the day.

...but where were John Hutchinson, John Quinn, Jon Slowe, and Johannes??!

Moffat to Talla & Megget Reservoirs Cycle

2011-02-05T18:20:00.006Z

SAT 5 FEB 2011
47 miles 2657 feet

Route on Garmin

Fiest cycle of the year!! And a cracker too. Weather looked best down Moffat way, so I set off for the classic loop from Moffat up past the Devil's Beeftub, through to the Talla and Megget Reservoirs (via the 20% double arrow climb!!) to St Mary's Loch, then down lovely Moffatdale. Weather cool and dry, wind behind me for the first half then against me. Good to get hte cycling legs going again, but a bit of a wake-up call for the 67 mile Audax next week, never mind anything bigger later on.

The Year That Was 2010

2011-01-28T22:43:00.006Z

YEAR TOTALS

RUNNING = 1544 miles/53,600 metres ascent; 22 races (52,908 miles since 1987)
CYCLING = 2975 miles/58,500 metres ascent; 7 races
GYM = 75 sessions; 75 hours
HILLWALKING = 200 miles; 12,700 metres ascent; 23 days; 67 hours

2010 HIGHLIGHTS

the (sub-12 hr)High Peak 42M Marathon I think topped all, but was closely followed by my (just) sub-8hr Fred Whitton 110 mile Cycle,sub-6hr Bealach Mor 90M Cycle, a great run at the 40M Clde Stride Trail Race, my 21st Carnethy Hill Race and climbing Mount Toubkal in Morrocco.

Also noteworthy were =

Lomond Hillrunners' annual Pub Run from Pittenweem to St. Andrews
some great Celtic Connections Concerts
a couple of great Glenmore Club winter walking weekends up north
the Carnethy Hill Race/Musselburgh 67mile Cycle weekend double
limping round the Wuthering Hike with a crocked knee
the Westies Extravaganza round the Cateran Trail
a Corbett-bagging trip to Knoydart with the Glenmorons
the Lakeland Loop Cycle followed by lovely walking with Moira in the Lake District
a cold and wet 200K Audax with Chris Upson down in the Borders
a lovely 150K Audax with Moira and Louise from Forfar
the Three Ferries cycle from Dunoon with Moira
the stunning and scary Clach Glas-Blaven scramble with Dave, Chris and Brian
the 117M Dragon Ride Cycle in South Wales in 7h 13m (17mph)
catching up with Crispin and family in the Brecon Beacons, then Snowdonia
a Corbett/Munro Compleation weekend in Glendessary and party at Gill&Arthur's
a sunny Ken Laidlaw 105M Cycle in the Borders
a week up in Torridon Corbett-bagging and cycling from Sue & Gordon's motorhome
a super week in Morrocco with the Lomond Hillrunners climbing Mount Toubkal
completing another Scottish Hillrunners' Championship
another great Westies Weekend at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel
a snowy Lomond Hillrunners' weekend at Dunkeld
some great winter trail running in snowy December
lots of cinema visits with Gordon
Monday night Hashing and pubbing

.... and winning the inagural Westies Curry league, of course!!!!!!!

Northern Cairngorms Walk

2011-01-28T22:01:00.009Z

SATURDAY 22 JAN 2011

A brilliant winter's walk up the Chalamain Gap and on to the ridge. Lurcher's Crag, Cairn Lochan and on to Cairn Gorm (1245m). Then due north down the ridge above Strath Nethy and back to the car. A cracking day out.

Westies Wild and Wet Ochils Hill Run

2011-01-16T19:29:00.008Z

SAT 15 JAN 2011
8 miles 3,000 feet

A healthy number of Westies and special guests turned up at Tillicoultry for a bash round the Ochils. The weather forecast was rubbish, and the weather was indeed exactly that, though we weren't deterred from our goal. Straight up to King's Seat we went, before dashing out the horrible weather down to the Maddy Moss. Plodded up to Andrew Gannell before the undulating slog in dire weather along to Ben Cleuch. A quick turnaround there saw us head over The Law and down out of the rubbish weather at last to the glen.

Lomond Hillrunners Pub Run

2011-01-11T23:20:00.005Z

SATURDAY 8 JAN 2011

My annual beer and running jaunt with my Fife running buddies, this time from Elie to Kirkcaldy. Alan's report says it all =

In spite of the fresh dump of snow overnight we all made it to Leven bus station for the ride to Elie. There was little snow in evidence along the coast but no shortage of lethally iced pavements and roads. Gus and Jim were waiting at the Ship Inn and our first (not unexpected) task was telling Gordon that we would be waiting for the 11am opening. With an open fire blazing away it was good to escape the snell south westerly and we enjoyed every last drop of our first £3.80 guinness.

With the tide out and blue skies the run along Elie beach gave us a great start to the day. Gus's bare legs attracted the first of plenty of attention (incomprehension!) they were to receive during the day. On the way along we picked up Brian who had jogged along from largo to join us. From the end of Earlsferry we took to the chain walk which gave us an exciting break from running and Brian showed us the old Kelty custom of juggling with boulders (explains a lot!). Beyond Shell bay the long run along the wide open sands to Largo was definitely one of the highlights of the day

In the Railway Inn Jim continued with his quest to snap all the barmaids and we were pleased that the price of a pint had gone down to £3.10. The run along the big curving sandy beach to Leven was brilliant but our hopes of finishing in daylight got a major dunt when the tailenders found it hard to escape the delights of a swing park??? Eventually we all congregated in the cheap and cheerful Molly Malones pub in Leven where Guinness slid more happily down our throats at £2.80 a pint.

From Leven we teetered along the icy pavements of Methil and Buckhaven to the welcoming Railway Tavern and were excited to find that Guinness had slipped to £2.50 but there was no sign of Laurie and Fraser. In their enthusiasm we discovered they had got half way to East Wemyss before we could 'reel them in'. We also had a few garbled calls from Pat who was on a bus somewhere near and was successfully 'talked in' by our 'Keeper of the Mallett'.

By now the sun was slipping away but we managed the short jog past the ruin of Macduff castle and down to East Wemyss in fading daylight and find the decent Wemyss Central hotel. (prices on their way up again!) Darkness had fallen by the time we emerged and we had to cover what should have been one of our most scenic stretches by torchlight. It was a case of 'hinging in' for most of us now as we ran past the now publess village of West Wemyss and then up the steps over the rocky headland and along into Dysart where the Man I' the Rock beckoned. With a final pint sunk we slipped down the icy slopes to the picturesque wee harbour of Dysart. A final run through Ravenscraig park resulted in us separating into several groups which all reached Laurie's Cartridges world in time for a clean up and change of clothes. A fine day was rounded off very pleasantly with a meal in the Annapurna.

Westies Christmas Handicap

2010-12-29T00:08:00.002Z

MONDAY 27 DECEMBER 2010

Shafted by the Shanghai Shuffler -
well, all except John Hamer who had a great run to win the 2010 Christmas Handicap at Carbeth. Rumours of EPO, HGH and all sorts of Chinese funny stuff abound re Dodgy Dave, and we await the results of the dope test with bated breath. That aside, it was a minor epic getting to the start this year, as lying snow on the "high road" led to some dodgy conditions, with half of us leaving our cars at the Carbeth Inn and running to the start. A round ten Westies made it, and timekeeper Drew as well. Dave left it a bit late, but spot-on to head off with Steffen at the back of the field. Muffy arrived fashionably late and meandered round herself. Studs and ice grips abounded and John Hamer's Kahtoola Microspikes payed off as he romped home over 3 miles of slushy snow well ahead of a fast finishing Dave, followed closely by Pauline. The fancy dress theme was kept up well by Pauline, John H and a few others, and a cold Carbeth Inn hosted us afterwards.

1. John Hamer 23m 08s
2. Dave Calder 20m 21s
3. Pauline McAdam 25m 34s
4. Helen McPherson 27m 03s
5. John Donnelly 22m 19s
6. Cat Miller 25m 54s
7. Steffen Gorgas 21m 47s
8. Myra McAdam 31m 30s
9. Elizabeth Adam 30m 08s
10. Muffy Calder 31m ??

Frozen Falls of Clyde

2010-12-28T23:56:00.008Z

SUNDAY 26 DECEMBER

A walk and a chance to take some pics of the frozen Falls of Clyde at New Lanark.

Westies Sunday Golf Outing

2010-12-19T19:55:00.007Z

9 Westies put the disappointment of not getting over to Peebles for the Baxter's Bash aside and met at Milngavie Train Station instead. We had fine weather, icy paths and 100% snow cover for our tour of Milngavie's finest golf courses. Mugdock's own paths were treacherous, even if you were Kathoola-spike'd up like John Hamer, so we opted for the (white)greens and fairways,which were generally firm and not too icy . 9 miles later, and hardly any falls, we had a well deserved round of hot chocloate and cakes. A cracking morning out, and to cap it all the snow only started falling after we had left Costa's - excellent!!

Snowy East Kilbride Scenes

2010-12-09T19:17:00.009Z

Lomond Hillrunners' Weekend in Birnam

2010-12-05T23:15:00.011Z

Laggan was called off due to the weather, so Adrian Davis kindly put us all up at his guest house in Birnam. We enjoyed a snowy run/walk/flounder up Deuchary Hill (509m) on Sat and wandered up Birnam Hill (404m) on Sunday.

Alan's post =
The 'not pissed off at being off piste' trip to Birnam

And Gord said - let there be snow - and there was snow - and it fell and kept falling

and the trip to Laggan did not come to pass

but a prophet arose from the wilderness (Birnam)

and his name was Adrian

and he said - all you Lomies how run and are not now able to run

come to me and I will give you a bed at the Inn and sustenance

and the three wise men - Uncle Alan, Mr Refill and Jabbers did follow their TomTom to the wilderness bearing gifts of great worth - cans of black nectar

and it came to pass that Lucy did arrive seeking a bed at the Inn with her Kipper and John from the West did also journey north to swell the throng

on the first day they were joined by Mel and in the company of four dogs did journey through the snowdrifts to the heights of Deuchary hill - and the snow and ice did gather on Jasper and Kippers nether regions and they were sorely troubled!

that night the innkeeper did ply the multitude with fine food and wines and Prophet Paddy with his quiz were sorely missed

on the second day the sun did shine on the wilderness and the Lomie throng made their way to the summit of Birnam hill

from the top they looked around in wonder from peak to shining peak and the Prophet Adrian did say

'there's some soup left - Gord hath revealed a short cut unto me!"

back at the Inn Jabbers did spot three feet of snow on the hump of his camel and wishing to avoid a penalty of 60 shekels and three lashes did shovel the snow from his hump

and the lomies did bow down and give thanks to the prophet of 'Farty owls' before departing to their own lands

Uncle Alan

Saturday's details
Sunday's details

Tinto Hill Race

2010-11-15T12:21:00.004Z

SAT 13 NOVEMBER
Only a few Westies wandered up into deepest Lanarkshire for this classic that rounds off the hill racing season. The weather was fine, if a bit windy, and fortunately the snow that covered Tinto the following day was absent on Sat. About 260 runners hared off along the narrow muddy track as I tried to not get left too far behind. My heart rate had zoomed up immediately to about 85% max and stayed there for the whole race. I mixed power walking with slow running and hit the summit cairn in just under 30mins. The descent is a classic, not too steep and decent enough grip. I lost a few places to some demon descenders, but also passed a few, including fellow Westie Alasdair Duke. I crossed the line in a shade over 43mins, only a minute down on my 2008 time, so taking into account the ravages of father time on my weary body, I was pretty pleased. I scraped into the top third of the field with 87th place of 264 finishers. Alan Gilkison led Westies home. My sixteenth (and slowest, PB= 36m 35s 1995) race here and hopefully I'll be back for many more. Thanks to Cameron Scott and his team of Carnethy organisers for a fine day out.

Race on Garmin

1 Jethro Lennox Shettleston 00:32:01
2 Alasdair Anthony Ochil HR 00:32:43
3 Matthew Sullivan Shettleston 00:33:07
11 Angela Mudge Carnethy FV40 00:35:38

33 Alan Gilkison Westerlands CCC MV40 00:38:33
87 John Donnelly Westerlands CCC MV40 00:43:05
103 Alasdair Duke Westerlands CCC M 00:43:55
112 Brian Brennan Westerlands CCC MV50 00:44:23
162 John Quinn Westerlands CCC MV50 00:47:37
176 Pauline McAdam Westerlands CCC 00:48:37
209 Paula Cowan Westerlands CCC FV40 00:51:06
254 Patricia McLaughlin Westerlands 01:01:11

Westies Trip to Loch Ossian

2010-11-08T11:34:00.003Z

5-7 November 2010

A select band of Westies enjoyed a glorious weekend in the wilderness of Corrour Estate, on yet another Westies trip to Loch Ossian Youth Hostel. We kicked off on the Friday night with Fyne Ales and fine food in the Bridge of Orchy Hotel, before getting the train in to remote Corrour Station (410 metres high). After dragging our supplies down the mile long track in the dark we settled into the hostel, to be greeted by a warm smiling hostel warden (Yes, Nick had left!!). Plans were mooted, maps pored over and drinks poured down for a few hours.

Saturday was a fine day weather-wise and lots of different parties headed out into the glorious autumnal mountain scenery. Cat and I chased after Fiona, Helen and John Hamer bound for a 20 mile round trip to Ben Alder, though we somehow overtook them unknowingly on the way up, and saw their fellprints as we descended in the mist. Chris, Ellie and Ossian virgin David Dickson headed over by the head of Loch Treig to climb Stob Coire Easain and Stob a' Coire Mheadoin. John Hutchinson and Susie trained it to Tulloch Station and came back via Strath Ossian. Colin tested his dodgy knees successfully by heading over Chno Dearg and Stob Coire Sgriodain while Charlie summitted the nearby Meall na Lice.

A few brave souls donned fancy dress in the evening, but most of us settled for just enjoying the fine food and baking organised superbly by Fiona. In deference to the absent Dave Calder we enforced a strict no dancing rule and even declined a round of Music Man, settling instead for some of Fiona’s “10 Questions”.

Sunday dawned sunny, freezing and glorious as a few brave souls raced “Round The Loch”. Chris blasted round well under 50 mins, Ellie and Susie well under 55mins while poor John Hamer missed out on a sub 1hr by only a few seconds, apparently a repeat of last year!! He would surely have smashed it had he not ran a marathon last weekend and a 6 hour Ben Alder run on Sat. After breakfast we all took advantage of the fantastic weather to get some more hills done. Colin, John and had a grand few hours climbing Leum Uilleim at Corrour Station; Chris, Ellie and Susie bagged Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre south of the Loch; David set off for a solo run up to the Bealach Dubh and grabbed Geal Charn.

After all our excursions we enjoyed the new Nick-free atmosphere of an unhurried Sunday afternoon by polishing off soup, pizza and puddings. Bags all packed and hostel all tidied we plodded up to the station for the 6.30pm train. In final deference to our absent Chinese Westie we gave the Hokey-Kokey a miss, though the sprint relays warmed us all up, as the winter weather started to close in on another great weekend. Major thanks to Fiona for all her organisation, to everyone who cooked, baked and contributed to this wonderful weekend.

Meall a' Bhuachaille Hill Race

2010-11-03T19:16:00.006Z

Enjoyed a decent unspectacular race. Steady start along the trails, heathery plod up the hiils, decent descent a mixture of heather, rocky path and then good surfaces, and ran well along the final mile or so and picked up a few places with a reasonably fast finish.In the evening enjoyed good food, beer and dancing at the Scottish Hill Runners en of year bash. Westies picked up some team prizes which was great.

1hr 11min for 51st of 116 runners
my race on Garmin

Results

Run of the Mills Hill Race

2010-10-25T18:35:00.009+01:00

SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER 2010

Marshalled on top of Ben Cleuch in the Ochils for Chris Upson's new hill race. Very cold and windy but great views.

FRA Relays, Lomonds of Fife

2010-10-18T18:09:00.005+01:00

My 15mins notice led to me being mega sluggish at the start as the Uncivil Servant hared off. Lots of unfamiliar narow trods led to a steep gully and by the top of West Lomond me had re-acquainted ourselves and from then on traded places as we raced after the Ochils Ladies, whom we passed on the second ascent of West Lomond. We managed to pull/push each other along at a great lick, me leading off West and Dave pulling me along the final downhill along some fields, before I found some sprinting power over the last few hundred yards. A good day out and well done all you Westies. And a great big thanks to Fife AC for a brilliantly organised event.

Glorious Cycling in the Trossachs

2010-10-18T17:46:00.007+01:00

A fantastic 50 mile cycle from Callander round Loch Katrine, into Abefoyle and up the Duke's Pass.

Pentlands Skyline Hill Race

2010-10-11T18:23:00.004+01:00

SUNDAY 10 OCTOBER 2010
16 miles 6,200 feet

A dreich and claggy Pentland Hills greeted our band of Westies as we lined up for the last of the Scottish Long Hill Races. For my 15th running of this tour of the Pentlands I was treated to a personal worst, almost 40 minutes slower than my pre-decimalisation best time of 2hrs 57mins. But never mind I was pretty pleased just to finish, as race rustiness and Dave Calder’s beer-fuelled orgy in the Western Baths the previous night had left me bereft of energy. From the word go I knew that just getting round would be an achievement so I lapsed into plod mode. The clag helped me a bit as it led a few other runners astray, and by the second half of the race I mustered a sort of comeback to claw back a dozen or so places and gain a tiny bit of respectability. When I sauntered over the finish line in 3hr 35m, most of the other Westies had finished ages ago, led by Captain Chris under 3 hours and a fine run by Ellie to grab 2nd place behind the running machine that is Angela Mudge. Alasdair and Fraser made their debuts with solid runs. Almost worth crawling out of bed for.

After the mist had cleared, the Scottish Long Classics Series was won by Al Anthony and Andrea Priestley, with the Westies Long Lads and Lassies being Chris 8th, David Dickson 21st, Steffen 28th me 29th and John Hamer 38th. Well done everybody.

1st Murray Strain (HBT) 2h 24m 35s
7th Angela Mudge (Carnethy) 2h 44m 36s

17 Chris Upson Westerlands 2:59:09
49 Ellie Homewood Westerlands 3:14:15
50 Graham Kelly Westerlands 3:14:59
65 Alasdair Duke Westerlands 3:19:15
88 Fraser Laird Westerlands 3:30:18
96 John Donnelly Westerlands 3:35:54
142 John Hamer Westerlands 4:04:50

Results

Trekking in Morocco

2010-09-30T22:57:00.010+01:00

Just back from a cracking week in Morocco with 4 pals from Lomond Hillrunners. Climbed Jebel Toubkal (4137m), the highest mountain in North Africa. Then had a few days in exotic Marrakesh.

Alan's account =

The Hankey Bannister/mint tea trek - Alan , Laurie , Gordon , John, Andy

Tuesday - We arrived in Marrakech just as darkness was falling with the last of our airport Guinness oozing from our pores. Finding the taxi was the easy bit – surviving the short trip to the mountains was more problematical. The heavens opened and the lightning flashed almost as soon as we left the airport and the driver appeared to need a white stick to find his way along the busy road. His driving technique was to drive along the middle of the road straight for oncoming lights and then swerve at the last second. The final part of the drive was spectacular up an unmade road with blind bends and loads of washouts. We arrived in Imlil relieved to be alive and immediately found a decent hotel with comfy rooms. (200 dirhams for halfboard) Before long we were tucking into a delicious tagine. (beware using predictive texting - a message back to the wife about having a nice tagine arrived as 'just had a tasty vagina) Back in the rooms Laurie pulled out a bottle of Hankey Bannister and we got started on the bumper quiz book.

Wednesday - Blue skies! We breakfasted, paid a little for an almost empty gas cylinder, bought some bread then set off up the trail to the Neltner hut. At first it was lush green with irrigated terraces and villages clinging to the slopes. Further up we crossed large gravel beds then started climbing on the decent mule track. A small collection of shacks at a shrine gave us a welcome stop for a cold drink. Above, the scenery grew more spectacular but Andy started to wilt a bit (probably dehydration!). Hero Laurie came to the rescue by running back down to carry his sack. After a taxing climb of 5000’ from the village we arrived at an almost biblical scene of two large huts surrounded by a forest of tents and numerous mules. We decided to opt for camping outside the hut (no grass!) and paid about £6 for a decent meal and breakfast in the hut. More HankeyB and quizzes whiled away the hours.

Thursday - Nobody slept much but Andy was feeling better so after brekker we set off for Toubkal with light packs. Apart from losing the path for a bit and struggling up horrible scree it was fairly straightforward and none of us were too troubled by the 4167m altitude. With a mob at the top it was a bit reminiscent of arriving at the summit of the ‘Ben’. It was a bit too hazy to see the Sahara but we got great views down the steep southern slopes. With our rapid descent we overtook most parties on the way down to the hut where we ordered lunch. Rested, fed and watered we packed up the sacks and headed up for the 3600m col to Lac Ifni. Away from the crowds it was much more enjoyable and a zig-zag track took us to the col. It was Gordon’s turn to struggle a bit this time and again Laurie came to the rescue with a ‘cheeky’ jog down to carry his sack. Alan was a bit alarmed about what 'bits' he might have to plaster up (or sew back on!) in the case of a slip. The view down the other side was incredible with steep broken rocky crags making the way down look improbable. However as we set off the path unfolded but needed real concentration with our heavy packs. After an age we reached the lake where we had planned to camp. Luckily we found some open stone shelters which provided an ideal haven for the night and bizarrely there was even a wee stall selling pepsis and choco bars. A couple of hip flasks and more quizzes made for an enjoyable evening. We tried not to worry too much about the state of Gordies feet and I slept fine not having believed Laurie’s wind up about black scorpions (it was true!)

Friday - Gordon declared himself ‘fixed’ but we stuck to the original plan of heading down the valley to the village of Amsouzert for an easy day. After a climb up to the end of the lake it was down a wide stony track in the baking sun with the lure of green terraces and civilisation below. At the first village the lad that had rented out the shelter the night before was waiting for us and took us to the flat roof of his house where we had walnuts, bread, goats cheese and drinks. Refreshed we continued down the valley with lots to see and soon arrived at Amsouzert where we found a decent hotel. The walnut harvest was in full swing with the young men up in the trees bashing the nuts down with long sticks and the women working hard to pick them up. Later we dined up on the roof by candlelight - very romantic!

Saturday - With a bit of uncertainty about the wisdom of re-crossing the mountains we had decided to have an extra night at the village and set off the heat down a very dusty road to visit the local souk (market) in an unspoiled Berber village. There were no tourists in sight and the hundreds of stalls sold everything imaginable. Our trip back was much more enjoyable as we followed a maze of paths back up the green valley bottom.

Sunday - Up at six and had an early breakfast of omelette and local bread to catch the 7 o’clock bus. Amazingly on time but the early speed of not more than jogging pace due to the state of the road promised a long journey to the main road 65km away. Thankfully the road got better and we enjoyed the contrast with other side of the mountains. We passed lots of little Berber villages with patches of irrigated green fields contrasting the intensity of the parched sandy-hued hills and the wide blue skies. We reached another busy souk where our driver moved us onto a bus for the last 15k of the trip. At the main road we had drinks and arranged a grand taxi back to Marrakech – at about £5 a head not bad value for the two hour drive. Not far up the road we stopped at a busy little roadside town for a delicious tagine and then continued over the spectacular pass and down to Marrakech.

Sunday – Tuesday
We found a decent hotel just next to the square for about £8 per night with breakfast for another £2 and this provided an ideal base for wandering into the great square to watch all the activities and get lost in the souk. The rule for haggling seemed to be to aim for 30% of the asking price and ignore any stories about having to feeding ten children! It caused much hilarity when some of the locals shouted Ali Baba at Gordon and Alan ?? Laurie and Andy even summoned up the enthusiasm for a 16k run round the old city walls the first day and then a run out to a small hill on the last day.

Photos

Westies Calderglen Handicap Race

2010-09-18T01:44:00.003+01:00

WED 15 SEP 2010

Don Reid's report =

The first Calderglen handicap race went really well with 22 runners turning out. JD had done a great job marking the course and with my family marshalling the road crossings, there was no major navigational gaffs (unlike the Comrie relays!).
I knew that we only had about an hour of good light to play with so Drew was under pressure to set the handicaps and get everybody off and running. I think he got it about right (apart from mine of course!). Ken McMahon came in first with a time of around 32.45 (the fastest of the night i believe), just ahead of my EK training buddy, Gerry Reid (33.00) who was having a guest run.
First lady in was Pauline i think and i'm sure Drew will add the times soon.
Well done to everybody who took part. The response to the course seemed to be pretty positive, so i will put the event on again next year but perhaps earlier in the summer to provide more daylight.
Finally, thanks to all the marshalls including Eileen Reid and Davie Mac, JD for marking the trail, Drew for timing and John Quinn for buying me a beer in the pub afterwards.

Westies webpage

Comrie Hill Running Relays

2010-09-18T01:30:00.004+01:00

SUN 12 SEP

A cracking sunny day out in a lovely part of undiscovered Scotland. I had to endure a tortuous 7 mile trail leg first for the Westies vets, though I then got to enjoy the rest of the day.Great scenery, lots of good company and a barbeque and cakes and tea - FAB

Comrie Relays webpage

Applecross and Torridon, and a wander round Glen Affric

2010-09-18T01:13:00.003+01:00

Two Corbetts in Applecross then Beinn Alligin in Torridon, and finally some rambling in Glen Affric. Had the use of a camper van and stayed at the free campsite at Shieldaig

Photos

Bealach Mor 90 Mile Cycle Sportive

2010-09-18T00:40:00.005+01:00

SAT 4 SEP
90 miles 10, 000 feet = 5hrs 41mins

Sub-6 hours at last! I whacked 20 mins off my PB, to smash under 6 hours for this 90 mile 10, 000 feet rollercoaster cycle race. Got on to a fast moving train before Achnasheen, stayed most of the way to Lochcarron before getting dropped. had a good climb out of there and over to Kishorn, before getting up the 2000 feet Bealach Na Ba climg in 48 minutes. Got blown up the Applecross peninsula by a tailwind, then struggled back to Shieldaig over the never ending ups and downs. Got a great head of steam up for the last 10 miles from Torridon back to Kinlochewe, the adrenaline surging me along for 30 mins, to finish in a time I was totally chuffed about.

Bealach Mor

Ochils 2000 Hill Race

2010-08-31T21:04:00.004+01:00

SAT 28 AUG 2010
18 miles 5,000 feet

Another long race and yet another near-identical time to the previous attempt - so I’m getting older but at least not any slower, or something like that. This was my second go at this new-ish long race in the Ochils and a fine race it is. The fact of it being an A-B means you need to get to Stirling Uni pretty early to get bussed over to Glendevon for the 12.00 start. However, that gives plenty of time for pre-race socialising, as opposed to the usual frantic registering and warm-up routines. And you get a nice wee bus ride along the foothills of the Ochils thrown in too.

We were politely dumped at the forest start a good 45 minutes before kick-off, but this was fine as the weather was fair and the midges non-existent. The only reason for any sort of warm-up prior to such a long race was the very important matter of getting one’s bowels and bladders emptied pre-race, and the woods were dotted with runners lightening their loads.

At the off we all meandered up in usual unhurried long race style, or in my case, my only type of early race pace, slow and steady. The forest track spread everyone out well before we hit the ridge up to Innerdownie, Whitewisp and Tarmangie. I settled down to a plod, watching my usual rivals disappear ahead, possibly never to reappear again, who knows at that stage. I just tried to run my own little race with myself for the first few hours before seeing if my body could manage to push on or hang on at the end.

This (my only) tactic worked quite well as I enjoyed some steady running and climbing for the first few hours out past Ben Cleuch and on to the twin peaks of Buck and Ever. On the trudge through the bog/swamp/tussocks over to Blairdenon I passed Brian Brennan, and closed in on Susannah MacMillan and Louise Burt, who had been a good few minutes ahead of me earlier. There is much talk of secret fast lines through this morass, but I tend to just aim straight over and take what mess I find myself in. In this case I followed the two ladies hoping they would find any waist deep bog before I would. It seemed to work OK.

The three of us summitted Blairdenon together, then I led them off straight down the fence line, ignoring the alternative longer, but possibly quicker, contour. A few falls later into ditches that were masquerading as runnable trods, I found the line down onto the tracks near the dam at Jerah, passing new Westies signing David Dickson. An energy jel, some jelly babies and some juice gave me the energy to push on up to Dumyat in the warming weather, eye-ing up Davy Duncan who was not too far ahead, and trying to stay ahead of Susannah had started to close right up behind me.

Gaining the top of Dumyat in 3 hrs 20 mins, was a welcome relief with the old familiar mid-week race route descent ahead. I tried to get my creaky knees and heavy legs to descend as fast as they could, and managed down in 21 minutes, making up a few places knowingly – and a few more unknowingly as Steffen Gorgas, Stuart Barrie and many others had veered off route on the descent, easily losing at least 5 mins. I placed 40th of 84 with my 3h 41m 15s.

It was the usual pleasant relief to flop down on the grass besides heaps of fellow Westies as our bodies started to realise what we had put them through in pursuit of our “hobby” or whatever. Some nice refreshments and prizes followed, as well as the usual post-mortems and general chit-chat. Thanks to Ochil Hillrunners and all their helpers for the race.

Ken Laidlaw 105 Mile Cycle

2010-08-23T15:56:00.002+01:00

SUNDAY 2 AUGUST
105 miles; approx 10 (or maybe even 11!) thousand feet ascent

The weather for my 2nd time in Hawick couldn’t have been more different than last year, but my time was almost exactly the same! Figure that one out? I had gorgeous sunny weather all the way round for my 7 hrs 6 mins of hilly Borders cycling, compared to last year’s drenching, which made the whole thing far more pleasant.

A field of over 200 runners rolled out of Hawick Rugby Club, concentration being at a premium to avoid clashing with the masses of lycra clad cyclists for the first mile or so as the closely packed peloton rolled out of town on to the quiet country roads. After a few miles the pace quickened and after the first couple of gradual, testing climbs, groups formed to press on down to Newcastleton. Cycling in a bunch certainly eased the effort as we had a fair headwind to contend with, and the odd short spell at the front soon made me realise the effort required to take one’s turn.

After two hours I had a short break at the first stop at Newcastleton for some cake and a roll. The next section over to Lanhgolm was on an exposed hilly moor road, and was a bit of a drag, though the expansive views were great. The various groups had split up here, but on the long cycle up to Eskdalemuir, a few small groups formed and this helped me maintain concentration and effort. I started to flag a bit a few miles from the next stop at Ettrick Village Hall, though fortunately the last 3 or 4 miles to this 66 mile check were downhill through the many forests in this area, and the Buddhist Monastery.

After a decent 10 mins stop here, I reluctantly dragged my weary limbs back on my bike and headed off, though a long snooze in the warm sun would have been far more preferable at that point. After the first long drag of a hill up and over Berrybush to the Gordon Arms pub, hopped on the tail of a small peloton and it dragged me on nicely to an earlier group who had left me. One wee hill though and I had to ease off, before the next proper hill, The Swire, forced the granny to be engaged again for a slow grind, the last of the jelly babies being gulped down here.

A fast but windy descent followed down to Kirkhope and Ettrickbridge, lovely little villages outside Hawick. Yet another hill followed up Woll Rig and down to Ashkirk, where 4 cyclists caught me up en route to the last climb of Leap Linns, another long moorland drag. I stuck with them and even managed to pull away from them on the climb. A Falkirk cyclist stuck with me and passed me just after the top, giving me a target to chase for the last 7 miles, which were all downhill.

Fortunately, we both seemed evenly matched and together we took turns at finding some energy to push the pace, which was great fun as we sped along the quiet B711 feeling for all the world like Contador and Schleck battling it out on the Tour de France, well sort of. It sure felt exhilarating and fun though as we pressed on the finish in just over 7 hours, almost exactly the same time for both of us as last year as it turned out! A great tour of lovely Borders scenery, fab weather, lots of pretend cycle-racing and a decent end-result all left me with a big smile on my face, and a bottle of Bitter & Twisted in the sunshine after was the icing on the cake.

Lomonds of Fife Hill Race

2010-08-19T14:46:00.006+01:00

SUN 15 AUGUST 2010
17.5km 1000 metres

Cycling 80 miles round the Trossachs the day before was maybe not the best preparation for this tough wee race, but what the heck, that’s what weekends are for. The day dawned bright and blue, and by 1pm was pretty warm too. After having helped Gordon Pryde out at registration we both quickly changed into racing gear, applied suncream and rushed up to the start field, assured that they couldn’t actually start without the organiser. A good few Westies were milling around, no one really bothering about much of a warm-up, with at least 2 hours of hot, hard hillrunning ahead.

I took it dead easy at the off, as most of the runners hared off up the initial gentle slopes, plodding along with Davy Duncan and trying just to ease into the race. I quite enjoyed the steep climb up to West Lomond, only to immediately turn at the cairn and zip off downhill back the same way. The descending contour along to the forest wasn’t too bad, as I tried to hang on to Davy D, with runners taking all manner of routes here. The forest roads were a bit of a trudge though, as they actually required non-gravity aided effort, and I settled into a slow steady energy-conserving plod.

Places had settled down at this point as I tried to stay ahead of a posse of Fife A.C. ladies up past the monument and the grassy trails to the water station at Craigmead. Fellow Westie Dave Rogers had found the heat a bit much and was sitting the race out in the shade, before getting a lift back. The lead runners were already returning from faraway East Lomond and this allowed for lots of greetings as we passed each other.

I maintained a good steady pace to the summit of East Lomond, the great weather allowing for a fantastic view all the way to West Lomond, which was where we had to head for next. A brisk trot downhill led to the track back to the water station again, and then on to the ancient hill fort and the heathery trudge to the main track. I had gained a few more places by now, though the gaps were growing all around. At the foot of the steep wee climb up to West Lomond for the second and final time I passed another fellow Westies JD No.2 who was cramping up and slowing down.

I was at the top in about 2hrs 10mins, and after the infamous bum sliding descent down the precipitous green gully, finished in 2hrs 16mins. I was pretty pleased with this, as it was only a few seconds down on last year’s dire run, but at least this time I actually felt OK during the race, it being Saturday’s cycle to “blame” this time, as opposed to old age, slow legs or anything like that, of course. All in all, a grand day out amongst lovely scenery and lots of friends and topped off with a pint in the pub. Excellent.

Previous times -
2006 2h 00m 06s
2007 2h 01m 08s
2008 2h 01m 05s
2009 2h 15m 40s
2010 2h 16m 00s

Glenshee 9 Munros Hill Race

2010-08-10T20:30:00.003+01:00

SUNDAY 8 AUGUST 2010
33km 1800 metres

My third running of this new brute of a long race, and pretty much the same time as last year, which was pleasing. As Ellie says, the clag lifted early on making navigation easy, but unfortunately not making the 9 Munros any easier. Starting off at over 2000 does help though. After a steady run to the first one, Steffen passed me on the short grassy climb to the second, and stayed a minute or two in front all the way till the road crossing at the two-thirds mark.

We were all pretty well strung out on the grassy plateau, allowing me to set my own steady pace and try and conserve energy for the final 3 Munros over on the west side of the road. I passed Brian Brennan at Munro number 6, managed to find a nice route avoiding the horrible boulders and headed off in pursuit of Steffen and others not far ahead. The road crossing was reached in exactly 3 hours, like last year, and Steffen and I headed off together.

This brutal 400 meter climb is a shock to the system after the nice run down to the road, and really deflates you mentally and physically as you haul yourself inch by inch upwards for half an hour. Reaching the top together with Steffen, we saw clearly the horror that lay ahead - the very distant Munro No. 8. I shuffled off slightly in front but it wasn't long till the next short climb that Steffen easily passed me as my legs really started to feel weary. Gels and jelly babies helped a bit as I tried to stay with him, as we greeted the returning runners who were heading for the last Munro.

After what seemed like an age I reached No. 8 a few minutes behind Steffen, and found some running in my legs for the gradual descent. I caught up at the foot of the final climb, managing to drag my legs up ahead of him, and maintained a short lead down the snow-free ski piste to the finish. Oh, the pleasure of finishing a long hard race, but oh dear the pain also! I finished in 4hrs 46mins, 58th of 91, only a few seconds down on last year's time.

Soup, tea and cakes were laid on and went down well, before Don chauffered me home where I crashed out on the couch, truly done in and well sunburnt also. Well done all you Westie finishers and commiserations to the drop-outs.

Westies Narnain Boulder Handicap Race

2010-08-05T12:35:00.000+01:00

WED 4 AUGUST 2010
Nine Westies made the effort to get to scenic Arrochar for the bash up and down to the Narnain Boulders, up by The Cobbler. We were all rewarded with a lovely evening, and the midges weren’t too bad either. I was personally rewarded with an insulting handicap, despite my protestations of old age/tiredness/weary leg syndrome and even some begging on my knees. I proceeded to live up to this handicap by trundling in last; having ran so slowly that the others had even started to head up track to look for me. Despite my leaden legs I enjoyed the stunning views all around, including Loch Long and Ben Lomond. The best view of all, though - apart from Don’s impressive array of cuts, scrapes and bruises – was the pint of Loch Fyne Avalanche Ale and plate of fish and chips in the Village Inn afterwards. John Quinn had obviously paid off the handicapper handsomely, and came home in first place, getting the new Narnain Trophy, courtesy of sponsors Asda. He was so overawed by this impressive display of plasticware, that he declined the beer and food in favour of rushing home to show his wife his new trophy. Or maybe he was just rushing Don off to A&E at Hairmyres Hospital.

Dollar Hill Race

2010-08-03T18:38:00.001+01:00

SAT 31 JULY 2010
14KM 960 metres

The lean mean racing machine that is the revamped and recently retired Brian Brennan, was bemoaning the lack of fellow Westies racers early on Sat, but one by one a few of us crawled out of the woodwork to race this British and Scottish Champs race round the Ochils, though we were all Vets!!!, where are the youngsters??. Yours truly had an averagely good race, I think, just managing to stay ahead of slimline BB, but behind Murdo and my eternal racing rival Davy Duncan of Ochils HR. Manny led us home, followed by Steffen while Pauline and Pat were the sole Westies women.

The numbers were swelled by the ranks of super fit English, Welsh and Irish runners, and this led to congestion in the narrow footpaths of Dollar Glen. We fanned out plenty by the time we hit the steep trudge up to Saddle Hill and Whitewisp Hill. It was a real effort to haul my legs up here step by slow step, but heh, it was the same for everyone I suppose. Once on the ridge the running was easier and I started to chase down a few runners in front. With the larger numbers this year there were always runners around, making for good competition, both from in front and behind. From Tarmangie Hill there was a great runnable descent to the deer fence, and a bit more effort was required for the slightly uphill traverse over to the foot of Andrew Gannell Hill.

At this point I couldn’t quite remember if we headed over to Ben Cleuch or not, so it was a relief to see runners rounding at the top and heading in the direction of Maddy Moss. I bashed down this great descent feeling great as we all do on a downhill, passing a few only to have to the reality of tired legs reappear for the slog back up to the last top of Kings Seat.

Davy Duncan was right beside me at this point, and I tried to shake him off by putting in a burst on the first part of the descent, but the old man just bided his time and raced away from me as my quads started to protest at the bashing they were getting.

A Carnethy also passed me just before the return to the Glen, as did Anita Hamilton of Cosmics, but I tracked her down to the road, where she seemed to tire. I got away from her and managed to catch one other to finish 150th out of 252 in 1hr 43m 54s. The winners' times were 72m 48s (M) and 84m 01s (F). A great spread of cakes and goodies were laid on by organisers Ochil Hillrunners.

Clyde Stride 40 Mile Trail Race

2010-07-19T00:06:00.008+01:00

SAT 17 JULY
40 miles 500 metres ascent

When the night before the daunting prospect of a 40 mile race you feel weary and in need of a long lie-in, it doesn’t inspire confidence. A 6.30am wake-up call did not seem anywhere as near attractive as…, well anything else, despite looking forward to this run over all my old running territories of the last 25 years. For better or worse I’m used to ignoring such feelings and just getting on with things, so I dragged myself out of bed at 6.45 and headed for the exotic delights of race registration at Partick Railway Station. It was just as well, as I proceeded to have, in my own small way, a stormer of a race, and I'm still on a high as I write this on Sun night.

Only a few familiar faces were hanging about at that start unlike my usual hill race, but like hill runners they were all exuding a very relaxed attitude about what lay ahead. After stashing drink and bananas in the cars designated for the 3 checkpoints there was a wee briefing from race organiser Lee and we were sent on our merry way alongside the busy Clydeside Expressway. Soon we hit the Clyde-side itself the pace nice and gentle as we headed through Glasgow Green, scene of many Shettleston Harriers’ infamous winter “mile rep” sessions many years ago. Ahead of me lay many years’ memories of running and I was looking forward to revisiting these. Commonwealth Games building meant a less than scenic diversion through Dalmarnock, where I briefly found myself in front of the race leaders who had gone walkabout. After this moment of glory reality set in and I settled into a steady plod along the River Clyde, enjoying the leafy scenery by the Clyde.

The first checkpoint at Cambuslang after 10 miles allowed for replenishing of supplies, and the route now became more scenic as we hit the grassy banks of the Clyde at Carmyle, scene of many a Shettleston club run in the 90s. The sun was shining now and it was a real pleasure trotting along leafy paths to Bothwell Castle, interrupted only by a brief diversion into Blantyre, as we headed down to Strathclyde Park via a dodgy crossing of the Raith Interchange. By coincidence my sister and family were passing and gave me a cheer, though she later confessed that she thought I was just out for a “jog round the park”!! The heavens opened up at this 20 mile checkpoint, cooling me down nicely as the 3 hour mark was reached. A salmon and cucumber sandwich followed by a banana fuelled me up as I dodged the crowds watching the Scottish National Rowing Champs.

This 2nd half of the race was a second home for me, being my regular training grounds, and this helped immensely as I knew exactly what lay ahead. I reckoned that about 4 hours of running were left if I could keep up my pace. I was still feeling surprisingly good, just keeping a steady plod going on my own, the gaps in the field being quite wide now. I was just enjoying being out on my regular routes, past the Barons’ Haugh nature reserve and more grassy riverside banks up to Garrion Bridge, as we entered the Clyde Valley proper.

As I trotted along this most lovely part of the route, through woodland paths and riverside trails I started to pick off runners ahead. I was managing to keep a good pace going as others faltered and thtis spurred me on. I was doing that old runners’ trick of alternating between getting a bit excited about how well I might do if I kept up my current good pace, and trying just to calm things down and take things bit by bit. This seemed to work well as I reeled more runners in as I started to get that “finishing smell” in my nostrils and the adrenaline kicked in.

I felt fantastic as the race wound over the riverside paths past Crossford and Kirkfieldbank, before entering the last mile or two into New Lanark. I literally bounded down the cobbled lane to the village, before cruelly we were put on a mile loop that passed right past the finish. I sprinted down the well familiar path to the finish tent with a huge grin on my face to a time of 6hrs 18mins, just over an hour behind the winner, a skelf of a boy about half my age. I was mega chuffed at just finishing this great race, never mind in a time about 2 hours less than I had roughly anticipated beforehand.I finished 22nd of 85 finishers.

All seemed to enjoy this grand journey along the Clyde and I have to thank Lee and her band of helpers for a fantastic day out. The weary doubts of Friday night, and the strange lethargy that comes from so called easing-down in the week before, had evaporated into the bright buzz of euphoria that only comes from a tough challenge met head-on and concquered. Those celebratory beers on Saturday night were the sweetest in a long time.

Results

Clyde Stride

Simon Triger Memorial Handicap

2010-06-30T23:51:00.006+01:00

A cracking evening in the Campsies saw a fine bunch of Westies assembled to recall our dearly departed and much missed pal Simon. Drew took on the weighty, but important, task of timekeeping while the rest of us thrashed our bodies along the water board track to the top of Dumgoyne. In proper handicap style first was off last and last was off first. I was somewhere in the middle and I headed off just before Steffen, who along with Dom caught me pretty quickly.

I managed somehow to stay with them all the way to the top of Dumgoyne, which I reached in 30 mins. Along the way various Westies were spotted in strange locations bearing no resemblance to the course they should have been following. Some had the decent excuse of not having ran the race before, however others should really have known better - the excuse that she was in fact doing hill reps up and down near Cantwheery Cottage as the race wasn't hard enough somehow seemed a bit of a cover-up.

Everyone found their way to Dumgoyne where we all bunched up a bit, though Steffen and Dom certainly disappeared away from me. I did my best to give chase, as Graham and Scott breezed past me, while up ahead Paula was holding off Captain Chris to take the the Triger Trophy, along with a valuable bag of Haribo sweeties. The rest of us made do with chocolate buttons, sherbet fountains and other assorted goodies - much better than medals anyday. A great evening out and a fitting way to remember Simon.

1 Chris Upson 0:43:46
2 Scott Mitchell 0:46:07
3 Graham Kelly 0:47:26
4 Steffen Gorgas 0:0:48:54
6 Owen O'Neill 0:49:49
7 John Donnelly 0:51:09
8 Ellie Homewood 0:53:34
9 Ken Macmahon :55:58
10 John Quinn 0:56:21
11 Paula Cowan F40 0:58:35 Handicap winner
12 Helen MacPherson 0:59:23
13 Matt Bull 0:59:28
14 Muffy Calder 1:03:04
15 Rhona Bennie 1:07:07

Ship Inn Shell Bay Sandy Slither

2010-06-27T20:58:00.005+01:00

FRIDAY 25 JUNE 2010
6.1 miles 70m ascent

I took part in this lovely wee race 6 mile in the Kingdom of Fife on Friday evening. One of those rare point to point races, starting at Lower Largo and finishing in picturesque Elie outside the cracking Ship Inn. Most of the race is ran on the beaches with a little on the Fife Coastal Path. It was a lovely evening, the views and terrain were fab and I plodded my way round in 47m 13s 34th of 94 runners and first Westie, more importantly!!. I was pleased enough to have persuaded my wee slow legs to get up to something approaching moderate speed, after last week's Glen Rosa disappointment. The organisation by Fife A.C. was great and the atmosphere wonderful as everyone enjoyed beers and fish and chips in the evening sun outside overlooking Elie beach. A bit of a trek to get there but well worth the trip at least once.

Glen Rosa Horseshoe Hill Race

2010-06-21T00:26:00.006+01:00

SAT 19 JUNE 2010
20km 1700 metres

This was really a race of two halves for me - a staggeringly bad first half and a second half transformation back to mediocrity. Plodding along at the start of long races is my usual strategy, so I wasn’t too worried initially but it soon became apparent that my legs were dead to the world, as most of the field eased past on the runnable tracks down to the river crossing. I was hoping that the steep walk up the first climb would settle things down, but oh no, I crawled slowly baby step by baby step. I reckoned that I should at least head for the first checkpoint, before giving up but after a few mental debates I decided that as it was a gorgeous day and fantastic scenery (and a Championship counter for the famed SHR mug) I should plod on regardless.

The first steep descent was a bit of relief, though the long plod up to Cir Mhor less so. To make matters worse I had developed a blister on my right heel, but the kind marshalls plastered me up and I got back on my way. Cheering on all the Westies and other friends as they descended past me was good, though it showed that I was 20 mins down on them after 2 hrs of the race, which was less good. At this point I regained a vague semblance of normality and gained a few places on the contour from Cir Mhor to The Saddle. The views all around were stunning and irrespective of how anyone’s legs must have been feeling, it was simply a pleasure and privilege to be there.

I had a good relaxed climb up to Goatfell, picking the safe route round the crags of Stacach. At the summit I was so pleased to know that I would finish that I actually enjoyed the rocky descent, to cross the line (the correct way, unlike many others!) in 3h 46m (79/115), about 20 mins down on what I might have reasonably expected. Despite that I was so pleased to have got round after my awful start, and it was such a stunning day, that I was feeling great (though physically knackered). A walk back to the Ormidale Bar for a pint of Arran Ale, before the 7.30 ferry with Gordon and Laurie rounded off a grand day out.

There was a great turnout of Westies with Manny leading the way in 18th place in 2h 43m 51s and Pat completing a good turnout for the Westies Women’s Team in 5h 39m 32s.The winning man and woman were 2h 26m 24s and 2h 55m 52s. The results and a report are on the SHR website.

Lakeland Loop Cycle etc.

2010-06-21T00:11:00.008+01:00

11-15 APRIL 2010
A lovely April week down in the Lake District. Started off on Sunday with the 70 mile Lakeland Loop Sportif ( Hardknott, Wrynose and over to Langdale at the end!). Then walked up to Stickle Tarn; Lingmoor Fell one evening; the Three Shires Fell Race route the next day; and up Bowfell the next.

Wanders in Wales

2010-06-20T23:54:00.009+01:00

Did the 117 mile Dragon Ride Cycle down near Porthcawl/Bridgend - 7hrs 13mins/17mph, made the top third of the field. A great, well organised race with lots of long steady climbs and fast swooping descents. Pity I fell off the bike 3 times though!!!

A day on Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, visiting Crispin Flower and family. then headed off to Snowdonia, where I climbed Snowdon via the airy and hairy Crib Goch; and then 5 of the Welsh 3000 footers on the Carneddau range from the lovely Idwal Cottage Youth Hostel.

Three Ferries Cycle

2010-06-20T23:47:00.004+01:00

A cracking day out. The wee ferry over to Dunoon; round to Colintraive for lunch; over to Bute and round the island to Rothesay; over to Wemyss Bay and back up to McInroy's Point for the car.

Ben Wyvis

2010-06-20T23:43:00.003+01:00

An afternoon's wander (almost) up Ben Wyvis.

May Scrambles in Skye

2010-06-20T23:26:00.008+01:00

Wandered up Dun Caan (443m), the highest point on the Isle of Raasay on Sat with Sue and Gordon; and then conquered the amazing Clach Glas-Blaven traverse on Sun with Bumper, Brian and Chris - what a route!!!!. Sgurr Nan Gillean on Monday in fantastic weather up the so-called "tourist" route - brilliant.

Fred Whitton Cycle Challenge

2010-05-10T16:18:00.003+01:00

SUNDAY 9 MAY 2010
110 miles 11,000 feet ascent

I’m officially a First Class Fred Whitton cyclist now!!!!! – even if only by less than a minute. I clocked 7h 59m for the 110 miles and 11,000 feet of Lakeland torture, and was mightily chuffed. I had felt OK for most of the race, going at my own pace mostly, catching on to a few faster cyclists for a tow occasionally, pushing the speed on the faster stuff and steadily grinding away at the many climbs. My pace till the last 2 killer climbs of Hardknott and Wrynose was pretty much like last year’s 8h 17m so I was never really sure of how close I would be to even besting last year’s time, never mind cracking the magical 8h barrier. The weather this year held out, though I still had to get off and push my bike up the steep hairpins for a few minutes, whereas last year the heavens had opened up here.

After the last climb at Wrynose Pass I still thought I was outside 8hrs pace, but I still pressed on downhill through Little Langdale, hoping for the best. When I joined the main road back to Coniston with 4 miles left and less than 15mins to spare, I gave it everything I had and hammered it back. Screeching to a halt at the finish line I couldn’t believe that I had made it by such a narrow margin. Over the course of 8 hours to have achieved my goal by a minute was just amazing. Yet again I was overcome with joy and intense satisfaction, the adrenaline pumping away like mad throughout my body, and still am sitting here hardly believing that I managed it. Never mind that fell running superhero Rob Jebb was 2 hrs quicker in winning, I won my own (not-so)wee battle and that’s what counts in my book. Of almost 1000 cyclists I think I just made it into the top half of the field, not bad for an old hillrunner. A true challenge in all senses of the word and all the sweeter for it.

www.fredwhittonchallenge.org.uk

Three Ferries Cycle

2010-05-04T23:13:00.002+01:00

SUN 2 MAY
65 miles

Gourock- ferry to Dunoon-Colintraive(nice pub stop at the Colintraive Hotel)-ferry to Isle of Bute- down the east coast, then the gorgeous west coast with views to Arran, in to Rothesay(bag of chips from Zavaroni's)- ferry to Wemyss Bay- cycle back to Gourock. A grand day out, though the legs were sore from the Stuc a Chroin Hill Race yesterday.

Stuc a Chroin Hill Race

2010-05-04T22:58:00.002+01:00

SAT 1 MAY 2010

The grind on the forestry track at the start is a killer, and almost always makes me think lots of horrible negative thoughts about dropping out only minutes into the race. After that I warmed up a bit and got into the swing of things, running with Steffen till Ben Each where I managed to get away a bit on the ridge. The slog up to Stuc is always longer than you remember, though cheering on the runners as they descend back past you helps pass the time. Turning at the top of any race usually inspires some energy and I bashed on down to the ridge, with its umpteen wee upsies and downsies sapping the short-lived burst of energy. I lost a few places on the slanting sheep trod down to Glen Ample where I met Don having a wee Senior moment, before we both summonsed some energy for the last heave up to the moorland top.

Don ran away easily at the top and once back on the forest track I lapsed into a steady plod, managing to sneak past a few others in the last mile, to make it feel vaguely like a good run. I was pleased to finish in 3h 15m ( 81st/151), over half an hour slower than my best, but heh ho, that's life, or more like that's old age for you. A huge thanks to the organisers and to the numerous marshalls with their unending supply of jelly babies and water, you were brilliant. A pint of the Stuc a Chroin ale with the Westies Crew afterwards rounded off a grand day out in the Trossachs.
WESTIES RESULTS
* Manny Gorman, 2:36.02 (15th)
* David Rogers, 2:55.51 (41st)
* Chris Upson, 3:01.43 (53rd)
* Don Reid, 3:12.25 (71st)
* John Donnelly, 3:15.38 (81st)
* Steffen Gorgas, 3:20.46 (90th)
* Keith Adams, 3:26.27 (98th)
* Hamilton Semple, 3:51.29 (138th)
* John Hamer, 3:56.38 (140th)
* Paula Cowan, 4:05.52 (145th)

RESULTS = www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0033&RaceYear=2010

Forfar 150KM Audax

2010-04-25T23:11:00.003+01:00

SAT 25 APRIL 2010
95 MILES 4800 FEET ASCENT 9H 50M

With my two favourite Fifers, Louise and Moira, I had a great cycle round 95 miles. Starting and finishing in Forfar we headed out to Newtyle, Murthly, stopped in Dunkeld for soup and tea, out to Dalguise and up to Pitlochry, over to Kirkmichael for tea and Empire biscuits, over to Blacklunans and Glenisla, Peel Farm tea shop near Loch of Lintrathen for a tasty panini, before hitting Kirriemuir and back to Forfar. The weather improved all day and the scenery was Scotland at its finest. All in all a grand day out.

Galashiels 200KM Audax

2010-04-25T22:31:00.004+01:00

18 APRIL 2010
125 MILES 7000 FEET ASCENT 10hr 33m

Chris and I endured a lovely, if demanding 200K Audac cycle from Galashiels down to Moffat and back. Low-points were the hailstones near the Devil's Beeftub; high-points the numerous tea shop stops.
Chris' report =
JD and I had a bit of an epic cycle ride yesterday from Galashiels. 200km or 124 miles of hilly roads via Traquhair, St Mary's Loch, Megget/Talla Reservoirs, Tweedmuir, Devil's Beeftub, Moffat, St Mary's Loch again, Hawick, Newton St Boswell, Melrose and finally back to Galashiels after 10.5 hours, and 8.5 hours of cycling. Pretty vile unpleasant weather for much of the middle part, getting pelted with rain and hail, but thankfully improved for the final section.
Garmin route = http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30504354

Lakeland Loop Cycle Sportif

2010-04-19T13:35:00.002+01:00

SUNDAY 11 APRIL 2010
70 MILES 2000 METRES

Enjoyed a cracking cycle "race" down in the Lakes with 500 others. This very hilly route takes in the passes of Whinlatter, Hardknott (1 in 4 gradient!) and Wrynose starting from Langdale. We had fine weather and I just missed out on the 5 hour mark, finishing 149th of 454 finished. The race was won in 3h 43m.

Results = http://www.epicevents.org/downloads/LakelandLoop2010Results.pdf

Easter Corbett Bagging in Knoydart

2010-04-06T23:25:00.003+01:00

Easter weekend saw myself and 9 other Glenmore Club members head over to the remote peninsula of Knoydart. Friday's weather was glorious for the drive up and boat ride in to Inverie from Mallaig. On Saturday I trotted over the two Corbetts of Sgurr Coire Choinnichean and Beinn na Caillich. It was a hard slog straight up almost 800 metres in about a mile from the Knoydart Foundation Bunkhouse, with snow greeting me on top. I then headed cross country to the next one, nestling beside the mighty Munro of Ladhar Bheinn. It was more of a steady plod here, with a steep dodgy descent off it before sore knees reduced me to a walk back a few miles on land rover tracks to Inverie. A few beers and a roaring fire in the bunkhouse soothed the pain though.

On Sunday the promised fine weather made an appearance and I put the boots on anticipating lots of fresh snow on the ridge to Beinn Bhuidhe. I took the clockwise option, heading up into Gleann Meadail , not quite going all the way to Mam Meadail and bashing across to miss out Meall Bhasiter. The ridge was covered in a few feet of fresh snow, the sun was shining and the views were amazing - Loch Nevis, the Munros around Sgurr na Ciche, the Skye Cuillins and Knoydarts own array of Corbetts and Munros.

April Cycle

2010-04-01T21:26:00.009+01:00

THURSDAY 1 APRIL 2010

With a cheeky wee day off I managed a cracking 50 mile cycle from East Kilbride. I headed out to Auldhouse, Thorntonhall, Eaglesham, Whitelees Windfarm, Eaglesham Moor and down Newton Mearns to visit my pal Alan in Clarkston for some tea and Tunnocks Caramel Wafer. Headed back home via Eaglesham and Auldhouse. In between the su nshine and blue skies I had stinging hailstones, a knackered front derailleur cable and a puncture just to round things off. Still was a grand day out.

Westies Cateran Trail Weekend

2010-03-28T20:53:00.012+01:00

27-28 MARCH 2010

The 2010 Westies Extravaganza took place in Spittal of Glenshee. Three teams of intrepid Westies set off at 8am from Gulabin Lodge, and raced 55 miles no holds barred in a clockwise direction. Blairgowrie was the turn-round southerly point, and in between we ran over Mount Blair, past Kirkton of Glenisla, through the Den of Alyth, popped in to the Bridge of Cally Hotel and up Strath Ardle before cutting over at Enochdu to An Lairig for the final descent down to Spittal of Glenshee. It was a great day out in super scenery, with great company. In the evening we enjoyed fantastic home-baking, soups and mains and the odd beer and whisky. On Sunday a few of us enjoyed a wander up Ben Gulabin behind the lodge, and rounded off a fine weekend with some reviving tea in the Spittal of Glenshee Hotel.

Photos
Cateran Trail
Chris' map

Chapelgill Hill Race

2010-03-21T23:35:00.004Z

SAT 20 MARCH 2010

It had been many years since I was in this lovely corner of the country for the brutal Chapelgill race. But it was a welcome return, with the weather being grand and lots of familiar friendly faces. Westies managed a good turnout for this first SHR Championship counter. It's really quite a simple wee race - bash straight up steeply for a mile and then turn around and madly cartwheel down the heather, quads protesting all the way. I got the race out of the way in just under half an hour, heavy legs making for a very slow start before hitting the summit cairn in 21 mins, and a mad dash back down in just over 7 mins. Manny led the Westies home many minutes ahead of me. A great afternoon's running and socialising. I even enjoyed a nice pre-race cycle down to the Talla and Megget reservoirs, before snapping my chain a mere mile before Chapelgill, where Elsie and Laurie came to my rescue.

Had a more successful cycle on Sun on my other bike - a cracking 80 miles from Doune out round Loch Katrine, down to Aberfoyle past a pack of amazing wild goats, up the Duke's Pass, back to Callander with a nice cofee and cake stop at the lochside cafe, in and out of Doune and over to Dunblane and back. The weather picked up as the afternoon went on, and so did my spirits and energy levels. A great day out in bonnie Scotland.

Haworth Hobble

2010-03-16T00:06:00.000Z

SAT 13 MARCH 2010
32 miles 5500 feet

Quite literally my 10th go at this 32 mile trail race in Bronte country was indeed a “hobble”. Compared to last week’s High Peak effort, it was a case of from the ecstasy to the agony. After an hour of decent running my right hip was giving me a toothache-like pain that had me hirpling along unable to extend my left leg fully. This morphed into a pretty sore knee also, so feeling truly sorry for myself I limped and lurched along to the penultimate checkpoint at 28 miles. I somehow managed to get the endorphins and adrenaline to blot out the pain and raised a decent pace for the last part of the race to scrape under 6 hours, 25 minutes down on last year. Walking back the few hundred yards to the B&B was agony, but a nice hot bath and a rest seemed to clear up things, and today the leg seems fine. Ex-Westies Damon Rodwell and Crispin Flower ran as a pair and finished just over 5 hours; fellow High Peaker Dave Rogers wasn't too far behind them; Trotter pal Stuart Barrie ran about 6 and a half hours. The selective memory genes are already convincing me that I had a good enough time to return yet again next year for this great event, so I suppose it can’t really have been that bad!

1st - Adam Perry 4h 18m
49th - Damon & Crispin - 5h 11m
60th - Dave 5h 18m
112th - JD 5h 54m
approx 350 finishers

Race details = http://kcac.co.uk/events/haworth-hobble/

Results = http://www.fellrunner.org.uk/results/race10/10_haworth_hobble.html

High Peak Ultramarathon

2010-03-08T18:01:00.004Z

HIGH PEAK MADNESS – SAT & SUN 5/6 MARCH 2010

Well, how else would you describe doing the following in just over 30 hours – driving over 500 miles, running 42 miles and not sleeping in between!!!! In fact, evidence of the madness lies in today’s reports of fellow competitor and famous adventurer Sir Ran Fiennes having dozed off while driving home and crashed into 2 cars, on the same road as us a few mins ahead of ourselves on Sat afternoon.

The HPM (or more properly Ultramarathon – 42 miles and 7000 feet ascent) is one of those “challenges” I’ve been aware of via other mad Westies, and been interested in and scared of in equal measures, mainly due to my aversion to running in the dark. I’d managed to avoid getting called up as a reserve in previous years, but this time I decided to just go for it. And boy am I glad I did! Even now on Mon afternoon I’m still on a high from what was an amazing event, with only a few low points amidst numerous bizarre, fun, euphoric and emotional moments.

Friday I afternoon saw Graham Kelly and I driving down to meet Dave Rogers and Gordon Pryde at Abington, where Gordon did a sterling job with all the driving to the Peak District and back. Fish & chips in Stockport fuelled us up be fore arriving in the lovely Peak District village of Edale, where we managed a snooze before getting registered and kit-checked..The village hall was full of grizzled hardy souls and lean mean youngsters (that was us!). Headtorches of all shapes and sizes were on display, as were folks with lots of kit/not a lot of kit/ minimum clothes on/maximum clothes on. Despite the weird start time of 11.30pm, more suitable for bedtime, I was feeling surprisingly good and looking forward to my not-so-little adventure.

However, after a few seconds when Dave had hared off down the road as if in some 10K race, I was feeling less chirpy as I assumed my position for the night/morning to come – bringing up the rear and trying to keep my team-mates’ head torches in sight. Fortunately, they were quick to slow up and let me catch up frequently. The next 6 hours or so of darkness were nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated, as I simply tried to stay positive and just plod on and on through the tracks, trails and snowy high moors. The weather was also kind to us, mild-ish and not windy. We were about 3 and a half hours to the 1st feed stop at Moscar where I felt OK and refuelled a bit, despite the fish supper-induced queasy stomach.

On the next long, dark heathery plod after about 5 hours I was feeling really low and planning to bail out at Snake Pass, which I thought was only an hour or so away. 6 hours would still have been plenty I was telling myself, and I couldn’t envisage managing another 6 hours, and anyway I was holding the guys back. I had planned my wee trip to the village shop for the sat papers, maybe a pint and then cheer the others in. It’s amazing the different justifications you can come up with at 4am on a dark lonely moor for wanting to be elsewhere! However, that nice wee plan was spoiled by the fact that Snake Pass still lay 3 hours away over snow covered peak hags and heather, drat! I had no alternative to keep plodding, and by the time we arrived at Snake Pass, it was daylight, I was feeling better and there were tea & sandwiches & bananas.

There was no way now that I was giving up as there was only about 10/12 miles left and so after a few minutes there our great wee Westies and a Fifer Gang headed off on the Penine Way flagstones for the final stretch over the 2000 feet Kinder plateau. By now I was a man revived, feeling strong and positive and running well. With a little steep snowy climb we were up on the footpath that traversed the edge of the plateau, where we were greeted with a fantastic snowy wonderland with the sun even making an appearance through the atmospheric clouds. I even managed a spell leading the guys as we passed quite a few teams, and we were treated to the superb site of a frozen Kinder Downfall waterfall. Still on the Penine Way we dutifully followed master navigator Dave to the last few checkpoints over Edale Cross and Brown Knoll to the final ridge above Edale where the running was downhill for the last few miles.

I somehow managed to revive yet again at the prospect of some how actually finishing this amazing event, and I felt like I was having an adrenaline-fuelled sprint along to the final check just above the village at Hollins Cross. Weirdly this was where we had been all of 11 hours previously as the 1st check, and it just didn’t feel real that here I was with just less than a mile down the final slope to go. The adrenaline had just about ran out, but I gathered myself and caught the guys at the road for a triumphant finish into the village hall. The last few 100 metres had me literally choking back the tears as waves of euphoria surged through me, as the realisation of what we had accomplished sank in. In the hall we all collapsed into chairs, whilst I quietly sobbed tears of joy, as the sweat poured off me. It seems to be ultras that do this to me as the last time this happened was finishing the 53 mile Highland Fling last year.

Anyway, enough of my blubbing. I have to say a huge thanks to Dave, Graham and Gordon for what was a truly amazing adventure - I’m so so glad I “went for it”. A big thanks also to the organisers and all their helpers out in their wee tents in the dark & cold. For the record we finished in 11 hrs 42 mins, 13th team of 35 finishers with about 40 having started.

Race website

Photos

Walking Weekend in Inchree

2010-03-01T23:40:00.003Z

27 & 28 Feb 2010

Away with the Glasgow Glenmore Club for a fantastic winter's weekend of true winter mountaineering. The Ballachulish Horseshoe on Sat and Stob Coire Odhar on Sunday. Tons and tons of snow!!!!

Photos

My 21 Carnethy Hill Races

2010-02-18T22:36:00.008Z

1987 66m 05s
1988 61m 48s
1989 64m 30s
1991 67m 30s
1992 66m 25s
1993 62m 03s
1994 63m 30s
1995 67m 22s
1996 61m 29s
1997 61m 47s
1998 62m 29s ( position/runners= 92/396; Winning time=48m 21s;)
1999 59m 03s (60/385; 46m56s )
2000 61m 22s (75/444; 48m53s )
2001 60m 58s (62/396; 49m56s )
2002 63m 17s (80/383; 48m )
2003 61m 07s (89/460; 48m17s )
2005 66m 07s (128/452;52m10s )
2007 66m 48s (140/484; 47m59s )
2008 65m 45s (126/461; 47m11s )
2009 71m 18s (152/499; 53m02s )
2010 70m 38s (183/484; 48m41s )

The Year That Was 2009

2010-02-17T22:52:00.003Z

RUNNING = 1615 miles/62 000 ft ascent; 80 runs & 20 races;270 hrs
CYCLING = 3413 miles/62 000 ft ascent; 55 cycles & 10 races;260 hrs
GYM = 80 sessions;60 hrs
HILLWALKING = 35 miles/2 000 ft ascent; 5 days; 17 hrs

TOTAL = 600 hours/5000 miles/126 000 feet ascent of exercise on 350 "occasions".

2009 HIGHLIGHTS

Lomond Hillrunners annual pub run from Dalmeny to Kirkcaldy
Westies Wednesday night curries
Lomond Hillrunners weekend in Glen Clova
Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow
Monday night runs with the Glasgow Hash House Harriers
another Wuthering Hike trail race in Yorkshire
running the Trotternish Ridge on the Westies Extravaganza in Skye
finishing the 53 mile Highland Fling from Glasgow to Tyndrum in under 11 hrs
a week later running the Stuc a Chroin Hill race
a week later cycling the epic Fred Whiiton Sportif in just over 8 hrs
abandoning the Scottish Islands Peaks Race and cruising down the Crinan Canal instead
a cracking 100 mile cycle with Damon and the Kelso Wheelers down in the Borders
the Slioch Hill Race on a blistering hot day
helping Manny Gorman on his epic record breaking Corbett Round
Moira and I doing the Newcastle Cyclone 100 mile cycle one day and a 78 miler in Yorkshire the next day
a lovely Hash weekend in Tayvallich
completing the Arrochar Alps race in stinking weather and outsprinting Davy Duncan
98 miles of the Three Shires Sportif with Moira in the fab Yorkshire Dales
bagging 9 Munros during the Glenshee Hill race in under 5 hours
a very very wet 105 mile Ken Laidlaw Cycle Sportif from Hawick
up and over the Cairn O'Mount twice on the bike on a Sunday afternoon
just missing out on a sub-6 hr Bealach Na Ba 90 mile cycle in horrible weather
a great 70 mile cycle with Moira from Dunoon to Tighnabruaich
a lovely weekend in the Lakes with the Fifers for the FRA Fell Relays
another great Scottish Hillrunners end of year social in the Cairngorms
yet another Westies weekend at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel
a wintry weekend in the Trossachs with Lomond Hillrunners
... and many runs, cycles and beers with all my friends

and, of course, CYCLING FROM TIBET TO NEPAL!!!!!!!!!

East Coast Cross Training

2010-02-17T22:01:00.004Z

Sat saw my 21st carnethy race, earning me the coveted Quaich. A great day out with 18 of us Westies hauling ourselves round this intense lung buster.A Steady performance saw me just miss out on the top third of the field, but still happy with my effort.
183rd of 485 finishers in 70 mins 38 secs. Here's to the 31st!!!

I recovered enough to get back over to the east coast for the Musselburgh 67 mile Audax. A great route through rural scenery out to Dunbar via Gifford and the climb up Redstone Rig to Dunbar for a tea stop at 40 miles. Back via Haddington and along the coast at Cockenzie and Prestonpans. 4 and a half hours or so and pretty knackered.

Carnethy results

Newtonmore Walking Weekend

2010-02-04T00:01:00.006Z

30-31 JANUARY 2010

Up with my hillwalking club Glasgow Glenmore Club to Craigower Lodge for our traditional Burns Supper weekend. Climbed A'Chailleach (930m) on Saturday in lovely, though cold conditions; and a "Marilyn", the monument on Creag Ruadh(488m), at Laggan on Sunday.
PHOTOS

Lomond Hillrunners Pub Run

2010-01-18T18:08:00.011Z

SATURDAY 16 JANUARY 2010
20 miles/1000 feet/6 hours/6 pints

This year's ultra running and drinking epic was from Pittenweem to St Andrews along the Fife Coastal Path. Alan's report is here =
Once again Pat managed to astound us with his 'out of this world' dress sense and front pocket bulging with 'goodies'. We took the bus to Pittenweem where we started off proceedings with an early pint in the Larachmhor and were joined by Gordon (whose attempt to dodge a pint was easily overcome) and John Donnelly. By the time we emerged the heavy rain has gone and there was the promise of better weather creeping across the Forth. A short trot to Anstruther gave us the chance to enjoy another pint in the Ship Inn. We had a longer run now to Crail with a chance to enjoy the huge waves and some of the interesting rock formations. In this section we first came across incredible build ups of seething foam driven ashore by the waves. At Crail soup and bread washed down by another pint set us up for the run out to Fife Ness. In this section the build up of foam was mindboggling, like something from a Dr Who script, and in places threatened to submerge us. Alan had already had the thumbs down from the Crail golf club house for a pint but thought he would try to blagg it anyway. We managed to get the bar staff pouring pints before some committee members appeared and spluttered into their G&T's about 'questions will asked at the AGM'. We even managed to somehow win them round and parted on the best of terms. It was now a race against time and some pleasant running along beaches and the coastal paths led us to an impassable torrent at Boarhills where darkness fell and we had a 1 mile diversion to the nearest bridge. We got a bit muddled trying to find the clubhouse at the Fairmount with a promised pint and ended up splitting for the last section. David, Robert, John and Derek went off to the clubhouse to find it closed and then ran down the road. The others had a nightmare several miles of wading though muddy path churned up by cattle. All was forgotten as we reunited for a meal and a few more jars in St Andrews.

Ben Donich (almost)

2010-01-10T23:11:00.002Z

SUNDAY 10 JANUARY 2010
Alan Anderson and I attempted this Corbett from the Rest and be Thankful. Incredibly strong winds on the ridge at 500 metres turned us back though, as we could barely stand up. We headed off instead down the forestry tracks towards Ardgartan and back up the old (very icy) road. Brilliant views all around, but bitterly cold up the hills.

Stuc a Chroin Winter Walk

2010-01-10T23:03:00.005Z

SATURDAY 9 JANUARY 2010
A great winter's walk with Chris Upson. Up Ben Each first and then along the ridge and up again to Stuc. Back the same way. Tons of snow everywhere but no need for crampons.

Arrochar Winter Walk

2010-01-04T23:15:00.007Z

MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2010
A dander up to the col between Narnain and Cobbler. Even got the crampons on most of the time. A great breath of fresh air in great surroundings.

Crail to Cellardyke Walk

2010-01-04T23:04:00.004Z

SUNDAY 3 JANUARY 2010
A lovely walk from Crail to Cellardyke; lunch in the cracking Haven Pub, and a walk back.

Elie to St. Monan's Coastal Run

2010-01-04T22:28:00.006Z

SATURDAY 2 JANUARY 2010

A lovely, if windy and wintry, 2 hour run along the Fife Coastal Path from Elie out to St. Monan's and back. The first run of the year and a great way to start off.

Snowy Ochils Fun

2009-12-31T18:46:00.005Z

THURSDAY 31 DECEMBER 2009
A fantastic plod round the Ochils with Chris. We ran, walked, crawled, slid and generally floundered about in masses of deep snow having a wonderful time on the last day of 2009. A good way to finish off the year.

PHOTOS

Calderglen Snowy Trail Run

2009-12-20T21:43:00.008Z

SUNDAY 21 DEC 2009

A wonderful snowy trail run round one of my all time favourite routes - Calderglen Country Park, East Kilbride.

Ochils Hill Run

2009-12-13T18:56:00.004Z

SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER 2009

A 2 and half hour run up Kings Seat, Andrew Gannel Hill, Tarmangie and Whitewisp Hill. Freezing fog down below but fantastic and sunny above.

Falls of Clyde Run

2009-12-13T18:41:00.004Z

FRIDAY 20 NOV 2009

A fantastic lunch time run round the spectacular Falls of Clyde at New Lanark.

Loch Ossian Weekend

2009-12-13T18:23:00.006Z

7 and 8 NOVEMBER 2009

Another great Westies weekend at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel.

Cycling from Tibet to Nepal

2009-10-14T09:46:00.021+01:00

PHOTOS

Am chilling out right now in exotic Kathmandu after an amazing 1000 kilometre adventure/challenge/holiday??!! cycling from Lhasa in Tibet to here in Kathmandu. We were at mostly over 12,000 feet and cycled over passes of almost 17,000 feet. We visited the Tibetan Everest Base Camp at the north face. We cycled the longest downhill in the world, and we survived the mad, bad and extremely dangerous Kathmandu traffic at the very end. An amazing three weeks and a fuller write-up and photos will follow. For now, here are the trip notes from the Red Spokes website =

DAY 1 - Lhasa to the base of the Khamba La pass

MY REPORT
We left Lhasa in lovely sunny weather, stopping at the Potalla Palace for photos. We had a good few miles of busy city traffic before things calmed down a bit and the scenery improved. Lots of huge mountains all around, big blue rivers and lines of golden trees at the sides of the road. A lunch of rice and noodles in a field. Turned off onto a quiter road for the last 10km and got a puncture with 5km left. camp was at 3500 metres in amongst some trees.
DAY 1 PHOTOS
80km; 3h 45m cycling; 130 metres ascent; 135 metres descent
Maximum Altitude: 3617m; Sleeping Altitude: 3608m

"We leave our hotel in convoy out of Lhasa, stopping outside the Potala Palace for a group photograph to mark the start our epic journey. Once outside Lhasa you have a chance to take advantage of the flat roads and go at your own pace, stretch your legs and get warmed up for the climbs to come! The route follows the deep green water of the Kyi Chu (Lhasa River), with hills forming a picturesque backdrop as we head towards Chusul. The road pulls away from the river as we pass the recently constructed bridge and tunnel to Lhasa airport and gain our first views of snow-capped mountains ahead. We stop for some lunch and then it’s on towards Daga where we cross onto the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River; the highest major river in the world, with an average elevation of about 4000 meters. We follow the south bank some 10 km to our camp at the base of the Khamba La pass, with a short walk to the river to freshen up before dinner is served by our Nepalese cooks."

DAY 2-Base of the Khamba La pass to Nakartse

MY REPORT
Started straight off with a massive big climb up to approx 4800 metres. Roads were great with nice gradients and lots of sweeping hairpin bends. After I hit the sunshine after 20 minutes the layers of clothes were peeled off down to shorts and T-shirts for this really enjoyable climb, seemingly feeling no great affects of the altitude. Amazing views from the col of a massive turquoise lake and the first of the snow-capped mountains. A quick col 1000 feet descent to lunch at a lovely sunny spot by the lake. A few of the party were suffering from the altitude here. After lunch we had an easy 2 hours alongside the stunning lake. Camp was beside another lovely lake at about 4500 metres. We enjoyed a ovely dinner of spicy veg soup, momos & chips and even banana pie. A great day out.
DAY 2 PHOTOS
74km; 5 hrs cycling; 1225 metres ascent; 425 metres descent Maximum Altitude: 4807m; Sleeping Altitude: 4296m

"Today marks the first of our major climbs - 23 km to the Khamba La pass at 4807m. Recently laid tarmac aids our climb, but it will still be a tough day’s cycling as our bodies continue to adapt to the high altitudes. The reward for this morning’s challenging climb is the sight of the stunning, turquoise waters of the Yamdrok Tso (lake), this is a sacred lake to Buddhists. You will also be treated to the sight of the snow-capped Nazin Kang Sa (7252m) in the distance. We now make a fast descent (500 m) to the lake below and onto the Tibetan plateau. We will stop for lunch after about 5km, before completing the last 38 km into camp along flat but tough terrain."

DAY 3-Nakartse to Lungmar

MY REPORT
A long straight boring patch of road to start the day. However, we then entered narrower , mountainous terrain with snow-capped mountains nearby. There was a long hard drag up to the col - Karo La (5032m). We had great views of a nearby glacier before enjoying a great sweeping descent on switchbacks. We camped beside a river with some locals making their mud bricks beside us.

DAY 3 PHOTOS
52km; 3h 20m cycling; 600 metres ascent;520 metres descent
Maximum Altitude: 5032m; Sleeping Altitude: 4516m

"As we leave our camp today on the tarmac road we head west and climb to cross the Karo La pass (5032m). The first of the passes above 5000m, this is a challenging but enjoyable ride to the top of the pass, from where you will see an imposing glacier. Karo La is where Francis Younghusband fought a battle with Tibetans in 1903 to reach Lhasa."

DAY 4-Lungmar to Gyantse

MY REPORT
Started the day off with a long chilly 20km downhill and then a couple of testing wee climbs to warm us up. There were amazing reservoirs of turquoise blue amidst rocky mountains. We then had a brilliant fast downhill section to lunch in the hot sun. It was in to shorts and T-shirt after lunch for a fast flat ride into Gyantse. In the afternoon we had a tour of their lovely monastery, though I was flagging a bit by then and tired and very hungry. We were surprised with a nice hotel for the night instead of camping, which was great.
DAY 4 PHOTOS
60km; 2h 10m cycling; 255 metres ascent; 725 metres descent
Maximum Altitude: 4516m; Sleeping Altitude: 4048m

"Today begins with a gentle climb of 15km to the top of the Simi La followed by an easy ride of 35km, mostly downhill to Gyantse. The town is home to some magnificent military and religious sights dating back to the 15th C. The most famous of its monasteries is the Kumbum, a gold-topped pyramid barely touched by the passage of time and one of the most spectacular buildings in Tibet. You will be free this afternoon to enjoy looking around Gyantse."

DAY 5-Gyantse to Shigatse

MY REPORT
A very flat sunny start to the day along the valley floor with dry rocky mountains all around. Bit of a headwind slowed things down and I felt a bit flat initially. Either side of the road were fields and fields of crops (barley?) being harvested by hand, tractor and yak. Ended the day in a lovely hotel in Shigatse and had pizza and chips at the restaurant for a treat.
95KM; 3h 45m cycling; 70 metres ascent; 225 metres descent;
Maximum Altitude: 4048m; Sleeping Altitude: 3852m
DAY 5 PHOTOS
"A comfortable ride of 95 km on a nice tarmac road to Shigatse. As we follow the Nyang Chu River, we turn one corner after another along a series of bends in the road. Unusually for this trip we are on flat road all day."

DAY 6-Shigatse to the base of the Tso La pass

MY REPORT
Another sunny day to start off with and not all that cold either and warmed up nicely after lunch. We were in convoy out of Shigatse and then on to wide quiet roads, not too flat but enjoyable. Scenery still in the barren rocky mountain style. We climbed a few smaller passes, more of a steady drag up especially into the headwind. We had a nice sunny campsite and enjoyed daal baht, veg and rice for tea, followed by lovely banana custard.
95km; 4hrs cycling; 645 metres ascent; 300 metres descent
Maximum Altitude: 4160m; Sleeping Altitude:4160m
DAY 6 PHOTOS

"We leave Shigatse in convoy, climbing steadily up 125m in the first 8km at the start of a long day’s cycling. After some 35 km we cross the almost unnoticeable Tso La pass (4050m). The undulating terrain takes us past fields from where children will shout “Hello!” and run to see you if you stop to take a break. The surrounding mountains close in on us as we enter into a river valley before reaching our camp a short distance before the Tso La pass."

DAY 7-Base of the Tso La pass to base of Gyatso La

MY REPORT
A steady flat first 30 mins, then a good climb up to a proper Pass at 4580 metres, witht the usual surfeit of prayer flags everywhere and super views, felt quite strong. Amazing descent for miles and miles, steep at first then easing off and fast all the way to lunch. Wayne and Steve on the tandem hit 50mph!! Lunch was by a hot spring where all the local kids were out doing their washing. An hour after lunch took us to camp at the foot of another big climb, to be left for tomorrow. Nice pasties for tea, veg, potato mayo and chocolate pudding.
65km, 3hrs cycling; 535 metres ascent; 545 metres descent;
Maximum Altitude:4533m ; Sleeping Altitude 4145m
DAY 7 PHOTOS

"A steady 8 km climb takes us to the Tso La pass (4580m), followed by a fast downhill descent of 425m over 29 km, and a flat stretch into Lhatse. Lhatse is reminiscent of a Wild West frontier town; children here are both friendly and inquisitive and not afraid to interact with us strangely dressed cyclists! We head out of Lhatse and into the Chusar Chu valley, where we camp at a very picturesque spot along the riverside."

DAY 8-Base of Gyatso La to Shregar

MY REPORT
An early start at 8.25am for the long climb up to the highest point of our trip - Gyatso La 5220 metres. Took it steady all the way and felt good. Was first to the top in 2hrs 30mins. It was surprisingly sunny and warm at the top as I waited for the others, taking in the fantastic views all around. There was then a windy descent for 10km down to lunch, followed by a long descent into the headwind, surrounded by more rocky barren terrain, to a nice camp beside a river. We enjoyed a nice sunny evening and had Daal, rice veg, garlic potatoes and chocolate custard for dinner. I won two games of Perudo in a row afterwards!!
66km; 4hrs cycling; 1100 metres ascent; 855 metres descent
Maximum Altitude: 5253m; Sleeping Altitude:4408 m
DAY 8 PHOTOS

"The day starts with a 24km climb on sealed roads to the highest pass- the Gyatso La (5220m). Your reward is stunning views of the snow-capped mountains either side of the pass and the offer of a cup of Yak tea from the solitary tent alongside the fluttering prayer flags. We drop down 10km, out of the wind, to our lunch stop. The gradual descent takes through small villages and past Stupas down to the Lolo River. You may well be greeted by excited children from a roadside school at the foot of the descent, before you reach camp at a picturesque site next to the river."

Shregar to Padu

A fast descent from camp takes us through a checkpoint and to the turn-off for the highlight of the tour: Everest! The early morning sun softens the rugged appearance of the landscape as the sun bathes the lightly snow-covered mountains around us. The terrain changes abruptly as we leave the main road towards Everest, making the switchback-climb to the top of the Pang La (5200m) a slow one. On a clear day you will get a just reward at the top of the pass- stunning views of the Himalayas, with Everest directly in front of you! A fast descent of never-ending switchbacks takes us through settlements where local people will often be grouped together in fields drinking Yak tea and making bricks. We drop further into an almost desert-like valley floor and onto camp surrounded by rugged mountains.

Maximum Altitude: 5205m
Sleeping Altitude: 4213m
Distance: 70.5km

Padu to Rongbuk

We take a gradual climb through villages where children will come and greet you and savour any photo opportunity and even a test-ride on your bike! Jagged snow-capped peaks confront us as we start our climb to Rongbuk. You will be seized by the anticipation of seeing Everest right in front of you as you turn every corner. The last few days are justly rewarded by the awe-inspiring backdrop of Everest on reaching our camp just beyond the monastery at Rongbuk.

Maximum Altitude: 5009m
Sleeping Altitude: 5009m
Distance: 40.1km

Rongbuk to Everest Base Camp

We embark on the final leg to our closest point to Everest- Base Camp. This is a steady 8km ride taking us to the base of the North Face for a truly spiritual experience- simply unforgettable.

We return to Rongbuk for lunch and then back down the valley, retracing our tracks from the previous day. For the more technically minded riders there are some excellent sections of stony single track, with Everest as your backdrop! Faster smooth tracks wait at the bottom of the descent and the option for a couple of stream crossings as we turn left from our original path to our camp by the rivers edge.

Maximum Altitude: 5168m
Sleeping Altitude : 4350m
Distance 16.9km

Zamphuk to Tingri

Today brings us a superb off-road ride along smooth mountain tracks with the occasional rough sections that will provide a challenge even to our hardy support vehicles. With the Himalayas forming a backdrop this makes for another superb day’s cycling- cross-country mountain biking style. We reach a maximum altitude of 5101m before descending a mixture of rough sections mixed with free-flowing dirt tracks and stream crossings on into the barren plains ahead of Tingri, where we rejoin the Friendship Highway to our camp just outside the town. You will have the option of rewarding yourself for the last few days of hard cycling by visiting the local hot springs!

Maximum Altitude 5101m
Sleeping Altitude 4355m
Distance: 62.5km

Tingri to the base of the Lalung La

Today’s cycling is predominantly flat although headwinds may hamper the otherwise comfortable day! The ride will take us past monasteries, fortresses and along rivers of clear river mountain water. We will camp again by the riverside at the foot of our final climbing challenge- the double passes of Lalung La (5009m) and Yakri Shong La (5149m).

Maximum Altitude: 4563m
Sleeping Altitude: 4560m
Distance: 61.4km

Base of the Lalung La to Nyalam

Today starts with a long 12km drag to the Lalung La pass where we will gain views of Shishapangma before embarking on a superb descent before our second big climb of the day to the Thang La pass. The Thang La pass gives amazing views from within the midst of the Himalayas; a vivid reminder of the fact that you are crossing the world’s highest mountain range on our journey into Nepal. Mountain bikers will have a chance to sample some shortcuts between the numerous switchbacks on our descent to lunch. The challenge of the day is by no means over as we will have-to contend with strong headwinds over an undulating terrain. We are, however, starting our descent into Nepal and the change in vegetation will become noticeable as we reach our camp in the tight confines of a gorge with breathtaking drops, just beyond Nyalam.

Maximum Altitude: 5149m
Sleeping Altitude: 3775m
Distance: 84.4km

Nyalam to beyond Kodari

On emerging from your tent you may well be greeted by mountains protruding the early morning cloud. Today is all about pure descent- on the world’s longest downhill ride, leaving the barren Tibetan Plateau behind and on into the lush scenery of the Nepalese jungle. The descent will take you over bridges and through stream crossings from the many waterfalls carrying water off the mountain walls, which you will never stray far from, steep drops on the opposite side of the road. As we reach the border town of Zangmu the surroundings will change suddenly as you come to long lines of trucks awaiting passage into Nepal. This is where we leave behind our Tibetan staff and enter into ‘no man’s land’- a 7km descent to the Nepalese border town of Kodari. We stop for lunch in Kodari and finish the day with a very relaxing ride through the Nepalese countryside, greeted by local children. Our final camp is by the riverside, a waterfall and rock pool providing a natural shower and bath to clean-up before tonight’s party! It is customary for the Nepalese guides to celebrate their return to Nepal by throwing a party, often joined by locals from surrounding settlements- a truly memorable cultural exchange.

Maximum Altitude: 3776m
Sleeping Altitude: 1065m
Distance: 69km

Beyond Kodari to Dhulikel

Today starts with an undulating ride through small villages, with inquisitive locals and picturesque views of the tree-covered mountainsides, peppered with houses. The weather is noticeably warmer now and will replace the altitudes of Tibet as we face the challenge of the 25km climb (904m) into Dhulikel. We will make a stop for lunch after 10km. We stay in a beautiful mountain lodge where it may be possible to discern the Himalayan mountain range if the mist is not too dense.

Maximum Altitude: 1535m
Sleeping Altitude: 1535m
Distance: 64km

Dhulikel to Kathmandu

Our final day’s cycling takes us from Dhulikel to Kathmandu, our starting point 3 weeks ago. We will pass school children on their way to school and the roads will become increasingly more hectic as we approach Kathmandu; you will need your wits about you, at the same time as trying to absorb the spectacle of early-morning life all around you. We group up close together in convoy, following our support vehicle on the outskirts of Kathmandu and cycle all the way to our original hotel. Once at the hotel we will pack up the bikes and have lunch, leaving the rest of the afternoon to revisit Kathmandu and do some shopping. In the evening we will get together for that all important and well-deserved celebratory meal!

Maximum Altitude: 1535m
Sleeping Altitude: 1314m
Distance: 32km

Bealach Mor Cycle

2009-09-09T00:45:00.005+01:00

SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2009
90 miles 9600 feet
6 hrs 12 mins

Another wet Scottish cycle! – bring on Nepal. After just missing out last year on the 6 hour target, I thought that I may be able to crack it this year. However, the “light rain” forecast didn’t bode well, though at the start it wasn’t looking too bad actually and my pal Andy commented that “I think this is about as bad as it will get” – how wrong could he have been!! I started off by attaching myself to a decent looking pack of Lomond Roads cyclists, hoping to get some benefit of their peloton. This worked well till Achnasheen, all sharing the effort at the front and enduring the spray at the rear/middle from the now lashing rain and wind. I was getting pretty cold and wet here, so I stopped for a minute to out on my waterproof and that was enough for my wee bunch to hare off downhill towards Lochcarron away from me.

I headed off in pursuit of them, conscious that it was always easier and quicker in a pack than on my lonesome. It took a good few miles before I caught a few groups, and a few also caught me, and together we got a good speed going. The weather was still foul and as we approached the feed stop at Lochcarron I was feeling a bit wet and weary. A flapjack and banana revived me a bit as I headed off in pursuit of some fast looking riders up the first real climb. I plodded my way up this as my pal Andy whizzed past me on his way to a super time of 5h 15m. There were some amazing waterfalls en route to the foot of the infamous Bealach Na Ba climb.

At the timing point for the climb the weather actually had calmed down a bit, so the 2000 feet climb didn’t hold too many fears at that point. The first few miles are long switchbacks to ease you into the brutal slog of the 2nd half, and soon the weather turned really foul – gusting gale-force winds and driving Scotch mist. It was really miserable and actually a bit worrying as we were heading up to the top of a 2000 feet mountain basically. Thoughts of turning back down the climb were quickly dashed when I looked round and saw the dozens of other cyclists behind all crawling up and spread across the narrow road.

I had to get off the bike twice and walk as the wind was threatening to blow me off, despite my best efforts to grind away in the granny ring for all I was worth. I did manage to get back on and cycle virtually all of it, but lost a good 15 mins walking, which were to prove unfortunate later on. Dead chuffed to make the top in one piece and non-hypothermic, I dibbed at the top for a total climb time of 61 mins, compared to about 45 mins last year in good conditions. Downhill was pretty dangerous too, with severe cross winds forcing the brakes on almost all the way down to Applecross. Down at sea level things were a whole lot better, merely reduced to averagely miserable. The riders were a lot more spread out now for the undulating coastal ride round the top of the Applecross peninsula, but I was passed by a few early on and spurred into bursts of chasing them. As we headed back down from the top of the peninsula I perked up a bit as the rollercoaster hills proved testing on the way to Shieldaig, passing quite a few cyclists who had passed me earlier.

More refuelling here, and only 17 miles to go, but 1 hour to do it in if I were to break the 6 hour mark. I knew this was unlikely but was determined to give it a go. This year I enjoyed a tailwind back to Kinlochewe which helped a bit, but without a friendly peloton to assist I finished in 6hrs 12mins. I was a tad disappointed as I knew that had I not had to endure the awful conditions and enforced walking twice I would have beaten last year’s time. However, in the epic conditions overall I was really pleased simply to have got round in one piece and more so in a time that I felt couldn’t really have been improved upon by me, all things considered.

event website

Ken Laidlaw 105 Mile Cycle

2009-08-26T00:03:00.007+01:00

SUNDAY 23 AUGUST
105 miles 10 000 feet ascent

Wet, wild and windy - yet somehow I enjoyed it! The weather started on us just at the 9am start and didn't relent all day. Over 200 likeminded nutters turned out for this beautiful, rolling route from Hawick Rugby Club. We headed of to Bonchester Bridge and swept down to Newcastleton for the first tea and cake stop at 30 miles. I caught up with fellow Westies runner and now Borders resident Damon Rodwell here. A steep climb out of here took me up on to the high moors and down to Langholm where it was bucketing it down. I turned round here to head north via Eskdalemuir, passing the Tibetan monastery en route to a sweeping descent with a Falkirk cyclist down to the 66 mile tea stop in Ettrick. Gloves, balaclava and tights were donned here for the very hilly last section - Berry Bush, The Swire, Woll Rig and Leap Linns, before a cracking fast last few miles from Roberton where I passed a bonked Damon. I was really pleased merely to have got through it all in the dire weather and even more chuffed to finish in just over 7 hours and about 80th of 215 starters.

Race website

Lomonds of Fife Hill race

2009-08-18T00:34:00.007+01:00

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2009 - 18km 1130metres

Well, I'm sure plenty of people around me were racing, but I was plodding along on legs that had turned to mush, lead mush to be specific. At least the weather was fine and the views over Fife lovely, which distracted me a little from the effort to merely keep going and not drop out. It all started so well, with a good power walk up West Lomond, just edging ahead of Ellie and feeling not too bad. On the sloping traverse into the forest I started to slow and Ellie sped off, and when we reached the runnable forest tracks I was a goner with the race only started. I could tell straight away that this was just going to be one of those days, so settled for just trying to make the most of what little energy I had. I waved runners past on the narrow trod up to the monument and Davy Duncan came past also, but I hung on to him for a while till East Lomond. A cuddle from Brenda at least lightened the mood here. He got away from me on the long run back, as I grimly tried to not lose too much distance. At the next checkpoint on the Maidens fort he didn't seem too far ahead, nor did Tom Bowie and Jocelyn Scott of Fife AC, but in the heathery plod off here I almost seized up and they disappeared.

The run to the 2nd ascent of West Lomond was into a fierce headwind, which slowed me to a crawl, and I was dreading the short but steep climb to its last checkpoint. John Telfer and a few others caught me up here, and this seemed to energise me a bit as I pulled away from these chasers to the top. All was downhill now, which was great, though the infamous bum-slide still had to be negotiated. I only gathered up a few kilos of undergrowth up my shorts, and fortunately no thistles or rocks. This mad descent is captured somewhere on YouTube, and some crazy Swedish runners had found this and had come all the way over on Easy Jet especially for this race, attracted by the madness of it. I finished in 2h 15m, well down on the last 2 years' times, but quite pleased that I had actually got round at all - definitely time for a rest I think. Manny had a great race to finish 3rd behind Brian Marshall and Jon Ashcroft, Chris wasn't too far behind him and Ellie ran well to finish in 2nd place. Many thanks to Lomond Hill Runners for this well organised race, complete with goody bags and tea in Strathmiglo Hall afterwards.

Results and photos on SHR website

1st - Brian Marshall - 1h 40m 52s
3rd - Manny Gorman - 1h 42m 48s
8th - Chris Upson - 1h 48m 38s
34th - Ellie Homewood - 2h 7m 40s
48th - John Donnelly - 2h 15m 40s

Glenshee 9 Munros Hill Race

2009-08-10T23:58:00.005+01:00

SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2009
33km 1800 metres

Sunday proved bright and breezy for the second running of the Glenshee 9, a rare chance to knock off 9 of the easiest Munros in Scotland. Heading up in the Captain’s car the talk was of poaching and insurrection in the Westies ranks as rumour had it that our prized Snake Riach was being groomed by the Shettleston Mafia. Would the lure of hanging out with proper runners overcome the delights of the monthly curry night? The public need to know. That aside it was a grand day out. The weather was perfect, then scenery majestic and the company, of course top notch. David Riach was first home in a Westies vest (we think, or was it blue & gold underneath?) followed by Chris, Graham “Berlingo Boy” Kelly and Ellie with myself a couple of minutes adrift. Having decided not to waste the Saturday by resting up I had enjoyed a nice long cycle round Glen Lyon so started off nice and gently to ease my weary legs into action. I had a really enjoyable race as a result, tracking rivals Louise Burt, Colin Wilson and Bob Allison over the first six Munros till the road crossing where I passed Louise and Colin.

This was despite my left Innov8 Mudclaw deciding it had enough of its outer sole, which parted company with the midsole in rather messy divorce. This resulted in the midsole gaining custody of the front half of the outer and cruelly tossing the rear half aside, with the aid of a vicious Stanley knife. Partially shod I managed OK over the last 3 Munros and even descended the infamous Tiger mogul ski run with only a few skids. I finished in 4hrs 45mins, 32nd of 69 starters. Lovely soup, tea and cake ended the day and The Snake even came over and talked to us Westies commoners which made our day. We think we have held on to him for meantime with threats of disciplinary Committee meetings, but I think it is time for an online SOS petition – Save Our Snake!

Results

White Rose Cycle

2009-07-24T22:08:00.007+01:00

SUNDAY 19 JULY 2009
85 miles 2225 metres

Moira and I headed down to Yorkshire to cycle the medium route of the White Rose Sportive. We joined in at lunchtime at Dent after a nice lunch, and avoided the black clouds and rain that had appeared earlier. A couple of miles of warm up along Dentdale and then we were up Deepdale and Kingsdale for the first of the "double arrow" climbs along this lovely valley, a total of 1000 feet. A fast swooping descent took us down into Ingleton, then Clapham and Austwick along nice country lanes. There was a lovely section next along to Helwith Bridge and Langcliffe, near Settle. We had another double arrow climb out of here up on the the moors to Malham Tarn, and another one along the way to Arncliffe. Kettlewell provided a nice lunch stop at half way, before the dreaded Park Rash double arrow, which had me giving it 100% effort just to grind my way up in the granny ring.

A long long descent then followed down to Leyburn, where the drag against the wind to Castle Bolton and Hawes took it out of us. At Hawes we headed up the lovely Widdale valley to Newby Head Moss, our final climb before descending into Dentdale. Thinking last food order were 9pm we hoofed it as best we could getting back into Dent at 8.40pm, only to miss out on the 8.30pm food deadline. A pint of ale and packet of crisps kept us going till we could get to Sedbergh for a Chinese carry out. Another hour in the car took us to our lovely pub in Low Row for a sound night's sleep and hearty breakfast next day. A fab day's cycling in amazing scenery, but boy do you have to work on those hills!

White Rose website

Maddy Moss Hill Race

2009-07-16T20:19:00.004+01:00

WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2009
10km 680 metres

A belter of a mid-week race - great location, great pub after and lots of friendly faces. My blisters from Melantee had seemingly healed up, and after a power snooze in the car I was ready as ever for this tough assault course from Tillicoultry up the Ochils and back. The steep start got me puffing and panting immediately as runners jostled for space amongst the ferns, bracken and boulders. We all found the correct path this year over to the foot of the Law and were warmed up for the power-walking slog up to the top. I settled into a steady rhythm and was passed by only a few people on the way to the top, including Graham Kelly early on, who I managed to hang onto for most of the climb. The legs felt no too bad, though in this race I tend to climb well only to be passed on the runnable stuff on the descent.

Over The Law Steffen came past and I tracked him closely through the gloom to the summit of Ben Cleuch in about 37mins, where the real race started. My wee legs then tried their sterling best to hang on to Steffen and others in front, and to hold off Murdo, Dave Rogers, Lisa and the massed hordes behind me. I had a reasonable trot along to Andrew Gannell only losing a few places, trying to take in the cracking views that were unfolding around me as the sun made a fleeting appearance down in the glens below. The descent to the eponymous Maddy Moss is a little belter and no more places were squandered here fortunately.

However, what then lay ahead was the last mile down the narrow snaking ditch of a track where I usually flounder a bit, paying for my earlier uphill excesses. I let a few fliers pass me early on and then Saturday’s blister and some dodgy guts started making their unwelcome presence known. The concentration required to stay on the descent path in its more ditch-like upper half had blotted these things out, but on the lower half I just had to wave Dave past, bowing to his superior descending skills as I wimped out on the rockier parts.

I hared off after him to no avail, and was also soon caught by Ellie and, oh no -Dave Duncan! I thought I had done enough to hold off my old adversary but he nipped past me in the bracken as I was tip-toeing down. The last hundred metres are steep and slippery but, despite thinking only of a gut-relieving trip to the bushes, I managed to just hold off a fast finishing Murdo to record 67mins 10secs - a mere 10mins slower than 1999. No time for chit-chat at the finish as I was feeling decidedly ropey internally and headed straight for the hidden sanctuary of some high bracken, only reappearing a good 10 minutes later feeling a bit more human. A quick wet-wipe-wash in the car had me feelong fresh as a daisy and then into the Woolpack Inn for some rehydration. A lovely evening’s entertainment. Well done to all the Westies and thanks to Ochil Hillrunners for organising it all.

Melantee Hill Race

2009-07-14T18:47:00.003+01:00

SATURDAY 11 JULY 2009
4 miles 460 metres ascent

It was left to a small but select band of Westies men to uphold the honour of the black and gold at this crazy little upstart of a race in Fort William. The 3 hour drive through road works and caravans, spying the gorgeous mountains all around while marooned in a car, had not set me up in the best of moods for racing, though I chilled out a bit upon arrival in the sweltering sunshine and the company of friends. Only Brian B Don and Manny were there to make up the team amongst 100 or so other SHR Championship chasers. This is a brutal little race, a dash round the shinty park followed by a quarter mile track and then - boom - straight up 1500 feet of near vertical grassy slope. Power walking was the name of the day as I inched my way past runners to the summit. The views were stupendous and it was tempting to sit down right there and just take it all in. Alas, it was a race after all so it was straight back down for the near suicidal descent, where I held my position well before passing a few runners on the track at the bottom. I paid for the dry hot descent with a cracking blister on my heel but I deemed it worth it as I was chuffed with my run and finished 28th of 107 runners in 40mins 45secs. Manny had a great run well ahead of me, and Brian ran well too but Don pulled out early on. A nice cold pint of Hebridean Gold with Manny, Brenda, Davy Duncan and Christine rounded things off nicely.

Results

Ben Loyal - Manny's Final Corbett

2009-07-14T18:31:00.006+01:00

FRIDAY 3 JULY 2009

A grand day out on Ben Loyal for Manny's final Corbett in his amazing 10 week epic journey.

http://corbettrun.blogspot.com/