Peter and Elspeth's Westies Day Out

A big big thank you to Peter and Elspeth for another great day out at Westie-easter-lands (Peebles). On a lovely sunny cold day various Westies and others went mountain biking and hill running in the gorgeous countryside surrounding Peebles. The main group of runners - me, Elsie, Pat, Isabel, Ana, Cat, Helen, Lois, Steffen, Damon (and bloodthirsty deerhound Anooshka), Ronnie, Chris, Donald, Hamilton, Dave Rogers, Johannes, Drew - had a great 2 and a half hour 3000 ft run, starting and finishing outside Elsie's back door and going up via a steep heathery climb to Newby Heights and then to Preston Law and Hundleshope Heights, where we headed back down a cracking descent to Dead Side and finishing down Gipsy Glen. Pete, Keith and some others headed off on their mountain bikes to Glentress. After we got cleaned up we enjoyed free massages care of Pete & Elsie's friends. Suitable relaxed, we enjoyed oodles of tea, goodies, soup, veggie mush (as Peter so elequently put it!), lasagne, more goodies and, of course, great Westies company. A fantastic day out, and thanks again to Pete & Elsie and everyone else.

Westies Christmas Dinner

36 of us enjoyed a fine night out at Fanny Trollopes restaurant in Argyle Street. The food was excellent as, of course, was the company. Captainess Cat received a well deserved Westie of the Year award to round off a great evening.

Dave's report = Thanks again to John for organising his last Westies function as social convenor. It was well seen that John had organised the tables into old codgers, not-quite-so-old codgers and the young set...guess which table JD put himself in?????
Speeches were up to the usual standard! Cat does a fine line in assertiveness when required; it's superb.
And there was yet another rousing rendition of the Westies Flag; we just get better and better.
Highlight of the evening, for Charlie and I in any case, was getting chatted up by the Polish and Irish burds at the next table....I think it was when I told the Pole that she sounded South African that did it!

Photos here

East Kilbride Cross Country

My report = What better way to spend a sunny Sat afternoon than slipping, sliding and slithering your way round a muddy field in East Kilbride? Well lots actually,after my painfully slow plod which lived down to the low expectations of my cross country ability. While Don and Dave were battling way ahead of me I was doing my best slippery shuffle just to stay ahead of Alan and Hamilton. A slow steady lap was followed by.... a slow steady lap and then finally.... another slow steady lap. It was a continual effort just to keep on my feet, especially on the final wee hill where on the last lap I was grateful not to have slid back down it as I scrambled my way to the top. Overall, fun in a perverse, masochistic sort of way.

Dave's Westie report = More mud and glaur was evident at the West Districts at East Kilbride showground yesterday. Although afficionados reckoned it bore no comparison with Kirkintilloch two weeks ago in terms of the quality of mud, it remained a surprisingly good 3 lap, strength-sapping trail which made excellent use of its sole hill. At least it remained dry and calm, unlike the conditions at the previous weekend's 10K.

The woman's race saw a fine return by Captainess Cat, who started slowly but surely caught Jane in the second lap to be first Westie home. It was a fine prelude to Cat being awarded Westie of the year at the club dinner that evening. Jane finished a few seconds behind Cat, Muffy was next home and it was good to see Pauline back competing to make up the Westies quartet.

In the Men's race, David Riach made short work of the mud, striding easily through the quagmire. Captain Chris was only 1 place behind, but it was further back where the real battle was taking place. Don was determined to gain revenge for the home-turf humiliation by Dave in the Hugh Wilson 10K the previous Sunday. Dave had to admit that his pre-race, 2-in-the-morning, 21 alcohol unit preparation was far from ideal. Nevertheless the two were literally neck and neck from 400 metres until about 1km frome the end when Don's superior strength allowed him to gain enough clear space to strike home for a convincing victory. Dave says "I'll be back", so there are more sparks to come from this pair over the rest of the season!
JD ran a competent race a few minutes behind, although he does seem to lack the leg speed of old; probably the result of too many long hill runs over the summer. Hamilton made his usual last minute appearance, using some excuse about singing in Buchanan Galleries for his late arrival. He didn't have time to collect his number and had to be handed it 200 metres from the finish line! Grimorr was easily spotted in the crowd of runners with his trademark mustard bunnet and DM Hoey vest. Finally Drew came in, one of only 4 Westies (Muffy, Chris and Don being the other 3) to complete the testing trio of races at Kirkie, Kilbride and Kilbride.
The good news was that Westies were third vets team after Shettleston and Cambuslang, with David, Chris and Don being the counters.

Photos on Chris' Blog here
Results
Women
1 Allison Simpson Kilmarnock 25:09
31 Cat 30:54
32 Jane 30:59
41 Muffy 32:30
51 Pauline 34:10
60 finished
team 10th

Men
1 Connor McNulty 33:33
50 David 39:51
51 Chris 39:57
71 Don 42:20
72 Dave 42:29
109 John 46:26
119 Hamilton 47:55
136 Graeme 52:26
147 Drew 59:35
149 finishers
9th team

Colin Ross' Wedding

Myself, Brian Scally and Alan Swann headed over to the States for the wedding of our pal Colin to Jill from Bath, Maine. We spent some time in Boston, as well as Portland, Maine's largest city.

Photos on my FLICKR website here

Westies v HBT "Grudge Match" Hill Race

The long-running Westies v HBT grudge match series was brought back to life in the wintry Ochils on Sunday. A great course had been arranged for us by HBT, starting in Tillicoultry and heading up to King’s Seat and back down again. The promised rubbish weather fortunately didn’t materialise and was mild at the bottom and decidedly wintry on top, with a good few inches of snow and a biting wind to contend with. Us Westies that ventured east were well outnumbered by hosts HBT and Ochil Hillrunners, but we were rewarded by a fine race and some excellent post-race socialising upstairs in The Woolpack pub, with soup, sandwiches and plenty of spot-prizes of beer. For the record Westies men got a lovely pair of pig's ears for 3rd team (of 3!), Dave got joint best finish - a head-first dive to prevent being beaten on the line by a HBT woman, who executed a lovely sliding tackle on him – and Drew got best looking Westies award (honest!). David Riach was first home for us, followed by Chris, Rob, JD, Dave Calder, Jane, Jason, Alan, Elspeth and Drew. Hamilton did his bit by marshalling. A good day out – our turn next year.
Photos and results on Chris'Blog

Tinto Hill Race

There was a fantastic turnout of 216 runners, including 16 Westies, for this cracker of an end of season race in deepest Lanarkshire. The weather was pretty foul, with very strong winds and even hail just before the start, though during the race itself we only had to contend with the gale-force winds. I set off at what I thought was a decent pace, trying to stay with Shona and Steffen initially till Shona pulled way strongly, leaving Steffen, Graham Kelly and myself to have a close fought battle up to the summit. We turned together in about 28 min and managed to get away from Graham with Steffen pulling away from me. half way down Don made his usual sprint past me, leaving me for dead, and Scott followed soon also. I didn't lose too many more places and finished in 41m 45s, 2 min down on last year (57th of 216 starters), though in the windy conditions everyone else seemed to be slower. which was some consolation. Shona had a great run to finish 1st Westie, and possibly 2nd/3rd female, putting the Westies men to shame. Well done to all Westies and a big thanks to the organisers. Results now on Carnethy website

New Lanark Trail Run

One of my favourite trail-type runs - from Crossford up the River Clyde walkway to New Lanark and the Falls of Clyde and back. Great autumn colours and the waterfalls in spate - fantastic! Photos on my FLICKR website.

Westies Loch Ossian Weekend

Another successful Westies Weekend at Loch Ossian Youth Hostel, attended by a variety of polar bears, gorillas,gonzos, bouncy bunnies, puppy dogs, spidermen catwoman, grumpy bears, big bad wolves and last, but not least, a rare sighting of the Westies Gay Alpha Male (don't ask!). Lots of weather, lots of hills and only one (rather fast) run round the Loch by Nigel; lots of food and drink too. And, of course, lots of Music Man rounds til the wee hours on Sat night. Thanks to everyone for all their efforts.
Photos here

Langdale Horseshoe Fell Race

I only just managed to complete my sixth and final Lakeland Classic, having arrived on the start line with exactly a minute to go! Fortunately the day improved from then on and I finished this 14 mile/5300 feet race in 2h 59m, 134th of 325 finishers. We started on narrow farm tracks that resembled streams with nasty big rocks waiting to trip you up. I was trying to make up a few places before the 1st climb, but this was difficult as the field was bunching badly at this stage and I was trying to avoid a face plant on the rocks. My lack of a warm-up actually seemed to make me feel better than when I did one, so maybe there’s a lesson there? After that it was steep uphill beside a lovely burn and waterfall up to Stickle Tarn, “power-walking” my way gradually through the field. After a nice short runnable trod round the tarn, we had another short scramble round the side of Pavey Ark. The field was pretty settled by this point and there was a lot of running on boggy terrain to get the legs going after the climb. A few people almost disappeared into the extreme boggy bits, but this at least showed you where not to run, which was nice of them. In this race you don’t get into your stride for long, as we were soon on a contouring climb on narrow trods through Black Crags col before levelling out for a wee bit to Angle Tarn. The previously mild weather had deteriorated a bit by now and was windy and claggy on the ridge ahead. It was up to the “turn-a-round” point of Esk Hause, where we all formed an orderly procession on the narrow runners’ trod that contoured below Esk Pike. We were then up and into the clag and wind at Ore Gap, with me trying to hang on to a couple of Clayton Le Moors runners who looked like they knew the best route over this difficult terrain. We pushed on up and over Bowfell and to Crinkle Crags, where the infamous “bad step” awaited me. It was actually not too bad and I managed to get down this 10ft rock drop by a combination of down climbing it and bum sliding it. Others were not so fortunate it appears as at least one person supposedly took a head first dive down it, ouch! At least by then I was out of the clag and the rough stuff was mostly behind me. All that was left was the short climb up Pike of Blisco, where I put in a bit of effort to catch quite a few runners, knowing that on the long final descent from the summit down to Langdale I would probably lose a few places anyway. This descent is very similar to the Three Shires one and I remembered the route off and then enjoyed a great twisting descent on trods down into the valley, managing to crack the 3 hour barrier, which I was pretty chuffed about (The winning time was 2h 10m, Results here
). Hot pasties and gooey flapjacks were provided at the finish and were most welcome. Definitely a race for those that like it rocky and rough, in total contrast to the Pentlands Skyline on the same weekend, and worth trying out at least once in preference to the Carnethy one. As for me, it rounded off my summer of Lakeland Classics in fine style. I would definitely recommend giving this series a go, even if only to complete at least 3 of the 6 races and get a “placing”, but I had a fantastic time doing all 6. After the Three Shires Race think I was 52nd out of approx 109 who had done at least 3 of the 6 races, but may well have slipped a bit after they add-in Langdale. As for the “Superlong Series, I was 42nd/109 who did all 3. Details here


Duddon - 4h 18m (67th/136) - 20m/6600ft
Ennerdale - 5h 55m 157th/262) - 20m/8000ft
Wasdale - 5h 40m (101st/145) - 22m/9000ft
Borrowdale - 4h 43m (163rd/400) -17m/6500ft
3 Shires - 2h 46m (89th/265) - 12m/4700ft
Langdale - 2h 59m (134th/325) - 14m/5300ft

TOTAL =26h 21m =105m/40,100ft

RAF Spadeadam Half Marathon

Yes, JD does do races that don't go up and down mountains, though my first half marathon in about 10 years wasn’t actually as bad as I had expected and at least wasn't on the road. It was different to any other that I had ran, in that it was entirely within the RAF military base at Spadeadam in Northumberland. It was an undulating run round forest trails, enlivened by the surprise appearance round every corner of tanks, rocket launchers and mock Russian lorries. I took it steady over the first half, managing to keep to 7 and a half minute miling OK, telling myself all along that I had still to run the Langdale Fell Race 3 days later. At half way, which was also the highest point of the race, I tried to push it a little and managed to reel in a dozen or so ahead of me on the mainly downhill 2nd half. My adducter was hurting a bit over the last mile downhill on the road, but I held on to finish in 1h 37m. A good day out in an interesting part of the country and the only one where I had to show photo ID before I could run the race!

Three Shires Fell Race

In my attempt to do all 6 of the Lakeland Classics, in one summer, my dodgy adducter muscle and I completed number five – the Three Shires Fell Race in Little Langdale. This is 12M/4700ft of truly “classic” Lakes terrain, steep, rough climbs, rocky ridge paths, long grassy descents and a brilliant Lakes pub to relax outside after in the sunshine, the Three Shires Inn. The dreaded uphill start only lasted for twenty yards or so before the 265 starters then had a mile or so of steady running on tracks to the foot of the north face of Wetherlam. The field split up here for the very steep and rough climb up to the 2502 ft summit, with myself and a few others taking the “FRA forum alternative route” that wasn’t really any quicker but did have less people and bracken for me to contend with. After that lung and thigh-buster of a 50min start it was a rocky walkers’ path that had us into running mode over Black Sails and up Prison Band to the summit of Swirl How (2630 ft). In the clear sunny weather the views were fantastic, though I could only snatch glimpses of it as the path was very technical and too much gazing at the views would have led to a nasty fall. After Swirl How there was a cracking runnable descent on a nice trod 1400 ft down to the road crossing at the Three Shires Stone. A trudge up to Pike of Blisco summit (2304 ft) was next and I managed to claw back quite a few places as a few runners started to wilt in the heat. The descent from the rocky summit had provided lots of discussion on the FRA forum, and I managed to remember enough of it to backtrack a hundred yards or so to find the runners’ trod that was meant to be easier than the walkers’ one. The descent was great, contouring its way over streams, across grassy slopes and through trodden bracken down to the gorgeous Blea Tarn. The tourists picnicking in the glorious sunshine by the lake definitely were the sensible ones compared to us runners as we laboured past trying to look fast and cool. The last climb up to Lingmoor Fell was tough and slow in the heat, though I still managed to crawl past a good few runners to arrive at the summit on my own. The flagged descent was a beauty, a good runnable angle, grassy trods and rocky zig-zag paths that re-energised my tired legs for the final effort down to the pub. I was almost spot on my pre-race estimate of 2h 45m, finishing in 89th place of the 265 starters which I was chuffed about. Nick Sharpe won in 2h 03m and Helene Diamantides in 2h 20m. The finish field contained an assortment of recovering bodies in various states, but we all managed to recover sufficiently to enjoy the free soup & roll from the pub, though I did need a wee 30m “power nap” in the car before I could really muster any energy for conversation and beer in the sunny beer garden after. A great day out in a fantastic part of the Lakes – hopefully I will be back there in a few weeks for the final Lakeland Classics Race, the Langdale Horeshoe.
Results here


Photos here

Westies Cort Ma Law Run

About 15 Westies, and celebrity guest Angela Mudge and newcomer Graeme (a 1h 54m Ben Nevis man!), turned up to the Wed night thrash round the Cort Ma Law race route. A bit windy but mild and the usual horrendous wet bog from the trig over to Leckett.

Photos here

Helvellyn Triathlon

A great sunny day in the Lakes watching the Helvellyn Triathlon - a one mile swim in Ullswater; a 38 mile cycle; a run up Helvellyn. Official website here

Photos here

Westies Kilpatricks Run

A great turnout of Westies for the "old" Kilpatricks Hill Race route. Up the track, past Loch Humphrey, along to Cochno Hill for a re-group and good sunset, then off through the rough stuff to Greenside reservoir where I nearly did a "Graeme Benny" by tripping and impaling myself on the remains of a metal railing. My Innov8 shoe saved me but was fatally holed doing so. We then had the nice grassy final climb up to The Slacks trig point and then a cracking descent taking in the views of Glasgow and the Erskine Bridge in the fading light. Afterwards 17 of us enjoyed a curry at the Dosa House in Hyndland Street.

Photos here

Westies Summer Handicap - 30/8/06

On a cool grey evening almost 20 Westies turned up for this 7.8 miler round the back roads of Crofatmie. Homeboy Jason triumphed (yet again) by outsprinting Shona, David Riach showed SHIT-boy Marc how to run a road race by being fastest and I brought up the rear in my slowest time yet enjoying a lonely plod round due to the nasty handicapper. Jason won a nice bottle of Champion beer, and the others got some sweeties, lollipops, corn-on-the-cob, a lemon & lime and, of course, a coconut for Marc. I can't say I enjoyed the actual run but it was a great evening overall, rounded off by Jason's fine hospitality.

Charlie's Report = "Yes, a good turnout of 19 runners, including six virgins, for our annual thrash around the wee roads of Croftamie. Thanks to Isabel for time-keeping duties, Steffen and Catriona for marking the course beforehand, Helen and Margaret for supporting, and an impromptu visit by the Honourable Big Al on his two wheeled chariot. An enjoyable evening was had by all, and thanks also to the social sec for a ‘fine’ range of prizes. However I have to state that I do take exception to John Donnelly's glib comments regarding the nasty handicapper. Taking our responsibilities seriously, we all stood around at the finish, waiting for the last person to arrive but there was no sign of the ex-SHIT. We all wondered if he had got lost, or was he admiring the views, or was he just scared of the impending darkness? Standing firm, despite the ferocious midgies, the Westie ensemble finally saw JD mince up to the line, with bleated cursings of “If I ever get a handicap like that again I’m not running!” After dabbing my eyes dry with my hankie, said Handicapper checked the times to see that Mr Dauntily had been given his usual h/cap time, being a past two time winner; it was just the fact that he ran 7 minutes slower than usual that I think he doesn’t want to acknowledge. Well don’t worry John, you’ll have company next year for the run – Jason will be at the back with you !"

Finishing Position, time, and actual time.

1) Jason, 62.45, 56.15
2) Shona, 62.54, 53.54
3) Val H, 64.10, 55.40
4) Cat, 64.12, 55.46
5) Graham, 64.47, 56.02
6) Bill, 64.48, 58.03
7) David, 65.01, 46.31
8) Marc, 65.57, 46.57
9) Ian, 66.42, 66.42
10) Grimorr, 68.44, 64.14
11) Hamilton, 67.09, 54.09
12) Stevie B, 67.11, 52.11
13) John H, 68.07, 60.37
14) Rob, 68.35, 54.35
15) Don, 69.17, 52.17
16) Robert, 69.48, 64.48
17) Christine, 70.44, 63.29
18) Drew, 70.44, 68.44
19) JD, Zzzz, 73.13, 57.15
Photos here and here

Wan Dae Adventure Race

Billed as a try at "adventure racing" this Gary Thompsett-involved event was a mixture of mountain biking, hill running and canoeing. The Westies Wanderers 1 and 2 (Shona & Rob; Simon & me) decided to give it a bash and had a great day out at Carron Valley, just over the back of the Campsies. Our "Cask Strength" category involved us being out for a maximum of 8 hours, during which we had to "dib" as many checkpoints as we could. You got the maps and checkpoint details at the start and then had to devise your strategy to get round the various competition areas, which included the reservoir itself for the canoeing, North Thirdpart reservoir crags for some hairy singletrack biking' back at the event centre for some more biking on the forestry roads and mountain bike trails and then lots of checkpoints on and around Meikle Bin. The 4 of us headed off first on the road out to North Thirdpart where Simon and I went for the first checkpoint at a reservoir en route. Squeezing through a gate we hared off up the track only to be bemused by the lack of a checkpoint; it was back on the gate that we had squeezed through 5 min earlier! - not a great start. That allowed Shona & Rob to leapfrog us to the next CP, a "fun activity" involving re-arranging a hexagon of sticks into 3 triangles by moving only 3 pieces - yes, it bemused us so much that we didn't even give it a go. Then we headed off into the narrow tracks that lead up to the crags overlooking North Thirdpart reservoir. I didn't enjoy this as the tracks were narrow, muddy and rocky and I probably carried/pushed the bike more than I sat on it. Towards the ned of this bit it widened out and became a bit more manageable and enjoyable and we passed Rob & Shona coming out of the last CP, only a minute or two ahead. We then had a long undulating bike ride on the road back over to the reservoir, where the heavy bikes and wide tires made for hard work. The canoeing was a welcome relief from the bike, though for only 25 min it was still hard as my legs were sore from being pressed up and tensed up in the canoe. We passed on the chance of doing this bit twice, though Shona & Rob like it so much they went for a paddle right round the reservoir, having missed the CP. It was back on the bikes, collecting a few CPs on the way to finally dropping the bikes off near Meikle Bin. This part of the day was really score orienteering with CPs all over the place. We headed up Meikle Bin in the clag and down to Little Bin for the CP "on the big tree beside the two small trees"; problem was it was a flat summit, poor visibility and quite a few small and big trees! However, after a few minutes of wandering aimlessly around I heard the familiar "beep-beep" and saw another team nearby in the murk dibbing their dibber on a tree we had probably walked past only minutes earlier. We headed off back down horrible felled forest and contoured back to near the bike drop. It was then up on to the ridge where after lots of wet, boggy plodding we bagged a few more CPs before returning to the bikes with an hour left. Going down the stony track was hairy for a roady wimp loke me as Simon romped off, though it got better when we were on the wider forest roads. That just filled me up with false courage though as when I was trying to keep up with Simon I almost flew off a wide, fast, gravelly bend. As we were back near the finish with some time to spare we went for some extra points by going down two of the special mountain bike trails, finishing on the "fun park", a narrow, stony downhill track with lots of short, sharp bumps thrown in to try and unseat you. We cruised into the finish after 7h 45m, to be followed shortly by the other two Westies Wanderers coming in in a totally different direction from us. Simon and I pipped them by amassing 70 or so more points than them, though they undoubtedly won the muddiest faces award. Overall, it was a hard, varied but very enjoyable day out.
Race website here

Westies Donut Hill Run

On a lovely late summer evening there was a great turnout of @18 Westies for this run from Overton House just outside Dumbarton. After great debate about whether to do the crags first or last we decided on the latter as the last time we did them first, when I led the team up the wrong way and ended doing a V.Diff climb (or so Muffy thought). We therefore had a runnable start up to the first stop at the woods. We then had the horrible muddy trod through to the reservoir and on over the heather to Donut Hill. The views were tremendous and we took our time to enjoy them. After a wee descent it was then on to the crags with fantastic views over the Clyde. In fact the views were so good that Pat and Pauline wandered around for an extra half hour on their own - well either that or they got lost/scared - you decide.
Photos here

Lomonds of Fife Hill Race

Running in Scotland for a change made for a really good Sunday outing. The "new" course was great - steep ups and downies; nice forest running, testing contouring and "that" bum-slide. I was knackered going up the runnable first field but as usual felt better when it got steeper going up West Lomond for the first time. A cracking steep descent off the top down to the stream checkpoint proved that my new Innov8 Mudclaws did their job. I followed a few Ochil runners along a good slanting contour heading down as soon as we could, which seemed to be faster than those who stayed higher for longer. In the forest I spied Swaz ahead but couldn't reel him in. After a few KM of wide track it soon got more interesting when it narrowed down to single track up to the monument and the water stop at Craigmead. It widened for the trudge up to East Lomond when we saw the front runners coming back down, always a bit of a dispiriting thing though you get your own back when you reach the top yourself! On the long run back to West Lomond I pulled in a few places and even felt pretty strong on the final short pull up. From there it was that mad bum-burning slide down the gully, wishing I had on lycra shorts or even better Manny's special slidy cut-offs. There was no real alternative to sliding, since as soon as you stood up and tried to run you immediately fell back down again. I managed to get the old legs going down in the fields and just failed to catch the guy ahead, coming in 6 secs over the 2 hours. A cracking race and a good day out with lots of fellow Westies.
Results here
Other Westies reports here

Westies Stronend Hill Run

Approx 14 Westies (and Jason's dog) made the trek over the campsies to Culcreuch Castle near Fintry for this nice blast up and down to Stronend. This was about 12 more than last time I was there with Chris, so was a great improvement.I felt like the Pied Piper as we set off as no one else seemed to have a clue where to go. I managed to find the tracks and trods that took us steeply up to the escarpment, where we then had a runnable plod on narrow trods to the Stronend trig/cairn. There were great views north taking in Ben and Loch Lomond, the Trossachs and what looked like Stuc and Ben Vorlich. Afterwards we descended en masse to the Dungeon Bar in the Castle, and then ascended back out thirsty after 15 min of non-service at the bar. Their loss was The Fintry Inn's gain and knocked back those orange juices to the sound of the local musicians having a wee session on the fiddles and accordion. Another good Westies night out.
Photos here

Bog and Burn Hill Race Series

Details of the Bog and Burn series here
I ran the minimum 4 races and finished 28th and 13th V40 of 61 completers.

Graeme Campbell of Highland Hill Runners has won the series, followed by Adam Ward of Carnethy, and Nigel Scott of my own club Westerlands. Angela Mudge won the ladies' title with 4 straight wins. Helen Palmer of Westerlands finished 2nd, with Jo Whitehead of City of Edinburgh in 3rd place. First team were Westerlands - Nigel Scott, David Riach and Luke Arnott. And first ladies team were also Westerlands - Helen Palmer, Catriona Miller and Katherine Kirk.

Coniston Weekend and Broughton Mills Fell Race

Yes, another Saturday and another long race in the Lakes you are thinking! But no, this wee gem of a race only took me 36m 23s for the 4m/1300ft. It was part of the Broughton Mills Fun day and was very similar to our own Tinto Race, except there was warm sunshine, tug-o-war, raffles and a pub where you could enjoy fine ales in the sunshine. Jane\'s pal mark won £25 in the raffle to spend in the pub afterwards and that capped a fine day in a wonderful part of the Lakes. As for the race itself, it was over in the proverbial blur compared to my recent races. A sprint out the Fun day field, down the road, up through some woods,where I was ambushed by some tree roots and jaggy bushes, out onto some nice runnable open fell, a wee scramble up to the summit, and then a frantic dash back down the same way, with the sting in the tail of a uphill finish for the last few hundred metres. Ricky Lightfoot won the race in just under 30 min and the first woman was @38 min. just like a highland games race back home except for the midges.

Some photos of the race and the rest of the weekend runs/walks in the hills round Coniston here

Borrowdale Fell Race

For a change I did a race in the Lakes that I had actually done before – the classic Borrowdale Fell Race (17 miles, 6500 feet). Usually there is quite a good turnout of Westies, but this year it was only Graham Kelly and myself with others injured and racing elsewhere. There were almost 400 runners lined up on the road in Rosthwaite for the start in warm and very humid conditions. The first few miles are flat tracks in a sort of loop which helps sort the field out a bit before the first steep climb up to Bessyboot, which was tough going in the sweaty conditions, a slow power walk of sorts being favoured by most people. After that 1st checkpoint there was a few miles of good cross country style running across the slopes of Glaramara, everyone just following the trod that we hoped was leading us to Esk Hause in the misty conditions. From there it was a bit of a tedious slog up to England’s highest mountain – Scafell Pike. The rocks towards the top were treacherously slippy and I passed at least one runner bandaging a bloody leg. This is the type of terrain that you just accept will be slow and horrible and I just got on with it, knowing there was plenty of race left to make up time if I was up for it. From Scafell Pike everyone seemed to take the “dangerous” scree run off the top, very reminiscent of the descent off the 1st pap on Jura. Full body armour would be very useful here, but in the absence of that you just have to be very careful and have your wits about you. I narrowly avoided being decapitated by a rock the size of my office desk that had been dislodged above me, but fortunately it just stopped short of me. After that fun and games there is the Corridor Route to follow for a mile or two, with its mixture of rocks, slabs, gullies, man-made paths, wet grass requiring total concentration lest you trip and give the Lakeland rock a Glasgow kiss. There were hordes of people at Styhead Tarn waiting to watch us labour up the long climb to Great Gable. I reeled in a few people ahead of me here and thought that this was the makings of a second half charge, but that wasn’t to be as after this I started to weaken a bit and struggled to hold on to the group ahead as we meandered our way over a few misty bumps and down to Honister Pass. This last climb up Dalehead is a real killer after 3 and a half hours and I plodded slowly up, step-counting 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 all the way up. Fortunately others were feeling even worse than me and I passed Ross McInroy of Helensburgh A.C. having a wee sit down half way up. There is still a beast of a descent down to the finish from here and I gave it all I could on my tired legs as I tried to get within 4 and a half hours, just failing by 3 minutes. I wasn’t too disappointed, however, as it is an achievement to just get round this toughie, and I was also pleased to have recovered from my bug/fever that had laid me low for a week recently. Graham had a good race to finish 10 min ahead of me. Simon Booth of hosts Borrowdale won the race for the 10th time in a row, but in his slowest time, the conditions having taken their toll on his time which was just over 3 hours. I passed
on the steel band in the marquee in favour of a few beers in the pub garden and some banter with some other runners. All in all another great day out in the Lakes.
Results here

Westies Narnain Boulder Handicap

I spectated and took photos at the 1st running of this Westies club race. Reports and photos

here

Glen Lyon Cycle

Did one of my favourite cycles on Sun. Started at Killin, headed up the lovely wooded single track road up Glen Lochay to its end, then up steeply & slowly to @ 350m over the water board trackand a flying descent down into the head of Glen Lyon. From there it was miles and miles of gradual wind assisted descent along Glen Lyon, one of Scotland’s loveliest glens. Passed the Bridge of Balgie tea rooms, the Fortingall Yew (reputedly Europe’s oldest living thing), through Keltneyburn and over the General Wade bridge into Aberfeldy (45 miles). After a carrot cake muffin out of the Coop I headed back passing Taymouth castle which is being restored and into the lovely village of Kenmore at the east end of Loch Tay. From there I took the south Loch Tay road which undulates narrowly for about 15 miles with great views of Loch Tay and the Ben Lawers mountains across the water. I arrived back at Killin after 66 miles and @ 4 ½ hours, and decided that I needed a bit more climbing, so I cycled along the north Loch Tay road for a few miles before engaging my granny ring for the 300 metre climb up to the Ben Lawers visitor centre, turning round at the reservoir for a nice fast descent back down. All in all 81 miles of stunning Highland scenery in perfect cycling weather. A fantastic day out.
Photos

here

Round Arran Road Relays

Almost three Westies teams made the journey across the Clyde to a sunny Isle of Arran for a great day out. We didn't win any prizes but we had a great time. Photos on my FLICKR website. Reports on Westies website.

Maddy Moss Hill Race

10 YEARS ON AND 10 MINUTES SLOWER! I suppose a minute per year isn’t too bad, and everyone else seems to be regressing like wise, so that makes it easier to bear. I still seem to enjoy it as much as ever and the good thing about running is that it still subjectively feels like I am running the same as 10 years ago, just as hard but just not as fast – strange that, eh?! The predictions of extremely hot weather fortunately didn’t materialise and whilst still hot wasn’t actually too bad and there was even a nice wee breeze on top. There was the usual good turnout of Westies for this Bog and Burn race - @6 miles and 675m of ascent from Tillicoultry - a “power walk” up the steep climb to The Law, a steady run up to the high point of Ben Cleuch and then fine cross country running down to Andrew Gannell Hill and finally the long runnable descent on the narrow trod from Maddy Moss and the quad-busting final very steep hundred yards or so to the finish. The steep start here always hits hard but then you get a few minutes of flat running before the slog up The Law. I tried to settle into a nice steady walk up this big climb, to save some energy for all the running that is left once you hit the top. It seemed to work out OK, pulling away from Helen and watching Don and Steffen not too far ahead. I had a walking/running battle with Pete Buchanan of Ochils who would run past me on the less steep bits and then I would walk past him as it steepened; after half a dozen of these mini-battles he pulled away near the top of The Law, never to be seen again. From the turn round at the Ben Cleuch trig I held my place, being passed once but passing a Fifer near the end. The narrow trod required the usual total concentration on every little foot plant to avoid plunging down the hill, and fortunately I had no one in front to try and overtake as it is near impossible, as the Dundee runner behind me found out. I crossed the line in just under 66min 49sec, about 3min slower than last year and 33rd/72, but as always, felt to my mind as hard as ever and I was pleased with my run, bearing in mind the recent long races in my legs (Wasdale, then Moffat and a 100mile cycle on Monday – just getting my excuses in!). Up ahead David had a great run in 4th place, Helen and Cat were 1st and 2nd ladies, and Pauline 1st FV50. The lads narrowly missed out on the team prize to hosts Ochil, but the lassies triumphed in their team competition. Post-run recreation was in The Woolpack pub where we enjoyed some fine ales in the now smoke-free atmosphere. A great way to spend a Wed evening.
Reports and photos on the Westies website.
Results here

Moffat Chase Hill Race

Having ran Wasdale last week I was either going to be knackered or energised for the return of the "old" long Moffat Chase race (16 miles & 1720 metres), first ran by me way back in 1988, and it turned out to be both! I started out at not too bad a pace up through the forest for the first mile, but then felt it was a bit too fast, eased off a bit and then started to feel a bit wobbly on the first climb, the old negative thoughts forcing their way to the fore as I cursed Wasdale. Captainess Cat eased by me at this point as I started to contemplate a nice long but hard saunter round, taking in the views and watching everyone pass me. The legs were simply dead and the runnable part from the first checkpoint was hard going as I tried to hang on to Hamilton who had also caught me up. I soon started to feel a bit better on the contour round to the col near Hart Fell, gaining the minute of deficit on Cat by getting a better lower line. We chatted away the climb up to Hart Fell where I found my descending legs to then ungentlemanly leave her to chase after Louise Burt and Tosh Brannan who were just ahead. I caught them up near Hartfell Rig and then caught a few more on the fantastic ridge run along to Saddle Yoke. From there I enjoyed somehow the steep grassy descent down to the landrover at Blackhope Burn, zig-zagging my way down while trying not to think about what lay ahead at the bottom. The climb up to Black Craig was a dire trudge of slow footstep after slow footstep, trying to convince myself that everyone else must be feeling at least as bad. Ronnie gave out some welcome water before the final trudge up to Nether Coomb Craig, where I passed Murdo, giving me some renewed energy. I shot off the wrong way from the checkpoint, only to be called back by the marshalls. There was a good heathery descent to the forest near Auldton Fell, where the frontrunners had left some convenient trods in the long grass. The pressure of Murdo following behind kept me pushing on and on the climb up to Greygill Head (the 1st CP also) I managed to reel in a few more bodies that were wilting in the heat. I was a great relief to know that it was more or less all down hill from here and I passed a few more on the stony/heathery/muddy descent that I had struggled up 3 hours earlier. I was a great relief to get back into the cool shady forest for the final mile of the race which was probably the best part of the race. I was well chuffed to finish 24th (76 starters), if 15 min down on my time in 1988. The showers back at the rugby club put a bit of life back into me and afterwards Cat, Chris, David and me wandered back into Moffat for an ice cream and a listen to the Langholm Town Band blast out a few tunes. Various Westies arrived back in assorted states but all did extremely well, especially Luke and Manny up front, the Westies Wummin and Jason manfully bringing up the rear. A great race in a lovely part of the country, see you all next year?! More reports and photos on the Westies website. Results here

Having Monday off work I did a fantastic 100 mile cycle from Langholm to Eskdalemuir, Hawick, Newcastleton and back. Tremendous weather, quiet roads and amazing scenery.

Wasdale Fell Race

Another Saturday…another long race, or so it seems to have been all summer. On Sat I completed the infamous Wasdale Horseshoe Fell Race (22 miles, 9000 feet), and in doing so managed to qualify for the Lakeland Classics Series, comprising the Super Long Races -Duddon Valley, Ennerdale Horseshoe, Wasdale and the Long Races – Borrowdale, Three Shires, Langdale Horseshoe – at least 3 of the SL or 2 SL and one L . Admittedly if I hope to actually place anywhere in this series (38/54 after 2 SL so far) then I think I would have to actually win the remaining 3 races, so I will just have to content myself with simply completing the series and maybe doing all 3 that are left, which I would be pleased with. Back to Wasdale, this is a race I had heard about many times and decided that after all my long races this summer that I should give it a bash. It starts in the tremendous setting of Wasdale Head in the South Lakes where you are surrounded by fantastic peaks, equal to the setting of, say, Glencoe. For a change the weather was cool and cloudy, just about right for what I expected to be about a 6hr day out on the hills. 145 of us set off, including Luke and a few Carnethies, for the steady grind up to Illgill Head (609m) and the ridge to Whin Rigg (536m), which was very runnable. I was trying to settle into a nice steady pace at this stage knowing the many hours and thousands of feet of climb that lay ahead. From this 1st checkpoint we had a cracking flagged descent down a trod in the heather at the side of the Greathall Gill gorge to the other end of Wast Water where we had a mile or so of wooded trail before hitting some nice tracks up Greendale Gill and its waterfalls to Seatallan CP2 (693m). From here you can see miles and miles ahead and the field was well strung out by this point. There were some nice runnable trods in the heather down to the lovely Scoat Tarn before a steady climb up past Scoat Fell for a ridge run up the rocky summit of CP3, Pillar (892m). It was quite a rocky technical descent off down to Black Sail Pass and I was settling in to not a bad ploddy rhythm at this point as we skirted on a narrow contouring path under Kirk Fell to the col between it and Great Gable. Jane was here to provide moral support and water and to take the photo of me and the blonde woman, who proceeded to disappear up the steep rocky climb up to CP4, Great Gable (899m) never to be seen again. GG will be familiar to those having run Borrowdale where you come up nice rock steps which ease the big climb up from Styhead Pass, however we had to run down them, or should I say meander down them slowly as they were treacherous and irregularly spaced and would have resulted in serious damage had you slipped up. The slow pace did give a bit of a rest for the final climb up to Esk Hause, CP5, and then on to Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak at 977m. The fine weather deteriorated at this point and the last 15min or so to the top were wet and windy and with plenty of slippy rocks, really not a lot of fun. I wasn’t at all sure of the route off, as I had only ever been up here for the Borrowdale Race, where you head off in a completely different direction, so I sneakily let Wendy Dodds lead a group of us guys off into the clag hopefully in the direction of the last CP, Lingmell Nose. She did a fine job, and I managed to pull away from her when the clag cleared and I could see where I was going, shame on me! It got one back for me as she had hammered me at Ennerdale a few weeks earlier. The last descent was a grassy cracker and I even beat someone on the run in. It was a real pity that the weather had turned horrible by this point as no one was hanging around at the finish, as the attraction of a dry and warm car and fresh clothing proved too much and we all drifted away. I was really pleased with my time of 5hrs 40mins (101st of 145 starters), being 15min faster than my time for the shorter Ennerdale race a few weeks ago!127 runners finished and winner was Lloyd Taggart in 3h 49m and Jackie Lee set a new course record for the women in 4h 19m (11th place) followed closely by former Westie Helene Diamantides in 4h 25m (15th). The stats are impressive = 22 miles and 9000 feet, i.e. twice Ben Nevis!! It deserves its legendary reputation in fell running circles and those who enjoy the likes of Jura, Glen Clova, Glen Rosa etc. should really make the effort to get down for this and the other classic long races down here, especially given the absence of boggy, heathery Scots terrain and the abundance of tracks and trods.
Results here
Race details here

Chevy Chase Fell Race

"The Chevy Chase is a classic fell run and challenge for walkers, 20 miles into the heart of the Cheviots with 4,000 feet of accumulated climb. The route takes in the summits of Cheviot 2676 feet / 815m and Hedgehope 2348 feet / 714m, our two highest peaks. There is a short section on road; the rest of the route is a mixture of tracks, footpaths, sheep paths and on the higher ground trackless fell."

Chevy Chase website

If only I could have managed a sprint finish after 20 miles, 1320 meters and 3h 37m I would have been revelling in headlines of "JD gubs Gala Harrier". As it was, after dragging him round the last hour and a half he had the temerity to casually finish a couple of secs ahead of me. It was hot, it was dry and I felt that at last all those long races were proving fruitful as I seemed to be pulling in people all the time from the summit of The Cheviot. Mind you, they included the walkers and "B" runners who had set off earlier giving even a modest plodder like me that wonderful feeling of zooming past people what like "real" runners like Rodwell do when they are not sleepwalking through a race like today. I was 17th, Damon 16th, 1st man home was @3h01m. It was a cracker of a race, a bit like a runnable two Breweries and well organised in the lovely Border town of Wooler.
Full results

here

Damon's report =
A week is a long time in hill-running. After last week’s “monumental” run (thanks Hamilton) at the Eildons, I drove down to Wooler for the 20-mile Chevy Chase feeling perky and quietly confident that I’d win by a street, pull lots of birds and knock the course record into history. There was a minor hurdle to overcome, however. I didn’t have an entry, the race website said it was full, and the organiser had resolutely declined to return any of my emails or phone calls. Fortunately I bumped into JD (an you don’t often hear anyone say that!) and his beloved, who had the happy news that her mate couldn’t run and that her number was up for grabs.
The race starts with a couple of mile on the road, which I ran in a group of about a dozen. This thinned out when we left the road and started up the first gentle climb. I seemed to be toiling harder than I would have expected at what was a pretty conversational pace, but hoped that a few miles would blow the cobwebs away. Unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way. After about 40 minutes we hit the first significant climb, up the Cheviot on a wide and extremely runnable track. Runnable on fresh legs, that is. As it was, mine were feeling anything but fresh, and I found that it was all I could do to walk. A steady stream of runners trooped past. It’s quite a confusing event, with three separate starts for walkers, slow runners and faster runners. The consequence of this is that from about 3 miles onwards you are constantly following by a snake of walkers and runners who have set off up to 90 minutes before you. I found that the effect on my morale alternated every couple of minutes between a pleasant and blissful ignorance of my position in the field and deep gloom about how many plodders were in front. It also presented considerable problem when the paths were narrow. Time and time again I had to dive off into horrible tussocks to get past walkers, many armed with those stupid ski-sticks (what’s all that about?), who had absolutely no intention of letting runners past without a fight.
We crested the Cheviot and immediately plunged off piste down an outrageously steep heathery descent, which eventually levelled off into a gently falling trod.
At just about this point a terrible thing happened. I was pussy-footing down feeling a bit sorry for myself when the first lady skittered past. No big deal, you might think. What you don’t know, of course, is that it was not only a lady, but a lady veteran, and not only that but she’s my elder kids’ French teacher. Mon Dieu, quelle horreur, sacre bleu and pish! I had visions of not being allowed across the threshold when I got home, which stirred me from my torpor and I livened up a little, passing her soon afterwards on a climb and gradually pulling away. Believe it or not, worse was to come. The long climb up the other side of the valley was a real sod – a real battle through deep, deep tussocks, fought to the constant accompaniment of dozens of large buzzing flies that crawled on my scalp and invaded ears, nose and mouth. I was carrying one of those 2-litre rehydration pouches in my backpack for the first time ever, and I felt sure that one of the twins had climbed in too, for a laugh.
Just when I was contemplating different methods of topping myself the tussocks turned into a path and the top of the long climb appeared.
And then the worse thing happened. Even more of a blow, and even more of a kick up the oompah than the first lady vet coming past was the first JD coming past! The result was similar to a few weeks ago running on the hills close to home when I stepped over a wire fence and got the full force of a 5000 volt belt through my testicles. They’re still tingling, if the truth be told, and fizz a bit in foggy weather.
We ran together (John and me… and my chuckies), more-or-less, in companionable knackeredness for the entire second half of the race, each labouring through a couple of bad patches and wilting progressively in the muggy heat, and finished within a minute of one another.
This was the 50th running of the event, and it’s a bit of a classic. About three-quarters of it is on very runnable paths, with a couple of stiff climbs, some lovely shady deciduous woodland and winding riparian tracks. And flies, of course. Lots of flies.

Westies Chatelherault Handicap Race

Captain Chris' idea of a race in the lovely Chatelherault Country Park near Hamilton turned out to be a cracker of a race and sure to be a permanent fixture in the Westies schedule. The weather was perfect, the trail dry and the marking of the course absolutely superb (though Muffy and David Riach may disagree!). There must have been about 20 of us made the journey south of the Clyde on a lovely summer's evening out to the refurbished former Duke of Hamilton's hunting lodge. First off was Fiona followed by a stream of Westies as ordered by Charlie. First back and winner of the "Champion " beer prize was Helen; Chris ran the fastest time; Catriona was fastest woman and Pat claimed the sought after coconut for last finisher and a select few also got some jammy donuts. Thanks to Charlie for the handicaps and timing and Drew for his sawdust and to everyone else for turning up and giving it their best.
Photos

here

Lairig Ghru Hill Race

After I wimped out of my planned 300K cycle for Sat(195 miles on a wee saddle-stupid idea really)I was wondering whether or not to give the LG another go after I plodded round it 2 years ago just scraping under 4 and a half hours. After John Duffy of the SHITs said he and sometime-Westie Marc McColl were going up on Sun morning I decided that a wee 55 mile cycle round the Trossachs on Sat followed by the LG sounded a more rounded and appealing weekend. Sun morning didn't start well as my alarm failed to go off at 6am and it was pure luck that I actually wakened not knowing the time and was propelled out my bed at a rate of knots after seeing that it was 6.25 and I was due at John's in Cumbernauld for 7! I made it there on time which was more than can be said for Marc, who managed to arrive late after going down at least one slip road the wrong way. We made it to Braemar where it was a lovely morning. At the start Don Naylor of HBT sprinted off, maintaining his form to the end in a new record of 3h 7m to win by 21min. I started off slightly slower and kept it that way to the end. It is an incredibly runnable race, not suiting the likes of me who would have fared better with a few Munros thrown in for good measure. As it was, the total climb over the @28 miles and 690 metres.The views were stunning, when you could manage to peel your eyes off the rocky path during the middle of the race that runs up the main Larig Ghru, and quite a few paid the price in terms of bloodied and bruised limbs. The weather was fab, and the first and last hour or so are lovely paths/tarmac, the boulder field at the top horrible and the decent into Rothiemurchus forest is great if you have the legs to enjoy it, which I didn't. I managed to sneak a PB by 5 min in 4h 24m 30s,38th/82 finishers, going through at least a few good and not so good patches, losing my water bottle and not having enough gel bars to fuel me. Marc was 10 sec the wrong side of 4 hours, proving that not wearing a watch is not always a good idea, is it Marc? Lucy Colquhoun of Carnethy also set a new women's record in 3h 33m. We all finished in glorious sunshine and enjoyed the free soup and sarnies, washed down by a few welcome beers. The bus then took us back to the cars at Braemar to round off a great day over one of the classic routes in Scotland. A race/run that all hill-lovers should try at least once.
Results here
Race details here

CORUISK HUT, SKYE

At the second attempt in many years I made it to the SMC hut at Loch Coruisk. Unfortunately we left the good weather of the last two weeks behind and all we managed was an amble up Loch Coruisk on Saturday before getting the boat back out on Sunday morning. However, it was worth getting into this fantastic location and we all enjoyed it.

Photos here

Ennerdale Horseshoe Fell Race

Continuing my experience of “classic” long fell races in the Lakes, I completed the Ennerdale Horseshoe (20 miles, 8000 feet of climbing) on Saturday - in just under 6 hours. At times I wished that I had “only” been doing Glen Rosa as I would have had at least a couple of hours less in the heat and strong winds that were present. It was an English Championship race this year and led to a field of 262 starters, with Stuart Barrie and myself the only Scots intruders I think. The numbers meant that there was always people to follow on the numerous wee shortcuts and contours that only the locals really know. The race basically is a classic circuit of Ennerdale Water in a clockwise direction, starting and finishing at the Scout camp near Ennerdale Bridge and going out via Great Bourne, Red Pike and Black Beck tarn as far as Green Gable and then over Kirk Fell, Pillar, Haycock, Iron Crag and Crag Fell. I had a so-so race from the point of view of my “expected” time (5h30m-6h), but was still pretty chuffed at finishing it in 5h 55m (157th of 262 starters) in the heat. I think last week’s Duddon race and Wednesday’s Kilpatricks' race seemed to take their toll on my legs which certainly seemed a lot more tired than last week. The race is the usual great mixture of Lakes terrain – good runnable grassy trods, contouring mixes of rocks and grass, steep gully descents and slow plods uphill. The views were stupendous, whether the nearby ridges, tarns, screes etc. or views of further away fells and lakes My usual slow/steady start remained just that throughout, and unlike last week there was no steady passing of runners in the 2nd half, and the last few hours were a definite grind, especially as after about 3 hours you could look way way ahead and see the finish at the other end of the lake and boy did it look far. Other than my knackered legs I actually coped OK with the heat as I had 2 litres in my Camelbak, all of which I drank. The finish was a great relief, especially the ice cold sponges over your head at the end, which almost had me in tears of joy and pain at the same time. I am already planning to do it again next year, which only shows what a short memory I have, or how stupid I am, or probably both. It was a well organised race in a wonderful part of the Lakes and deserves its “classic” status. The race was won by Simon Booth from Rob Jebb in over two hours faster than me! A great meal in the nearby Kirkstile Inn and a few pints of the local Loweswater ale went down extremely well afterwards and helped fuel the fond memories and dull the nastier ones. Well worth doing, and making a weekend of to enjoy this fantastic part of the country that we so often overlook.
Results here

Kilpatricks Hill Race

My 10th running of the Kilpatricks Hill Race (6 miles 485 metres) was a very pleasant one and I would like to thank Christine and everyone else who made this and previous year’s races possible. Despite advancing years and increasing laziness I still managed a “sort of “ PB" in that I was all of 4 seconds quicker than last year - 57min 15sec, though still a minute behind Murdo, drat! I was even in exactly the same position, 23rd/55 runners, as last year!! It was a gorgeous evening for the race, warm and sunny and no midges thankfully, though I imagine that next week at Ben Sheann in Strathyre will more than make up for that. At the start it resembled a Westies club run with about half the field made up of almost 30 yellowdoubleyoos. A few Greenock road ragers zoomed off at the start while the rest of us plodded on behind up the first uphill road section. I tucked in behind Murdo, concentrating on him to try and take away the usual pain and stress I seem to suffer at the start of races, and we made good progress up the road and on to the first field where I reverted to my usual mix of running and walking. I seemed to be feeling OK and passed Murdo, Simon and Johannes towards the top of the ridge and kept a decent pace down to the track. The slight uphill took its toll and Murdo edged past me, which actually was good for me as it gave me someone top tag on to and feel like I was actually racing, rather than just plodding round as fast as I could. I just got past Murdo again on the track and led my wee pack on to the heather and bog part of the course. This lead didn’t last long and Murdo once again passed me, again allowing me someone to focus on through the rough stuff which was actually good for me. We passed Stuart Simpson of Ochils at this point, which is unheard of, and then ran round the narrow reservoir trod keeping a sharp eye out for any leftover bits of Graham Benny’s knee from last year. We managed to avoid the metal spikes and rocks on this bit and then hit the foot of the climb up The Slacks. At this point Don was hot on our heels and I was hoping to use the threat of him catching me and the lure of Murdo ahead to spur me into life, however, my shoes had other ideas, as having only just put in laces before the race, they had come loose and I realised that I would be even more rubbish than usual at descending if I didn’t stop and tie them. On the other hand I knew that stopping for even a minute would be fatal in my Westies battle and so it proved. Murdo got a big gap on me and Don closed right in and then displayed his superior descending skills by taking over a minute out of me from the trig point. I did my best to stay with him, but my wee legs just couldn’t do it. Simon also charged past me on the final field. I ended up pretty pleased with the way I had run and don’t think I could have gone any faster on the day – doesn’t stop you wishing you had though, does it? Damon was 3rd, Nigel 4th, Val H was 1st, Cat M 2nd and the Westies Women won the team prize. Well done to all. Afterwards 18 of us enjoyed a fine curry at The Indian Orchard and toasted Dave Calder’s (50th?) birthday with a few sweet lassies.

Results here

Other Westies reports -

DAMON=This racing lark is getting to be a bit of a habit. Just 4 days after getting comprehensively knackered at Yetholm, I found myself with a water-tight pretext for a trip through to the rainy west for a day's work, and thought I'd bag a race to help justify the drive. I'd struggled big-time on Monday and Tuesday with a very stiff thigh after Yetholm, but it seemed a lot better on Wednesday morning, and a day at climbing up and down ladders and in and out of small spaces Carbeth Fishery had loosened me up nicely. I ran the first couple of hundred metres with Nige, who filled me in on the runners in front. Graham campbell of Highland set off lke a startled hare and scampered to the first grassy climb with a 30m lead, with Stuart Simpson (?) and John Stevens of Ochill giving chase. Knowing that the bulk of the climbing comes early, and that I was bound to lose out to all and sundry on the descents I gave it some welly on the long climb to the landrover track, by which time I was clear in second place, with Graham 20m ahead and Andrew McColl of Greenock 40m behind. This changed little on the fast track section past the first reservoir, but on the tussocks I started to lose ground on Graham, and young mcColl came skipping past looking very frisky. I was steaming hot by now, and stumbling all over the place on the bog and tussocks. This section was much longer that I remembered from my only previous outing here seven years ago, and by the time we reached the second reservoir Andrew had passed Graham and Nige had made up the best part of 100m, and was chasing me hard. A brief word of encouragement (or was it abuse - too shagged to know) from Chaz and it was over the bridge and onto the Slacks. The first two were miles ahead now, and with Nige breathing dowm my neck I knew the only chance of keeping him at bay was to put a bit of air between us on the climb.
By the time I reached the trig point, after an unexpectedly long climb, I was hot as hell and ready to expire. My left shoe had come undone on the climb and was getting increasingly flappy. Fear chased me down the extremely fast descent, during which my other bloody shoe came untied, much to my disgust. Surprisingly Nige didn't pass me, possibly because of his continuing knee problem. I reached the road with a gap of about 20m, and legged it, shoes flapping and laces whipping my calves down the last half-mile to finish 3rd in 46:57, a shade under a minute behind Andrew, who had pulled away from Graham for a comfortable win. Steffen was the 3rd Westie home, just behind a brace of Glenpark runners, and we had a fun few minutes wondering whether we'd pipped them for the team prize. I had to leave promptly, but as far as I know we just nicked it, 25 points to 30.

DON= Good run by you guys at the sharp end. I can fill you in on some of the mid race shenanigans. This was my first race since Cathkin Braes so I was not sure what kind of nick I was in. I slotted in to my usual company as we jogged up the first climb (ie JD & Murdo). However, they got away on the climb as I struggled with the heat. As we got to the top, something occured that has never happened before. I got passed by a Westie Wummin ! ie Val ,going like a train. I dug in and managed to sneak past on the first little descent down to the loch Humphry road. I could see JD & Murdo slugging it out with a group of about 8 other runners about 300yds ahead but was not optimistic about catching them. The group in front began to fragment and I began to feel stronger as we got on to the rougher stuff off the road. By the time we crossed the dam below the slacks I had passed 2 or 3 guys and Murdo had got away a bit from JD who I had in my sights. Stuart Simpson who was having an off night cheered me on as i chased after JD who stopped to tie his shoelaces (the dreaded shoelace demon had struck again.) By the time I hobbled over the coffee table JD was only 10m ahead, & I knew I would get him on the descent but Murdo was out of sight. It was time to put the boot in . As I ran down the field to the road, passing Michael Diver in the process, I could see Murdo crossing the cattle grid. I hit the road at the same time as an unattached guy called Hugh who looked like a supervet,but as soon as we hit the tarmac he took off like a scalded cat.I dug in and kept him at bay, and we began to catch Murdo at a hell of a rate. We just beat him to the line at which point I collapsed in a heap.

Duddon Valley Fell Race

I have for a long time promised to do more of the classic long races in the Lakes, but usually failed to do so. This weekend I at least added one more to my list – the Duddon Valley Fell Race. It is @20 miles and 6600 feet of Lakeland beauty and is a great horseshoe of a race starting from a pretty inaccessible part of the Lakes, Seathwaite, reachable only by gruelling narrow lanes that take twice as long to travel as you might think. However on such a gorgeous day as Saturday it was worth it. The expected hot sunny day did in fact transpire and I lined up with 135 other nutters, including sometime Westies Crispin and ex-Westie Helene Diamantides in a field beside the Newfield Inn with my wee rucsac full of gels bars and a Camelbak full of water. I headed off at a leisurely pace, knowing that this was my first real long race test after my 3 month layoff during winter. After a few hundred yards we slowed to a halt to cross a lovely narrow wooden bridge, and then had a good mile or two on narrow forest tracks varying from nice runnable trail to horrible boggy root-strewn mush. We plodded up Harter Fell (649m) then had a nice soft descent to Hardknott pass then a steady plod up Hardknott summit itself (549m), followed by a good descent down to the “swim” across the burn at the foot of the 400m climb up to Little Stand (741m). I had spied a bunching of runners ahead and simply thought they were having a wee drink of water but in fact they were trying to figure out how to cross a narrow but deep burn. I forgot that I only have wee legs and lept to a seemingly solid bit of grass only for it to collapse underneath me to waist height resulting in a unseemly lunge for the other bank which I only just made. I had a good climb up here, steadily pulling in a dozen or so runners to the craggy top before getting a good line off here to traverse across Cold Pike for a cracking descent down to Three Shire Stone at Wrynose Pass. Fuelled up by my jam piece I had a good climb up to Swirl How (802m) and then there was some great ridge running alongside Old Man of Coniston which we just bypassed. I underestimated the number of hills left soon after and had a bit of a low point after White Pike summit (608m) where I lost 2/3 min following a Bowland lass on a dodgy route choice, allowing a big group who I had expended a lot of effort getting past to overtake me, but then it was my own fault. The last climb up to Caw summit was “enlivened” by first being passed by the Wendy Dodds and then coming the other way off the summit by a woman I had passed an hour earlier but had not seen pass me since! I could have easily just finished at the top and sunbathed away the rest of the day but still had to descend about 1000ft to the finish. It was a cracker of a soft grassy descent though, boggy in parts, and I at least passed the Bowland lass that had led me astray earlier. I finished in 4h 18m in a sunny field with kids, dogs and adults milling around drinking beer and sunning themselves and joined them for one of those well-earned rests that only a long hard race can bring you. I was 67th of 136 starters; the race was won in 2h59m; Helene had a great run in 3h36m; Crispin was just ahead of her. The deck chairs were usefully employed for a few hours after as I enjoyed the fantastic setting after a nice wash in the burn nearby and a pint of Cumberland Ale. The previously dodgy knee seemed to hold up well which was great news. A great day was rounded off with a visit to some of Jane’s friends in Patterdale who were enjoying a Barbie and drinks on the cricket ground.

Duddon Fell Race

Westies Wednesday Luss Hill Run

There was a bumper turnout of almost 20 Westies for this @6m/700m run round the Loch Lomondside Luss Hills. The gorgeous weather during the day had greyed-out and cooled-down by 7pm, but was still fine for the run. The bluebells were out in force on the lower slopes and the views of the numerous islands below were fantastic as we enjoyed a very sociable run round, even waiting for Muffy on a number of occasions, despite Dave's protestations. We even attracted a potential new member, Malcolm, who seemed to enjoy himself and will hopefully return. A few of us went to the Esquire Bar afterwards for some food and drink. In attendance on the hill was - JD, Dave&Muffy, David R, Catriona, Simon, Robert, Trevor, Val, Pat, Pauline, Rod, Graham, Jason.

ANDALUCIA, May 2006

Jane and I enjoyed two weeks in Andalucia running, cycling, being tourists and generally having fun. Photos

here

Scottish Islands Peaks Race

Ten tears ago I did my first Islands Peaks Race and I still haven’t tired of this fantastic event, though my legs are certainly getting a bit wearier and slower each year. I was back on the good ship LEMARAC, the boat of sponsor Boyd Tunnock, though he wasn’t on board this time. Having done my first race on a tiny wee boat, this 38 foot Moody is a great way to travel in between the mountains, with lots of home comforts and lots of the sponsor’s own products. Catriona Miller was my Westies accomplice this time, having told her that it was simply a nice wee sail round the West coast with a few hills in between, with the promise of lots of Tunnock’s Tea Cakes all round. The race comprises a wee warm-up 5 mile trail race round Oban to stagger the field out, a sail to Salen on Mull to run up Ben More (22miles/1185metres), a sail down past the Corryvreckan Whirlpool to Jura to run up and down the Paps of Jura (12miles/1600metres), a sail round the Mull of Kintyre in to Lamlash on Arran for a saunter up Goatfell (18miles/1285metres ), and a final sail across to Troon = easy eh? Well it might be IF you didn’t have to more or less do the 60 miles and 5270 metres in less than 48 hours (started Mull at 5.30pm on Friday and finished on Arran at 10am on Sunday) and IF you didn’t have to try and eat, sleep and recover on a boat in between, BUT I wouldn’t miss it as it is simply superb.

We had a nice jog round the sunny and scenic Oban trail run before being rowed out on the dinghy to the boat by Billy where he, Keith and Matt took over as we dove below to put on our warm stuff. When we emerged it was to the faintest of winds and to the dread news that it might be nightfall before we even reach Mull if the wind didn’t improve – nightmare scenario! Fortunately the wind did get up and we even managed to beat a change of tide to arrive on Mull with 4 or 5 hours of daylight to spare, unlike lots of other boats just behind us who were delayed for hours as the tide proved stronger than the wind. On Mull we had to endure 40 min of rucsac-laden tarmac running, then 20 min of stony trail before getting on the hill proper where we could at least “walk”. We stormed past the Israeli paratroopers (honest!) and headed up to Ben More, getting a good line under the screes of A’Chioch, unlike a few other teams who looked horribly crag-bound. We spotted a multi KIMM Elite Class winner naughtily having his rucsac carried by his partner! While Catriona was having none of that and despite my offers carried her rucsac throughout. The top of Ben More was bit claggy, but we hit the next checkpoint spot on and started off on the contour to the final mountain checkpoint, the altimeter proving very useful in the clag and rapidly fading daylight (it was almost 10pm by now!). The choice of the bottom of the glen for the horrible trudge back to the track was a bad choice compared to the more usual sheep trod higher up, but at least I know never to do that again. We didn’t need our head torches for the last run-out and arrived back at Salen pier at about 11.30pm, having taken just under 6 hours.

Our sailors had a good sail down to Craighouse on Jura getting us there at a very civilised time of 10.22am, avoiding the dreaded “Jura In The Dark” nightmare. The weather on top, however, was very wet and windy adding to the challenging terrain of huge loose boulders, fast-moving scree and lots of climbing. The boggy trudge across to the foot of the first Pap was exactly that, but at least we were spot on with our bearing and found our way through the many wee lochans and hillocks to the mist-covered foot of Beinn a’Chaolais for its steep ascent. It was pretty miserable on top and from there we headed down the loose scree descent hitting the check at the lochan, before the climb up to the Corbett of Beinn an Oir. For once I managed to hit a great line off this middle Pap avoiding most of the boulder fields that bar the direct way to the last pap of Beinn Shiantaidh and finding some decent heather to ease the pain. Coming off this last one we even found the “secret” descent route off the last Pap, courtesy of Chris Upson’s tip, thereby missing the dire mixture of loose scree and treacherous boulders that await you on the direct route off. The weather relented on this descent and while the path from the lochan to the road was its usual quagmire, we enjoyed a very scenic and sunny plod on the 3 miles of tarmac back to Craighouse finishing in a shade over 6 hours, and leaving Jura @ 4.30pm.

After some pasta and cakes and whatever else we could manage to hold down, we spend some time up top enjoying the very strong winds and big seas on the way down to the Mull of Kintyre, including a near disaster with an out of control spinnaker. Knowing we could be at Arran in the early hours, we strapped ourselves into our beds and tried to get some sleep. At the unearthly hour of 2pm we were given the “45min to go” call, oh ####! After a bleary-eyed breakfast and packing of bag the wind proceeded to die and our eta was revised back to a more civilised time of 4am-ish. The boat crawled into Lamlash to start us off at 4.45am in daylight, which was fortunate for me, as I had left my head torch on the boat! It was a lovely spring morning and we hauled or weary bodies and rucsacs through Clauchlands farm and up and over the ancient hill fort of Dun Fionn and into deserted Brodick, passing Don Naylor and Louise Provan of HBT going the other way, having had to do Goatfell in the dark. It was a nice sunny plod up to the summit, with stunning views of Glen Rosa and the Firth of Clyde. This point is always a highlight of the race, as it marks the last real hill and leaves “only” a couple of hours mostly flat stuff left. The finish at Lamlash pier is always a joyful and emotional one for me and it was no different this time from ten years ago. By the time we finished in just over 5 hours it was a lovely summer’s day with a seal preening itself just offshore and kids paddling in the sea. We were greeted by Christine Menhennet and Val Houston for a celebratory Westies hug, which was well appreciated.

The sail across is usually very enjoyable, principally for the fact that you know you do not have to get of at the end and run up yet another big mountain. It was also warm and sunny for the first few hours when we enjoyed the rays over a meal of cheese and onion pasty and baked beans, washed down by some beer and malt whisky, but it then greyed-up and the wind died, taking us almost 5 hours to do what the ferry can do in about one! Cat and I hobbled along the marina walkways for the final few hundred yards to the finish to bring to an end another fantastic/exciting/challenging episode of this highlight of my running year. We finished as about 19th boat in, some 11 hours after the winners. Well done to Catriona and a great big thanks to - the crew of Keith, Matt and Billy and to Boyd; all the marshals and helpers who made the event possible; it was a privilege to have taken part.

Photos here

SKYE

In April I had 2 great days walking on Skye, including "doing" the Inn Pinn for the 2nd time with Dave and Isobel.
Photos

here

WESTIES WEEKEND IN BASSENTHWAITE

For a change I booked us into the cheap and cheerful Bassenthwaite Parish Hall, near Keswick for a rare Westies raid south of the Border. On Fri I went down early and cycled 50 miles from Bassenthwaite along the east side of the Lake to Keswick, then a cracking undulating and scenic cycle to Borrowdale, up the incredibly steep and dramatic Honister Pass (250m climb in 2K, 150m in 1st 1K!), a screaming descent to the gorgeous Buttermere, then up to Newlands Hause (200m in a mile), down a lovely rolling descent to Braithwaite, then up the fantasticaslly-forested Whinlatter Pass (220m in 2miles), a good descent to Lorton where I turned round and went back up Whinlatter to Braithwaite and then round the west side of Bassenthwaite Lake to our humble lodgings on the floor of Bassenthwaite Village Parish Rooms - 50 miles and 1330 metres climb and all in lovely sunshine, and rounded off immediately by a few well -earned pints of Jennings in the beer garden of the Sun Inn - a fantastic day's cycling. On Saturday Cat, Dave R and I accompanied Steffen on a recce of leg 3 of the Bob Graham Round from Dunmail Raise over to Seathwaite via Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Sergeant Man, High Raise, Thunacar Knott, Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle, Stake Pass, Rossett Pike. At Angle Tarn I headed back to Esk Hause and down Grains Gill to Stockley Bridge and Cat's car at Seathwaite, while the others headed up to Bowfell on a wee scramble into the clag. mainly claggy all day but relented a bit on the last descent to Stockley Bridge which was lovely. Had to constantly use map and compass for the 1st time in ages and seemed to get between all the tops OK, so I suppose I can safely be let out on the hills on my own. After such an inauspicious start, with the clag down to the road and legs like lead due to the cycling, it was a good day out on the hills, reminding us all that the Lakes offer an equally good but different day on the hills compared to our usual Scottish forays.
Others took part in the Aniversary Waltz race nearby with 751 runners and some went for local runs.
On Sat we had a great communal meal, including puddings! The highlight of the evening was (no not Dave's team winning my Westies Quiz again) but a new game destined to become a Westies mainstay of future weekends and providing more laughs than I have had in a long long time - The Funny Animals Game (or something like that I think), Suffice to say it featured various Westies imitating muddled meerkats, leaping lambs, pissing dogs and who knows what else. Another version featuring musical instruments instead of animals also proved hilarious. Sunday started off with one of Dave's infamous relays round the field outside the Hall, featuring dead spiders, sneaky snakes, leaping lambs, some running and a close finish with Captain Chris just holding off Secretary David. Steffen and some of his gang then headed off to recce Scafell Pike etc. Most of the rest of us headed out the Hall door and up to Skiddaw for a great sunny circuit of this Lakes "Munro", up the ridge of Longside Edge and down the other side to arrive back at the Hall in blazing sunshine. I hope everyone else enjoyed the weekend as much as I certainly did, and thanks to everyone who came along and contributed to another fantastic Westies Weekend.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  

EASTER WALKING AT BRAEMAR

The Glenmore Walking Club's Easter meet for 2006 was at Braemar Youth Hostel. On Saturday I climbed Lochnagar with Brian, Phyllis and John A. Weather down below was fine but on top it was full-blown winter white-out. We descended to the head of Loch Muick via the Glas Allt waterfall and ambled back down the landrover track. On Sunday the weather was better, with sunny and windy conditions. With Brian, John A, Gill and Arthur I headed up the interestingly named Brown Cow Hill, a Corbett just to the east of Ben Avon. We started from Glengairn Lodge and endured a long landrover plod there and back which would have been great on bikes, especially with the wind behind us on the way back.

LOCHNAGAR