I really enjoyed this new trail race organised by HBT. I had a great tussle with Dave Duncan all the way round, each of us having a few goes at the front, till I thought he had beaten me as he sped away across the top of the reservoir with about a mile to go. I dug in though and hauled him and a few others in somehow, and staggered over the line, knowing that I had given it my all. After there was soup and good beer.
I finished in 43m 59s,40th of 80 starters.
ResultsSome Westies reports =
JOHNSTON-This was the first-ever running of this race, and the last in the 10-race Bog and Burn series. There was a good turnout, dominated by HBT, but with a decent presence from the Westies too. The 19:15 start helped those of us who were stuck in horrendous rush-hour traffic at the Glasgow end of the M8.
The race started with a section of tarmac, gently downhill at first then more sharply up to the house at the top of the drive, before heading out onto the track over the moor. I decided to give it some welly out of the start, reasoning that I should run well on the bits I could, even if it was just downhill tarmac! As ever, Manny and Chris disappeared towards the horizon pretty soon after the kick-off. I maintained a higher-than-usual position as we gradually gained altitude across the moor, although I was wheezing and grunting like a pervert who's late for a meet at the strip club by the time JD passed me just before the gate to Hare Hill.
The ascent to Hare Hill was also runnable, and another Westie (didn't notice who!) passed me here. I went over the summit at the same time as Megan Mowbray from HBT, so I figured I was still doing well by my standards here. The downhill took us through some rougher stuff, with paths and trods petering out into heather and bog. As the heather got higher, I tried bounding through it, which was tiring, then I tried mincing through it, but failed to get in touch with my feminine side, so ended up walking out of it, gubbed and defeated. Sad when you can run the uphill bit but need to walk down! Both male and female Westies passed me here, but as I'm the new guy here, you'll need to fill in the names yourself.
I was glad I wore my hill shoes for the steep muddy descent to the bog before Black Hill, as it was a real "tea-tray for yir erse" job. I heard the guy behind me fall a few times. After a short but steep climb onto the Black Hill track, it was a long fast downhill trail run to stretch the legs, then a left turn across the end of the reservoir. Or not. Y'see, I went straight on...only to be shouted back by the Carnethy guy who had been following me. Cheers mate! I managed to regroup after a couple of minutes on the homeward trail (and it was a long run back, or so it seemed), and re-took Carnethy Bloke in the wee section through the trees. Quite rewarding when you can find the extra strength. I had another flirtation with navigational disaster when I almost went through the wrong gate, but thought better of it. I have a feeling an AL race in the mist might not be ideal for me. Who says these routes are obvious?
As I got to the finish, Chris was already looking relaxed and taking photos of later finishers, and Manny reckoned he might have been in the top 10 home. Well done to all Westies who ran. Good sprint finish by Donald! I reckon I took about 46:30, in what might turn out to be one of my better hill runs.
I thoroughly enjoyed this course, being of the more runnable variety, and having all sorts of terrain. Sadly I didn't make the pub afterwards. I had donated a lot of blood to the midges, so I made a bolt for home.
MANNY-Will somebody get Johnston a vest!
Running incogni, incognet....disguise, is not on you know - we need to have targets to aim at during races and a white t shirt doesn't count!
I only had to win this race to take the Bog & Burn series title and spent the week working out the million & one variations of what would happen if Dan Gay & Steve Fallon were to beat me, not turn up, finish in different positions etc, but on the start line the assembled field looked more like a race for top prize of a life time supply of beer, and therefore it didn't really matter - John Stevenson's lead in the series was secured, because we were all about to get humped by an outrageously good field and thus fail to improve on our points position.
I set off rather mischieviously at full pelt, just so I could be 1st for 400m, then exploded in a fireball on the first and only steep climb up the tarmac road to the open hill. My nonesense cost me good bit of time, and I took to the top of Hare Hill to recover and start reeling in Dan Gay, Chris, Elke Schmit etc, but once I got going again I ran well, even along the purgatorial long, flat, reservoir side track to the finish, where my calf went TWANG with just 200m to go, forcing me to give a place to a Lothian runner, which I believe cost me 3rd place in the B&B overall.
Ho Hum
The rest of the good turn out of Westies were not far behind, with Val H coming home to claim 3rd (&1st V40) in the series, and Donald 2nd V50!!
Soup & beer in the pub before the prize giving, then the long, long drive home!
CHRIS-Indeed - the top turnout of runners blew Manny's plans of Bog and Burn victory out of the water - despite his spirited charge for glory at the start.
Manny did well to finish 10th behind Donald Naylor, Al Anthony, Kenny Richmond, Graeme Campbell, Ian Wellock, Al Hart, Duncan Coomb, Adam Ward and Ross Milne.
A good fast runnable course apart from the section of knee-deep heather on Hare Hill, and the hideously slippy mudbank down to the swamp before Black Hill. This is where I dropped places to Manny, Des Crowe, Jamie Thin and Jamie Stevenson.
Full Bog and Burn results will be compiled later, but well done to ValH on 3rd female in the series after Angela Mudge and Elke Schmidt, and to Donald for getting 2nd V60!
