Blair Castle Cross Country Challenge 26/08/07
Two for the price of one is an idea that appeals to the Scots and the Dutch alike. So I didn't hesitate to register for the 6K cross country at Blair Castle, because as well as the run you get entry to the horse trials thrown in for free. Of course it didn't turn out that cheap, because to register for the race was £12, exactly the entry fee to the horse trials. I guess you could argue we got the run for free. Because we were going to see the horses as well it was quite easy to convince the rest of the family to join me.
To get to the registration for the run we had to cross most of the grounds of Blair Castle, passing the main jumping arena an entire village of bustling commercial outlets and on through miles and miles of horse trailers. When we finally reached the start of the race, it all seemed remarkably quiet. There was hardly anybody there. At the start of the race I counted 25 possibly 30 heads. What a shame on such a lovely Sunday morning. Even Rhona Martin (of Olympic gold medal fame) had made it there, so where was everybody else.
Anyway Rhona wasn’t there to run herself. She had come all the way to send us off with the blast from an airhorn. It was all very businesslike, and efficient. They even send us off a bit earlier than planned. In the first few hundred meters I found myself in a group of three right at the front and heading across the field to the woods in the distance, where we had to run around a 2K loop twice. I had had very little time to explore the route, and discovered that what was hidden there was much more undulating than the terrain we had started out on. We ran along part of the course where the horses had done their cross country. All the jumps were still up and it was often a bit unclear what the best route was, left, right or straight over. Unfortunately the horses had churned up the surface so much that the going was quite tough.
Having seen how few people had shown up for this run, I had tentatively started to think that I might be in with a chance to win a prize. Things were going well; halfway up the first lap I found myself in second position with the guy in front still within reach. Unfortunately, I hadn’t counted on the guy from Cambuslang in his red tartan shorts, who had apparently missed the start, but came flying past just as we entered lap two. During the second lap the uphills all seemed a little bit more strenuous and within no time the red tartan shorts were in the lead and disappearing into the distance taking the previous leader with him in his slipstream. A quick look over my shoulder showed me that at least third place was safe, so I settled for that and came down the hill in a fairly relaxed fashion.
I normally don’t bother about the prize giving, but this time it was worth hanging around. It turned out that at least the sponsorship was well provided for. Huge big quaichs for the winners in various categories, and goody bags from Rugby Plus as well. Coming in as third overall and first vet, I came away with two prizes: two really nice thermal shirts and £25 worth of vouchers which I spent on a nice new fleece top. Unfortunately the prizes were handed out by the sponsor, so I didn’t get to hug Rhona Martin. Better luck next time.
Report Leo Zijerveld
