BEERS WITH CHARACTER -
Two Breweries Hill Race Sat 22/9/07
The first drink station is far on so carry a bottle.The Two Breweries Hill Race is one of the great challenges of the year and writing it 3 days after the finish my legs are still very sore – I thought I was fit. Thing about fitness is you can be in good shape on paper but you need to be match/race fit and I had not completed a proper hill race for 3 months so physically it was as hard as my last race which was a 50 miler.
The course is around 18 miles long and 5000 ft of climb and it is well worth the trip. Great training for a marathon etc. and the course has a bit of everything with my favourite being the climb out of Glensax up a gulley. This year I managed a quality fall with full forward somersault down to Glenrath. I could write pages about the day which was epic but you will find the photos do more than my words. Gave Ian Rowlands from Dunbar a lift down and ended up giving that nutter Colquhoun a lift back to Traquair. Her dog Kipper on the 600m back to the car at Broughton decided to be sick on the pavement, followed up by a massive poo. Then another 50m it decided its backside had to explode again. Poor Ian had it on the leash. Lucy kindly gave me a case of beer for the lift so it was worth it.
Colin Donnelly and Lucy Colquhoun were the winners.
This did not happen to me when I fell.
My favourite climb out of Glensax
The traverse to Stob Law
Dead Wife’s Grave descent
To descend you have to climb Whitelaw Hill
That is the turn to last drinks station at Stobo
Need to cross to get to Trahenna
I got a spot prize of 4 bottles plus a free pint on draught and a bottle of Double Champion Ale.
This course, day, marshals, Moffat Mountain Rescue, Traquair House and Broughton Ales as well as the competitors are all Vive Ecosse Ya Bass.
Report Graham Henry
Photos; thanks to Rob Stephens of Northumberland FR who ran with his camera and was in a similar part of the field as Graham, Ian Nimmo and SHR whose website here has results and loads more photos.
