Glentress Black Route 20/08/10
Amanda said she was planning to do this one again. I wriggled out of Friday's work and Mary drove us there late morning for a great but tough 15½ miles run round the rocky trails more commonly ridden by mountain bikes.
I had remembered it was tough but since last time the trails seem to have lost even more top soil, making them great for biking; removing mud and instability, but making them hard work for runners. The constant small undulations and stony ground fry your feet and legs and we all went through low moments, fantasising about egg rolls in the cafe.
The weather on the way down the road had been mixed and although the sun was out when we started, the day turned dull and overcast for most of the run. This gave a rather downbeat feel to the occasion but happily the sun came out at the end of the run making for a very pleasant seat at the outside tables of the cafe. In fact the cafe was pretty much the highlight of the trip.
The trail is very well marked. I think this was the third or fourth time I've done this circuit and it seems to split up into three sections. A lot of climbing, initially quite steep then levelling off with a small downhill section in the trees before another substantial climb up to the aerial on the top of the hill which is about 7 miles and just short of half way. A long downhill to 10.5 miles into the valley is then followed by another strenuous ascent to 12 miles and then 3 miles of undulating zig-zagging finish off the route, and the runner.
We ended up covering a few miles near these father and son bikers, the father being a Saddleworth Runner.
new shoozIts a serious bit of running and best done weekdays when quiet. I had rushed out first thing and bought a pair of Brooks Cascadia which had received good reviews and are worn by Richie C when he goes long. The soles are thick enough to protect feet from the continual onslaught of pointy stones underfoot and they are very comfortable. Ideal for the Skyline or 2 Breweries unless really, really muddy.
With the skies being overcast the usual views were not worth getting out the camera for, however the ground was littered with lots of different mushrooms that would catch your eye as you whizzed through the woods.
Amanda is going very strongly currently though today was a fun run rather than a tempo run and we regularly stopped to wait for Mary to catch up. A very pleasant run though the combination of rocky trail and constant undulations meant that after 3 hrs we were all fairly done in. In preparation for the UTMB (fingers crossed for that) Richie has been knocking out double laps of the Skyline and although long, that's a possible target to think about for distance training. However the idea of anything more than one lap of this circuit is a non starter. Way too harsh. But that's a good thing?
Report and photos pb
Mary's Blog
The best bit.
The Pentlands on the drive home.
