WHAT HAPPENED NEXT ?
Dunbar 10 Miler, Pentland Skyline 7+8/10/06
All smiles after a 26 mile weekend - plus one or two hillsFriday 6th October 16 miles buzzing about on the bike and a circuit class to get ready for the double header weekend and the rebirth of the fitba team. Normally it is Manor Water 10 mile Hill Race then the Pentland Skyline. This year Carnethy had moved the Skyline so it was Dunbar in more ways than one. Great result for Janet “The Strides” Dunbar with Jill also doing the business and our ”Hughie” for picking up the team prize. Big Ben forgot a 3 o’clock turn but it was not his fault as there were 3 signs missing and Ian Rowlands who did the Strathaven 50 miler showed what a gem he is by giving up the race to marshal as soon as he knew there was a problem, that is club loyalty.
20 mins from Niddrie so it is a great race for travelling to, and nearly 30 from PRC – maybe a record. I spoke or shouted to you all. I managed to kiss and make up to the best bit of running old stock there is before the race and Janice Stirton picked up club champ points and first Vet over... not sure of age; but remember boys the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune. Ben did get a 3 right with his finishing place and it was a great run. Brian Marshall wins lots of Hill Races and has been Scottish Champ. Ben, Peter and Willie picked up the mandatory team prize. Hope you all enjoyed yourself and thanks to the supporters Bill Watson (HELP), Danny Costello and Scott Hutchison. Lynn Hanley was doing her Sue Barker impersonation at the end. Plenty of new faces for the picture board and a couple of classics for the what happened next with Hughie McLeish's finish and the Russian, an Englishman and a local East Lothian farmer.
Saturday 1700hrs, time for the match. I had a can of Stella as soon as I got in from Dunbar but it was Broughton Ales for the match. A neighbour across the road is married to a French school teacher and I was watching the match on the wide screen tv at his house. After 20 mins the phone rang, it was his father-in-law advising that Ribery was going to rip us a part and we were going to be well beaten. It looked that way to be fair but do not count your cocks before they have hatched francais. We had the balls for the fight and it warranted a celebration. Finished on a white wine; Chablis. Stopped the bevy about 10 at night.
The Skyline: run from left over all hilltops on skyline past pointy one in distance then return by right side.Sunday 0900hrs woke to the sun and the glory of the previous day. No hangover, I was feeling great. Another 20 min journey to Hillend. Quickly met that big tough German Werner Kittel. “Graham, I have left my running shoes, not a very good start,” as Werner departed with a boot load of booze. (He is supplier for the prize giving.) There was another German doing the race from Westerlands and yes it is Big Stefan. I was on the lookout for the francais Gilles. (Gilles Yves Contier) Look we got humped 5-0 five years ago and I went to my circuit class the next day in my Scotland top so you have to make the most of it.
The race. Aye it was magic. 160 started and 150 finished it with Werner and his shoes coming in at 3.52.12. A great effort to hold off George Armstrong and his tartan shorts. 50 mins outside his PB of 20 years ago but he is still doing it, what about the Dunbar 22?
I was 95th at Boghall Farm but I was born in Balerno and once I hit the Drove Road I normally pick up on the northern tops. Coming to the top of Black Hill I met my Commanding Officer Peter Buchanan who had water. Peter and I had nice easy run back to Hillend. I usually feel Bells Hill (South) in the legs but we just talked and never noticed it this year.
Graham crowns an excellent performance with a hell-for-leather sprint down the last hill!On the last stile my CO gave the order “Go Graham” and managed to steal two places or it was the firing squad for me. Came in 50th and a minute slower than last year at 3.16.55 but physically it was my strongest race, just lost a bit of pace. Got a cuddle from Psycho Mary and hope to see both Psycho and CO at next year's. Great support from Peter and also Janet's friend Eilidh Wardlaw who even gave me chocolate going up the second last hill. For those who do not know the course it is 16 miles long, 6200ft of climb over 15 hills so you are up and down like a whores knickers but you will get used to it – just ask Werner the bevy man.
Report Graham Henry
Hill End
Werner checks to make sure his feet are still there after nearly 4 hours in the hillsWerner's Report
This race is classified as long and hard. Run over 16 peaks of the Pentland Hills, with 16 miles and 6200 feet of up and down it certainly is the equivalent of a marathon effort. It is also a hill race of quite breathtaking beauty, and the views from some of the tops, the vista from Castlelaw Hill along the spine of the southern ridge ending with West Kip rivalling anything you can find in the Lowlands, are outstanding. Whether you have time for luxuries like these during the race is another matter but they definitely lift the spirit and divert attention from a rattling breath and screaming quads. Having run the Skyline for the first time exactly 20 years ago it has become my favourite race.
For me this race has always been a marathon effort and more - I used to be able to run a marathon faster than the Skyline. Whether that is still the case I`ll probably never find out as another marathon is not on my list of priorities and most likely beyond me in any case. For me, the transition from road to off-road and hill running, though, was a lucky break – it gave me new incentives and something to stimulate the mind that road running can´t offer.
Perhaps I should have called it a day when I discovered half an hour before kick off that I had forgotten my hill shoes. Hillend to Penicuik on a Sunday morning can be negotiated in less than ten minutes, although the prize fund of 6 dozen cases of wine and 24 bottles of Greenmantle somewhat slowed down the old Peugeot 106 Diesel.
Having wished Graham ´Good luck` at least three times over the first couple of miles of the course – at that early stage I still managed to get down the hills reasonably fast only to be overtaken again on the next climb – I settled into a nice rhythm, enjoying the morning sun, still looking at the scenery...
One of the positives of this race is that the big climbs are all in the first quarter. From a high point at Caerketton, the first top, the runners drop down as far as Flotterstone, and once the climb up to the peak of Turnhouse is over you never get as low again – a significant psychological advantage worth remembering when crossing Hare Hill. Hare Hill is No. 10 and comes after the last top on the way out and the big sweep round the back to join the parallel ridge that starts the return to Hillend. Hare Hill, though, suddenly presents a different challenge, after reaching the top the recognized track soon peters out, to be replaced by rough heather and clumpy bog. Having 100 runners or so in front of you is an advantage here, they do cut a track of sorts across the gentle downward slope, but you still have to wade through ankle deep bog before you cross the track to Loganlea Reservoir.
The rest of the way, in theory at least, is a doddle. Two thirds of the way there, more than two thirds of the climb has been achieved and you can clearly see the last hill in the distance. It doesn´t always pan out that way, though, does it. Compared to last year´s splits I had lost 5 minutes on the outward half of the race, another 5 minutes over the third quarter and was about to lose another 10 minutes over the last quarter of the race. By half way I was feeling dizzy and light headed, not to say delirious, perhaps dehydration was kicking in, I don´t know. Across Hare Hill was a real struggle, Black Hill was almost worse and I could hardly break into a trot on the flat part of Black Hill leading to the last major descent apart from the finish. What saved my life was a pack of Rip-Roll. For those of you not familiar with the advances of modern food technology or the sweeties content of your friendly corner shop I would recommend a visit with the kids, they will know what I´m talking about. I had stolen the stuff from my daughter, trying to save her from excessive E-numbers and bad teeth, and it quite literally gave me a kick up the backside. The explosion of sharp tangy taste was almost better than the view from Castlelaw. I must add here that I had taken gel and been drinking ...water so I couldn´t have been lacking carbohydrates alone. An hour to go at that point, I was quite happy to trundle along only to be shaken out of my lethargy when George (don't know his second name but an institution in hill running circles) overtook me on the way to Allermuir Hill. Pride can do wonders for one´s performance, especially when a runner almost 20 years older skips past you. It was like the finish in the Scottish Gas 10k when Willie Murray thought he could beat me on the finishing straight.
Cramp was the last major event of this race. I had been looking forward to the wonderful descent to the Ski Station when I felt the adductor muscles in my groin contract sharply. Stopping was the only option, six runners went past, before I could move again. Two minutes later it was all over for another year, the cheers from Graham, Peter, Mary and Gio made all the difference, and the last 3.52 hours suddenly felt like a lovely day out.
Do give it a try!!!
Report Werner Kittel
Photos Peter Buchanan, Mary HunterI really enjoyed supporting the race this year. (It somehow didn't occur to me to run it after Dunbar.) We had a recovery run to Black Hill which is about 5 miles from the end, to hand water to our friends who were racing. Jim Davies had manged not to drink too much the night before, as we all celebrated Dunbar, and together with Borrowdale teammate Andrew Schofield (Scoffer) dominated the second half of the race, opening up a 5 minute gap ahead of Joe Symonds. The three of them were still together though, as they belted down Black Hill and it was several minutes before the rest of the field began to appear. It was interesting to see how its done properly! I happened to be dressed head to toe in black. Jim said later that when I appeared on the hill to give him water he thought I was going to give him a box of chocolates. I chatted to the marshal at the top of Black Hill - a grim cold outpost - where he was going to be standing for several hours taking numbers as folk went past. I ran back and forth to keep warm till Graham appeared then ran back to Hillend with him. Most folk by this stage in the race seemed a bit zombied but the Sgt. was on fine form chatting away and running at a pace I was finding it hard to match. We went past dozens of runners cramped and weary but Graham just got faster. There were quite a few walkers and spectators cheering us on and I felt a right fraud having missed the first and most arduous 10 miles. On the last hill which comes down the side of the Ski Slope (which lets you know how steep it is) Graham took off at a tremendous pace and made another couple of places. Werner also had a good day out and although tired at the finish soon recovered.
Hats off to the marshals (and Carnethy for organising this race.) It made me want to run it again next year and if not able to run then to help with the marshalling/sweeping etc. Jim won 6 bottles of wine, and Scoffer 5; now that's a quality prize giving! Reports and lots of good photos on the SHR site HERE and results HERE.
Also a virtual 3d mapped tour on the Carnethy site here and a photo report of this years race here
pb
