Caerketton Hill Race
After running the Stromness 10K I decided I should take some time off. I haven't had a break this year and was getting to the point where I was getting pain every time I ran. So I didn't do any running for two and a half weeks until lining up at Caerketton.
Caerketton was the final race in the Bog and Burn series this year. I'd originally planned to do four of these so I could qualify as having run the series, but work got in the way a couple of times and in the end I'd only run 2 before this one (the others being Dumyat, and Red Moss). So, I was disappointed not to have the opportunity to have done 4, but figured I'd make it up to 3.
And having not run for two and a half weeks I thought this would be an OK way to start back as well, since the race was only 2.5km long!
So anyway, met at Hillend Ski Centre, paid my £2 entry fee, and got ready to run.
Checked the route with a couple of other runners, and it's pretty simple. Straight up Caerketton hill, past the cairn, along to the next cairn at Caerketton crags, round there and then back the same way to where you started. Unlike most races, you could see the entire route from the start line. This confirmed that it definitely wasn't too long a route, but it looked like there may be other challenges...
We got started on time, with the usual 'H.B.T.' drone you hear at the start of hill races in these parts, and started up a wide grassy path. The field spread out from the word go, there was no level section to jockey for position, just uphill all the way. After the initial wider path, it narrowed and twisted through some reeds and grasses before we came to a stile. I didn't want to barge anybody out the way to get over the stile, but I seemed to be in the minority as an 'every man for himself' attitude seemed to prevail over my natural tendency towards 'no, after you...'
Beyond the stile, the path narrowed and the hill got rougher and steeper. By god it was steep..! There were points where you could put your hands out in front of you and touch the hillside as you climbed. Obviously there was no running for the likes of me on a hill like this, it was just walk and clamber up as best I could. You reach the top in around 10 minutes, but by that point your hamstrings are screaming and your lungs are bust. Several people (including my brother-in-law) had to stop for a moment or two at the top before being able to run. As for me, the next few hundred yards were the only bit of the entire course that really suited me! It was a comparatively level run along the top to the next cairn and back. I overtook a few people, and it felt good to run. But that was it....
Very soon you were back to the hillside and having to come back down that same steep run. I am still rubbish at descending and I was overtaken by a lot of people. However, I'm optimistic about the future. I now have some proper hill-shoes which i really noticed the difference with and I'm finding it a little bit easier each time I get more practice. But Caerketton was too steep, too sharp, too soon. I was just coming in to my own as the steep section finished and there were only about a dozen people left behind me! As the hill levelled out a bit for the final section I was able to pin my ears back a bit more and move more easily, and enjoyed the final sprint to the finish line on the wider grass section.
So that must be one of my lowest finishes ever in a race. And to be honest, I'm not sure it would ever be my kind of thing - there was almost no proper running at all! But.... I enjoyed the informal, friendly nature of the event (knew a few other runners from my work and around about), love getting the chance to get out of town and in to decent rural scenery (I'm told the views from the top were stunning, I never remembered to look), and I'd like to complete the 4 races next year so I can count as having run the series. Dumyat and Red Moss were both brilliant and I'm sure some of the others have more variety of running too rather than just a straight up and down. Plus I reckon the only way to get better at the hill techniques is to practice them. It's a steep learning curve, but the only way is up....
On a final note, I notice from the Bog and Burn table that quite a few Porties have done 1,2 or even 3 of the races. Only one person has managed 4 and therefore highest placed Porty in the series - well done Tony Stapley!
Report Sandy Macdonald
Photos Chris Upson
SHR website and results
