Morven Hill Race 22/09/07
this photo used with permission by Fiona Dahl (Cosmics)Somedays you just aren't running at your best. Fifteen minutes into this race I realised I was in trouble and struggled for the remainder. A hard week burning the candle - well if not at both ends, then at one end until it was a very small stub. And on race day I got my fingers burnt. Third race in 8 days. But the weather was ideal (at least at the bottom of the hill) and I felt fine, so we combined a weekend at Mary's Mum's with this, the last of the SHR championship races.
I set off fast and got a good place in the first half of the field before the ground became steep and the track narrowed to a single file up the hill. This was bad news as you felt obliged to go at the pace of the runner ahead or you would force others into the heather to overtake. I bust a gut not to hold up the people behind but eventually - as I went through every combination of hands on knees, short stepped jog, and resigned march - the overtaking began.
I hadn't done this race before or even been near the hill. Being in Aberdeenshire I thought it would be a smallish hill with a scamper around the top on a ridge or something. However Morven is (I've looked it up since) 2861 feet high and it turned out to be the worst possible course (for me) of straight up, round the trig point and (nearly) straight back down. With the records being 44 and 49 minutes for the 5 miles, my target was to finish in the hour. I thought this would be a good short bracing belt up a friendly hill but as I say fifteen minutes later I was gasping.
The following 4 photos taken and sent on by Alan Young - many thanks
say aaargh
Mary at the summit
dancing over the rocky ground
Tony at the topAnd it didn't get much better. About three times the grim up-hill relented and I thought we had reached a summit but it just levelled off briefly to cross spongy swamps making the continuing climb almost a pleasure by comparison. I prefer when there is an occasional restorative downhill in amongst the slog up, but today it was not to be. I watched the competitors I hoped to run with stomp off into the distant. I hoped the downhill might improve my position. Eventually Stewart Whitlie came flying past and was so far ahead of the next runners that I thought maybe he had taken a wrong turn. After an age I eventually staggered round the top and turned my attention to the downhill. About a hundred yards into it I caught my toe on a rock and went down, falling heavily onto my chest but luckily into heather and didn't hurt myself. A further sign of tiredness. Davie Duncan of Ochils went past and I tried to stay with him. The previous Wednesday I had gone past him at Caerketton downhill race but this time I couldn't keep up. It was a long varied descent over mixed ground. Some good fast heathery stuff, then a mercifully brief stretch over rubbly loose stones followed by a long diagonal traverse on a thin dirt path that dodged round knuckles of rock. I thought I was doing okay over this last bit until a couple of speed merchants raced past at a crazy rate. I didn't even have it in me for a sprint through the last fields to the line which I was very glad to cross.
Although I had done 57 minutes, and that should have been a success in itself, I felt well beaten. I shook hands with a beaming Douglas Milligan who had managed to keep the lead he made on the way up. In his 60s and he leaves me in his dust!
Mary then Tony appeared shortly; both seemed to have enjoyed the run more than myself. After a bit of banter we headed for a hot bath and a beer.
On Deeside Runners website are not only the results but also the positions at the top of the hill. This is very interesting as you can see whose strength is going up and whose is coming down. I was surprised to see I gained a place going from 42nd at the top to 41st at the bottom. Normally I would expect to gain a couple of places as my down-hilling isn't as bad as my climbing but I felt quite a few folk went past at Morven. And I always quickly forget any people I pass as soon as they drop behind. Certain runners will always beat me on the way up but often I can catch them on the descent. Its two separate, yet linked disciplines. Stewart Whitlie had over a minute on Brian Marshall at the summit but the latter won the race by a handful of seconds thanks to his legendary descending powers.
I have really enjoyed taking part in the SHR championship - going to races and parts of the countryside I wouldn't have otherwise. There was a feeling the races weren't spread over the calendar very evenly but it has been fun and good training for the Skyline in a couple weeks time.
Report pb
Photos: Fiona Dahl, Cosmics,
Peter & MaryWebsites,
SHR report, results, championship results
Deeside Runners (summit positions)
Cosmic Hillbashers (good photos)some other scenery from the weekend...
On the drive North, taken on Cairn o'Mount looking towards the coast
Sunset, Aberdeenshire, Friday evening.
Morven on Monday on the return journey which started fine...
...but was a bit grey by Glenshee
