Turnhouse Hill Race 23/07/08
The View from Turnhouse HillAnother Wednesday nighter so alas had to miss club to attend this short but steep romp over the nearest high top to Flotterstone. The very mild weather drew a good turnout to this, the penultimate in the 10 Bog and Burn race series.
Mary had already turned in a big session with Scott F down at the Glentress, so decided not to race but take photos. I hadn't run since Mull at the weekend; in fact I seem not to have been doing any training sessions and just racing twice a week. Probably not good practice but tonight's race was only 5km so I thought I'd get away with it.
Mary set off early and managed to get to the top of turnhouse before any runners, catching the snake as it crawled over the initial humps before following the main path up past the first stile. Gasping upward to the fence where we turned left and a bit of a breather over flatter ground before up through the woods and a long circuitous detour before a straight line to the summit where there was a planted marker which I went round. There wasn't a marshal there to insist folk turned around the pole and from the photos Mary took it would seem some preferred a diagonal and maybe just a distant wave to the marker, can you believe it?
Clare G got a good head start down...
before I had even got to the top.I assumed the rest would be downhill which was just as well as I had shed about five pints of fluid by the top. Mostly true, but instead of just downhill we were sent off to a Biscuit Van or Box: anyway a big old rusty thing the size of a caravan I have never ever seen before, before doing some slightly up hill stuff, then meeting up with the main path again and back to the start.
This guy stopped for a photo - stopped during a race!!!I think pretty much the only place I retrieved on the down hill was overtaking Claire Gordon who left me so far behind on the ascent that she had time for a coffee and caramel wafer at the rusty box before I went past. We later agreed we would make a good relay team if she did the ups and I did the downs. On 3 recent hill runs - tonight, Mull, Man v Bike, she has shown better form climbing but I have managed to catch her on the way down. I also caught up with a guy in a Lothian vest who was just taunting me and took back the place with the end in sight.
Sunshine on Davie DuncanI think it must have been a quicker route this year from last, looking at the times. Great run, very sweaty, good atmosphere; lots of folk who ran Mull at the weekend out for more punishment, are they all nuts? It would appear so. Time 30m20s
Tony, racing for the second time in a week.When we got home there was an email from Leo who had been doing the 2 miler saying how about next Wednesday doing the relay at the meadows? Then the following Wednesday is North Berwick Law. I wonder if I can be fired from PRC for missing Wednesday night training sessions?
Report pb
Photos Mary
Results here (I was second v40)
SHR photos here
