Hill Running Grand Prix 2012
The complete Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix for 2012 is as follows;
1. 11/02/2012 Carnethy Hill Race (M)
2. 04/03/2012 Bishop Hill Race, Scotlandwell (S)
3. 07/04/2012 Clachnaben Hill Race, Banchory (M) SHR Championship Event
4. 09/05/2012 Dumyat Hill Race, Stirling University (S)
5. 03/06/2012 Yetholm Hill Race (M)
6. 16/06/2012 Durisdeer Hill Race, Dumfriesshire (M) SHR Championship Event
7. 27/06/2012 Law Breaker Hill Race, Tillicoultry (S)
8. 14/07/2012 Glamaig Hill Race, Skye (S) SHR Championship Event
9. 04/08/2012 Creag Dhubh Hill Race, Newtonmore (S) SHR Championship Event
10. 19/08/2012 Lomonds of Fife Hill Race, Strathmiglo (M)
11. 22/09/2012 Two Breweries Hill Race, Traquair (L)
12. 14/10/2012 Pentland Skyline Hill Race, Hillend (L) SHR Championship Event
13. 10/11/2012 Tinto Hill Race, near Symington (S)
(13 events with your best 7 to count, S – Short, M – Medium, L – Long)
The updated Grand Prix Rules can be found below;
1. There will be three annual Grand Prix Series held for club members in the following categories – Road Running, Cross Country Running and Hill Running.
2. A member may only compete in his or her own age group (outwith the open event), qualifying age being that at the date of the first event in each Grand Prix.
3. The Running and Hill Running Grand Prix will be held during a single calendar year and the Cross Country Grand Prix will cover the activityseason, normally autumn to spring.
4. The events to be included in each Grand Prix will be decided by the Committee from guidance provided by the respective Team Captains.
5. There will be a range of distances and standards of competition in each series that provides a balance of local and national events that will aim at encouraging participation by all ability levels. Due recognition should be given to national events series where appropriate e.g. Scottish Hill Running Championship.
6. The Road Running and Hill Running Grand Prix Series will each consist of 13 events, with the best 7 scoring events qualifying for each competition for any individual. The Cross Country Grand Prix will consist of 8 events with the best 5 being counters for the competition for any individual. The person with the highest number of points in the open competition and each age group category will be the winner. To qualify for an award, an individual must take part in a minimum of 7 events in the Road Running Grand Prix, 7 events in the Hill Running Grand Prix and 5 events in the Cross Country Grand Prix.
7. Scoring in each event will not be age group based, but on a single finish list and will be 50 points for 1st
home, 49 for 2nd, 48 for 3rd etc with all competitors scoring at least 1 point for completing an event.
8. There shall be Awards in each Grand Prix for the following age group categories: –
Female
Open – Female (any age)
Female 40 to 49
Female 50 to 59
Female 60+
Male
Open – Male (any age)
Male 40 to 49
Male 50 to 59
Male 60 to 69
Male 70+
The Open class will be awarded to the first three in the overall table irrelevant of age group, thereafter the awards will be determined by age group. No person may receive more than one award in any single Grand Prix.
9. There will be an award made to every individual who takes part in the full number of counting events in any of the Grand Prix, e.g. 7 for Road and Hill, 5 for Cross Country. Each Grand Prix will count for a separate award.
Happy Hill Running Folks 
Filed under Club Stuff by 
Well Well!! Is it really that time already. No sooner have we got rid of our last bit turkey and Christmas pudding and we are thinking about the 2012 Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix.
The opening event in this years GP is the excellent Carnethy Five Hill Race organised by Carnethy Hill Running Club. This years event will take place on Saturday 11th February. This is one of those races that hill runners quite literally queue up to run and as such entries for this popular event open this Monday, 9th January at 5pm through SiEntries
https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=657
If its anything like last year (which I have no doubt it will be) the 550 places sold out within 2 hours so delay in trying to get an entry.
Remember that with SiEntries, their system allows you to enter multiple runners so if you can’t be near a computer at 5pm on Monday, get a friend to do it for you.
And if you need something to pursuade you here’s the report from the 2011 Carnethy Five race http://carnegiehillbillies.org/carnethy-5/carnethy-5-hill-race-2011/
If you would like more information about the race visit the Carnethy website at: http://www.carnethy.com/ri_c5.htm
The rest of the 2012 Hill Running Grand Prix will be announced very shortly.
See you soon on top of a hill 
Filed under Hill Running by
It seems like a long time ago that the 2011 Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix kicked of way back on the 12th of February with the Carnethy Five Hill Race. Who could have predicted then what a brilliant year it was going to be! The Titles won by our Over 60 men, the fight right to the end for the final positions and the fantastic numbers of runners that represented us at most of the hill races.
We also welcomed a few new faces to the hills this year that might have previously claimed that they only did road running! Well we converted them 
Roger Clark, Calum McGraw, Ross and Lisa Carrie, Annette Rae, Allan Branigan and Angela Dixon all dipped their studded shoes and as for Jo Wilson, you can hardly keep that girl away from the hills these days!
But lets have a look at how the Grand Prix finished and all the prize winners. There are 15 races in the grand prix and its your best 9 races that count towards the final positions, the races for this year were:
| 1 | 12/02/2011 | Carnethy 5 Hill Race (AS) |
| 2 | 06/03/2011 | Bishop Hill Race, Scotlandwell (AS) |
| 3 | 26/03/2011 | Birnam Hill Classic, Dunkeld (AS) |
| 4 | 16/04/2011 | Hunters Bog Trot, Edinburgh (BS) |
| 5 | 23/04/2011 | Normans Law Hill Race (AS) |
| 6 | 21/05/2011 | Slioch Hill Race, Kinlochewe (BL) |
| 7 | 05/06/2011 | Yetholm Hill Race (AM) |
| 8 | 25/06/2011 | Eildon 2 Hills Race, Melrose (AS) |
| 9 | 02/07/2011 | Dollar Hill Race (AM) |
| 10 | 30/07/2011 | Ben Rinnes Hill Race, Dufftown (AL) |
| 11 | 21/08/2011 | Lomonds of Fife Hill Race (AM) |
| 12 | 27/08/2011 | Ochil 2000′s Hill Race (AL) |
| 13 | 01/10/2011 | Ben Venue Hill Race (AM) |
| 14 | 05/11/2011 | Dumyat Dash Hill Race (AM) |
| 15 | 12/11/2011 | Tinto Hill Race (AS) |
There were 28 men and 9 ladies who competed in atleast one of the Grand Prix races and with 8 men and 2 ladies completed 9 or more races. This year both Kevin Dave and Melanie Sinclair managed to complete all 15 of the grand prix races which definitely required a bit of madness and alot of petrol! 
This year the fight for the top spots was on from the word go. In the Ladies, Lynne Bennett and Melanie Sinclair played cat and mouse for much of the season but Lynne proved to be the much stronger runner, powering away from Melanie at many of the races as the year progressed and was certainly a worthy winner of this years Ladies Hill Running Grand Prix.
Melanie fought hard though and came in a very happy 2nd place, one spot up from 2010 with Morna Fleming finishing in a very respectable 3rd place.
The Men’s Grand Prix has to be where all the excitment was this year though. Kevin Davie worked hard to gain some excellent points throughout the year and sat in 1st place from the 6th race right up until the very last race at Tinto which would be the final decider of who was claiming this years crown. Pete ‘the Awesome’ Simpson who was last years winner had unfortunately suffered with injury this year and had missed a number of key races but he certainly wasn’t going to give up without a fight and Stevie King and Barry Davie were both eyeing up the trophy aswell. All would be decided at Tinto and it was, Pete proved to be too strong for the young’uns and stormed to victory again in 2011.
Kevin Davie fought hard and held on to 2nd place and Stevie King finished in a very close 3rd place. There were only 11 points between Barry Davie who finished in 4th place and Pete in 1st which shows just how tight this competition was and how much talent we have in our hill running men.
In our Veteran Men category which is 40 – 49, Colin Reynolds finished in 1st place, with Andy Sim 2nd and Sandy Bennet in 3rd place.
In the Veteran 50 Men’s category our very own Hill Running Captain, Allan Macaulay finished in 1st place, with Stevie Greer in 2nd and Kieran Morgan in 3rd place.
Our Men’s 60+ Category this year has also been a closely fought contest with our top 2 contenders Bill Duff and Tom Bowie pushing each other on to victory. Unfortunately Bill Duff has also suffered with injury this year so Tom Bowie romped to victory and claimed 1st Place, with Bill Duff taking 2nd and Bill Fairley finishing in 3rd place.
Both Tom and Bill have also won other Top Titles this year, with Tom Bowie winning the 1st Male 60 prize in the SHR Long Classics Series 2011 and Bill Duff winning the 1st male 60 prize in the SHR midweek Bog and Burn Series 2011. Congratulations to them both!
Every year the club awards 5 special prizes and one of those is to the ‘Most Improved Hill Runner’ and this year that was presented to Bill Fairley. The club was impressed with the way Bill performed this year, his Scottish Hill Racing percentaged improved and he competed in and finished the notoriously difficult Ben Nevis Race and all this from a man who is well over the age of 60 and has only been running for a few years. Very well deserved Bill
Now as many of you will remember, I have on occasion mention the Scottish Hill Runners Mug! This is one of the those highly coveted items that many will strive to get but only the determined few will actually achieve. Each year SHR have their Senior Championship races which consist of 2 short, 2 medium and 2 long races and competitors have to complete 1 of each category plus one other so 4 in total and they will then recieve their prize, an SHR Mug which will take pride of place on many a mantle piece.
This year only 5 Carnegie Harriers managed to claim one of these:
Allan Macaulay
Kevin Davie
Tom Bowie
Lynne Bennet
Melanie Sinclair
Congratulations to them all!
So thats how the story ends for 2011. Pete Simpson and Lynne Bennet are both victorious in the Hill Running Grand Prix and some big achievements for others aswell. Quite a few new faces on the hills and as always lots of fun and laughter whereever the Harriers are aswell.
Will 2012 be as exciting? I certainly hope so!
Until then, Happy Hill Running Folks!
Filed under Hill Running by
| 12/11/2011 – Tinto Hill Race, 4.4 miles, 1500ft | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8th | Chris McCall | 00:34:59 |
| 20th | Peter Simpson | 00:36:34 *1st Male 50+ |
| 39th | Steven King | 00:39:29 |
| 53rd | Ross Carrie | 00:40:39 |
| 89th | David Greig | 00:43:18 |
| 101st | Kevin Davie | 00:43:49 |
| 131st | Andy Sim | 00:45:24 |
| 154th | Colin Reynolds | 00:46:46 |
| 161st | Tom Bowie | 00:47:07 |
| 175th | Allan Brannigan | 00:48:18 |
| 197th | Allan Macaulay | 00:50:29 |
| 203rd | Bill Duff | 00:51:12 |
| 217th | Paul Davies | 00:53:00 |
| 218th | Melanie Sinclair | 00:53:05 |
| 224th | Morna Fleming | 00:55:10 |
| 256th | Lisa Carrie | 01:04:06 |
Chris flying through the gate towards the finish!
Filed under Grand Prix by
Carnegie Member Andrew Wright organises 2 hill races in the annual calendar, The Law Breaker which is run in June and the Dumyat Dash. Both are challenging but terrific races.
80 Hill Runners contested the Dumyat Dash on Saturday 5th November setting out from Menstrie Green on a cold, misty but beautiful autumn morning.
As the assembled runners started off, there was only ever likely to be one winner with Internationalist Prasad Prasad dominating from early in the race. But every athlete has their own personal goals in hill racing and knowing the climbing and descending strengths and weaknesses of their regular fellow competitors also introduces an element of tactics which adds to the very friendly competition throughout the event.
The route headed off up the east side of Menstrie Burn, turning right up onto the west side of Myreton Hill. Some steep parts at first but a lot of runnable sections along farm tracks followed before a couple of sharp turns took the route decidedly off-road. Steep downhill next though the fern covered slope hid a very slippy track beneath. A few options then followed in how to cross The Menstrie Burn – the two exposed rsj’s left over from the now missing bridge didn’t seem at all appealing but i believe a few dare devils saved wet feet by using this crossing route. I opted for the safer, though wetter passage by wading through the freezing water! 
On then to the long climb up the north east slope of Dumyat itself and I was only half way up when the eventual race winner flew past me – a clear 2 or 3 minutes ahead of the second placed runner. Good to see Pete Simpson in 5th place at that point, obviously having a good run although he did admit to being as knackered as I was at the summit! Alan MacAulay was happy to verify this over a coffee at the end and, if I’m honest, it’s something of a comfort that the gazelles at the front suffer the same bodily challenges that us slow coaches do! 
Up the rocky face to the summit, Alan MacAulay was there with a number of others offering cheery encouragement to which I think I managed to grunt a gasping response. A brief glimpse of stunning weather and spectacular views before rounding the cairn and starting the descent.
The downhill route retraced our steps until the burn crossing which turned sharply right and headed off down the east side of Menstrie Glen. Some uphill sections preceded possibly the most difficult 2 kms of the course where the very muddy trail, cut into the side of the glen, proved very challenging with various reports of slips and falls being backed up at the end by some very muddy looking legs and butts.
The few shortcuts that were available to cut some distance off the farm track chicanes were difficult to find and a recce of the route would prove worthwhile if intending to run this again.
Onwards back into Menstrie and the finishing line came quickly at the end of Menstrie Green.
Another excellent race, very well organised with possibly the most generous list of prizes around. One for next year’s diary and well worth the £5 entry fee. Excellent direction by Andrew and a big thanks go to the number of Harriers who assisted at registration and marshalling on the hill.
Report written by Keiran Morgan.
All pictures were taken by Captain Allan MacAulay who was marshalling at the top of the hill.
Full results of the race can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0265&Year=2011
Happy Hillrunning Folks!
Filed under Hill Running by
8 Harriers made the short trip to Alva on Sunday 23rd October for the second running of “The Run of the Mill” Hill Race.
The 14.5km route started at the foot of Alva Glen, rising steeply up until it crossed the Silver Burn before heading down through a fast but tricky and slippery woodland stretch, emerging out alongside Tillicoultry Golf Course. Into Tilly and past Tillicoultry Mill Glen (which is currently closed due to rock falls), the steepest climb in the race awaited the 130 runners before heading out on the Blackford Path. That climb felt relentless although it was only 15 or 20 mins before the wind was felt on our backs again, encouraging some running along the side of Elistoun Hill.
A sharp but very slippery downhill path off the west side of King Seat Hill was shortlived before the long drag up the eastern slope of Andrew Gannel, followed by the boggy peat section on up to the highest point in The Ochils, Ben Cleuch. It was pretty cold at this point with a biting wind but the forecast monsoon-like rain didnt materialise and some terrific views could still be glimpsed south over the Forth Valley. And, the best was yet to come.
The 2200 foot drop from Ben Cleuch back to the start in Alva was interrupted only by a short 2 or 3 minute climb up to the top of Ben Ever. Thereafter it really was a terrific descent over open heather, rough tracks and cutting as much as you dare off mini-alpinesque chicanes where confidence in your chosen brand of footwear – and any remaining strength in your legs and ankles – was really stretched to the limit.
The finish line came quickly after and the usual ad-hoc hill-running hospitality was again present with water and sweets available followed by soup and bread at the prizegiving in The No.5 Pub.
The Harriers present all performed very well. Graeme Campbell finished a brilliant 5th overall in a good quality field in 1 hour 16 mins. Pete Simpson ran another terrific race winning the M50 prize in 1:21. Kevin Davie (1:34), David Greig (1:39) both ran very strongly closely followed by Tom Bowie who continued a fantastic season, winning the M60 prize. Kieran Morgan enjoyed a good run and particularly the descent in (1:46) and Isobel Burnett claimed yet another F50 prize in an excellent 1 hour 49 mins. Bill Fairley completed a good showing by the Harriers in 2:03.
Special mention must also go to Bill Duff who, although still out with an injury, made the trip through and could be seen and clearly heard encouraging many runners, not only Harriers, at 2 or 3 points on the route.
| 23/10/2011 – Run of the Mill Hill Race, Alva | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5th | Graeme Campbell | 01:16:01 |
| 18th | Peter Simpson | 01:21:27 *1st Male 50+ |
| 55th | Kevin Davie | 01:34:36 |
| 69th | David Greig | 01:39:06 |
| 75th | Tom Bowie | 01:41:00 *1st Male 60+ |
| 97th | Kieran Morgan | 01:46:46 |
| 102nd | Isobel Burnett | 01:49:46 *1st Female 50+ |
| 122nd | Bill Fairley | 02:03:51 |
Full results can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0258&Year=2011
All the photos were taken by John Donnelly who runs for the the Westies and I ‘hopefully’ 
have his permission to use them here!
This report was written by Carnegie’s own Kieran Morgan who very kindly offered to do so since the normal blog author did not do this race. If any other Harriers would like to do race reports in the future then please just let me know and they shall always be very kindly received.
Kieran also added a very important message at the end of his report: “So, there are now only 2 races to go in our 2011Hill Running Grand Prix. The Dumyat Dash on 5th Nov and finally Tinto Hill Race on the 12th Nov. Tinto is a very special race for Carnegie as we run it in memory of our then Hill Running Captain, George Murdoch, who sadly passed away while out for a run on 18 Oct 2007. As many Harriers as possible are asked to enter. As it is a short race, it is ideal for anyone who hasnt run a hill race before but who would like to give it a try”
Entries for Tinto Hill race can be found here: https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=582
Happy Hill Running Folks!
Filed under Hill Running by
The Pentland Skyline took place on Sunday October 9th, organised by Carnethy Hill Running Club. This race is over 26 km long with a total ascent of almost 2,000 metres.
It starts and finishes at Midlothian Ski Centre and follows a circular route around the Pentlands taking in 13 summits. It has been described as a race of 2 halves, as the first half is relatively straightforward with lots of good running but once the runners reach the Drove Road drinks station things certainly get a lot tougher. The rough terrain combined with inevitable fatigue starts to really take its toll and sheer determination gets those runners to the finish line.
A total of 186 runners completed this years race which is the highest number to date and of those 7 were Carnegie Harriers.
A short summary by Fabienne Thompson sums up the weather on the day rather well: “1st half horizontal wind, rain and mist, 2nd half good visibility and more gentle conditions”
Captain Allan Macaulay also provided a race report as follows:
“A record 186 finishers took part in the Pentland Skyline hill race. The race, covering 16 miles of 6200ft climbing, was very well represented by Carnegie Harriers as 7 club members participated. Conditions were amongst the most difficult experienced for this race with strong winds combining with muddy underfoot conditions for most of the race making the event even more testing than normal. First Carnegie runner was Ultra specialist Ritchie Cunningham who finished in a highly impressive 24th place overall in a top quality field in 3.03.39. Derek Cassells was next Carnegie harrier in 30th position in 3.06.57. Tom Bowie continued his great form on the hills this season finishing 99th overall but still managed to collect the 2nd V60 prize against tough opposition in this category. Other Carnegie Harriers runners participating were Fabienne Thompson 133rd in 3.57.47, Steve Greer 141st in 4.03.43, Allan Macaulay 159th in 4.15.23 and Kieran Morgan 166th in 4.23.55
This is my assessment of the Pentland Skyline from nearer the back of the race but would welcome any other participants views from further up field. Thanks to Kieran for keeping me going over the first half of the race; it realy was tough going over Carnethy, Scaldlaw and South Blackhill with high winds and poor visibility making it very challenging indeed. Thanks to Carnethy Hill Runners for putting on such a well organised event; particulary impressed by the number of marshals scattered across the hill in difficult conditions.”
| 09/10/2011 – Pentland Skyline Hill Race, 16 miles, 6200ft | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24th | Richie Cunningham | 03:03:39 |
| 30th | Derek Cassells | 03:06:57 |
| 99th | Tom Bowie | 03:40:15 *2nd Male 60+ |
| 133rd | Fabienne Thompson | 03:57:47 |
| 141st | Stephen Greer | 04:03:43 |
| 159th | Allan Macaulay | 04:15:23 |
| 166th | Kieran Morgan | 04:23:55 |
For full race results please visit: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0107&Year=2011
For more information on the race visit: http://carnethy.com/ri_skyline.htm
Well done to all the runners and Happy Hill Running!
Filed under Hill Running by
All week long those very unreliable weather men had been telling us, get your suncream out we’re having an Indian Summer. Hot, hot, hot was the prediction. And to be fair for a whole 4 days we did appear to be getting a little heatwave, with lots of blue skies and unseasonably high temperatures. So with Ben Venue Hill race fast appraching one could have assumed that we would be blessed with good weather so that we could really appreciate the fantastic scenery around Glen Lednock!!
HA HA!!! Yelled the weathermen!! Saturday 1st October dawned, grey, wet and very miserable. It had rained heavily all through the night and the cloud cover was sitting pretty low. Never ones to be detered tho, those Carnegie Harriers who are slightly mad set of to take part in this Championship Hill Race.
Ben Venue Hill Race which is organised by Bellahouston Road Runners http://www.bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk was the last race in the SHR Championships and it was also the 13th counter in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix. 11 plucky Harriers decided that this was such an important race that a little thing like the weather wouldn’t put them of.
Race registration was in the Ben Venue car park which is also where the race finished but the start was about 400 meteres along a muddy path, quite good as a warm up trudge really. The race started at 1pm after a thourough race briefing most of which was based around the weather at the top being pretty grim.
The rain had been falling steadily all morning which meant that we were all fairly wet even before we started. The race was over 8 miles long with a climb of almost 2,500 feet. The first 3 miles is a punishing uphill through a wooded path and then onwards and upwards towards the first summit. Visibily was fairly poor as you got near the top and for those who were new to the route, navigation skills came in handy.
The terrain was very varied, with lots of rocky sections, plenty of bogs, a fair bit of slippy slidy heather which some of the more kamikazie amoung us slid down on their butts, and then lots of runnable sections of woodland path and landrover track. The race felt more undulating than the garmin elevation actually shows but the last downhill section though the woods and towards the finish was a good fast runable section which made for some fast finishes.
195 runners completed this tough run and there was a very close fought race for first Harrier home but Stevie King managed to hold of Pete Simpson with just half a minute seperating them. Then next in was Kevin Davie with Fabienne Thompson and Tom Bowie hot on his heels. All 11 Harriers crossed the line with no major injuries or loss of limb however Phil Smithard and Melanie Sinclair seemed to have forgotten it was race and were too busy chatting to move at a very fast pace. They did however cross the line smilling and laughing to rapturous applause!
Bellahouston had a fine set up at the finish with a nice tea tent and ample supply of cakes at the ready. They even had Loch Achray right next to us so that we could wash the mud and bits of bog of ourselves. This was a fantastic race, very well organised that the amount of marshalls on the hill was exceptional given the conditions. They were very smilly, cheery and supportive and this was certainly appreciated by all the runners. Well done Bellahouston!
60th Steven King 1.33.23
65th Pete Simpson 1.34.01
125th Kevin Davie 1.45.17
131st Fabienne Thompson 1.46.50
133rd Tom Bowie 1.47.24
148th Andy Sim 1.51.02
166th Allan Macaulay 1.59.51
169th Kieran Morgan 2.01.53
174th Lynne Bennet 2.05.02
191th Melanie Sinclair 2.35.49
192th Phil Smithard 2.35.49
Full race reports can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0244&Year=2011 and more information about the race can be found here: http://www.bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk/events/benvenuechallenge/
So with only 2 more events to go in the Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix things are looking really exciting! In the mens table, Kevin Davie has held on tight to the top spot, but its looking like Stevie King and Pete Simpson are going to make him work hard to keep hold of it and its going to go right down to the last race until we see who claims this years No 1 spot!!
In the Ladies section, Lynne Bennet is all set to take the number one spot, currently leading Melanie Sinclair by 3 points, and even though there are still 2 races Lynne is in a strong postition and can’t be beaten now. This is a great achievement for both these women though as Lynne has just come back to hill racing this year after struggling with injury in 2010 and Melanie has also had a few injuries this year. I think they will both be really pleased with that outcome.
Don’t forget that Tinto Hill Race on Saturday 12th November (the final counter in the Grand Prix) is pre-entry only and this one fills up fast so get your entry in. Entries can be made here: https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=582
Happy Hill Running Everyone!
Filed under Grand Prix by
If there is one thing that Carnegie Harriers really enjoy, its a good day out racing! Sunday 11th September was the Comrie Hill Relays organised by Strathern Harriers http://www.strathearnharriers.org.uk/ and we at Carnegie jumped at the chance to enter teams. We’ve always had a team running at this event but in previous years it has unfortunately clashed with other big races, not so this year though and we had 4, yes 4! teams running! Fantastic!
Now seemingly in years gone by this event has always been graced with blue skies and glorious sunshine but the weather god’s were not in such a good mood this year and Sunday dawned grey, wet and windy. But hi ho hi ho, of the Harriers go anyway, a bit of rain won’t stop us from enjoying ourselves.
The Simon Wake Comrie Hills Relay is a 42k relay race with 2,110m of ascent, run in 4 stages for teams of 5 runners. The highly scenic course starts and finishes in Comrie village, and follows a route up and around the hills surrounding Glen Lednock.
Legs 2 and 3 cover rough mountain terrain, while Legs 1 and 4, although challenging, are closer to trail races and are fully marked. Each leg had marked checkpoints where runners had to stamp their card. All the checkpoints where numbered and this card was a vital part of the race, which each leg runners had to pass to the next. All the checkpoints had to be marked of to fully complete the race.
Leg 1 started in Comrie itself and we had Iain Thomson, Judith Dobson, Calum McGraw and Roger Clark running for our 4 teams. Great to see Roger and Calum who would normally do more road running taking part in a hill race.
Leg 2 was a more challenging leg over tough hilly terrain and was the only leg that had to run as a pair of runners. Both runners must start and finish and run together at all times or risk disqualification. Luckily the weather, although very grey and fairly windy, had not worsened at this stage and visibility was fairly good. First Carnegie team round this leg was Stevie King and Pete Humphries.
Closely followed by David Greig and Willie Rennie. 
And then Stevie Greer and Tom Bowie and then the ladies team comprising of Fabienne Thomson and Alison West.
Leg 3 was the longest in distance and also in climb and terrain and unfortunately by the time the runners were setting of on this leg the weather had really deteriorated and visibility at the top was down to about 15 metres. Leg 3 goes up a rough, stoney path for about 3 miles, which had been made very slippy by all the heavy rain and then continues upwards for about another 1/2 mile over grassy ground to reach their first checkpoint (No 6) The next section of this leg was one big bog! A few runners went a cropper here, ending up waist deep in the green sludge. After checkpoint number 7 though this is where the navigational skills did come in useful, as visibilty was terrible and there were no clear markings or tracks to follow. Quite a few runners took wrong turnings here and went a bit of route in the unfamiliar territory. The Ladies were convinced that Melanie Sinclair was lost up this hills forever the amount of time it took her to get round and Malcolm Smith and Jim Robb were both grateful that Angela ‘I was born up a Hill’ Mudge went past them both so they could see were to go. Pete ‘The Awesome’ Simpson was back on form though after suffering from injury and kept the momentum going for the Mens team finishing his leg 3 in an outstandingly good time.
Leg 4 runners had a fully marked route to follow which took them all the way back into Comrie for the finish. Ian Johnston brought it home for our leading men’s team. Jo Wilson literally flew around her leg 4 in a brilliant time proving she has a lot more to give in these hill races and Morna Fleming continued in her fine form to make up some good time for her team over the leg. 
32 teams took part in the Comrie Hill Relays and all the Carnegie Harriers teams did very well in what was defiinitely a very challenging race.
Full results from the race can be found here http://www.strathearnharriers.org.uk/ComrieHillsRelay2011results.pdf
All the pictures that are shown were taken by David from Fife AC (normally takes pics with Pete Bracegirdle who alot of us know) He did an outstanding job getting such good pictures in such terrible weather and we all thank him very much for being out there to do that! Thanks David
Full set of pictures from the day can be found here: http://web.me.com/dsmyth/Run/Comrie11.html
Huge well done to all the Carnegie Harrier runners and a big thank you to those runners who wouldn’t normally dabble in the hills! Perhaps we have given you a little taste of how good the hills can be and might even see you at somemore races in the future! Hills are the way forward!
Happy Hill Running Everyone! 
Filed under Club Stuff by
Saturday 27th August 2011 brought the Ochil 2000′s Hill Race organised by Ochil Hill Runners, one of the longest and toughest of the SHR Long Classics series for a variety of reasons. It was also the 12th Counter in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix.
The day dawned wet and with a heavy mist and driving towards Stirling for the registration meant you got a good look at just how low the cloud cover was. This is one of those races where carrying a map and compass is not enough you actually need to know how to use them aswell. Luckily for us as the time moved towards the 12noon start the mist seemed to clear and whilst the sun tried to break though it didn’t quite manage but we had near perfect running conditions with fantastic visibility.
5 brave Harriers decided to give the not only physically tough but also mentally demanding course a go on Saturday.
This race covers all 10 peaks in the Ochils that are over 2000 feet and also Dumyat. Runners are bused to Glensherrup and then have to make their way back over all the tops finishing in the gounds of Stirling Universtity. The race measures almost 20 miles with a total asscent of over 4000 feet, covering track, marsh, bogs, heather, boulders and many more natural features that makes this tough going. Its can also be very navigationally tough especially in the later section from Ben Ever to Blairdennon and then onto Dumyat when there are very few obvious landmarks with with to navigate from.
The race is very well organised with Ochil Hill Runners having marshalls at many of the key points on the hills and there are also dibber control points at all 11 summits. They also have 2 tail runners following at the back of the race although it is hoped by all the runners that you don’t actually see them! 
Much of this race is very runnable but the boggy marshlands that you encounter heading from Ben Ever to Blairdennon slows you right down as you pick your way across and the last climb back up to Dumyat is almost one climb too many as by this point you are exhausted and the legs have taken a beating but you spur yourself on knowing that the finish is down the other side.
All 5 Carnegie Harriers completed this tough course and special mentions must go to Tom Bowie who once again reigned supreme in the Male Vet 60 Category and took 1st place and also Stevie Greer who got 2nd Male Vet 50! Well done guys!
Full results are now available here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0203&Year=2011
Happy Hill Running!
Filed under Grand Prix by
