The third race in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix and the first of the 2012 Scottish Hill Runner Championship took place on Saturday 7th April. Clachnaben Hill Race, organised by Cosmic Hill Runners attracted a record field of 213 runners, 11 of which were Carnegie Harriers.

We couldn't find Graeme Campbell for the picture, he's just too fast to pin down!

This race was a category AM race with a distance of almost 9 miles and over 2,100 feet of climbing. This was a new race route for 2012 which was meant to be more runnable than previous years but I’m not sure that proved to be true on race day itself. There had been snow in the week leading up to the race, SNOW!! Yes, snow! This is Scotland after all! Driving up towards the race location which was near Strachan, just south of Banchory near Aberdeen you could certainly see that there had been snow but there wasn’t as much lying as expected but then it had also been fairly heavy rain during the week aswell. Luckily for the runners race day was dry and bright and the rain held of until after we had all ran.

Now normally at hill races, especially the slightly longer ones, the runners head of at a pretty moderate pace as they know what lies ahead. Not so at Clachnaben! Goodness me they were all of like rockets!

The first 2 miles of the race were very runnable, lots of woodland track and path and a very fast pace was set, this soon slowed though as from about mile 2 too 3 1/2 it was up through boggy wooded ground and then onto a very heathery muddy climb to the top of Mount Shade. This was hard going under foot as the mud was deep and slidey and was definitely draining on the legs. There was a good downhill section after this but again the amount of mud made it quite a technical descent and you had to be careful of all the big rocks and stones that were hiding under the mud and heather waiting to trip you up.

Looking up towards Clachnaben

The climb up to Clachnaben followed the tourist path and at this point the sun was out and it was a lovely day.

The view from the top! Awesome

Once you got to the top of Clachnaben it was downhill the whole way to the finish which sounds great but you still had more mud to contend with, some lovely deep boggy sections and then well over a mile on track before you reached the final wooded section and the downhill sprint for the finish.

This was a race that had a bit of everything in it and for a 9 mile race was pretty fast and furious. The winning time was by Joe Symonds in 1:02:43 which sums up just how runnable this race was and that was with all the mud, bogs and heather to contend with. Outstanding!

All the Harriers had strong runs with Graeme Campbell leading the team home placing a superb 10th overall in 1:13, Derek Cassells  and Peter Simpson both had strong runs placing 32nd and 38th respectively with less than a minute separating them. Stevie King also had a great run clocking 1:23 and placing 56th. The other 7 Harriers all finished within 10 minutes of each other and everyone certainly seemed to really enjoy the run.

Cosmic Hill Runners coped exceptionall well after being surprised and overwhelmed by the volume of runners who turned up for the race. They ran out of race numbers but had marker pens at the ready to write numbers on arms and they seemed have a never ending supply of cake and beer, which lets be honest is more important than a race number. Well done to them for putting on such a great race

Full results for the race can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0028&Year=2012

The start and finish pictures were taken by Anette Moran and Mike Raffan who very kindly shared them with everyone on Facebook, many thanks to them

Another great day’s racing for Carnegie Harriers!

See you soon at another Hill Race, until then Happy Hill Running Folks

Bishop Hill Race, the second counter in the 2012 Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix took place on Sunday 4th March and is organised by Lomond Hill Runners. Sunday was one of those days when Scottish weather was at its best and decided to showcase all its seasons in one day. Sun, rain, snow and a good dose of wind just for good measure so its certainly takes a hardy runner to head up a hill on a day like this and almost 100 runners decided they were up to the challenge.

This is a short sharp tough little hill race which is only just over 2 miles long but has a climb of about 300 metres which is all straight up from the word go.

The runners hardly have time to take a breath and admire the views before they have to hurtle back down the hill again all the way to the finish.

Carnegie Harriers were well represented at the race with 11 runners taking part and one of those was a surprise visitor to the hills, Davie Millar. Davie is well known at the club as a very strong road runner but we always like to see those roadies paying a little visit to the hills aswell.

Here’s Davie’s thoughts on the race:

“Since my last hill race was in 2005 and the fact I warmed up with a two hour run the day before one could be forgiven that I got out the wrong side of bed. Nevertheless after struggling just to run to the start line I went off with the rest of the field. My initial thought of being conservative at the start came to fruition rather quickly as two minutes in I was walking as other harriers faded into the distance. Surprisingly though after a short period I managed to find some running legs and began passing people on the ascent of Bishop hill. At the start of the descent I felt runners clustering behind me as the runners ahead started gaining ground.  Adrenaline kicking in and gambling on a twisted ankle or two I picked up the pace and reeled in some of those runners ahead. I finished feeling elated regardless of my time or position following the hairy descent. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and would be hopeful of doing another hill race before not too long, in months not years this time.

Hopefully since I scraped into the leading team and won a bottle of white wine my missus might allow this!”

Welcome back to the hills Davie and lets hope we can tempt you along to another race aswell

Many thanks to our ‘Harrier on the Hill’ Kevin Davie who very kindly braved the elements to take pictures of all our runners. He even subjected his poor dog Faith to the bad weather but we definitely have evidence of the snow as she was covered in it!

Well done to our leading men Graeme, Pete and Davie who claimed the 1st Men’s Team and also again to Pete Simpson who was on fine form and won the 1st Male 50 prize and Bill Fairley who won 1st Male 70. Great running guys!

Full Race results can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0018&RaceYear=2012

Thanks again to Lomond Hill Runners for hosting such a great little race

The next race in the Hill Running Grand Prix is Clachnaben on Saturday 7th April. This is a category AM Hill Race so full kit will be required. It is aproximately 15km long with a climb of over 1000 metres. Full details can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0028

Until then, Happy Hill Running

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!

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!

Sunday 21st of August dawned bright and sunny which is great if you are planning to lie in your garden, not so much if you are planning to run up a hill! The Lomonds of Fife Hill Race organised by Lomond Hill Runners was the 11th counter in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix and is always a popular local race.

The route of the race had to changed this year due to access for parking at the usual start but that didn’t mean this was going to make the race any less challenging and the heat always makes it a little tougher aswell. The race was still covering almost 11 miles with a climb of over 2,700 feet and attracted 116 runners this year.  12 Carnegie Harriers decided they were up to the challenge looking forward to gaining more of those valuable Grand Prix points. Great to see Mr Paul Hutton back to racing again after suffering from an achillies problem for almost a year. Welcome back Paul, we missed you!   

The new route was tough from the word ‘go’ with everyone having to work very hard heading up through the forrest towards East Lomond. This whole section is just a continual up until you turn at East and feel atlast that gravity is giving you a helping hand. What’s great about this section of the race though is that the runners all pass each other going out and back so there’s lots of shouts of encouragement which helps to spur you on.

Upon reaching Maiden Castle this is where the route differed and we took the narrow path that led the runners along the low route towards West Lomond. This was a good runnable section and by this time the runners were well spread out. A really steep scrabbly climb up the gulley and then up to West, straight back down heading down the super steep, bum sliding descent towards the checkpoint at the Bonnet Stane (or stone depending how you speak!!). There was a lot of daredevil kamikaze sliding going on here but with places to be gained there was no holding back.

After a short climb back up which would have been the orignal race start runners then faced the traverse right round the hill side heading back towards the forrest on ontowards the finish.

All of the Carnegie Harriers had good runs but a mention must go to Tom Bowie who won the Male Vet 60 category. This was certainly a very popular win as the applause in the hall was huge! Well done Tom!

Full results for this race can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0196&Year=2011

The Wilderness Response Team were providing emergency first aid cover at the bottom of the super steep gully and were also at the finish of the race making sure all the runners were ok, and taking pictures at the same time. Thanks guys you know we all appreciate your support!

Some of the pictures were also taken by Mark Harris’s son Tom who many of us spotted out and about on the course. The full set of pictures can be seen here: http://web.me.com/harrismark1/Hill_running_and_the_outdoors/hill_running_photos/Pages/The_Lomonds_of_Fife.html Thanks Tom!

Well done to everyone who took part and Happy Hill Running!

The end of August is a busy time for those Hill Running Carnegie Harriers with 2 Grand Prix races in 2 weekends.

Sunday 21st of August is The Lomonds of Fife Hill race. This is race number 11 in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix and is a category AM race. Organised by Lomond Hill runners the race starts at 1pm with registration at Strathmiglo Village Hall, with entries on the day available. This years race route however has been changed and no longer starts or finishes in the usual field but instead starts approximately 2km up the tarred path leading towards the hills from Strathmiglo. Many of us will know this path from the Devil’s Burden or even the Tour of Fife Chicken Run.

The race is approximately 16 km long with a climb of over 760 metres making it a tough race with lots of ups, downs, runable sections and the notoriously steep descent towards the Bannet Stane. Last years runners also had to contend with scorching sun beating down aswell so lets all pray for atleast a little cloud cover this year.

For more information about the race route visit: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0196

Saturday 27th August 2011 is the Ochils 2000 race. This is a category AL race covering over 28 km with a total climb of over 1500 metres which takes in all 10 of the Ochils peaks and Dumyat aswell.

The race starts at 12 noon from Glensherrup car park but registration is from 9.30 till 10.30 at the Gannochy Sports Centre at Stirling University with buses leaving from 10.30 to take runners to the start of the race. The organisers, Ochil Hill Runners, do accept entries on the day BUT only if the race number has not been reached. Pre-entry is advised to guarantee a place and also your seat on the bus.

More information can be found here: http://www.ochilhillrunners.org.uk/static.aspx?id=o2000R

Both of these races are local to us so let’s see lots of Carnegie Harriers vests illuminating them!

Happy Hill Running!

1 Great Weekend = 2 Fantastic Events! The weekend of Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July 2011 is what Hill Runners look forward too.

Saturday 30th July 2011 is the next counting race in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix is Ben Rinnes, this is also one of the SHR Scottish Championship Races and the last opportunity to get a AL hill race if you are trying to gain one of those legendary mugs.

This race which makes up part of the Dufftown Highland Games http://www.dufftownhighlandgames.org/ The Highland Games start at 11am and has Heavy, Light and Track Events, Tug O’War, a Special Race for Overseas Visitors, Highland Dancing, Massed Pipe Bands and Children’s Events with the Hill Race starting at 12 noon.  Afternoon Teas and a Beer Tent are available and there are numerous Side Stalls. The Pipe Bands beat the retreat in The Square at 6pm. until approximately 6-45pm so this really will be a fantastic day out for bringing the family aswell.

The hill race is an out and back course which covers over 22 kilometres and has an ascent of almost 1,600 metres and is very runnable with good terrain and easy route finding for most of the way. It also starts and finishes with a lap of the sports track which is very typical of these Highland games hill races, so don’t forget to smile and wave for the spectators and the cameras!

Dufftown is situated at the top of the Cairngorms, so is approximately over 3 hours driving to get there. There are campsites in the local area if you don’t want to drive up and back in a day or car share could be organised via the Carnegie Harriers forum.

More information about the Hill Race can be found here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0082

This will be a great day out so looking forward to seeing lot’s of you up there!

Sunday 31st July sees the return of the Callander Highland Games Hill Race.

This race starts at 1.30pm and looks like lot’s of fun as it is also part of the Highland Games! Entry is being made online at http://www.entrycentral.com/index.php?festivalID=215

2 Great races – 1 weekend! Let’s all plan to do both! We can manage that!

Race for Cakes! Race for Burgers! Race to Get to the Beer Tent! Hill Runners know how to have fun!

The only topic of conversation on everyone’s lips on Saturday was the heat! Before, during and after the race that was all any of us could talk about! And we were all mad enough to consider trying to run up a hill in it but that’s hill runners for you!

Saturday 2^nd July 2011 brought us Dollar Hill Race organised by Ochil Hill Runners.  This was the 9^th counter in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix and nothing, not even the boiling hot weather would stop us from taking part. 13 Carnegie Harriers decided that even though it was prime sunbathing and BBQ ing weather, they would rather go and enjoy a fantastic race in the beautiful sun drenched Ochils.

This race measures almost 9.4 miles long and has an ascent of 2,900 feet which takes in 5 of the summits in the Ochils. This race can be a navigational challenge if there is low cloud or mist but we certainly didn’t have to worry about that this weekend. In fact there was so much sun that most of us were praying for a little cloud just to help take away some of the scorching heat.

It starts at Dollar Accademy and winds its way up through Dollar Glen towards the first summit. The first 2 1/2 miles of this race are all up hill which is tough going, but once you eventually reach the summit of White Wisp you get a chance to stretch your legs and have a good run. Its a very undulating course, which is demanding on the legs but once you reach the last top of Kings Seat its downhill all the way home.

There were exactly 100 runners taking part in Saturdays race and the Carnegie Harriers did themselves proud. Sandy ‘where’s the camera’ Bennet was first Harrier home in the amazing time of 1:38:48. New Kid on the Block Nick Weir who was making his debut in the Hill Grand Prix, had a fantastic run to finish in 36th place. Lots of vying for position between the other hillbillies with only minutes between most of them and in the Ladies race Lynne Bennet had a really strong run, proving she too is back on form after suffering from injuries last year, taking almost 12 minutes out of Melanie Sinclair. We were also delighted to welcome another Lady Harrier to the Hills, Angela ‘I need a map and compass’ Dixon who is a regular orienteerer but wanted to dip her toes into hill racing aswell and what a race to do it with.

The Carnegie Harrier Ladies scouped the Ladies Team prize which they were absolutely delighted with and just shows what can be achieved by having a strong Harrier contingent at these races. They were rewarded with bottles of real ale, made from seaweed and heather! Slightly odd but its still a prize and we appreciate the recoginition of a job well done!

A huge thanks aswell to Ochil Hill Runners for such a well organised race with great enthusiastic, supportive marshals out on the hills! Thank you, we do appreciate it!

The photos of the Harriers were all taken by a member of the Wilderness Response Team who were providing emergency cover at the small gully on the South side of Kingseat which was part of the final descent and can occasional cause problems for tired runners. They are a non-profit organisation and provide advanced casualty care for competitors in hill races and ultra events, inbetween taking photos of course! ;-)   Most recently they had a strong presence at the West Highland Way race which Carnegie Harriers also had runners competing.  They are on Facebook and would love it if people ’liked’ their page and let them know how they’ve done at the hill races. Great bunch of guys and they support us so we should support them to. Click here to go to their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Wilderness-Response-Team-Rescue-Emergency-Care-/168233243210362

One last THANK YOU must go to both our ‘Harrier on the Hill’ Phil Smithard who provided excellent support both when we were going up the first climb and also on the homeward stretch and also to Kirsty Baird who was at the start and finish to send us on our merry way and to congratulate us on finishing! We always appreciate support and we may even have gone some way to pursuading Kirsty to try a hill race. We shall see!

RACE FOR CAKES! RACE FOR THRILLS! RACE THOSE HILLS!

Happy Hill Running!

12 dedicated and slightly mad Hillbillies travelled down to the Borders on Saturday 5th June to take part in Yetholm Hill Race! This race organised by Norham Running Club http://www.norhamrc.co.uk/ measuring almost 8 miles and over 2,500 feet of climbing was the 7th race in the Carnegie Harriers Hill Running Grand Prix and also a SHR Championship race. So not just points at stake but also one of the highly desired and very rare SHR Mugs!

The weather was fairly miserable and there was concern that like previous years the cloud would be low and this would make navigating round more difficult. However, the gods were kind and other than a fairly heavy shower just before the race started, the visibility was good, the temperatures were just right and the course was exceptionally well marshalled which ensured that no runners were lost forever in the hills and everyone had a good, if pretty hard, run!

Kevin Davie leading the way for the Harriers up the big climb!

The course was definitely ‘undulating’ with what felt like a hundred ups, but also had lots of fantastic running aswell. Absolutely beautiful part of the country.

 And what ho!! I hear you cry! That marshall looks very familiar!

Yes you are right! That is none other than our very own club President and Captain Macaulay’s good lady wife! He knows how to treat a lady, none of this nice meals and flowers nonsense, just get her working and stood at the top of a cold, wet, windy hill for the afternoon! ;-)  And a very good job she and all the other marshalls did aswell!  

Lots of vying for finish position between the Hillbillies at this race but Kevin Davie held them of to bring it home for the Harriers, and then it was a closely fought contest for the next 3 spots (Colin Reynolds, Bill Duff and Tom Bowie) with only seconds between them. Similarily Morna Fleming and Bill Fairley fought right to the finish line with Bill just pipping her at the post.

 All 12 Hillbillies ran well and finished the testing course in very respectable times. However the big highlight of the day for all the Hillbillies was when Ken ‘I’ll run forever’ Daniels recieved the Vet70 prize, accompanied by resounding applause and cheers from all present at the prize giving!?

Excellent day out! Excellent Result! Let the battle recommence at the next race!

Run Forever! Run for Cakes! Hillbillies Rule the World!

Hill Photos taken by Bill Fairmaner who very kindly let me use them, the rest were taken by Kevin cause he runs faster than the rest of us!