Not so ‘Run of the Mill’

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!