Carnethy (Midweek) Hill Race 2010
After missing the real Carnethy hill race earlier this year after an unfortunate meeting with a metal bollard i was keen to give its midweek shorter sibling a go. Phyllis and i headed over and were in plenty of time to secure a prime berth in one of the two parking bays. In the one hill midweek version there is only one real climb though you do nip over the top of the wee hillock to the right after an easy short grass path climb before dropping down to start for the full ascent of Carnethy itself. The ground from the fence crossing before the hillock to the top of Carnethy was very heathery so required full steps to bounce over and keep a pace going, however there had been a big burn up the side but it didnt particularly make the climb any easier just a little bit more interesting! I lost a lot of ground on the leaders here after feeling id done well to stay with up to that point. At the summit you felt the full force of the wind.. it was glorious, a real lean into gusting which made your eyes water and your cheeks bulge. The descent itself was awesome, peaty soft paths all the way back down to Silverburn all extremely and invitingly runnable. Well worth all the lower leg pain on the ascent.
Felt the £4 to enter was slightly steep given there were no prizes and the low key nature of the event, certainly in comparison to some other hill races, but otherwise no qualms.. well other than well the hill part ;] Finished in 6th about 2 and a half minutes down on Al Anthony. Phyllis was 1st V50 Female. Full results to follow on www.shr.uk.com, didnt see anyone snapping pics.
The organizer Andy Kitchin in his report on the SHR seems disappointed with the turnout. Although the entry fee for this short race all goes to a good cause, it is always better to have some kind of post race prize giving, rather than people just drift away at the finish. Perhaps Andy should consider this for next year. Receiving prizes isn't the underpinning reason for hill running, but surely a bottle or two of beer for category winners isn't too much to expect?