Meall a Bhuchaille hill race (13km/720mtrs) and the annual SHR ceilidh!

Good start to the weekend, the van broke down at Old Rayne Saturday morning on the way over to the race! luckily Sonic Sinco wasn't far behind in his new V-Dub and was able to pick me up which meant crazy, top bants all the way over to Aviemore, narrowly missing a dog in Dufftown on the way - good skills by my driver!

250 runners this year and a championship race with a lot of fast names on the start line! I was going to be well down the finish list but as long as I got a PB I wasn't caring.. I did a 1:19 here last year in snow so I was fairly sure I'd get one..

Last year's weather

Last year

Pre race chat

Stuart, mysel and Walter

I started with Stuart and it pretty much stayed like that all the way to the finish. It's a fast start on a good landy track for a few Kms but I was struggling to keep up with Stuart who was motoring on.. I couldn't wait to get onto the hill and start climbing!

Once on the hill and slowed down it was great and I settled into a good steady run/hike. I picked a few folk off here and onto the summit before the first decent on very uneven rocky heather. Perfect ankle breaking terrain!

As usual I had a great tussle with Stuart swapping leads with each other several times.






It was very cold and blowy up high and a couple of times I regretted the vest!
I love the tops on this race, enjoyable, fast running over varied terrain, undulating trails, deep heather, loose rock, bog, it's got it all! And with Cairngorm and Coire an t-sneachda as a backdrop, what else do you want!


The decent is awsome. From the last top it's flat out, barely in control, plummeting down a wet, peaty, boggy trail with holes everywhere! We were chasing down Stefan Wagner who appeared out of nowhere and overtook us at the last top so he made a good target for Stuart and I.
This section was carnage with several folk falling here including Stuart just as we were neck and neck. At least it''s a soft landing! I managed to stay up somehow but it was close.

Just about back

Out of the forest and back onto landy track, Stuart caught up with me being stronger on the flat but I managed to cling on and only in the finishing straight I caught him and just got in front finishing in 1:13 and a 6 min PB coming 32/250 overall and 6th V40. Happy with that especially being a championship race and I'm clearly getting some speed back after a season of racing long and slow!

My coach was proud! ;)



Rob had a great race considering he'd finished 2nd at the Mourne Skyline last weekend and now down with a cold he finished 3rd in 1:02 just behind James Espie 2nd and Findlay Wild 1st (course record).

Sonic

Rob getting his 3rd place prize

After the race prize giving we went back to our luxury Coylumbridge lodge that Sam had organised to blow the froth off a couple and to get cleaned up. I was told casual but it turned out everyone was getting ponced up so Sinco and me went looking like the homeless! .

A dapper Esp and myself

The annual SHR dinner and ceilidh was brilliant. I caught up with loads of folk I've not seen in ages over a few beers and good food. Then it was back over to the hall for the ceilidh.

Ally and Diana

Charming! 

Everyone was up dancing at the ceilidh, what a laugh, the amount of folk that had no idea what they were doing including me was hilarious! There were bodies strewn all over the floor but the band did well keeping everyone right.

The only criticism for the night was nae bar! Fit!? Hill runners, a ceilidh but nae bar!?  Luckily though we came prepared! :)

Sinco giving it large!

Deeside vs HHR and most of the lodgers

Trouble ahead! ;)

After the ceilidh finished we dropped a few folk back at the lodge then the rest of us went into town to Mambo's which was bouncing! Things got a bit crazy but I won't go any further than this apart from saying that what happens in Aviemore stays in Aviemore! Bwahahahah! ;)
An amazing weekend running and partying! 

That's all the races done I think for this year. I might do a couple of short speed session races but I'll mostly be looking forward to getting back to long training days in the mountains. I might even dust off the axes and crampons! Shazzam!

Beinn a Ghlo and a wee blast on the Pentlands

A special night in the van at the Loch Tummel campsite on Friday night - Fillet steak, melted Camembert and a fine bottle of Malbec or 2! :)

Opening the rear doors of the van on Saturday morning we were treated to the most unreal scene directly overlooking a glassy Loch Tummel in spectacular autumnal colours..

A quick coffee stop at the Queens view before heading off to the start of this weekend's nearby run, the Beinn a Ghlo range at Glen Tilt with a route tally of 3 munros - Carn liath 975mtrs, Braigh Coire Chruinn - Bhalgain 1070mtrs and Carn nan Gabhar 1121mtrs. Total route 22k/1900mtrs.
Last time I was down this way I was shouldering a kayak and hiking the hefty 10km slog up to Marble Lodge and to the get in for the excellent river Tilt and one of my favourite paddles!

From Carn Liath over to Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain

After a couple of easy landy track kilometers and past the wee hut to the foot of Carn Liath, it's a good, steep, glute burning push all the way to the summit with absolutely no let up and into some atmospheric weather! 

What follows is an exposed but quality and very runnable trail taking you over to Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain. A good bit of fast descending and then more pushy uphills, I could really feel the last few weeks training kicking in, pulling me up the steeper climbs..

Looking back to Carn Liath and the huge streak of lightening ridge

We were reasonably lucky with weather but we passed a very concerned looking Edmund Hillary, staring at our shorts and running shoes who reported high winds and - " you can't stand up on top, it's freezing cold, seriously mate!!" etc.. My immediate response was - "maybe I'll take my kite!" which didn't seem to go down well with Edmund's sense of humour but fortunately his mate Tenzing got the joke and giggled! Starting later in the day after having checked MWIS and several other sources of weather info, apparently we missed this category 15 typhoon! Oh well my kite will have to wait till next time! :)

Still, a wee bit breezy and mostly clear for much of the run it did deteriorate for a short while on Carn nan Gabhar with some rain and poor visibility but nothing bad at all..

Carn nan Gabhar in the clag

 

The descent path from the Allt Beallach an Fhiodha starts well but it's very eroded further down and becomes a hard going, boggy mess only to turn back into a very well built path skirting the foot of Beinn Beag and back onto the main landy track back to the van. A good opportunity to really open it up on the way out and stretch the legs.

The pyramid of Airgiod Bheinn and the shoulder of Beinn Beag to the left

Allt Bealalch an Fhiodha path

Typical breaking weather on our way out..

Carn Liath and Viv as the weather broke

A great route, very runnable and would make an awsome mountain race!

Saturday night was a strange one.. We checked in then checked out 10 mins later from the hotel from hell! 

Imagine an ancient John Cleese crossed with Riff Raff off of Rocky Horror and you have the proprietor of the Weem Inn near Aberfeldy! "Cash only" he said as he stooped over the counter eating a carrot! This should've rung the alarm bells but it took the no heating, no TV, a towel as a curtain, stained bed rests and 70's decor and damp smell to convince us to leave! Getting my money back was a laugh, he really wanted to hang onto my cash!!
I'm convinced if we'd stayed we'd have been on his menu the next night! Oh wait.. no that couldn't happen because he doesn't have a cook or a working kitchen!! lol

Today we headed down to Edinburgh from Perth to watch a couple of folk we knew running the Ultra tour of Edinburgh which takes in some of the Pentlands so it was a good opportunity to get the running gear back on to see them coming over the hills and get a bit more running done. 

Pentlands today

I missed Pentland Skyline this year because I only entered it to get the 4 Long Classics I needed to compete in the series. I've done Jura and Trotternish so far and due to clash of events the only 2 races I could make were Pentlands and 2 Breweries. However, Glencoe Skyline was the week before 2 Breweries and still a bit stiff  and worried about my calf, I binned 2 Breweries last minute which meant I didn't have to do Pentlands either. It's not really my bag as a race anyway..

Saying all that, it was great to be out on them today and not racing but just for a leg spin. Edinburgh's not a bad back drop after all!

Another great weekend running around our hills with special company looking for that PURE experience! Shabba! xx

The Gar

A wee blast on my local - Lochnagar..

After Morven and with no more big races for the rest of the year I was just looking for a steady 10-12 miler with plenty climb. There's only one place that fits the bill that's not too far away..

From Glen Muick car park I had a good climb up to Meikle Pap and then chose to descend into the corrie so I could nip up Black Spout, Left branch through the hole! Never gets old that one..

I've been shaking off a tight right calf for a couple of weeks and after a 19km beast of a tempo run with Rob on Wednesday night (I was hangin!) it has turned into a proper niggle!

I've got Meall a Buchaille race in 2 weeks so hopefully I'll get it sorted.. I'm having Deja Vu! I was recovering from a similar calf issue last year same time. I picked it up on Ben Nevis hill race which I carried into Glencoe Skyline, 2 Breweries, Pentland Skyline and I only recovered just in time for Meall a Buchaille!

I like to scare the tourists!

Corrie path

Lochnagar

Black Spout

Blown tyre

This woman was my savior!

Total route 20km/1500mtrs..

Great day and great run only to be spoiled at the very end driving out of Glen Muick heading for coffee, not paying attention I hit a boulder and blew the front passenger tyre! This was only the start of my issues!

Because I've got after market alloys on the van the bolt heads are 17mm instead of the stock 19mm and I didn't have a 17mm socket to get the bolts out!! Nooooooo!

Luckily and thankfully after stopping the next 5 passing cars the 5th one driven by an elder lady complete with hippy hat and a great sense of humour produced the goods with a 17mm socket... ya belter!!

Van jacked up and wheel off I went to get the spare from under the van.. Next issue... One of the bolts holding the spare wheel up under the van was a locking nut and I didn't have the key! Fit!??

I managed to scramble further under the van to undo the brackets of the metal work that holds the wheel and with my new elderly friend digging up the ground under the van with her bare hands to get the clearance I needed to drop the wheel I finally got it out! 1 hour to change 1 wheel and I missed the Ballater coffee shop - Raging!!

Morven Hill race (8km/640mtrs)

My first short race since Clachnaben (8th/78, 2nd V40) back in April. I was dreading this hard, steep speed session after months of distance training and longer races!

I also wanted to make the effort since it’s my club’s race and Morven is special to me as it was my late father’s stomping ground as a Scout in the 1950’s.

The weather was favourable for a tempo run in the hills - Clag, drizzle and cooler than it has been recently! Perfect!

I knew the usual front runners would be turning up and although I doubted I'd be near the front I had tried to cram in some last minute speed sessions recently with Sinco pushing me plus I have been going well this year on longer courses so I was keen to see where I was on a shorter course. 

Hamish Battle and James Espie up front

Start line and we were off. I started well up near the front probably sitting 7th by the time we got to the old house and then started to climb. Jacob Adkin, James Espie and Hamish Battle all pulled away quickly followed by Javier and Lawrence Ramsay. Stuart Pringle and myself were 6th/7th for most of the first climb.  
Stuart not firing on all 4 waved me through but I stayed back conscious of blowing up but once Neil Walker passed us both I decided to pass Stuart while I was going well. I slowly pulled away building a small gap between us.

Alan Smith - LEDGE

1st lady and my mate Diana Macdoanld

Winner - Jacob Adkin

I caught Neil on the first flat and then I was on my own for a while with very poor visibility until I saw a faint figure in the Clag.. I hoped it was Lawrence or Javier. Nearing this figure, I only realised in the last 2 or 3 mtrs who it was! It was Richie "bad boy" Ingram in jeans and a pair of yellow wellies on his way up to see the summit Marshalls! Once I stopped laughing I composed myself and carried on to the summit. Pffffff

Steve Ord and Richard Bad Boy Ingram

Jim Savage - Ultra beast

Neil Walker - Deeside visitor

Mr Valdes going for a hug!

Round the cairn and on my way back down I passed Neil and Stuart on their way to the summit. They were closer than I thought, I knew I had to push as Stuart's a fast descender and would have been pushing to catch me. Once I got to the split at the first Marshall to descend round the side of the hill I opened it up and didn’t look back catching 5th place Lawrence a km or so from the finish. Javier was too far ahead. 
love that last section, very technical and very fast running over the rocky, heathery, narrow, deep trail.

Stuart Pringle almost home

Myself coming through the finish

I finished 5th overall and 1st V40.

Deeside also took the team prize with James Espie 2nd, myself 5th and Stuart 7th. My haul for the day 4 local Ales, a block of Lairig Ghru cheese and the 1st Vet shield.. Yaldie!!

My haul

Usual bants back at the Logie Coldstone hall for coffee/cake and to catch up with folk I've not seen in ages. Love hill running peeps, always great craic whilst looking like the homeless! Shaaazaaam! xx

Myself, Diana and Alan

Phil Kammer LEDGE also!