Usually one of the last races in the hill running season the
Meall A Bhuachaille hill race starts at the Badaguish Centre in the pine forests
between Glenmore Lodge and Aviemore and takes in three hills of 810m, 732m and
687m above the Badaguish centre from whose summits you can look across to the
Cairngorm Mountain range. The race route has changed slightly since it has
moved from its original start location at Glenmore Lodge but the race still
takes in the summit of Meall A Bhuachaille and fortunately for me the downhill
section is considerably easier than it used to be, much less steep and not
strewn with fallen trees.
From the start line the route follows a wide land rover track
through the forest before climbing a well made hill track to the summit. Within
10 minutes of starting I was regretting wearing thermal kit as despite really
enjoying the late autumn sunshine, I was in serious danger of melting however
on the hill summit it was a different story with a very strong cold wind
blowing through. I spotted Karen on marshalling duties and she was well wrapped
up as were the spectators who were brave enough to come out on to the course. It
took me a few minutes to realise that it was Ruth Naylor shouting my name as
she was so hidden by layers and a big hat.
At this point I remembered to look up and across at the
impressive view of the Cairngorm mountains with the dark clouds gathering above
them ominously before picking my way off the summit and following the long line
of runners along the ridge. There is a section towards the first summit where
runners are going up and coming down the same section of track so I could spot
who was ahead and who was behind me. I passed Maggie who made some cheeky (but
well justified) remark about my lack of downhill running ability. I spotted Megan and Morag on the skyline to
the left of me and could see Sandra up ahead but failed to spot Robin
Livingstone taking a sneaky route down the hill and didn’t see him coming past
me until I spotted him jump back on to the path about 20m ahead. Meh! Now that
is just not cricket! But I suppose it is hill running...
We were diverted through some tricky tussocky stuff to
protect the hill track from further erosion but fortunately after such a dry
summer it was nowhere near as boggy as it could have been. After a wee bit more
climbing and ridge running it was time to turn down the descent which was a bit
wet and boggy and very slidey after all the runners have trampled along the
path. Managing to stay upright I didn’t lose many places and could even say
that I enjoyed the descent which is unusual for me and i was soon back on the
wide forest tracks. At this point I tempted to say that that last miles dragged
on more so than usual and that it was a long 5 mile race. Thats because it was
an 8 mile race and I hadn’t realised that before I started. Ho Hum. But
fortunately that last stretch was on runnable sheltered forest tracks and I
began to feel warm again.
The race entry included a fine dinner of beef stew...just
what was required after crossing the finish line. The race also coincided with
Megan and Phil’s joint birthday celebrations and so HBT were out in force both
competing and supporting and the day was topped off by a celidh in the
evening....after an extremely soggy mountain bike ride from our digs in
Aviemore back to the Badaguish centre - those dark clouds that I had seen
gathering over the Cairngorms earlier in the day held off for the duration of
the race but delivered as promised later in the evening but its got to be said
I really didn’t notice if it was raining or not on the cycle back to Aviemore
after the celidh...
