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| Monymusk House (cc race entry form) |
Yes, I know, the frequency of my blogging
has been extremely poor of late. So much so that one of these races can be
counted as winter rather than autumn. I can only look on with envy at the output
rate of bloggers such as Peter Buchanan and Mary Hunter who seem to be able to
turn out great blog postings at least two or three times each week and who can
make the mundane seem interesting and entertaining. Its now safe to say I have
reached an all time blogging infrequency low point by covering 3 months of
events all in one blog posting. I guess the trials and tribulations of life
have really got in the way properly over the last few weeks and my creativity,
not to mention my energy, has been sapped with filling in job applications. Sadly now my current rate of cake production reflects this too. And
now the spectre of Christmas is looming in all its commercialised horror. Pass
the Prozac.
Not to worry. As Simon keeps trying to
remind me, its only work. Its not life. And more importantly it’s not running.
So on to the important events of the last
few months and the important things in life. The running.
The
Dramathon
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| The contents of the Dramathon race goody bag |
Whisky and running. I finally found a race
that takes in that divine combination. It is such a divine combination that
Simon was even lured into signing up. Predictably it was a sell out event
necessitating an early sign up and featured a choice of events, a marathon, a
half marathon a 10k and a marathon relay. We opted for the half marathon or
“half dram” as I was reliably informed by Simon that it worked out as the best
deal in terms of drams per mile. And lets face it, that’s what counts. This was
the inaugural Dramathon and it was a great event with a fantastic concept. In
the weeks before the event there were rumours abound that we would actually
have to drink a dram at each of the distilleries that we passed but that was
not the case and the drams were presented to us at the finish line in the form
of whisky miniatures from the distilleries that we had passed on route. I kept
quiet about my disappointment at this lest people got the wrong idea about me.
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| Steve and Ian were also doing the "half dram" |
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| Race competition... :-) (cc Dramathon website) |
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| Nervous grin |
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| On your marks... (cc Dramathon website) |
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| Go! (cc Dramathon website) |
The weather forecast wasn’t promising, and
it was distinctly grey looking overhead as we were all bussed to the start line
for this point to point race however, there was a lot of lively banter on the
bus to cheer up proceedings although even that didn’t work on Simon. I think he
was grumpily plotting his revenge for the 2 second gubbing that I had inflicted
on him in Munich two weeks previously. I had done as the race organiser asked
and carried waterproof kit…only to see that quite a few others were lining up
without the mandatory kit. I hate it when that happens, its either mandatory or
it’s not (or I missed the email saying it wasn’t. Probably that.)
After a wee bit of hanging around we were
set off from the old railway station at Tamdhu along the Speyside way.
Predictably Simon disappeared into the distance within minutes of setting off
and I decided not to go with him which turned out to be the wise move. The route
was mainly along a tree lined track so it was quite pretty with the russet autumn
colours but a bit limited in terms of views and it seemed as though at no point
was I running alone out of sight of anyone as there were plenty of marshals on
the route, and plenty of other competitors although you had to be careful that
you were running against someone in your own race and not a competitor in the
10k or relay who had just overtaken you so it was a case of casually checking
the colour of the number of the runner who was coming up behind you. That’s
always a mixed blessing, sometimes its nice to have someone running near by to
focus the attention but at other times the peace and quite of the trail is also
good. The marathon runners faced a different problem. Setting off further down
the track they had to try to weave their way through the tail enders of the
half marathon and 10k who were often running or three abreast across the path
which seems remarkably inconsiderate of the slower runners and possibly
something that should be mentioned to them in the pre-race briefing.
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| It was good runnable trail |
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| Steve was enjoying himself far too much |
Having had an ok-ish run in Munich I was
surprised and a little bit disappointed to find that my legs seemed to seize up
in the last few miles so I was relieved when the course weaved its way through
the grounds of the Balvennie distillery to finish amongst the traditional white
painted buildings of the Glenfiddich distillery. As I was pretty glad to reach
the end I have to confess I wasn’t too disappointed that the race was short by
about half a mile but the lack of accurately measured race distance was
certainly a problem for some even though the race information had stated that the
distances were approximate. I think some of the complainers were those aiming
for membership of the 100 marathon club and because this race fell short of the
required 26.2 miles then it didn’t count. The 10k runners got more for their
entry fee with an 11k course. The complaints seemed a little ill thought out.
It’s a point to point trail race where the organisers have to bus the runners
to the start point. It seems unlikely that the organisers are going to find an
appropriate start point where they easily can park three 52 seater coaches at
EXACTLY 26.2 or 31.1 miles.
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| Quite glad to be nearing the finish line (cc Dramathon website) |
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| I won a prize! |
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| Simon won a prize too |
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| And so did Bert |
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| Winners in the marathon race |
The course seemed to be predominantly flat
although the Garmin print out seems to suggest a gradual uphill climb uphill climb
between 7.5 miles and then end which possibly explains my gradual slowing and
happily for the most part the promised deluge of rain didn’t materialise except
for an impressive 5 minute downpour mid race.
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| It was worth it for the Glenfiddich cake |
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| Race booty |
Like many of these events not organised by
traditional running clubs and featuring complex logistics and large numbers of
competitors it was quite expensive but not prohibitively so and the concept of
a Dramathon with its distillery setting was well worth it. As was the post race
coffee and Glenfiddich cake in the distillery café. We stayed around for the
prize giving and it was fortunate that we did so as Bert, Simon and myself all
won prizes and Kirsty and Jeni also won prizes in the marathon.
The
Monymusk Hilly Half Marathon
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| Monymusk honey - my prize for going the wrong way |
It does exactly what it says on the tin. It
is hilly. And it’s a half marathon. Well, sort of.
I had done a fast (all things are relative)
4k cross country the day before and I was surprised how stiff my legs felt in
the first mile although I didn’t just attribute this only to running the cross
county but also driving the 5 or so hour round trip to and from Cumbernauld. I
felt as though I could barely get moving as I ran through the long grass in the
field and the section of country lane but once the climb proper started my legs
gradually came back to life. Good thing too as I was freezing and shivering on
the start line, the wind was pretty chilly, and I really needed to get running
to warm up.
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| Race route |
The wide track through the forest on Cairn
William hill is a runnable gradient and so there was no excuse for walking and
my body temperature had now reached a comfortable level. As I reached the edge
of the forest and neared the open hillside I was met by a runner coming down
off the hill on a path to the right. She was stressing a bit and saying that
she couldn’t see anyone on the path ahead and asking if she was going the right
way. As far as I could tell the course markings indicated that it was the right
path so I said yes it was, although with a confidence I did not feel. But lets
face it, if you say anything with enough confidence folk will believe you.
Suffice to say I was mighty glad to spot another runner in the distance up ahead
after following the path for a few hundred yards. This narrow track led to the
summit of Cairn William and we descended the hill via the “zig zags”. The photos below were all taken the following day on a wee hill walk over Cairn William.
At the path junction at the bottom of the
zig zags there was a wee crowd of supporters including Ian, Gillian and their 3
dogs. There was also a large yellow arrow pointing in the direction of the race
route which for some inexplicable reason I looked straight at then ran in the
opposite direction until Ian called me back. I think maybe I was trying to
follow the Cairn William race route. My efforts won me a spot prize of a tub of
Monymusk honey basically for being the first eejit to go the wrong way. Just goes
to show how being an eejit can pay off – although I was very lucky that Ian was
there to redirect me or I could have had a slightly longer day out than
planned.
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| Me heading off in the wrong direction (cc Ian Cran) |
Inevitably Ian Hamilton, my hill running
nemesis, had passed me at speed on the descent of Cairn William and I could see
him up ahead as I ran down the road and then onto the riverside path before
dipping under the stone bridge where Ewen was doing a sterling job of stopping
runners from falling into the river. It was a narrow stone ledge under the
bridge that had to be negotiated and as far as I know nobody took an icy
plunge.
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| (cc Ewen Rennie) |
Eventually a narrow footpath led to the
finish line in Monymusk and back to the village hall for the huge array of
cakes and soup that was on offer for the runners. I believe this race is only
put on every second year so sadly it will be a bit of a wait for the next
edition. It was actually short of the full half marathon distance but as the
competitors were in the main all hill runners rather then the “runners world”
types there were no complaints. And I don’t fancy their chances if they had
complained!
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| Cakes for after the run. Well it was Halloween after all |
The
Water of Leith half marathon
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| Jim Bruce leading Simon astray |
Like the Heb halfs this has become an
annual pilgrimage for me. Founded by Jim Bruce as a cure for Heb half runners
going cold turkey over the lack of Heb halfs in the winter Jim was again taking
part – when he wasn’t trying to lead Simon astray with amazing whiskies. The
race itself was under new management with Andy and Angus taking over from Peter
Buchanan and doing a fine job of bringing their own management style, brand of humour
and ethos to the event. Peter had retired as organiser after quite a few years
of sterling work and was making the most of the opportunity to compete too. To
top it all off he won the race and was part of the winning team.
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| The startline (cc Andy and Angus, the race organisers) |
I was set off with 2 other runners. One was
dropped during the first (ever too slightly fast for my liking) mile but I had
a right battle on my hands with the second runner until the very final mile. It
was a much warmer day for the event than it has been in previous years which
makes me feel better on the start line rather than standing shivering while
waiting to get going. I was feeling tired after a fairly miserable week at work
but the tiredness seemed to leave me during the race. The miles went by quickly
enough and it seemed to be no time at all before we were running along the new
tarmac footpath around Murrayfield and unlike last year where I was overtaken
by a steady procession of runners this year I seemed to be the one doing the
overtaking and you have to admit it, its always good for the morale. I should
mention that this is a handicap race based on your predicted time for a half
marathon hence the overtaking and the being overtaken. It was also handy to
have folk up ahead when you weren’t too sure of the route.
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| Starting off (cc P Buchanan) |
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| The startline |
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| An uphill start - but not for long |
Other changes to the route included a
flight of steps taking us up the river bank away from the river due to a path
closure. There were 116 of these steps so I was reliably informed by one runner
but its got to be said that counting them wasn’t foremost in my mind as I
wobbled my way towards the top. I saw these steps as a chance to make a break
away from the runner who had started with me but by the time we reached the
road at the top my legs were jelly from trying so hard and she trotted off past
me into the distance. Meh! The route changes meant that this race was a little over the half marathon distance, I made it 13.4 miles but others garmins showed 13.6 miles. I really dont fancy anyones chances if they tried to complain about this to the race organisers!
With it being such a nice day the path was
full of dog walkers – a few of whom seemed to be clueless about the concept of
keeping their animals under control thus adding some additional furry obstacles
to the route. This left one runner finishing the race with a bashed up knee and
split lip due to falling over a dog.
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| Nearing the finish |
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| The Water of Leith soup kitchen |
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| Simon takes on a new role as sales rep for Lucy Colquhoun's new business enterprise... |
Eventually I got past my close competitor
again and broke away in the last mile or so but was running scared, convinced
she was going to come back at me. The final stretch when the shore at Leith
comes into sight always seems to go on for ever but once through the finish
line you are greeted with homemade soup, bread, tea and cakes all courtesy of
Eric who makes the trip every year form Newtonmore to man the Water of Leith
soup kitchen. This year Simon was assisting while also doing a great sales job
of promoting Lucy Colquhoun’s new range of runner’s snacks in Lucy’s absence.
He was muttering about asking for commission.
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| The prize giving |
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| Jim Bruce collects his prize |
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| My prize |
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| Peter Buchanan collects his prize... |
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| and was part of the winning team |
The prize giving was in the pub as always
and my prize as first lady was a bottle of prosecco. For the avoidance of doubt
I hasten to add I was first lady across the finish line in the handicap not
first in terms of being the fastest runner. Happily I was within a minute of my
predicted time so nobody can accuse me of being a bandit but it probably means
I will be handicapped out of sight next year to ensure no future victory. Oh
well.
