Bog & Burn - part 2 ...

Cort ma Law Hill Race (6mi 1700ft – AM)

… post 70 Wild Miles and motivation was lagging. In fact it was blown completely. As a result, the Ben Shean race was binned in favour of fast food, beer and rest. From discussions regarding conditions, I am glad. One guy even commented it was like a “midge last supper thinly disguised as a hill race”!

A week later and the world seemed a better place … the legs seemed much better as well. The Campsies are just to the north of Glasgow and can be seen from most parts of the city. Whilst I have walked in them a fair bit, it had never really crossed my mind to run in them - mainly due to the boggy nature of the bits I did know. The Cort ma Law Hill Race starts from the Campsie Glen car park on the Lennoxtown to Fintry road. A very pleasant warm wind kept the midges at bay. The race route follows the ridge line up to Lairs before heading over Cort ma Law itself. It then continues onto Lecket hill from which you follow the fence line to a marshall before dropping down into a fairly deep gully. The last significant climb takes you back onto the ridge where you retrace your upward route back to the car park and finish.

A quick race briefing and we were off. The first 1km is steep but on good short grass. Once onto more level ground the pace increased - only being dropped when trying to choose a line through the small bogs that seemed to be every few hundred metres. I was just holding position when just after Lairs I went into deep into bright green bog. Thankfully only one leg was sunk up the short line but it took me the best part of a minute to pull free – by which time two folks had passed. A few minutes later I regained a place when one of the guys did the exact same in another bog. From that point on we both were a little more cautious ! Over Lecket Hill …it was time for a little more effort. The descent into the gully was fantastic fun – big grassy tussocks that allowed you to go as hard as you could “safe” in the knowledge that even if you were running slowly …you couldn’t see where your feet were going anyway! Starting to climb out the gully was murder – a steep traverse line that the calf muscles did not like at all. Still this section is just less than 1km and the easiest way to get it over with is to keep moving forwards (the same applies for most crap in life). Back on the ridge is was almost all downhill to the finish. It sounds silly but the best line was not immediately apparent (to me anyway). I thought things were going fine until I looked left and saw to runners (who I thought were a safe distance behind me) running parallel but maybe 50m to the left…apparently I was too far to the right. I started to correct my line but it was too late. One guy was well gone and the other not far behind ! Crossing the line was good – my legs and lungs had about all they were up for. Once again, Moira was there to provide support (and my fleece).



In pursuit of a westie !

Bog & Burn - part 1 ...

"Ah, the summer time is coming, and the tree's are sweetly blooming , and the wild mountain thyme, all around the blooming heather"
Bog and Burn,the new Rock 'n Roll

The Bog & Burn race series comprises of a number (10 this year) of midweek evening hill races. To qualify for a place in the overall series you must run a minimum of 4. Usually the Polaroid 10k races dominate midweek activities, but for a wee change I thought it would be good to do something new …

Kinnoull Hill Race (4miles 800ft – CS)
Having persuaded the fair Moira that a Wednesday evening in Perth would be fun, we headed north on the A9 in torrential rain – not a good start. As contingency, her Mum & Dad were driving over from Newport to keep her company. Registration done I headed up to the start. I began to get concerned over my choice of shoes – I was in Inov8 Mudroc fell shoes and the majority of folks (mostly wearing Perth Road Runners vests – surely the locals knew the route ?!?!?) were in either trail or road shoes. A good crowd of about 100 runners lined up in the ongoing rain. The start was fast … very fast. The pace was maintained by some as we headed up the first steep hill. The route is on trails but due to the amount of water these were fairly muddy – I was glad of the extra grip. As the field spread out a small group of us seemed to have one of those “overtake on the ascent then get overtaken on the descent” – I can only assume that those who were strong on the up and down … were well ahead. The last steep descent down towards the finish was fun – I even managed to raise a laugh from fellow runners when I stopped briefly to give the Moira a wee kiss (which freaked my sister who was on the mobile to her at the time).

Kilpatricks Hill Race (6 miles 1400ft ascent – BM)
Another wet Wednesday evening – thankfully the rain was off by the time registration opened (although it was replace by midges). With the added incentive of a nightshift following the race I was keen to start. The course looked good – nice mix of fairly steep ascent / track / grassy ridge with some wet bog type stuff thrown in. With the short road section over and heading up the open hill side the pace slowed and it was hands on knees quickstep with short sections of running where possible. Topping out onto the Braes the angle eased and it was possible to start properly again. Confidence in the inov8 shoes continued to grow on the first descent down to the Humphrey track. Sometime during the section between Loch Humphrey & the Greenside reservoir a wee sparring contest began between myself and another runner. This continued as we climbed up the Slacks and past the trig point – the other guy was a far better descender than me and the gap continued to open until we were on the last road section where I appeared to be closing … a little. In the end we both overtook one other runner but I couldn’t catch him. Upon finishing we thanked each other for the sport on the hill. He also showed me the reason for his slowing on the road …a loose lace !



Heading up the road ... to the hill !

Turned out that Helen Palmer (the lass who came down to the 2004 KIMM with Big Lee and myself) was also running. It was a pleasant surprise to find she was also only two places in front !

A week off the hill races with 70 wild miles to look forward to …