2018: Two Breweries - 3 Vieweries

Alan’s View

In its 35^th incarnation, the Two Breweries Hill Race is no less appealing, enjoyable and downright brutal where you least want it. It’s one of those runs, where as you are hobbling back to where the hot soup lives, you curse every hill and skinny contour, every ill placed stone and reedy bog, as you lament over ill-chosen lines – and you swear (quite audibly) not to venture this way again!

But there is something decidedly lifting to have finished a big, bad one like this. There are bigger and badder ones – but as local ones go, this is quite substantial.

It’s an uncomplicated run (though many who had a mystery tour of Whitelaw Hill this year would disagree!) – One of two halves , the major ascents and descents leading down to Glenrath Farm, then the matter of the firebreak. Once the break is broken – the second half is underway and then you have Trahenna to consider – but that can wait, as you have a long drag through Tarcreish before the heather wall appears!

Once Trahenna has been overcome, there is then the maddening, wonky camber and heathery channels that lead to the top of Ratchill Hill, down which quivering quads succumb to Ratchill's rake. Topped off with a couple of kms of tarmac, this is a long haul for a bottle of beer!

It’s all pretty much run on visible tracks – with three major ‘what’s my line’ sections.

1.     Birkscairn to Glensax

2.     Stob Law to Glenrath

3.     Boat House to Trahenna

But which line? – the routes are well reccied, descents tried and tested, measured and timed and endlessly discussed over ales. Each is open to preference – Heather-louping, grassy ankle-buckling thrashes, grouse butts, fencelines or marsh-wrestling.

With the benefit if GPS (Strava) the ‘fly by’ up Trahenna, in particular, resembles a haywire collection of jumbled, colour threads. Trahenna Routes

A multitude of simultaneous judgements, each convinced that they have the perfect line – but they can’t all be correct!

Perhaps that is the attraction in a race like this, the perfect lines have yet to be discovered and we all keep coming back in search of them – convinced that next year – they will reveal themselves!

My personal experience this year was a better than my previous ones – 15 minutes quicker than last year and a 10 minute best.

A wee mention too for Priorford’s ‘Mr Edge’ who took on, and slayed the beast in his first attempt!

Simon’s View

I'd hoped for 3.30 to 4 hours and was pretty much on target until the descent from Trahenna.  Alan and Colin's recommended line of attack up the south east of Trahenna seemed to work in as much as I seemed not to lose any more places during the ascent; but it was the descent that finished me off.  I was already running on jelly legs but had twisted my already weak left ankle coming down Hundleshope which made the adverse camber on the way down Trahenna impossible to run.  Frustratingly I lost about 10 places (and probably as many minutes) in the last 2km, incl to Craig Walling who bested his cramp to power on past me like the Duracell bunny.  The most enjoyable section was the descent down Dead Wife's Grave when the sun was shining and the gradient easier on the legs.   Other than that I can safely say my lack of preparation, partly through naivety and partly through circumstance, (incl two social events on the Thursday and Friday before the race!) let me down.    In the end I managed 4 hours 6 mins.   I did my best Steve Redgrave impression at the end and promptly told my wife she had permission to shoot me should I ever suggest running it again....only to find myself the very next day plotting how best to run it next year (I've not told her yet)!

Tom’s View

‘My one and only attempt at the Breweries in 2011 left enough scars on the memory for me to discount this most local of races as ‘too hard’ and ‘I’m probably busy that weekend anyway’ – until for some reason this year I took leave of my senses completely and entered the Pentland Skyline (two previous attempts at this in 1998 and 2004). So I thought I’d better get some racing in and there I was standing on the start line at Traquair thinking ‘it’s only 7 years ago I’m sure I can better my last time at this’ and ‘I wish I’d done a proper recce’. Still the weather was good and I was sure there’d be someone to follow.

So having watched the leaders disappear up the road at a ridiculous pace it was on with the slog up to Birkscairn which apart from the head wind passes without event and on Birks Hill I pass Mike Reid of Carnethy and think hmm I’d better ease off a bit. I find a good line off (first time for everything) but am soon passed by Mike as I shuffle down the grouse butts and on to the climb up Hundleshope where I pass Mike again and a few others as well. I continue on finding good lines all the way down to Glenrath but not before Mike flies past me down to the track and I make a mental note to do some descending practice. 

At Glenrath I stop for water and to check legs deciding that I’ve maybe gone a little too hard but too it’s late to worry now and set off map in hand up through the forest. As I approach the Dead Wives I see Mike approaching from the opposite direction and am momentarily thrown by this, stopping to scratch my head. Mike reassures me that he’s made the beginners mistake and not me and continues past retracing his steps to the Whitelaw checkpoint. That’s the last I see of him until the finish although from there he makes very good time and only a few minutes behind me in the end. All goes well until I reach the bridge at Stobo. From here I had a plan to take the same route as last time by turning right onto the track for a little way and then heading up the valley on a bee line for the sheep fold. However pre-race discussion with Alan and Mike (him again) suggested that this route had become overgrown and the wise route was to head to the left of the plantations and towards the small knoll. Good idea I thought I’ll do that then - but with no one in sight to follow I soon end up in a fight with waist high grass and rushes that I rapidly lose.

 In my dreams I eventually make it onto the easy climb to the summit of Trahenna and zoom down the near perfect single track off to the road. Actually I claw my way up wishing I hadn’t been trying to race anyone (especially Mike) and stagger and trip down the minuscule off camber trod that my memory had significantly distorted over the intervening years. Then there’s just the car dodging ‘sprint’ against the clock to the finish which I lose - finishing with my watch showing 3.20 – not bad only four minutes slower than my only other attempt. Oh but then there’s another 2 minutes to add because I had forgotten to turn off the Garmin’s auto pause –maybe not quite so good then.

As I hobble up the road to the village hall I reflect upon my plan to use this race as training and decide that the Breweries is way harder than how I remember the Skyline. Cautious that I may have the rose tinted specs on - I remind myself that I’d better check out that route beforehand’.

First Lad – Andy Fallas

First Lass – Catriona Buchanan

Results - Here

For reference…….

THE 36^TH TWO BREWERIES HILL RACE

A RACE FROM TRAQUAIR HOUSE IN INNERLEITHEN TO BROUGHTON IN THE SCENIC SCOTTISH BORDERS. RACE CATEGORY AL, 30KM / 18 MILES, 1500M / 4900FT ASCENT.

SATURDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2019