Alan’s View
In its 35th 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
For reference…….
THE 36TH 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
