After some uncertainty earlier in the year, the Cademuir Rollercoaster was finally given the green light to go ahead and no doubt gladdening the 100 race-hungry runners who turned up to take on one of the two Rollercoasters on offer. It was a great success with the biggest fields yet and some highly competitive racing as the race incorporated the Scottish Junior Hill Racing Championships.
Of course, the race would not go ahead without the organisation behind the scenes. A big THANK YOU to Gregor Nicholson for being the main organiser, Eddie Balfour and Kenneth Davidson for course marking, Jennifer and Milan Misak on Registration, the finish team of Alan MacDonald, Ross Grieve, Lucy Colquhoun and Charlotte Clare (with Alan and Ross also on gazebo erection), Jacob Adkin and Nigel Shekleton for sweeping, marshals Wilson Lee, Martin Holt, Pete Hall, Mike Goddard, and Tim Warner, Dave Cairns as referee, Anne Weir from the Limpers as First Aid, Cademuir Farm and Wemyss & March Estates for land use, everyone who helped tidy up and bring everything back in, and not forgetting Franco's for their support.
3km Course (inc junior U15 Champs)
Conditions were good on both courses with the under 13s and 15s running a 3km circuit up and around the western edge of Cademuir Forest.
Great effort put in at the front of the pack with the first 4 runners withing 15 seconds of each other.
Iwan Thomas (Carmarthen Harriers), first back, taking the honours and coming in with a new record time of 11.44. This is Iwan’s second run on the Rollercoaster, having run a tweaked 3.5k coursed last year. Leading the group for the girls was Cerys Wright (Team East Lothian) who as an U13 came in ahead of all the U15 girls and in the process, creating a new record of 13.38!
First Moorfoot back was Luke Grieve who came back in 14.18. Good running too from Robert Horton and Austen Williams in their first ever hill races and a solid performance from Elena Lee.
6km Course (inc junior U17 & U20 Champs)
The Scottish Athletics website describes the 6km race (around 1000ft of climb) as ‘enjoyably challenging’ Challenging – yes, but those who were wondering why their calves had melted at the top of ‘the steep bit’ may be requesting the insertion of an adverb firmer than ‘enjoyably’.
At the start, the tension was high with the bright orange line barely containing the eager U17s and U20s, who on the word go, were off at a blistering pace. The pace continued throughout the 1000 ft of climbing, so much so, that the eventual winner, Sam Griffin (Aberdeen AAC) was only 1 second off James Dunn’s record 2019 time of 25.14.
A good showing from Moorfoots with 8 running. Scout Adkin in her Moorfoot colours romped it - taking 4th place overall and in the process wiping 3 minutes off the previous best woman’s time in 26.14.
Winners’ medals were presented by hill running doyenne, Angela Mudge.
Special mention to David Waldie, in his first Moorfoot outing, managing to finish the race despite losing a shoe to the Cademuir quag with 600m to go.
Also, to race organiser Gregor Nicholson and his crew of registration, marshals, timekeepers, course markers and sweepers who made for a successful hosting of the event.
(Incidentally, one of this year’s sweepers was Jacob Adkin (reigning European Mountain Running Champion) and he is reputed to have repped the full ‘steep bit,’ from the road, 8 times in a row – ouch!
Results
3km Results Here
6km Results Here
Photos
3km photos here by Colin Williams
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/al5hh5jwoq2u0o9/AAB-NotUUpWSUx99jIVw3QJ6a?dl=0
6km course photos here thanks to Michael Philp
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=michaelphilpphotos&set=a.989994268467410
More photos by Jacob Adkin who was sweeping both races https://photos.app.goo.gl/nh4s8hBTuFo5fNkb8
(Burnie Caffs)
2 comments:
I deny all responsibility for Jacob once doing eight "hell reps" from the road to the top and causing his mum to be thinking about phoning the polis 'cos he'd been gone so long. I maybe said see if you can manage one or two more than the usual four, but eight?! Mind you Scout once did six.
Who's up for the challenge? Running all the way though!
err - I can't even do a half one without walking so not sure I'm able to take on that challenge!
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