Scott goes continental!

Congratulations to Scott McDonald who won the M50 prize at Schienerberglauf, a 20km trail race with 450m ascent on the Swiss - German border, running strongly and finishing 5th overall in the fast time of 1:23:07. Scott's 100% record continues since becoming a Vet 50 with 3 out of 3!

He was rewarded with a basket of fish, cheese, eggs, bread, jam, carrots, peppers, courgette, an apple, cherries, gooseberries, noodles, and a cucumber!

 

Full results here

Calderglen Trail Races report

Kenny & Mhairi Davidson and Colin Williams took part on the Calderglen Trail Races on Friday night. It's Kenny's old club from before he moved back to Peebles. Mhairi was off first in the 5km and Colin and Kenny did the 10km. The race takes place in Calderglen Country Park on the edge of East Kilbride and is very picturesque and technically very challenging in places with lots of short steep descents and digs, and natural obstacles - roots, trees, puddles and rocks along with a big dose of steps thrown in.

Mhairi did very well completing the 5km in 24:29 as the 6th Female (and 1st and only Junior Female)

In the 10km Colin finished in 40:58 in 14th overall and 7th MVet, while Kenny clocked 43:41 and was 4th M50 (27th overall). Good sandwich and biscuit spread afterwards too! It was my (Colin's) first race in 3 months so felt good to give it a go.

Photos courtesy of Kenny Phillips



Hopefully Colgate will want to sponsor me now

Eildons 3 Hills Race 2017, aka ‘The Race of Dust’, 24th June

Here's Pete Hall's race report:

 

Race day for this years Eildons 3 Hills Race was a regular summers day in Scotland – nice, warm, a slight breeze with no rain and no midgies.  Gods Own Country indeed!  It was also Beltane Saturday and was part of my ‘escape from the Beltane’ plan.

 

The race starts and finished on the sports green in Melrose, opposite the Greenyards rugby ground and is part of the Melrose Games Day, with 91 runners taking part this year.  As the gun went, the field took off around the field and headed up through Melrose to the start of the main climb to the summit of Eildon Hill North.  Knowing this was going to be a stiff and fast start and also knowing it takes me a mile or two to get into my racing, I hung back and prepared myself for a solid climb to the top, my strategy being to really start racing once I got the first climb out of the way.  The field soon strung itself out and we were single-file up this calf burner of a hill, through head high gorse and soon onto the loose scree towards the top.  At this point it was heads down, looking at the person in fronts heels, trying not to let gaps grow.  At the top, the Borders Search and Rescue Unit were attending the first race casualty of the day – this could become a race of attrition.

 

As we hit the top we also hit that ‘slight breeze’ and the dust storm being blown up the hill.  True to plan I started to lift it over the top for the descent to Eildon Wester Hill and started to work my way through the field.  Wester Hill was ‘bagged’ and the pace lifted again to head back to the final climb of Eildon Mid Hill (whoever named these hills ran out of imagination J ).  By this point I was going past people as if I was still in my twenties…finally a good race but no sign of my nemesis, a certain Mr Alan Elder?!  Unfortunately (or fortunately) for me he was taking part in the Beltane Sports Day the day after – from hill running to track sprinting, he’s a man of many talents!

 

The final climb saw me put more distance into the following group as it was a head down, hands on thighs, vest blown over the head sprint up to the summit, followed by a classic rocky, dusty, loose hard descent chasing the next group.  Off the hill and heading back into town, vaulting fences to find good lines and the final climb of 15 stone steps to hit Melrose  (and trust me, these steps hurt!), all the while battling with Tommy Knox from Gala Harriers.  Upping the pace as we headed back through Melrose towards the sports field, I was gapped by Tommy as he put 7 valuable seconds into me in the final 200 meters or so.  Race done and time for a sit down.

 

Up front, Gavin Bryson from Edinburgh AC won by over a minute in 35:58 with Kirst Wilson of Gala Harries claiming First Lady in 43:28.   I came in at 49:58 in 38^th place, 8^th MV50.  There’s some classy runners out there in all age groups.  No other Moorfoots were racing, more than likely due to the Beltane celebrations.

 

Pete

 

Results here: http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0065&Year=2017

Route: https://www.strava.com/activities/1051935018/overview

 

 

Local races in the coming months

It's the time of year when there locals races that may appeal to member almost every week.
Two races are organised by the club - the Cademuir Rollercoaster in mid August, and then the Junior Home International Hill Race (Teams from Scotland, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales competing at Under 17 and Under 20s) over the same course a month later, and requests for help will come closer to the time.

04/07/17 Earlston Black Hill Race, Tues night 7pm. Enter on the day http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0229
11/07/17 Moffat Gala Run 15km Road Race, Tues night 7.15pm. Entrycentral https://www.entrycentral.com/moffatrun
15/07/17 Lee Pen Hill Race, St Ronans Games, Innerleithen, Saturday 2pm. Enter on the day. MOORFOOT HELPING http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0149
16/07/17 Kelso 10km, Sunday 11.00am. Entrycentral https://www.entrycentral.com/kelso10k
06/08/17 Philiphaugh Hill Race, Selkirk. Sunday 11:00am http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0272
12/08/17 Cademuir Rollercoaster, Peebles, Saturday 2.30pm. Enter on the day  MOORFOOT ORGANISED RACE http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0316
19/08/17 West Linton Running Festival, Half Marathon, 2pm; 10 mile, 2.15pm; 10 km, 3pm; 5km, 3.30pm. https://www.facebook.com/groups/moorfootrunners/permalink/1861465354115425/
27/08/17 Baddinsgill Round, nr West Linton, Sunday 12 noon. http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0294
27/08/17 Teviotdale Harriers 10k & Jogscotland 5k, Hawick, Sunday 1pm. https://www.entrycentral.com/festival/1185
10/09/17 Peebles Duathlon, Gytes. Sunday 9am http://www.liveborders.org.uk/peeblesduathlon
16/09/17 Junior Home International Hill Race, Cademuir, Peebles. Saturday MOORFOOT ORGANISED RACE https://www.facebook.com/JHI2017/
17/09/17 Lilliesleaf 10km Trail Race. Saturday https://www.facebook.com/lilliesleaf10k

23/09/17 Two Breweries Hill Race, Traquair. Saturday 12 noon. http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0103

07/10/17 Tunnel Trail Run, Peebles. Saturday 10am. http://www.tunneltrailrun.com/
14/10/17 Manor Water Hill Race, nr Peebles. Satruday 1pm. http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0106

Scout and Jacob Adkin representing Scotland at the Junior Hill International in 2012 - 5 yrs ago now!

Lucy on BBC 2 Adventure Show Tues 27 June 7pm - winning the Kintyre Way Ultra

Lucy Colquhoun is featured on the BBC 2 Adventure Show tonight with the Kintyre Way Ultra where she was first woman and finished second overall!

Programme details here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08ww2ty or watch on iplayer after if you are training!!



Event info here: http://www.kintyreway.com/ultra/ and results: http://www.kitst.co.uk/kwu-2017-run.html

Summer Solstice Social - Tues 20-June

Next week sees the longest day of the year, so the Moorfoot Tuesday training group (auld yins) are planning a slightly extended evening run, followed by refreshments back at the Bridge Inn.

Meet at Kingsmeadows car park in Peebles for 6:30pm as usual

Route - up river towards Lyne, before the 'ups and downs' of Black Meldon, White Meldon and Hamilton Hill before returning to the Bridge Inn.

It's about 10 miles (16Km), slow/steady pace and will be punctuated with frequent stops; should be back at the pub by 8:30pm. Would probably suggest that you bring a windproof jacket as it can be a bit blowy on the tops. All welcome...

A few options:

The full social - 6:30pm start, full route and pub

The half social - 6:30pm start - if you need to be back early, join us until Lyne and then run back via the Tweed path

The sneeky wee social - see you in the pub at 8:30pm

Footnote:
Tues 20-June is the Children's Beltane Sports
There will be no dancing around bonfires during this event

Durisdeer Hill Race 2017

I had hoped to run the Slioch Horseshoe on June 10^th but I had already driven a lang whang the weekend before – and had to be at Grangemouth for just after 4.00 p.m. So with a 12.00 kick off, I decided to run at Durisdeer instead. It’s just over 4000 feet of climb and just over 9 miles in distance (for those who are still in Europe – Bonjour tout le monde - 1240m et 14.7km)

It’s a kind of in-the-middle-of-nowhere place on the map but has ancient origins and a really interesting old church dating from before 1394 – with Roman camps before then.

It’s in the church where registration takes place. The weather on the way though is miserable – but still around 12 degrees – so comfortably foul.

Around the start line, spirits are high and I catch up with Andy C. He tells me he has run the race in 1 hour 45 minutes in the past. I am impressed – I am confident we won’t be sharing a post-race cup of potato soup!

With the under clemency of the weather, most are in their wet suits – gore-texed up and ready to roll. Some are in vests. An ADAC runner gives us the non-nonsense pre-race chat – explaining the severity of getting lost on the hills ahead.

There is a restrained charge to the first burn crossing and Andy C is up in the lead group. On the climb up to Black Hill (531m) groups split as some contour and others take a direct route over the summit. I contour with another 8 or 10 runners.  Around 200m, visibility really starts to deteriorate. The mist is some of the thickest I have been in. It is a long, soggy climb to the summit and by this time the wind is howling around the trig point and marshals are struggling to stay upright. One is wrestling with a survival tent – the wind had them in a Half Nelson when I passed!

On the top, twin tracks run in all directions merging, diverging and generally making choices difficult to make. With visibility down to 5-10 meters it is a challenging situation.

I have been very fortunate and spotted a ‘Solway’ vest on the way up through the clag – not too distant from here….

‘You run this one before’? I ask. ‘ Aye’ it’s ma local run’, came the answer. And so a stalker I became.

The descent from Pettylung (463m) to the road is rough and steep but I am down in one piece and heading for the loop around Steygail (573m). This looked runnable on the map but features some major contouring, climb and – in my case – many burn crossings.

On the route up to the road past Upper Dalveen, I manage to overtake 3 or 4 runners and am soon on the steep climb/traverse up Well Hill. This is tough in the whiteness. I am still stalking my local guide. It is hard to keep in touch at times but the alternative is quite scary. I have no clue where I am.

There is a Trahenna-like clamber up to the top of Well Hill  (606m) and eventually we are at the top. I then mistake this for the last hill and decide that it is time for the downhill charge.

I take off following a never ending fence line – checking now and then that I can still see the blur of my guide behind me. Around this point we catch up with five runners who are all consulting maps and trying to figure the route down in the whistling haze. We pass them and are soon on the ‘actual’ last climb. Over this and I can remember the route back down Black Hill to the church.

I charge off in pursuit of a Westie but get my foot caught in a fence and miss the opportunity to catch him.

It’s a good run down through the mist over the burn and eventually to the church.

Andy C is back and changed by the time I get there. Dry clothes, soup, tea, numerous cakes and a bag of salty crisps and I am off to Grangemouth.

Andy went round in 2:07 – about 25 minutes down on his best. He did admit to getting lost 4 times! It turns out he ran an extra mile and climbed an extra 800 feet. Andy came in in 8^th place - Around his best time – he would have been 3^rd.

I managed round in 2.26 and 17^th place. 36 ran – the limit is 40.

The race was won by Graham Gristwood – International orienteering champ. The conditions would present no problems, as these guys are taught to read a compass in one hand, dismantle an AK47 in the other, while reciting the Korean alphabet backwards.

Perhaps training for the summer!

Results here