Ian from work had mentioned this race as being good fun. I had found an excellent wee video from the 2016 race which gave me a good idea of what to expect. Keeping an eye on the weather all week, I could see it might be a bit soft underfoot with a lot of rain on the Thursday and Friday. But race day itself was forecast to be dry.
As I reached Hamilton Street in Tillicoultry, I spotted the usual suspects walking the streets, with others still gearing up in their parked cars. Ian had warned me that the race organisers were fastidious about the kit check, so I made sure to stuff the bag with everything required. Off I went to the Centenary Hall and joined the queue to register. I paid my £5 (fantastic price), showed my bag contents, got my number and scribbled my name & details on a large sheet of paper.
Back to the car, I togged up and then jogged slowly through the village to the Mill Road and up the steps to the start line. There was a growing group of other runners gathering in the morning sunshine, some chatting, some stretching the legs. I just enjoyed the pre-race atmosphere, listening out for wee nuggets of advice and information from the race veterans. Ian turned up and we greeted each other, before queuing for the count through of runners (similar to Meall nan Tarmachan, to ensure no-one disappeared on the hill).
Finally we were off and running, a little later than the 11am schedule. The first km or so were tough going along a very rutted and muddy field, hugging a wall and fenceline. There were very few opportunities to overtake on the slippy slop, so I just stuck behind the runner in front. Suddenly we reached a marshal who turned us 90deg up the hill and everyone slowed to a walk. This separated the men from the boys (literally) and some people really slowed, whilst others disappeared into the distance.
I was roasting now, in my two layers, so took the walking opportunity to strip off to one layer and put it in my pack. During the ascent, I was able to gain approx 10places, and certainly didn't lose any. As soon as the terrain fell back to grassy plateau we were running again and I picked off three or four more places. We trotted across the hill to another marshal and joined a more established track to descend steeply towards 'The Boulder' which would mark the turning point.
The track stretched off into the distance, and I could see runners all along it, some even returning already. I could tell I was well down the field. All too soon, the leader, Josh Boyle came past. A young lad, looking fresh as a daisy, smiling as I wished him well. A big gap to the next place, and then a tide. Angela Mudge zoomed on through, hands on knees looking menacing.
Turn at the boulder, and back up the track now, walking and jogging when possible. I managed to pass some more of the places that had bettered me on the descent, and kept the pace up all the way to the top of the hill. I wasn't looking forward to the final steep descent, but fortunately was a long way ahead my nearest chasers, so only lost two places on this stage. The two that passed me were professional descenders - disengage brains.
I was dismayed to meet the winner re-ascending the hill at this point. He had obviously finished ages ago and was on his warm down, retracing his steps to make us all feel slow! (36mins 50 secs) At the hill bottom, we turned right and headed back through the slop. My thighs were burning and I struggled to reach a decent pace. I tagged onto the heels of a female (Sarah Sheridan) who had passed me, and just managed to overtake on the final few metres.
00:53:17 51/104
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXxRziyfpeY
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