A sunny weekend spent outside

After a physically and quite emotionally draining weekend conquering my 22nd Munro, I was ready for a quieter weekend.

Fresh air was certainly required though, and it came in abundance.

The 15th of February brought the 45th Tiso Carnethy 5 Hill Race, the biggest hill race in Scotland and an event that has been on my doorstep for years without me fully appreciating its scale. In recent years my parents have assisted in marshaling the event, under the guidance of former competitor and lead marshal Alun.

I wanted to try and get involved this year, and found myself standing at the gate at the base of Carnethy Hill, where the participants run through after their start and on the way to Scald Law, and on their final descent to the finish. Alun had advised me it was a good spot to spectate, and he was not wrong.

First up was the juniors race, and I was in awe of these wee boys and girls toughing it out on a typically wild Scottish day. Saturday morning had started very wet indeed, after snow on Valentine's Day (and a wee power cut for us in Stow!). It wasn't the day to be standing out in the freezing cold, let alone running up and down five of the Pentland's finest. Thankfully by 2pm the sun had come out and the rain had let off. It was freezing though.

 

Flag by the gate

Then it was time for the main event to begin. In the distance I could hear the bagpipes playing at the start line, and all of a sudden they were off. It was quite a sight to see the masses of runners coming towards us, the bright colours of their lycra getting closer and closer.

 

 

 

 

Once through the gate, the 500 runners continued on the path before heading up Scald Law. It must have been absolutely brutal, but from a gates-eye-view it was impressive to see the lycra train snaking its way up the Pentland's highest peak.

(I was actually trying to take a photo of the cute Border Terrier here)

I was humbled and impressed by these amazing athletes. What was also very impressive was the camaraderie on display and the warm welcome I experienced - as a complete stranger - to this event. I ended up staying by the gate for the next couple of hours, very much enjoying the banter shared amongst spectators, photographers, former competitors and marshals.

It didn't seem long at all until the first runners appeared over the top of Carnethy hill. Orlando Edwards and Finlay Wild looked to be battling it out for the lead, with Orlando ahead when he reached the gate, and all the way to the finish. His time was 51 minutes - apparently a slower time than usual given the conditions - which I found astonishing.

After that a steady stream of runners came hurtling down Carnethy, and I found it quite nerve-wracking watching them speed down this steep descent. There were a few tumbles but most just let the momentum take them.

 

Once the sun had gone down behind us, it felt extremely chilly indeed, and I realised I was frozen. I took a wee walk halfway up Carnethy, trying to warm up a bit.

I was asked numerous times if I was a runner and for much of Saturday I wished that I was. Not that I fancied competing in such a mad event, but because it seemed like a friendly and welcoming world to be a part of. I will stick to walking but I left the Pentlands feeling that my horizons had been broadened, and I'd had an insight into the world of hill running.

Meanwhile my mum had been over on West Kip, building snowmen:

(I can't find who took this photo to credit them, but it appears on the Carnethy Hill Race page: http://www.carnethy.com/index.html#February)

It was a brilliant day spent in the sunshine and very fresh air of the Pentlands.

There's links to some fantastic photos on that Carnethy page (http://www.carnethy.com/index.html#February) and I very much enjoyed reading the blog linked to on that page, from one of the runners (http://athousandwindsthatblow.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/carnethy-5-2014.html)

I was delighted to also get a wee walk in the next day, a local walk round the hills of Stow with Dave and friend Gibson. We extended a walk we did when we first moved here, and made sure to include the rope swing we found back in October.

It was a crisp clear sunny Sunday spent in the hills of the Borders - braw.

 

 

 

So no more Munros for a good few weeks, but I'll need to keep my (lagging) fitness up for another 6 Munros before April 10th, and also for some walking in County Wicklow at the end of March...more about that soon.

I realised on the way up Stob a'Choire Odhair that I'd gone from walking 15 miles a week to commuting 15 hours a week, and that lifestyle change has had a big impact on my fitness. The weather has given me a good excuse for lack of activity recently, but as the days start drawing out I hope the weather will start to improve and I'll get some miles under my belt....watch this space.