Neil Burnett and I headed Skye-ward for this long classic. Only the second year of running, the field was a small one (34), with many no doubt put off by the tales of horror from 2013, where 50% of the field abandoned the race due to the conditions. Saturday morning met us with hot and sunny weather, with the forecast staying that way until around 8pm, so we know that it was going to be a long and hot day. Registration was at Portree High School, and we were bussed to the start at Flodigarry, near Staffin. The route is 27km and 2,000m of climb and we had to find our way through 7 checkpoints:
1. Meall na Suiramach
2. Quiraing
3. Beinn Edra
4. Bealach na Leacaich
5. Sgurr a’ Mhadaidh Ruaidh
6. Cairn on north ridge of The Storr
7. The Storr summit
before descending the ridge at Bealach Beag and a road section to the finish at Storr Lochs Dam.
Mark Nixon of Pudsey & Bramley AC set a new record of 3:11:04 with Diane Baum of Lochaber doing the same with a ladies record of 3:32:17. Neil Burnett had a great run to finish 7th in 3:30:25 and I had a tougher day, coming in 25th in 4:52:34 for an eye-watering SHR percentage.
This is a race that must be experienced. Visually stunning with a surprising number of route options and hidden traps (I fell in a couple of them). Scotland at its best.
Results here:http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceResults.aspx?RaceID=RA-0303&RaceYear=2014
Google + album here: https://plus.google.com/photos/103192130211278661786/albums/6022880256709200161
There’s a lot to say about this race route, so look out for a report in the next edition of the Carnethy Journal.
Mike Lynch