(1.8km, 310m descent)
Digby stood atop Caerketton east cairn at 7pm on Wednesday, in pole position, with the weight of the Scottish downhill running community literally on his shoulders. Sixty athletes followed at 15 second intervals, along the ridge to Hillend Hill before plummeting down the slopes, of varying gradient, to the finish by the main road below.
The pre-race favourites were the Gilmour brothers Andrew and Iain, with Andrew the course record holder and Iain fresh from 2 victories out of 2 in the Get a Grip downhill running series. In the end Iain unfortunately turned an ankle shortly after departing from the summit cairn (recover well Iain!), leaving Andrew to head the field once again, finishing first in a time of 5min 14sec. Nine seconds adrift was the dominant downhilling veteran Gary Fraser of Ochils, with Alex McVey close on his heels in 3rd. Alex looked exhausted both before and afterwards, no surprise given his Alternative Carnethy 5 efforts, so it was a fine performance! Steven Fallon lead home a very competitive vet 50 category, and Bob Waterhouse led home the vet 60 category, only 9 seconds outside his own record. David Elder of Lomonds was first junior, in 4th place overall, and definitely one to watch in the downhills next year.
Fiona Kelsall of Ochils was under pressure to deliver a fine performance to overtake Lizzie Knox of Anster Haddies in the Get a Grip series. She duly delivered the win overall and pipped Lizzie to the Get a Grip title. Lizzie tied for second on the night with her sister Rosie. Nicola Dunn was first Carnethy, not far behind the Knox sisters, and Cali Ingham first vet 60.
Thirteen juniors (under 14) toed the line for the race from the gate/knoll down to the finish. Ethan Elder of Moorfoots smashed the course record, posting a performance that would be close to matching the speed of the front end seniors. First Carnethy was Andrew Nash in second place, also inside the record, and first girl, not far behind Andrew, in 3rd overall was Anna Burnett. Well done all the juniors!
One new element to this year’s race was the presence of Jeff Roberts and friends who filmed the race using drones and go-pros, so watch this space for a Carnethy blockbuster!
The prize giving was as entertaining as ever with a spread of delights on offer (and there’s over 50% chance of winning something!).
Finally my thanks (and from all those running) goes to the helpers, and in particular the Nimmo’s who manage to produce the result with great accuracy and speed. Very much appreciated!
Mark Johnston
Results:
Position | Name | Club | Category | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andrew Gilmore | Carnethy | MS | 05:14 |
2 | Gary Fraser | Ochils | M40 | 05:23 |
3 | Alex McVey | Carnethy | MS | 05:27 |
4 | David Elder | Lomond HR | MJ | 05:29 |
5 | Alex Luetchford | EUH&H | MS | 05:45 |
6 | Mark Johnston | Carnethy | M40 | 05:47 |
7 | Peter Gardner | HBT | MS | 05:55 |
8 | Stuart Brodie | Ochils | MS | 05:57 |
9 | Steven Fallon | Carnethy | M50 | 05:58 |
10 | Liam Braby | Carnethy | MJ | 05:58 |
11 | Thomas Knox | Anster Haddies | MS | 06:03 |
12 | Graham Nash | Carnethy | M40 | 06:03 |
13 | Stephen Beard | Carnethy | MS | 06:04 |
14 | James Harrison | Corstorphine | MS | 06:06 |
15 | Callum Campbell | Corstorphine | MJ | 06:07 |
16 | Duncan Davis | Carnethy | M40 | 06:14 |
17 | Niall Hope | Helensburgh | MS | 06:21 |
18 | Alasdair MacInnes | Westerlands | MS | 06:22 |
19 | Jonny Knox | Anster Haddies | M50 | 06:22 |
20 | Stewart Whitlie | Carnethy | M50 | 06:24 |
21 | Neil Burnett | Carnethy | M40 | 06:25 |
22 | Stephen Addison | Corstorphine | MJ | 06:31 |
23 | Matthew Jones | Carnethy | MS | 06:31 |
24 | Neil Gilmore | Carnethy | M50 | 06:31 |
25 | Michael Greens | Penicuik | MJ | 06:34 |
26 | Huw Vaughan-Jackson | HBT | MS | 06:39 |
27 | Neil Chisholm | Unatt | MS | 06:41 |
28 | Bob Waterhouse | Carnethy | M60 | 06:41 |
29 | Neil Colquhoun | EUH&H | MS | 06:43 |
30 | Derek Paton | Carnethy | M40 | 06:44 |
31 | Jamie Brown | HBT | MS | 06:47 |
32 | Alan Elder | Moorfoots | M50 | 06:50 |
33 | Fiona Kelsall | Ochils | F40 | 06:51 |
34 | Neill Mitchell | Fife AC | M40 | 06:52 |
35 | Andy Shepherd | Carnethy | M50 | 06:54 |
36 | Lawrence Sword | Unatt | M40 | 06:54 |
37 | Brian Brennan | Westerlands | M50 | 07:00 |
38 | Alastair Heggie | Carnethy | MS | 07:02 |
39 | Simon Titmuss | Carnethy | M40 | 07:05 |
40 | Iain Whitaker | Rotherham H & AC | MS | 07:08 |
41 | Chris Downie | Penicuik | M50 | 07:10 |
42 | David Duncan | Ochils | M60 | 07:12 |
43 | Gordon Camerson | Carnethy | M50 | 07:25 |
44 | Fergus Campbell | Corstorphine | MJ | 07:44 |
45 | Rosie Knox | Anster Haddies | FJ | 07:47 |
46 | Lizzie Knox | Anster Haddies | FJ | 07:47 |
47 | Nicola Dunn | Carnethy | F40 | 07:55 |
48 | Shane Bouchier | Carnethy | MS | 08:04 |
49 | David Harrington | Carnethy | M40 | 08:04 |
50 | Charlie Cameron | Corstorphine | MJ | 08:07 |
51 | Jessica Husband | EUH&H | FS | 08:20 |
52 | Hugh McPherson | Tinto HR | M60 | 08:21 |
53 | Digby Maass | Carnethy | M60 | 08:44 |
54 | Kenny Gunn-Russell | Run 4 It | M60 | 09:04 |
55 | Lynsey Struthers | Unatt | FS | 09:08 |
56 | Cali Ingham | Carnethy | F60 | 09:46 |
57 | Willie Gibson | Carnethy | M50 | 09:46 |
58 | Ian Campbell | HBT | M50 | 10:00 |
59 | Kat Brack | Lasswade | FS | 10:18 |
60 | Heather Bell | Carnethy | F50 | 13:45 |
61 | Senna Khalaf | Carnethy | FS | 17:38 |