On Saturday morning five Carnethies squeezed into Liam’s car and set off for the bonny bonny banks of loch lomond. There was much discussion of PBs, foot path stumbles and even the results of the Scottish parliamentary election. The shuttle bus ride from the car park at Balmaha to Rowardennan ensured there were no queues for kit check and number pick up (or maybe it was because we were there 1.5 hours before the start). More chat about when and in what form caffeine should be consumed before a race. After near constant time checks by Jim H it was finally time for a quick warm up jog, an even shorter race briefing and we were off. Predictably it was a lot of up and then a lot of down (~8 miles and 960 m of climbing). The course managed to veer off the footpath in a few areas making for interludes of grassy/boggy ascents/descents. In the end we were rewarded with a dip in the loch (I only waded in) and soup (Jim said it was veggie but I didn’t try) and rolls (I had more than fill of these). All in all a great race with wonderful views from the top.
On Sunday Willie asked how we (the “Carnethy we”) did. My reply was we were well represented throughout the pack (although I was the one who skewed the distribution to the low side).
Carnethy results:
8 Liam Braby 1:17:11
26 Chris Campbell 1:30:05
32 James Hardie 1:32:31
37 Bruce Smith 1:33:24
40 Alastair Heggie 1:33:49
48 Mike Lynch 1:36:34
91 Sean Walker 1:53:15
Full results: here
Some photos: here
Sean Walker
Alastair Heggie’s report –
On the first Saturday in May 5 Carnethies set off for the Ben Lomond hill race with Liam Braby at the wheel. 2 more joined us at the Rowardennan Hotel where the race was to begin. Liam set off at a fierce pace to finish in 1:17:11, less than 7 minutes off the pace of winner Sam Alexander (Westies). Chris Campbel and Jim Hardie also put in good runs to finish in 1:30:05 and 1:32:31 respectively. Pleasantly cool temperatures and high clouds made good running weather, although a headwind on the summit ridge perhaps meant it wasn’t a day for PBs. The post-race merriment was marred for at least one (anonymous) runner when Mike Lynch’s swinging arm knocked a full cup of scalding hot soup onto his chest. It was my first race of this length, so I was pleased to grimace and grunt my way up the hill and get down without a broken ankle.
Alastair