9 Carnethies braved the sweltering heat of the Highlands on Sunday to run the 27 mile Lairig Ghru race from Braemar to Aviemore. I’d forgotten what a fast race it is, and how little I enjoy a boulder field after 17 miles of running. The first 7 miles on the road were far too quick and the pace didn’t slow as we reached the trail. It’s a relentlessly runnable race, with the uphill rarely being steep enough to justify a march. However the temperature was in the high 20s so it was sensible not to push too hard and to linger over stream crossings to cool off.
The Adventure Show were filming, so look out for that later on in the year. I’m not sure that my breathless comments while running downhill will make the final cut, but I’m interested to hear what other people have to say in that situation! Unfortunately Dougie Vipond wasn’t there as he went to the Royal Highland Show instead. Nevertheless it added an interesting element of trying to maintain good running form while being filmed leaping over boulders.
Ex-Carnethy James Waldie almost won the race but somehow got lost in the final mile and finished second. Mary Lye was 2nd v40 lady. I was 20 minutes quicker than the last time I’d run the race, and 4th lady. Jonathon Marks and Will Normand had an exciting sprint finish down Aviemore high street. Jonathon narrowly won the sprint, but Will was pleased to have beaten his previous best by 30 mins.
The soup and cakes at the finish were excellent, the buses back to Braemar less so as the air conditioning wasn’t working. A grand day out!
Full results here: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=142182
Rachel Normand