1st Name | 2nd Name | Finish Time | Run Time | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony | Hemmings | 72.51 | 47.30 | 50.0 |
Mark | Hartree | 74.54 | 62.02 | 48.6 |
Anne-Sophie | Ruget | 75.05 | 52.16 | 47.1 |
Stuart | McMillan | 75.10 | 56.54 | 45.7 |
Scott | Robson | 75.25 | 49.06 | 44.3 |
Ryan | Forgie | 75.36 | 50.29 | 42.9 |
Michael | Andrew | 75.38 | 50.07 | 41.4 |
Michelle | Hetherington | 75.50 | 53.39 | 40.0 |
Ellie | Young | 76.05 | 59.16 | 38.6 |
Kevin | Turner | 76.12 | 59.50 | 37.1 |
Daniel | Lavin | 76.19 | 44.56 | 35.7 |
Mark | Lunt | 76.37 | 43.05 | 34.3 |
Kenneth | Fordyce | 76.50 | 55.02 | 32.9 |
Ailsa | Haliday | 77.17 | 56.56 | 31.4 |
Barbara | Livingston | 77.24 | 62.43 | 30.0 |
Fiona | Fulton | 77.59 | 59.45 | 28.6 |
Sam | Walsh | 78.00 | 47.30 | 27.1 |
Sarah | Foster | 78.10 | 61.15 | 25.7 |
Richard | Chandler | 78.17 | 63.12 | 24.3 |
Jonathan | Marks | 78.27 | 45.27 | 22.9 |
Elizabeth | Leason | 78.32 | 50.47 | 21.4 |
Lucy | Stanfielld | 78.47 | 55.35 | 20.0 |
Billy | Elliot | 79.29 | 63.58 | 18.6 |
Michael | Wilkinson | 80.13 | 71.25 | 17.1 |
Andy | Gravett | 80.14 | 59.24 | 15.7 |
Freya | Marks | 80.27 | 63.52 | 14.3 |
Rachel | Paul | 80.28 | 61.06 | 12.9 |
Norman | Brown | 80.31 | 58.14 | 11.4 |
Sandra | Chandler | 81.13 | 75.01 | 10.0 |
Dorothy | Elliot | 81.27 | 63.06 | 8.6 |
Nicola | Dunn | 83.44 | 69.13 | 7.1 |
Joel | Chaney | 84.19 | 55.56 | 5.7 |
Richard | Delf | 84.49 | 64.58 | 4.3 |
Sean | Walker | 85.00 | 65.41 | 2.9 |
Gordon | Cameron | 85.08 | 60.23 | 1.4 |
Archives for August 2019
PTL (Petite Trotte à Léon) dot watching
Armchair viewers might be interested in the progress of Carnethy (Konrad, Jasmin and Jim Mann (Helm Hill)) over the next week. They were in 8th at the first checkpoint but plenty of time to make up those 7 places as they have a wee bit more to go before they finish sometime later this week. PTL page here. Follow their progress at the tracker link below.
https://utmbmontblanc.com/en/live/ptl
Alex McVey
Further….
Some of the UTMB series of races have already started, but who should we be watching out for? Well, here’s a quick summary of the good and the great Carnethyonians in addition to Jasmin, Konrad and Jim Mann!
In the already-started TDS race (Acronym for “Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie” – 145km and 9,100m ascent) we have:
Phil Humphries,
Gregor Heron
Both are approaching the 50km mark and looking strong.
In the OCC (acronym??, 55km and 3,100m ascent) we have:
Eoin Lennon,
Nicola Duncan
Good luck to them all! Have I missed anyone? Let me know!
Here’s the tracker.
https://utmbmontblanc.com/en/live/
Say goodbye to your productivity this week!
Jim
Broughton and Baddingsgill
With the knees feeling better than average recently, possibly thanks to physio, acupuncture and a few triathlons, all I need as new set of lungs it seems. Broughton Heights and Baddingsgill Round back to back on Saturday and Sunday was an easier choice than doing the longer Ochil’s 2000 on Saturday.
The best Carnethy performer at Broughton on a stunning Saturday and on a lovely route on green trails was Sophie McBirnie who can first lass in the shorter Juniors race and second overall. She pipped her mum Kirsty’s position who came 3rd FV 40 in the main race. Finn Lydon was first U23 for Carnethy but that was about it for club prizes (Finn Lydon, Alex Hinchcliffe and Fergus Johnstone were 2nd men’s team behind HBT). The winner finished 30 mins ahead of me which is a tad pathetic. Neil McClure is changing vests to boost the old men count in the club so included in the piccies. The results for this one are tbc.
Baddingsgill had a smaller field but plenty of bog. It was hot and super clear so a lovely route to look around on and to trot and bog-hop around. Compared to last year it was pretty dry apparently but I still douced my baubles a few times in the bog nearly getting properly stuck. Diane Challands got first FV40 , Kathy Henly came first FV50 lass and Neil Burnett came 2nd MV50. All were embarrassingly fast compared to me and each receiving their prizes before I wandered back to the finish in a dishevelled mess. Neil and I had a swim in Baddingsgill after so I fitted in an extra mile as a warm down cum wash.
A great couple of races and a few mile under the belt in cracking weather.
Mark Hartree
Ochils Race
Against all odds, yesterday’s “Ochil 2000s” race reminded me of how much I love a hill race. There’s something wonderfully bonding in a group of diverse ages, nationalities, fitness levels etc about a long hilly slog, especially when there’s plenty of room for misadventure.
Matt and I almost didn’t make it to the start line, as we’d cut it a bit fine to get to registration, only to find that even though we’d arranged grandparental babysitting back in January, we hadn’t actually registered for the race. Obviously I was happy to take this as a sign that we should just go for a gentle potter around Dumyat, but “luckily” we were given race numbers, dibbers and ushered to the buses. That looooong journey round to Glendevon is enough to give anyone the heebiejeebies.
The first 15 or so miles of the race were pleasant enough. Not too hot, with a gentle tail breeze, and no nav disasters. We encountered a few folk who had missed Ben Buck, and were having to backtrack, and felt relieved not to be them! The boggy bit over to Blairdennon was shorter than I remembered, and I felt quietly confident that we’d smash last year’s time. This confidence was definitely bolstered by me (wrongly!) thinking that the race was just over 19 miles and 1200m of ascent.
Coming off Blairdennon I did have creeping misgivings about this. According to my watch we should only have about 4 miles and 200m to go. Dumyat definitely looked further away and much bigger than that. :-/
We took some “experimental” and “intrepid” “shortcuts” off Colsnaur Hill which was a bit demoralising (apologies to the Dark Peak runner who we drew along with us). The weather started to get a bit oppressive as we dropped off the hill, and by Menstrie we were feeling very tired (and Matt was really dehydrated – he’d actually stopped sweating and by the end of the race his t-shirt was bone dry!). Another runner was bailing out, and if Matt hadn’t been there, doggedly refusing to quit, I’d have happily waited for a possible lift back to the finish.
The drag up Dumyat was horrible. According to my watch we were over 19 miles and over 1200m total ascent, and my body had decided to take a hardline on me going over-budget. This wasn’t helped by the huge clouds of flying ants, and frequent wafts of sun-warmed dog poo. We met another racer running back down to Menstrie. He must have been pretty close to the top when he made that decision, and once again I was sorely tempted. I renounce thee, Satan! About 2/3 of the way up we found an ant- and poo-free area for a bit of a sit down, and to contemplate our poor life choices.
Eventually we were up and over, thankfully not missing the turning to the woods (as we had last year). And then there was that very special “last little bit” along the back of the university, which must actually be the best part of a mile, and feels like the worst part of eternity. Friendly faces and watermelon at the finish helped the horror recede rapidly, and as we hobbled back to the car my sun-addled, electrolyte-deficient brain was convinced we’d had a great day out.
Mary Lye
Romanno handicap
Quite a good turn out for the Romano Handicap despite a miserable drive. The route is a cracking run on green paths and the rain mostly held off although it dripped a bit. The wind was bracing at times but once behind you, propelled you along nicely. My handicap is still not enough I feel and weariness can’t really be counted as that is a lame excuse anyway and 3rd place for the 3rd time in my running career was as good as I get. Everyone finished with smiles on their faces and the pub food in West Linton was only exceeded by the lovely Southern Pentland IPA. Thanks to Ross and Phil for organising and scoring us. Sparky thanks Mark Lunt for the bacon as well.
Sorry if the piccies are a bit blurred in the murky evening light. Results
Mark Hartree
Starman 2019
On Saturday Mark and I headed north to Aviemore for The Starman triathlon. It’s a middle distance event (or half-ironman distance) based around Loch Morlich and the Spey valley, starting at midnight on Saturday night. The race is a slightly confusing one – it’s main hook is the opportunity to race a triathlon at night. Yes, that’s definitely something different, but I guess to some it might sound like a bit of a gimmick. At least, that’s what I thought on entering. However, sitting here a day later thinking about the race, the main feature should really be the course itself. Firstly, it’s a beautiful place to stage a triathlon. Secondly, the race really is a bit of a toughie…and that’s before they turn the lights out! It’d be a real challenge at any time of day, the night aspect really adds a bit of a twist to keep you focussed!
The swim is a simple enough 1.9km lapped swim round Loch Morlich. Well, it was supposed to be simple enough. The cycle, ~56miles along quiet roads up and down the Spey, features just over 3000 ft climb, and of that mainly in the last couple of miles up to the ski centre. The run, ~13.1miles, has just under 4000ft overall ascent featuring the climb to Cairngorm summit, down through Glenmore Forest, then up and over the summit of Meall a’ Bhuachaille. It’s certainly not to be sneezed at. Many triathlons like to advertise just how hard they are, how insane, maybe even giving it some kind of badass name to go along with it…and yet the Starman team don’t do that. They instead focus on the unique experience and the warm support of their crew, and so they should – looking back it was an amazing experience and their crew was indeed lovely.
Mark and I set up a little “wild” camp beside Loch Morlich within walking distance of the start. Neither of us had put any thought into race prep beyond going for a night swim a few weeks ago. We really hadn’t thought about digs either, so a tent by the lochside was Carnethy Race HQ. Training was something else we should’ve thought of, but that’s another matter. Midnight drew near, we racked the bikes, lubed-up, rubbered-up (wetsuits) and hit the shore for a quick photo, a race briefing and then to that daunting swim in that very, very dark loch.
The swim involves 4 loops of a marked course beside the beach, each marker is a metal buoy with flashing lights. Mark and I each had our issues on the swim, but Mark had greater problems by swimming face-first into a buoy and breaking his goggles. No matter, Mark simply beached himself back on land and fixed his goggles (I would’ve given up immediately, gone straight to the pub to catch last orders whilst still wearing my wetsuit). The buoys were pretty good in the dark and were easy enough to follow. I don’t think either of us enjoyed the swim as the water was quite choppy, being whipped-up by the wind that was howling through Glenmore Forest. Concern was growing as this was supposed to be the easy bit! The laps counted down quickly though, and onto the bike.
The cycle was the most worrying for me. I’d bought cheap bike lights from Amazon the week before (£20 for a front-back pair), with a front light that was suitably powerful for night riding. My main concern was that the light was surprisingly cheap. Worryingly cheap, even. In fact, I was so concerned that I decided not to test it on a bike for too long, just in case it only had one cycle in it. In the end it worked, didn’t dissolve in the rain, and stayed working for the full cycle. Weirdly, I wouldn’t say the night aspect brought any real technical challenges, as you quickly adapt to using lights, but it certainly adds to the overall experience. It’s dark, and you’re mostly alone, but cycling through dark woods and zipping along dark country roads is a lot of fun.
The cycle route features two main climbs, the first around half way when things are still going well and it passed quickly. The second is near the end, as you cross the Spey to return upstream towards the Ski centre. At first you barely feel the gradient, it just slowly starts sapping at your legs. Next, as you turn onto Cairngorm road, you’re hit with sharper inclines and intermittent flat sections. Finally, you pass Loch Morlich and the real pain starts. The road gets steeper, and more exposed to the wind and rain. It was grim. A really cruel twist at the end of a long cycle. The climb hurts. The switchback hurts. Even cycling across the Ski Centre Car park hurts. The draw of just retiring at the ski centre was really strong. A guy I arrived with was withdrawing at this point, and I couldn’t really blame him. The centre was light, and warm; the hill was windy, wet, dark and cold. The crew kept spirits high though, and with a pretty leisurely transition I was soon dibbing-in for the climb to the summit.
It was around 4:30am when I started the climb. Still no daylight, still dark, still windy, and still wet. It felt good to be on the run section though, and for the first time that night I felt that I would get round ok. Well, assuming I didn’t push too hard and knacker myself. I took the climb fairly easily, just hoping to get to the summit ok. The Ptarmigan station seemed to arrive quickly, then onto some awkward boulders and paths to the summit. Thankfully the sun finally popped its head over the horizon and the run became a lot easier. The summit dibbed, and back down a landrover track to the car park, down to the sugarbowl and towards Meall a’ Bhuachaille. This was supposed to be a forest run, but a deluge last week destroyed the path, so we had to run along the road for a bit before Glenmore Lodge, and up to the Ryvoan Bothy and the last feed station. From the road onwards things felt pretty good, the sun was out, and I started passing people all the way to the summit of the hill. From here, you looked out over the epic route behind you: from the Cairngorm range to the south, to the north where the bike route followed the Spey out beyond Nethy Bridge, and nestled between them was Loch Morlich where it all began 7hrs before. Just an awkward descent to Loch Morlich remained, and maybe a longer-than-you-expected run through the woods, but I didn’t care by this point. Over the line, get a very pretty medal, grab a bacon roll, a cup of tea, and it’s done!
Mark followed not long behind, and we retired to our Carnethy Race HQ tent for a well-earned rest. From my warm sleeping bag I could hear the trees rustle, the water lapping the shores of Loch Morlich, and the gentle purr of Mark farting in his sleep. It was a grand day!
Massive thanks to the organisers and their great team! Lots of support, great feed stations, and an excellent course! Any triathlon with disconnected transitions is always a bit of a logistical headache, but it all worked smoothly. Very well done! I would encourage anyone to enter this event, and to do so quickly before it becomes wildly popular…which it deserves to be.
The score on the doors: Mark finished 25th overall, a solid performance given his issues with the swim (perhaps keep his bike helmet on for that bit next time). I finished (a very flattering) 9th. Results here.
Jim
Pentland Skyline Race 2019 – Open for entries
The Pentland Skyline Race is open for you to enter – full details on the race page, but if navigating to that is not quick enough, you can go straight to SiEntries to satisfy your craving for Pentland Skyline goodness.
Carnethy members should pay attention to the email that was sent out a few days ago.
Tap O’Noth race
Mildly inspired by a recent slew of races, and a desire to get away from Danderhall at all costs, I looked for a games race this weekend. There was only Helmsdale which was a very long way off. But the Rhynie Gala had Tap O’Noth, which I did when it was a champs race in 2013. I like a gala and sunshine so it was off to Deeside to camp. There was a good turnout of Cosmics from Aberdeen, Deeside runners from Aboyne and the local hosting club Insch; and no lack of fasties. I did well uphill but as usual the downhill let me down. Literally. A full body dive onto a stony gravelly trod which has left an impressive set of grazes. No prize but a good cake finish. If I hadn’t face planted I’d have done the same time as 2013. Results
Digby