The Two Breweries race has almost everything – long climbs, short climbs, steep ascents, steep descents, traversing hillisides, trails, tussocks, tarmac, ferns, farms, woodlands, and a little bit of heather bashing. If that’s not enough value for money, there’s also a few places you can easily go off course and enjoy those delights for a bit longer. It’s also a long one, with 19miles and 5000-ish feet of climbing, covering a lot of rolling countryside from Traquair House (and brewery) in the east to Broughton Ales brewery in the West. With so much variety and distance you can safely assume that there’ll be at least 10% that will suit your running style perfectly, and be a joy cruising over your favoured terrain, generally gaining ground on others, and soaking up the great views. However, the flip-side is also true – the other 90% of it will be varying levels of awful, and you’ll spend the time in various states of discomfort, tiredness, and being overtaken by people clearly enjoying it more than you are. Yup, you definitely get a lot with the Two Breweries race.
This takes us to the Two Breweries Hill Race 2021 on Saturday. Covid had put a stop to the race in 2020, but thankfully due to some easing of restrictions and made this event feasible. Given the nature of the race (a point-to-point race, tricky to marshal, bus transport to start, and social atmosphere with a keg at the finish) it should be noted that this was a brave move by the RD to host the event this year, and also to agree to be part of the SHR championship (increased entry numbers, an additional headache). With these restrictions and problems it would be understandable to change the race, or the format, to something better-suited to the times. However, they didn’t, and the race went ahead as much as it had for the previous 36-odd years. A remarkable feat. To the organiser, John Hamer, and Westies, and all those that marshals and supporters that helped to make it happen: great work, and very well done!
It would be my first race in a good couple of years. I’m sure just like everyone else: training has been difficult, and general uncertainty about things has made it hard to focus on anything really. The Two Breweries was an anxious return to “normality” for me. Lots of familiar faces at the start helped things, and the pleasant weather made the whole day a little less daunting. Milling around at the start on the lawn of Traquair house was a good time for a social catchup, also to grab a quick fruit scone from the café, and then wave-off the early-start group (which seemed to consist of half the field). As ever, the main race start was just a blur of people hammering up to the gate, and out onto the road. With my lack of racing I made two rookie mistakes from the start: not peeing enough beforehand, and not tying my laces properly for going through heather. Silly. The start up to Birkscairn hill was fairly straightforward, with only some high ferns to contend with (thanks to all the fasties and early-starters for breaking the worst of those down). The heather-bashing descent down to Glensax burn was as painful as ever, made worse by me overshooting the turnoff and having to traverse round to the grouse butts. Silly, again. Then the long slog up to Hundleshope Heights, a bypass of Broad Law (I’ve never understood why we don’t just go over the summit) and then a sharp kick up to Stob Law. The long descent from the summit of Stob Law was a welcome delight, skipping quickly over the short heather down to a trod, looking out over the valley and the woodlands beyond – this was my joyous 10%! That quickly came to a rocky, stumbly end on the steep section down to the road, but for a brief moment it was lovely. I was grateful to get that first section done – the first water stop sits at roughly half way, and by that point you’ve completed the majority of the climb. That’s not to say that the second half is easy, of course, no.
After the first water stop things started to improve – I wasn’t feeling so great at the start but a few jelly babies pushed me along and things were going alright. There’s a fair amount of hard track and tarmac in the second half, which seems to suit me these days. With the exception of the steep climb up through the woods to Whitelaw hill, the route is very runnable along paths, trails and tarmac to the foot of Trahenna. The three mile section from Dead Wife’s Grave to the reservoir before Trahenna is easy terrain, which should be good, but it seems to just drain any remaining “run” from your legs, and allows your climbing muscles clock-off for the rest of the day. Your legs get a bit of a shock when you turn off onto the hillside – rough, pathless in sections, and bloody steep. This is where the swearing really starts. My “Route 1” approach from the reservoir was deranged and didn’t help matters, taking more time and energy to get across to the trees, then to join the conga-line of zombies wearily climbing their way up the side of the hill itself. Glad to get to the summit and start heading for home, the downhill traverse to Ratchill Hill is pretty grim and slippy in places, and annoyingly has sections that are kinda uphill, which is just cruel. Only a sharp rocky descent to Broughton, then a fast run to finish…and it’s all over! A PW for me, just by a few mins, but I don’t care too much. It’s just nice getting back to it!
At the thrusting end of things: Ricky Lightfoot (Ellenborough) won the men’s race, with Joe Symonds (Shetts) and Alastair Graves (Ochils) just behind. For the ladies, Jill Stephen (HBT) finished first with our very own Sophie Horrocks finishing second ~4mins later, and Alice Goodall (Unattached) third. James Britton lead a glut of Carnethies home in 6th (1st V40), Bryan McKenna 7th (2nd V40), Ali Masson 8th, and Michael Reid 9th(3rd V40). Stewart Whitlie won the V50 prize in 11th place. Andy Lamont and Eliot Sedman following Stewart over the line a few mins after. Des Crowe (Penicuik) won the M60 prize, and he also gets the warm comfort of knowing he was right when I ignored his warnings and went the wrong way – the greatest prize of all, I’m sure. With such a strong presence at the top of the leaderboard the male team prize was looking secure (7 of the top 14 runners were Carnethy). The ladies race is a little more complicated, I think, and I’m not sure I’m reading the results all that well, but: Sophie definitely came second. Diana Challands was 2nd F40, unless that was awarded to Veronique Oldham (Cosmics) who was first F50 in a faster time – if so then Michelle Hetherington would be 3rd F40 as she was definitely second F50 also in a faster time. I’ve no idea. A massive shout-out to our own Maggie Creber who definitely, definitely nailed the F60. As for the female team prize – again, I have no idea, somebody else will need to work that out, I guess it depends on the number of counters required. I did notice Zoe Harding was running in Carnethy colours but not listed as such in the results, so I’m not sure if she counts for things, but she does appear to have the honour of being the new poster girl for the race. Well done all!
Results here (no direct link I’m afraid).
Some more photos on Facebook, here.
Jim H