Another great performance and win for Andrew Lamont.
Earlier in the year I was looking for a longish ‘different’ race in July and came across this one. 28Km, 2700m ascent with some grade2/3 scrambling and climbing experience a pre-requisite for entry. I convinced Andrew Lamont and Rob Owen to enter but unfortunatley come July, Rob couldn’t make it.
Race day was very hot which was going to make a tough day out even tougher.
To the race itself, I’d say most of the first half is relatively benign, more like a nice trail/hill run which means the race gets progressively more technical and tough as you get tired.
Dodging hill-walkers on Swirral and Striding Edges added an unexpected dimension. Things were going nicely for me until I started to suffer on Eagle Crag descent before the final steep uphill slog (hands and feet whilst being eaten by horseflies) from Grizedale Beck to Pinnacle Ridge which when finally reached a long time later was a welcome change. The final ‘technical bit’ on the last descent is a bit of sting in the tail and wasn’t particularly welcome, although Andy wandering the course backwards was a welcome sight.
Strangely, Andy had a similar experience, just he was moving a lot quicker than me. Andy won overall and needed his VW Van for all the goodies he received including a very big trophy, Rab vouchers and Leki poles. I managed to finish which I’m more than happy with.
We both now have very sore legs.
It was a fairly small field this year 48 starters and 38 finishers. There is a hope to expand the race and other races on offer over the weekend next year. So if you like long races (like Arrochar Alps) and can climb and I think there are a fair few Carnethies that fit that description, this could be the race you are after.
Results: https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/pre2022
1st Andrew Lamont 4:26:02
28th Duncan Davis 7:32:06
Duncan Davis