On the 11th June, for the second year running, Carnethy members Sandra Chandler and Magi Hunter took part in the “Fitness at 58 degrees” Speyside Sprint Triathlon on the banks of the beautiful Loch Inch. We were well supported by our “pit crew”, members Richard Chandler and Gregor Heron, but as both officially “supervets”, and the forecast predicating it to be the hottest day of the year so far, neither of us were expecting to worry the Brownlee brothers on the 500-metre swim, an 18km gravel bike ride through Glen Feshie Forest and a 10Km run on the Speyside way.
Sandra, however, took off for the swim like a dolphin whereas I stuck to my “Victorian Duchess” technique – a standard that continued throughout the race until I finally finished in last place, an hour behind the winner but still able to call up an enthusiastic applause from the spectators and a hug from the very encouraging organiser, Sam. The funny thing is- I was still so proud of my performance. Sandra powered round the course like a pro both years but the previous year I had ended up in the rescue boat (apparently it resembled a large tuna being landed) but this year completed the whole course, supported every step of the way by other runners and the many spectators.
So why does this matter? Well, being a member of a club with so many record winning runners it just reiterates how important it is to be inclusive based on ability. The slow Pentland runs are just that- encouraging, friendly and allow everybody to enjoy the camaraderie that comes from group runs but it would be great to see more of these. So, if you are a racer snake- more power to you but make sure you hang around at the end and show your support to your fellow club members- we all started somewhere. However, if, like me, you are more of a carthorse then don’t be put off- do the run, keep your chin up and take the support that’s offered– and trust that one of these days, you’ll be cheering on the finish line for someone else. Let’s hear it for Last Place Pride!!
Magi Hunter