FRA Relays 2003

Ladies' Team Report
It was a long drive to Church Stretton in Shropshire and we weren't able to field our strongest teams but the sun shone on us and the countryside was really beautiful in its autumn colours. Angela gave the ladies a storming lead on leg 1. Hilary and I did our best on the 'big' leg 2 but we seemed to spend a lot of time either letting pairs pass on narrow sections or caught in the backdraught as others shot by on the descents. If winning had anything to do with time of enjoyment on the hill though I think we'd have won. It certainly ranked as was one of my favourite runs. The area is sometimes called 'little Switzerland' because of the houses but it was the myriad trails through the picturesque hills and valleys and perhaps the sheer unexpectedness of finding this jewel so far south that made it special! Unfortunately we left the rest of the team too much time to make up. Claire and Jane put everything into the navigational leg and Jill got the prize for fastest Lady on leg 4, beating Louise Sharpe! That meant Carnethy Ladies got two fastest legs. We ended up 5th team, less than a minute behind the 4th team and only 5 minutes away from 3rd place. It is obviously nice to win but I think that everyone who ran really enjoyed the event. There are not many relay races in the hillrunning calendar and I strongly recommend anyone who wants to experience running for a club to try at least one.
Anne Nimmo

Men's Team Report
The club had secured 2 Men’s teams but in the end could only fill one. Why the lack of interest in such a fine end-of-season event? The solution was substantially a Carnethy Veteran’s team spiced up by a couple of youths! Mark Johnston opened the batting with a strong run against tough competition. He negotiated the tortuous course in 15th place, just ahead of the Ladies Team. Graeme and Derek lost some ground on a long leg that seemed to incorporate the steepest ascents and descents in the county. The navigational leg proved controversial with some teams receiving time penalties for short-cutting a taped section on the run-in. Andy and Brad confessed to a less than perfect route choice but still managed to move up the field at the expense of opponents whom they didn’t appear to have passed. Crucially, however, the Westerlands team had run a storming leg and had pulled out an 8 minute lead at the changeover. Adam ran anchor leg and, with his mission clear, managed to run down the Westies team just before the line. An 11th place in our class seemed a fair reflection on our performance but there were quite a few “if onlys” to be discussed over a pint of the local brew afterwards. This was a splendid location for an event of this type with plenty of interesting features in a fairly compact area. It is just a pity that more club members weren’t there to experience it for themselves. Perhaps the drive to Derbyshire next year won’t be so off-putting.”
Derek Bearhop