Midsummer
Madness 2003
Willie Gibson
| It was 2 years ago that I thought of running
the Pentlands overnight in order to finish watching the sunrise on Allermuir
(Midnight
Madness). This year I was not away, Midsummer fell on a weekend and
it just had to be revisited. The email duly went out and I got a list of likely lads and lassies and waited for the big day. On the Wednesday before, an email was forwarded to me by Kate Friend. It was from BBC Radio, they were looking for scientists that run in the Pentlands at lunchtime to interview. I replied mentioning the Friday night run and got an immediate phone call back. |
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) On The Kips at 2:15am |
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So at 11:30pm on friday 20th
June, Nigel Rose, Moira Stewart, Claire Williams, Alex Menarry (on his
way to Keith
Burns's son's
wedding, having left his wife in a hotel in St Boswells with a promise
to stay awake at the wedding), Philipa Headley, Jamie Thin (who had promised
to be home for breakfast and spend the day with the kids), Alun Morton-Lloyd,
Stewart Barrie, BBC Fiona and I met at The Steading. We got organised
and headed up the hill at a walk to allow Fiona to interview me on the
way up. This proved a little difficult due to the out-of-breath interviewer
and the babbling from the Carnethy faithful, so we decided to continue
the interview at the end of the run (Fiona was bivvying out on Allermuir).
As we got out of the gorse I saw a runner ahead. It was Robin Sloan
who had parked at the ski slope. We were now 10 and headed up into the
gloom.
The light from Edinburgh reflecting off the cloud was enough to allow us to keep the headtorches off and the temperature was very pleasant with a fairly strong wind in our faces. At the top of Caerketton I hid the Champagne in the cairn and we ran on. We made Carnethy by about 1:30am and stopped for a coffee and a whisky. As we climbed Scald Law my mobile phone rang, it was Alan Hogg calling from Green Cleugh, waiting to meet us for the second half. I asked him to wait and we would see him in an hour. |
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) Allermuir at 4:25 |
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) The clouds were glowing pink |
) The sunrise 4:26am |
) The interview part 2 |
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| Running towards the Kips we came across a couple of blokes
and a dog. They were in tweeds and walking from Boghall to Carlops overnight
(what a strange thing to do). We ran on and after regrouping on the drove
road we headed round by Hare Hill and followed the track to Green Cleugh
where a cold and lonely Alan was waiting. Alan had been to Waterstones to buy the latest Harry Potter book and been dropped off by his wife and kids on the way home. So we all heard who the killed off main character was at about 3:15am. We decided to miss out Black Hill and skirted it on the north before heading along the fence line up Bells Hill. By this time it was almost full daylight. I phoned Fiona on Allermuir and told her we would be there in half an hour and we headed on the home straight. |
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) The full beauty of the morning |
When we reached the summit of Allermuir it was 5 minutes before dawn.
Anne and Ian Nimmo were waiting with Fiona and we celebrated the sun
as it appeared at little late due to cloud on the horizon. The whisky
was poured out, some more interviewing took place and we danced a reel
at the summit. |
) Jamie, Willie, Stewart |
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| It was on this small leg of our journey that
the fulll brilliance of the sunrise appeared. Many photos were taken and as we sat down to crack open the bottle that warm feeling of fulfilment filled our hearts. The champagne slipped down a treat. |
) Moi and Alex run into the sunrise |
) Philipa |
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) The champagne is opened |
What a wonderful night! Then it was back to my house for bacon rolls and tea. |
) We relax with a drink |
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