Devil's Burdens 21st January 2012

Leg 1 - Stewart
This was one of my first hill races after joining Carnethy (Jan 99, leg 3 chaperoned round by Brian Waldie) and the only race I’ve done every year since. Normally great fun and great company and this year was no exception running with Paul on leg 1.
The Shettleston and Corstorphine team set a pretty fast pace on the road section at the start but Paul and I managed to reach the first set of steps in 3rd place. They opened up a bit of a gap on the forest track but we started pegging them back as things started to get a bit steeper and we were first “team” to the top of East Lomond. Shortly before the top, I almost lost our control card when it flew off as I was carefully trying open my bum bag! Thankfully Matt very kindly managed to stamp on it with his foot allowing me to retrieve it. Thanks Matt. Good to see there are good sports still out there (Des Crowe would never have done such a thing J). After hurtling down East Lomond and through the gates, I got to the Lime Kilns with a slight gap on the other runners and was met with a few path choices. It was a few years since I’d done leg 1 and couldn’t quite remember which way to go as I’m sure last time I’d run this leg I had jumped the fence which I knew was a no-no! Oh f**k! Waited for the next runner to arrive, one of the Corstorphine chaps, he didn’t have a clue either and ground to a halt behind me. Matt then arrived and in same boat. As Paul and the other front runners appeared, I just decided to head off on the left path, which took us over a few board walks and a loop round the left. An unnecessary extra loop (confirmed on the run back to the start) but at least most of the front teams went the same way! After the excitement of the lime kilns we charged over the fields and on to the next check point. I climbed the fence and then realised the punch was a bit further down the road back on the other side of the fence! Managed to get the card punched and back off up the road after shouting back Paul, who was all set to carry on running down the road in the opposite direction J . Paul and I managed to hold the 2 teams off until the run alongside the reservoir when the Cortstorphine boys came past. However, we managed to get back in front against on the next small incline and then we pretty much all charged down through the forest track as a tightly packed bunch of 6 runners. The other 2 teams managed to pull away slightly when we hit the road but we hadn’t lost too much time and handed over to young Ally. After a bit of a chat with other runners we had an enjoyable jog back to start where the wonderful Thai soup was awaiting!
Very sociable, really well organised event and great to meet up with people you haven’t seen for a while. Thanks to Fife AC for putting on the race again. Great to be part of the “youthful Carnethy team” (as described on SHR site). Will wait and see if I’m fit enough to get in the youngsters team next year.
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 - Sam
"We can wait until the Shettleston runner comes in, I reckon we will have a couple of minutes after that to get ready"
Famous last words.
Ali came charging in. John and I were caught off guard but wasted no time, game on.
We charged up the hill as a four, with Jethro and Tom, who steadily pulled away throughout. Apparently another pair had left before us but I have no recollection of us passing them on leg three. A lack of speed work left me flailing on the flatter sections, where John took over and set the pace, but fortunately the hill climbing appears to have been unaffected by four months of building work.
And what an event. Everyone has a word, and time, for everyone else. It captures the spirit of the hill running community perfectly, the semi-organised-logistical-chaos at the start through to the soup fuelled banter flowing with tales of route finding and ding-dongs with other clubs.
Many thanks to Olly for the lift there, John for his route finding, Fife AC for the event and Moira for the lift home.
Already looking forward to 2013...
Leg 4 -

Leg 1 - Olly's got to get a mention in the MV40s for leaving the stamp sheet in his car and only noticing after he'd started the race!
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 -
Leg 4 -

Leg 1 - James
This was the first time I've ever ran with Matt, and it was a great experience. At the start we both had a similar approach to team tactics - try and offload the punch card to the other guy. I won, and Matt was stuck with it for the kickoff. We started well through Falkland, managing to hold a steady pace through the winding streets and into the forest trails. Matt was a few metres back, but as the incline increased he reeled me back in. Soon we were out of the forest and onto the exposed hillside, still doing well and occasionally grabbing places here and there, then over our shoulders appeared Olly and Mick - our dance partners for the rest of this leg. Matt caught up, and just when I thought he was about to pass me, he said "here", and thrust the punch card into my hand. Olly and I switched places all the way to the top....and it was around this point that I forgot that there were other teams in the race.
I hit the checkpoint on the summit, then Matt took a turn to surge ahead by throwing himself downhill. I caught him on the entry to the lime kilns and moved slightly ahead, only to take a wrong turn and run straight into some gorse. I recovered and caught up with Matt, Olly and Mick just in time for the second checkpoint. There was a bit of a delay here, Mick seemed to take a while (later I found out they were using a piece of map as the punch card...for reasons that will surely be a contender for the 2012 Wooden Spoon Trophy :-) ).
The four of us continually exchanged places through checkpoint three, and towards the firebreak in the forest. Just as I thought we were going to come in as a group, Matt burst past Olly and Mick and we started flying down the boggy descent and over the slippy wooden bridges. Finally we'd managed to put some distance between our two teams. The fast descent made the tarmac incline to the changeover feel particularly hard, but we held-on, crossed the line together and passed the baton to young Andrew.
I was absolutely wasted, but Matt recovered quickly and decided to jog the rest of the race route. I mustered enough energy to pretend I was considering joining him, bur kidding nobody, and just decided to take a shorter route back. A great day out! As ever, the soup was fantastic - the minted pea and spinach was my favourite, but a special mention goes out to the Thai Lentil. Fantastic!
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 -
Leg 4 -

Leg 1 - Gordon
All credit to Bob on the first leg whose encouragement dragged me up East Lomond - we managed to split the ladies team but Helen beat me to thesummit. Then it was hell for leather as we descended and took the best route from the lime kilns down to the road where the HBTladies passed us and we tailed them to the finish where Andy took over. Good to see we beat the first ladies overall by an immense 2 seconds.
Leg 2 - Andy
Bob and Gordon handed over to me in a good position. Kept a good steady pace all the way on the climb, which is quite a grind as not steep anywhere, and gradually caught and passed people (and no-one caught me). It felt much tougher than last year when I also ran this leg as this year was into a strong headwind all the way. Great to win - thanks to all my teammates!
Leg 3 -
Leg 4 -

Leg 1- Helen Jacqui and I enjoyed a good race out on Leg 1.  Some healthy competition with Bob and Gordon on the mens V50 on the way up, spurred us on with keeping the gap to the leading HBT ladies team as small as possible.  It was fantastic to see so many Carnethy ladies out racing and enjoying the day – a great start to 2012.   
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 - Jasmin
The Devils Burdens relays are always a lovely day out, and this year was particularly enjoyable on account of the sheer number of Carnethies involved. Having run very little for 2 months due to a knee injury, running leg 3 with Angela was somewhat of a challenge, but the intermittent oxygen deficit was more than compensated by her patience on the uphills and the fantastic views we had on our way round. Whatsmore, I had the privelidge of running in one of the unique home-knitted dog-themed carnethy-coloured woolly hats, knitted by Angela for the ladies team. A great day out and highly recommended to all.
Leg 4 - Kim
I only stepped in on Wednesday night to do this race but it is one I have wanted to do for a while so I am glad I did it.  I really enjoyed leg 4 and always seem to run better on undulating multi terrain races - would like to do the whole route as a training run at some point too!  Thanks to Helen for sorting everyone out...

Leg 1 - Michael
My first hill race for the club and first Devils Burden race. I really enjoyed the day although legs were knackered from my runs during the week. Great to be part of such a friendly club. Well done Team Carnethy.
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 -
Leg 4 - Mike
2 minutes quicker than last year, which was nice. Blustery at the transition and a couple of fallen trees to contend with. Great event.

Leg 1 - Digby
Such is the spirit of competition I was trying to beat my partner Bob. Given the rule that we had to finish together I reckoned on having a fighting chance. I had the edge on the ascent but he's a zippy doonhiller, and in spite of cunningly getting him to do the checkins and so nipping past, the final mild incline saw Bob running slowly backwards as I laboured to the handover. Margaret's sun soaked photos of Leg 1 finishers show a lot of happy runners, and we were!
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 - Willie
With the festive belly at it's worst for years I had some trepidation about doing leg 3.
The race was great fun though. Paul ran in and we were a little late noticing him (he hs still to buy a Carnethy vest), but a quick shout and Buffalo throw and we were off.
JBF led the way and I held on to his coat tails up the hill. The old legs were a bit sore by the time we got to the level(ish) track and we settled in to a fair pace. John was great support and with the wind a bit behind us we soon were heading up the last climb.
The terrain was dryer than I expected on the descent of West Lomond and the contour round to the forest track was the only time I got in front of John.
The run in has gained some tarmac since I last did it, but as we handed over to Brian and Moira handed me a beer the world was suddenly a wonderful place.
A Great Race good running partner and fantastic Carnethy turnout!
Leg 3 - John
Unlike the last two years there was no ice to contend with but strong winds especially over West Lomond. Hazards of negotiating single track roads going to and from changeovers were increased by a closed road after an accident in Leslie. Parking offered at a building site at Portmoak helped me to find a parking space at the leg 3 changeover but this was not enough to keep everyone happy. Perhaps we will be using the British Relay course next year.

Leg 4 - Brian
The Devil's Burden Relay is a unique race. Half the fun is getting there or at least the logistics of the getting the runners to the changeovers.
JBF and Paul did a grand job. I had a minor panic in the morning thinking I'd got the rendezvous time wrong, but it was fine. Pre-race nerves at my age!
The 4th leg is a long wait. I decided to jog from Falkland to the changeover. At least I managed to have some soup first.
The jog over was into the teeth of a gale, but I eventually got there in time to see the race leaders. It was a long wait for John and Willie in squally cold conditions - this is one of the problems of Leg 4 since you don't have a clue what will happen on Leg 3 .
I set off stiff with cold and not another runner in sight, up the muddy field. At least the sun was out but there was a stiff head wind. I was catching runners but unsure whether they were part of the early start or just those jogging back.
After the control at the turn I was feeling good and starting to get warm. A look at my watch, which I'd set at race time, suggested I could get the team in under 3-30, so I used that as motivation.
The run down the track was uneventful and lonely. I had to steeplechase a couple of trees that had come down in the wind and passed a couple of jogging runners at the metal arch. I know how far the finish is from there and put the foot down more. I was outsprinted by a very fast runner just at the finish, but made it in by 3-28.
A good exciting day out. Just as well I had soup before the run as understandably the queue was long and they'd run out.

Leg 1 - Kate
Joan and I were paired again, great I thought as we had such a brilliant race together at the FRAs in the Lomonds last year. We drove through in plenty of time and there was the usual buzz of activity in and out the hall. 0930 we were off....it was a beautiful run, bit windy on top of East Lomond but the views were worth it. We finished our leg in 52:46 and after a bit of chat jogged back to Falkland, cheering on other runners who had started at 1030. Delicious soup as always - well done again Fife AC.
Leg 2 -
Leg 3 - Joanne
The Burdens are always a great way to start the year, the banter at the changeover and the "how are we going to get to the start of our leg" question in the hall before the race starts. Lorna Ascroft came storming into the changeover handing over to Jane Jackson and myself. As we headed up towards the first check Alan Smith provided words of encouragment "do you call that hill running?!". There was a bit of a breeze occasionally knocking you sideways as I nearly went crashing into another lady coming down the hill at the end of her leg 2. From the first top all the way across to West Lomond gives the opportunity for a nice run, before the stretch up the top. The wind never really got behind us until we came off West Lomond and headed down towards the forest. Jane pulled me along the final stretch until we headed down the field to handover to Hilary. As Jane commented at the finish, leg 3 really is a lovely run and we managed to get in before the first team from the 10.30am start (not that I am competitive..) Thanks to all those involved in the organising.
Leg 4 -

Leg 1 -
Leg 2 - Moira Fantastic to see so many Carnethies at this event. Leg 2 harder than expected into the strong wind. Should have cut the corner at the end a bit tighter as just got pipped in the last few strides. Humph!
Leg 3 - Mandy
Well- I loved today. Feel all happy and buzzy just now. Not sure if that's due to the Fizz I am drinking, the prospect of fish n chips or completion of a v v windy 'notorious leg 3'!!!
Patricia and I ran in the Ladies 'C' team and, all in all, was a fab run. Bit of excess wind, bit of heather and bog and a few kamakazee descents. Surely we are 'proper' hill runners now...?
p.s. Thanks to Bill for a cheery face at the top of West Lomond and amazing fruit cake at the end!
Leg 3 - Patricia
Happily I have no photos of me sporting a hood minus the associated coat. It may have looked ridiculous, but it was perfect head and ear protection on such a day. My all singing all dancing Garmin watch thinks that I expended 530 calories by running leg 3- I beg to differ, it felt like 3 times that.
Leg 4 - Kirsty
It was wonderful and inspiring to get back running again, gee whiz I had threatened to walk up the muddy field, perhaps if I had wouldnt have lost my legs on the rest of the hill. I finally got the circulation in my feet back at the one and only checkpoint on the bend. I enjoyed the run, confess stopped a minute or two to take off my jacket, hat and gloves as did get hot so next time will be more in the swing with racing, cos yes there will be a next time...steady as she goes.