| 14th July 2012 Rigby record broken at 25th David Shepherd Memorial Glamaig Hill race |
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| In good running conditions, Finlay Wild (Lochaber) dominated the 25th
Glamaig Race with a superb run to break Mark
Rigby's 1997 record
by 14 seconds. He reached the summit in just over 32 minutes, 3
mins in front of a chasing group led by Carnethy's Paul Faulkner, and
flew down the hill to win by a staggering 6 minutes. Finishing in second place
after another fast descent was Brian Marshall - the winner of the previous 9 races (!). Brian missed his 10th consecutive win but had the consolation
of breaking the Over 40s record. The race for first woman was much
closer than the men's with Charlotte
Morgan, who was 3rd to the top, taking the lead on the steep descent
only for Catriona Buchanan
to get past on the flatter ground towards the end. Catriona and Charlotte ran the 2nd and 3rd fastest women's times ever ! The 194 finishers was yet another record, by a long way. Photos and results |
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| Postcard from Oxford So I sent off a note to Kate Friend to ask if it would be OK for me to wear the vest. Given that I am not to be confused with quick when it comes to running and I didn’t want to ruin the club’s average (if such a thing existed). The instant reply was positive, so with a big smile I packed my bag and set off for the airport. None of this would have come about had I not been married on Skye, high up in the Cuillin on a buttress known as the Cioch. Whilst there I heard about the famous Ghurka and now equally famous race and decided that this race had to be on the bucket list. Now, four years on, the Glamaig Hill Race has become a bit of an annual pilgrimage for an Oxfordshire flatlander. Fly up to Inverness on the Friday, drop in for a cuppa with Bill & Nicki, drive over to Carbost go for a swim in the fairy pools, have a couple of beers then start getting anxious abut the race. This year I tried a new descent, and strangely I found myself on my own. I had spoken to Kate about my plan before the race and she looked at me in an odd sort of way and said something along the lines of being ‘too far round’. Did she mean me? I thought I knew best on the premise that if I can get down quick, I’ll be running on the flat which might be better… It might have worked if a) I had got to the top a bit quicker and b) I had had stronger legs once I got onto the flat and c) I had peeled off right a bit earlier rather than following the river all the way to the fence and falling in a bog (twice). I crossed the line in pretty much the same time as last year; shattered but uninjured and pleased to have at least tried out my new route. Perhaps next year I’ll be less adventurous and keep to the normal trade routes. This has to be one of my favourite weekends of the year and I can’t wait for the next one. Thank you Carnethy. Murray Bishop |
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