Social events, runs & activities
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East Lothian social duathlon
Having missed out on Keith Burns competitive duathlon several years ago Billy was keen to resurrect it, albeit a social version with more manageable logistics, but possibly twice the distance and lots more uphill! Whoever said East Lothian was flat??
11 of us met at North Berwick train station (although no-one actually trusted the trains to be on time or even turn up so everyone arrived by car, except Michelle who cycled to the start!) We set off under cloudy skies for the Garleton Hills and Byres Hill in particular – our first hill of the day.
The gate to the Hopetoun Monument was open so most of us clambered up the twig covered stairs, groping blindly for handholds as we were enveloped in darkness on several occasions. The views made it all worthwhile.
Back to the bikes to meet up again with Gareth who had lost us when we disappeared inside the monument and we made our way upwards to the Lammermuirs.
We had suffered 2 mechanicals by now – our first saw one of Martha’s spokes break (dealt with in a flash by Ex-president Willie) while Gareth’s mudguard sheared in half, luckily not impaling anyone. While chat on how to record multi-duathlons on a garmin fenix would last the rest of the day and beyond!
The sun was now out and the temperature was rising. Cries of “it was raining in Edinburgh when we left so I didn’t put on any sun cream” were heard.
We made it to Gifford where el presidente Mark had to leave us to retrieve Barra. We were now 10! A final pull and we made it to Blinkbonny and the end of the road. Willie guarded the bikes (kept company by a field of vociferous cows and bulls!) Gareth made a sharp exit as his back was now playing up. We were now 9!
With the breakfast roll order placed at Lanterne Rouge in Gifford we were up and down Lammer Law in record time. We could now enjoy the marvellous free wheeling descent.
Rolls, coffee and cake were consumed under blue skies. None of us were particularly keen to remount and Willie now bade his farewell. We were now 8!
A steep climb out of Gifford and we were on our way to Traprain. Heading east for the first time we realised it was windy after all. But we were still descending, the sun was shining and our bellies were full. Unintentionally we became 7 as Sandra was dropped – a quick phone call later and a regroup and we made our way up Traprain – hill 3 of 4. The Exmoor ponies posed for photos at the top and Michelle led us back down “broken finger alley” to our waiting bikes.
A quick stop at the Co-op in East Linton to refuel with coke, ice-cream, doughnuts and pork pies (food of athletes) and we were on the home straight (with a few surprise hills for good measure). A few final hundred metres on the John Muir Way took us to the base of North Berwick Law. We were on the summit for 7pm and we were glad of the breeze.
But a few photos later and chips were calling. Sandra resisted and headed to the car for her swimsuit. We were now 7. Gareth met us (having been held hostage by the chip shop mafia when he couldn’t pay so we were back to 8). Chips followed by ice-cream have never tasted so good.
Truly a grand day out!
Dorothy Elliott
Weds run – Traprain Recce
Wednesday’s social run took us to East Linton with Dorothy and Billy Elliot showing off the new (improved) Traprain Race route. This will take place on Sat 11th Jun and is a Carnethy organised race. Turn up with a vest and your entry is free.
14 of us included a 14 month old (dog) and an 80 year old (legend) in Keith Burns trotted through the village and along the river with beautiful wild flowers lining the avenue. The river crossing was as fun as usual with one of us taking a dip. You will discover why on race day.
After the scramble up Traprain you return to the river and cross a bridge. Here is the change. You now turn left here, NOT right. You then discover the new weee hill. Oh what fun that will be on race day! The run back into East Linton descending through fields is sublime and fast with a sprint finish across the park to cheering crowds… Bravo for the changes.
Good luck and be safe this weekend on the Corbetts. You can still join in if you want.
Mark Hartree
Last of the night runs
The last night-run needed a plan so I pulled a vague idea together. Utilise the attractive low beer prices and the proximity to the hills, and a recent refurbishment of Hunters Tryst, and we had a start and finish. The middle bit was vague and made up a bit as we went. I rang the pub twice to book and tell them our plans and turned up at 1800 to remind them.
15 folk and 2 dogs turned up at 1830 and ordered food in advance for an 2000 return, beers and feast. Our route took in Squirrel and Covanenters Woods pointing out the trenches by the barracks. White Hill was climbed by the Barkley variation direct (in honour of Jasmin) or by the Jesse route further right. We headed up Capelaw to the gate but missed out the top although late arriving Pete Cain did a solo visit after we turned left.
New members were introduced to ‘bondoo bashing’ or Barkley bashing (so they thought) through heather and dead bracken on a direct line to Green Craig, then to Shearie Knowe and another straight line to Swanston across the Golf Course. A lovely night running in warm winds and clear views.
Arriving bang on time at 1955, the pub hospitality however was less warm. They had run out of gas, so no beer or soft drinks. Wine and Guinness survived so we would cope. Our reserved tables had been given away so we found new seating. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. First the waiter came to tell us that some veggie/vegan meals were unavailable, then Pete Cain’s steak pie was off, finally fish and chips arrived last at 2115. Then no custard… and paying was very slow.
So much for planning… I wrote a complaint to be told they were busy that night. Ho hum.
Mark Hartree
#Twosday2
On Sunday evening a sturdy group of 25-or-so marshals assembled in the Swanston Car Park, soon to take to the slopes of Allermuir for #Twosday2. The night was the brainchild of Bob Johnson, and despite a couple of setbacks and a few revisions, the basic idea remained the same throughout: get a load of headtorches into the Pentlands, and create a line of light across outline of a hill, shining-out across the city. It was ambitious. It could be visually stunning, or just completely invisible, there was no real way to tell ahead of the evening. A couple of light tests were inconclusive as too many variables came into play: location of the headtorches, strength of the headtorches, visibility from the city, light pollution, drizzle, number of people, spacing between torches, and nearly all of these couldn’t be guaranteed on the night. For something so simple, it was surprisingly complicated. You know that things are getting out-of-hand when you need to contact the airport before starting. Despite all the possible issues, the end there was one overriding factor – it was a bit of fun, so it was definitely worth doing!
Bob formed a tight organisation team of Graham Nash and Mike Lynch, and they set a date of 22/2/22 to do it. Graham laminated some signs, Mike created a hashtag-based social media campaign, and Bob bought some coffee from Cobbs – it was organisational poetry-in-motion. Unfortunately, the first attempt was rightly called-off due to the weather. It seemed fairly benign in Edinburgh, but on the summits, it was just a bit too blowy and wet to have folk standing around. Again, supposed to be fun, so a new date was selected for another attempt, #twosday2 – 20/3/22, the Spring Equinox (Northern Hemisphere) and National Ravioli Day (USA). It was set.
Back in Swanston Car Park, Graham gave the safety briefing and handed-out bibs and spare food. Bob, Gordon, Graham had already been out marking the course, and Mike joined for the dry run. We all took to the hill to stand at our positions and wait for the steady stream of pals, families, clubmates, and general public to make their way uphill to meet us. And so they arrived! With everyone in place on the hill, we waited for a firework to signal the start of Twosday2. Graham and Nick primed the rocket, a flash, a bang, and all the headtorches were lit, shining out across the city below. It was great being in amongst the line of lights, and looking around we had the best position for the show. In town, some cameras took some photos, and there were some surprised posts on Facebook and Twitter. Ten minutes later, a second firework signalled the end, and we all drifted off the hill, and back home to some warm supper.
A great evening in great conditions, and a fun night on the hill! Massive thanks to all the marshals and everyone who came along. Some photos from around town, below.
Jim
Night run Dirleton
The January night run saw Carnethies leave Edinburgh behind and head out to the East Lothian coastal village of Dirleton, complete with its 13th century castle. Only 2 days after the full moon the skies were clear and the moon’s rays reflected on the sea. 25 Carnethies, old snd new, plus 3 dogs headed down through the woods past Archerfield and on to Yellowcraigs. Sandy single tracks were followed through the dunes interspersed with sprints along the deserted beaches. Amber absconded briefly but was retrieved as always and continued her efforts to trip everyone up along with the assistance of Barra. Gullane was duly reached and marked our turning point. A short stretch of tarmac saw us avoid Muirfield golf course and delivered us back to Archerfield. We were now running late (too much moon gazing) so the pace was picked up for the final mile to take us back to the Castle Inn where a much deserved bar supper was waiting for us.
Dorothy Elliott
The Annual Carnethy Xmas Pub Run – 2021
Omicron threatened to put the run in serious jeopardy so leader Jim emailed Boris to get some sensible advice on how to conduct it safely. The reply came to stick with wine and cheese, wear suits and only talk about work. So Santa suits it was. Jim substituted the wine and cheese with whisky and fudge which seemed popular. I talked about my work a LOT and can only apologise to those present who may never eat sweet potatoes again.
We went for as many al fresco drink stops as possible, the best one has to be the monument on top of Calton Hill where Jim produced a flask of special mulled drink. It was really very good and the taste was oddly familiar. I couldn’t put my finger on it until Jim revealed that the recipe included a lot of Buckfast.
It was all good fun and Edinburgh was looking very atmospheric in the mizzle. Even the Grumpiest Barmaid in Edinburgh couldn’t dampen our spirits. Thanks Jim!
Nicola Dunn
Steading to Peebles Run
This was very much a run of two halves, the day split by a marked change in the weather at midday, not what the weatherman ordered. Mark Hartree started this series of long winter training runs a few years back, and they are a great way to introduce runners to longer distances. The pace is social with regular regrouping, and usually a lunch stop at the halfway point so anyone can leave or join if they don’t fancy the full distance.
15 Carnethys met at The Steading for a 08:15 start. It was great to meet new members and some folk I’d not seen for nearly two years for some reason.
We headed into the Pentlands, and took the high level route over Allermuir, Capelaw and Harbour hills basking in winter sunshine, with regular stops for photos of the stunning views. At Bavelaw we continued heading SW to pick up the old drovers route to the Bore Stane and down to the North Esk Reservoir and onto Carlops where Lucas departed to head home for his dinner date. Half an hour later at 12:00 we were at The Gordon Arms in West Linton (17 miles) enjoying refreshments. About half the pack decided to stay and enjoy the lunch menu before catching the next bus back, whilst Michelle forged ahead solo. Having picked up 3 fresh runners, 9 in total continued on for the next 13 miles. It was at this point there was a dramatic change in the weather. The temperature dropped a few degrees and the sleet started. By the time we reached Green Knowe, it was full on heavy snow. A quick warmer of raspberry gin gave us some heat to the core, but the snow kept coming. Everyone was thankful for having full gear, but our hands were becoming numb in sodden gloves, and we were keen to keep moving and get to Peebles.
Michelle bumped into John Ryan 5 miles from the finish, and he kindly gave her a lift back to Straiton. The rest of us were half an hour behind, making fresh tracks in the snow – studded shoes having an advantage over the slipper like Hokas. Arriving in Peebles shortly after 15:00, a warm welcome awaited us at The Bridge Inn, where we stripped out of our damp clothes in the snug, and downed a couple of pints, or a couple of coffees (depending on how cold you were), before getting the trundling bus back to Edinburgh. A great day out, and a reminder how quickly the weather can turn at this time of year. Look out for details of the next long winter run in a few weeks.
Graham Nash
Night Run – Testaments Old and New
We had a healthy turnout for the second of the Night Runs ‘Testaments Old and New’. The route starting and finished at Morningside Clock and took in several of the City’s familiar, and not so, monuments to worthies, dark history and the obscure. Route here: https://www.strava.com/activities/6272417093
We had perfect weather and the emergence of Christmas lights gave the old place a festive feel. If you’re interested in running/walking the route again, you missed any of my commentary last night, or you want to read about the few that we didn’t get to, then there you can do so here (pdf 1mb).
Next up on the Night Run series, the not-to-be-missed Christmas Pub Run led by our own Jim Hardie on 22nd December. Christmas outfits obligatory.
Mike Lynch