Meall a Bhuchaille

Almost didn't go due to the terrible weather forecasts but the drive up to Loch Morlich was fantastic and the actual weather couldn't have been better .....organisers got it spot on / .e. they were lucky as within an hour of the end of the race the wind really got up and the rain started to chuck it down.

Glen More lodge was busy but not many Westies around for this race ....only me, Manny, and Alastair B who I didn't get a chance to talk to beforehand and he headed off sharpish .

This was my second race 'back' last year and I was keen to see whether a year of graft ....well a few weeks any way ....would make a difference to my time ....75:40 last year.

The race started and we were off. I could see Manny ahead slowly working his way up the field and soon you can't see that far ahead anyway as you're deep in the woods on a twisty course. The temperature was excellent ...no need for a thermal and just the occasional really muddy patch underfoot so no excuses which is always a pity. Managed to get a steady pace going and only got passed near the end of the woods by Tosh Brannan and Davy Duncan so I knew I was doing OK.

Out on to the open hill and the dreaded goat track which for me is just a trudge .....but held my position although dropped back a bit from the guys in front on the way up .......great to be able to run again on top and the downhill and second climb are pretty good. The main descent down to the forest in deep heather wasn't very good and I think we were all way too far right and there was a wee track we should have been on ....cost us a bit of time. Passed by a Lochaber vest and also Willie Mykura as we hit the forest track and held them until we got to the bottom and the sting in the tail.....which is the two or three hundred foot climb on the track before the last short descent and run-in. I kept running though it wasn't pretty and managed to come in under 70 minutes ....69:41 ...almost exactly 6 minutes faster than last year.

Manny was 8th in 56:53 and Alastair was 26th in 64:21....although Manny was complaining about not being credited with the scalp of Dan Whitehead who started the race, seemed to have a number, Manny passed him on the descent....but he disappeared and the organisers had no trace of him ....

Jethro Lennox won in a new record of 50:36 well ahead of Brian Marshall and Prasad Prasad and Jill Mykura was 1st lady in 63:49

Great tea/coffee and carrot cake in the Lodge cafe although the prize giving took a long time to get organised ....then a quiet pint on the way down the road with Manny and Jim Hall ....where were all the rest of the Westies ?

Posted by Brian Brennan on Sun 26 Nov 2006 | 2 comments

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