Cioch Mhor

Results

Went up to Dingwall on Saturday to attempt Cioch Mhor a race I've never got round to before. I gave a lift to Colin and Joan Wilson of Carnethy which helped make the journey go by easier and defrayed the cost also. This race is organised by Highland Hillrunners and they did an excellent job ......the route is a bit contrived as you go over a small hill at the start before you get to the climb proper and then finish by retracing your steps back over the first hill ......which, by the way, has mysteriously got a lot higher since you first passed that way. Only 38 starters and as I was the only Westie I hereby claim my Summer League extra 3 points and unfortunately for me there were no turkeys .....strike that .....there was one oven-wrapped turkey but I needed a mirror to spot him. The sun broke through the mist just before the start and all went well up the first hill and down to the river crossing .....passing 4 or 5 people helping a lassie who had managed to impale herself on a barbed wire fence ......my rule is if you are in the first 3 or 4 coming across an accident you stop and help but there were plenty there already so kept on. The last few weeks I've been running not too badly but 2/3 of the way up Cioch Mhor the wheels just fell off and I don't really know why ......it was really hot but still .....anyway this was a spectacular collapse and while I kept going everybody was coming past ......wee old men picking up their pension were being slowed down by me .....and the rest of the race was one long drawn-out nightmare. Finlay Wild, last Ben Nevis winner, won the race in 1:08:something and Nicola Meekin was 1st lady in around 1:20:00 .......Brian Brennan came in when it got dark.
Good news is that you get an excellent shower and a fantastic feed back at Dingwall Sports Centre and that helped .....a little ......to cheer me up. Anyway another race ticked off and I can recommend this race to anybody, particularly those who don't like steep ups-and-downs as this is all perfectly runnable.

Posted by Brian Brennan on Mon 11 Apr 2011 | 2 comments

Category Hill Race