Tinto HR 2011

12th November 2011

Results | Photos

What a glorious sunny day! Those who lifted their eyes from the rock-strewn ground at the enormous cairn were treated to fabulous views over South Lanarkshire, then it was full-on concentration again for the helter-skelter descent.

The kit checks were fierce this year - gloves and all. Worth noting for future, and hard to disagree with in November. I was pleased to see a sign at the hall in Symington saying that three-quarter length tights did not constitute full body cover - using safety as an excuse to avoid a fashion disaster seems fair to me!

Prasad was leading by a huge margin on the way down and went on to win in the 11th-fastest time ever. Second place looked less certain as Al Anthony was being pursued by a pack of snarling Carnethys, but Al held on.

Alan Gilkison was first Westie by a good distance, clocking in around 37 mins. Next was JD, putting Brennan firmly back in his box and rolling back the years (well, a bit!) in the 43 min zone. I thought Don Reid was ahead of me all the way, but he arrived beside me just as the downhill gradient slackened off, complaining that it was a bad day, then promptly shot off towards the line with me trying desperately to cling on and not to drop any other places. We finished in just over 44 mins, Don keeping the advantage and pulling me along to a 7-min PB. (I've recorded around 30:30 for the ascent and 13:43 for the descent.)

John Quinn translated his excellent road and XC form to the hills, arriving soon after, and benefitting from a conservative start and consistent climb (and not using his face as a brake this year) to claim a big PB too. Brian Brennan was next, pre-race ebullience and banter now at a peep - or at least just moderate volume. Malcom Evans, John Hamer, and Ros Evans (1st FV60) were also flying the Westies flag, and Tinto saw a very welcome return for club stalwart Graham Benny. (Have I missed anyone?)

A huge thanks to Drew and Captainess Paula for support, despite gammy knees and JD's Polish Mountain 'Flu. I'm not aware of any Westies injuries this year and it seemed like everyone had a grand day out.

Westies results and times:
25 Alan Gilkison 37:02
103 John Donnelly 43:56
111 Don Reid 44:10
112 Johnston Orr 44:10
122 John Quinn 44:45
125 Brian Brennan 45:00
176 Malcolm Evans 48:55
180 John Hamer 49:17
202 Ros Evans 50:45
259 Graham Benny 68:37

Posted by Johnston Orr on Sat 12 Nov 2011 | 6 comments

Category Hill Race