Devils Burdens 2012

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Devils Burdens 2012

21st January 2012

To the astonishment of many, not least themselves, Westerlands fielded 5 complete teams for the Burdens this year with no late call-offs, no-one running twice, and everyone turning up on time (just - Val!).

Captainess Paula is a late addition to the New Year Honours List for her achievement in assembling 2 women's teams, and the fairer sex opted for the 9:30 start. Val Houston and Gillian Irvine made welcome appearances on Leg 1 along with Sheila Thomson and Social Secretary Fiona Hutchinson, no doubt enjoying the sunny start. Some complex childminding arrangements allowed Brenda to run Leg 2, and Vicki McLaren made her Westies debut on the run over to Scotlandwell. The women's teams were close together during the entire circuit, with Eleanor and Paula arriving at Strathmiglo in close proximity to Helen and Christine. Two more new Westies debuted on Leg 4 and finished strongly - Claire Larravide brought the B team home exactly 1 minute ahead of Gaynor Gillespie for the A team, in worsening windy weather and with shouts of encouragement from me on the course.

The men also observed a simple naming convention for the teams - no Marlins, Piranhas or HBTalent for us! Manny managed to remember the punch card and set off with Chris for the A team while Dave Rogers and JD opened the event for Team B, and Brian and Murdo got the Vets underway. Sam Alexander tried to confuse the opposition by wearing a GUHH vest on Leg 2, and was quickly followed by Ewan Dytch guesting for Team B. There were some good battles down to the handover, with a notably quick descent from Bella's Mark Johnston, but Robbie Simpson blew everyone else away with a run that was more than 2 minutes faster than the next-fastest man and suddenly fired Deeside into 4th place.

Burdens newbies James Callender and Alasdair Duke took on Leg 3 for Team B, with the now-established pairing of Niall and the Bonny Man heading up Bishop Hill and over West Lomond for the A squad. Keith Adams passed the baton to the Billiard Ball Brothers, looking very suspicious in balaclavas for the Vets. Check the Fife local news for bank robberies in Glenrothes...

John Denovan brought the A team home in 13th place overall, lower than last year but comfortably ahead of Bella A who had indulged in some Westies-bashing banter beforehand. I anchored Team B to a lowly 35th, behind Carnethy Ladies A and Fife Junior Boys. Oops. At least James got to say that he'd been Mudged. Gibby ran the trail leg for the Vets.

On behalf of all the Westies teams, a big thanks to the Captain and Captainess for organising, and thanks to the ever-hospitable hosts Fife AC. Let's hope that we see another big turnout of male and female Westies for the final big winter team event next month - the National XCs.

Final thought on the day comes from James, on his Leg 3 (and first Burdens) experience. How was it? "Awesome!"

Selected Results
1. Shettleston Men 2.24.58
13. Westerlands Men A 2.42.36
25. Carnethy MV50 A 2.52.43 (1st MV50)
26. HBTantrums 2.52.45 (1st Female)
35. Westerlands Men B 3.01.41
68. Westerlands Men V50 3.25.58
103. Westerlands Women B 4.02.36
105. Westerlands Women A 4.03.36

121 teams ran

Posted by Johnston Orr on Sat 21 Jan 2012 | 9 comments

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Comments

Paula said...
A fantastic day out. Well done all the women what great teams we had. All the new women were amazing and did westies proud! However next year perhaps Eleanor, Christine and myself will not spend 3.5 hours in the thick mist planning the route the day before! Also getting my car locked in Dobbies car park overnight was not a great plan. Thanks to JD for letting me use his car on the day!!!!
The team spirit and banter made it a great day. Thanks to all involved.
Sunday 22nd January 2012 1.02pm
Gaynor Gillespie said...
I'm sure all the Westies Newbies feel the same - a big thank you to all the Westies for making us so welcome and for guiding us through our first race in Club vests and / or our first Devils Burden experience! It was fantastic - the company - the encouragement - the organisation - the travel / handover directions - the fun with Maisie - even the hills!! It was just brilliant. Thanks so much. Looking forward to the next race!
Sunday 22nd January 2012 1.24pm
Johnston said...
Very happy with my leg time as it includes 30s waiting for a Leg 4 runner then a Leg 3 pair to use the dibber before me.

I've added links to the now-complete results, leg times in order, and (currently) Leg 1 and Leg 4 photos. Some great shots there - Chris looks like he's trying to invert himself to try to keep up with Manny! Gaynor's still focused and composed at the finish..and there's a scary close-up profile shot of the Assistant Captain pursuing Murdo. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Sunday 22nd January 2012 7.15pm
Johnston said...
Ok, Leg 2 and 3 photos online too. Same link as above.

Leg 3 set 1 - James, what the heck are you doing??! See John Quinn in Leg 3 set 2 for guidance on how to cut a dash and look relaxed at the same time.
Sunday 22nd January 2012 10.05pm
John Denovan said...
Well done to all those that ran and supported. Another great day out at the Burdens, possibly one of the best, most fun, races on the hill running calendar.

I ran leg 4 this time and coming off of a training break due to illness and Christmas/New Year I was just hoping to finish in under 30 minutes.

I started out pretty well and was speeding along to the forest then the climbing started to take it's toll on the way up to the checkpoint. However I was spurred on by the fact that my laboured pace was still allowing me to catch up with a Carnethy runner (Simon Titmuss - Carnethy B). He arrived at the checkpoint and seemed to whizz through while I had to stand around waiting on 4 teams punching cards and chatting as they did it. While waiting I got caught by Paul Hammond of Moorfoots. That gave me the kick up the ass I needed to get into a proper pace after I eventually got to punch my card (seperate leg 3 and leg 4 punches next year perhaps?).

I managed to get a pretty good rhythm going through the forest and started losing Paul and gaining on Simon. With about 1 mile to go I got past Simon and took my pace up a notch to make sure he didn't follow. When I came round the corner on to the finishing straight I was shocked to see the finish line as I still felt I had plenty in the tank so put on a bit of a sprint then turned off into the car park following another runner but then those lined up on the finish line shouted on me to cross the line (doh).

It's a shame I was held up at the checkpoint as I might have been able to catch the Carnethy Vets team as well but I guess it's pot luck on how quick you get through. At least I know the route now though and given some decent form I should get my time down to around 27 minutes next time (28:49 this time).
Monday 23rd January 2012 2.05pm
JamesC said...
Leg 3 was ace; well 'ard, perfect weather and a stunning course. Particular high-points were the high-speed bumslide descent from the Devil's Burdens and Manny & JD (El Capitan) jumping out from behind a cairn to cheer us on up the first hill. Low points were getting overly distracted by the pretty Moorfoot runner just in front of me and messing up our straight-as-an-arrow descent to the woods and the final bit of tarmac that went on FOREVER. All in all a superb introduction to the world of hill racing, psyched for more.

I also quite like that photo of the finely-tuned athletic machine frozen in a sublime moment of poise and grace.
Monday 23rd January 2012 9.12pm
Chris said...
My 12th Devil's Burdens in a row, and the 7th time I've run Leg 1. Neither Manny or I were on great form, but we shuffled through to hand over in 8th position, just behind Cosmics and just ahead of Moorfoots. It was my first hill run of the year, and first race since becoming a father. Also the complete lack of any recent sleep meant I forgot most of my kit and had to turn back after Cumbernauld to retrieve such useful things as hill running shoes. Thanks to Grim for the lift back to Falkland to enable a speedy departure, so I was back in Glasgow before any of our teams had completed.

An enormous well done to everyone who turned out, for possibly our most trouble-free Burdens ever!
Tuesday 24th January 2012 7.23am
Splutter, cough, choke.... said...
...gasp! Christ is it 1st April already? Right Daddyo let's get this straight "we" were "off-form" and "shuffling" were "we"? Eh naw, I think your sleep deprivation is affecting you more than you realise! After your predictable starting sprint and inevitable explosion halfway up the East Lomond, I enjoyed my morning stroll over leg 1 and was mighty sorry there wasn't a greasy spoon van en-route to which I could have ran on ahead and had breakfast while you grunted and swore your fertile loins through the countryside, dreaming of a good nights sleep. Did you not notice me holding the gates open for you, or having a blether with spectators? I bow to your mastery of deception capping the run nicely with your final maniacal 100 yard sprint to the changeover line, with me caught by surprise lagging behind and apparent to the watching crowd that I was holding you back!!! Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed our 1st leg, without the usual wretching and gasping for air, and with time to look at the scenery, and was sorry you couldn't join me with JD, Dave and Keith over the rest of the route for a proper shuffle. A great day out, in magic company and shouting abuse at all the opposition that were on leg 3. I look forward to being dragged around by the hair, kicking and screaming next year!
On another matter, we stayed the night in the camper van and I reccied the new Lomonds of Fife race route on the Sunday, which looks suuuuperb - much improved on the old version and now closer to an actual hill race than trail race. Can't wait to try it for real. Oh, and over the last few days we tried a few good sections of the Fife Coastal Path, which is highly recommended.
Wednesday 25th January 2012 8.27pm
Brenda said...
Had a great day out, enjoyed meeting some new Westies & enjoyed my run. The weather held out for us although it was cold towards the end of the day. We were lucky enough to have a hot shower in the van before heading to the pub for a pint with a few folk. Had a great few days away also. Thanks to all that helped look after Maisy to make it possible for us both to run, very much appreciated.
Friday 27th January 2012 10.39pm