A Glorious race at Tinto

7th November 2009

Despite being depleted by the skivers off partying at Loch Ossian we managed to field both a men’s and women’s team at Tinto this year. Seeing that I didn’t go back for the soup and prizegiving and the results are still at the provisional stage, I’ve no idea how the teams did overall.

The blurb on the Carnethy website says that it wasn’t a day for fast times as it was pretty slippy. While I agree with the slippy – who put all those extra stones on the path? – I was delighted with my "fast" time. After nearly a year of hill reps (we wummin didn’t take a break) I had hoped to finally break 50 minutes. I have been trying to do this over the past two years but the weather hasn’t been working with me so I’ve just keep going back and hoping that the weather would give up. What a day, sunny and hardly any wind. Who cares about slippy, my INOV8 mudclaws will take care of that!

There seemed to be an awful lot of people in front of me at the start but the hill reps kicked in and I found that I was steadily overtaking them. Jings, I was even just behind Jocelyn Scott for a spell. Then Debbie was just ahead of me and then she was behind me. I passed Don Reid sitting by the side of the path (waiting for Debbie I guessed). No time for a chat, I had to keep pushing on if I was going to beat 50 minutes. Runners were now starting to pass on the way down. It seemed that those keeping by the fence were slipping less. It was a bit misty at the top, a bit of fancy footwork on the stony bit and here we go. I took off down the hill, heading for the fence and then just kept going. Without the wind my eyes didn’t tear up and so I had no problem seeing where to put my feet and I could feel the power from all those reps in my legs.

Don and Debbie passed me as we neared the bottom of the slope but I was able to hang on and not let Debbie get too far ahead. Dick Wall passed me just before the gradient levelled out a bit but I passed him and managed to keep ahead for most of the final section. Then just at the end he put on this amazing burst of speed and charged past me. Unfortunately he (and the person in front of him) then stopped short of the timekeeper on the actual line and I could very easily have charged past both of them but then I don’t care if guys beat me. I am after all an older lady so what does it prove if you beat me Dick?

Westies Results (Provisional) 300 registered (298 started, 293 finished)

43 Dave Rogers 38:27
45 Alan Gilkison 38:29
196 Don Reid 48:32
198 Deborah Stokoe 48:36
202 Pauline McAdam 48:52 (!!!!)
203 Pete Baxter 48:53
284 Elspeth Scott 60:23
291 Graham Benny 66:33