Ben Lomond Hill Race

The Ben Lomond Hill Race returned this weekend with the usual promises of brutal climbing and nerve-testing descents, all under the guaranteed glorious mid-May sunshine.

The ascent was steady enough, the snaking trail offering an annoyingly runnable gradient most of the way. I quickly found myself in the usual no-man’s-land behind the front runners, thanking passing hillwalkers with muttered cheers and a steady stream of snot. Just before the grassy climb, we were treated to a brief burst of hail, which was oddly lovely and refreshing. There were three of us crawling our way up the final, leg-burning grassy slope towards the summit, where I managed to gain a place. At the top trig point, we were greeted by a brilliant wall of noise and cowbells from the Westies, along with some quizzical-looking walkers.

Turning onto the descent, I actually felt good. The legs seemed alright, the new-ish VJs were gripping well on the dry rocks and grass, and for a few minutes I convinced myself I’d finally learned how to descend properly. Naturally, this ended with me launching myself into some tussocks and bog near the bottom of the grassy slope — fortunately about the softest landing spot on the whole route.

Once back on the trail, I reached what can only be described as terminal velocity, with my brain and legs working as fast as they possibly could. Michael still skipped effortlessly past me, confirming my descending ability remains questionable. The lower section featured a suspicious herbal aroma drifting from a few groups of hillwalking neds, which helped me relax into the more technical forested section — whether this counts as passive doping remains unknown.

As I turned left onto the final gravel track, a few glances behind confirmed nobody was within touching distance. A few minutes later, with the finish line and camera phones in sight, a heroic sprint finish was launched. Sadly, this was completely dismantled by the cattle grid just short of the line.

An outstanding race as ever — huge thanks to everyone involved in organising and supporting it, and brilliant to see so many strong runs from the Westies across the field.