Caerketton hill race

Caerketton hill race is the last in the Bog and Burn series, and was my first Bog and Burn outing of 2010. It’s a super-short race which simply runs steeply up alongside the Hillend Ski slope along tracks, through the foilage to the summit cairn of Caerketton and back down the same way. The route is steep and short and is a bit of an eyeballs-out experience. Reeling from a bizarre and random interaction in the petrol station near the ski slope where the race starts, which involved a rebuttal of my alleged Germanic decendency with some plummy English chappie, and with several races in the legs from last week, I wasn’t firing on all cylinders, and quickly found myself dropping backwards in the field as the race kicked off. After crossing the stile, I managed to hold position to the top, safely pinned in the trod by the limbs of those in front. With eyes watering from the buffeting wind, identifying runners wasn’t easy, but first Westie spotted on his return journey was Adam Gatens, well up in the field, followed by Graham, Murdo and Brian, peripheral vision was used to note Elsie and Pete, and I heard the snap of Chris’s camera shutter down at the stile. Having nipped past Eilis (HBT) who whoopped my ass in the Tour of Clydeside races the week before, I allowed gravity to take control on the final grassy slope down to the finish line and finished about scrillionth woman after all (most of) the Bogging girls. Thanks to Barbara and Don for the shouts.