Callander Highland Games Hill Race

Despite the heavy clouds, the weather held out for the race today and what a wee belter it was too. Apparently this is the first time the race has been run in almost a decade and it’s a new route of ’10km plus a wee bit more’ which actually equates to 14.2km, i.e. quite a wee bit more than 10km! I was pleased to see Captain Chris picking up his number before the race. His journey through the Pyrenees has not damaged his fitness, despite what he might say! Prsad Prsad and Greg Glendinning were at the start line along with ‘some Hungarian guy’ so we knew there’d be a few folk out in front. I’d gained a little bit of speed over the summer so I started the race with the idea of trying to keep up with Chris. I managed quite well and traded places with him a few times to take a shot of being out in front, however, a rocky descent off of the 2nd last hill, at around 8km, meant that Chris opened up a gap of 100m+ which I never managed to close. The race was a great mix of trails, grassy hills, technical descents, a few farm road sections and even takes in a random trip through Keltie Water just before the end. The horrendously long and punishing 2km of farm road near the end of the race meant that by the time I finished I was completely drained. Prsad Prsad won, Chris finished 4th and I finished 5th. A highly recommended Highland games hill race.

Route