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Lairig Ghru Hill Race 2020

The Lairig Ghru Hill Race is badly named. I have no issues with the first half of the name. Right enough it follows the Lairig Ghru, but hill race? 640m in 43K?! It's a trail race. Putting the modest elevation aside, it's a stunning route, slicing…
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Somaliland Marathon

It’s 06;25am, and there are about 35 of us shuffling nervously around at the Start/Finish line in the national stadium of Somaliland. The majority are locals, but there are about 10 international runners, of whom most are based in the…
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Sunny Seville

There are many ways to travel around Seville. The metro below, and trams and busses up top transport the masses. There are boats ferrying tourists up and down the Guadalquivir River which meanders through the city centre. Many locals prefer…
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Skye Trail Ultra

It's very dark, sometime around 2am, I guess. Rain is falling steadily, as it has for most of the day. Alan and I are making our way along the narrow, rutted path toward Boreraig on the final long leg of the Skye Trail Ultra. Less than 24…
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Westies Alpine Division Pt deux

On first inspection of Roddy and Leyre’s idyllic little country pad outside Geneva you’d be forgiven for thinking they’ve settled for a more relaxed version of the good life since leaving bonnie Maryhill behind. The chickens roam about…
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Knockargety Night Race

It was the inaugural Knockargety Night Race on the 28th December, and as the start was a 5-minute walk from my parents' house in my home village, Tarland (Aberdeenshire), it seemed like a good opportunity to justify some festive overindulgence…
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Cyclists V Harriers

You'd think that a cyclist would always beat a runner wouldn’t you? Well, providing they’re on their bike at least. Sunday saw 9 Westies put that theory to the test at the annual Cyclists V Harriers event at Irvine, hosted by Irvine…
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Preston Harriers 10M Road Race

Unlike the hills, for a road race I reckon you want an unremarkable course - flat, minimal changes in direction, laps maybe and just enough scenery to avoid tedium. ‘Unremarkable’ because ‘boring’ is the wrong word. With nothing else…
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Tinto Hill Race

I’ve been excited about this hill race since my mum ran it in 2014. I arrived with loose plans to beat her time (50 mins), keep up with JD in a race for once and not disgrace Westerlands Cross Country Club with my poor downhill running. I…

Jimmy Irvine 10k 2018

[With apologies to WH Murray.]   Standing atop the hill in Bellahouston Park, the wind swirling the leaves around our legs, the rain falling in quantities sufficient to sink even the most buoyant of spirits, it seemed that the universe…