Glentress Marathon

Since Chris drove and JD posted on WhatsApp, the race report falls to me (Kira gets a pass as a new member).

JD, Chris, Gaby and Kira at the start

This was my first marathon and I was excited to be finally doing it.  I was also curious to see what happens when I run more than 33 K. Turns out my hips don’t suddenly crumble and – spoiler alert- I was able to plod my way round, spurred on by lovely marshals and an entertaining course. It’s two 21K loops with a mix of forestry tracks, woodland trails, and heathery boggy trods, with a fair deal of ascent (1600 m in total or, if like JD you’re wedded to the nonsensical imperial system, 5000 feet). I found it all runnable, and there are some great views over the Tweed valley and the surrounding hills.

The first half of the loop is a gradual ascent followed by a zigzag track which climbs, and climbs, and climbs, and climbs until it finally reaches the highest point on the route (585m).  Then it’s mainly downhill sections through the woods to the start for loop number two. It took me a while to switch from downhill legs to uphill legs again, but I refused to give into walking any of the uphill sections, not wanting to be overtaken by JD (or anyone else), and kept shuffling on until the top. After that, I knew I was on the home straight and got stuck into the descents, planning my post-race snacks all the way down. I crossed the finish line in 05:14:46 (11^th open female) and was greeting by Chris who’d beasted it in 04:13:50 (11^th overall).

JD came in shortly after in 05:27:43 (9^th V50-59) followed by Kira in 05:59:45 (19^th open female).

Chris and JD deserve a special shout out for running after taking part in the Kilpatricks C.U.T.E. the previous day. Next level.