Westie on Wheels

“Running was my first love and it will be my last” but………..cycling has been a blast this year. I loved the huge range of events and whole joyous atmosphere of the UCI World Cycling Championships in August. On the days of the road races,…
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Westies Profile- Gaby

How and when did you get into hill running? I got into hill running in 2020. I was training for my Mountain Leader qualification between lockdowns and realised I could double up a navigation practice in the Campsies with a run (navigating…

J Westies

J has been with the club for 10 years.

Two Races: Dale Head & Tinto

WHERE? Dale Head – The picturesque Lakeland finery of the Borrowdale Valley. Tinto – That ambiguous stretch of Scotland that isn’t quite the Borders and isn’t quite Lanarkshire. WHAT? Dale Head – A dash across a field,…
Runners and spectators standing in a field. There are misty hills in the background. It's a grey autumnal day.

My first FRA relay

Last weekend I took part in my first FRA’s (or, to use its proper name, the British Athletics Fell and Hill Relays) and it was also my first relay race. Two hundred and fifty teams representing clubs from all over the UK gathered in Braithwaite,…
The mist clears and the blue sky opens up over rolling hills, far into the distance. This is taken somewhere after Glensax and before the end, but I have entirely forgotten where.

Two Breweries Hill Race

Saturday 23 September 2023 I‘ve run for years but I’ve never thought it’s really possible, or that interesting, for me to put into words the experience of running a big race. Hence having never previously written a race report. All…

Merrick Hill Race 2023

The final counter in this year's SHR Champs took place on Sunday at Merrick. I'd heard it was a fine hill, but had never been there before. I suppose it is a fine hill, though the views were non-existent and I can't say I enjoyed ultra-slippy…

The Ben Race

Fifteen Westies assembled in Fort William on a hot September day to race up the Biggest Ben of Them All. I've spent the last few months attempting some Ben-specific training, plotting increasingly convoluted and repetitive routes in the Ochils…

Montane Lakeland 100

I will have to travel back in time to give my 2023 Lakeland 100 experience a bit of context. In 2018 I ran the Lakeland 50. It was the first time I raced in the Lake District. I absolutely loved it and made the journey from Dalemain to…

JC’s E-Z Guide to Winning Hill Races

With the right mix of strategy, tactics and a pinch of good luck you too can win a hill race! Here's how: BE FASTER - To win a hill race you have to be faster than the other folk there. Thems the breaks. But that doesn't mean you have…