Westie Of The Year 2024

Our wonderful and most deserving Ella Peters has been voted Westie Of The Year 2024! Ella has had an amazing year in the hills, and the whole club is very proud of her!

She won the Scottish Hill Running Championship (Senior Woman) and was member of the winning Women’s Team (WesterlandsCCC). She represented Scotland at the INTERNATIONAL RAS YR WYDDFA 2024 (Snowdon Race). She went on some self-organised gnarly mountain adventures, e.g. the Haute Route in the Alps and the Torridon Mammoth. If you have not heard of the latter, it is a 61.5 km round in Torridon with more than 6600m elevation gain, that had not been repeated in the last 26 years. She only went and did it!

https://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/2024/04/torridion-mammoth-revisited-by-arron-and-ella

Ella stepped up and organised her first hill race this year (The Kilpatricks Hill Race) with initiatives to make is zero-carbon/zero waste. She is a member of the club committee and women’s sub-committee and is a champion for all her tireless work making our club activities more eco-friendly.

Voices from two fellow Westies:

“The SHR Championship win is an outstanding achievement. To do it as she has – with modesty, determination and generosity, alongside all her other contributions and performances for the club – is special.”

“Ella is an example of the power that individuals have to change things when we use our voice, model the change we want to see, and keep at it, even when others tease us for it!”

Congratulations and I wish you many more happy, successful adventures and races in the hills.

THANK YOU to everyone who voted. Organising this award was a real joy.

Receiving all your messages full of admiration and appreciation for one another was lovely and another reminder that, as Westies, we have chosen to surround yourselves with amazing and very cool people. We had a fantastic year in the club and many deserving names were proposed to be Westie Of The Year. The below summary of all the nominations creates a profile of what makes a Westie outstanding. I hope it shares the positivity that I experienced when I read all your messages. If you recognise yourself in the words, it is probably because a fellow club member has voted for you.

What makes a Westie exceptional?

Quality #1  Westies show up

Westies love to race: all kinds of hill races, Scottish Championships, Bog n Burns, Long Classics – you name it, you will find at least one or two Westies on the start line, if not twenty.  Some Westies prefer trail races, even really, really long trail races. In the winter you find Westies at XC races. You will even find Westies at the odd road race. When a Westie does not run, they will be organising a race or helping out.

Beyond racing, Westies show up to club runs, Monday rep sessions, leading groups and look out for others. By showing up, THEY are the person that builds and enhances the group/ club feel.

Quality #2  Westies are tough and do not give up

When you love running, there is nothing more frustrating than getting injured or ill. Westies rise to this challenge and still enthusiastically engage with club affairs and support fellow runners, despite not being able to run themselves.

Love went out to Westies that have shown resilience when facing their anxieties. Some Westies are more nervous than others when it comes to hill runs, yet they keep coming back and face their fears, which is truly inspirational.

One Westie in particular has given us all an outstanding example on how to show resilience and overcome an injury this year!

https://westerlandsccc.co.uk/how-to-break-an-ankle-and-still-win-an-shr-championship/

Quality #3   Westies care

Westies care about their club and many exceptional Westies work quietly in the background, being the backbone of everything we do under the banner of WesterlandsCCC. They have been part of the committee for years, and sometimes it might seem that all their hard work is not recognised. That is NOT the case. Club members have expressed a lot of appreciation for all the engagement by committee members, especially the long-serving ones.

Praise went to Westies that assumed new roles, either within the committee, a sub-committee, team captains or as race director.

However, Westies care not only about their club and running, but also about broader social and environmental issues.  Exceptional Westies never tire trying to find ways to make all our activities more inclusive and more environmentally sustainable.

Quality #4  Westies are great runners

Some are even outstanding runners and won a championship, or a category within a championship this year and represented at international competitions!

But you do not have to be a winner to be a great runner. Whippets, mid-packers and race snails alike – you are a great runner when you go and give your best. And Westies certainly do that every day!

As the outgoing Westie Of The Year 2023 it is my great pleasure to pass our club trophy on to Ella and I could not be prouder to be part of such an wonderful group of people and hill running club.