I decided it was about time I tried our most local hill race, especially as I’m trying to do as much hill running as I can this year to prepare for October’s Glencoe Marathon. So on Saturday 19th March I headed down to Queen’s Parkmin Inverness to register for the Craig Dunain hill race.
I’ve been up to the communications masts that sit on top of the forested hill plenty of times, whether by mountain bike, running or walking, but this was altogether different.
My usual approach to hill running is to slow down and just experience it but, as always when there’s a race on, I want to do as well as possible, even though I’ve no hope of finishing anywhere near the front of the field! So I headed off from the line at a pace that I wouldn’t normally have been anywhere near with a 250 metre climb ahead!
When it got to the ascent I just reduced my stride and kept going, encouraged by the excellent marshals along the course, and then I just had to cope with the alternative approach to the top – which diverted left off the Great Glen Way track and across a field into the woods, meeting the top of the zigzags then skirting below the top of the hill to climb up an indefensibly steep mountain bike trail to the muddy summit plateau!
It was, as they say, all downhill from there. I did my best to keep my speed up on the way down but I was passed by a couple of people – including my neighbour – though I was happy that I kept up the pace I did after that climb. I didn’t quite have the legs to catch the pair in front of me on the finishing straight along the canal but it was a great feeling to complete the race in the middle of a field of incredible athletes.
My time, for the record, was 48mins 35secs.