This new event from Croy was organised by AdventureZone Scotland, not a purely running agency. Advertised as a half-mar, it was in fact a long 14th mile after the 13m marker! Distance was academic really for an off road course. On a mainly dry day, 79 finishers set out on this initially flat trail, daintily dodging puddles for a mile until reaching MUD ALLEY! After this section, strategy changed to seeking out puddles to lighten the cartoon clay boots.
An interesting & varied route led round by Auchinstarry canal basin, round Kilsyth via Dumbreck Marsh to Twechar, then became hilly for the later section, over a forested hill then traversing Croy Hill for a finale, great viewpoint, before retracing mud alley to re-coat the boots for the final mile. Finishers were rewarded with a wee medal, & better still a pure cool buff; a good change from the usual t-shirt. Well marked & marshalled, not helped by a landowner with a problem, removing signs from what is a right of way- there’s always someone! General feedback was positive, so it is likely to become a fixture, although it clashed with the county x/c relays that you folk were dashing round. It did seem to attract a wide cross-section of different types of runner, which I think was a good thing, as well as the friendly nature of a smaller scale event. I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.
Winner; Crispin Walsh, 1h 33m 33s.
2nd; John Duffy 1h 37m19
3rd; Robert Rogerson 1.39.13 (Neil McCover Kirky half-mar. organiser)
1st lady; Catherine Noble in 1.57.10,
2nd; Julie Oswald in 1.58.01,
3rd; Lisa Marshall in 1.58.49.
68th; Fletcher Murdoch, 2h 35m 25. (so 11 folk behind me! Still catching a few in the later stages.)
