It really is trail running season for the Maryhill Harriers. With the Bannerman race a few weeks earlier, and the Kenny Stevenson Memorial Trail Race only 9 days in the rear window, 8 Maryhill Harriers headed to Milngavie for the Club Hill/Trail Race. Given that the traditional Blanefield route race is now open to other DAAA clubs and takes a bit of marshalling etc, the Committee made a decision to use the Milngavie Trail Race route for this year’s Club Hill/Trail Race which would allow all who wanted to run to be able to do so.
Family and work commitments meant that the field running was less than originally anticipated (although the dreary, rainy conditions may have made the final decision for some). The aforementioned 8 Harriers were Chris, James, Claire, Cat, Amy, Kenny, Ross and I. Given that a few of us had only completed one recce and a couple of us had never done the route, the pre-race chat was about how much of a ‘club’ we were going to be and how helpful we were going to be for each other at the junctions. We shouldn’t have questioned this, Maryhill will never die and all along the way we were helping each other at every turn.
We set off and Amy and I took the lead with James and Ross close behind, this lead didn’t last long given we missed the first right turn. James takes the blame for this one as he told us to go straight on. A quick u-turn and a chase to catch those now at the front.
This is where this this route really bites – from kilometres 2 through 4 it’s very tough with over 100m of elevation as you climb up towards Mugdock Castle. Having eventually caught up, this is where Amy and I took another of our wrong turns. Coming to a junction we stopped and debated which route to take. We started running one way then back eventually deciding to wait on the other to catch-up to ask them. When they didn’t arrive, we decided to keep going, turning left at the castle where we saw the others a good few hundred metres ahead! First to last to first to last again and we had only done 4km! What a race this was turning out to be.
The next portion of the race takes us towards the Khyber Pass and past some old WW2 military anti-aircraft battery positions. Amy and I caught up with Chris, Cat and Claire at this point. It was here that I thought I had to make a move to have any chance of winning, increasing my pace to about 4m 45s per km for 4/5 km. I caught Kenny, then Ross and went hell for leather down the cobbly, rocky section as you head towards the Carbeth huts. A bit reckless but it seemed to do the job though as I kept looking behind me and couldn’t see another runner. Where was James though? Still no sight of him, he must be ahead somewhere. He was, and having a great race.
I finally caught him just before the Carbeth huts. Taking a bit of a breather, I ran with James for a bit and told him I was worried about the route given I’d already taken two wrong turns. He suggested running with him for a bit until near the end. Given how strong James is in a final sprint (and with visions of a Fox carrying a Hen across a river), I declined and pressed on. Give James his dues, he told me the last key turns still up ahead as I passed him.
The stretch from the Carbeth huts back to the woods is a lovely long flat stretch where you can really push the pace (as long as you haven’t exerted too much on the earlier brutal ascent) and I enjoyed this part of the race as it was neither hilly nor cobbly. After this, when you turn back into the woods and trails, I slowed a bit as the terrain is muddy and quite dangerous at times with parts where you really can take a tumble if you aren’t careful.
A first Harriers win was in my grasp as I was almost at the finish point but disaster almost struck as I veered down a path which led to a dead end in the form of a building I definitely hadn’t seen when I started! Head in hands, thinking I had blown it I found my way back to the path just as Amy and James were approaching. Putting my head down I went as fast as I could down the path towards the finish point, lungs bursting. I managed to get there and take 1st place.
Amy was just behind me having had another strong race (after two wrong turns) and having caught up with James. Amy took the win for the ladies. James was third with an outstanding run given his recent knee issues. Ross came next with James remarking how strong Ross’s second half of the race had been especially with how far James had initially pulled away from him. We managed to catch our collective breaths for a few minutes before Kenny and Claire approached the finish line close together with Kenny getting in first. Another good race for Kenny who keeps his Merit League challenge going to the final race, and for Claire whose improvement this year has been great. She always manages to get in a final sprint with another harrier. Chris was next and maybe the only one not to have taken a wrong turn. His skills on the technical section of the race had likely kept him ahead of Cat who came in not long after (and happy she hadn’t been eaten by a dog, broken a leg, or kept on running towards Conic Hill!).
I love the Blanefield route, but I through this route was also great and would be happy with either location for next year’s race. The weather really was pretty horrendous however and we were all soaked through by the time we trudged back to our cars. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the race although I didn’t need the stress of those wrong turns!
Final positions and times below (self-timed and taken from Strava):
Derek – Winner and 1st Male – 1hr 07m 31s
Amy – 1st Female – 1hr 07s 36s
James – 1hr 07m 45s
Ross – 1hr 08m 01s
Kenny – 1hr 14m 16s
Claire – 1hr 14m 36s
Chris – 1hr 15m 40s
Cat – 1hr 16m 02s