A very nice out and back 10mile run in picturesque sheep farming country just outside Peebles. This year it was Carnethy’s biggest turn out with 116 entered. There was also a juniors race over a shorter distance.
The race starts across a couple of fields then steadily climbs up onto heather moorland where the gradient then picks up a little more. However the route was interspersed with some flatter parts and descents which did help preserve my tiring legs for that bit longer. The track follows skinny sheep-paths, the ground of which was quite flat underfoot but had to keep focused so as not to get tripped up by the heather! It wasn’t until the last 700m that most of us had to walk as it was just too steep a climb to keep running and by this point the mist was drawing in so I could only see about 20m ahead. This was quite disconcerting but I could at least see one runner in front as others fled past at great speed in the opposite direction. Then thankfully the wee man sat with his clipboard appears and you can turn for home letting your legs take you down. This is the best bit as you know the hardest is over and you start to feel that, yup I can do this!
I felt I could’ve gone that little bit faster over the fields near the finish but my calf muscle cramped for a split second as I climbed over a stile so just had to keep a steady pace and kinda swing my leg along so I could cross the finishing line, yippee! All finishers won a bottle of ale and there was a yummy refreshments tent by the sheep dog trials!
I finished it in just under 1 hour 40mins and was 7th girl home out of 26 which I was thrilled with. I think the winning female completed it in a record time of an hour 13 so I’ve got a bit of work to do yet! This was a very enjoyable run and was an excellent introduction for something a bit longer than the 6 milers I’ve been used to.
Thank you very much to Carnethy for organising it.
