I love my running, but lets face it grinding out yet
another city 10k or half marathon can be a bit boring. I'm probably not going
to get any faster at these distances so they're not particularly high up on my
race radar. I'm trying to focus more on Ultras and events with a bit of
character or some unique element about them.
When I saw a Facebook post about the inaugural 7 Reservoirs race, round the Pentland Hills on Sunday 2nd December, it ticked
both the quirky and new boxes, so I signed up pronto!, in what I hoped was a
good augury the 100 available places sold out in 24 hours.
Preceding a trail half marathon with two solid days of
Christmas shopping in Edinburgh may not have been ideal, but you're probably
starting to gather that my recent pre race prep has been at best, a bit
rubbish!
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| Threipmuir Reservoir |
Registration was at Harelaw farm near Balerno on a
stunningly clear, crisp and cold morning and with a good mile to walk to the
start line at Threipmuir reservoir it was a fine line between arriving just in
time and freezing your rocks off by arriving too early. I chatted with fellow
Doonhamers Frank Skachill, Susan Gallagher and Dawn McDonald and Sandra kindly
snapped us for posterity, all wrapped up like Nanook of the North.
 |
| Four Eskimo's |
For once someone had the foresight to organise a PA
system for the race briefing so I could actually hear every word. The RD
described the course as "completely runnable", (note to self - file
"runnable" in the same category as undulating or challenging!) and
although the blow by blow description of the route probably helped if you knew
the area I lost interest quickly as A - it was bl**dy freezing and B - pre race
nerves prompted a fellow runner in the huddle to let rip a thunderous comic
book fart and my inner school boy prompted me to a fit of the giggles.
So with absolutely no idea about the route a quick
countdown saw the 78 starters setting off.
 |
| A bit with NO ice! |
I'd love to give you a blow by blow description of the
twists and turns of the race and route, the personal challenges as pairs of
runners vied for supremacy, the tactics and route choices the triumph of age,
wisdom and stamina over youth, fitness and eagerness but the reality was more
prosaic, I spent the next hour and 55 minutes mostly trying not to fall over.
The race route is staggeringly beautiful but if you
weren't running on ice, you were running on frozen puddles, heavily frosted
roads, solid frozen waterlogged boggy bits or snow. Actually the snow was the easy bit, except where it
had fallen on top of ................ you guessed it more ice!
 |
| The view from the top |
In just over six years of serious running I've never
fallen over, not once, ever! I've come close but I'd never actually hit the dirt. On Sunday I full on face planted 4 times, missed falling into a reservoir
by a whisker, lost count of the times I nearly fell over whilst exhibiting all
the balletic grace of a hyper active break dancer.
One near miss saw my entire bottom half slip to the
right, whist my top half pirouetted to the left and I felt something muscular
in my left boob go PING, but you know what? I loved it, it's a race I would
unhesitatingly do again and I say this as someone who spent most of the race
thinking this is absolute madness I'm trying to run on sheet ice!
As I ran in the last mile, I passed Susan Gallagher and
Ian Beattie, my weather numbed brain couldn't work out where they'd passed me,
it turned out that Susan had taken a nasty fall and Ian with his local
knowledge had helped Susan take a short cut back. Susan is going to be laid up
and off running for a few weeks and probably deserves a medal for making it
back with such a serious injury, get well soon Susan.
My last fall of the day came just after a footbridge over
the final reservoir spillway, despite the warnings of a marshall, I admit I was
too busy showboating and crashed down in an undignified heap, a short climb up
the reservoir bank and a final 300m run straight along the embankment to the
finish and a cheer and a hug from Sandra McDougall.
Post race tea and coffee and the most incredible
selection of cakes was accompanied by everyone swapping "war stories"
of ice, falls and near falls and how totally mad it was to run that distance in
those conditions, fortunately with the exception of Susan I don't think there
were any other serious hurts.
I pointed out to the RD that his characterisation of the
route as entirely runnable, was optimistic, with a smile on his face he
retorted "what I said was it was entirely runnable yesterday", oh
well I'll chalk that one up to experience!
Huge thanks must go to Harmeny Pentland Runners for
organising the event, and particular praise to the marshals who stood in sub
zero temperatures to make sure we were kept on track.
As for my injuries, one bloodied knee, very sore quads,
several bruises, bizarrely a huge insect bite and a left boob which protests
every time I run over 2 miles, something of a disadvantage as I'm trying to
complete the Marcothon.
Cheers
K
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