We were sent on our way, a ripple of applause and the pounding of 200 pairs of feet on road drowning out the skirl of pipes. The theatrical idiom ‘break a leg’ was written across a saltire – a light-hearted but all too realistic prospect. A gloomy blanket of mist had been thrown over Jura…
Category: Running
Arran
I’m writing this from Brodick, Arran, three days into my inter-island journey on the Scottish west coast. I’m in the fortunate position to have been commissioned to write a travel book on these wonderful islands. Today is a ‘rest day’, after 48 hours of excessive physical exertion. First there was the Goatfell hill race, a brutal…
Highland Cross training… in London
I might be almost 600 miles away from the start line, but training for the Highland Cross continues apace. Practice the transition from running to cycling, prepare yourself for the cramp, etc etc, Cross veterans stress. So I did, proposing an eight-mile run followed by about 20 miles on the cycle. I cantered up the…
Agony and ecstasy
I like this picture from Cioch Mhor. I think it neatly sums up the nature of hill running: the agony and the ecstasy.
Cioch Mhor hill race
Contrary to popular belief, the winner of the Cioch Mhor race is not the fastest runner, but the man who has the least regard for his testicles. Today’s race crossed a succession of barbed wire fences. It’s nothing to worry about for the veterans. They have had children. I wouldn’t mind being a father one day. No…
Beinn Bhuidhe Mhor
Highland Cross bumf has arrived, asking some honest questions. Have you prepared to walk, jog or run across 20 miles of rough terrain? No. Are you prepared to then climb on your bike and ride for a further 30 miles, many of them up and down steep hills? Definitely not. I’m being a little dramatic….
Knockfarrel hill race
Perhaps I’m being unnecessarily hard on myself, but the more I run the worse I seem to get. Take today’s effort: the Knockfarrel hill race, a 5.5-mile run up to the Pictish hillfort and Cnoc Mor overlooking Strathpeffer. I ran last year’s race with precious little hill training in my legs and naive to the demands of such…
Moray Roadrunners 10k road race
The last time I was in Elgin to run was the Moray half-marathon in September: a distastrous 87-minute slog after my right calf went ping a mile after the start. Today was far better. Despite wind, rain and an undulating course around Elgin, I finished the Moray Roadrunners 1ok road race, part of the Northern…
Cioch Mhor
Cioch Mhor today, a 482m hill below Ben Wyvis. Starting from Tulloch Castle in Dingwall, we followed a track west, then up a dead-straight road to Drynie. Soon we were on Tulloch Hill, climbing steeply along farm tracks. Eventually the gradient eased, with the path snaking to the trig pillar atop 339m Cnoc a’ Bhreacaich. From…
Craig Dunain – more pictures
Further images from Craig Dunain race
Craig Dunain hill race
And so the Highland hill running season is underway: Craig Dunain, a 5.5-mile dash to a 900ft summit, a glorified cross-country for purists, a useful test of early spring form for the rest. Things started going wrong for me 24 hours before the race. ‘Jonny Muir should lead the charge’, wrote the Inverness Courier’s esteemed athletics…
Craig Dunain
Up Craig Dunain again, yet again. There is no other hill or mountain I have climbed so frequently, at the moment three times a week. And why not? The hill is a perfect training ground within easy running distance of Inverness. Craig Dunain – all 288m of it – doesn’t look terribly impressive in this photograph, but it’s a…
Heights of Madness 