Arrochar Alps

Garmin track 

Race details

Map: Scottish Hill Racing

Arrochar alps is, for me, a local race and where the majority of my hill specific training is done. I have always had the aim of running sub four hours at this one and this year I was hoping to achieve that.

The weather was not too bad with little or no wind and not overly warm. The problem that would tax most people was the thick clag covering the hill from about 300m. Unless you know the route well navigation can be problematic due to crags dotted here and there blocking the direct line on a compass bearing. The best line often has to zig and zag around the crags and it is easy to lose your bearings.

Because I had set myself the aim of getting a sub 4hr time I was actually quite nervous before the race start and found my self shaking at race registration, so decided to go for a warm up to try and calm my nerves. 30 runners had entered this year as it is a busy weekend with lots of other races on elsewhere. On the start line the midges were annoying as last minute instructions were briefed by the organiser.

The race was off and the pace picked up to a fair trot up Glen Loin which is  a tough undulating track that finishes below the Sloy dam and the foot of Ben Vorlich. I tried to keep up with Mark Harris and Dave Eiser but only managed to do that until the last big hill of Glen Loin where they opened a little gap on me which I managed to maintain for the rest of the tarmac section to the foot of Ben Vorlich. I had to push hard going through Glen Loin and was now drenched in sweat and felt clammy as there was no wind to cool me. The ascent of Ben Vorlich is very steep and my legs complained as I started the long climb to the summit. There is a bit of a track going up here and I was following it initially until I saw that the leaders were now over to the left and no longer on the same track as me. The track ultimately leads to the summit but there is another more direct steeper route which looked like the leaders were taking. I chose to follow and made my way over to them but once I got to where they had climbed it looked like it would really tax my legs and I could also see Mark Harris heading off towards the track again. Decision made follow Mark back to path and hope that the leaders route isn't a real advantage. Mark was climbing well, I couldn't hold that pace and watched him disappear from view. I could hear a small group close behind who had stayed on the track closing on me so I pushed on and up but was aware that Niall McAlinden was hot on my heals and Chris Upson not far behind him.

It went a bit pear shaped here as I thought I knew a direct contouring route to the cairn but ended up doing a bit of a detour to arrive at the cairn at the same time as Jonny Knox and Chris Upson. Jasmin Paris and Niall had just whizzed past commencing their descent. A bit annoyed at having blundered I sped of after Niall and Jasmin hoping to catch them on the descent to the dam. Actually I caught them just at the start of the near vertical descent down to the dam and Jasmin was about to overshoot and go off in the wrong direction. Seeing the route I was taking Jasmin headed over and on the way down we chatted about possible finishing times. I still thought sub 4hr was possible and explained that I knew the route well as I was fairly local. The female record was 4:06:46 and I think Jasmin was set on breaking it. By the dam we had pulled away from the group behind us and it was now just the two of us. The climb up Ben Vane was horrific and the clag was extremely thick, it was evident now that Jasmin had made the decision to stay with me as I knew the route and I realised now that if I went wrong I would not only prevent my chance of sub 4 but possibly even ruin the race for Jasmin too. The doubt crept in once on the plateau before the gulley leading to the summit of Ben Vane and I hesitated a couple of times and I could feel Jasmin looking at me wondering if I had gone horribly wrong. Thankfully we made it and the line I had taken was bang on. Near the summit we came across a woman looking for her dog whom she had not seen for over two hours; I hope she found it.

The descent from Ben Vane was fairly fast and uneventful I realised we were slightly too far to the right and perhaps lost a minute on the ideal line. The climb up Ben Ime was painful but we punched on aware that the clock was ticking. At the summit we had 1hr and 4 minutes to get down Ime over Nairnain and back to the finish if we were to break the 4 hour mark. No time to waste, so we sped off down the boggy tussocky track to the bealach between Narnain and Ime. One more munro to go and I didn't know if my legs would carry me up it. I could feel small cramps in my adductors and knew that if I pushed too hard here my legs would just go into spasm but I was also aware that we had no time to spare. I gritted my teeth and pushed on to the summit. What a feeling when we reached the cairn knowing that there were no more climbs left. Just one small problem to deal with now, 35 minutes to get to the finish it was going to have to be a quick descent. The route down is not easy and is covered with boulders and crags and is steep. To make matters worse there is an old pipe track with concrete blocks where bits of old metal protrude from them, any slips here could be potentially lethal. We made it down with only a couple of slips and trips and found ourselves on the fire road back to the finish, approximately 1.5 miles to go. The clock showed we had 11 minutes to do 1.5 miles. Now, running 1.5 miles normally would take less than 8 minutes however after nearly four hours of running and climbing four munro's this particular 1.5 mile run was going to be hell. We sped off down the road and I have never felt my lungs burn so much, my legs were periodically throwing little spasms and all I wanted to do was lay down. I hadn't had any water since before Ben Ime and my mouth was now also very dry. The road ends at a gate and over into a field before crossing a little bridge and then down a road for 500 yds to the finish. Somehow we couldn't find this little bridge and we had less than 3 minutes to get to the finish. Bugger, I thought I had blown it right at the end, when suddenly I caught sight of the red tape marking the bridge and we sprinted for the finish line just making it in 3:58:46. I was exhausted and felt a little queasy. But we were both ecstatic to have achieved our aims. Jasmin set a new course record of 3:58:55, well done Jasmin.

The race hub is in the new village hall in Arrochar and organisers / helpers had put a fantastic selection of rolls out for the runners as well as soup and tea and coffee. What a great day out and one not to be forgotten for a while. Once back at the hall runners began trickling in and sharing tales of their misadventures in the clag. It was a good laugh and a relaxed atmosphere with lots of race weary faces. Once home I enjoyed a beer (or three) in my Fyne Ales beer glass which I was presented for achieving sub 4 hours. Cheers !

Glen Rosa Horseshoe

Race details

Garmin track 

Glen Rosa is yet another race that I've not done before and one that is going to be a regular feature on the Walker calendar. The race is held on the Isle of Arran amongst the spectacular scenery of the North part of the island.

The race is part of the SHR(Scottish Hill Runners) long classic series and the third race for me this year that I can count towards that series. Five races are needed as counters and I was hoping that this race would provide some good points for me especially as I didn't do as well as I had hoped on Jura. Also it would be good prep for the Arrochar Alps the following week.

The race starts and finishes near the Brodick Castle Ranger Centre and this turned out to be a bit of a midge fest waiting for the race to start. I must admit to being a little nervous as to what the race held in store as I'd heard and read a few race reports that had it down as tough terrain and difficult to navigate. A small field of 35 runners had entered this year and we lined up ready for the gun.

Photo by: Tom Harris

The race was off and Chris Upson sprinted away into the lead position and maintained that all the way to the bottom of the first climb. I took a more conservative approach and stayed with who I thought would be the race leaders. The run in to Glen Rosa is a good runnable track and I was enjoying myself and surprising myself at how well I felt as I stayed with the lead group going along this section. The first climb is steep and it was here that the positions started to change. I caught and passed Chris Upson and jumped on to the heels of Ian Butler. We could still see the back of Mark Harris not too far ahead and I could feel the pace quicken as we neared the top of the first climb.

The descent from here is steep and slippery but was marked and I had the map and compass in my hand. However as I was chasing Ian Butler I heard a shout behind from Chris Upson that I was heading too far left and a glance at the map proved him correct (thanks Chris). Ian Butler noticed Chris and I heading off towards the right and corrected his course but somehow managed to get ahead again even although he had been a good bit to the left. The next section is a difficult contour through thick heather and steep sloping granite slabs. I lost sight of both Chris behind and Ian in front and found myself stumbling over the heather feeling jaded with the effort. Once on the track to Cir Mhor I could see Ian up ahead again and made efforts to close the gap which I managed by the summit. Not far from the summit Al Anthony and Konrad Rawlik were making there descent and realising that we weren't too far down on them I was spurred on and doubled my efforts towards Goat Fell. Another contour and we were on the saddle which is the start of the ridge system that would eventually take us too Goat Fell.

Glancing behind as I chased down Ian Butler who had again opened a gap on the contour I could not see anyone. With neither myself of Ian Butler being familiar with the route here we both lost time as we picked our way around towering granite blocks. The views here were spectacular and there was a slight breeze helping me stay cool as I worked hard going up the ridge. Ian and I chose slightly different routes along the middle section and I made some ground here then from behind I heard an exclamation and glanced back to see Alan Smith fast approaching as he passed Ian. I put my skates on and tried in vain to pick the pace up, but this led me to make a poor route choice over the final granite tower and I found myself stuck momentarily on a narrow slimy ledge looking over a bit of a drop. Alan and Ian had followed and they quickly back tracked and by the time I had picked my way back along the ledge they were over the rocks and away up towards the summit.

Photo by: Tom Harris

That was the last I saw off Alan but I caught Ian on the climb to the summit and then opened a gap on the descent to the finish. The descent is fast and furious and doesn't let up. The forest track spits you out over a gate, which I hurdled, and landed in the field where I immediately regretted the rash decision when my adductor went into spasm. It's a fast run over another gate across long wet grass to the finish and I was very pleased with 6th place in a time of 2:55:24. The race was won by Al Anthony and Eilidh Wardlaw.

The route that this race takes is very scenic and varied with the type of terrain that it crosses and not at all what I expected. I had a great day out and although the mist was down it was moving allowing good views. I had imagined the terrain to be more difficult and the ridges to be more exposed. With the exception of the little ledge that I found myself on the majority of the ridge is not really too exposed. However the weather wasn't bad and I imagine in worse weather the experience would be radically different.

Loch Lochy hill race

Race details

Loch Lochy is a first for me and with Jura still in my legs from the previous weekend I was a little unsure how I would fare. As far as most fell races go for me, Loch Lochy is quite close being only 2hrs or so North of me. I'm glad I made the effort to go along as it was a good day out.

The race start is about a 10 min walk away beside some waterfalls and the estate grounds are very scenic with a nice river flowing down to a weir which was handy for a dip after the race to clean up and relieve tired legs. I decided to recce the route at the start as there are a few twists and turns on the way back that differ from the way out. I needn't have bothered as the route was well marked.


The race had 40 or so runners some of whom had done it before and a few who hadn't. On the word go I settled in behind the race leaders, a group of six consisting of the usual suspects, and we climbed gently up through the forestry commission track towards the glen. The leaders were chatting amongst themselves while I struggled to breathe. The pace picked up and I soon lost sight of them as the track has lots of bends and small hills. Eventually the track  leaves the forest and hits on a path of sorts through bog and grass towards a ruin and the first CP before climbing Sron a Choire Ghairbh. Jonny Muir caught me here and we chatted briefly which helped take my mind of the relentless bogs and tired legs(from Jura). The first climb has a cruel trick up its sleeve for anyone not aware of the false summit half way. Eilidh Raistrick caught and passed me on this climb and I dug deep to stay on her heels, glancing back I could see Kate Jenkins fast approaching also.

Once at the summit it is a steep drop down to a bealach and another steep pull up to the third CP. I was caught by Cameron Burt here and as we chatted he mentioned that there was another Westie(Niall M.) up ahead who was not so quick on the descent and we could possibly catch him. Looking ahead I could see that Eilidh had opened a gap, probably as she could see Kate closing fast. Popping some Haribos I put a spurt on and closed the gap to Eilidh by the CP. One more climb to go but the legs were feeling tired now so I had to focus on keeping the pace going. I seemed to have opened a gap on Cameron now and could no longer see Kate behind. The third summit came and went and ahead of me was a nice gently sloping contour around the back of Meall Odhar and back towards the glen and the fifth and last CP. I can descend well especially if it is rough under foot, which it was. I managed to pass four or five folk here, including Niall M. of Westies putting me in 7th place. Now the problem is that the run back along the glen is all forestry commission and very runnable and of course not to forget about the 1K of tarmac to the finish. I held a fairly quick pace here but didn't want to push too hard and blow up. I could hear the splashing of feet in a burn behind me and knew someone was fast approaching. Soon enough Niall was alongside me and then past, I picked the pace up to keep the gap between us to a minimum. Soon we were off the track and dropping down through trees to the road. I managed to pass Niall again on this section but knew it was futile as he would easily pass me on the road and sure enough Niall finished in 7th place and 3rd senior and was given two bottles of beer for his efforts. Well done Niall, a good run for his first A Long!


The post race refreshments were excellent and the race organisers sure knew how to make you feel welcome, with plenty of tea, coffee, cakes and sarnies and even a keg of ale. I went home satisfied with my efforts especially with Jura still in my legs. I'm not planning anything this weekend and will prepare for Glen Rosa which is another I've not run before. I'm enjoying the Longs this year and am finding my recovery is good. Last year I seemed to take a couple of weeks to get any strength back in my legs after a big effort. My fitness levels must have improved. If the Hill racing percentage of winning time is anything to go by then I can see a definite improvement. Hopefully it will continue to get better.