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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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