Author: The Author

The hill running scene was like any other sport organised by a governing body of an internationally recognised sport in that there were championships where the fastest runners were first, second and third, and subsequently there were races within races to find the fastest Junior athletes and then further along the time line there were awards for the older competitors which again had their own championships as well.   This was despite the fact that there would have been no championships at all – indeed no races at all – were it not for the vast bulk who ran week in, week out with never a thought of a prizes of any colour.   Maybe there would be a handicap or spot prize here and there if the handicapper was kind to you.   There was an ever increasing fixture list which just grew and grew.   Look at these figures:

1985:  43 races;   1996:  77 races;   1999: 91 races;  2009: 174.

There was also the fact that with international competition and national championships in mind, the elite had to be catered for as well as the majority of athletes involved.   

Denis had a look at this and came up with a novel approach to the championship scene.   A championship where ‘all who will may enter’ regardless of their ability, standard or past record of success or non-success.   He describes the situation thus.  

We are lucky to have a fair bit of the correspondence of the first year of this championship and as far as possible the story of that inaugural alternative championship in 1996 will be told using that documentation.   Read on …

The above letter dates 18th February, 1996,was distributed by Denis to all fellow hill-runners.   The letter and the scheme were self-explanatory. The next steps would be to see if there was a big enough number of participants to make it viable; if there were, to notify the governing body, find someone to do the donkey work of organising and recording the performances – and if it were possible to find a sponsor.   The entries came pouring in to Torrance and that answered the first point.    Many of the replies contained suggestions such as – “How about downhill only races?”   Some from friends and rivals involved scurrilous banter but most complimented him on a great idea.   A small selection below. 

 There are in this life many who see a problem and live with it.   Denis is of the school which believes that something can be done by anybody about anything.   This Alternative Championship was his  attempt to put a different slant as an alternative to give credit to runners who maybe never ever got into any top ten results.   I remember sitting at the top of the drop down into Glen Ample in the Stuc a Chroin race where the runners had toiled up from Strathyre and one of the runners from my own club smiled as she passed and said that we supporters were part of the team.   She was one of many who raced on the hills all year, who had to train long hours to be fit enough to do long, medium and short hills, pay her way every time and finish with a smile.   There are many like that on the hill running scene.  

There was a short article in ‘The Scottish Hill Runner’ of June 1996 which read:

“As you all know from the last newsletter I’ve been ‘off the wall’ a bit (what’s new?) and started to promote The Alternative Championship, some want to call it the ‘punter’s championship, and I’m pleased to report that to date 41 of you have responded to my offer…. THANKS.   The deadline for entry to my database was 30/4/96, however I’ll still take latecomers for another couple of weeks  … say 17/5/96.   It looks like the biggest problem will be to get results from the race organisers … any RO’s please , please note, I’d be very grateful if you’d help get results to me.   

I hope that you’ll all remember the very generous offer from Scottish Hill Runners that they will use some of your funds to sponsor the prizes, although I also know that the intention is to give all participants some kind of commemoration for the season’s races.   

SO – RACE YOUR 20 RACES AND YOU’LL FIGURE IN THE RESULTS … IT’S ALL ABOUT ENDEAVOUR AND SUPPORT TO THE HARD WORK THE RACE ORGANISERS PUT IN FOR US.   THEY DESERVE OUR PRESENCE.”

The letter having been sent out, entries received and the deadline extended, it was  decided that all runners, regardless of position, were to receive a certificate.   Note the comment above about a commemoration being donated by the SHR.  Many races at the time awarded a certificate – Ben Nevis, Tom Scott, Mamore Hill, etc – and the appropriate certificate was designed.

For the other two issues noted above, it was clear right from the start that entries were to him and he had also volunteered to produce a spreadsheet with the results and keep it up to date.   The scheme was ‘up and running’.   All that was required now was the results rom all the races.   In the days of typewritten results (handwritten on occasion) these were not always easy to obtain on the day.   This meant sending out polite requests bbut Denis was up to the job –

After all that – and the race organisers were all very co-operative – at the end of the season, the spreadsheet was complete and one is reproduced below.

There were some problems in getting complete results sheets and again Denis went into letter writing mode, firing out polite epistles to race organisers and eventually getting the information that he needed to produce the final result.   The results shown below indicate a wide range of participants and their categories.   It really was a championship for the solid, hard running, week-in/week-out competitors who make the sport what it is.

It had been a success due to Denis’s efforts – as well as to the runners who entered, who paid their money, and supported the initiative.  

Denis has had a wonderful in the sport of athletics – particularly in hill running.   First as a competitor, then as administrator, then as international team manager and always as a publicist, recruiting sergeant and proselytiser for the sport.   We have some of his photographs here and the first six are of the  Snowdonia Marathon.  Of the first of which he says: “

With Malcolm Jones, near Beddgelert,   he adds “good form, and then broken and having been overtaken (1/2 mile to go?), and this is 3-400m from finish line!”

“Turning the screws” heading towards halfway: there were, he recalls, two drink stations which were not properly set up when I went through them

By now, broken clear of Jones

A few hundred yards to go …

The winner, Mike Neary

Denis has tremendous praise to offer for Mike Neary and for this run.   He says: “The climbing in this marathon is ‘a lot’ and for all ‘normal folks’ possibly a ‘10 minutes added penalty’…makes Mike Neary’s 2.25 a superb run, by any account. (Jeff Norman , by the way was the previous record holder at 2.31]  

Chap with cup and dark hair -beard is Dave Woodhead ( he, and wife Eileen) great stalwarts in FRA. 

With winner Mike Neary who ran a course record of 2:25 beating Jeff Norman’s existing time.

No 22 in Scottish vest in woodland..  Berchtesgaden…WMRT.

Scottish vest race walk up stones path was going up onto Grisedale Pike at Keswick wmrt

In Help [Help stands for Haddiigton East Lothian Pacemakers which was his first and only club] vest about to turn off road  Two Breweries before heading to Trahenna Hill Race no 227 ( ditto one on road with shadow)

Meall a Bhuchaille got a disappointing 3rd vet which just got me Scottish Vet Champ gold 

On Lammerlaw Cairn (I’m rhs) with great friend Dave Jonesand Henry Muchamore towards left with skip cap…

Chasing Peter Marshall (Help light blue shorts) coming off North Berwick Law  (mid-week evening race: Peter was Scottish Vets Champion 5 years in a row.

Edinburgh Marathon

Edinburgh Marathon 1984

GREAT SCOTTISH VETERANS: HUGH McGINLAY, FALKIRK VICTORIA HARRIERS

Veteran, Master, Harrier, Athlete, a rose by any other name is just as sweet, an tae tell the truth a hae been/am the hale jing bang show, an a wis a late entrant tae the runnin’ scene! Came in via the marathon boom via the Fa’kirk Vics an wi’ the late Jimmy Kelly, The Scoattish Vets. We lined up wi’ the elite, Jimmy sayin’ we are the elite.

I am a road runner, a’ else is a bonus, I enjoy the challenge of the road, the camaraderie of the packed dressing rooms, before and after the race.

The track I came to, in some measure to get out of the slipstream of Willie Marshall. I had done the miles had the strength, the stamina, so why no the track? It wis a breeze – a’ a had tae dae wis suss oot the field, hing in ahint taking the pace, an then belt it fur the tape, an a’ did no too bad at that, even at British level.

The X/C, noo that is a different story, it wis a’ hard work an a wis at the tail end, aye even wi’ the lassies, bit yin event at Cupar in 2004 lives wi’ me; demanding course, the weather inclement in the extreme, runners packin a’ o’er the place. Jean worried tae hell aboot me, whar wis a, hoo wis ’ getting oan? She wis reassured I was being monitored personally through the hale course, tremendous.

You disappoint me, you aquiesced (ma Higher Englis), lay doon, hid intransigent (Highers again) polis destroy the road racing scene, changed courses, unsocial start times introduced.

The Rt. Hon Dennis Canavan, a title richly deserved, is a quality road runner, records better times than I, agreed wi ma disquiets; unsuccessful in remedy, bit then he had a helluva load oan his plate.

Our government sought tae house the Tour de France. a’ve written ma MSP tellin him that, if they’re so minded, then let’s resuscitate the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay! Noo jist let a’ youse yins dae the same, an dae we nae hae professionals whom we pay tae dae the same?

The Scottish Athlete of the year is undoubtedly Fiona Matheson.

A’ve tell’t oor committee ma disquiets re 9 a.m. start. Noo a ken it’s no easy, administerin, bit a suggest a 1:30pm start fur The British lOK a la Xmas H/Cap. Gie a’body a chance tae participate! Try getting frae Edinbro Toon withoot a caur oan a Sunday! An that’s jist Edinburgh, there’s Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen etc.

Finally, The Scoattish Vets his enriched oor lives in so many ways. We are hingin in, hence the letter an’ thanks again. Hugh McGinlay Falkirk Victoria, Scottish Veteran Harriers  Newsletter, April 2013

                    Masters athletes at Grangemouth in 2017 including 91-year-old Hugh McGinlay of Falkirk Vics (photo by Alex Barr)

FIONA MATHESON, a World Masters Champion, knows her Falkirk club-mate Hugh very well.

“Hugh never ceases to amaze me with his positive attitude to life and what he is able to achieve despite his age (94). He is kind, thoughtful and has a heart of gold.

When I phoned him today (October 2020) he was busy doing his daily exercises, as his running has been curtailed slightly, due to plantar fasciitis but he was still managing to get a fair bit of walking in. Hugh is eagerly preparing and hopeful of competing in a track indoor season next year followed by a summer track season. When his plantar fasciitis eases, he has a great wee route near to where he lives that he has mapped out for his efforts.

Hugh mentioned that he is managing to sleep well which is a huge benefit and the secret to that, apart from his active life-style. is a hot toddy before bed! 

I am not sure how much people know about how Hugh got interested and involved in sport, so here is a little bit of background.

Hugh enjoyed physical education as a boy from football to rowing, and most of his career seems to be based around looking to source or improve facilities that were or were not available over the years, in a variety of different disciplines from badminton, tennis, squash, canoeing, hockey etc in the local and surrounding areas.

He was a founder of the local Sports Council and one of the projects he was involved in was introducing long distance canoeing on the canal from Glasgow to Edinburgh.

Hugh started running in 1982 when he ran the Glasgow Marathon for charity. However he had hurt his leg, prior to running, while playing squash but, because he was running for charity and people had pledged money, he decided to run and managed a time of 4 hr 5 mins and 30 secs Hugh recalls. He wonders to this day what time he might have run without a sore leg!

Hugh sounded in great form today and seemed quite upbeat: he is a colourful character with so much positivity it’s refreshing!”

JANETTE STEVENSON, another World Masters Champion (and Falkirk club-mate), remembered: I got involved in running in 1984. There was an initiative between Woman’s Own Magazine and Nike the sportswear company to get women into running.  It was rolled out countrywide in sports centres and was augmented by a weekly training programme in the magazine. It started in April 1984 and the objective was to run a 10K in September.

So I turned up at Grangemouth Sports Complex along with about 20 or so other ladies all keen to be trained.  It was raining of course and we thought

They would let us run round the gym – nice and dry. But the coach I always remember this, said, “If you don’t run in the rain in this country – you don’t run!”, and he opened the doors and shoved us out to run half a mile round the park.  The training was twice weekly and one of the coaches was veteran runner Hugh McGinlay.  Most of us managed to run the 10K and I think my time was 54.09.  After the race, Ian Cluggie  a coach at Falkirk Victoria asked us if we would be interested in jogging with the club so I started training and the rest is history.

Hugh McGinlay, 92, retired recreation officer, from Falkirk (July 2018 The Herald)

I was 56 when I first ran the Glasgow Marathon in 1982. I had been playing squash and had an injury and shouldn’t have run, but I did it anyway. I completed it in four hours and five minutes. I thought: ‘I did that with a bad leg. I’ll try it again.’ The next one I did in three-and-a-half hours.

And I just kept going. Why running? It’s simple. I just put my gutties on, go out the door and run wherever I want to. I have done marathons, half marathons and 10k races.

I had never run on the track in my life, but I decided to give it a go when the British Championships were held in Edinburgh [in 1984]. I won a gold in 1500m and silver in the 5000m.

I have always been competitive. If I go out the door, I have a stopwatch in my hand. I like setting myself different challenges. Running the long, straight canal in Falkirk where I live is boring; I prefer a course with hills and bends.

I’m a full-time carer for my wife Jean, but I go running any chance I get. She has always supported me, and I couldn’t have run without her. When I was misdiagnosed with epilepsy, for three years she drove me all over the country so that I could compete.

Sport is my life. The volunteers – the marshals, timekeepers, people handing out drinks – are all wonderful. I hope to be competing at the FPSG Scottish National Masters Track and Field Championships in Grangemouth next weekend in the 90+ age group over 400m, 800m and 1500m.

(During his long, very active life, Hugh has also been a canoe instructor, mountain leader, hockey player and an expert rifle shooter. Throughout Scotland, he cycled on a tandem with his wife Jean and they climbed many hills together. At the Glasgow Marathon, he won two McRobert Thistle trophies. In addition, for fifteen years he was a Sports Officer with Falkirk Council.)

Power of 10 statistics: Hugh McGinlay

M70: In 2000, he won the Scottish Veterans 1500m title on outdoor track.

M75: between 2001 and 2003, Scottish Vets outdoor titles at 800m (three times) and1500m (twice). Scottish Vets indoor wins at 800m and 3000m. British Vets outdoor title at 10,000m. British Vets indoor titles at 800 m (twice), 1500m (twice) and 3000m. Won the M75 Scottish Veterans Cross-Country title in 2002 and 2004.

M80: Scottish indoor titles at 800m and 1500m, plus first in the SVHC Andrew Forbes Memorial 10,000m.

M85: Scottish outdoor titles at 400m and 800m and probably indoor ones too. First in his age group at the 2011 Great Scottish 10km.

M90: Scottish Masters outdoor titles at 400m and 800m.

UK yearly rankings include twice first in M85 400; three times first in M85 800m; plus one first at M85 10k; and twice first at M90 800.

Hugh McGinlay knew well and was a fervent admirer of even older Scottish Veteran Harrier greats like John Emmet Farrell, Gordon Porteous and David Morrison. Now his achievements can be added to the feats of these stars. 

HELENE WHITAKER (nee DIAMANTIDES)

 The Carnethy Hill Runners Hall of Fame lists some of Helene’s main hill running achievements (others have been added here):

 Diamantides, Helene:
In 1988 she won both the women’s events in the 31 km Mount Cameroon race and the Mount Kinabalu race in Borneo.

Bob Graham Round 1988: Woman’s record set.
Paddy Buckley Round 1989: Outright record set (2 hours faster than the Men’s)

Charlie Ramsay Round 1989: Woman’s record set.
GB Mountain Running International 2003 (team bronze medal)
Scottish Hill Running International
Scottish Ladies Hill Running Champion 1993 (for Westerlands CCC)
Lakeland Classic Ladies Champion 2006
Former holder of Everest base-camp to Kathmandu record 1987
Overall winner of first Dragons Back race in 1992; first Woman in 2012

In 1964, Helene was born in North Yorkshire, but lived in Ghana and then Greece (where, as a teenager, she competed internationally in the pentathlon) before returning to England and Durham University, where she took up fell running.

In 1996, she graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University as a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy. While studying in the city, Helene raced for Westerlands CCC at cross-country and hill running. She trained more seriously, influenced by GB international triathlete and hill runner Jack Maitland and especially Martin Hyman, a former British 10,000m international and excellent orienteering coach. Consequently, Helene became a much better athlete. She won the 1995 Scottish West District cross country title and felt honoured to run for Scotland at cross country.

Naturally, she was selected to race for Scotland in the 1995 World Mountain running Trophy in Edinburgh.

For Great Britain, she contributed to two team bronze medals (1996 and 1997) in the IAU European 100 Kilometres Road Championships. She said later, “At the time, I was running for Fife AC, and the club supported me brilliantly. On Sunday runs, half the runners would come out for the first couple of hours with me and we would meet the other half at my house and they would do a couple more hours training with me. I fed them all afterwards.”

In 1987, Helene and fellow fell-runner Alison Wright went to Nepal to attempt to break the record for running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu. This is a 188-mile (303 km) route which includes 42,000 feet (13,000 m) of ascent. Both women completed the route in a record of 3 days, 10 hours.

How far were some of her longer hill events? Like ‘The Big 3 Rounds’ she completed in 1989. Here are details from Wikipedia:

The Bob Graham Round is 66 miles long, over 42 Lake District Peaks. Helene’s time was 20 hours 17 minutes

The Paddy Buckley Round is just over 100km long, over 47 summits in Snowdonia, Wales. Helene’s time was 20 hours 8 minutes.

The Ramsay Round is 58 miles long, over 24 summits (including 22 Munros) with a total climb of around 28,500 feet. Helene’s time was 20 hours 24 minutes

In 1992, with Martin Stone, Helene Diamantides entered The Dragon’s Back Race a new 220-mile (350 km) five-day race across the length of Wales; she and Stone won the race in 38 h 38 min. This event was held again in 2012, and Helene Whitaker finished fourth overall and First Woman.

Helene won the Borrowdale Fell Race four times; set a course record in the 1990 Wasdale Fell Race; and set another record in the 1992 Langdale Horseshoe.

Representing Scotland, she raced in the European Mountain Running Trophy in 1999 and 2000, finishing second Scot on both occasions.

In the World Mountain Running Trophy, for Scotland, she was first Scot in 1993 (29^th overall) and 1994 (25^th). She finished second Scot in 1995 (21^st), 1997 (17^th) and 2000 (38^th)

In 2003, she ran for Great Britain in the World Mountain Running Championship (held in Trento, Italy) and contributed to team bronze medals.

Helene has said the following (in her chapter of the excellent book ‘It’s A HILL, get OVER IT’ by Steve Chilton):

As to inspirations, Helene cites Ros Coats, mostly for the way she broke down boundaries and her attitude.

Helene admits to being desperately competitive: “I am glad I found a sport where that is okay in females. Anyone in front of me I would have a go at. The pleasure is being out there, if I can win so much the better. If I do my best, that is better than winning.”

She admires and is impressed by Angela Mudge: “Her statistics impress me. She is so far under any other woman’s percentage off the men’s records, which is absolutely outstanding.

Helene reckons that her ability to run uphill and downhill has changed over time. She was definitely a downhill demon. She used to love hammering down the hills, and could catch most people, men included. Now she counts on being able to climb past people.

Physiological testing proved that, although her VO2 max was not high, she could sustain a high level of performance, close to the threshold, for very long periods of time. “I was just incredibly efficient. I use a Heart Rate monitor now to keep close to the maximum but not to go over it, to get the best out of myself.”

Her greatest achievements? “Dragon’s Back certainly is what I am built for, physiologically as well as psychologically. The strategy of trying to get yourself from A to B in good nick day after day, that suits me, I enjoy it. I really enjoyed my solo unsupported Bob Graham Round. It was probably the best day out in the hills I ever had. I was running at my pace, I didn’t feel pushed really, I could eat when I wanted to, not when the pacers wanted.”

“Getting a Scottish vest at cross-country was a real honour. I am old-fashioned in that when I put on a vest I will kill myself as it is such an honour to be selected. Even being selected by Yorkshire at the age of 47 was a real thrill.”

*

TRICIA CALDER – HILL RUNNING CHAMPION (March 1990 interview)

Tricia Calder, a farmer’s wife from Duns, is establishing herself as one of the best all-round women distance runners in Scotland. Her recent performances on the road and at cross-country have been outstanding, but it is on the hills that Tricia really excels. She is the current Scottish Women’s Hill-Running Champion, having scored the maximum possible points in the 1989 Scottish Championship races. She was also a member of the Scottish Women’s team at the World Cup Hill Races in France last summer. (She contributed to Scottish team bronze medals in the 1988 and 1990 World Mountain Running Championships and finished first Scot in this fixture four times between 1988 and 1992, with a best position of 6th. She was also Scottish W35 XC Champion in 1989. Racing for Scotland, she won the Snowdon Mountain International in 1990 and 1992. Tricia was British Fellrunning Champion in 1990; and won the Scottish Hill Running title in 1989, 1990 and 1991.)

Tricia tell us about herself and her running career:

“I ran a bit of cross-country and school sports, but the thing that started me running again at the age of 30 was the challenge of the marathon. A friend of mine had already completed one and I thought, like hundreds of others, that maybe I could do it. My first marathon was Edinburgh, which I finished in a time of 3 hours 25 minutes in 1983. My longest training run had been about 11 miles, which then I thought was a long way. Crossing the line after my first marathon was the greatest feeling. Mind you, an hour later I couldn’t have run for my life. But I was hooked. The next year at Edinburgh the times was 3 hours 2 minutes; and my PB for the distance is 2 hours 48 minutes set in Dundee.

My training would be a coach’s nightmare! I don’t keep a diary. Although I can see the benefits, I just don’t seem to have time. I never run with a stop-watch (don’t have one). I try to keep some sort of schedule to my training, although it can be difficult between everything else. I know my fellow women athletes will know what I mean. I used to stop completely between November and February. The reason for this was a horse called ‘The Divider’. My father bred him and I broke him in as a two-year-old. I have always been involved with racing, having ridden point-to-point when I was young, free and had no brains. I’m now old, married and still have no brains, so I run on the hills instead.

I have had a permit for the last 6 years to train racehorses under National Hunt rules (over jumps, not on the flat). If any of you have ever had anything to do with stock, especially racehorses, you will know that they take a lot of time to look after. They are four-legged athletes. It was quite handy being fit, particularly going to Ayr Racecourse. The odd time the horse did have a bad run, I could be found running in the opposite direction to the angry punters. Ask Danny Wilmoth about that one!

Getting back to running, Peter Marshall persuaded me to start running in the hills. I don’t know whether to be grateful or not. 1988 was my first season and I found the hills very challenging and never boring. You are usually trying to stay upright in a Force 10 gale or find a checkpoint in pea-soup fog. There are a few bonuses though: great friendships and some of the best countryside to run over and enjoy.

Having never been great at planning ahead, the only think I would like for the future would be to stay injury-free, to run in the World Cup hill-running team again – and I would like to run the Everest Marathon.”

(Racing for Scottish Veterans, Tricia was the leading Scot in the first two British Veteran International Cross-Country events. In 1988, she won individual and team silver; and added another individual and team silver in 1989. In 1992, Tricia Calder (Edinburgh AC) ran as a Senior for Scotland in an International 10k road race in Cardiff, when the Scottish Women’s team won, defeating England, Wales and Ireland.)

TRACEY BRINDLEY won Individual Silver in the 2011 Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships.

                                                                        Tracey Brindley (Ochil Hill Runners)

Racing for Scotland, she won Individual Gold in the Snowdon Mountain International in 2002.

She won the Scottish Hill Running Championship in 2005 and 2011.

Between 1997 and 2004, Tracey Brindley (Aberdeen AAC and Carnethy HRC) ran for Scotland four times on cross country and once on the road.

In the World Mountain Running Championships, racing for Scotland, Tracey Brindley won Individual Bronze in 2003 and Individual Silver in 2005. Along with Angela Mudge and Lyn Wilson, Tracey Brindley contributed to Team Gold in 2003.

In the European Mountain Running Championships, competing for GB, Lyn Wilson and Tracey Brindley secured Team Gold in 2005; they had already won Team Bronze in 2004.

WIKIPEDIA:

“Tracey Brindley (born 25^th August 1972) is a British runner who has been a medallist at the World Mountain Running Trophy and a national fell-running champion.

Racing for Scotland, Brindley won the individual bronze and a team gold medal at the World Trophy in Girdwood, Alaska, in 2003. Once more racing for Scotland, she improved her individual result to second place at the 2005 World Trophy, which was held in Wellington.

Racing for GB, she won the over-35 Women’s race at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in 2007 and (for Scotland) finished second in the mountain race at the Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra-distance Running Championships in 2011.

Domestically, Brindley’s fell race wins include the Three Peaks and Snowdon. In 2004 she was both British Fell-running Champion and Scottish Athletics Hill-running champion.

She has also competed in road running, winning the Morpeth to Newcastle Road Race in 1999 and the Inverness Half Marathon in 2001.”

 Tracey Brindley seems to have specialised in hill racing from about the year 2000. It is interesting to discover earlier running successes.

 Tracey A. BRINDLEY (born 25.08.72) Aberdeen

PBs: 1500 – 4.44.95; 3000 – 9.53.2; 5000 – 16.44.63.

East District: 5000 gold 1997 and 1998.

Senior National XC Championships: AAAC: team silver 1994 (TB 21^st); 1999 team gold (Tracey Brindley secured individual silver).

National 10k Road: 2004 Tracey Brindley (Carnethy HRC) won individual gold; for AAAC, a silver medal in 1997.

East District XC: Individual bronze 1997 and 1998. AAAC team gold in 1998. AAAC also won East District XC Relays in 1997 and 1998.

 Scottish International appearances 1997-2004.

Road: 1. 2004 Brussels Ekiden Relay: TB ran 10k. Scotland finished second to Ireland but beat Belgium and France.

XC: 4. 1997 Home International at Margate. Tracey finished 15^th (first Scot). 1998 Home International at Margate. Tracey was 27^th (first Scot). 1999 Home International at Belfast. She finished 23^rd (third Scottish counter) and Scotland lost to England but beat Ireland and NI. 1999 International Match at Margate. She was 23^rd (second Scot). Scotland lost to England and France but beat Wales.

Between 2004 and 2008, LYN WILSON (Carnethy HRC) ran for Scotland once on the road and once on cross country. She ran for Scotland in the World Mountain Running Championships and for Great Britain in the European event. In the 2002 Snowdon Mountain International, Scotland (Tracey Brindley, Lyn Wilson and Jill Tate) won Team Gold.

THE LAIRIG GHRU HILL RACE by Alan Lawson

I am sometimes asked to recommend races to overseas runners who are going to visit our shores. Assuming they aren’t 100m specialists but REAL runners, The Lairig Ghru race (which is nowadays organised by the Deeside Runners Club) would be my top pick. It really IS a classic, being a point-to-point – from Braemar to Aviemore – which follows a famous old route / drove road, and is well known to hill-walkers and mountaineers. Although it’s described as a hill race, it’s not one of those events where you have to ascend and descend vertically like some (old) mountain goat; rather it’s a long-distance trail race, 28miles in total, with some tarmac on the first and last stages, and 640m ascent.

The first 4 miles being on tarmac ease you gently into the race. But for the rest you’re running through some of the highest mountains in the country, and the scenery is spectacular. Admiring the scenery has to be balanced against watching your footing, though, as the path is narrow and awkward in many places, including the famous boulder-field at the highest point, the Pools of Dee… but you’re probably needing to take it a bit slower by then, being just past half way.

The weather (June) is very important, as it can get seriously hot in the pass. (It can also get seriously wet of course.)

Two of my three attempts were in hot conditions: the first time I took on too much water from the many burns and got water-logged; the second time I drank too little, got dehydrated and tired, and took a fall which smashed my dark glasses (which I really need). Times were very poor.

My third – and final – attempt (2006) started ominously, as the sun was melting the pavements when we drove out from Dundee, but as we passed the Glenshee ski centre the weather changed, bringing cloudy conditions and a temperature of only 14C. This time things went well, despite a spectacular flying fall into the heather on the way down, where a large rock made a nasty and long-lasting impression on my chest. Although the temperature was rising noticeably by this stage, I carried on okay to finish in 3 hours 54, which I was pretty chuffed with (aged 59). I then had to persuade the race staff to sell me a race T-shirt on tick, as I was locked out of our team car and had no money and no dry clothes! But it’s a very nice shirt and I still wear it.

About 15 years ago the field-size had dropped to only 60 or 70 runners, which was rather low for such a great race, and which increased the chances of having to run on your own for much of the route… a tough gig.

These days things are much healthier, with 220 in the 2017 race, 25% of them women. (Special note for Vets: 60% of the field this year were over 40.)

In summary, this is an event that every long-distance runner in Scotland should do at least once. Even if you don’t get the time that you were hoping for, just to reach the other end seems such an achievement that you feel entitled to bore your friends with the tale for ages afterwards!

Mel Edwards from Aberdeen wrote “In 1975, a classic race was born – Eddie Campbell’s Lairig Ghru, 28 miles of the roughest, toughest terrain around. Eddie (a great character who was a legendary Ben Nevis racer) had been telling us about his plan at other hill races. It turned out to be a beautiful day and thirteen bold heroes lined up outside Braemar police station, just after 11 a.m. on June 19th. Eddie’s race briefing went like this, “Thanks for turning up, lads. Now this is the start, and we’re going to run through the Lairig to Coylumbridge, turn left and finish at Aviemore Police Station. It’s about 28 miles. Ready? GO!” We all thought, “Hey, wait a minute, what about marshals, drinks, race numbers…” but off we set. Andy Pratt won in 3.12.40 with me a minute behind, and Andy’s time remained a record for almost 20 years.”

Colin Youngson added: In 1986, somewhat miraculously, I actually finished first (by four minutes from Lochaber AC’s Peter Brooks) in this adventure race, despite a) going off course after Derry Lodge and b) hitting the ‘wall’ before Coylumbridge, due to the temperature in the Lairig reaching 83 degrees Fahrenheit. The Police Station in Aviemore was at the far end of town, after a long gradual rise. I plodded painfully slowly up the right-hand pavement until opposite the ‘finishing line’ and was so knackered that some kind person had to escort me across the busy road and let me slump over a fence in the shade! I stayed there for some time but, after a couple of pints, recovered….Must have been about half an hour slower than the record, though.”)

Another great mountain race, one of the real classics, is the Mountain Peaks Race.   Read Tom O’Reilly’s account of his participation   here

How is this great sport managing in locked-down 2020 Scotland?

Athletics: Banchory’s world mountain bronze medallist Robbie Simpson picks up first senior Scottish hill running title by Fraser Clyne, September 2020 (from the Aberdeen Press and Journal)

Robbie Simpson (Deeside Runners) picked up his first Scottish senior hill running title after an intriguing battle with Great Britain team-mate Andrew Douglas (Inverclyde AC) in the national championships at Comrie Croft and Fordie Estate, Perthshire.

The duo have picked up numerous awards on the international stage over recent years with Robbie Simpson earning bronze at the world mountain running championships, while Andrew Douglas is a two-time World Cup winner.

These overseas commitments meant they have missed the Scottish championships until now.

But with overseas travel opportunities – and races – currently in limited supply, they were more than happy to take part in the home-based competition.

It was Douglas’s second race since February and the Edinburgh-based Highlander set off at a brisk pace, building up a 30-second lead over Simpson at one point.

But on the final steep climb over the 12k course, Simpson sensed Douglas was beginning to fade and the Banchory man seized the opportunity to reel in his opponent before powering clear to secure what was ultimately a clear-cut victory.

Simpson, winner of the 26-mile Lairig Ghru mountain marathon a fortnight earlier, was obviously pleased with the outcome.

He said: “I didn’t think I was going to win as Andy was still well ahead at 10k. But he seemed to struggle on the long climb towards the finish and I was able to catch him then pull away.

“I’m happy with my run. It was fairly intense as I haven’t raced over such a short distance for so long.

“It was far too fast for me at the start so I throttled back and settled into second position for most of the way. But everything seemed to click at just the right time.”

Pete Duffy (Aberdeen AAC)

Excerpt from ‘Stud marks on the summits’ by Bill Smith (published 1985)

“Pete Duffy has run for Aberdeen for so many years that many people think he’s a Scotsman, but the facts are that he was born on 25/4/35 at Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, and did in fact return to live in nearby Oldham. He is employed as a civil servant in HM Customs and Excise. Pete began to compete in Scottish hill races in 1960 but didn’t know about English fell races until he ran Rivington Pike in 1967. The following year, he entered the Three Peaks and thereafter travelled to events south of the border as often as he could afford to.

During the 1960s he achieved 8 consecutive runs over the old Ben Nevis Race course under 2 hours; won the 1961 Cairngorm Race in the fastest time ever: 1.10.04; had two victories in the Creag Dubh, breaking the record each time; three victories in the Mamore Hill Race; and won the Knockfarrel Hill Race four times, besides being runner-up three times and third once. His best time for Creag Dubh was 29.44: “It seemed a good time until the English lads started coming to the race.”

Duffy’s English debut at Rivington Pike earned him sixth position in 17.35: “Nothing fantastic about that, but I got a tremendous boost when, at the tower, I suddenly realised that I had reached the top with Ron Hill.” Hill had won the previous two Pike races and finished second that year. Pete came 12^th in his Three Peaks debut in 1968, 13^th in 1969, 10^th 1970 and 9^th 1972. In 1975 he had just turned 40 but didn’t qualify for the veteran’s prize, despite being first M40 in 23^rd position, as the rule applied only to those competitors who had turned 40 before January 1^st. A month later, he won the Chevy Chase in 2.16.30: “I was surprised and very pleased to be overall winner of a long ‘A’ event when over 40.” Duffy has since won many veteran prizes, however, and in 1981 finished 17^th in the veterans’ fell championship. During the 1970s, he had gained 11^th position in the 1972 open championship, joint 31^st in 1974 and 28^th in 1975. Pete was one of the 10-man Aberdeen team that set the John o’Groats to Land’s End record in 1973.

Pete Duffy has found it impossible to maintain a rigid training schedule, due to the pressures of family and work, but has run daily since 1959, except when seriously injured or ill. However, he has always believed in a mixed training system, comprising a long Sunday run of over two hours duration, repetition hill runs, repetition speed work on the flat and as many steadily-paced runs as possible during the week. He has had two operations to eliminate persistent injuries. Between 1970 and 1976, he suffered from what he believed to be Achilles tendon trouble, but it was finally found to be caused by a cist on the right Achilles bursa, which was removed by Dr Williams at Farnham Park. This same surgeon also performed a successful operation on Pete’s kneecap to cure knee trouble, which had previously been diagnosed by his GP and local hospital as arthritis.”

“Who’s Who” profile on Scottish Distance Running History website

 Peter Duffy (Aberdeen AAC, Motherwell YMCA)

Six Miles: 31:16.8 1966; Ten Miles: 53:31.0 1969; Ten Miles Road: 51.27 1968;   Marathon:  2:32.52 1969.

Peter Duffy is a unique character, tough and cheerfully irrepressible, who ran for Aberdeen AAC (until 1965) and Motherwell YMCA (from 1966). With Aberdeen, he won two team silver medals (1964 and 1965) in the Scottish Senior National XC – and finished 22nd both times. In the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay he secured two bronze medals – in 1963 with Aberdeen and and 1966 with Motherwell; and another silver back with Aberdeen in 1972.  He trained with and learned from the best: after training and racing with Alastair Wood, Steve Taylor and Don Ritchie at Aberdeen, he went on to run with John Graham (who remembers him fondly) at Motherwell) and Fraser Clyne. Peter won an SAAA silver medal for the Track Ten Miles in 1966 and Marathon bronze in 1969. For 55 years he was a keen hill runner: on Ben Nevis, 8 consecutive times under 2 hours between 1962 and 1969, twice 8th finisher, with a best time 1.51.01 (twice first to the top but his descending was less skilful). Peter was 9th in the 1972 Three Peaks and won the Cairngorm race in 1961, taking ten minutes off the record. For many years he tackled the World Mountain Veteran championships, and completed every race from the inaugural event in 2001 until he was 79 years old in 2014 – unfortunately 80-year-olds are not allowed to take part, even if they carry full-length bad-weather gear, due to fears about severe danger to their health.

This decision (to ban over-80s) was taken after a particularly gruelling event: the World Mountain Veteran championship in Korbielow, Poland. The uphill-only route started at an altitude of 1000 feet and finished at 4000 feet. On the start line, extremely heavy rain started to fall and continued for several hours. Pete was aged 75 at the time but, unlike some others, who were dressed only in vest and shorts, he had rubbed olive oil into his legs to keep them warmer, and had taken a bum-bag which held a lightweight anorak – this he put on not long after the race commenced. It took Pete 1 hour 35 minutes to reach the hilltop finish. Then it was announced, to general dismay, that, since the cable car was not working, runners would have to return to the start hotel by foot. Two exhausting hours later, Pete struggled into the hotel and it took 30 minutes in a hot shower before heat began to return to his hypothermic body. Many others had collapsed and were retrieved by ambulance. It was very fortunate that no one died. Pete says that he had absolutely no desire to repeat that experience!

In October 2020, now aged 85, Pete Duffy phoned to discuss his hill-racing career, which lasted until 2014. He never kept a detailed training and racing diary, like Don Ritchie’s. However, he did keep a one-line note of each race he ran: date, event, distance, result. Pete reckons that he tackled 719 hill races, including several one-mile ‘sprints’, when these short steep challenges were temporarily fashionable. The longest hill events could be 50 km in distance.

Pete’s records indicate that, from these 719 hill races, he won 12 outright and had 172 veteran victories between M40 and M75. Added to those results were 145 second places and 95 when he finished third. He turned 40 in 1975, but for the next three or four years, although he was often first in that age-group, there was usually no prize available….

The Ilkley Incline Fell Race, as one can find out online, is a one mile uphill event, starting on tarmac and finishing on a path. Pete Duffy finished first M70 four times – in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. The photo below, with Pete wearing number 8 and representing Northern Vets, shows how steep the race is!

                                                                                                                            Photo by Paul Wood

Pete raced abroad as frequently as his work allowed: probably 63 events, mainly after he retired at the age of 60. One memory dates from 1956, when he was on National Service – in Egypt, during the Suez Canal crisis. While they were waiting to be sent home, a cross country race was organised. Many ‘volunteers’ were dragooned into participating. Despite losing time while struggling to swim across the canal, Pete managed to finish second to a notable Yorkshire runner called Sykes.

Peter Duffy lived in Aberdeen between 1960 and 1966; then in Wishaw until 1980. Pete’s first hill races were Ben Nevis in 1960; then the Mamore Hill Race and Knockfarrel in 1961. He ran Ben Lomond ten times.

Pete reckons that he has run/raced in 31 countries and emphasises that no one apart from himself ever paid his expenses!

What were the worst aspects of hill-running, in Pete’s opinion? While descending grassy slopes was not a problem, he absolutely hated rocky downhills. In fact, the notorious descent of Ben Nevis seemed quite reasonable, compared to the likes of Goatfell on Arran, which features very dangerous boulders. In cold, wet, windy weather, especially during a longer race, exposure can be a real worry: he remembers several hill-runners who have died because, especially if you have to stop running, your temperature can plunge rapidly. A bum-bag with rain-proof garments is an absolute necessity.

Yet there is no doubt that Pete Duffy really loved hlll racing. It was not so much a sport for him, more a way of life. The scenery? Well, if you had to walk on steep uphills, you might glance about. Certainly, due to the mist, he never saw views from the top of Ben Nevis! His real intention was to run up and down as fast as he possibly could and to have a sense of achievement, no matter where he finished.

Foreign hill races, particularly in France, seemed to be organised as an excuse to have a banquet and plenty of wine afterwards. Peter remembers how very pleasant and sociable organisers and other runners were.  During racing on a particularly hot evening, he recalls passing several blazing festive bonfires en route, so it was a relief to rehydrate with cool liquids afterwards.

After the 1970 Pendle Fell Race, many runners relaxed in a pub. Someone suggested organising a Fell Runners Association; and Pete joined as Member Number 8. He only retired from running when his body just would not let him take part any more; and is very glad that he kept going so long.

Pete admires the hill-racing exploits of a Scot slightly older than him: Bill Gauld of Carnethy Hill Runners.

Bill is a Life Member and here is what the club website says about him.

Bill Gauld is an institution and it is hard to imagine the club without him, as he has been an active member of the club since, almost, its earliest days.

Bill is also an athlete of the highest calibre and amongst his achievements are victory in two World Championships – the Over 65s in 2001 and the Over 70s in 2003 (as well as a World Over 65 silver medal in 2002 at the age of 69!).

He is a 3-times British Over 50 Fell Running Champion and two times Scottish Over 50 Hill Running Champion.

Other notable achievements include, at the age of 57, winning the Edinburgh Seven Hills Race outright and running a sub 4 hour Jura at age of 59 – 3 hrs 51 mins to be precise!).

He served on the club committee for ten years as Newsletter Editor, and the quality and quantity of these publications was amazing – every year he produced 6 large, informative newsletters.

                                                                               Bill, aged 81 receiving the M70 prize for the Seven Hills of Edinburgh race

A short look at Scottish hill running in the 21st century can be found  here

.SONIA ARMITAGE

Sonia has been a very classy athlete for many years, having run for Scotland as a senior: in the World Cross-Country Championships; five times in the World Hill Running Trophy; and three times in the European Hill Running Trophy. In 1996, Sonia won the Scottish Hill Running title. She has been a World Masters Champion in Mountain Running and both Outdoor and Indoor track.

“I have had many good runs in the Scottish Senior Hill Running Team, running in both World Trophy and European Trophy races; including finishing 13th in the European Trophy at Snowdon, and 3rd team at the World Trophy in Malaysia in 1999. It was very exciting finishing 24th in the World Trophy race when it took place at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh in 1995 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Another memorable run for me was the International Snowdon Race in 1998, which was my first international race back, following suffering a pulmonary embolism in February 1997; I finished second in my fastest time ever, in 1.22. Lastly, but not least, one very special run has to be winning the W40 race in the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Poland, in 2001.

 My best ever Masters performances, I would have to share between three. Firstly, winning the W40 race in the World Mountain Running Championships in 2001, as I mentioned above. Secondly, my W45 1500m gold medal at the World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships in Clermont Ferrand, France, in 2008. Thirdly, W45 gold in both the 800m and 1500m at the World Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships in Kamloops, Canada, in 2010.”

SUE RIDLEY

“I love running.   I have been lucky enough to have competed all over the world (often accompanied by my family) and met some terrific people many of whom are now great friends.   Nothing beats going out for a run in the countryside, whatever the weather!   I have also had the honour of: carrying the Scottish flag at the World Mountain Running Championships in Sauze d’Oulx in 2004; and of reading the Athletes’ Oath at the Opening Ceremony of the European Masters Mountain Running Championships in Nowa Ruda in 2014.”

(Sue Ridley has represented Scotland on the track, in the country, on the road, and also in the hills! She ran the European and World Mountain Running Trophy championships several times. Sue won the W35 European Masters 10k road title in Portugal and then finished second in the Half Marathon. She was also victorious in the 2009 W40 European Masters cross country championship in Ancona.
Naturally, umpteen Scottish Masters wins have been secured. The British and Irish Masters XC has been a special favourite, which Sue has run successfully on many occasions, including individual W35 gold at Croydon in 2004.)

Sue Ridley wrote:

I’m probably not recognised as a “hill runner”.   Due to family and work commitments, I was never able to compete in the Scottish and British Hill Running Championships series, but I do love hill running so I raced whenever I could.

                                                                                                                                     Gypsy Glen

One race I have enjoyed for over 30 years is the Gypsy Glen Hill Race in Peebles.   It began as a 5-mile hill race organised by Mike Pearson as part of the local health week.   It attracted around 25 runners, but has evolved into a popular fixture on the SHR calendar, attracting over 75 runners from all around.   In the early days, the race began on the road in the centre of town and headed out for about 1 ¼ miles, before reaching the steep grassy climbs of Gypsy Glen.  After negotiating a couple of gates, you veered off onto a narrow stony track which meanders its way through the heather up the steep climb to the cairn.   You continued down a grassy track on the other side and could let yourself go down the grassy trail which skirted round the side of the hill before joining the original route.   A steep grassy descent and bridge crossing led to a short, steep climb, before the route returning to the road.   The last 1 ½ miles was all road with a short killer climb about 1 mile from home, half a mile descent and the last ½ mile slightly undulating.   This mix of terrain really tested your legs!   Following police restrictions and costs, the course has altered over the years and now begins with a 1km loop around Victoria Park, resulting in a much faster start and ends in the Park too, which is much kinder to my “old legs”!

                                                                                                                  Up and Down 2009

Racing in Sauze D’Oulx in 2004 holds dear memories.   My family and I were there for the World Masters Mountain Running Championships.   It was a beautiful place sited higher than Ben Nevis and the first time I’d experienced that altitude.   Going for a jog sent my heart racing!   On a hot, sunny, cloudless day, the 8.5km course wound its way up the ski slopes of the Piemonte Mountains, climbing 862m through grassy fields and forest trails.   It took me a while to get going, probably due to the very hot conditions and the altitude but, as the race progressed, I felt stronger and stronger.   Approaching the finish hearing shouts of “Come on, Mum!”; “Come on, Susan!” and “Come on Scotland!” made this race a truly memorable experience as did the bronze medal I won in the W35 age group.

                                                                                                                 World Trophy 2008                     

We returned home for my eldest daughter’s birthday (and party).   A couple of days later I was flying back out to Sauze D’Oulx with my great friend Sonia Armitage, her husband Dave (both team managers) and some of my Scottish team-mates for the World Mountain Running Trophy.   There, I was given the honour of carrying the Scottish flag at the Opening Ceremony and I remember feeling immensely proud.   Tackling the same course in very similar conditions, I felt so much stronger and completed the course over 3 ½ minutes quicker than the previous week to finish 27^th overall and 2^nd Scot behind Tracey Brindley (who I discovered loves Nutella!).  As our 4^th team member hadn’t arrived, Sonia Armitage, in addition to her team manager duties, ably stepped in to complete our team.

Brief reflections on Hill running

To sum up:

GREAT PEOPLE

CRACKING COURSES

STUNNING SCENERY

And don’t forget the FUN SOCIAL SIDE!

Scotland has been very fortunate in the quality of our hill runners – the women no less than the men.   There are several more covered here if you would like to just click on       Helene, Tricia, Tracey, Lyn and follow the careers of four more extremely talented hill runners.

Angie Mudge running in the Whangie WhizChris Upson Photo

EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE ABOUT ANGELA MUDGE by Doug Gillon (with comments by Brian McAusland)

Doug Gillon is a superb journalist who passes on a lot of information in every piece he writes but mixes it in with illuminating comment and a degree of insight which is all too often missing from our sports pages.  In an article in ‘The Herald’ of Friday, 23rd September 2005 he wrote an excellent article about one of our greatest endurance athletes – Angela Mudge – which I will reproduce in its entirety here.    He wrote:

A mountain to climb?   Mudge now at her peak.   Leading endurance athlete tells Doug Gillon she is now ready for the ultimate challenge.

In some sports Angela Mudge would travel business class with a retinue of managers and medics, living in five-star luxury, her future assured by whacking endorsement income and prize money.   Her recent winnings were a Swiss cheese and a voucher for a bunch of flowers.   She declined.   Vases, when you live in a tent, are excess baggage.

Hill-running is an under-estimated discipline.   As befits its rigours, competitors take life and hazards in their stride.   Mudge has spent two months during the past year on crutches after radical surgery to correct a serious knee problem that already had her considering alternative sports.   “I’d worn away all my knee cartilage – more to do with my running style than with the sport itself,” she said.   “I was running on the bare bone of my femur, so the surgeon drilled a lot of holes, which stimulates scar tissue and I could run again.   My knee was more painful afterwards than before, I

was prepared for that, but was allowed to run for only 10 minutes even months after the operation.   I deliberately did not ask about the success or failure rate in order to keep a positive frame of mind.   It was only six months later that a physiotherapist told me that there were lots of people for whom the operation did not work.   Taking rehab slowly has been the key to success, although I had plantar fasciitis which put me out of action again from the end of May to the beginning of July this year.”   Since then she has recovered dramatically training for five weeks and racing four times in Switzerland.

“I won three races and was second in the Swiss Championships on the Matterhorn.   There was a raclette cheese for winning one race and a 50 franc voucher from a flower shop for another which I gave back.   There was nothing for the third but it’s not about the prizes.”   Mudge reckons she is short of the form required to reclaim the individual crown at the world mountain running trophy, but still believes the Scottish women’s team can be on the podium.   In her final race before her departure for Wellington, where she leads the Scots on Mount Victoria, Mudge won the world masters title in the Lake District by nearly three and a half minutes.   “It was the first time I’d raced downhill since the operation,” said the 35 year old Carnethy runner.

In the 2000 World Mountain Running Championships, Mudge won the world title, while in 2003 she won silver and led the Scottish team to gold in the only athletics discipline in which Scotland now competes at world level.

Overtaking on some descents can be more hazardous than on a Formula One racetrack.   Mudge is a former winner of the world climbathon on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo where there were sheer drops.   She had to sign a disclaimer absolving organisers from liability.   Little wonder.   This was the mountain on which ten British squaddies got lost for several weeks yet it was all in the day’s run to Mudge.   She has raced in New Zealand before having speent six months there with a boyfriend.   Laureus tried to tempt her home when she was short listed for the world extreme sportswoman of the year title but she declined the all-expenses trip.

The only other British nominees were in other categories.   Steve Redgrave, David Beckham, Jonathan Edwards and Lennox Lewis among 75 luminaries boasting 316 Olympic and World titles at a glittering gala dinner in London’s Albert Hall.   Mudge preferred a meal cooked in the open “and camping in a tent high up in the Southern Alps”.   She added that she did not possess a little black dress and would only have wandered around collecting autographs.

A Stirling University chemistry graduate with a PhD and MSc, she worked temporarily as a research assistant with a recycling agency for six months over the winter while in rehab but quit for the competitive season.   She cycled and camped the length of Switzerland to cut costs.   “Sometimes I meet up with other runners and I’m happy to join them but I am just as happy to do everything myself, preparing meals on my little gas cooker.”

Mudge overcame being born with her feet facing the wrong way and the boredom of track running as a teenager – she has never done it since – to become Britain’s greatest hill racer.   She has collected the UK cross-country title and contested the world championships in that discipline along the way, but the hills are where her heart lies.

“I did not go out too early to New Zealand,” adds Mudge, “because it would be just another week with disturbed sleep.   I don’t do time change well.   I like to see the course, but too much of it beforehand is not good for me.   If you’re having a bad run, you know what is coming up.”

Whatever the outcome, there is no end in sight.   “I can’t see myself doing World and European championships for many years more”, she says, “but I’ve missed a lot of races through doing championships.   I’ll continue until my body falls apart.   With any luck I’ll still be doing women’s 65+ races in 30 years.”

That’s the end of Doug’s article and she did indeed run in the World Mountain Running Championships that year – and won the W35 age group race while finishing 20th overall.

 Angela Mudge (Carnethy HRC and Scotland) won the Snowdon Mountain International in 1998 and 2000. Between 1999 and 2000, she ran three times for Scotland on cross country.

When researching this article we were advised to look at the Wikipedia article on Angela Mudge – and it was all there!   Her entire career up to and including 2008 when she won the Ben Nevis race and the Sky Race in Switzerland with three seconds in Switzerland, Italy and the WMRA Championships.   They have done a very good job and those interested in Angela Mudge as an outstanding hill-runner should look it up at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Mudge

That will give the whole story of the wonderful career of Angela Mudge, who has now been inducted into the Scottish Athletics Hall of Fame. 

But Angie is only one – albeit arguably the most successful – of the many women of all ages and standards running in the hills.   No, some run but most of them race in the hills.   Racing against opponents, racing against the stopwatch.   They are unified by their love of travelling and running in the wonderful Scottish Highlands.   You only have to look at some of the venues – eg Torridon, the Ben at one extreme, the challenging Bens of Jura and the rest to understand that feeling of being at one with the country.  Two of her contemporaries on the hills are Sonia Armitage and Sue Ridley.