Brian finishing the Great Wilderness Challenge, 1996

First Supervet and setting Age Group Record.

It is however in the hills where Brian seemed most at home.   Aonach Mhor, Lairig Ghru, Great Wilderness Challenge, Corrieyairick Pass, Stuc a Chroin – he’s run them and more.   He has also run on the lower and shorter hills like Cort ma Law, the Whangie Whizz, the Kilpatricks and so on.   His early love of the hills has been mentioned and he must have liked the marathon a wee bit to have run so many so close together.  It seems natural that he would love the longer and wilder races. On the last page we omitted his racing in summer 1990 and we can have a look at it now as a start to Brian’s career as a runner in the hill tracks, hills and especially mountains of the country, taking it in chronological order.

Brian’s first hill race the Corrieyairick Pass Hill Race on 11th September 1988.   He finished fourth and was first vet in the race which was over 16 miles with 2250 feet of ascent. In addition, his time was a course record.  It was a first class run by any standards for a man doing his first real hill race.   It was followed by two marathons – Lakes Marathon in Cockermouth(2:52:08) and New York (2:56:30).    All three were run within a month.   Having run one point to point, he ran in the Lairig Ghru race on 25th June 1989 which was a bit further and higher.   He finished seventh to be second  vet in the event over 28 miles and with 2800 feet of ascent.   The Great Wilderness Challenge was his next race which was 25 miles and climbed higher at 3000 feet than anything yet .   It starts at Corrie Halle and finishes at Poolewe and Brian was fifth finisher and second vet.   Then came the Corrieyairack again on 10th September 1989 where he finished third in 1:54:51 and first vet..   

Stuc a Chroin in Strathyre at 13 miles and 5000 feet of ascent was his first hill race in 1990. Held on 19th May, he finished as second vet.   Then came Culter Fell (12 miles, 4000 feet) where he was 26th, Glentrool Forest Hill Race on 12th August 1990, which was ‘only’ 10.5 miles and 1700 feet, where he finished second and first vet in 1:33:01.   The Great Wilderness Challenge was one that he tackled several times and he was back there again on 18th August and finishing eighth and second vet.   That effectively ended his hill running for 1990 although he did run in the Inter-club relay challenge at Dumgoyne in December.    

Brian tracking Jim Shields

In 1991 he started with the Carnethy 5 which is held early in the year, right in the middle of the club runner’s cross-country season,  and that year it was on 16th February over 6 miles and 2500 feet.   The Four Tops Hill Race was on 28th April 1991.   It was the start of a run of twelve races of which ten were hill races.  We have already seen that Brian was not averse to travelling to get to races: it is a common complaint from runners in Aberdeen, Inverness and the Borders that those in the central belt are spoiled, they can get all the races they want within twenty or thirty miles of their front door.   Brian had no such hang-ups between 28th April and 24th August he would race in the Four Tops in Fort William, on Ben Lomond, Goatfell on Arran, the Lairig in Aviemore, the Merrick in Galloway and the Great Wilderness Challenge in Poolewe.   It might be instructive to note just how far he would have to travel to get to the races that he wanted/needed to do so we’ll note these below along with the race result.  The races were:

• The Four Tops in Fort William, 14 miles, 5100 feet, where he was 5th and 3rd Vet;  It’s about 90 miles north of  Brian’s home at the time.   Round trip of 180 miles.
• 11/05/91: South to Ben Lomond, 9 miles, 3200 feet, 28th and 6th vet. Timed at 1:16:28.  Shorter than any so far it always had a first class field of runners with several coming from furth of Scotland every year;   about 10 miles from home.
• 18/05/91: Further south again to Goatfell on the Isle of Arran. 8 miles, 2850 feet, 16th and second vet, 1:26:56.  50+ miles.
• 02/06/91: Back up North to Fort William for Aonach Mor, Short course, 24th and 4th vet.   1:01/12.  Another 90 miles each way.
• 26/06/91: Cort ma Law Hill Race, Lennoxtown.  6 Miles 1500 feet.   16th and 2nd vet.  53:42.   Only a short drive!
• 30/06/91: Lairig Ghru, Aviemore,28 miles,2800 feet, 4th and 3rd vet, 3:42:37.   140 miles each way.
• 07/08/91: Glasgow 800, short road race organised by Scottish Vets.
• 10/08/91: Merrick Hill Race, 9 miles, ? feet, 11th.    1:37:47.   80+ miles from home.
• 24/08/91: Great Wilderness Challenge: 25 miles, 3000 feet.   9th and 3rd vet.   3:27:59.   The AA Route Planner has this one at 244 miles each way.
• 15/09/91: Corrieyairack: 16 miles, 2250 feet, 11th and 3rd vet, 1:56:41.   128 miles from Bearsden.
• 05/10/91: McAndrew Relay, 3.2 miles road, timed at 15:25 – just a warm up for 
• 06/10/91: Pentland Skyline Hill Race, 16 miles, 6200 feet, 20th and 5th vet 2:56:54,  53 Miles.

The two road races were part of being a club runner.   Brian was a Clydesdale Harrier and as such ran in the traditional winter season opener of the McAndrew Relay race at Scotsotun in Glasgow but note that it was the day before the Pentland Skyline Race (see diagram below!) and the other was as a member of the SVHC he ran their annual race at Knightswood in Glasgow.    Total ascent from figures above is 27,200 feet; we can estimate the Merrick at 2500 feet we have 29,700 feet.   Then we have to add in the Aonach Mhor – the height there at the summit is 4006 feet.   They clearly didn’t run as far as that if they only ran for an hour and it was marked as a short course, so, even ignoring that, Brian ran an approximate total of 30,000 feet.   And about 2000 miles driving to get to them!

He was still of course doing his Munro bagging.   

 

He ran in the Carnethy Race on 15th February where he was timed at 60:03 and the Glen Fruin Road Race on 5th April finishing 16th in 1:26:30.   But the big addition to his repertoire in 1992 was the Scottish Island Peaks Race.   

Run in May, this is an event that involves two runners, a yacht and a crew of three.   Starting in Oban where the runners race through the streets to the waiting yacht, board the yacht which then heads for Mull where the runners run to the top of the hill and back to the yacht which takes them to Jura and the runners again run up to the top and back before the yacht sails to Arran and Goatfell before heading for the finish at Troon.   It is a fearsome task with many difficulties built in – eg the weather is totally unpredictable and may be a bit stormy and up and down, or it may be becalmed which means the runners help the yachtsmen by rowing to keep the boat moving.   There are also the tactics used by some runners to gain an advantage – eg on one occasion one team laid planks between the dock and the boat so that they could run straight on to the boat without wasting time trying to board by inflatable dinghy.   Another problem for would-be participants is getting the yacht.   There are several yachts which take part every year and some are known to be particularly fast and potential participants do their best to get one of these.   

Brian and his friend and hill runner Ross McInroy decided to have a go in 1992.   They started on 15th May with a 28 minute 5 mile road race through Oban before the journey to Mull where they had to run to the top of Ben More from Salen: this took them 4 hours and nine minutes for the 21 miles, 3200 feet trip.   The yacht then went to Jura where on 16th May they ran 15 miles Paps of Jura loop in 4 hours 33 minutes.   The yachtsmen took the runners to Arran on 17th May where Brian and Ross ran from Lamlash to the top of Goatfell and back  which was all of 19 miles and 3200 feet before finishing in Troon as third in their class of 11 runners.   

 Brian and Ross

Brian then ran in six more hill running events that year.   The first was the Culter Fell Horseshoe (5h July) on 12 miles and 4000 feet where he was timed at 2:12:44 before heading back to Galloway.  He had run the Merrick the previous year, and the Glen Trool Forest Hill Race the year before that.   This year it was the Glen Trool race again on 9th August – well known territory since the Merrick overlooks Loch Trool.   Sixth place, second vet was his result in a time of 1:32:32.   A new one for him was the Lomonds of Fife on 23rd August – more gentle hills than he was maybe used to but  as part of a team of four for the 10.5 miles and 2200 feet of ascent for 18th place.    Back to another old favourite when he ran the Corrieyairack again on 13th September to be 15th and 1st vet in a team which finished second in 1:55:00.   Galloway again on 19th September for the Merrick where he was 14th and first vet for the team which finished first in his time of 1:25:00.  Finally for 1992 it was another first – the Two Breweries Hill Race in Innerleithen on 26:09/92 over 19 miles and 5000 feet to be 22nd and fourth vet.

The Route of the Great Wilderness Challenge

We are starting to see the kind of events that would appear often as that would be Brian’s own pattern.    For instance in 1991 he would run the Great Wilderness Challenge in August  which he had already run on  19/8/89  on 18/8/90 and then again on 24/8/96 where the running time for the course was approx. three and a half hours.    In August 1990 and again in 1992 he had run the Glen Trool Forest Hill Race and also in Galloway, the Merrick Hill Race first appears on 10/8/91.    In September, the Corrieyairick Pass race was a frequent part of his summer season which he had first run on 20/9/88 as his first real hill race, winning first veteran prize when finishing fourth. This one appeared again on 5/9/91 , 13/9/92,  15/9/96, and had a running time of just inside two hours.    However, the agenda for 1993 included several of these.   

On 1st May, 1993 he competed in the Stuc a Chroin race – a Munro at Strathyre, 13 miles of it with 5000 feet of ascent, and one which he knew well, and followed that with the short Whangie Whizz  which was a 3.5 mile race at Blanefield  where he was 26th and 4th vet.  Back to Ben Lomond on 6th May where he was 36th and 6th vet.   Then, having developed a taste for the SIPRA he and Ross again took part in the event which started on 21st May.   They did even better than the previous year with 34 minutes for the race in Oban. 4 hours 10 minutes for the Mull stage, in Jura they were timed at 4 hours 22 minutes and on Arran they took 3 hours 41 minutes to get up and down Goatfell to finish in Troon as 2nd fastest runners in their class.   On to 12th June and the Glen Rosa Horseshoe where he was 12th but 1st vet to finish.   Cort-ma-Law was on 23rd June and he finished 21st.   

They did the race again in 1994 starting on 20th May and their times were 37 minutes in Oban, 4 hours 10 minutes on Mull, 4 hours 25 on Jura on 21st May, and 5 hours 32 on 22nd May in Arran to finish 3rd in class.     This was followed by the short 6 miles but steep (2000 feet) Dollar Hill Race with Brian being 7th vet in 26th place.   The new experience on 11th September 1994 of the Round Cumbrae Race 0f 10 miles in 1:00:37 in 26th place before heading back to the hills in 05/11/94 when he tackled the Meall a Buchaille’s 6 miles/2000 feet to finish 23rd and 1st vet 50 in 57:03.    The even shorter Tinto Hill Race at 4.5 miles/1500 feet entered his programme on 12th November  saw him finish 22nd and again 1st V50. 

There were four notable races in a quieter than usual 1995 with the first race being the Carnethy 5 race on 18th February.   Here Brian was 85th but 3rd V50.   Then on 3rd April he was 11th but 2nd vet and 1st V50 in 28:02 for a good day’s work over the 3.5 mile 800 feet course.   There were two more that year: the Kaim Hill Race , 3.5 miles/1250 feet, where he was 34th but 2nd V50.  The last race though was the World Trophy Open Race at Pentland where he was 70th and 4th V50.  

Ross McInroy (86), Brian and Jim Shields on Ben Lomond

In 1996 Brian participated in no fewer than 12 hill races from the 3.5 miles of the Whangie  to the 46 miles of the Trig Trog.   Before commenting on some of the individual events we can set them out in tabular form.

 

There were some races that Brian raced fairly often and in 1996 we see some old favourites like the Great Wilderness Challenge and Corrieyairick Pass races with a record for the former (picture at the top of the page) the Corrieyairick where he started the hill racing which was also a 1st V50.  His consistency and standard was impressive – 12 races with 6 (possible 7) 1st V50 performances, 2 second V50 and 2 3rd V50 finishes.

There were several new challenges faced none more so  challenging than the Twelve Trig Trog.   This was an event devised by Manny Gorman of Westerlands and took in twelve trig points in the Campsie Fells.   The following description of the event is taken from the fuller AI description.

“The Twelve Trig Trog is a legendary highly demanding fell running event in Scotland .   The phrase breaks down into its literal hill-running components:

 *Twelve Trig: The route requires runners to navigate and check in at 12 different Ordnance Survey trig Points. 

*Trog:derived from the British informal verb “to trog” which means to trudge or plod heavily through deep mud, bogs and rough terrain.

 Format:A staggering 46 mile route featuring roughly 7.600 feet of ascent stretched over two days of relentless bog-trotting and navigation.

Because of the thick mist, trackless terrain, and heavy Scottish bogs the event is famous among local fell runners for its high attrition ratesand extreme navigational ability.”

Brian tells us that the runners camped overnight at a base camp at Fintry (“Good”, he says,” For a restorative beer.)    Having the base camp meant that they did not have to carry camping gear but only hillfood and survival kit.   He also tells us that the sequence of trip points was given but the route choice was down to the runners and their navigational skills.      

No further comment is necessary – those who entered the event and took part in it deserve genuine admiration.

The Great Wilderness Challenge was over a well known course but on a hot day Brian was first V5o and in so doing set a new class record.   He also extended his repertoire by running on Royal Deeside at Morven and at Ardochrig in Lanarkshire.   

The Hill Runners Championship has been run since 1983 and is run over a series of races in different categories – Short, Medium and Long – and the runner has to turn in a performance in each category plus one of their own choosing.   The races to count for the championship are detailed at the start of the season.

Stuc a Chroin Race Profile

In 1997 Brian ran only five hill running events with Stuc a Chroin being the only long one but he started his year as far as the hills were concerned with what was a very local one, as well as the shortest at 3/5 miles.   This was the Whangie Whizz on 30th April where this time he was 10th overall, 1st vet and 1stV50 in a time of 28:45.     Stuc a Chroin came less than a week later on 3rd May and he finished in 2:46:02.  Another week, another hill race and on 10th May he took part in the Ben Lomond race where he was 3rd vet and 2nd V50 with his time of 1:24:05, then came Goatfell on 17th May with a 25th place plus 4th vet and 2nd V50.   It should be noted that there were other races interspersed here and it might be instructive to look at the spacing of the above events: 

Whangie was on 30th April and Stuc was only three days later, followed by the Alastair McInnes road race on 7th May [4 days after Stuc], then came Ben Lomond on 10th May [3 days later], with Goatfell on 17th May [7 days].   ie six races in 17 days.   He then had the luxury of a whole month before the final hill race on 1997 with Cort-ma-Law on 25th June  where he was again 1st V50 in 56:42.

It is perhaps a bit strange that such a lover of the Scottish hills and mountains should not have run in the Ben Nevis race before this but the high point, in every sense of the word, for 1998 is that Brian tackled the Ben race on 5th September that year and as a V50 was only just outside the two hours with 2:06:13 for the race which covers 10 miles with an ascent of 4400 feet.   This placed him 79th of the 353 finishers.   Two new races appeared in his diary for the year -the 3 miles 1250 feet  Tweedsmuir race (12th, 2nd V50) and the Alva HG Hill Race (3 miles and 1500 feet) where he was 5th.   Others were the old favourites – the Whangie Whizz (2nd V50, 3rd Vet), Goatfell (1st V50), a new trail for the Kilpatricks (8th, 2nd V50, 3rd Vet), and another new course at Cort-ma-Law (2nd V50).

Brian’s record of races in 1999 and 2000 tells us that he was not competing quite as much on the hills as before.   

There were a few other races during the summer including road races such as the Balloch to Clydebank 12 miles which have not been included here because the main feature has been Brian’s hill running.