Callander Crags Race

The traditional Callander Crags hill race took place on Saturday 3rd January. Sub zero temperatures and clear blue skies greeted the 100+ competitors of all ages who huddled together on the start line for the mad sprint to the narrow path leading up The Crags. An 800 foot climb over the first mile gets the lungs and the field opened up and puts a wee bit of pain into the legs for starters. However, this can be relieved slightly with a nip of whisky (or a cup of water if you can really hold your drink) from the marshalls at the cairn at the top before starting a more gradual cross-country descent over the next half mile. A steep descent for another three quarter mile on a single track tarmac road then asks some questions of the legs and any speed that may be remaining in them before again climbing and descending on a forest path to the finish line. So quite a variety squeezed into the 3 mile course. Alan Derrick passed a late fitness test the day before (his first run for a couple of weeks) and lined up to face the oh so familiar course for the umpteenth time, having started doing this race as a schoolboy. Surprisingly it was not his slowest ever time (more to do with the very good under foot conditions than any fitness), finishing in 27:03 in 7th or 8th position. The race was won in a new course record of around 23 minutes by another local Callander runner Prasad Prasad, one of Scotland's top hill runners. A race to recommend to anyone looking for an introduction to hill running or just something different. There is a summer version of the race on the evening of Wednesday 3rd June.