TTC 2012

A big thanks to all the Harriers and ATHelite Tri and JogScotland members who gave us a full and lively house at TTC 2012. Given the forecasts, we were lucky with the weather as the Trossachs micro-climate behaved itself (at least until Saturday night). The weather was not going to spoil our fun anyway, especially as we had indoor activities to occupy us. It is a few years since we have been severely stretched on a TTC but this year Mark Russell obliged by expertly taking us through two Yoga for Runners sessions which were totally appropriate to our (in)ability. Although there were plenty of grumbles, groans and other sound effects during the sessions, there was nothing but praise to be heard afterwards, so a big thank you to Mark for a highlight of the weekend. In parallel to the first yoga session, Genevieve tortured a handful of us with an upper body circuits session in the blazing sun with her usual irrepressible enthusiasm.

The four running sessions were attacked with vigour by all and once again many were taken well beyond their self-assumed running limits, some for the first time ever and some for the first time since the previous TTC. It is a running camp and seeing people enjoy running is why we keep coming back.

After shuffling the jokers in the pack (Billy and Kenny), the Friday evening run took in a 5 mile circuit of the forests above the hostel as usual; a nice, gentle start. On Saturday morning a severe climb up the base of Ben Ledi provided wonderful views of Loch Lubnaig and put up to 9 miles under our belts. A continuous hill/farlek session at Bocastle forestry commission car park proved a severe test on the Saturday afternoon which no one (except me!) failed. However, this did create the space for the second night of Lade Inn dinners and refreshments. Wind and rain greeted us for the first time on Sunday morning but un-deterred, the packs headed out by Loch Venachar to the Achray forest and Loch Drunkie. Three packs took in a circuit around Brig O'Turk giving a total of anything up to (and beyond in some cases) 17 miles whilst packs 1 to 3 handled 10 to 13 mile circuits admirably. The weather was perfect for running.

If Harriers were supposed to read maps then we would be called Calderglen Orienteers. And so it comes as no surprise that some packs experienced free-form route improvisation of a kind that only a true path finding legend such as Eddie Reid can deliver. Learning from Eddie's introductory master-class within 100m of the start of Friday night's run, both Genevieve and Colin tried a little bit of improvisation on their Saturday and Sunday runs respectively and are clearly picking up the basics well, Colin even going so far as to throw his maps away somewhere on the Sunday route. The mark of a true maestro is to leave your audience wanting more and so it was that Eddie provided only a 1-mile detour as a Sunday finale. There was so much more he could have given!

So a weekend of great running, yoga, food and banter was over. The runs would not be possible without the enthusiasm and commitment of our pack leaders (who had given up the previous Saturday to recce the routes with me and to cement them in their minds; clearly not quick drying cement in some cases). So a huge thanks to Frances, Russell and Eddie. We are very lucky to have a generous club sponsor, EKGTA Ltd, who has substantially subsidised this event from the beginning. Janet and Mark, the proprietors of the hostel, run a relaxed operation and give us free reign over the weekend to do what we do, so thanks to them both. The Lade Inn consider us regulars nowadays and we always get great service, food and drink from Frank Park and his family. This is the second year that we have enjoyed the lunches of Mhairi Taylor of Delizique in the West End (and we could well be enjoying that same lunch for a third and fourth year given the quantity that was left over) and the local bread of Mhor Bread in Callander. There is no doubt that the lunches were enjoyed. To those participants who gladly volunteered their driving services to ferry everyone back and forward to the Lade Inn, thank you; it was greatly appreciated.

So we come to my friends of the last 11 or more years, Genevieve and Colin for whom this was their last TTC before emigrating to Canada in a couple of weeks. For somebody who does not eat a lot, Genevieve always likes to have a lot on her plate and doing all the final TTC preparations over the past month on top of the preparations for leaving would be too much for most people. But not Genevieve who would not have it any other way. In fact, she enjoys being under pressure so much that she made most of the arrangements twice, having despatched the PC with all the details of the event and participants to Canada a couple of weeks ago! Colin steadies the ship, supports and guides in his own laid back way and just gets on with it no matter what (map or no map!). My biggest thanks therefore goes to Genevieve and Colin. The TTC will miss you both and I will miss you more than most.

Alan
(ps a TTC photo gallery will follow once I gather photos from the various Harriers with cameras)