The Saturday night had a free pasta party to encourage early registration and ease the burden of the Sunday morning. We stayed out at Coylmbridge which gave me a 2 mile walk / jog on Sunday morning to ease off. You get bussed out to the start at Bagaduish Outdoor Centre and I found myself up at 1100 feet over an hour before the race started. However its very well organised and there was even coffee and biscuits to help keep you warm. Most runners gather in the sports hall and I met fellow Harrier Grant Maynard here who was a bit of a course veteran, this being his 3rd run. It was a crisp morning but didn't feel too bad until the last 10 minutes when you had to load your gear into the baggage bus and were left with just racing kit and a few jogs around the site to keep warm. Nearly 900 runners gathered in predicted time groups and were led forward to the start by a piper. In a simultaneous start the 450 runners of the 10k would cover the second part of the course.
Off we went, the first half being on trails which underfoot were something like a mix of the glen or the windfarm paths (when Eddie keeps us on the right route), but generally wide enough in most sections to pass runners. At just 2k in there was a very steep drop which had me worrying that we were dropping too quickly and would use up most of the predicted 400 foot drop from start to finish. This took you down through the Queens forest and along past mountain streams, probably the most dramatic of the scenery sections in a race which didn't lack visual stimulation to take away the pain. Sure enough from 4k - 6k it climbs back, including a sharp 50m climb over just 500m but then drops just as quickly to have the last few km of trail around Loch Morlich. It was then out onto the ski road around the 10K mark and those with previous experience made the most of the faster section on tarmac which included long downhills. The only negatives were that the traffic remained on the road although not too busy, and in some sections you could see very far in front !
The race came back into Aviemore town and finished in front of the 4 Seasons hotel.
I was a bit disappointed with 1:30:51 (67th overall and 24th Vet), falling for the talk of a downhill race but not taking account of the first half being off road. Strangely I thought I went too fast on the trails but checking the times suggested that it wasn't as fast as I thought but perhaps took too much out of the legs and couldn't take advantage of the road section.
Grant was just about spot on with his prediction, finishing 1:37:01 (137th and 42 Vet). The race was won by a guy from Corstorphine Harriers in 1:14 and a lady Vet set the female course record in 1:20. Prizes were also available for Vets, Supervets and Vintage so plenty of opportunities.
A really good race which is well organised and run on behalf of the Speyside Trust Charity. The race generally closes early as numbers get limited by the need to bus people out to the start. The weather was decent but 2 days later it was bitterly cold as the first flurries of snow landed so like any race in Scotland you just have to take your chances. With the mixture of trail and road its a race well suited to the Harriers and if you get your strategy right should provide an opportunity for a decent time. As it is overall downhill there might be some debate as to whether it counts towards a pb but that's not something I have to be too concerned about, this year at least ...
Thanks to Stephen for the report and well done to both of you.
Alan
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