CARNETHY 5 HILL RACE

Seven Lothian Running Club members competed in the 44th Carnethy 5 hill race in the Pentand Hills on Saturday. As forecast, the freezing rain stopped just in time -but not the wind – and the sun came out to shine on a great day’s racing. With wet snow, lots of mud and a strong wind, it was not a day for fast times and so it proved with only 28 of the field of 498 under the hour.

The race route covers five peaks in the Pentlands,the route starts with a sprint through boggy fields, then a steep march up Scald Law (the highest peak in the area).  Three “small” ups and downs along subsidiary peaks are followed by a long, fast descent to The Howe.  Four peaks down, one to go.

Pacing yourself is critical as the next stage has the long never-ending climb up a steep gully to the top of Carnethy Hill. The race finishes with a quad-breaking descent through steep heather, then some scree and a final half-mile sprint back through the boggy fields to take you to the finish. The first Lothian runner to finish in 1 hour 03 minutes 19 seconds was John Malcolm in 62nd place, he was followed home by 114th Andrew Fish [1:06.57], 119th Colin Partridge [1:07.19], 339th Alan Moffat [1:24.32], 388th Jim Alexander [1:30.40], 441st Jill Horsburgh [1:37.08], 453rd Kenny Mearns [1:42.06]. With a club’s first five finishers counting towards the team event the Lothian team finished 13th place of the 20 teams.
Results and Team Results
Selection of pics
Digby’s photos here, Bob Marshalls’ here, and some pics from Charlie Ramsay here. Cammy’s photos here. Allan Gebbie’s here.