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+--- Thread: Pentland Skyline report (/showthread.php?tid=1020)
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 09-10-2005
Oh fickle memory! How could I possibly have forgotten the awfulness of the
Pentland Skyline? I mean, how could a 16 mile hill race with 6,200 ft of
ascent in October's fickle weather ever be thought of as "fun"?
(You can see the general route at http://www.zen31010.zen.co.uk/images/Pentlandskyline2004/pentlandsroute.jpg and a few pictures I took last year in the same folder)
The early signs of impending awfulness (other than the obvious clues above)
were decidedly muted. The sun shone encouragingly & the skies were blue as I
drove through from Ayr. It was cool but not unpleasantly so and I elected
to run in shorts and a long sleeve Helly Hansen. My uk.rec.running friend Bob meanwhile seemed unduly pessimistic as he was dressed in all his winter woollies and I confidently experted to find him in a sweaty pile within a mile or two. ;-)
After a full kit inspection (which seems to be becoming common practice in
hill runs) the race started just after 11:00 am. Mindful of the way Bob
utterly trounced me on Ben Nevis I set off up the first slope with a bounce
in my step and reached the first top ahead of him. Naturally being a
sensitive and considerate person, I then let him past. ;-)
Whilst there had been no obvious wind at the start line, the skies had
darkened and once we reached the top, a powerful south-westerly wind had
sprung up, which was a great shame as we were heading more or less head on
in to it for the first half of the race. Not long after that the rain
started. Never that heavy but driven horizontally with such strength it
felt like being stitched with icy needles. Over the next few peaks I
endured it until I began to worry about getting hypothermic. Stopping to
put my jacket on cost me several minutes as I struggled with the wind that
seemed determined to tear my jacket from my hands and send it spinning off
in to the valley below. I probably wasted another minute struggling to turn
my new buff into a hat with chilled wet hands.
A tiny bit more comfortable now, I resumed my slog up and down hill after
hill after hill. It was with a great sense of relief that I passed to top
of the last peak of the outward loop. The wind was now howling across the
route and as I struggled to keep my balance going down the hill, I made a
mental note to be extra careful not to slip and twist an ankle. Someone up
there evidently heard me, no sooner thought than done. ;-)
As I sat on the grass waiting for the pain to subside I wondered (indeed
hoped) that I could now retire gracefully. Alas, it was not to be and
within 30 seconds I was hobbling down the hill again and within a minute I
was running (well, sort of running) again. Curses! Still, at least now the
wind was more or less at our backs and an easy stretch of running was very
welcome. Up till now we had been running on well delineated paths. The
next hill (Hare hill) sees and end to obvious paths and involves yomping
though heather. As I descended from Hare hill, I managed to go over on the
same ankle not once, but twice. The second fall left me lying on my back
in deep heather enjoying a delicious moment of complete rest only slightly
spoiled by my throbbing ankle.
By now the quickest way back was to simply carry on so it was I staggered on through the heather and once more made a mess of getting off of Hare hill,
finding myself at the top of a slippery steep stony gully, exactly like last year. ;-)
Having been passed by every man and his dog, I found myself in a line of
legdead (and probably braindead) "runners". More by luck than judgement (or
possibly the influence of a bar of Turkish delight and several gels) I found
I was marginally less legdead and actually started to pass runners. As ever
though, the peaks on the return leg just never seem to finish. Every time
you think you've topped your last peak, there's another fecker!
Still all good things (or should I say "nightmares") must come to an end and
at long last I was running down the hill to the ski centre trying hard not
to do a face plant in front of the spectating crowds. Bob was there to
cheer me on and I crossed the line a humiliating 3 hours and 58 minutes
after I set off. 3:58 to "run" 16 miles! Once Bob confessed to have taken 3:50 I felt a lot happier though. ;-)
I ran it in 3:40 last year but I really do think the conditions were much
tougher this year. Having said that, I finished 100th out of about 125 this
year (as opposed to 119 out of 169 last year) so maybe I really am getting
slower. :-( It will be interesting to see how the times of the other
runners compare.
Anyway, 4 hours after finishing, I'm already thinking that it wasn't so bad.
Must do better next year! ;-)
Tim
(More pictures and results on http://www.carnethy.com)
Pentland Skyline report - Bierzo Baggie - 10-10-2005
Really enjoyed this report and the photos from the link! Makes me realize that with UK hill/mountain running, climatic conditions are often a major factor. Over here they tend to shorten or even cancel the race if the weather gets a bit dodgy.
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 10-10-2005
Glad you enjoyed it Bierzo. The Carnethy club is really good at getting lots of great photos of their races.
You might also want to have a look at my friend Bob's report on http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.rec.running/msg/c91151abea19eb40?hl=en& for a different perspective.
Pentland Skyline report - El Gordo - 10-10-2005
Well done Tim, another really interesting insight into what some might call "real running".
I finished off Feet In The Clouds recently, after a break from it, and have begun to realise the reputation of some of these races - particularly the Ben Nevis that you reported on. I don't suppose I'll ever get to take part in these races (particularly things like the Nevis race that has pretty stiff entry conditions - yes, I checked!) but I definitely intend doing some off-roaders next year, and I'll see where that takes me.
BTW, what's the difference between all these designations - off-road, trail, cross-country, fell..... Are they just different words for the same thing?
Cheers
Andy
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 10-10-2005
andy Wrote:Well done Tim, another really interesting insight into what some might call "real running".
Andy
Don't know about "real" running. There was an awful lot of walking done yesterday!
andy Wrote:I finished off Feet In The Clouds recently, after a break from it,
andy
How could you not read it all in one go??
andy Wrote:and have begun to realise the reputation of some of these races - particularly the Ben Nevis that you reported on. I don't suppose I'll ever get to take part in these races (particularly things like the Nevis race that has pretty stiff entry conditions - yes, I checked!) but I definitely intend doing some off-roaders next year, and I'll see where that takes me.
andy
Well, Richard Askwith is like any other runner, he can't resist talking up his achievements (and the difficulty of his runs). Sure, Ben Nevis is a slog but unless you've aiming to challenge the elites, it's pretty straightforward. It just takes a certain pigheaded determination. Of course I was lucky with the weather so that made it relatively "easy" this year.
andy Wrote:BTW, what's the difference between all these designations - off-road, trail, cross-country, fell..... Are they just different words for the same thing?
andy
Well, "Fell" = Hill running. Cross-country means running several times around a boggy field with variable amounts of mud and short steep hills. "Trail" generally means any event that avoids tarmac but isn't hilly enough to be a hill or fell race.
Hill and fell races may involve a degree of personal risk from exposure and/or falling off of something. You're unlikely to die during a cross-country race although you might wish you had!
HTH.
Tim
Pentland Skyline report - johnb - 12-10-2005
Lovely report of what sounds like a great run. Is another important qualification for a real fell race is that it has a good title? - 'pentland skyline'. Wow.
Having got a feel for the cross-country end of fell running in Yorkshire, I'm quite sad there isn't more of that here. These races seem like a lot of fun (read really cold, miserable and painful). In fact the weather has just changed here, curing me of the self-deluding notion that I don't mind the cold and the wet. It's easy to be tough in the face of the weather when it is almost always warm and dry...
Pentland Skyline report - El Gordo - 13-10-2005
Any particular reason for deleting the picture Tim? Thought it was entertaining enough...
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 14-10-2005
andy Wrote:Any particular reason for deleting the picture Tim? Thought it was entertaining enough...
I was trying to get the picture to appear here using the "img" tags but I couldn't get it to work. I just get a red X instead or the image.
For the benefit of others, here's the link to what I found a rather amusing picture and caption (taken during the Pentland Skyline)
http://www.shr.uk.com/image.php?file=400_SWhitlieMumPentlands05.JPG
Pentland Skyline report - El Gordo - 14-10-2005
Go to User CP > Edit Options and make sure that Thread Display Options allows images to be shown.
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 14-10-2005
andy Wrote:Go to User CP > Edit Options and make sure that Thread Display Options allows images to be shown.
No, that's already ticked.
Should the image be visible immediately during the preview and as soon as it's posted? Did you just follow my link or did you see the image in my deleted message?
Pentland Skyline report - El Gordo - 14-10-2005
It was visible in the message
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 14-10-2005
andy Wrote:It was visible in the message
Maybe I'm just too impaient then. I know when I post to another Bravenet forum, pictures appear immediately in the preview. I've never been able to get that to work with this forum. Am I alone?
Pentland Skyline report - Nigel - 14-10-2005
Images only appear after you've posted the message. A bit scary, but you can always delete or swap them out after posting.
But, wait a minute, [SIZE="7"]what's[/SIZE] [SIZE="6"]this[/SIZE] [SIZE="5"]new[/SIZE] [SIZE="4"]formatting[/SIZE] [SIZE="3"]window[/SIZE] [SIZE="2"]I [/SIZE]see [SIZE="1"]opening up before [/SIZE][COLOR="Red"][SIZE="5"]me,[/SIZE][/COLOR] Andy [SIZE="7"]?[/SIZE] [COLOR="Teal"]
- [b]Unheard of flexibility and opportunities for creativity.....
[COLOR="DarkOrange"][SIZE="2"]
Just wait till [SIZE="6"]Seafront Plodder[/SIZE][b][SIZE="1"] gets his hands on this !! [/SIZE][/SIZE][/COLOR][/b]
.....
Pentland Skyline report - Seafront Plodder - 15-10-2005
:p
Pentland Skyline report - JP the Dream Chaser - 16-10-2005
Hi
Enjoyed reading your report. Read Feet in the Clouds a few months ago (in one go!) and was mildly inspired but hearing your 'real' story has rather got me thinking.
I return to England to live next week and was wondering if someone from the county of Norfolk has ever done a good hill run? Perhaps I could be the first, but where to train? Mmmmm
Anyway, well done mate. Join you sometime I'm sure.
JP
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 16-10-2005
JP Fuerteventura Wrote:Hi
Enjoyed reading your report. Read Feet in the Clouds a few months ago (in one go!) and was mildly inspired but hearing your 'real' story has rather got me thinking.
I return to England to live next week and was wondering if someone from the county of Norfolk has ever done a good hill run? Perhaps I could be the first, but where to train? Mmmmm
Anyway, well done mate. Join you sometime I'm sure.
JP
Norfolk??
You poor thing. Not much chance of any hill work there. I think Beacon hill is the highest you'll find (http://tinyurl.com/7bqoq)Glad you enjoyed the report. I can't say that my hill running bears much resemblance to *real* hill running. Mine seems to involve a lot more walking and moaning. Still, it feels nice when you stop.
Pentland Skyline report - El Gordo - 16-10-2005
Tim Wrote:I can't say that my hill running bears much resemblance to *real* hill running. Mine seems to involve a lot more walking and moaning. Still, it feels nice when you stop.
You're too self-effacing, Tim. Perhaps we're easily impressed over here, but those distances you do, and the challenges (running up and down Ben Nevis, if you please...) seem pretty astounding.
Pentland Skyline report - Tim - 17-10-2005
andy Wrote:You're too self-effacing, Tim. Perhaps we're easily impressed over here, but those distances you do, and the challenges (running up and down Ben Nevis, if you please...) seem pretty astounding.
What I'm trying to convey (if not terribly successfully) is that if I can do it, it's well within the bounds of most mortals.
Over the years I've come to realize that many of the physical limits that we assume we have aren't physical at all but mental. Run the whole West Highland Way in one go? Ridiculous! But in actual fact, it's just a long hike with stretches of running. I won't say "no big deal" but I'm convinced that many more people could do it once they've got past the mental hurdles.
I don't see myself as being physically extraordinary in any sense, I've just cleared a few mental hurdles that others have yet to clear.