This wasn't just any race. It was not only my first hill race, but also my first race representing Giffnock North. I arrived about half 12 and registered and got my number in Symington. Unlike road races which cost between £10 up to £50 for marathons. Hill races are cheap. The reason for this is that no roads have to be closed and there are no goody bags or prize money (that I'm aware of). It is just simply a race to the top of a hill and back down again. The simplicity of it all is what I liked the most. Due to the simplicity it is also cheap at only £4. I then drove to the start about 2 miles away at the foot of Tinto hill where cars were parked along a narrow road parking where ever they could.
Having an hour to wait till the start I sat in the car a played the DS until about 20 mintues to 2. It was a cold day in November and although it was a bit cloudy the conditions were good. I went for a warm up jog along the narrow road and back to the car where I was having trouble deciding what to wear! Being a hill race you have to think about what the conditions are like up the top, which is like gambling! Especially with my lack of experience at this sort of event. At about 1.50pm the crowds started to gather at the foot of the hill from the start and I positioned myself at the back of the pack. I had heard there was a few people from Giffnock North also running this race that I have not met yet but I thought they would probably nearer the front of the pack and I later found out I was right.
As well as being my first hill race, it was also one of the quietest races I have done (with the exception of the weekly park run). There was about 300 people participating. Although the path up the hill is reasonably wide for the most part, its still not a road or anything like that. So it felt like there was just the right amont of people and spread out quickly.
And we're off. I got into a nice rhythm straight away. I had reccied the course a couple of weeks back so I knew what to expect. I knew the first section was a gentle incline and all very runnable with a few boggy bits. Then after half a mile is where it gets steep bits start and a power walk is nessessary. I found myself overtaking quite a bit for starter. After the first steep bit, it levels out again and returned to running. This repeated for a while, until there was a long gentle incline, which I am guessing was about a mile and a half in. At this point, I looked to the side for a second to see a flash of Prasad Prasad, the leader absolutley flying down the hill. There was then the steep ascent to the top which I fast walked. More and more people came flying down taking all sorts of routes. Just as I was getting to the top, I was gaining on a fellow club member who I must have only been 10 metres behind. The trig point is situated on a massive set of boulders which we ran right around but not up to the trig point. I had managed the ascent in just over 33 minutes which was 2 minutes slower the winners overall winning time! Simply amazing!.
Spot the Stu - Near the top of Tinto:
Then there was the descents and my first real attempt at a descent and you could tell! I started off down the steep bit and started quickstepping down out of control and ended up sliding on the small stones. It appeared my trail shoes were not quite giving the grip I needed but also my head was thinking too much about it. And I ended up taking it easy down the steep bits where needless to say I was getting overtaken left, right and centre. But I did my best to just concentrate on my own race. I enjoyed the gradual descents more as I felt comfertable striding out at these points. I ended up finishing in 52.40, meaning about 19 minutes for the descent and finished 249th out of 300.
I really enjoyed the race and it littrally is a breath of fresh air compared to road races. I definitley need to work on my descents. To show you the difference it can make. The guy from Giffnock North who I was just behind on the ascent. Finished in 47 something minutes which was 5 mintues ahead of me! But I had fun and there is always next year :-)
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