Last night was my second ever hill race. I had done a recky about a month ago but took a wrong turning early on but was on course for the rest of it. From the recky I thought that road shoes were the best option as quite a bit of it looked like it was on road and forest track. Since my fell shoes are still brand new I didn't want to wreck them on tarmac. So when I turned up and realised that a) most people were wearing trail/fell shoes and b) The start was a lot further up the road to where I thought it was which meant less time on tarmac; I knew I had made the wrong decision. So lesson learned and the race hadn't even started!
There was a record amount of Giffnock folk tonight for a hill race with 9 of us running along with Bernie, Doleen and Hazel supporting. The main reason for the big turnout was because it was part of the men's club championship. Therefore there was quite a few people there, like myself who wouldn't have run it otherwise. As previously mentioned I'm not in it for the championship, it's just good to turn up at a race and know people there. So I got there in plenty of time, paid the huge entry fee of £3 and got my number. Then headed to the start. I learnt from Tinto hill race, that the majority of people who run hill races are good at it too. It doesn't really attract the fun runners you get at 10ks and nowhere near the amount of people. So much so that you just turn up on the night and enter. Tonight there was 117 people entered the race which is actually the highest number they have ever had in this race. So I positioned myself pretty much at the back.
After a few announcements which I couldn't hear, I did hear 'GO!', so off we went. The first kilometre was on the road and had a gradual ascent. I knew it was important to take this easy as it would be so easy to go off too fast and in hill races you really do pay for it later! The course then went left across a field where Graeme Aitken was hanging supporting a fellow Lomond hill runner and gave me a shout. Then the steep bit started and is where Bernie was taking photos along Doleen and Hazel supporting. The slope alternated between steep and gradual eventually reaching the top. Most people seemed to walk the steep bits and jog the gradual. I even managed to overtake people who were attempting to run while I was walking! Once we reached the top I was sweating buckets as it was a muggy night. Then there was a steep and technical descent. This is where the hill shoes would have come in handy and also more practice at descending! I was overtaken by probably 4 or 5 people here. The course then went on to forest track, winding down to the reservoir which was nice easy running where you could stride out. The next hill then started but it was all runable until we turned left off the forest track. Then it was up and down till we reached the top of the second hill. I reckon that if I had done even a wee bit of training on hills this would have all been runable. Then there was the long, winding descent which crossed 2 burns and was soft underfoot. I was overtaken by a few people here, one lady from Carneigie and a Ochil hill runner.
By this point we were well over half way and we were on to the second reservoir which was nice up and down trail with a few boggy bits. The course then turned right across the dam and then we faced the last climb called 'The Slacks' which was not as big as the first climb, but bigger than the second. I overtook the Carnegie lady and the Kilmarnock Harrier up the climb and said to them 'I'll see you on the down' knowing they would pass me again. I was feeling surprisingly strong on the climb and managed to jog the gradual ascents until I reached the trig point where there was volunteers and supporters. So as I was running up to it, I raised my arms like Rocky, as I knew this was the last ascent of the day. Then I upped it and felt really good coming down. In fact it took a while for the Ochil hill runner to overtake me and the Carnegie lady overtook me just in the bit before the field. I was so knackered by this point my brain had switched off for most of the descent barring a few tricky bits. When the Carnegie lady overtook me she said 'See you on the road'. I really didn't expect to see her again till the finish. But I hadn't lost that much on the descent and wasn't far behind her. So when we got to the road I just went for it and managed to overtake her. I then just kept pushing down the tarmac and got to the finish. I stopped the clock at 1.03.57. I never really had any time expectations going in but if you told me before the race I would get this I would have been happy.
I spoke to a few people afterwards and overall Giffnock did really well with some great times. The winner was Deeside's Robbie Simpson who at 18, is already one of the best hill runners in Britain never mind Scotland and also broke his own course record. Due to no hill races being the same you can't really get a PB unless it is on the same course. But one of the things www.scottishhillracing.co.uk does is clever. They take your time, so 1.03.57 in my case. Then take the winners time which is 42.59 in this case. Then take the percentage of the winners time compared to your time. So the winner gets 100%. Then I would get about 150%. This way you can compare all the hill races you've done. The thing is of course is that it all depends on who turns up on the day! Some years I would have been below 140% but of course the two races I have done either Robbie Simpson or Prasad Prasad have turned up so my percentages have been higher. There are quite a few people in the hill running community who half jokingly/half seriously get wound up when Robbie, Prasad, Symonds or Rob Jebb along with others 'up their percentages' by running fast times but personally I'm not bothered. I can see why people get frustrated as you can run one race, one year and get 126%, then the next year get 140% by running faster time but higher percentage because someone really fast made it to that race. But its one of those sports where it is always going to be difficult to have a fair measure when every race is so different. I thought maybe you could use the current course record, instead of the winners time (unless it was a course record) but I have a feeling that might mess up the winners percentages.
So overall I am delighted with the way the race went as I really enjoyed it especially considering I have not done any proper hill work this year. It was amazing that one minute you are looking over Glasgow and the Clyde; then the next minute you are beside the most peaceful reservoirs with nothing but forests and hills for miles. Naturally I'll be back at some point to try and break the hour mark. It has also tempted me to concentrate on the hills after Loch Ness but in the mean time it's back to the roads.
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