Monday 7 June 2010

Yetholm Hill Race

"You can see the route of the race - cloud, cloud, and cloud", commented Les Turnbull as he gave a few handy hints to the 55 runners assembled for the Yetholm Hill Race. YC was back for a second crack at the race, and the weather was much the same as the last time he was there in 2008. Fortunately with the benefit of his recce from a couple of weeks ago he didn't get lost, though everyone feels different in the mist and the mind plays tricks on you.

He had a steady run until he found himself descending with a Carnegie runner at the finish. The sprint for the line went swimmingly, until a marshall shouted "turn left here" at short notice. YC's attempted hand-brake turn failed miserably and he landed in a crumpled heap 20 yards from the finish. He now possesses an impressive graze on his left knee, but apart from that there was no harm done. Once he had dusted himself down, it emerged that he had finished 15th and had covered the 8 miles and 2,500 ft of climbing in 83 minutes.

In the evening, he retreated to Copperfields to lick his wounds and sought comfort in a pint of Deuchars - it seemed to do the trick.