Err... Not trying to go one better here or owt like that, but I reckon this is where the Merry Men should've been on Sunday, never mind poncing about in their own back yard, so to speak.
Come to think of it I would probably have been better off sticking to local terrain too, especially since my efforts to rope in some other fools to have a crack at The Pentland seemed to have fallen on either reluctant or deaf ears. But... after feeling I could put in a better performance at this race than at my first shot last year, off I went with my fan club of Sarah and Beki in the car to keep me company. (They'd set their sights on the challenging south face of 'Ikea' after watching the race set off.)
Careful observers of the race profile above will see that none of the peaks on this course approach the height that the Chevy Chase gets to over Cheviot and Hedgehope. Also that the distance is less than the Chevy too. These two facts seem to have deluded me for the past 2 years now into thinking that The Pentland should be easier in some way, and my tiny little mind has somehow glossed over the pertinent fact that there is one-and-a-half times as much climbing to do as with The Chevy. The only easier aspect of this course is way-finding, and I can only say that since beautifully clear weather prevailed yesterday, and when I ran it last year, so the paths were easy to follow.
I hadn't arrived with much time to spare so it was a case of registering, kitting-up and lining up to start. Bumped into sometime Wooler RC visitor Tim, of Norham,out for a first go, and another familiar face, Ian R, of Dunbar. Earlier in the year Ian had come up on my shoulder during the Coastal Run and said a few words, shortly after which I'd taken off with renewed pace, not happy at being caught. He quipped that he's never said a word to anyone that he's caught up with in a race since. When he caught me during this race, somewhere about Black Hill I think, I just felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see him pass, finger on lip going, "Sssh!" This gave me a much needed cheery lift because things had been going pretty much WRONG for a while beforehand!
Last year's experience had tried to teach me not to go away too quickly in the first part of this course but I still made the mistake of working too hard on the longest climb stretch after the low point at Flotterstone. There's a farm just before there and an old boy was enthusiastically counting the runners through. "Forty-six, forty-seven....forty-eight...." I heard as I passed, and his words were like a red rag to a bull. I'd been coasting, deliberately taking it easy, but suddenly I had that urge to gain a few places, prompted by a desire to improve on last year's 61st position. So, right through the hardest section of the course was where I wasted my energies and worked up to 32nd place, by my reckoning, at the midway point. The only delay in my progression came when a fellow runner went over badly, right in front of me, on a steep and stony descent. It was all I could do to avoid falling too by leaping over him and then putting on the brakes, along with some others, to make sure he was ok. Remarkably he got up and carried on, despite being badly bloodied! About 10 mins later he came past me, dripping gore, and I had to congratulate his courage.
But, after that it was pretty much downhill (and uphill and downhill and uphill...!) for me. "Relentless," is the best way to describe this race. Truth be told I hadn't done anywhere near as much training as necessary and so once I'd been out for about an hour and a half I was starting to tire badly. The majority of competitors are reduced to a walk on the majority of the climbs and I was holding ground there but didnt have much other than a feeble jog for the more runnable bits in the second half. I should've packed another pair of legs for the descents. All the places I'd gained soon slipped past, and then some, and it was a case of 'plod on' as best as possible whilst being thankful for good conditions underfoot and dry weather! At about 2 miles from home though I started to pull through the exhaustion and had a fairly strong finish to come in 59th and just 45sec slower than last year in 3:19:30, from a field of 160 some.
Despite the toughness of this event I'm sure it would be to the liking of a lot of Wooler runners. Some of the second half of the course has more rolling terrain similar to that of the Cheviots and whilst the scenery is in contrast to the largely unspoiled Cheviots backdrop, on a clear day there are some really spectacular views. Well worth the trip, although I don't think my cameraphone shots do much justice.... "Hey man! Ye havenae got time tae be takkin' photaes! This is a race ye ken!"
