The Saddle (1010m) and Sgurr na Sgine (946m)

After a great weekend in Braemar with CAAC for the Balmoral 10k, Neil and I drove across to the West, where we had a cottage booked in a small place called Conchra – just off the main road a few miles past Eilan Donan Castle. It was a great base for our week and perfectly placed for our planned adventures. The first of which was a Munro double, the Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine – 2 adjacent hills, with the first, the Saddle incorporating the Forcan Ridge, a great scramble. We couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day weather and view wise. The first part of the walk involved following a stalkers path up to the ridge before the scramble began. I really enjoyed the challenge of the scramble, and felt quite safe throughout, as there were some good hand holds and rocks to support yourself on. There were routes around to avoid the scramble if wanted, but as pointed out in the Munro book ‘this would defeat the object of the ascent’. I was pleased to see the cairn come into view on the last section – a hard climb, but one of my favourites to date. We enjoyed our lunch on the summit before continuing onto hill number two for the day.

There was a fair drop between the two hills and a challenging rocky descent off the Saddle. We arrived at the top of Sgurr na Sgine when the light off the hills was beginning to look quite spectacular. We could see across to Syke, Knoydart, the South Glen Shiel Ridge to mention a few. After spending a bit of time on the summit, (this was number 60 for me) we started the walk down. The route followed a ridge for a way, then back up a bit before the real descent began. I could see our car; it was a tiny red dot, some 900m below us! I’m never a fan of the descent, although my Leki walking poles which I got last birthday are proving to be invaluable, especially with keeping my ankles intact! Neil recently got some walking poles too and is feeling the benefits. I enjoyed watching the sun setting over the surrounding mountains on the way down; the ever changing colours were beautiful. We spotted a couple of wild campers who had pitched their tents along the way. I envied them, as I looked down on what we still had to do to get back to the car! We arrived back to the car with weary legs, but I have to say, one of my favourite ever hill walks. I’ll remember this one for some time.

Lochnagar 5

On last year's Balmoral trip we attempted to do the Lochnagar 5, but the weather was against us, and we only managed one of the 5 Munros on this loop. This year, the weather was with us and we decided to give it another go. We went the opposite way round this year, meaning we had a longer walk in to the first hill, but a much more gradual ascent. With this being an 18 mile hike, it was nice to get some of the easier miles in early on, rather than face a long walk out at the end. The sun was shining, with great views, and loads of fun walking round as a big group. We reached summit number one with ease, and then continued round, ticking each one off as we went and admiring the stunning scenery at each one. With a food / easter egg stop on each summit too! A few of the CAACers who'd gone off ahead made a slight error and headed in the wrong direction at one point. Tom, Keith and Dave therefore had to break into a bit of hillrunning to bag that Munro and rejoin the group, while a few of the others decided they would miss that one out. It looked like Tom could have run around the whole loop! The grand finale was Lochnagar - where we could look back at where we'd come from.

Really enjoyed this hillwalk and a good start to the week of hillwalking Neil and I had planned for the week ahead...

Balmoral 10k 2011

This was the third year I headed up to Balmoral with fellow CAACers to do the Balmoral 10k. and this time Neil came along too. It would be the start of a week's long holiday in Scotland. After loading up the car with all our gear in the morning, we headed off to Braemar. The CAACers stayed in the bunkhouse, but Neil and I stayed in a B&B just up the road which turned out to be a little gem of a place, which we'll certainly be returning too!

The race seemed busier than previous years, I think it's become more and more popular. The gun went and we all piled across the start line. The first few kilometres are merely a formality, as you wait in anticipation for the start of 'the hill'. Before I knew it, it was upon us, and I started the long climb to the top, listening out for the piper at the top. This was definitely the best I'd ever felt on the hill, though I was still pleased to get to the top knowing the hard work was done and the rest was mostly downhill. I had a bit of a battle with a girl from Aberdeen, unfortunately what I made up on the uphills, she always cruised passed me on the downhills, so she just got me at the end. Pleased with my position of 7th woman, and time of 42:33, my quickest on this course to date. Neil had not done as much training as he would have liked for this race, but nonetheless had a really good run, coming in at 45:59. There were great CAAC performances all round, Grant won first vet and Dean dipped under 40 minutes. Some of the CAACers ran back to Braemar, while the rest of us took the car or cycled, before getting ready for our night in the Fife Arms. Another great 10k in Balmoral.

National Road Relays, Livingston

(Kerry leading off the women's team - photo courtesy of roadrunpics)

With the XC season over with well and truly now, last weekend was the turn of the National Road Relay Champs, taking place in Livingston. For some reason, this event didn't seem to have the prestige of the National XC, with far fewer teams from across Scotland taking part. Not sure why Livingston is chosen as a venue for these champs, but nonetheless, this was my first outing and I was looking forward to it. The women's team consisted of Kerry off first on a 'short' leg (3.2 miles), then Susan second on the 'long' (5.8 miles), then me on another short, and Gillian anchoring us on the final long leg. Both Kerry and Susan had great runs, putting us in a good position. I set off at a good pace, as did everyone, with it being slightly downhill and in front of all the supporters. Then you turn the corner, hit the hill and the wind! Took my about half a mile to really get going in my running, but once I did I felt good and there were female runners in front of me at even spaces which I could work on drawing in and picking off. I overtook about 5 women which I was pleased with. Handed over to Gillian who took over another 9, so overall we finished in 8th, so a great result for the women!
Another great team event, it was great fun cheering on the several men's teams. The A team coming in 4th, and the highlight being the Mike A having a sprint finish on the last leg for the Vets. Our day out in Livingston was finished off with a trip to Cotswold Outdoors and Wagamamas for dinner -what more could you want from a sunny Sunday day out! ;-)

First Parkrun of 2011

Headed out to Cramond for my first run of the parkrun for 2011 and since it's been adjusted to the 'correct' distance. Apparently, it was 80m short before! After a quick jog from the car to the start and a bit of a stretch the starter called us off! I'd managed to get myself fairly near the start as it's quite easy to get boxed in there. Felt good and was in sight of Chris Peggie, so thought I'd try and keep the gap as small as I could between us. He pulled away, but it was good to have him in my sights. Last couple of km's I felt fairly strong and wasn't as blusterly down there as usual.
Came in at 19:25, 2nd female. Comparable to my previous times on the shorter course, and very pleased considering the lack of speedwork have been doing of late. Some nights on the track should help sharpen things up. 22 dead for Neil, so a good first outing from him also. Let the road race season begin!!

Mountain biking at Glentress

A bit of fun at Glentress on a Saturday afternoon....

Jo on Electric Blue from Jo Kirby on Vimeo.

Neil going over the bridge @ Glentress from Jo Kirby on Vimeo.

Scottish XC Champs 2011, Callender Park, Falkirk

I ran this course for the first time last year and absolutely loved it, so I was pleased to hear it was at the same venue for 2011. Conditions, however were quite different, with last year's hard ground and frost being replaced with squidgy paths and mud. We had a team of 8 women this year (the highest ever apparently!) We set off alongside a couple hundred other women sporting our white CAAC vests (though they didn't stay white for long). I felt good going up the first hill, but everything after that felt like hard work. Some great support from the men all the way round which really helped. I finished in 69th position in a time of 35min03. This was half a minute slower than last year and I was down on my position. I was slightly disappointed as felt I'd been running well so far this year. Great runs by all the CAAC ladies, some of whom were making their race debut and we finished with a team position of 10th overall.
It was then off for a warm down and a jog around the course to cheer on the CAAC men! Love this race for the club atmosphere, you can't beat it!
(Above picture courtesy of roadrunpics)