Race report by Jessica Brydon on the 4th race in the 2023 Scottish Hill Runners championship
Ben Rinnes is advertised as a ‘very runnable’ hill race and is perhaps the most straightforward of the long-distance events of the Scottish Hill Running calendar, drawing in quite a crowd to the annual Dufftown Highland Games.
Hundreds of competitors gathered under the hot sun, amongst them 6 Shettleston ladies and 11 Shettleston men.
On the men’s side, Alex Clarkson ran ‘the race of his life’ finishing seconds behind first lady Holly Page, helped by the fact that both his shoes stayed firmly on his feet on this occasion (Adidas Terrex for anyone interested).
Harry Pulham couldn’t quite catch ‘fast’ Steve (Halsall) but was placed 5th. Close behind was Fred Davies in 6th making up 3 Shettleston men in the top 10. (although this was topped by rivals Carnethy who claimed four of the first 10 places)
‘Fast Steve’ obviously had the best legs on the day and came 2nd in this event, positioning him 2nd overall in the champs so far this year. So called ‘slow Steve’ (Winter) was disappointed to have run slower than his personal best for the course but was able to console himself in the beer tent afterwards.
Ross Cruickshanks and Rodrigo Reis both suffered significantly in the heat but pushed on, Ross credited with helping CJ McPhail on her way to a fantastic 4th place. CJ also currently ranks 2nd overall in the championship.
Just eight minutes behind CJ, Matilda Cornall put in another solid performance for 7th female. A little further down the line Tara Walker, who would usually be found road racing turned up to try something different and did very well to be placed in the middle of the field.
Overall a brilliant team effort on a course which although maybe ‘very runnable’ for some athletes, covers nearly 14 miles and 5,000 ft of relentless ascent and descent!
