18 miles of Hill

I planned to go for a longer run yesterday, but time was not on my side so I decided I would re-visit an old friend. I have a route in the Sidlaws (hills to the north of Dundee) which is almost exactly 10k but it takes in 1,500 ft of ascent. So I thought, I know I'll do 3 laps of it = 18 miles and 4,500ft of climbing, that should push me.

The route climbs from Balkillo car park, up Auchterhouse Hill, down the back, over Balluderon Hill, to the top of Craigowl then back down to the start. I've ran it many times and only managed to dip under the hour twice.

Friday was a beautiful day, but there was a howling gale blowing from the SW. The first two laps were ok, and I thought about calling it a day after the second, but pushed on and struggled round the third. By the time we reached the top of Craigowl for the third time even the dog was looking at me with eyes which said "can we go home now ? "














Pic : Looking back from Craigowl at Auchterhouse Hill with the trees and Balluderon Hill almost indistinguishable on the left. Route, where it can be seen, is marked in yellow.


One minute the wind was my friend the next my enemy. It pushed me nicely up Craigolw, the biggest climb, but running into it on the descent cancelled out the fact I was going downhill. My lap times show how much I struggled round the third circuit. They were

1 - 1.07.57
2 - 1.06.50
3 - 1.16.02

Many of the paths have now become overgrown, mainly with spikey gorse, so by the time I finished I was muddy and bleeding, but had that satisfied feeling you get when you've pushed yourself through a difficult run.