Ten Moray Road Runners, from a field of 43, represented the club on Sunday 23 Oct 16 at the Fochabers Monumental Challenge. This was a good turn out considering it clashed with the Lossiethon Half Marathon.
The race was the third and final leg of the Fochabers Triple Challenge organised by Spey Runners. Gordon Castle Highland Games 10k in May and the Jean Carr Challenge in July are the others in the series.
Five trail miles, four and a half of which are either uphill or downhill, makes a great run for those of us who enjoy a change from tarmac and a stomp through the mud. Weather on the day was great for trail running, cool with light rain.
Any thoughts of chilly air and rain soon vanished as the hard work begins immediately, no namby pamby flat or gently rolling roads here. Simply a half mile uphill start that gets steeper as the effort starts to bite. The climb gradually eases then turns into three minutes of downhill followed by a relatively flat and fast half mile before the climb.
At approximately one and a half miles and 500 feet vertical gain, the climb sets a fair test of your fitness. The path in places adds to the difficulty, with roots a plenty, loose stone and wee gullies carved by water to keep you on your toes. The Monument is a welcome sight at the top of the hill. If you don’t know what the Monument is, take a walk or a run up there. It’s well worth the trouble.
From the top, it is a two mile fast run down mostly good quality forest road. The downhill is broken near the bottom with a detour round by the viewpoint overlooking Fochabers. Runners then rejoin the forest road for a steep and stony minute or two to the finish back at the Winding Walks car park.
Prizes were awarded back at Christies Garden Centre just half a mile away. Race participants were treated to a free hot drink and snack courtesy of Christies.
Many thanks to Spey Runners for hosting a well organised and friendly race. The Triple Challenge is a great series of races to participate in. I would highly recommend them to all road runners.
Michelle Slater turned in the MRR performance of the day, winning the ladies race by over 5 minutes. Steve Reeve was the first road runner over the line with Martin Flynn hard on his heels. Full results and pictures are available on the Spey Runners website.
Place Name
6 Steve Reeve 2nd MSV
7 Martin Flynn 3rd MSV
11 Martin Bain
14 Nigel Williams
15 Michelle Slater 1st FS
16 Euan Cantlie
18 Bill Murray
29 Mike Whelan
31 Kim Clark
35 Eileen Riddoch
Report by: Nigel Williams