Falkland Hill Race Saturday 27th of July

I’ve always liked the sound of this race as I can see the hill from my front door in Fisherrow it’s one of the Paps Of Fife actual name East Lomond.

We got there in plenty of time and parked up in the field (Tyndal Bruce Park) where there was lots of space. The race takes place as part of gala celebrations so has a lovely atmosphere with lots going on in the field, even a dog show which we had to keep Stella well away from!!

Got registered and then found out we didn’t need all the kit requirements they had asked for when signing up, so I ditched the hat and gloves for sunscreen instead. That’s the thing with hill races though even in summer it can get pretty grim up the hills in bad weather.

We got a race briefing just before we headed off and I was worried that I was going to get lost but it was very straight forward and there were plenty of marshalls along the route to keep us right.

Lovely route, just under 6 miles with 448m, through the side of the forest, then onto open tracks before we had the steep climb up the hill. We then went over to the other side which was very steep and this is where I get overtaken every time but I always catch at least a couple of runners when I get back down.

Some more tracks in the forest again before we returned to the main track again where I tried to pick up a bit of speed again and passed a couple of runners then back into the field at the finish.

Fab race there were 88 runners and I was 62nd and 3rd V50

Hill races are not something that I’m comfortable with but I try to do at least a few each year.

By Tracy Philp