They came, they ran, they biked, they got lost ...
Sadly the forecast was exactly right so a cold & damp day greeted the 8 hardy souls who threw themselves and their ultra-friendly dogs at a challenging Inverinathon off-road course. Respect to Tina and Hazel for tackling the steep wet ascents of the run course - not once but twice.
We had joy as Matt, John and Stephen produced sub 23min run times (& Jamie might well have done without a 1m diversion due to iPod distraction).
We had fun as Peter somehow went the wrong way round the bike loop and Stephen, reaching zero velocity on his steed, simply fell off. But while there were no
seasons in the sun - as yet - there was plenty of drama. The seeded starts gave Jamie a lonely run out but he came back blistering the bike leg - flying onto the Druimdarroch Rd like a thing possessed. Jamie held the lead until well into the bike when disaster struck and his chain broke. Valiantly he ran with his bike - handling it over to "Tech Support" - but instead of giving up and being driven back to base he ran the rest of the bike leg. Jamie you are hard core and we salute you. John followed an excellent run with a powerful exhibition of bike skill - clawing into Matt and Richard's lead with every turn of the crank. John came so close to "king of the trails" - but that honour was eventually taken by Stephen.
Matt's impressive run could not be sustained on the testing bike course and soon John was snapping on his clip-less pedals. All the while Richard, Matt and Jamie were being reeled in by the relentless John and Stephen. Meanwhile Peter's mishap - taking the loop too early - turned to despair and he retired from the bike. Such a shame given his competitive run split. At T2 Stephen managed his 1st real contact with the field ahead of him - his isolation as the last rider making his eventual cycle performance all the more impressive. Here he threw the gauntlet.
The cruel & near vertical nature of the 2nd run was as nothing to Richard as he ran some way past the turn point - in a prelude of what was later to come. Richard simply laughs in the face of 8% gradients. Not so for Matt but he ground it out and returned to the bike in good spirits. John & Stephen dominated from T2 and in the last 8k they pressed home their advantage with cruel determination - stripping second after second from a fading, cramping, ammonia-pungent Matt. A questionable turn decision from Richard sent him to the next village and a 4mile detour. To his eternal credit despite this he remained in good spirits - with that perpetual smile ! However by now disaster or accident had depleted the field leaving only Matt to stand between victory for John or Stephen. With less than 2k to go Matt was finally overtaken by John and he seemed assured of being crowned the inaugural winner of the Inverinathon. But Stephen's powerful if lonely vigil continued arriving at HQ 5mins behind John. It was tense as the start times were evaluated - had Stephen done enough ? Surely John's was a winning effort - oh & where was Richard ?
A 6m later start time than John gave Stephen the win by just over a minute. One minute over nearly 2 hours of racing. It was a great effort from both. Well done to Stephen, John and Matt. Congrats to all who (eventually) completed the course - the run, the cycle or both. All of you and those who came to support were very welcome and your attitudes made it a joy despite the weather. Jamie - you really were the "Champagne" moment - running through the Loch Avich mist with the broken chain in one hand and the bike in the other.
Final thanks to my beloved for sign carrying, cooking, cat-quarantining, cleaning, time-keeping and allowing me to make the paleo-soup thing (against her better judgement). Thanks to Tom for getting up ultra early & being such an amazingly good support - flying all over Argyll with strange signs, an Irishman & hammer - it would not have happened without you. And to Peter's daughter - there really were frogs in the guacamole !
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| Ice Fishing in Canada |
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| Ice at the top of the run climb. keep left |
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| On the run frosted boards with mesh top. |
You will now be hungry for course details and helpful tips. All you need is in the Inverinathon entry in the October listing of this blog - so pop back there and have a look. While you are downloading your application form and thinking about your run & cycle times pass away the moments reflecting on how much better organized this could be with different management ....
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| Inverinathon : 2009 Winners |
Sadly the forecast was exactly right so a cold & damp day greeted the 8 hardy souls who threw themselves and their ultra-friendly dogs at a challenging Inverinathon off-road course. Respect to Tina and Hazel for tackling the steep wet ascents of the run course - not once but twice. We had joy as Matt, John and Stephen produced sub 23min run times (& Jamie might well have done without a 1m diversion due to iPod distraction). We had fun as Peter somehow went the wrong way round the bike loop and Stephen, reaching zero velocity on his steed, simply fell off. But while there were no seasons in the sun - as yet - there was plenty of drama. The seeded starts gave Jamie a lonely run out but he came back blistering the bike leg - flying onto the Druimdarroch Rd like a thing possessed. Jamie held the lead until well into the bike when disaster struck and his chain broke. Valiantly he ran with his bike - handling it over to "Tech Support" - but instead of giving up and being driven back to base he ran the rest of the bike leg. Jamie you are hard core and we salute you. John followed an excellent run with a powerful exhibition of bike skill - clawing into Matt and Richard's lead with every turn of the crank. John came so close to "king of the trails" - but that honour was eventually taken by Stephen. 
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