6.4K. With a climb of about 1300ft.  Alex Drain. 32 out of 46. 00:45:53

About 60 miles south of Troon close to Castle Douglas lies Screel Hill. Not a terribly difficult hill but testing nevertheless. Adding onto the difficulty was a scorching day that was sure to cause problems with post race dehydration. A half mile into the race I still had Nat Taylor in my sights. Unfortunately, any aspirations I may have held quickly disappeared as he steadily drew away. I then contented myself with racing Paul Emsley of Arran. We exchanged places a few times, Paul when we were climbing and me when we were descending.

One of the attractions of this wee race is a climb of scramble grade just before the main descent. It’s much steeper than Straiton and needs three points of contact with the ground at all times. Fortunately it isn’t too far and then there’s the usual long run home.

I passed Paul again on the way down and opened up what should have been a very clear winning lead. Unfortunately, with less than 300 yards to go BOTH of my calfs started to cramp. My pace immediately dropped dramatically and I began to think I wouldn’t make it to the end. Every step was agonizing and the squeals of pain would have done both Ian and Alasdair proud. With about 20 yards to go, Paul passed me for the 31st place. Being passed rarely annoys me but on a downhill – I was not amused!

I was very disappointed with my finish but it was a great day out. This morning, I went out early for a recovery run up the Carrick Hills. 5 miles over the hills towards Dunure early on a Sunday morning, bliss.