Report from race organiser, Paul Emsley:

"Glorious weather conditions greeted the 122 runners who arrived on Arran for this Scottish Hill Runners Championship race – bright and sunny, with a good breeze to cool the runners and keep the midges out of the finishing field. Particular thanks go to Championship sponsors Run 4 It for bringing a stand over to the race. Please remember this commitment from them when looking for new running kit.

The race was closely contested with Andy Symonds and Prasad Prasad in front of Brian Marshall as far as the Stachach Ridge leading towards Goatfell. The experienced runners usually say that the path to the left of the ridge is the one to take. The right hand path becomes something of a scramble, with some real exposure to the drop to Glen Rosa way below. Meat and drink to Andy, but Prasad decided that this was somewhere he did not want to be, and he turned back to take the other route. This let Brian through into second place and, given his vast experience of descending Goatfell, he was not going to be passed. Only four minutes separated the first three men, and a similar gap also separated the first three ladies; Jill Mykura getting the better of Fiona Maxwell, with this year’s Goatfell winner, Emma O’Shea in third place.

It was great to hear the Arran Mountain Rescue Team say what a huge number of runners thanked them for being out on the hill marshalling the checkpoints, with some good banter going on. What a pity then that, for the second year running, one of the men who came through the Saddle checkpoint refused to accept that he was after the deadline, and insisted on carrying on round the route, meaning that other marshals were kept out on the hill unnecessarily.

Could this be the last time this race route is run? A new footpath is being built, linking the top of Cir Mhor with the Saddle, and is due to be finished later this summer. With the new freedom to use the path to the west of A’Chir, a much more obvious route is available for the first half of the race. Much will depend on how the new path turns out. I should be very interested to hear the thoughts of runners about changing the route.

Found – 1 red PB bum bag, 1 black Karrimor bum bag, black Salomon shoes (10s)."

Note Ken Macdougall has asked us to publish this: "I note the comment that one of the males through the saddle refused to retire, which is a very poor show by the runner. I also note that on the results my name is reported as the last male. I'm not the guilty party and I do not want other runners to assume it was me that refused to drop out. It was a great race and very well organised. The mountain rescue deserve a massive thanks for their efforts, along with the other marshals of the day. Hopefully next year my toes will be in better shape for it."

Results | Steph's photos