Bishop Hill Race 2023 race report

The race sold out for the first time since it was a championship race in 2011 and both Male and Female records were set by Robbie Simpson and Clare Whitehead respectively.  A combination of clubs having it as one of their championship counters, no Carnethy or Devil’s Burdens, and going online for entrants made for a busy sign on and a strong race hungry field.  Additionally the weather was great so hardly any withdrawals.

First off was the juniors with a smaller field than anticipated.  I think the XC training session over the weekend may have impacted numbers, but I’m still only too glad to have a junior race as they all count and it’s a great experience.  Gabriel McEwan was first home as an U16 and in true teenage style berated his Mother for telling him to go faster on the ascent!  Second and arguably the best performance was Quinn McInally (you’ll recognise the surname) who as an U10 was only 12 seconds back.  Definitely a hill runner to watch for the future!  All the ‘yoofs’ were grateful for the ample supply of sweets at the finish and consumed even more once the parents were away on their race!  I apologise for not giving them a round of applause at the presentation as I became engrossed in trying to make sure I got the category runners correct (I got one wrong) but I’m certain they all had a really good time.

For the adult race the course was in a fast dry condition, so there were already rumblings about potentially breaking the male course record!  There were a few potential candidates for that but particularly Jamie Crowe (Central AC) hot from his 2^nd place at the National XC the weekend before.  Jamie was leading the way over the summits with other fairly close in tow, and Sam Tosh (Carnethy) must have fancied his chances with his descending skills.  Alas Jamie pulled away eventually smashing the record by an impressive 23 seconds with 16 minutes 59 seconds.  At the end once he’d caught his breath, he had the cheek to say “I’m not very good at descending” which I think Sam may be amused at.  Sam was only 32 seconds back and third place was Fergus Roberts (Ochils HR) a further 40 seconds back.

Heather Anderson comfortably took the honours for the ladies (a habit she has with Lomie races) and first V40 to boot, with Sophie Horrocks (Carnethy HR) 44 seconds back and Hannah McInally (Strathearn) a further 43 seconds. 

Everyone got down in one piece and a large crowd hung on with their soup, tea and cakes to congratulate all the category winners.  Thanks to everyone that came along again and hopefully we will continue to be lucky with the weather which took a turn for the colder only one day later!

Finally, thanks to Bowen Hydraullics for their generous contribution to the prizes.

Iain Simpson, Race Organiser.  Lomond Hill Runners

Full results on the SHR results tab.