Hill running group try some storm dodging
October 26th, 2009It seemed pretty clear by Wednesday evening that our amazing run of luck with the weather was set to run out. What could I expect; it was after all the weekend of the (now renamed) KIMM. As I followed the forecasts for the next 48 hours however it seemed to be going from bad to worse, especially the winds. By bed time on Friday the strength of the gusts anticipated at 2,500ft had increased from 55mph (“steady walking will be severely impeded”), to 75mph (“mobility will be extremely difficult”). If you’ve never tried walking in this kind of wind, put your hand out of the window of your car next time you are on the motorway, and imagine it’s not just your hand, but your whole body being buffeted in that way. Contingency plans were required, and folk were warned to bring a decent waterproof, as it was due to be wet as well.
Imagine my bemusement therefore as I looked out of the window at dawn on Saturday morning to see our stationary wind turbine. Dead calm. But, then we’ve all heard of the phrase “the calm before the storm”. By the time we reached Damon Rodwell’s house at Hownam just before 10am it was pretty breezy. The forecast had talked about the worst of the weather coming in the afternoon, so we got away asap.
We were only 10minutes or so up the hill, rounding the iron age fort and it’s standing stones when we fwlt the first real blasts. A steady 30-40mph wind is hard to run into – and going uphill only adds to the challenge. Never mind – I had a plan.
Damon had to leave us after 20 mins or so to undertake his domestic responsibilities. Never mind, he’d promised us soup at the end, and he does make a damn fine soup. His dog, Noushka (sorry Damon – my spell check cannot help me here)however decided turning back was not on her agenda just yet, and by the time we realised what was happening, Damon’s speed had carried him out of earshot. So, a three dog run it was to be.
It was just after this that my cunning plan swung into action. You always do a run like this with the run out on the high ground, and the return along the glen. And failing that there is just something natural about doing it clockwise. I’ve never done this run any other way. But I’ve never done it in a storm before. So, we dropped down to the Heatherhope valley and reservoir and jogged on up the track sheltered from the worst of the weather.
After an hour or so we were faced with the days big climb – a walk and no doubting it. The wind really hit as we levelled off at the top, not long after climbing up into the cloud. But; and here was the really cunning part of the plan; after just a few hundred yards, we swung around to the left, and as if by magic we were being blown back along the ridge.
At some point it must have really begun to rain properly, but we really didn’t notice, as we made fast progress (well, for us anyway) along in the mist. Every so often we would drop a little, and see the views, but mostly we just chatted our way happily towards Damon’s’ waiting soup.
Some two hours of running, after setting out we were back on Damon’s doorstep. Wet clothes were stripped off and appetites satisfied with a really superb bowl (or two in my case) of hot soup. All in all not a bad way to spend a stormy morning in the hills.
