Borgie dash for a dram a runaway hit

NORTH Highland Harriers’ athletes, families and friends have been out braving the elements over the past month in various parts of Caithness.

The hardy runners first made their way to Borgie Forest on a very snowy Sunday morning the week prior to Christmas.

Sixteen runners assembled to tackle the undulating course after various escapades in getting to the course via the slippy west roads.

The running conditions were perfect with a fresh layer of snow covering the six-and-a-half-mile course. Various Santa hats could be seen bobbing about on the course and all runners were welcomed back with a hot drink and home-baking.

The fastest on the day was Kevin Cormack in a time of 42.11 min with Lorna Stanger in as first female in a time of 50.27 min.

The North Highland Harriers next took on the challenge of the Boxing Day Hash which has been a running fixture in the North since before the running club was formalised.

The course is set out in Dunnet Forest and runners follow a sawdust trail which can have various false routes just to confuse even the most sensible runner.

If they complete the course correctly at the first time of asking they run a distance of approximately four miles.

The runners were given an hour and a half to either complete the course or return to the starting point. Most, with the exception of some of the family teams, managed to get to all four checkpoints in the time allocated.

With over 40 runners of all ages taking part, this was a hugely successful event with a mixed atmosphere of helpful directions for the younger runners and positively inaccurate directions for those who looked like they were going just far too fast.

From this old favourite on the events calendar, came a new one for the club, the Dorrery Hill Dash for a Dram, which took place on ?January 1.

A total of 30 runners made it out to Dorrery, some requiring to have booked drivers in advance due to the previous night’s celebrations.

The runners set off at two-minute intervals and made their way to the trig point at the top of Dorrery Hill for a celebratory dram (or juice) to then run down the hill at a much faster pace. Although the event was about club members, family and friends getting together to celebrate the New Year, some of the runners used it as part of their training while others were happy to put overindulgence to bed with some much-needed fresh air.

Home for the holidays, Matthew Sutherland took the runners home first, closely followed by Kevin Cormack with Emma and Oonagh Dunnett next in, leading the females home.

Kevin’s young son, Euan, decided not to be outdone by his dad and completed the two-mile course with ease.

The event was declared a success and one that will become a permanent fixture on the NHH running calendar.

The next outing for the runners will be the Dunnet Beach and Bark Trail run on Sunday.

Anyone wanting to complete either the four or six-mile course should be at the Castlehill Heritage Centre, Castletown, by 9.45am.