Length, Long: 14k
Difficulty: 3/10
Time approx:1:40h-2:20h
Incine: 175m
Max Height: 371m
Start position: Fence at carpark for Harlaw
End Position: Back to the Fence
Terrain: Mixed, walking stone path, grassy rutted path, and road.
Items needed: Shoes
This is a long challenge, over 14k and has 2 inclines with more than a 3% gradient. Google maps struggles to give a satellite image of the location as it is slightly covered in cloud and low resolution as there is no urban area.
You start point is at Harlaw carpark, this usually gets pretty busy with visitors and walkers so either get there early or share a car if you are doing this with a group.
The challenge is a loop and the end point is the same as the start point.
from the carpark you head directly for the hills. Following the path, you will be in good company with lots of other walkers and mountain bikers.
The first 2k are a gentle uphill through some fields. This is a good one for getting the heart going fast so you may want to do a couple of intervals here of walking and jogging.
Once you reach the peak you climb over a wall and then can see over to Flotterstone, and the Glencorse reservoir, this is the fun downhill part. the ground is part grass, part mud part stony and all very rutted up so most of the time you will have your eyes down on the ground watching your step so as not to twist an ankle and to jump any muddy bits.
Once you reach the bottom of the hill you have done about 3.8k, take a right and then you are on a nice bit of flat road for a little while. You are jogging along the side of the Glencorse reservoir, very picturesque.
You may see some geese and a Herron if you a lucky.
Follow this road and try and get a pace going. From 5k to 6.5k you have a little more of an uphill as this takes you up to the Loganlee Reservoir where there will be a lot of fishermen spending the day. Once you hit that reservoir you get a nice flat stretch and there is even a loo if you are bursting.
As you get to the end of the reservoir, you go past a super scary house on your left with a scary swing in the garden. do not do a night run here as there will be ghosts around.
From here you are back onto grass and dirt, no more road for a little while.
You weave your way through a valley and follow a trickle of a stream that leads up to a sweet waterfall. This actually becomes a bit of an uphill but as the terrain is so flowing you dont actually notice much of an incline. SO much so that i was surprised to see that it is an other incline on the gradient map above from 7-9k. I still dont believe it really.
This valley i suspect can get quite windy, which could either help or hinder depending on the direction.
Once you get out of the valley you come into open land and then to a fence where you cross over and then you start running on a road again and pass some fields with horses.
Say hello to the horses
Then you have a steep downhill, its short, about 500m and it is interesting to just go as fast as you can. Doing so really really works out the lungs and the thighs. after that you have flat road for a little then you can take a little short cut through a little wooded part to get you to join onto the walk that is along the side of the threipmuir and Harlaw reservoirs. This is where you have to dig deep and really focus on just doing it. IF you are fitter then try and get up a faster pace here, if like me you are not so fit. just do your best to keep a constant jog on all the way to the end.
Challenge:
1 point awarded for ever 2 mins faster than 1h, 45m
1 point deducted for ever 2 mins slower than 1h,45m
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