Rebirth of the East Lothian Three Peaks Race

The overnight forecast was for a clash of Atlantic westerlies with a polar blast from the north – rain to fall on sub-zero ground, and black ice. So I expected an early morning road inspection to confirm the worst. However, first light revealed blue sky and sunshine with a very light dusting of snow in the garden. The road up to Longyester was clear of snow and ice, but above the farm there was enough snow lying to make fast biking down from Blinkbonny out of the question. I gloomily prepared to postpone. Barbel suggested we neutralise this bit of road and do the rest of the route; a great idea. Parking problems meant that we would have to restart the contest in Gifford. But the event was ON. Some frantic texting followed.

Twenty runners set off for Lammer Law in glorious sunshine that diluted the effect of the bitter wind. The heather slopes had a light dusting of powder; - magic! We bumped into the HELP gang enjoying their Goat’s Gallop, with a cheeky flagged route to the summit, an unapproved navigating aid not in keeping with my rules of engagement. The descent back to Blinkbonny was fast and untroubled by ice.

The neutralised icy passage to Gifford was mainly by car, but tandem logistics forced the tandem four to walk the snow and ride the rest to the restart point. A chasing start from sunny Gifford square at 30 second intervals spread the riders out on the fast undulating route to Traprain. Here, in contrast to the Law race line, the runners tackled an extremely steep scramble through grass and rock outcrops, then across the double bank and ditch of the Iron Age hill fort (which they probably didn’t notice). Back the same way (for most) with objective North Berwick Law visible on the northern horizon.

East Linton provided predictable navigating problems for those who hadn’t done their homework, and some dodging along the high street to avoid jumping pedestrians and car doors. There were short sharp climbs approaching North Berwick to test finishing resolve before the final dash for the summit, with its gleaming new fibre-glass whalebone folly (did they notice?). It was getting colder as the sun skimmed lower.

Angela and Adam led the field as solo competitors, with some ethically dubious collusion over road navigation, but fine performances nevertheless. Jon A followed about 6 minutes adrift at the end. Gordon and Mark J finished as first team half a minute after Jon. Willie G and Moira were first tandem team home about 20 minutes after Gordon and Mark. No tandem teams put both riders on the summits. In between these overall results, the split times reveal some very intriguing relative performances which merit further analysis.

The excellent North Berwick Fry looked after us very well after an exhilarating winter outing. We’ll be back in the Spring for the full snow-free version.

KB