Hill and Dale Race 4: Slieve Binnian

Hill and Dale this week was short but very sharp. Runners gathered on the Head Road above Annalong and, on the gun, over two hundred of us launched a full scale assault on Slieve Binnian via the track in the vicinity of Crockanroe and the Cross Water river.

The race itself was only two miles to the summit, but the height rise in that distance was nearly 2000 feet. Once again the question that was pondered by many of us as we set off on the boulder strewn track was…‘Why?’ To be quite honest there is no sensible or ultimately logical answer to the question… because it is uncomfortable, extremely challenging, exhausting and even dangerous in places, and the descents are worse than the ascents.

Thankfully, this time, there was no descent under racing conditions. It was simply (well, really not simply!) a race to the summit of Binnian before you walked back down to the start again. On the ascent very sinew in your body tells you to stop and sit down, but your spirit drives you on, as well as the thought that if you did sit down you would never get up again. Also comforting is the realization that the runner next to you usually appears to be suffering more than yourself!

It was a very strange experience indeed to be running/climbing into a finishing funnel that was angled at well over 45° and bathed in swirling mist and cloud. On the ascent there is no time to appreciate the scenery. However, on the walking descent, in the twilight, the views over the Irish Sea to Carlingford Lough and the Isle of Man beyond were wonderful and they undoubtedly did, for many of us, generate that ‘good to be alive and to have survived’ feeling.

As previously stated Hill and Dale is less about time and position and more about genuine fraternity on the mountain side. Nevertheless, we were counted out and counted back in again, and the results showed the following:

Thomas Leitch 26.30 (21st/211), Robin Montgomery 29.34, Brian Todd 34.00, Michael O’Donoghue 37.39, Emma McWilliams 38.59 (swearing profusely as she crossed the finishing line; strangely, her exertions also put her in the mood for cheese), Sharon Dickenson 39.31 (also swearing), Verity Cornford 40.19 (a few tears), Jill Holland 41.32 (shouting at other competitors to get out of her way) and the lovely Lisa Fleming 42.02 (smiling, as always).