The Mighty Deerstalker!

This is the third year of this unusal event and the third time I have taken part. It is advertised as a 5k (and a bit) and a 10k (and a bit) and, like the last 2 years, I opted for the 10k. This year and last year, I measured the course on my Garmin and both come out at around 9 miles so the 10k is a bit misleading. Add to that the fact that it consists of several river crossings, a river run, some unusual man-made obstacles and the fact that the latter part is finished in the dark, it makes for an interesting event.




The emphasis is very much on the fun side and participants are encouraged to dress up for the occassion with tweed and country style being the outfit of choice. The race is based around the grounds of Traquair House near Innerleithen in the Borders and the start line is set up on the grassy avenue leading up from the House itself.


The weather was fantastic this year with blue skies and very little wind and at 5:30pm we were set off through a cloud of smoke as 900 runners sprinted off towards the first obstacle. Within 100 yards of the start, a line of straw bales had been placed across the route and after battling over these and a few prostrate bodies, we set off along the road out of the grounds of the house.

After the first steady half mile or so we were diverted off the road and down through a large pond of waist high muddy water, emerging slippery and muddy out back onto the road and straight off up a footpath for the steep climb through the woods to the high point of the first loop. Having done this race before I knew that if you were too far back within the main field, you would be caught up in bottle necks further on as runners queued to get through some of the obstacles so I put the head down and pressed on up the hill, passing runners all the time.


At the top of the climb you enter the woods and are faced with a long series of balance beams that zig-zag through the trees at the end of which is a tunnel built a foot off the forest floor that you crawl through before emerging out onto the forrest road at the top of the climb. Before you have a chance to catch your breath you're sent straight back down into the forrest following a mountain bike track complete with jumps and berms and after much windmilling of arms and uncontrolled speed you once again join another forest road. Along this for a hundred yards or so and it's back down into the forrest again down an incredibly steep series of hairpins with your passage blocked every twenty yards or so by a bar fixed between two trees about 2 feet off the ground. The technique here is to grab the bar with both hands and swing under, limbo style using your momentum to bring you upright on the other side. This works fine until some of the lower ones which are only a foot off the ground are reached and here it's best to go over. I tried this once with an ambitious leap but caught my foot on the bar and somersaulted several times before my descent was stopped by a large tree. At the bottom of this mad descent you reach the main road but to avoid any accidents, a large cargo net is stretched across the bottom of the path to catch you and prevent you becoming road kill.


Once on the road, you cross the river (on the bridge!) and follow a footpath on the other side which takes you in towards the town of Innerleithen. Once into the town, you're directed down a muddy bank into the river and for the next five minutes you slip and slide your way up stream through thigh deep icy water with spectators desparately hoping for some-one to slip and take an early bath.


After about 200 yards, your back out the other side and heading for the slopes of the main climb of the race. This is a very rocky and very steep climb through lots of loose scree and gorse which turns your quads and calves into quivering jelly. Once at the top there is a log bridge to negotiate before an equally quad thrashing descent back down through the woods to the bottom of the climb you've just completed.


At this point, compared to last year I was feeling great and knowing that the worst bits were over, I started to pick up the pace and try and make up some time. A little way along the road you're directed once again down into the woods, this time a straight drop down to the river. It is so steep here that they have a fixed rope in place to lower yourself down on but by the time I reached it I was going so fast there was no way I could grab it so I finished the descent on my bum.


Approaching the last mile or so, there are another couple of smaller river crossings before you reach the road bridge just before the return to the event centre. Rather than going over the bridge though you are once again sent down into the water and through a narrow tunnel the length of the road and waist deep in muddy water. Back up onto the bridge, over and off the other side through the water again before the final stretch in towards the finish. As you enter the finish field you head up the slope, through a length of large pipe, under a cargo net and then over the finish line.


My time last year was 1 hour 54 mins and because of the more favourable conditions, I managed to gallop across the line this year in 1 hour 36 mins in 79th place.

http://www.themightydeerstalker.com/page108.asp

This is a fantastic event. Very much focussed on fun and so times and placings are irrelevant as you have nothing to measure them against. There is a large event village with food stalls and a beer tent selling specially brewed "Deerstalker Ale" brewed at Traquair House's own brewery.


Many people choose to camp but given that I was there with Eve and the kids, we returned to our Hotel in Innerleithen with enough time for a couple of well earned pints in the bar.




After a good nights sleep we spent the day in Edinburgh at Dynamic Earth and took a quick look at the Scottish Parliament building before heading home. A great weekend was had by all!