ATRX MMXVII – Antonine 10Km Trail Race 2017

On Wednesday 17 May 2017, the third Antontine 10Km Trail Race (ATRX) was held at the foot of Croy Hill. I, Connell Drummond, have done the Antonine Trail Half Marathon (ATR) in the Autumn for last 3 years so when I was told that the ATRX was a harder, more technical route, I decided not to run it last year as it was close to the Polaroid Series and may affect my run at Helensburgh. However, on retrospect, I wish I’d done this race sooner.

First thing to point out is that the runners who attend are mostly from the ultra community. This probably doesn’t mean anything unless you’ve been in the company of these runners but they are all a really friendly bunch. You are made welcome from the minute you get there and well supported before, during and after the race by these fine citizens. You also get a race briefing from James Stewart and both fun and safety are the key factors to his introduction. There is also a collection for the food back and money is raised for charity. Japes.

On to the race, this starts at the foot of Croy Hill and goes downhill before heading right towards the top of Mount Cookie in Croy Hill before heading back to the start. This is almost a two-mile loop and is a race in itself. The next part however was the bit I was most dubious of. I shouldn’t have been. There is a nice descent down Creecywood trail before entering Twechar. Most of this was familiar to me and is the Antonine Trail Race (ATR) half in reverse. This is fast and I could use the downhill to my advantage. After a short road section, the route goes up Bar Hill and towards the Antonine Wall ruins. This section was hard and with current fitness, I had to jog/walk this. There is then another downhill section (It actually felt like they were more downhill sections than uphill in the last 4+ miles of the race) then towards the finish at the Boat house.

On finishing, you were presented with water, a generous goody back and a stone (rather than a medal) with the logo and year on it. After more chat (anyone who knows me, knows I like to chat) and Medal Ceremony it was time to head home.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable race and worth trying. Over the distance, the ATR half may be an easier race but the adrenaline and enjoyment of ATRX surpasses the ATR and most road 10Ks considerably.