Cairn Table

Muirkirk was the setting for another race in the Bog and Burn series of hill races. The Cairn Table race involves  360m of climbing on an out and back course(straight to the top and staight back down again!) with the main hazard being boggy sections on the relatively flattish sections at the beginning of the course…..well under normal Scottish summer conditions!! The title of this hill race series has been quite misleading this year as bogs have dried up and burns have slowed to the merest trickle, but one thing hasnt changed….they are still uphill!!

Five harriers lined up on the start line, with a debutant on the scottish hills, Roger Naughton, finding himself leading the race in the first kilometre. However, this was on the relatively flat section at the start and as the ascent started he soon found himself passed by the experienced hill runners reaching the summit in about 12th position. Keith Haining was next a couple of places behind and further down the field the battle between this years regular mountain climbers was as keen as ever but at the top the usual positions were reversed with Alasdair Murray first at the top with Roddy Pugh next and Michael Corson last of the harriers albeit just a handful of seconds between them.

The downhill sections of these races are where the action happens with steep technical sections slowing the unsure, and those able to switch off the brain, time and many places can be made up. However Cairn Table is not too difficult in descent so if the tired legs can hold out, some fast speeds can be acheived en-route to the finish. Roger reached the finish in 34.53, Keith losing a place or two in 35.35 next downhill specialist Al Murray in 38.56 with Roddy at 39.17 and Michael in 40.03 (with just a few seconds separating these final three at the top, it is clear the gains that can be made and lost in descent even on an easy course!).