Petestack Blog

The Coll Half’s never easy. While the island might be low, it’s far from flat and, with one section on sandy track and the virtual certainty of battling the wind somewhere as you run round what can seem like a continuously uphill loop, it’s the hardest/slowest half-marathon course I know. (more…)

Strange how the Cairngorms have become better known over the past 200 years as ‘blue mountains’ than their older generic name of Am Monadh Ruadh (the red mountain-land) when they’re so clearly coloured by pink granite rather than hazy blue close-up, but (while something’s clearly been lost through the change) who knows… perhaps ‘Cairngorms’ was just easier for visitors? (more…)

Some fantastically runnable hills yesterday, with the Strathfarrar ridge proving a fast-moving delight despite bringing the rare indignity (outside of race situations!) of being caught by someone who was moving faster than I was… (more…)

Not so far from where I’d got to on Saturday, but approached from the opposite direction (Glen Cannich rather than Glen Elchaig), yesterday’s trip along the ridge north of Loch Mullardoch produced the very tidy haul of four Munros, four Tops and four deleted Tops with much very runnable ground before the long, not quite so runnable, return back along the lochside. (more…)