Author: The Author

Above is one of Christine Menhennet’s photographs , from 1993,with the women on the right of the front row.  Christine says: “Scottish Island Peaks Race the year our all women team came 2nd overall out of a fleet of nearly 70 boats. We were first rounding Mull of Kintyre and up to Sanda ( mainly down to our superfast boat but Helene and I did hold our position in good times on the hill), then wind dies to nothing and we just could not row our big trimaran fast enough – a tiny tri passed us and there was no way we cd catch two top Lake District male runners!”

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Helene ran with many partners in the course of her running career.   She chose them well – they were all friends and they were all top class runners.    As far as the Scottish Island Peaks Race is concerned she ran it with three very good athletes, and in fact donated a trophy jointly with Christine.

Both having run it before, she teamed up with Christine Menhennet, another Scottish International Athlete, in in May 1988.   The preview in the Oban Times of 12th May told us that sponsorship had been taken over by Islay malt company Bruichladdich and that the event would take place between May 20th to 22nd with 38 teams taking part – a third more than the previous year.   The route of the race is as in the map below – through the streets of Oban, yacht to Mull where the two runners ran up the hills (land route marked in orange), back to the boat which took them to Jura, the runners route is again marked in orange, then on to Arran where the runners route is marked and then sail to the finish in Troon.    The sailing course is 160 nautical miles includes the strong tides and overfalls of the Corryvreckan and the Mull of Kintyre, with the runners covering 60 miles including 11,500 ft of climbing.   What it doesn’t say is that the runners must carry a sleeping bag, orange survival bag, waterproofs, fleece, tracksters, hat, gloves, map, compass and food!

Tom Haley, the company’s marketing director commented on the quality of competitors and after the race the same paper commented further on the sponsor’s all-women team by giving the names of the runners and commenting on the runners from the  third placed “Two Hoots” team.    “Oban Bay on Friday bristled with masts at the start of the race which saw 76 runners making a quick dash  from  the  South  Pier  round  Pulpit  Hill  then  up  George  Street  to  the Esplanade  where  they  joined  their  yachts   for  the  first  leg  to  Mull.   The sponsor’s  entry,  Bruichladdich,  had  the  added  advantage  of  two  runners  of  the  highest  calibre:  Christine  Menhennet  and  Helene  Diamantides,  the current  Everest-base  Katmandu  world  record  holders.   Throughout  the  race  winds  varied  from  a 30  knot  blow  to  a flat  calm  which  favoured  the  lighter  craft  and  the crew  of  Two Hoots  finished exhausted,  having  rowed 40  miles  in  14  hours with  only  10  minutes  breaks.   Two Hoots  runners,  Brian  Potts  and  Andy  Dytch had  the  fastest  aggregate  mountain  run  times.”

The race in 1990 started on 17th May in 1990.   Extracts from the preview of the race in the Glasgow Herald are below.

    MOLLS OF KINTYRE CAN SHOW MEN THE WAY HOME

 “More than 50 craft, a record entry and representing the highest quality in the eight-year history of the event, are scheduled to start at noon.  The yachts must flirt with the tidal race at Corryvreckan, which at its most malign will boil and take control of craft even as big as 30ft – about a quarter of the entry in this race. The bravest may even try to harness its power, riding it to take a shortcut as they make for the southernmost tip of Jura.   By the time the survivors reach Troon Marina on Sunday the yachts will have covered at least 160 miles, while the two runners on board each will have raced more than 60 miles with climbs totalling 11,500 feet – that is how it looks on the map, but over some of Scotland’s hardest terrain, it works out at roughly the equivalent of three marathons.”     and

“Also in action are female runners, including Glasgow landscape gardener Chris Menhennet and Mount Everest veteran Helen Diamantides. It gives great affront to male entrants to have this duo gallop past them on the hills, especially when they do so wearing fishnet tights and feather boas, the self-styled Molls of Kintyre.”

The “Molls of Kintyre title came from a trophy presented by Christine and Helene in 1989 to the first all-women team in the hope that it would encourage female participation.   It was called the “Molls of Kintyre” because they had actually competed that year in fishnet tights and feather boas!  It’s maybe the best title for a trophy for any race in the country.  The race is covered in detail (with pictures) in “Scotland’s Runner” of  July, 1990, ( SR No 47.pdf  ) .   

The boats were of different sizes and capable of different speeds with runners competing for the fastest boats.   Two Hoots was one of the faster and featured in the results often, but the very fastest was perhaps Severalles Challenge.  It was the yacht that Christine and Helene were to sail in in 1993 but in 1990 t runners for it were Martin Stone and Michael  McDermott.    Their progress (Martin and Michael’s) during the race was, like every crew, slowed considerably by the calm conditions requiring a lot of rowing by the five crew members.  The women’s progress was  described as follows:  

On Mull: The women’s pair of Helene Diamantides and Christine Menhennet  recorded a particularly good time of 3:59:59 to best many of the men’s pairs.

On Jura: For the women Diamantides and Menhennet were well ahead with an impressive 4:01:40. 

On Arran: By this stage many of the boats were retiring, exhausted from rowing, and simply because they ran out of time and had to get back to work.   The Bruichladdich Cheetah, carrying Diamantides and Menhennet, was one of these, and pulled out so Diamantides could be sure to get to a Monday afternoon exam.   Sadly they had to do so after reaching Arran before completing the final run.”

The women had run very well indeed and it would have been really interesting (to put it mildly) to see where they would have been placed had Helen been able to complete the final stage.

Christine on left with Helene second right

By 1993 they, Christine and Helene, were a well known double act and the preview in the “Scotsman” of 18th May that year is reproduced below since it gives a good picture of the race as a whole.   Under the following headline it read:

FIERCE AMBITION OF THE MOLLS OF KINTYRE: WOMEN’S TEAM FACE ONE OF THE GREAT TESTS FOR RUNNERS AND SAILORS. 

Stephanie Merry has successfully completed round-Britain and transatlantic yacht races and Helene Diamantides is in the Guinness Book of Records for her mountain-running achievements, but this Friday they will team up for their greatest challenge yet in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race.

Both have tackled the annual Hebridean odyssey many times before, pitting their talents and strengths against the forbidding mountain heights and treacherous tidal waters of the islands. The race covers 160 miles of coastal sailing, visiting Mull, Jura and Arran, where two of the crew of five must run 60 miles across five summits totalling 11,000 feet of climbing. It is a test of endurance few could survive but in the male-dominated worlds of offshore yachting and mountain racing Merry and Diamantides intend to achieve the previously unthinkable. With an all-female crew on the trimaran Severalles Challenge they aim to win outright.

When they leave Oban harbour on Friday they will be aboard a pounds 100,000 yacht which has won the race twice and was purpose-built to do so. The millionaire businessman, Dick Skipworth, who is currently indulging another of his passions by racing his vintage Jaguar on the Continent, has sailed the 36ft trimaran to many victories and offered it to an ecstatic Merry, giving the women’s team a realistic chance of victory.

A 43-year-old lecturer in mechanical engineering at Southampton University, Merry is an experienced offshore racer and has competed in the race four times with an all-female crew though she denies being anti- male. ‘I’ve raced in many mixed crews but am often the only lady as it is very difficult for women to get the necessary experience. Most skippers prefer men for their strength so I like to give women the chance to race. They get on better, aren’t afraid to ask each other for help and are more supportive. Egos don’t get in the way of teamwork.’

For crew she selected Gaye Sarma and Heidi Bell, and the choice of runners was easy. Diamantides has won international mountain races as far afield as Cameroon and Borneo and last year won the 220-mile Dragon’s Back race, beating the world’s best male endurance runners after five days’ racing across the Welsh mountains. Her partner will be Christine Menhennet and between them they have won all this year’s long Scottish hill races. Menhennet recently won the Ben Lomond race and is in the Scottish national team.

Together they hold the women’s records for all the runs to the summits of Ben More on Mull, the Paps of Jura and Goat Fell on Arran, and as veterans know what to expect. Storms and seasickness, rowing when becalmed, landings on slippery, seaweed-covered rocks and trackless terrain are all familiar hazards but the faster yacht makes the task harder. ‘To win we may have to do three 20-mile runs in 36 hours,’ says Diamantides, ‘and the noise and motion of the boat allow little rest. It’s like sitting in a bidet and having buckets of water thrown over you and is the only yacht I’ve been on that gives you a kick up the backside when they hoist the sails. It just takes off.’

Merry views the yacht differently. ‘It has everything you could want, 1,000 square feet of sail, satellite navigation, four batteries with solar charges, even sliding rowing seats. It’s superbly designed and is so fast sailing it is very, very exciting, especially in this race. Crossing the Atlantic is just a journey from A to B but here you’ve got fierce tides, rocks, whirlpools, fickle weather and rounding the Mull of Kintyre to cope with.’

In previous races Merry has suffered with poorly equipped yachts while Menhennet and Diamantides have been grounded, rowed to exhaustion, seen the skipper fall overboard and rounded the Mull only to be pushed back by the tide and forced to do it again. Since then they have been known as the Molls of Kintyre and that name is on a trophy they donated for the fastest women runners. This weekend they aim to win it back and help Merry and crew to victory.”

That was quite a write-up so how did the five women deal with it when the race started in Oban?   The “Scotsman” said briefly on the Monday:   

“Light winds plagued much of the Scottish Island Peaks Race.   Last night only three boats had arrived at Troon Marina, having had to spend long hours rowing and sailing to make progress towards the finish.   First to finish at Troon was the 27 foot American build Trimaran Tri Harda skippered by owner Nic Slocum who held off the powerful purpose-built 36 foot trimaran Severalle’s Challenge which was sailed by an all-girl crew.”   Having read pre-race that the “all-girl crew” had been skippered by Steph with Helene and Christine as the runners, we knew that they had done very well indeed. 

How did the women themselves feel about it?   Christine is quoted in “Voices From The Hills” as saying “In 1993 Helene and I were part of another all-women team taking part in the SIPR.   Steph Murray was our skipper again and our yacht was the super-fast trimaran Severalle’s Challenge, kindly lent to us by the owner,   There were about 60 participating boats that year and we rounded the Mull of Kintyre in first overall position!   The wind died and we had to row to Lamlash as a result of which we were passed by the eventual winners, rowing a much lighter boat.   Nonetheless, an all-women team were second in to the finish at Troon and we were fifth overall on the running stages out of nearly 50 running teams.” 

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However, successful as the pairing was, Christine was not the only partner Helene had for the SIPR.   She had two other partners after this with the first being another top rated athlete, Angela Mudge.   

A diversion.   Coverage of the event has been scanty.   Largely because there is limited space on sports pages on Mondays and a three-day event which has two members of a team, a named yacht plus times will take up a lot of space.   Editors can only print what they get and even the ‘Fellrunner’ did not publish the results every year although there were several long articles, with photographs, over the years.   The same is true of the ‘Scottish Runner’.   The actual race website, excellent as it is, only has results going back to 2008.   If we go through the British Newspaper Archive, coverage is variable from very little indeed in some years, to a great deal in others – they also stop in the year 2000.   There are inevitably gaps in the coverage of the races, and apologies for that.   

We take up the event in May, 1996.   In 1996  Helene and Angela, in the yacht Matilda finished 3rd overall with a time of 42 hours,28 minutes and 25 seconds. behind English pair  K Taylor and J Holt who were first in 39:49:15;  Colin  Donnelly and A Keith were second in  40:11:26.  The second place overall equalled her previous best with Christine in Severalles Challenge in 1993.

Angela and Helene with Scottish team in 2001

The results for 1997 are not to hand although we know that the Matilda took part.   That really tells us nothing because the fast boats like Two Hoots and Kaos were eagerly sought after and may well have had two different athletes on board.   We do know however that they were again in action as the runners using the ‘Matilda’ in 1998 when they were third overall in 45:03:21.   The winners were D Rodgers and B Rodgers in 43:17:42.   Their running time was 11:37:38 to be fourth fastest of the 36 teams that finished.   Helene was at that time a member of Fife AC while the King of the Bens were Terry Mitchell and Adrian Devies, also of Fife AC with 11:13:52.   There was not a big difference in times given the nature of the terrain to be covered.

They were still together in the race in 1999, this time the boat was HeeBeeJeeBee.   The overall winners were  J Davies and M Hartell in Kaos with a time of 39:47:11; Helene and Angela were again second team overall but only 28 seconds back in 40:21:15.   What we said above about reports of the race was exemplified by the 2000 race which had a two page article on the race by a contestant without any result at the end.   Nor were there any results in the Results pages.  Why the runner did not pass on the race result to the editor is a bit of a mystery.  However we know that Helene took part in abother multi-sport event that year – see below.

“… new to mountain biking and sea kayaking  …. beating the next (male) competitor by 4? hours.

You can’t top that!

Helene Diamantides was a superb hill and fell runner, who loved the hills and relished all the challenges in and around the sport.   A Scottish internationalist she competed in the great events such as the Dragon’s Back in Wales, the Mount Cameroun in in Borneo, the 100 mile Super Hogger Marathon in Algeria, ran from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu along with Alison Wright, in addition to domestic events like the Island Peaks Race, the Karrimor Mountain Marathon and many of the various ’rounds’.   We really should have a look at her career.  

Wikipedia tells us that “Helene Diamantides was born in 1964 in North Yorkshire, but she spent most of her childhood outside England. She lived in Ghana and later in Greece where as a teenager she competed internationally in the pentathlon and her running ability was encouraged and developed. At sixteen, she completed her first marathon. In 1982 she moved to Durham to study for a degree in education. It was through the University of Durham’s running club that she first began fell running. Over the next five years she competed in various fell races, including the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon.”

Greece was of course the home of the marathon and, the one she ran at the age of 16.   She is quoted in the book “It’s a Hill, Get Over It” ( a great title for a book on the subject)  Written by Steve Chilton, it is one everybody interested in the events) as saying: “The school used to have a school marathon over the original course, and kids and staff used to do it.   I wanted to do it at 15 but my parents rightly said no.   They said if you train you can do it next year.   I trained with my PE teacher and did it with her.   It was miserable.   I can still remember how awful it felt.”   She had no idea apparently that you could run in the mountains – cross-country was off-road running and mountains were things that she saw on TV with the likes of Chris Bonnington climbing them using oxygen.   Then at Durham University at the age of 18 she was introduced to the fell-running club by Alison Wright.  They trained together and ran a decent Sheffield marathon as well as a few fell races.   

She tried orienteering but although she was more than strong enough for it, she knew it wasn’t her sport.   When she came to running fell running races,  she began with Kentmere.   She and Alison went orienteering in the morning and because Alison wanted to do the hill race, she just went with her.   Kentmere is described on the SiEntries website as follows.

Held in July each year it is a popular and well supported event.   And that, followed by Buttermere Sailbeck and the Three Peaks,  was her introduction to hill running.

Helene did not stop cross-country running though and in 1995, running for the Westerlands club she won the West District Championships at Clydebank from Elaine McBrinn of Shettleston and Lindsay Cairns of Kilmarnock and her team was third.   

Hill runners have various challenges, as opposed to races, which they take on when they feel confident enough.   Among these challenges are the various  ‘Rounds’ .   All countries where the sport is practised have their own.   The best known Scottish one is the Ramsay Round which starts and finishes at the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel and covers 23 Munroes with the challenge being to do them all in a single day.   Helene tackled several rounds but the first was in 1987 Diamantides when completed her first Bob Graham Round: to run 66 miles (106 km) over 42 Lake District peaks within 24 hours.   

Later that year she and former Durham University team mate fell-runner Alison Wright went to India. to Nepal where they were to attempt to break the record for running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu. This is a 188-mile (303 km) route which includes 32,000 feet  of ascent and 46,000 feet of descent. Both women completed the route in a record of 3 days, 10 hours (which included 8 hours of sleep.   This beat the Sherpa record by 12 hours.   Read that last sentence again: beat the Sherpa record by 12 hours.

Mission accomplished for 1987.   In 1988 Diamantides won both the women’s events in the 31 km Mount Cameroon race and the Mount Kinabalu race in Borneo; and she came third in the 100-mile (160 km) Hogger ‘Super Marathon’ in Algeria.   

Then, in 1989, during the summer she ran the three classics – Charlie Ramsay Round (Lochaber in 20 hours 24 minutes), Bob Graham Round (Lake District in 20 hours 17 minutes) and Paddy Buckley Round (Snowdon in 20 hours 08 minutes, breaking the men’s record by two hours – yes read that last but again – beating the men’s record by two hours!) and became the first person to do all three rounds in the same year.  Adrian Belton also did them that year accompanying Helene on the Welsh round.   For each of these she set a new record and was named Long Distance Fell Runner of the Year by the Fell Running Association.   In 1989 she reduced the Bob Graham record to 19 hours 11 minutes which lasted for two years before Anne Stentiford took it down to 18 hours 49 minutes.

That’s an amazing series of feats by any standards but what was it that led her in that direction?   Steve Chilton’s “It’s a Hill, Get Over It” tells us something about it.   She did a slow BGR after about a year of fell running because that was what people did.   She didn’t realise that it was an unusual thing to do.”

Then I did a solo unsupported round because no woman had got around in under 24 hours which I thought was unforgiveable.   I didn’t realise at the time that it was the fastest female time when I completed.   I was pretty tired and uncomfortable.   Going from training to the BGR, yes you are going to beat yourself up, but you have the muscle memory and the systems are used to doing it.   My knees weren’t great at the end of these events.”

The September 1989 issue of “The Fellrunner” has an article in The Three 24 hour rounds which says: 

Praise from an experienced fell runner and note that she competed all three rounds in 71 days.   The same issue was more specific on how she tacled all three.  This description is of the Ramsay Round

For these feats, Helene shared the Fell Runners Association Long Distance Trophy. with Mike Hartley for his Pennine Way record.   The three rounds in 71 days was a quite amazing feat of endurance and application.   

The Dragon’s Back race in Wales was first run in 1992 and Helen was there.   Not just there but performing one of her her ever feats on the mountains.   One of the fiercest challenges in hill and mountain running she won it not once, but twice.   She won the inaugural pairs category with Martin Stone, and then following a 20 year gap when the race was not run at all, she won the Ladies race.  She had already done a few 2-day mountain marathons with Martin before this but the did not run as a team after this one.  We have some photographs of the terrain covered at this link : they come from the race website which is a magnificent coverage of the race from 1992 to date with times, splits, places and photographs of every race and more.

The iconic photo of Martin Stone and Helene Whitaker (nee Diamantides) running on Fan Brycheiniog on the final day of the Dragon’s Back Race 1992 ©Rob Howard

The event itself was described in 2024 as follows: 

“Staged only eight times, the Dragon’s Back Race has acquired near mythical status in the adventure racing and running community.   The event was first held in 1992.   Already regarded as the world’s toughest mountain race, the Dragon’s Back Race was extended from five to six days in 2021, increasing the distamce covered from 315 to 380 kn, and height climbed from 15,500 to 17,400m.   Partyicipants start at Conwy Castle and then embark on an incredible journer down the whole spine of Wales finishing in the grounds of Cardiff Castle.”

The ‘Trail Running Scotland” website tells us that “It is a race with a place in the history of British mountain running and first completed in 1992.   It was won by the pair of Martin Stone and Helene Diamantides.   The event was so extreme and so audacious that it was filmed for the BBC.    Despite the success of this race, it was 20 years until the second running of the event, resurrected by Shane Ouhly of Ourea Events.   Remarkably the female winner of the  event was again Helene Diamantides (now Whitaker)”.   

The picture above was taken from Helene’s article in The Fellrunner of February 1993.   Any doubts about the severity of the race should now be dispersed.    Helene was very fit indeed at the start of the race havung set records for the Lairig Ghru and the Langdale Horseshoe race and in the actual race Martin and Helene won the event by a total of 33 minutes with the splits of the top three teams being –

Note how close the times of the top two finishing teams were on the first day (2 minutes) and compare that with the difference on the last day (37 minutes).   Further, the winner of the solos category was times at 42:59.   

In 1992 the race ‘only’  lasted for five days and in the article noted above she describes the race in some detail and ends with Guidelines for success in the race.   These are very specific and include 

1.   Prepare for it and train, train, train; 2. Day One and (days two to five) eat a lot early on;  3. Don’t win the first day (interesting and her reasons for this need to be read in the article); 4. Day Two: breakfast  is essential;  5.  Days three and four: Don’t assume the valleys are the easy bits; 6. Day five: This is the longest and toughest underfoot; 7. At the finish, Smile, even if you don’t feel like it!

The smiles are evident in the picture above.  The photograph below, from the same article, was just after that.

Helene has several videos dealing with the challenge with one posted on Youtube three years ago describing her training for the ’92 race before talking about heading back 20 years later, and it is one that you really should see.

The race was not held again until 2012, and then again in ’15. ’17, ’19, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’24 and looks set to go on for some time yet.   When it started up again in 2012. Helene was there on the start line again, running as an individual this time.   There were 73 starters, men and women, and her overall finishing position was fourth in 49:10:05,  with next Lady being Liz Barker in ninth in 51:32:59.   It was a quite amazing performance for one in the W45 category – the first M45 was back in tenth place 53:17:01, and the second W45 was seventeenth in 62:17:21.     This performace really did cause a stir in the hill and mountain running community.   But why did she decide to race it the second time around?   She is quoted in the race website as follows.   “I don’t have the selfish luxury of hours and hours roaming the hills.   Nor do I want to anymore.  My old joints certainly wouldn’t thank me for it either if I tried to.   It was my husband who encouraged me to enter, as I don’t think it would be fair to the family to commit the time and effort required to have half a chance of making it to the start line, let alone the finish line.   I’ve had to concentrate on trying to get fit enough to train for the DB without something breaking: being old and female has major consequences for strength and cardiovascular fitness,   Trying to be efficient focuses the mind wonderfully on what needs to be done, not what you would like to do!”

There is a very good report on the race in The Fellrunner of Spring 2013 which is available on the net at

https://www.fellrunner.org.uk/documents/fellrunner/2013_spring.pdf  

Helene was 12 minutes behind the leading lady, Nicky Spinks, at the end of the first day, she had a storming second day to be first lady and third overall, third day and she was still in the lead and fourth overall, by the end of the fourth day she was still first lady and fourth overall with Liz Barker second and Nicky Spinks third, and at the finish of the race she was still fourth overall but first Lady.   Result –

Although Helene had completed many fine races, challenges and tests of endurance, her two Dragons Back races must be among the very best.

The following excellent photographs are only some of those on the race website and cover the event held in 2023.   They are shown here to indicate just what these runners had to face and in particular to cover the profile of Helen Diamantides/Whitaker.   The website mentioned really should be looked at to learn more of this fantastic challenge.   The first one is Helene and Martin finishing the race in 1992.

Followed by being interviewed after the finish 

2023, Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

   Starting with a happy but exhausted finisher, not Helene, 

2012

(photographs from Fellrunner)

Helene, standing back right, with the Scottish team at Die, France, in 1989

Helene’s career as an athlete took her all over the world as well as all over the British Isles but it was Scotland that she chose to represent in international competition.  The range of events that she took part in from International cross-country running for Scotland to 100km road championships for Europe is vast.  We can start with her running in the World Mountain Running Trophy.

1993: Denis Bell wrote the official report on the Scottish team performance for the ‘Fellrunner’ magazine, the report on the Ladies race reads.  “In the Ladies event, Helene led up the long drag halfway through the field and held on throughout with the gaps  well established in front and behind.   Penny had a slow start and came through about 15 places and was eventually hauled in by Dawn Kenwright (Wales) who also came through and pipped Christine; the Ladies generally captured a couple of places on the descent.   A tidy bit of packing to get eleventh overall.   Elspeth put in a strong descent also to get 4 places and went on strongly to finish on the last gentle run in (1 km) (a very tough exposure to her third international event.”

Helene finished 29th in 42:03.    A year later, 1994, the event was held in Berchtesgaden, Germany, and Helene was 25th finisher in 44:40 with Sue Ridley 29th, Elaine McKay 32nd and Julie Farmer 47th .   The team was 8th out of 17 complete teams.   In 1995 the event was held in Edinburgh with the Scottish team 5th.  Individual placings were  Megan Smith in 15th place, Helene was 21st, Sonja Armitage 24th and Angela Mudge 46th.   Angela was next selected for the Scottish team in 1997 for the championships to be held in Czechoslovakia.   First Scot home was Angela Mudge in 11th, with Helene 17th, Tracey Brindley 23rd and Megan Smith 50th to be sixth team out of 16 finishers.   

In 2000, in Bergen in Germany, Angela pictured below, won the race by 20 seconds with Helene 38th, J Rae 48th and Sonia Armitage 57th, team placing  8th out of 18.  

Then there was the diversion of international ultra road running.   In 1996 and ’97 Helene took part in the IAU European 100K Road Champs.   Living in Scotland and a member of Fife AC at the time, being selected for the British – as opposed to the Scottish – team was in itself an achievement.   In 1996 the competition was held at Ceder, France, and the team was third, taking the bronze medals; in 1997 with the event held at Faenza in Italy, the team again won the bronze medals.

It was back to the hills again when on 4th July, 1999   she represented Scotland in the European Mountain Running Trophy at Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria.    Angela was second and Helene was 21st  ,Tracey was 29th and  Jennifer Rae was 49th.   The team was fifth out of 14.    The following year, on 2nd July, 2000, in Miedzyggorge, Poland, Angela again led the team home in 5th place with Helene in 25th.  Jennifer was 38th and the team was 8th out of 14.   

In 2003  she was back for Great Britain in the second European Mountain Running Champiomships in Trento, Italy as part of a very good team.   The Fellrunner for October 2003 has the Team Managers Report on the race, the appropriate extract is below.

Another good race for Helene and she was rewarded with a bronze team medal.   

Helen Diamantides had a superb career as an endurance runner.   It’s hard to categorise her as simply a hill runner although she was a Scottish internationalist there, you can’t by any stretch of the imagination have her marked as a track runner, she was an international cross country runner but ran well over long distances (VERY long distances), set world records, competed in the Island Peaks Race with distinction and demonstrated an all-round versatility in endurance events in at least three continents.   Colin Youngson has written a good overview of her career that we can look at before going into more detail.   He writes:

The Carnethy Hill Runners Hall of Fame lists some of Helene’s main hill running achievements (others have been added here):

 Diamantides, Helene:
In 1988 she won both the women’s events in the 31 km Mount Cameroon race and the Mount Kinabalu race in Borneo.Bob Graham Round 1988: Woman’s record set.
Paddy Buckley Round 1989: Outright record set (2 hours faster than the Men’s)Charlie Ramsay Round 1989: Woman’s record set.
GB Mountain Running International 2003 (team bronze medal)
Scottish Hill Running International
Scottish Ladies Hill Running Champion 1993 (for Westerlands CCC)
Lakeland Classic Ladies Champion 2006
Former holder of Everest base-camp to Kathmandu record 1987
Overall winner of first Dragons Back race in 1992; first Woman in 2012

Helene was born in North Yorkshire in 1964,  but lived in Ghana and then Greece (where, as a teenager, she competed internationally in the pentathlon) before returning to England and Durham University, where she took up fell running.

In 1996, she graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University as a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy. While studying in the city, Helene raced for Westerlands CCC at cross-country and hill running. She trained more seriously, influenced by GB international triathlete and hill runner Jack Maitland and especially Martin Hyman, a former British 10,000m international and excellent orienteering coach. Consequently, Helene became a much better athlete. She won the 1995 Scottish West District cross country title and felt honoured to run for Scotland at cross country.

Naturally, she was selected to race for Scotland in the 1995 World Mountain running Trophy in Edinburgh.

For Great Britain, she contributed to two team bronze medals (1996 and 1997) in the IAU European 100 Kilometres Road Championships. She said later, “At the time, I was running for Fife AC, and the club supported me brilliantly. On Sunday runs, half the runners would come out for the first couple of hours with me and we would meet the other half at my house and they would do a couple more hours training with me. I fed them all afterwards.”

In 1987, Helene and fellow fell-runner Alison Wright went to Nepal to attempt to break the record for running from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu. This is a 188-mile (303 km) route which includes 42,000 feet (13,000 m) of ascent. Both women completed the route in a record of 3 days, 10 hours.

How far were some of her longer hill events? Like ‘The Big 3 Rounds’ she completed in 1989. Here are some details from Wikipedia:

The Bob Graham Round is 66 miles long, over 42 Lake District Peaks. Helene’s time was 20 hours 17 minutes

The Paddy Buckley Round is just over 100km long, over 47 summits in Snowdonia, Wales. Helene’s time was 20 hours 8 minutes.

The Ramsay Round is 58 miles long, over 24 summits (including 22 Munros) with a total climb of around 28,500 feet. Helene’s time was 20 hours 24 minutes

In 1992, with Martin Stone, Helene Diamantides entered The Dragon’s Back Race a new 220-mile (350 km) five-day race across the length of Wales; she and Stone won the race in 38 h 38 min. This event was held again in 2012, and Helene Whitaker finished fourth overall and First Woman.

Helene won the Borrowdale Fell Race four times; set a course record in the 1990 Wasdale Fell Race; and set another record in the 1992 Langdale Horseshoe.

Representing Scotland, she raced in the European Mountain Running Trophy in 1999 and 2000, finishing second Scot on both occasions.

In the World Mountain Running Trophy, for Scotland, she was first Scot in 1993 (29^th overall) and 1994 (25^th). She finished second Scot in 1995 (21^st), 1997 (17^th) and 2000 (38^th)

In 2003, she ran for Great Britain in the World Mountain Running Championship (held in Trento, Italy) and contributed to team bronze medals.

Helene has said the following (in her chapter of the excellent book ‘It’s A HILL, get OVER IT’ by Steve Chilton):

As to inspirations, Helene cites Ros Coats, mostly for the way she broke down boundaries and her attitude.   Helene admits to being desperately competitive: “I am glad I found a sport where that is okay in females. Anyone in front of me I would have a go at. The pleasure is being out there, if I can win so much the better. If I do my best, that is better than winning.”

She admires and is impressed by Angela Mudge: “Her statistics impress me. She is so far under any other woman’s percentage off the men’s records, which is absolutely outstanding.   Helene reckons that her ability to run uphill and downhill has changed over time. She was definitely a downhill demon. She used to love hammering down the hills, and could catch most people, men included. Now she counts on being able to climb past people.   Physiological testing proved that, although her VO2 max was not high, she could sustain a high level of performance, close to the threshold, for very long periods of time. “I was just incredibly efficient. I use a Heart Rate monitor now to keep close to the maximum but not to go over it, to get the best out of myself.”   Her greatest achievements? “Dragon’s Back certainly is what I am built for, physiologically as well as psychologically. The strategy of trying to get yourself from A to B in good nick day after day, that suits me, I enjoy it. I really enjoyed my solo unsupported Bob Graham Round. It was probably the best day out in the hills I ever had. I was running at my pace, I didn’t feel pushed really, I could eat when I wanted to, not when the pacers wanted.”

“Getting a Scottish vest at cross-country was a real honour. I am old-fashioned in that when I put on a vest I will kill myself as it is such an honour to be selected. Even being selected by Yorkshire at the age of 47 was a real thrill.”

Even a quick look over the information above will indicate that it could not  be covered completely without a much longer piece than is possible here.   We will however look at some of her exploits a bit more closely to learn more about the character of the athlete.

A bit more detail     The Rounds   The Scottish Island Peaks Race    Representative Appearances    The Dragon’s Back   

Dragon’s Back Photographs

We have examples of the handbooks of the SAAA, the SGA and the SCCU, what we have here is not so much the handbook of the women’s organisation, the SWAAA, as the Annual Report from 1982 – 83.

Marjorie finishing the Glasgow Marathon in 1986 – her first

Marjorie Small was not a runner at school yet became a very good hill runner with outstanding performances at some very tough and demanding courses such as the Great Wilderness Challenge and the Laraig Ghru race.   

When asked about her school sports involvement, Marjorie tells us that “I always enjoyed sport at school but didn’t take up running.”   She was a competitor however and continues, “I would think, yes, I was a bit competitive.    I played hockey and netball at school and loved PE. I also swim once a week and have done for years, used to be 80 lengths of the pool but now 50.”   The next step was to take up running – a bit different because it is nor a team sport like the others mentioned.  

How did that come about?   My daughter took up running at Park Mains high school and joined Clydesdale Harriers when Bobby Bell and Billy Hyslop took a group of an evening.  After a while instead of driving back and forward I decided just to join them. Later went to Whitecrook on Tuesday and Thursdays.    She also credited both coaches for encouraging her to race, adding that Bobby Shields also inspired her.   Marjorie and her daughter Lesley both appear as club members in the Centenary Handbook.

Initially she raced on the roads and over the country with her friend and ‘running pal’ Shelagh King because, as she says, there is no point in doing the training and not doing the racing.   “I had been doing that for a few years,” she said, “I had run quite a lot of 10ks, half marathons and the Glasgow Marathon twice”    

Two successful runs in the Glasgow marathon as well as some more very good running on the roads at various distances, when did she take to the hills?   The hill running came when. “Shelagh and I went to run a hill race but it ended up a road race with a big road hill. That was to be our first hill race!  After that Bobby Shields encouraged us to go to Tinto race and after that I was hooked.”    Hill racing, she decided, was far more sociable than road races and she met a lot of lovely people who were very encouraging.

One of these was Christine Menhennet, a quite superb hill runner who represented Scotland and Great Britain.   Christine, Shelagh and Marjorie are still friends and meet up from time to time: note her comment in the “Voices from the Hills” book: “She soon moved to Clydesdale Harriers.   She was encouraged to do so by Bobby Shields and his wife, and there met two other early lady hill runners, Shelagh King and Marjorie Small, both of whom are still running to this day.   (“Voices from the Hills” by Steve Chilton – pioneering women fell and mountain runners.)  

Her talent was obvious early on when she was seventh overall in the Scottish Hill Runner of the Year competition in 1989.   The extract from the table as printed in the Scottish Hill Runner shows that Marjorie was seventh and her friend Shelagh King was twelfth with Susanne Niedrum who had come up from Leeds to work and run in Scotland for a few years was eleventh.   Note the presence too of Christine Menhennet of Bellahouston who would soon be running for Clydesdale.   The Scottish Hill Running Championships result that year was as follows:

1. Tricia Calder          ESPC AC 
2. Ann Curtis Livingston
3. Chris Menhennet Bellahouston
4. J Spencely   Carnethy
5. Joyce Salvona Livingston
6. Paula Martin ESPC AC
7. Marjorie Small       Clydesdale
8. Helen Martin Irvine
9. Barbara Murray Westerlands
10. Chris Whalley Livingston
11. Susanne Niedrum Clydesdale
12. Shelagh King Clydesdale

If we take a look at some of Marjorie’s races in the 1990’s now we see  good runs over a range of distances and a spread of venues  across the whole of Scotland (including the islands). .

In 1990 her run in the Carnethy hill race saw her finish 323^rd in 86 minutes 45 seconds but in the much longer Carlsberg Culter race on 3^rd June she was fourth Lady in a time of 2:56:31.   A good time but not quite as good as the Great Wilderness Challenge later in the year.   This one was on 18^th August and she was timed at 4 hours 38 minutes 31 seconds for fourth place.  

The Great Wilderness Challenge is a 25 miles race held every August.   It starts in Corrie Halle, just south of Dundonnell, comes past Gruinard Bay, and through Aultbea to finish at Poolewe.   Marjorie finished equal 41st with clubmate Cathie Farrell in. 4:38:31.   There were 58 finishers –  the last three were eight runners between 5 hours and 6 hours and four more outside 6 hours. The first Lady was 31^st in 4:16:35 – not far in front given the distances covered – And Cathie and Marjorie were third and fourth Lady finishers.   Remember that she had only taken up the sport with not previous experience in the mid 1980’s.

In 1990, Marjorie also ran in the three Ladies Track League Matches partnering Hylda Stewart in the 300m event.   Indeed, in the first match she doubled it up with the 1500m as there was no one else doing it.   Places and times below.

In the last of the three meetings, her training partner Shelagh ran in the 1500m.   Shelagh also ran in the League matches – although not those noted above, even tackling the 400m hurdles.  Also in the last of the three, Marjorie was a member of the relay team with Sloan, Harper and Stewart!

While this was taking place, she was running in the hill races that she loved so much.   In the Carnethy race in 1991 Marjorie had improved to 81 minutes 08 seconds for 281^st place: over five minutes quicker and a gain of 32 places.   On 1^st July she tackled the fearsome Laraig Ghru and was first Lady to finish in a time of 4:43:49.    She was actually the first Lady to run in this one, thanks to Christine Menhennet who got the license for females to run and then wasn’t able to run in it herself.  She ran it the following year and was first finisher again.

A month later, 11^th August, it was third place at Dalchully in 41:31.   Another month and she ran in the Ben Nevis race.   In the Scottish Hill Runners Championship she was fifth after three counting races and gained a place to fourth by the end.

If she ran well over the long two- and four-hour races, she was no slouch over the shorter ones.   One of the grand old men of Scottish athletics often posed the question “Does Distance Blunt Speed?”   Clearly not if Marjorie’s running is any guide.   She started the year by being first Lady Veteran in the 1992 Midweek league which was points event staged over five races – the Whangie Whiz, Dumyat, the Kilpatricks, Ben Sheann and Cort ma Law. Two typical races were on 6^th May in the Whangie she was first Lady Veteran, and on 24^th June at Cort ma Law she occupied a similar place.

In the Carnethy race, she ran a time of 81:30, not quite as quick as the previous year but when she got back on familiar territory on 1^st July at the Laraig Ghru she was a bit faster than the year before in 4:27:41.   She also ran in the Ben Lomond race where she finished in 81:30 and then ran the difficult Isle of Jura race where she took 5 hours 26 minutes 37 seconds..   She reckons that the Jura was a hard race – the first time they had run it the weather was bad and the course was shortened; the mist was down and Shelagh and Marjorie both missed a couple of check points.   In 1992 it was a lovely day and even better she says because she won a Jura decanter and two bottles of whisky!

The 1991 race was described in the “Fellrunner” magazine as follows:

The first Saturday in September is the date for the Ben Nevis race and in 1994 Marjorie was among the starters and finished  301^st  in 2:43:56.    We should not forget that Marjorie, as a good club member, ran in all the club championship races and won the Club Veterans Cross-Country Championship and was first lady in the Sinclair Trophy races in 1995, 1997, 1998 and

A good road runner as well as good over the longer hill races, she competed in the Polaroid series of races as well.   The Polaroid races were held over 10K and in Clydebank, Dumbarton, Helensburgh and Vale of Leven and were very competitive with large fields of all ages.  Her record in these races over the period 2000 – 2002 is in the table below.   She was competing as a FV50 in all these races.

Within the club she had been first Lady to finish in the Sinclair Trophy road race in January 1996 and January 1997, and in 1997 she was fastest Lady in the annual Christmas Handicap at a time when the club was particularly strong. 

Staying on the road she ran in the Brampton to Carlisle on 18^th November 2000 where she was 27^th Lady and first LV50 with a time of 1:15:21.   She was back there on 17^th November the following year and was second LV55 in 1:12:01.   The Polaroid races were regular open road races, near home and had many club members and friends running so she did many of them.   Eg in 2002 she was first V50 in the Clydebank race in 45:34, and again the Helensburgh race where her time was 47:32 and she was 354^th of 850 finishers.

Marjorie’s Three Lairig Ghru Plaques (1990. 1991 and 1992)

Her “best race”?   The question brought another in reply – Marjorie said “Do you mean time wise or enjoyment?   Time-wise I think it was the Land O’Burns Half Marathon.   It was the only race I had split times written on my hand.   I think I finished in a few seconds after 90 minutes!”   Two races that I really enjoyed.   Lairig Ghru and Jura hill race.   First Lady to run Lairig Ghru, thanks to Christine.  (see above).   First lady, only lady.   Second year there were two other ladies so I had competition and came in first lady.   Jura was a hard race.   First year the weather was bad and the course was shortened.   The mist was down and like some others Shelagh and I missed a couple of check point.   Second year was a lovely day and even better as I won a Jura decanter and two bottles of whisky.   Think I was first lady or super vet – that was 1992.   

The plaques – a Better View!

One to forget?   The Two Breweries.   Took a wrong bearing and ended up with quite a few extra miles to run, two guys followed, poor souls.

What did she get from running?   Good friends.   Great times at Clydesdale Harriers training nights and weekends away.   Lots of great memories of races and socialising all over the country.

Finally we asked her if there were any goals that she had had that she had not achieved.  “No, very happy with what I achieved.”

The last remark is a bit unusual in that many good runners say “well, if only ….” Or something similar but with a tinge of regret at some aspect of their career.   Marjorie came to the sport later than many, ran well and had a good career travelling the length and breadth of the country, making friends that she still has along the way.   

Christine says:  Scottish Island Peaks Race the year our all women team came 2nd overall out of a fleet of nearly 70 boats. We were first rounding Mull of Kintyre and up to Sanda ( mainly down to our superfast boat but Helene and I did hold our position in good times on the hill), then wind dies to nothing and we just could not row our big trimaran fast enough – a tiny tri past us and there was no way we cd catch two top Lake District male runners!

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Christine’s running in the Scottish Island Peaks Race has been mentioned already and a closer look tells us a lot of her and her love of challenges.   Most endurance runners have heard of the race, some know people who have taken part in it, but not many know of the difficulties.   We should therefor have a look at what was entailed in the event before we evaluate performances.   

The Race started in 1983.   The first race was a bit different from the one that became popular.   It started in Troon and ended in Oban.   There is an excellent article by Roger Blamire in “The Fellrunner” of January 1984 which describes the race.   You can read it at   1984_January.pdf.   The description of the first race is below.

There have been changes and the route was reversed the following year and now follows the route described on the current race website, 

“The race starts in Oban with a short hill run, then a sail to Salen on Mull, run over Ben More, sail to Craighouse on Jura, run the Paps, sail to Arran, run Goat Fell, then sail to Troon. The race takes 3 to 4 days and caters for multihulls, racers, and cruisers.   Each team consists of 5 (usually 2 runners and 3 sailors), and there is also an All Rounders class for sailors that can run or runners that can sail, and a class for Youth (with the assistance of a few adults). All runners should have hill navigational experience.”   The race starts at noon on a Friday in mid-May.   The preview in the “Scotsman” of   May 1985 describes the race as follows:   “Some 19 yachts start from Oban this afternoon on the 160 mile Scottish Island Peaks Race which finishes in Troon after compulsory stops at Salen in Mull, Craighouse in Jura, and Brodick in Arran.   From each yacht two runners will race up and down to McCaig’s Tower at the start and later climb Ben More, the Paps of Jura and Goatfell – a running distance on land of 50 miles and a climbing total of 10,000 feet,   Boats have to me moved under sail or oars and engines are not allowed, and in last year’s calms some crews plied the oars for 10 hours and more.”

Then comes the question, how did the runners get the boats to take them from island to island?   Was it the race organisers who had a list of willing sailors, or the governing body or how was it done?   Christine herself tells us:   “Us lot (as competitive runners in the know!) used to hunt down the faster boats – so usually mutual consent. Those new to the race would apply as runners looking for yacht or yachts looking for runners”.   

The competitors had to be very fit hill runners, had to be good navigators, be adaptable enough to deal with changing weather conditions, be good oarsmen if need be and be able to find a boat and – what it doesn’t say in the big print is that the runners must carry a sleeping bag, orange survival bag, waterproofs, fleece, tracksters, hat, gloves, map, compass and food!   As far as choosing a boat was concerned, if it were a very fast boat – they had to be able to persuade the owner to choose them rather than another team.   Asking quite a lot.

How did Christine get into the event in the first place?

Mull Run Route showing race profile

She tells us that back in the early 1980’s  her good friend Ali Coghill who worked at the Inverclyde Sports Centre encouraged her to enter the Scottish Island Peaks Race as part of an all women team using her mountaineering skills, marathon running experience and sailing experience.  1984 was a year of hard training and they used Christine’s father’s boat which he kindly entrusted to them – a Contessa 32 footer.  The race started on Friday, 17th May and her running partner was Lesley Kirkwood who also worked at the Clachaig.   They competed in 1984  and competed well.   This developed a passion for the race that was to last – as we will see – for three and a half decades.   

There were different types of hazard over the years as far as the yachts were concerned but the runners had their own problems to contend with – weather, including thick mist, rain, navigational difficulties and so on.   They all added to the challenge of the event.   

The race started on 17th May in 1985.. It was not all plain sailing though and the Scotsman reported on Tuesday 21st May – “All the yachts and crews taking part in the third annual Scottish Island Peaks Race on the West Coast were known to be safe last night.   At different stages in the race which began from Oban on Friday, two yachts were missing, and one fired a distress flare and had to be rescued by Campbeltown life-boat,   Three other boats retired because of bad weather.”    

By 1987 it had become the Tiso Mountain Peaks race and the starting date was 15th May.   The result as published in the “Fellrunner” is below which unfortunately fails to give more than the first three boats and the fastest (all male) times.;

After only one year, Tiso gave way to Bruichladdich as sponsors of the event in May 1988 and the preview in the Oban Times of 12th May told us that sponsorship had been taken over by Islay malt company Bruichladdich for the event to take place between May 20th to 22nd with 38 teams taking part – a third more than the previous year.   Tom Haley, the company’s marketing director commented on the quality of competitors and mentioned in particular that fact that two of this year’s competitors were the Everest – Katmandu record holders.   It was actually Helene who was the record holder but accompanied by Alison Wright.   

After the race the same paper commented further on the sponsor’s all-women team by giving the names of the runners and commenting on the runners from the  third placed “Two Hoots” team.    “Oban Bay on Friday bristled with masts at the start of the race which saw 76 runners making a quick dash  from  the  South  Pier  round  Pulpit  Hill  then  up  George  Street  to  the Esplanade  where  they  joined  their  yachts   for  the  first  leg  to  Mull.   The sponsor’s  entry,  Bruichladdich,  had  the  added  advantage  of  two  runners  of  the  highest  calibre:  Christine  Menhennet  and  Helene  Diamantides,  the current  Everest-base  Katmandu  world  record  holders.   Throughout  the  race  winds  varied  from  a 30  knot  blow  to  a flat  calm  which  favoured  the  lighter  craft  and  the crew  of  Two Hoots  finished exhausted,  having  rowed 40  miles  in  14  hours with  only  10  minutes  breaks.   Two Hoots  runners,  Brian  Potts  and  Andy  Dytch had  the  fastest  aggregate  mountain  run  times.

This was to be only one half of an amazing double for Christine that year with barely a month between two such races.   The second was in far-away Tasmania.  At Easter 1989, on the other side of the world, a new event called the Health Australia Tasmanian Three Peaks race appeared for the first time.   It was almost identical to the Scottish race and had an obvious attraction for Scots prepared to travel.     Christine was indeed prepared to travel and she tells us:  I had heard of the Tasmanian Peaks Race through Martin Stone ( endurance/fell runner) and Curly Mills ( a founder of SIPR); Helene and I were going to be partners; we got sponsorship from Bruichladdich and the Surveying Company my husband then worked for – MDA; flights and reccie week’s car hire paid for. With 3 weeks to go Helene sustained a bad injury ( Achilles if I remember) and I had to find some one else who was fit enough at that point to deal with the distances ( first leg 40 miles).   Helene had met Betty in Nepal.   Betty was in training for the West Highland Way race – she had never sailed but was up for an adventure; we did about 3 long runs together – then flew to Taz! We got on great with each other and with our macho team of Tasmanian sailors, and we ran our socks off, beating the other team of women runners and many of the male teams. Our deep keeled boat could not take one vital short cut in the race so we slipped overall position to I think mid fleet. I’ll never forget running across the stunning Wine Glass Bay, the scent of gum trees and the squawk of cuckaburras!

The race that year (1990) started on Good Friday (13th April) and Christine her running partner Betty Hall were on  board a 13 metre monohull called Cascade among the 23 boats starting the race.   By the end of the race they were 7th boat to finish and in a time of 3 days 3 hours and 35 minutes.   The Fell Runner for June 1990 said: “Despite carrying a Channel 9 TV Crew around, runners Christine Menhennet and Betty Hall had the outstanding running performance to be the fourth fastest runners.”   Carrying the Scottish flag with considerable pride to be fourth fastest of 23 boats who only had 8 women runners in total.    Note the “had the outstanding running performance” comment.   

The Scottish Island Peaks Race that year were on 17th May, 1990.   Extracts from the preview of the race in the Glasgow Herald under the headline of:

    MOLLS OF KINTYRE CAN SHOW MEN THE WAY HOME

tell us that “More than 50 craft, a record entry and representing the highest quality in the eight-year history of the event, are scheduled to start at noon.  The yachts must flirt with the tidal race at Corryvreckan, which at its most malign will boil and take control of craft even as big as 30ft – about a quarter of the entry in this race. The bravest may even try to harness its power, riding it to take a shortcut as they make for the southernmost tip of Jura.   By the time the survivors reach Troon Marina on Sunday the yachts will have covered at least 160 miles, while the two runners on board each will have raced more than 60 miles with climbs totalling 11,500 feet – that is how it looks on the map, but over some of Scotland’s hardest terrain, it works out at roughly the equivalent of three marathons.”     and

“Also in action are female runners, including Glasgow landscape gardener Chris Menhennet and Mount Everest veteran Helen Diamantides. It gives great affront to male entrants to have this duo gallop past them on the hills, especially when they do so wearing fishnet tights and feather boas, the self-styled Molls of Kintyre.”

The “Molls of Kintyre title came from a trophy presented by Helene and herself to the first all-women team in the hope that it would encourage female participation.   It was called the Molls of Kintyre because they had competed that year in fishnet tights and feather boas!

Jura Profile

There is a detailed coverage of the Scottish race in “Scotland’s Runner” of July, 1990 which can be found at

  http://salroadrunningandcrosscountrymedalists.co.uk/Archive/Scotland’s%20Runner/SR%20No%2047.pdf  

The Boat that Christine and Helene were to sail in in 1993 – Severalle’s Challenge – was in the race but the runners for it were Martin Stone and Michael  McDermott.    Their progress (Martin and Michael’s) during the race was like every crew slowed considerably by the calm conditions requiring a lot of rowing by the five crew members.  The women’s progress was  described as follows:  

On Mull: The women’s pair of Helene Diamantides and Christine Menhennet  recorded a particularly good time of 3:59:59 to best many of the men’s pairs.

On Jura: For the women Diamantides and Menhennet were well ahead with an impressive 4:01:40 

On Arran: By this stage many of the boats were retiring, exhausted from rowing, and simply because they ran out of time and had to get back to work.   The Bruichladdich Cheetah, carrying Diamantides and Menhennet, was one of these, and pulled out so Diamantides could be sure to get to a Monday afternoon exam.   Sadly they had to do so after reaching Arran before completing the final run.”

It had been a superb performance on the first two islands, and one of which they could be justly proud.

Severalle’s Challenge

By 1993 they, Christine and Helene, were a well known double act and the preview in the “Scotsman” of 18th May that year is reproduced below since it gives a good picture of the race as a whole.   Under the following headline it read:

FIERCE AMBITION OF THE MOLLS OF KINTYRE: WOMEN’S TEAM FACE ONE OF THE GREAT TESTS FOR RUNNERS AND SAILORS. 

Stephanie Merry has successfully completed round-Britain and transatlantic yacht races and Helene Diamantides is in the Guinness Book of Records for her mountain-running achievements, but this Friday they will team up for their greatest challenge yet in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race.

Both have tackled the annual Hebridean odyssey many times before, pitting their talents and strengths against the forbidding mountain heights and treacherous tidal waters of the islands. The race covers 160 miles of coastal sailing, visiting Mull, Jura and Arran, where two of the crew of five must run 60 miles across five summits totalling 11,000 feet of climbing. It is a test of endurance few could survive but in the male-dominated worlds of offshore yachting and mountain racing Merry and Diamantides intend to achieve the previously unthinkable. With an all-female crew on the trimaran Severalles Challenge they aim to win outright.

When they leave Oban harbour on Friday they will be aboard a pounds 100,000 yacht which has won the race twice and was purpose-built to do so. The millionaire businessman, Dick Skipworth, who is currently indulging another of his passions by racing his vintage Jaguar on the Continent, has sailed the 36ft trimaran to many victories and offered it to an ecstatic Merry, giving the women’s team a realistic chance of victory.

A 43-year-old lecturer in mechanical engineering at Southampton University, Merry is an experienced offshore racer and has competed in the race four times with an all-female crew though she denies being anti- male. ‘I’ve raced in many mixed crews but am often the only lady as it is very difficult for women to get the necessary experience. Most skippers prefer men for their strength so I like to give women the chance to race. They get on better, aren’t afraid to ask each other for help and are more supportive. Egos don’t get in the way of teamwork.’

For crew she selected Gaye Sarma and Heidi Bell, and the choice of runners was easy. Diamantides has won international mountain races as far afield as Cameroon and Borneo and last year won the 220-mile Dragon’s Back race, beating the world’s best male endurance runners after five days’ racing across the Welsh mountains. Her partner will be Christine Menhennet and between them they have won all this year’s long Scottish hill races. Menhennet recently won the Ben Lomond race and is in the Scottish national team.

Together they hold the women’s records for all the runs to the summits of Ben More on Mull, the Paps of Jura and Goat Fell on Arran, and as veterans know what to expect. Storms and seasickness, rowing when becalmed, landings on slippery, seaweed-covered rocks and trackless terrain are all familiar hazards but the faster yacht makes the task harder. ‘To win we may have to do three 20-mile runs in 36 hours,’ says Diamantides, ‘and the noise and motion of the boat allow little rest. It’s like sitting in a bidet and having buckets of water thrown over you and is the only yacht I’ve been on that gives you a kick up the backside when they hoist the sails. It just takes off.’

Merry views the yacht differently. ‘It has everything you could want, 1,000 square feet of sail, satellite navigation, four batteries with solar charges, even sliding rowing seats. It’s superbly designed and is so fast sailing it is very, very exciting, especially in this race. Crossing the Atlantic is just a journey from A to B but here you’ve got fierce tides, rocks, whirlpools, fickle weather and rounding the Mull of Kintyre to cope with.’

In previous races Merry has suffered with poorly equipped yachts while Menhennet and Diamantides have been grounded, rowed to exhaustion, seen the skipper fall overboard and rounded the Mull only to be pushed back by the tide and forced to do it again. Since then they have been known as the Molls of Kintyre and that name is on a trophy they donated for the fastest women runners. This weekend they aim to win it back and help Merry and crew to victory.”

That was quite a write-up so how did the five women deal with it when the race started in Oban?   The “Scotsman” said briefly on the Monday:   

“Light winds plagued much of the Scottish Island Peaks Race.   Last night only three boats had arrived at Troon Marina, having had to spend long hours rowing and sailing to make progress towards the finish.   First to finish at Troon was the 27 foot American build Trimaran Tri Harda skippered by owner Nic Slocum who held off the powerful purpose-built 36 foot trimaran Severalle’s Challenge which was sailed by an all-girl crew.”   Having read pre-race that the “all-girl crew” had been skippered by Steph with Helene and Christine as the runners, we knew that they had done very well indeed. 

How did the women themselves feel about it?   Christine is quoted in “Voices From The Hills” as saying “In 1993 Helene and I were part of another all-women team taking part in the SIPR.   Steph Murray was our skipper again and our yacht was the super-fast trimaran Severalle’s Challenge, kindly lent to us by the owner,   There were about 60 participating boats that year and we rounded the Mull of Kintyre in first overall position!   The wind died and we had to row to Lamlash as a result of which we were passed by the eventual winners, rowing a much lighter boat.   Nonetheless, an all-women team were second in to the finish at Troon and we were fifth overall on the running stages out of nearly 50 running teams.” 

The result as published in The Fellrunner of October 1993 was as follows:

Arran Profile

All-in-all, 1993 was a good year for her – she was also selected to run for Scotland in the WMRA Championships in Gap in France.

Christine continued to compete in this race where the sponsors changed, the team pairings altered from year to year for various reasons such as availability or injury, and where the fastest boats were sought after by the best athletes.   The standard of athlete competing was high – the Ladies such as Helen and Christine were not the only women taking party and the wonderful Angela Mudge was also roped in to take part.   On the men’s side Mark Rigby and Terry Mitchell were both members of winning pairs.   The names of the boats also often brought a smile to the face – HeeBeeJeeBee, Kaos, Eezie Ozie, Two Hoots and Third Degree were among them.   What did the runners find attractive in the event? 

Curly Mills spoke to the ‘Scotsman’ of 19th May, 1995 saying: “It all adds up to a supreme test of fitness, tactics and teamwork in an event which has to retain a special atmosphere.   It is a fun event and as far as we can, we try and keep a light-hearted attitude towards it, though, because of the treacherous waters and severe country, we have to be conscious of the dangers.  For me, the attraction of the event is that it is an extreme experience.   In modern life there are very few occasions when you work absolutely flat out at anything.   Here it is just down to your own muscle and brain.   I suppose it is a bit like warfare without the nasty parts.   On board, for instance, runners, besides resting after their exertions, often help the crew sail to their next dropping off point – or worse.   Often it is flat calm at night, so you have to row The runners know if they help us get the boats in five minutes earlier it saves them having to run five minutes faster, so there is a balance to be struck.”

It was a tough challenge for Christine and the runners.   Unlike hill races of whatever distance, even events like the Wilderness Challenge never although the weather   before and during the race can make a massive distance, the Island Peaks involves two different techniques and the tasks that are imposed on the competitors are not the usual – for instance not all endurance athletes have arms able to help row a boat on a calm night.   The remarks above explain one man’s attitude but I suspect that the feelings expressed apply to many more.

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There is a two page article on the SIPR from a not-very-competitive runner in the Fellrunner at this link 1996_June.pdf .  It goes into some detail from the point of view of a first time runner in the event and is a good indication that the range of participants – as distinct from competitors – who took part in the event.