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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!

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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 – if it were a very fast boat – 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 Wildreness Challange 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.  

Denis Bell supplied the following photographs all taken at the WMTRC in Die, France in 1989.

Christine on the left, Joyce Salvona, Helene Diamantides and Penny Rother after the race

Christine standing on the left

Christine third on the left

Joyce Salvona, Christine Menhennet and Christine Whalley

Christine crouched in front with Denis Bell

Christine with Brian Potts

Christine during the race

Denis is a superb photographer in his own right as well as a quality hill runner and the photographs were taken at the World Mountain Running Championships at Die in France in 1989.   

Denis with Christine Menhennet

Christine Menhennet, – , Helene Diamantides, Penny Rother

Brian Potts, Johnny Wilkinson and –

Brian Potts

Colin Donnelly during the race

Colin Donnelly heading for the finish

Receiving the Trophy

and hoisting it aloft

Christine, centre, at a ‘Come and Try’ day in Old Kilpatrick

with Brian Potts and Ian Murphy to the right

A superb athlete for over three decades, her running career, like everyone else’s, had to come to an end.   When did she stop and why did she do so after, as we saw above, she was running well in the 2010’s?   She tells us that after 33 years she stopped running because she was trying to stay race fit, rather than running for fun.   She is quoted in “Voices” as saying “My competitive participation had been declining for a few years, but then in 2017 I decided to compete in the Scottish Championships, aiming to win the Female V60 category.   I did compete, and I did win my category but it took its toll and I decided to stop competitive running for good after that.   Last year (2022) my left knee gave up completely and I’m now waiting for a new one.”

Three real pillars of the sport: Christine, Robin Morris and Bill Gauld 

After she stopped running, or rather racing, Christine put a lot back into the sport.   She spent time on the Scottish Hill Running Association committee encouraging greater participation by women.   She did this by influencing prize values and race organisers support for women participants in general and, in the process, devising a set of guidelines for hill race organisers.   And of course she did her share of officiating and organising club and national races – eg in 2016 when the 28th British Fell and Hill Running Relay Championships were held in the Luss Hills, Christine was listed as Lead Hill Marshal.   There were vast changes in the organisation of the sport in the 1990’s when several different Associations (SAAA, SWAAA, SCCU, SWCCU, SSAA, SHRA) were brought together for administrative and financial reasons.   Christine was also operating at national level when interim vice-convener of the Scottish Athletics Federation Hill Running Commission. 

She knew what she was talking about in Committee too – Christine had been a pioneer in women’s participation and acceptance in hill running.   She had her share of changing in “In a sheepfold, behind that wall, in the car”, there were at first no showers for women either.   Even well organised events like the Mamore Hill Race at Kinlochleven Highland Games and after the race being given a certificate of participation which said that it had been “Presented to Christine Taylor of Bellahouston Harriers and certifies that ‘he’ took part in the Mamore Hill Race of 1985″ .   This work was also carried on at Westerlands AAC when she was Lady Captain trying to make sure that slower Mums were included in relays, trying to make sure a Mums team with childcare provided.   

Then there were the individual initiatives such as the Come and Try days that she organised with Haddington member and good friend Denis Bell.   These were held in the Kilpatrick Hills for which she actively encouraged women to come along.   The courses were staffed by such as talented hill runners Brian Potts and Ian Murphy, and Brian Edridge who was a genuine lover of the hills and an experienced runner.   She also helped “my fell running buddy, Lesley Kirkwood, in the making of her college project video, “Friends in High Places” in which we filmed women taking part in a snow Carnethy Hill Race and interviewed women as to why they ran in the hills and what it meant to them.”

Where is Christine now?  Well, to start with she is living in Kilcreggan with her partner David Robertson.   Eight years ago they purchased an ex-charter yacht, below, which they still in 2024 run as a business from Oban.   They have their website at cloudninecharters.co.uk.   The picture above is of Christine and David with her running friend Marjorie Small and her husband Russell.   She tells us that they were their most stoic and supportive crew on what was often a stormy passage.   They departed at Nice for 10 days for family business and rejoined Christine and David in Portugal.  That was a wee while ago but they still have the charter business – see their website at the above address.

Professionally Christine is a fully qualified Landscape Architect. (BA Honours, Oxford) in Agricultural and Forestry Sciences followed by Batchelor of Landscape Design (Manchester) post graduate qualification.  She retired in 2019.   After retiring she came out of retirement to do a full-time Community Development job for the villages where she lives. “but only until the end of March 2025!”   After the appointment, she was introduced to the Cove & Kilcreggan Council with the following remarks taken from the Committee Minutes.

“She started her career as a professional Landscape Architect working on both public and private realm projects, mainly in and around Glasgow, with a wide range of community groups and clients.   After seventeen years as a Landscape Architect, she was asked by her then-employer, the Wise group, to join their Development Section where she helped the organisation to source new clients, new projects and new methods of funding.”

She herself adds : I started out with Glasgow Parks Dept, then about 8 years(  I think) in private practice, then The Wise Group for – errrrrr – lots of years, then moved across into Community Regeneration work – mainly with Community Links Scotland – 14 years before retirement but now – this job!!! 

There is much more but that is quoted to indicate the levels of responsibility that she had while she was doing the quality running on the hills.   She is currently employed full time in her community as a Development Officer until March 2025.     There is success there too.   See this :

Cove and Kilcreggan :  The Green Group from the Our Community Project in Cove & Kilcreggan have been successful in receiving funding from ABCAN (Argyll & Bute Climate Action Network hub) to help set up trial beds for growing a variety of produce (food, flowers, herbs etc).   Many thanks to the Community Development Officer, Christine Menhennet, for working with the Green Group towards the application!”

The saying “All work and no play” does not apply to Christine however.   Where does she find the time is maybe an appropriate question.   To finish the saying as a question: “does it make her a dull girl?”   Far from it – Christine is a lively, popular person whose 50th Birthday party in the Old Kilpatrick Bowling Club is still spoken of and she is currently involved in activities such as line dancing!  See the picture above for that.   As a member of Westerlands CCC, she takes part in their presentations, dinners and indeed has replied at their Burns Supper to the toast to the ‘Lassies’.    Her introduction to the Cove & Kilcreggan Council in 2024 included the following: She moved to Kilcreggan in 2021 with her partner. Since then, she joined the line dance class and the Peninsula Choir – for whom she has already procured some funding!

She always finds time to meet up and keep up with old friends such as Shelagh King and Marjorie Small with whom she ran back in 1990.   The picture is of Christine with her running friend Shelagh King and her twins.

One of her hill running friends described her as follows (his words):   

“a great ‘rounded person’ of real intellect, a professional who truly cares about ‘what she and others are doing’ and ‘the results achieved’ (for the better… nothing else would do).   Thus her slight frame and athletic build were backed by a real savviness and love of outdoors, that combined to a super person and braw athlete, so very highly regarded and respected… certainly loved by her peer group of lasses and lads….    A trusted person, fun, so hard working, and ….sassy, and easy company. “

What a wonderful compliment.   And what wonderful advertisement for our sport she is.

Veterans WMRC, Poland, 2001

In 2001 Christine reached the age of 45, an age when most runners are retired, retiring or thinking of it.   Not her.    Why would she?  Her love of the outdoors was still there, she was still up for a challenge and she still had all her old friends.  Maybe more important she was still in very good physical condition.  The new decade started with selection for the World Mountain Running Championships in Poland.   That she did well is evidenced by the trophy above which tells us that she was third V40 in the race on 22nd September.   The report in the local paper read:

CHRISTINE IS STUNNED BY ‘POLE’ POSITION

“Old Kilpatrick runner Christine Menhennet didn’t have a clue that she was in ‘Pole’ position – until she heard her mates screaming at her.  Christine recently finished third in the World Mountain Running Championships for veterans in Poland.   But she was the most surprised person in the event when she was handed a medal for her excellent display.   

“Christine said “I was elated to finish third because I had lost sight of the other runners and thought I was about tenth.   I started conservatively on the flat land because my strengths lie on the steep hills.   It was only when I reached the steep climb at the end and I heard all the Scots guys shouting that I knew that I was in medal contention.  I’ve never won anything before at international level so I was really pleased.”

Fellow athlete Jimmy Shields made it a great double for the Bankies as he finished second in the men’s event.   

A superb performance for two excellent athletes who really deserved their success.

As we will see she was still running really difficult races over some prodigious distances in 2019.   We can’t cover every race over the next 19 years but we can give a fairly strong flavour of the period by sampling the races that she did.    The Power of 10 website lists 16 events over the 2008 to 2019 period.    It is of course not comprehensive but it gives a good starting point.   What we have below is a selection of races taken from various sources and runners chosen to show the range that she competed in which range from short relays to the Lairig Mhor and Highland Fling, there were also club events such as relays and club championships and mammoth undertakings like the Highland Fling from Milngavie to Tyndrum – 53 miles of the West Highland Way.   In short she covered the length and breadth of Scotland – from the Two Breweries to Durisdeer, and distances ranging from the short relays through to the 13 miles of the Highland Fling.

Picture from Westerlands CCC site

Having looked at the above you will have noticed that she celebrated her 50th Birthday year by running in the very tough Stuc a Chroin race at Strathyre in 3:18:27.   Furthermore she celebrated her 60th birthday year by running Goatfell in Arran in 2:03:45.    I would also draw your attention to the Glencoe Skyline on 18th September 2016.   This is named the Ring of Steall Race and is one of a series of races known as the Glencoe Skyline, it starts and finishes in Kinlochleven and covers over 13 miles with a total ascent of  over 2561m (ie over 8402 feet).   To do all that running over all sorts of surfaces without any serious injuries is really bucking the odds – not many can have as arduous a sport and come away relatively unscathed.   It is a race of which she is very proud.

But there were many such races – the Scottish Long Classics starts with Stuc a Chroin, then goes to the Isle of Jura followed by the Trotternish Ridge, the Arrochar Alps and includes the Two Breweries, the Ochil 2000’s, Ben Rinnes and the Moffat Chase.    She has done then all.   And of course there has been Ben Nevis and the HOKA Highland Spring.  Is there a challenge that Christine has not undertaken?

She says: “Winning is always fun but I think that the race I would like to highlight is the 2016 Salomon Ring of Steall Skyline Race.   I was feeling old and rickety and needed a wee challenge.   I have always loved the real big mountain races – Stuc a Chroin, Bens of Jura, Ben Nevis, Arrochar Alps and so the uncompromising route of the inaugural Ring of Steall appealed.   I paid the rather large entrance fee  and did some serious training.   I had recced the route with a club mate  in a leisurely eight and a quarter hours, but thought that with a following wind and a bit of effort, I might be able to knock an hour off that time.She goes on to describe the route, the scenery, and how she felt as the race progressed and “the group dissolved after the final summit of Am Bodach and I braced myself for the steep, rocky descent.   I glanced at my watch.   I might just beat the 6 hour mark.   How did that happen?   Well, it didn’t happen owing to a bout of calf cramp halfway down; the delay could have been much worse.   I was saved by a bag of crushed crisps.   I was nonetheless delighted to cross the finishing line in 6 hours 5 minutes and 26 seconds – knackered but buzzing  . . . . That night I partied with my partner Dave and fellow Westies in my old haunt the Clachaig Inn.” 

   Christine after the Ring of Steall, 2016

The 2000’s: Part 2

Christine after winning the Great Wilderness Challenge in 1991

25 mile race winners Martin Dean, Forth Valley Orienteers and Christine Menhennet, Westerlands CCC, receive their shields from guest-of-honour Joyce Mackenzie, Gairloch

The 1990’s was a good decade for Christine with a high level of performance coupled with many serious challenges met.   She bracketed the decade with victories in the Great Wilderness Challenge in 1991 and 1999, Island Peaks Races contested in both Scotland and Australia, international races in Snowdon and Susa in Italy and triumphs in such events as Stuc a Chroin, the Corrieyarrick Pass and the Ben Lomond race.    There were so many races that we can’t cover them all but we can pick out some of the more significant ones.

Christine (centre) with Scottish international team mates Joyce Salvona and Christine Whalley at Die in 1989.

1990 was a good year for Christine in that she ran in two Island Peaks races which are approximately 12,000 miles apart!   She ran well in both the Scottish Island Peaks race and the Tasman Island Peaks race in Australia.    Sponsorship helped, being able to do a reconnaissance in the Tasmanian one before the race and so on all helped but the toll taken on the body was huge.   She had been organised to run both with Helene Diamantides but she (Helene) had picked up an injury after the first one and was unable to do the second but Christine and her new partner still turned in the fourth fastest running time of the 23 teams entered.  You can read some detail about these races at the  Scottish Island Peaks Races  page. 

Among the major races in 1991 were the two races on the Island of Arran.    In 1991, she was back racing starting with the two races in Arran.   Goatfell was on 18th May and she was second to Joyce Salvona in 1:35:53, and a month later on 15th June she finished second in the Glen Rosa Hill Race in 3:13:06 behind L Hope (2:56:31).  Map below of the Glen Rosa course is from the Scottish Hill Racing website.  On 9th November that year she was again second, this time in 39:03, with M Todd of Edinburgh University in 38:05.   

The really big event for Christine however was the Great Wilderness Challenge.  Like many of the hill races or challenges it started as a purely local event.   The official history of the beginnings is as follows.

In early 1986, plans were afoot to provide hospice care in the Highlands for the first time. The Highland Hospice Appeal was set in motion to raise funds for the project, and a Highland-wide campaign was launched in support of this initiative.   A small group of friends in Poolewe and Aultbea, some of whom had recently lost relatives to cancer, decided to do something to help. A sponsored walk was the vehicle chosen to raise funds, and arrangements were quickly made to organise what would become known as the Great Wilderness Challenge.   The first staging of the event took place on Saturday 23rd August 1986. It featured 178 walkers and runners undertaking the arduous 25 mile mountain trek from Dundonnell to Poolewe. It passed off very successfully, and £6,200 in sponsorship was raised for the Highland Hospice Appeal.   The event was originally intended as a “one-off”, but such was the popularity and success of the first that participants – and marshals! – clamoured for a repeat. So the GWC was destined to become an annual event and has been held every year since 1986.

This was the race for which Christine headed north in August 1991.   There were 57 finishers with Christine in 23rd place in a time of 3 hours 46 minutes 19 seconds to be first Lady, with Lesley Hope of Lochaber AC in 4:02:37 second Lady and 30th overall.   

Map from the Race website.

1992 was another good year for Christine with success at home and abroad.  She was selected the International World Mountain Running Championship in Val di Susa in Italy on 30th August, and followed the selection with a very good race in Scotland.   They were described in the ‘Clydebank Post’ thus:   “Having raced well in the Snowdon International, Clydesdale Harrier Christine Menhennet learned on Thursday that she had been picked for the World Hill Running Championships at Susa, Italy, later this month.   Inspired by this success she travelled to the Glen Trool Forest Hill Race on Sunday where she not only won but broke the course record by a full eight minutes when recording a time of 1:36:37.  Christine was the first Lady to finish and seventh runner overall.”

The International Snowdon Race referred to above was held on 25th July in 1992, was over 10 miles with a total ascent of 3200 feet.   Christine finished fourth (second Scot) in a time of 1:23:27 with the race being won by Scotland’s Trish Calder in 1:18:37.    The result for the International in Susa has been taken from The Fell Runner magazine for October 1992.

Other than the internationals, her record for 1992 includes the following results: (note the fast time for the Corrieyairrack which saw her finish 12 minutes clear of the second runner, and the two races which were timed outside 2 hours and another over an hour).   

By the end of the year  the SHRA Championships for 1992 had Christine placed third behind L Hope and T Calder.

In 1993, Christine and Helene competed seriously in the Island Peaks Race (link )XXX but also ran well at home when both were selected for the WMRA championships in Gap, France and were the first two Scots to finish.   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 raced a lot that year with several impressive victories (eg Stuc a Chroin where she won by 12 minutes from the next Lady) but Christine adopted a lighter approach to racing with the following notable events.

*

In the Ben Lomond race on 7th May 1994 when she finished second behind Joyce Salvona in 1:34:40.   Christine liked the race and has a series of very good races and times in it.*

An indication of how well she ran in 1995, Christine finished the year with a double appearance in the British Fell Running Championship: third in the Veteran Ladies category but an even more impressive fifth in the Open category which was won by Sarah Rowell from Angela Mudge. In the Scottish Championships she was top of the rankings in first place with Angela Mudge second and Elspeth Scott third.   It is appreciated that the championship is decided by places gained in a series of events over different distances and surfaces and not all runners cover as many as others but the standard is very high and her performances were first class.

Over the years Christine was consistently placed highly in the Hill Running Championships.   The 1997 season was no different with Christine placed seventh and first veteran Lady in the Scottish Tiso hill running championship.

Her competitions were not all over long distances.   As an example, two of the listed races in 1998 were the shorter faster ones in Strathyre and Melrose: 

On Wednesday 17th June, 1998, she ran in the Ben Sheann race over 3 miles/1000 feet of ascent to win by a minute; and three days later

on 20th June, 1998,  in the south of Scotland the Eildon Two Hills, 4.4 miles/1500 feet was the race.  Finishing second in 37:17, Christine was first O35.

These were only two of the races that summer and at the end of the year she was ranked at Scottish and British levels.   She was ninth of the top 22 ranked athletes in her category the British Individual Fell Running Championship.   She was also second Scot.   Nearer home in the Scottish rankings she was third woman behind Angela Mudge and Kate Jenkins and first O35 veteran.

There are not many results available throughout 1999 but we know that she was in awesome form when we see the repeat victory in the North-East.   The photograph below is not one of a runner struggling gamely on!   Look at the smile on the face and the lack of pursuing runners.  Christine, pictured  en route, liked the Great Wilderness Championship so much that she was back in 1999 when she finished ninth in a field of 49 runners (4 ladies) and set a record time for the race of 3:21:36.  

Photograph by Paul Wright

Christine running for Scotland in Die, France

Christine was by 1986 a genuine hill runner and racer with many good runs behind her and one who was highly respected by the hill running cognoscenti.    She followed her second place in the 1985 SHRA championships with another second place in 1986.    Important as these championship placings are, they are the result of running in several races in a variety of categories during the season and although none of them are easy races or runs, the championships give no indication of the runner’s preferences or race schedules.   Christine had been encouraged in her early hill running days by several people.  In “Voices From The Hills” she mentions Clydesdale Harrier Bobby Shields (former Ben Nevis and West Highland Way record holder, his brother Jim, Robin Morris of Carnethy and Denis Bell of Haddington.   There were also of course a number of women who helped and inspired her – Ann Curtis and Helen Diamantides plus Pauline Haworth and Joss Naylor of the Lake District.   At this stage of her career Christine ran well but as the years went by, her interests and abilities took her into longer and more challenging events but we can start here with some of the races that she contested in 1986.   

Most of the race results have been taken from “The Fellrunner” whose report started with this paragraph:  “Snow drifts, cold and high winds contributed to this year’s winning time being 17 minutes slower than last year.   Anyone who ran this year, and managed to beat their previous best time, should lodge a claim for a prize of a year’s supply of ice cream.” 

Although Christine was running well and being highly placed in most races, Ben Lomond was the only run over an hour’s duration and as we said above, she would come to in the longer challenges than those she faced of 1986.   For instance the Great Wilderness Challenge which would be the scene of one of her best races was first run in 1986 but she was maybe not ready for it at that stage.   1987 on the other hand saw a brilliant run in the Arrochar Alps race.   Into 1987 and we see the longer races appearing.

Note that Ben Lomond, the longest tackled in 1986, was only the third on the list in 1987 and there were two of approximately 4 hours each.   Although it was early in her career, and although she subsequently broke numerous records at many venues, this Arrochar Alps one was always a bit special.    The profile of the course below shows the four Munroes and the steepness of the climbs and descents.

She is quoted in “Voices From The Hills” : “The record run that I enjoyed most and which stood for the longest was the 1987 Arrochar Alps Race (there was no duck-boarding over the bog in these days).”   Her record was broken by Andrea Priestly in 2010 by three minutes.   It had stood for 23 years.    The “Fellrunner” magazine report of the report from the Winter 1987 issue is below.

Given the quality of the run, and its significance in the development of Christine as a hill runner, the map of the trail is also shown below.

1987 was indeed an important year for her since, as well as beginning a series of massive challenges in terms of distances and heights, she was ranked sixth equal in the British Fell Running Championships and was first Scot.   Christine included more and more of the longer races into her programme and by 1989 she added the Bens of Jura race where she was first Lady in 4 hours 16 minutes 15 seconds.    A 16 miles race with 7,500 feet of ascent, held on 27th April with “a blazing hot sun” to contend with as well as the boggy underfoot condition with knee deep heather.   Second Lady was Ruth Pickvance, timed in at 4:28:24, with P Gibb (4:29:00) and Ann Curtis (4:35:38) in third and fourth.   The next big one was the Glen Rosa Horseshoe on the Isle of Arran on 24th June which she won in 2:51:08.   This was a 12 miles race with 5,500 feet of ascent with 37 runners from all over the country taking part.     These no doubt helped her gain selection for the World Cup Mountain Races at Die, France on 16th and 17th September 1989.   Christine ran well to finish 37th of the 53 finishers and was fourth scoring runner in the fifth placed Scottish team.   She did of course run other races in ’88 – eg Dumyat where she was first Lady in 42:07 in May and the Broad Law (uphill only) where she was second to Trish Calder who was running very well indeed that year – but the trend was to the more challenging, longer and more difficult technically events.

Christine is pictured below with Scottish team mate Brian Potts in Die.

1989 finished with Christine ranked sixth in the British Championships.   It had been a good year in which she had confirmed her position as a formidable competitor on any hill at any distance. 

Back to The Background

Picture from Westerlands CCC website

Any athlete who ended their career with National Championship victories in four different age categories over an incredible 30 years would be  reasonably happy with their achievements.  These successes were not, it should be remembered, for a single race, but for a series of races at varying distances, in different conditions and over all sorts of  terrain.   The calibre of opposition faced included, in Christine’s case, such as the legendary Angela Mudge, the quite outstanding Helen Diamantides, the very talented Tricia Calder,  Elspeth Scott and Ann Curtis, plus the others mentioned below and a host of superb women hill runners in what was a golden age for the sport.   

If we add to that a catalogue of international and invitational races across the globe including all the home countries plus most of Europe from France to Poland and even round the world to Australia, we have a picture of a very talented athlete indeed.   Nor was she one of the athletes who have a good career in their chosen sport but put nothing back in – Christine also did her share of committee work and race organisation when starting out at a time when women’s place in ultra distance running, and particularly on and over the hills and mountains was in its infancy.   Before following her sporting career, we should have a look at her sporting background.   This page will look at the background to her running and the start of her career as a serious runner before looking at the different aspects separately.

Name: Christine, nee Taylor, was born in Bolton in Lancashire.   

Date of Birth: 15th October 1956.   

Clubs: Bellahouston Harriers, Clydesdale Harriers, Westerlands CCC.

Family background: The Taylor family had an active lifestyle and are described in Steve Chilton’s book “Voices from the Hills” as a hill walking family.   Her father used to tell Christine and her sister “Don’t sit down, you’ll get stiff.”   As teenagers they ‘struggled through wind and mist up numerous Welsh and Lakeland hills when, as she says, they would rather have been on the beach.    She emphasises though that “Without a doubt, I owe my love of mountains and adventure to my parents’ early encouragement and passion for the outdoors.”   

Sporting background:  Although her school did not include track and field athletics but concentrated on team sports, she did represent it in the lacrosse, netball, tennis and rounders teams.   Plus 

(1) competitive dinghy sailing crewing at various events.   

(2) As a student she enjoyed squash at university, 

(3) She did some jogging to keep fit and had an occasional run up Winter Hill which was not far from the house she grew up in.     (NB: Winter Hill is 1496 feet in height and a hill race in its own right).

As a student she did some work in the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe which allowed her to indulge in hill walking and climbing during the day.   The buzz in the Bar in the evenings, with all the hill walkers’ tales and stories which all helped her decide to move to Glasgow after finishing her university studies.

Christine, on the left, at the WMRA Championships in Die, France

These all meant that she was a very fit person indeed with a love of the hills when the Glasgow Marathon appeared on the scene in 1984.   She first ran in it in 1985 as a member of Bellahouston Harriers.   That first run was timed at 3 hours 08 minutes 08 seconds.    In a field of 11, 492 runners, men and women combined, she finished 1303rd.   She ran in Glasgow again and had faster time and also a bit further afield.  eg in Snowdonia (2nd Lady finisher), Lochaber, Windermere and Moscow.   The experience of running Moscow where she was part of a tour party, was a bit different from the others .   When asked how she got roped into that one, she comments:  “Restless by nature and saw it advertised in Running Mag I think. Pete and I just decided to go for it; we wanted to run together but there were separate starts. Didn’t find him until ww met in the foreigners finishing chute and got bundled into a gym for caviar, eggs, black bread and tea – just what no one wanted at that point!!! Later our gang wenr hunting for beer ( within our allowed zone) and ended up in a weird hotel ‘night club’ drinking the only thing they had – champagne – by the bottle!   Got in very, very late, we didn’t bother sleeping – just packed our bags and waited in the foyer to be picked up for our very early flight to St Petersburgh ( Leningrad); most of us fell asleep on the coach tour of the city!!!”   As for the race itself – “Moscow was very hot and humid – black bread, pear juice and milky tea were the en route refreshments; streets lined with soldiers, women who stared you up and down for your good kit and trainers (gave away post-race).Great memories of the wee tour group of which Pete (ex hubby) and I were a part and saw some amazing pre -perestroika Russia.”

Back at home, training consisted of running on the roads around the south side of Glasgow and when she got married her husband took her ice climbing in the winter – not a pursuit that recommended itself to her as something she’d want to pursue but nevertheless we have an image of a very active lifestyle encompassing a variety of sports and activities  and all the while managing to obtain not only a university degree but also a post graduate qualification too.   It is surprising that these were not her only activities at this point.   She tells us via Steve Chilton’s book 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 he mountaineering skills, marathon running experience and sailing experience.  1984 was a year of hard training and they used Christine’s father’s boat – a Contessa 32 footer.   Her running partner was Lesley Kirkwood who also worked at the Clachaig.  They competed at that time in several SIPR’s.  She says that they competed well and a passion for the race that was to last – as we will see – for three and a half decades.

She was still a member of Bellahouston Harriers and running for them and her career as a hill runner was just starting.   “The Fellrunner” magazine for November, 1985, listed the winners of the Scottish Hill Running Championship for that year as follows:  1.  A Curtis, Livingston;  2.  C Taylor, Bellahouston.   Among her races that year was a fourth place in the Bens of Jura race on 25th May – a 16 miles 7,500 foot of ascent race which was won again by Ann Curtis. 

We have now followed Christine from her school days where she competed for the school in four different sports and spent a lot of time on the hills with her family to the point where she was starting out on a career as a hill and mountain runner that would show her as a top class international athlete.   It is appropriate to look at some of the many challenges and races that she undertook during her 30+ year career in the sport.

 The Background   Hill Runner 1986-89      The Scottish Island Peaks Race      To The Top:1990-99    The  2000’s Pt 1    The 2000’s Pt 2   

Photographs taken at Die 1989