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