Bruce's Crown - 2025 Report

15th September - We had a very successful weekend at the Bruce's Crown and Heart of Granite races. 30 runners set off on the Heart of Granite race and with 7 retirees we had 23 runners finish the very wet and overgrown course. The weather was supposed to be showers however the showers followed on from one another and the sun was only glimpsed a couple of times. There was also clag around on the hills which made navigation tricky. Well done to everyone who got round - I can assure you there is a lot less vegetation in April! I had said on the Map and instructions that we had to use the Merrick Hill race route so I've added 5 minutes onto everyone's times that used the Tourist path as there is a clear distinction that it's quicker when you study the splits.   The winner was Gregor Stewart in an impressive 4.09 minutes, followed by James Chapman in  04.18 minutes. First Lady was Emma Stuart in 4.31 hours. A massive well done to Glyn Jones, the original creator of both the Bruce's Crown and the Heart of Granite (different, even worse route) who finished in a time of 11.05 hours and very happy and smiling. He won the V75 prize! All the results are on https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/hog0925

Bruce's Crown Teams set off from 8am with Steve's Burgess's Over t'Hill and then the running teams from 9.10 to 9.25am. I felt for them as the weather was wetter than forecast and windy too but apparently the Rhinns of Kells were clear and pretty dry. The teams all seemed to stay relatively together and there was a good competition going on between the men's teams and the mixed with the ladies team. One team took the direst line from Portmark to CP11 and then from CP12 up to Shiel Hill. Always brave to head into these forests but it looked like the gamble paid off. Well done to Jo Scott and Nigel Wright of Team Flapjack who completed the race in 15.47, followed by the two Alasdair's in Double Trouble in a time of 17.05 hours. First Ladies, Sweaty AF consisting of Fiona Horsfield and Alison McGill were 3rd overall in a time of 20.32 hours followed by the Mixed Team - the Moopsters of Mike Brooks and Sarah Wheeler in 21.06. Steve Burgess's Team, Over the Hill, finished in a time of 26.06 however were awarded a time bonus as they waited for MRT help on Coran of Portmark with a suffering team member for an hour. All the results are on https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/bcr0925 and I've asked Opentracking if we can display all the team members as well as Team leaders so hopefully that will be done soon.

Thank you to Forestry Land and Scotland for permission, Crafty Brewery for the bottles of gin, Inov8 for vouchers and Owens Butchers for bread rolls and bacon/sausages. And from me a massive thanks to Galloway Mountain Rescue for making this all happen with me.