Petestack Blog

Having climbed half a dozen times over the past 21 years on the granite slab paradise on its eastern flank and admired its striking profile from all the surrounding Munros, an outing to the summit of Beinn Trilleachan was long overdue. But it took a weekend of such changeable conditions that I was reluctant to go chasing hills further from home to send me down Glen Etive today on a quick Sunday afternoon raid to grab this lovely peak between heavy showers. (more…)

Have to admit I’d consciously avoided the Highland Fling before. Didn’t want to be pitted against my West Highland Way ‘peers’ over the same course earlier the same year, thought I just wouldn’t be fast enough over the shorter distance (53 miles) and didn’t want to deal with the psychology of being found wanting there! (more…)

Needed to squeeze in another hill day without overcooking things too close to the Fling, so it was off to the Monadh Liath today for a round as runnable as any of last week’s Drumochter Munros and a wee milestone in notching up my 200th discrete Munro on Carn Dearg. (more…)

Time for the wee hill running trip I’d promised myself this week, but where to go when all the most attractive rounds I had in mind were looking too big and/or strenuous to be taking on between the Highlander and the Fling? (more…)

Just back from the Highlander Mountain Marathon at ‘Ullapool’ (the true centre given away by the T-shirts as Dundonell), where Jon and I came a slightly disappointing 15th from 22 starters in the A Class but still had a cracking (= hard!) weekend’s running in stunning surroundings… (more…)

No joint training for the Highlander this past weekend with Jon and me heading for separate weddings (his brother, my cousin) on Saturday. But, with a high-level circuit of Glen Turret (or Loch Turret if you prefer) to grab Auchnafree Hill and Ben Chonzie (my only ‘unticked’ Munro or Top in the Southern Highlands) not too far off my direct route to Edinburgh, you can probably guess what I did on the way! (more…)

Another great training run for the Highlander with Jon yesterday, although we nearly canned our plans (to go ‘almost regardless of conditions’) for a two-Munro, three-Corbett circuit of Loch an Daimh after a night of wild weather and the MWIS forecast from hell. But a good thing we didn’t because, despite a fair breeze and a few showers, we were never fighting the grim battle implied by the forecast and conditions were both surprisingly benign and pretty enjoyable for most of the day. (more…)

Been out running with Jon today after he suggested some training together for the Highlander Mountain Marathon in three weeks time, so headed for a round of four ‘new’ hills (including Corbetts Geal Charn and Meall na h-Eilde) north of the ‘Dark Mile’ at the east end of Loch Arkaig. (more…)

Might not have snow at sea level here, but 500ft or so up that all changes and along the main track to the Dam (at c.1,000ft) there’s way more than I expected. (more…)

Just finished John L. Parker, Jr’s Again to Carthage (sequel to Once a Runner), which I’ve had begging for attention since receiving my pre-ordered paperback last July but only got around to reading this past week. And it’s another cracker… longer than its predecessor and perhaps yet slower to catch fire, but building a similar sense of unstoppable momentum (think he knows what he’s doing here!) as it proceeds. (more…)