Races

We love racing, and encourage everyone to get stuck in, regardless of pace. Our ethos is it’s been a good race if HBT have the first runner, the last runner, and the most runners. If you see us at races (always identifiable by our stylish plain brown vests) please stop and say hi!

Some of our favourite races:

East District XC league [Saturdays throughout winter]: Our bread and butter – short, sharp races of around 4 miles; muddy, tough and a cracking way to spend a Saturday.

Borders XC league [Sundays throughout winter]: Explore the hills, fields and beaches of the Borders through all weathers. The more picturesque side of XC racing.

National XC Champs in Falkirk [February]. An absolute mud fest, and the XC social event of the year. Not to be missed! Invariably followed by the club’s annual dinner and ceilidh.

The Bog Trot [April]: This one’s our race! 4ish miles round Holyrood Park with as much climb as we can pack in. The best race of the year!

Dumyat Hill race [a Wednesday evening in early May]: Under 10km, up and down hill race with top tier views and a lovely mixture of terrain. A great introduction to hill racing.

Black Rock 5 [A Friday evening, end of May]: 5 miles through Kinghorn and onto the beach, round black rock as the tide comes in.

Red Moss Kips [a Wednesday in early June]: Organised by one of our own, this is another good race for beginner hill-runners; it’s essentially a 10k with a couple of steep climbs half way round. 

Seven Hills of Edinburgh [June]: A self-explanatory race around Edinburgh with no set route – part of the fun is figuring out the quickest way to run between all 7 checkpoints.

Lairig Ghru [End of June]: A fun 43km race along the historic cattle-droving route through the Cairngorms. One for the marathon runners, and those who fancy a tough challenge in spectacular surroundings.

Sri Chinmoy Meadows races [Weds evenings throughout the summer]: Mile races and relays around the Meadows. Join us afterwards for pints on the Meadows or in Cloisters.

Comrie Relays [Early Sept]: Relays are always top-tier fun, Comrie is beautiful, and there’s a fantastic spread afterwards.

Caerketton Downhill [September]: Start at the top and then throw yourself down the hill as fast as you can. Quite mad but lots of fun.

Applecross Duathlon [September]: 9 mile trail/hill run, followed by 15 mile road cycle. Beautiful scenery, wonderful welcoming atmosphere.

Two Breweries [September]: 18 miles, 4900ft climb. Great route over beautiful countryside with an incredible spread and lots of beer at the end. Our kind of race!

Pentland skyline [October]: 16 miles, 6200 ft climb. Excellent race, easy to recce, but don’t underestimate the bog slog of the second half.

UK/FRA Hill Relay Championships  [October]: The biggest fell race event of the calendar. Hundreds of runners from across the UK, 4 legs, 6 runners per team, a boggy, hilly, heathery, usually rainy location.

Braids Hills XC [November]: It’s local, great atmosphere, big party and ceilidh afterwards and there’s a choice of a 5k, 10k or both if you’re feeling brave!