Ben Chonzie hill race
Race Date: 18 April 2026
Back for a second year, the Ben Chonzie race route was reconfigured in order meet the requirements as an SHR Long race for the 2026 SHR Championships. The new route extended the original by continuing past the summit of Ben Chonzie to a bealach at the head of Glen Turret with a technical descent to the head of Loch Turret, followed by a water crossing before a challenging reascent up Carn Chois and a long descent back to the finish.
The new route covered a distance of 22.9km with 1435m of ascent. Weather on the day was mostly kind, with a chilly wind on the hill tops and occasional showers.
The race was won by Luke Fisher of Carnethy in a speedy 1.53.43, and the women's race was won by Emily McNicol, also of Carnethy, in 2.14.47. There were 269 finishers.
First Harrier home was, not surprisingly, Harris Pagett, in 5th position, in a time of 2.01.13. Ruth Clark was the first female Harrier home, to finish 3rd in the FV60 category.
16 Harriers took part. Full Harriers results were:
|
|
Time |
Overall position |
Category position |
|
Harris Pagett |
2.01.13 |
5 |
SM (5th) |
|
Harrison Cunnah |
2.30.27 |
52 |
SM (37th) |
|
Nick Gough |
2.38.04 |
75 |
M40 (11th) |
|
Stephen Ainslie |
2.38.28 |
76 |
SM (50th) |
|
Michael Ibbott |
2.48.04 |
100 |
M40 (12th) |
|
Thomas Bissett |
2.51.31 |
110 |
SM (60th) |
|
Dave Dowse |
2.53.34 |
116 |
M40 (17th) |
|
Frederick Ungoed-Courtney |
2.54.55 |
121 |
SM (62nd) |
|
Daniel Harrison |
3.06.24 |
147 |
SM (70th) |
|
Mike Thomson |
3.07.29 |
150 |
M50 (20th) |
|
Grant Kennedy (Early) |
3.23.07 |
195 |
M40 (32nd) |
|
Ruth Clark (Early) |
3.25.43 |
200 |
F60 (3rd) |
|
Josie Goodfellow (Early) |
3.52.32 |
240 |
F50 (11th) |
|
Andrew Gallagher (Early) |
4.14.52 |
260 |
M60 (21st) |
Organisation, headed by Hanna McInally, was superb, as was the post-race catering - not many races have venison on the menu!