Eilidh Gillanders and Stuart Johnston scale the heights in Virtual Muddiness seven hills challenge

There were no official Scottish cross-country races held this winter due to the coronavirus pandemic but clubs improvised and created their own socially-distanced virtual races, with Edinburgh Athletic Club’s “Virtual Muddiness” race series proving popular.
By John Lenehan
Published 22nd Jan 2021, 07:00 BST
Eilidh Gillanders, left, won Edinburgh Athletic Club’s Virtual Muddiness series while Robin Kyle was the club's Most Improved athlete of 2020.Eilidh Gillanders, left, won Edinburgh Athletic Club’s Virtual Muddiness series while Robin Kyle was the club's Most Improved athlete of 2020.
Eilidh Gillanders, left, won Edinburgh Athletic Club’s Virtual Muddiness series while Robin Kyle was the club's Most Improved athlete of 2020.

Routes were designed around the city’s famed seven hills and Pentlands, with runners completing the courses solo and uploading their times online. The series also involved the ultimate Edinburgh running challenge of reaching the summit of each of the seven hills in an unbroken 16-mile effort.

Race organisers Chloe Cox, Hazel Batty, Rachel Kline, Richard Clark, Kevin Hamilton, Leanne Calder and Alex MacEwen oversaw a concerted two-month period of virtual competition. After some 60km of racing, Eilidh Gillanders and Stuart Johnston topped the final standings.

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Shona Adam, Becca Frake, Cólin McGill and James Doran completed the podium positions.

Gillanders said: “I was keen to challenge myself and have something to focus on through the autumn and winter. Running the seven races in different parts of Edinburgh really took me out of my comfort zone.”

Male winner Johnston added: “The race series was a great way to keep training going through the autumn and I enjoyed competing virtually with my clubmates.”

Edinburgh AC held its annual Christmas social and awards presentation via Zoom.

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Gillanders, Kline, Nikki Gibson, Lyndsey Fraser, and Pete Simpson were all commended for their performances in 2020, but Robin Kyle won the Most Improved Athlete award.

“I was really chuffed to win,” he said. “It makes all the lonely kilometres during lockdown worth it. All the virtual races organised by the club have been fantastic, and everyone is so supportive. I hope we’re able to get a race or two in 2021 so I can try to officially improve some of my times!”

The 2020 Volunteer of the Year award went to ‘Team EAC’, rather than an individual.

Coach Alex MacEwen explained: “We’ve had to stay safe and look out for each other. A lot of people in the club stepped up – Covid safety officers, virtual race organisers, route planners, club handicap analysts, results processing, media and communications, trainers and coaches, and we had our “Longest Day Relay” back in June where we raised money for local enterprises.

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“Lots of people did good things for the club so decided on Team EAC for volunteer of the year.”

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