Aberlately

night run with Carnethy at Aberlady 27/11/13

Familiar as I am with Aberlady I had never put on a headtorch and run there after dark. This was the plan and another great idea from Carnethy. Yes I traded in PRC weds night training for this. And yes I was doing Wintervals the following night with them also. However I have no plans to wear the red and yellow team colours to race in and the CHRC membership is purely social.

What an evening we got for it. About 15 or 16 turned up and the weather, while fairly Baltic to step out a warm car, improved the minute we got going. In fact many doffed hats and de-layered after a couple of miles. I kept both pairs of gloves on and was not tempted to get feet wet unlike Michael W who was knee deep (deliberately) for no good reason that I could figure. I think it is his salty seadog background, used to pushing dinghies out into the foaming briny.

There were lots of out-of-focus shots as the camera tried to focus on the humidity in the air and on the lens.

The photos sadly do not do justice to the scenery. We ran along in a bubble of light from the headtorches that illuminated the 20 yards around us, although it was bright enough to see hints of the sand and sea and shrubs along the trails. Although I know this place very well I would be following the person in front and suddenly find myself not recognising stretches, or surprised at where we suddenly appeared. In the sky a million stars shone, free from the light pollution of Edinburgh, and on several occasions we switched lights off and admired the array. Some folk were seeing the Milky Way for the first time. I didn't have the tripod with me to take long exposures.

I experimented with the flash on and off to see which worked better. The flash made a pool of light and failed to capture anything outwith. With the flash forced off there was not quite enough light to catch much of use.

We ran along the trails next to the golf course and into Gullane car park. Then through the dunes and across the woods on the other side of Gullane, before dropping down and returning on the beaches and trails. We regrouped at Hell Hill and puffed up that before crossing Gullane Point and sweeping round to Aberlady Beach. Running along the beach was a near magical experience surrounded by a gentle light with the noise of the sea just off right. There was only a light wind. Going up Aberlady Beach I veered left up to the high tide line in order not to miss the footpath sign.

To round off the 8+miles we had a pint and pub food at Ducks in Aberlady. A brilliant night run and the ideal conditions meant we covered more ground at a brisker pace than in previous night adventures there. After a lift back into town and collecting my bike from Morningside I think it was nearly midnight by the time I got home.