I would be lying if I said that hills were my favourite thing. But living where I do, about two-thirds up the valley wall of the southern half of the Forth Valley, I have to get used to them.
Thinking about them made me start wondering about the various hills that I am likely to come across. What are the hills around here?
Here is my attempt to get the low down on the local heights:
Description | Start Height (m) | End Height (m) | Height Gained (m) | Over (miles) |
Heartbreak Hill, Falkirk Parkrun | 36.9 | 70.7 | 33.8 | 0.2 |
Bonnytoun Loop, Linlithgow 10k | 50.9 | 82.3 | 31.4 | 0.8 |
Stirling Marathon, A873-Dunblane | 13.1 | 84.4 | 71.3 | 5.8 |
Alloa Half, Menstrie Brae | 6.7 | 47.9 | 41.2 | 1.1 |
Loch Ness Marathon | 23.8 | 91.7 | 67.9 | 2.2 |
Wallacestone Brae, Falkirk | 75.3 | 148.1 | 72.8 | 0.7 |
So, the hill coming out of Dores in the Loch Ness Marathon is clearly not going to be fun. On the one hand, it’s a similar rise to Wallacestone Brae, but over three times the distance. On the other hand, it’s a similar rise to Wallacestone Brae, and it’s at mile nineteen!
Interesting…