Benromach 10 at Kirroughtree
A Riders View of the 10 at Kirroughtree
Stu Thomson / 16.07.2010

No Fuss Events are always a regular on my calendar; over the past few years I’ve filmed and produced event videos at most of their major events. 10 Under the Ben, Glen Nevis River Race and the Endurance Downhill, I’ve been to them all, filmed a video and met a lot of great people along the way.The Benromach Whisky sponsored 10 at Kirroughtree 2010 was different though, it was time to leave my comfort zone as the enthusiastic and admiring onlooker and step up to the plate and take part. I’ve always enjoyed the ‘thought’ of Endurance Mountain Bike racing, particularly as a team (the solo thing confuses me). But spending a day on the trails and hanging out with your mates seems like a good way to spend your weekend, it can’t be too hard can it!
So a couple of phone calls later I had formed team ‘3 Feet High and Rising’. My next-door neighbour and Mountain Bike Guide Colin Bull (our secret weapon), myself and MTB race virgin and a local club rider Mark Nicols. Being a former Downhill racer my bike selection was looking a bit on the heavy side, consisting of Downhill and Jump machinery so a quick phone call to the good people at Orange bikes and I had the loan of a brand new Orange Crush. No excuses now!
Choosing the Kirroughtree race for my venture into endurance riding was both a tactical and educated choice. The 7 Stanes trail centre, based at Galloway Forest Park just outside the small town of Newton Stewart, is in my own humble opinion the best trail centre in the UK. The trails are some of the most technical and flowing terrain I had ever ridden so I knew the course would be a beauty. As much as I had ridden there a handful of times I wasn’t prepared for was the twist in the plot. This was delivered by both the No Fuss Events team in the way of some challenging new natural sections that made up easily 25% of the course and also the wonderful Scottish weather that immediately put paid to my image of shredding some dusty trails.
With the race-taking place on Saturday we had all organised to slack off work early on Friday in order to enjoy the full No Fuss experience by arriving in time for a dinner (included in the entry!) and a few beers with the guys from Orange.
On arrival we were faced with an already bustling campsite and race arena with many participants and their families arriving to spin out a lap of the course, register for the race and most importantly sit around enjoying a few pre event refreshments!
In hindsight (which is such a wonderful thing) it probably would’ve been better to have less beer and go to bed earlier, but that just never happens. After much discussion about wearing a midget clothes (don’t ask..) and persuading Mark that he wouldn’t be the slowest person in Saturday’s race we all hit the hay.
Sleeping in the back of a van listening to the constant drone of rain throughout the night left me a little apprehensive about what we would be faced with in the morning. Luckily enough for me I was given plenty of time to survey the race day conditions thanks to a 6am wake up call from No Fuss head honcho Frazer Coupland… Thanks Frazer!See All Event Posts