On Tuesday 17th December, Dave Mason and Scott Hyslop from Linlithgow AC headed to Alva for the 2nd running of the Nebit Moontain Race, a 4km, 400m climb to the top of Nebit hill. Although some may say it is a questionable idea to hold a hill race in darkness 72 bold, or perhaps slightly insane, runners arrived for the 7pm start. Held on the evening of a full moon, the event still requires all runners to wear headtorches, which created an eerie sight as the field stretched out, and the trail of lights spread up and then down the hill, glittering in the darkness. The start is on the edge of the town but very quickly the runners are scrambling up the steep hill, trying to pick out a route which will give good grip. The weather was good for the time of year but the surface of the hill was soft and slippy in places and the rocky sections were particularly treacherous. Once the runners had reached the top they were faced with descending the same route, which often meant dodging the people still climbing whilst being dazzled by their torches. Scott usually loves these steep descents but ended up on his backside 3 times slipping on mud and grass and only passing 5 people, which disappointed a man who prides himself on his downhill skills. David fared better on both the climb and the descent, taking 16th place (and 3^rd in the V40 category) in 28:15, with Scott finishing in 31:48 for 34^th place. Both runners then retired to the local hostelry where the event organisers had arranged some well-earned soup and mince pies for the runners.

There was running madness of a slightly different form at Falkirk parkrun on Saturday as 177 competitors arrived, with many sporting festive attire, for the event’s Christmas celebration run. This made for quite a spectacle as an ensemble of Santas, elves and reindeer dashed through the woods of Callendar Park. Other outfits were spotted too – amongst them a Viking, a super-Gonzo and LAC’s own Hilary Stocks running dressed as a Christmas tree! Another great performance by Andrew Fischbacher secured 2^nd place at the event with his time of 17:57, which is especially impressive given the windy conditions. Other LAC results: Scott Hyslop 16^th, 20:38; Malcolm Hughes 18^th, 20:42; Paul Dudchenko 28^th, 21:14; Hilary Stocks 59th (9th F) 23:25; Eoin Richardson 64^th, 23:39 (PB); Matt Richardson 78th 24:34; Shirley Hyslop 132 (35th F) 28:36

With Edinburgh parkrun hosting a special Christmas Day event there were far fewer Santa hats on display over at Cramond. Avoiding Falkirk’s festive frolics were Darren Dick and Bryan Grome who opted instead for this exposed course along the foreshore, where the wind would provide significant additional challenge. Both posted respectable times with Darren finishing 78^th (out of 339) in a time of 22:23 and Bryan 112^th in 23:35.