I realised that halfway through writing a previous blog that I referenced the Tak challenge a couple of times. The Tak is the short-name for a hill called the Tak Ma Doon that goes from the Stirling Road in Kilsyth to the Car Park in the Sky in the Carron Valley, at the foot of Tomtain.
It is wholly on road. It is famously used a lot by cyclists for training. It passes by some gorgeous mixed build houses from over 100+ years of history at the start, before quarries left and right give way to Kilsyth Golf Course, and then after that it is up up up, with two more farms near the midpoint. There are waterfalls, fields either site and a beautiful pine forest stretch near the top. Very rarely do you do a climb without seeing anything from birds of prey to deer to farm animals galore.
The hill can be done as a straight over into Stirling or Bannockburn, a loop into Denny to the east or down into Fintry in the west, coming back along the canal on both loops to Croy. It also gives entry to the Carron Valley Forest and Tomtain, over to the Meikle Bin and the Carron Valley dam. It is a fantastic place to run. Whilst it is on road, cars are as frequent as bicycles. I am make a hard sell here, right?
The vital statistics:
– Length: 4.1k (2.5 miles)
– Elevation: 891 feet / 271 metres
– Average grade: 6.1%
– Steepest 100m stretch: 15%
– Toughest road climb in Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley
– Average steepest road climb in North Lanarkshire
The challenge for 2024 is to run the hill 100 times. That probably doesn’t sound much. But unless in company I must run bottom to top. No walking. And when I factor in work travel, adverse weather making the climb unadvisable – such as ice – then it means that I need to hit almost 3 ascents per active week to stay on track.
That is not as easy as it seems. Especially when trying to ensure quality and balanced training. That’s what makes the challenge fun. It forces a focus on the body and mind. I have to plan ahead and be smart. There are absolutely some days when I get to the bottom of that damn hill and think, “what did I think when I commit to this?”
The point of sharing the challenge publicly at the start of the year was to bring some accountability but also to help inspires others. It’s been great to share some climbs with a few folks. My AM running habit means that I run solo 95% of the time. Which is cool. I get some quality podcasts, audiobooks, music and even the occassional whatthehellwasthatnoise! moments in the dark.
And that is the Tak challenge. 100 Taks in 2024. 410 cumulative KMs climbed, 89,000 feet.
This week I did 3 days in a row. 77, 78 and 79. 78 was one of my prove it runs across the Carron Valley. A great 0500 start and 50k loop. The week was good. A strong cumulative week after the travels of last week. You don’t need a blow by blow account.
This coming week I am off to another offsite but this time in Scotland. So whilst the days will be long, but fulfilling, there’s no travel tax to pay. I expect another quality week ahead. And have already planned in at least two Taks to stay on track.
Lastly, an invite to all runners. When I go to do my 100th Tak, I will post it as a social run. All are welcome. I expect it to be late November or early December. If you are interested in joining in let me know. Could be a weeknight or a weekend. Drop me a line if you fancy it.
I promise it won’t be 0430 on a Thursday. Those are my runs.
James Stewart 