The Stuc a' Chroin 5000 Hill Race Sat 3rd May 2014

2013 saw the Stuc a' Chroin 5000 race in it's 25th year and in commemoration of what is now a popular race in the calendar, last year it was the 2013 scottishathletics Senior Championship event and one of two of the Scottish Hill Runners Championship (Long) series.

The race is run annually on the Saturday before May Day Bank Holiday Monday. This year, it falls on May the 3rd. Called the Stuc a' Chroin 5000 because of its approximate total climb (in feet!), the race is 22k long and the course record is 1:59:22 for the males, and 2:22:47 for the females. Organised under British Athletic Rules and classed as a Category A Long Hill race, in its 21st Anniversary, it was a British Championship event with over 300 runners.

Usually blessed with good weather, its timing at the beginning of May does mean that there may be a variety of conditions - consult the forecast before your journey ... and don't forget the midge repellant! There will be an up-to-date forecast of local conditions right up to the start on this web site in the Stop Press section opposite.

You can register in the Inn at Strathyre Hotel at the South end of the village from 10:00am - 12:30pm, admission fee is £7. The race is well marked all the way to the top; (note that there are no maps available); stewards and water stations are aplenty and well supported by the local community. Renowned for its plentiful supply of water all along its 22k (courtesy of our new sponsors, ASDA and Bookers), jelly babies and chocolate, rumours that some runners actually put on weight during the race are to be treated with caution! Even though our new sponsors, Lomond Distilleries, are giving a bottle of spirits to the top 3 runners in each category, they drew the line at dispensing whisky at the water stops!

Some of the runners comments from the last couple of years

".. privilege of enjoying a well-supported hill race in stunning scenery and immaculate weather ... Many thanks to the organisers of this epic hill run which was well-organised and well-supported. We will definitely be back next year."

"Brilliant views and perfect weather conditions for this (my favourite) hill race."

"Stuc is a great race and is really well supported, I think I managed to eat about a full bag of Jelly Babies and half a bag of Fruit Pastilles dished out by the numerous marshalls."

"Thanks for a great race , the marshalling and organisation was first class as usual and along with the weather made it a great day !"

"despite the torture of running this course again it's still one of my favourite events on the hill race calendar."

"the best organised and marshaled race I've been to" (we did check, they had been on more than one)

Note that this year (2014), the prizegiving will take place on the field. In case of inclement weather we are setting up an extra Marquee

The village has a small shop, a car park, and toilets available in the Inn. There is music in the Inn at Strathyre from Voice Box kicking off at 9pm .

One word of warning though - traffic through this popular tourist area, and especially Callander (A84 Stirling - Strathyre ) can be very busy on Bank Holidays so please allow an extra 30 - 60 minutes to pass through. Other routes to Strathyre are available.

The race starts at 1300 hrs.

We look forward to seeing you this year.