A Tribute to Charlie Ramsay, of Carnethy Hill Running Club, and his priceless legacy The Charlie Ramsay Round.
By Adrian Stott
The Scottish running community was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Charlie Ramsay at the age of 81.
Charlie, as well as being a competent mountain runner, was best known for creating the Ramsay Round. “The Ramsay,” as it is also often called, is a circuit of the Mountains of the Lochaber region. It comprises 24 summits and an approximate distance of 56 miles/90.123 km and 28,500 feet/8686.8 metres of climbing. The challenge is to complete it in under 24 hours.
On the 9 July 1978, Charlie completed the circuit in 23 hours 58 minutes. His final descent of Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, has become legendary.
Ben Nevis is the final summit of the round run in an anti-clockwise direction. You then have to descend almost 1400m in three and a half miles to reach the original starting point, The Glen Nevis Youth Hostel, at the foot of the mountain.
With less than two minutes to spare, one can debate whether Charlie was cutting it fine or it was perfect timing!
By nature, Charlie was a private, humble person. The Ramsay Round website does not tell you an awful lot about Charlie. It almost plays down his role while making The Round itself the main story.
That’s in keeping with the traditions of Scottish hill running. There are never any big public pronouncements about records or analysis of times.
Indeed, publicity is almost shunned with many choosing to tackle the challenge under the radar with little fanfare.
Charlie epitomised this. He was there to offer help and support to the early pioneer completers of the Round and, in recent years, with the growing popularity of people heading to the outdoors to seek challenges, he was also there offering support, and would often pop up unexpectedly if you had previously told him about your attempt.
There is a list on the website of the 273 completions of The Round in under 24 hours to date.
If you were successful in your attempt, you would write to Charlie with brief details, and he would add your name to the list, all treated as equals.
One Ramsay Round runner has described it thus: ‘There is a strange dedication and obsession, just to have your name listed on a pretty niche website that only crazy hill runners look at anyway!’
For that dedication and obsession, many owe thanks to Charlie for being the original inspiration.
Among many tributes to Charlie are these two from Finlay Wild and Jasmin Paris.
Finlay, of Lochaber AC, who set the current men’s record of 14 hours, 42 minutes in August 2020, unsupported, said: ‘Charlie was a charming, engaging character who always had time for people and enjoyed sharing his enthusiasm for the hills. He will be sadly missed.
‘The Ramsay Round rightly sits at the top table of U.K. endurance hill running. Charlie’s achievement in 1978 not only produced an enduring, much-loved classic challenge but was a big step up for the 24-hour Munro record.’
Jasmin Paris (photo by Bobby Gavin)
Jasmin, like Charlie, also a member of Carnethy Hill Running Club. She set the current women’s record in June 2016 of 16 Hours, 13 Minutes, offered this tribute: ‘The Charlie Ramsay Round is Scotland’s answer to the Bob Graham when it comes to 24-hour challenges.
‘It involves a circuit of Glen Nevis, itself known as a Tranter round, together with some tops around Loch Treig. In comparing the Bob Graham with the Ramsay, the characters of the two rounds are, however, rather different. The Ramsay features bigger hills, with fewer trods, and has a more remote feel to it.
‘My own Ramsay Round experience is among the most memorable and satisfying of my running career, second only to finishing the Barkley Marathons. The whole day felt like a real team effort, a group of good friends running well together on Scottish mountains on a beautiful day.
‘I didn’t know Charlie that well before my Ramsay attempt, so I was surprised and delighted to see him waiting for me by the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel at the unhospitable hour of 2.45am when I was due to start.
‘I was equally pleased to see him at the finish, where he shared in the champagne and euphoria of a team of friends and a job well done. That was Charlie.
‘He was a true legend of the hills and incredibly generous with his support and time. In the years that followed, I met him many times on his walks in the Pentland Hills, when I was out training. After a stop to chat, I’d always run on with a smile on my face. He will be much missed.’
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A simple message was posted on the Ramsay Round website, informing visitors of Charlie’s passing.
‘It is with much sadness that we share the news that sadly Charlie passed away on the February 11 after a short but aggressive battle with Cancer.
‘He loved these hills and was proud of Ramsay’s Round, but his greatest joy was to encourage and support others attempting the Round and finding their own love of the hills.’
Charlie was an honorary life member of both Lochaber AC and Carnethy Hill Running Club. He is survived by his wife Mary, and children Grant, Fergus, and Ashley.
His funeral will be at Mortonhall Crematorium, Edinburgh, on Thursday 6 March at 1 pm.
With Thanks to IRUNFAR. the American ultra-running website for allowing us to use the quotes from Finlay Wild and Jasmin Paris which originally appeared on their longer tribute to Charlie.
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Tags:
hill running, mountain running
