Murder Hill

After setting off for a coastal walk in slight mist and rain then sunny intervals, from Aberlady we wondered if we could reach North Berwick about ten miles away before the thunder storms which were forecast later.  Fortunately we managed to reach home just after the first heavy drops fell and the thunder started with several hours of rain.
On the way we walked along Gullane beach where many were enjoying the warm weather.  I am not so sure if the members of the football team were enjoying their preseason training on the sand dunes.  It is hard enough walking up this steep sand dune but being commanded to run faster up and down many times and even having to carry something heavy is gruelling. 
In the 70s Jock Wallace used to take his Glasgow Rangers team there and subsequently other football teams have had to tackle “Murder Hill” as part of their training.   The Hearts team were there earlier in the week but I don’t know who these were.
Star striker (of Rangers) at the time Derek Johnstone was quoted as saying: “We only went to Gullane with Jock once a year during pre-season training. But that was quite enough for all of us I can tell you. It was very, very hard. The day after running up and down those sand dunes your thighs were just solid. You could hardly move. There was method in the madness. We won a lot of games in the last five or 10 minutes in those days when other players’ legs were tiring.”
Further along the beach another group were just finishing their training in the dunes and perhaps feeling too    “That day at Gullane Beach was my hardest day in football, without exception!”