Although this is a Bella Club Championship Race I had decided to run it as a training run and also to pace Roslyn Ghareh who had never ran a Half Marathon before. Neither had John Hagemeister but he has been doing a lot more training and was happy to run the race on his own. Katy volunteered to drive and we arrived at Helensburgh Pier about 15 minutes before the race, which was sufficient time for Roslyn to register although I tend to get to try to get to races a good bit before they are scheduled to start.
The sun was shining and it looked liked being a warm race as we lined up with the other runners, including Bellahouston Road Runners. I explained the course to Roslyn and advised her that we would be aiming to run at a 9 min/mile pace. I gave her some of my Jelly Babies and advised her to take on water or energy drinks at the refreshment stations along the course. The race started and we headed along the promenade towards Rhu. I enjoyed myself chatting with Roslyn and the other runners and marshals too. As we approached the turning point I noticed the race leader, Jethro Lennox, making his way back towards us. However it was about four minutes later when the next leader, his Shettleston team mate Paul Sorrie was in sight. After that the runners were much more frequent and I shouted encouragement to the Bella Road Runners and the other racers that I knew. “You must know at least half the people running” commented Roslyn.
We continued at our steady pace working our way up through the field as we overtook those racers who had started too quickly. As well as Bella’s Moira Mcphedran, who had fell, and Louis Gray, who had been physically sick. Roslyn did excellent but she, hardly surprisingly, started to fade at about the 10 mile stage. She was happy for me to run on my own and to leave her but I told her that we would finish the race together. Although she wanted to stop a couple of times I encouraged her to keep going and soon I was advising her that the Finish Line was approaching. Along the road back to the pier we ran and then turned left and towards the end. Katy had informed the commentator that this was Roslyn’s first Half Marathon and I could hear him announcing that as we both crossed the line in a time of 1:55:32. An excellent time for a her first Half, especially in such a warm day.
After receiving our medals and exchanging congratulations I made my way back along the pier to get another couple of miles under my belt. After this I had the pleasure of a free swim in the local pool before getting changed and heading for the nearest café to enjoy a full Scottish brunch.
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