The Rain Came Pouring Down on the jogscotland 5k

I strained my hamstring muscle, whilst cycling on Monday's daily commute to work. That, with the other aches and pains in my legs, persuaded me to have a few days rest. I missed my weekly swim, I didn’t do any running or gym work and I took the car to work, rather than the bike. As well as resting my legs, I also applied liberal amounts of Tiger Balm to my hamstring, in the hope that it would do some good.

It wasn’t such a hardship not cycling or running on Tuesday as the rain seemed to pour down all day and night. The forecast looked the same for Wednesday but it stayed dry until around 5:30pm, at which time I was convincing myself that I’d be ok to run the jogscotland 5k Challenge at Glasgow Green. However the rain did put me off cycling to the ‘Green’ and instead I took the car, parking it near the Gorbals Leisure Centre before making my way across the Clyde to Registration.

Apart from the sounds blaring from the loudspeakers, it was hard to tell that a race was scheduled for that evening. I headed towards the sound of the Tannoy and a few tents, with runners sheltering in them, came into sight. It was all so different over the last three years when the good weather has brought runners out in their droves, with the Start being held up two years ago with so many people registering on the night. There wasn’t much chance of that happening tonight but the numbers did improve as an assortment of club runners and joggers trickled along to collect their numbers and electronic chips in the Glasgow summer rain. No-one seemed to sure about how to attach their chips to their running shoes and I was no different, worrying about the appropriateness of the flimsy plastic tie-back supplied and wrapping my laces around it for extra security.

I chatted with loads of running buddies before changing into my Kilmarnock Harriers vest and leaving the relative shelter of the massage tent to do my pre-race warm up and stretches in the rain. The number of runners continued to increase as 7pm approached and by the time I made my way towards the Start line 343 other runners had assembled.  More than 300 down on last year, when the two runs had attracted a total of 647 participants.

The Race

Pic by Great Scott Photography

I negotiated my way through the joggers and took my place at the back of the club runners, only for Mark Cooper, who I ran with last year in France as he completed his 50 marathons, to turn to me and ask “How’s it going Ian?” We didn’t have long to reminisce though as the Start sounded and we were set on our way. The introduction of chip timing had resulted in the course being changed this year and we set off eastward, towards the Peoples Palace, at 7:02pm. A thirty degree angle left turn took us diagonally across the park and, briefly, onto the perimeter path. Another left turn and we headed, behind the Start point, towards the Clyde, where we turned right and headed westward. We ran past the Boathouse and turned right just beyond the Weir, rejoining the perimeter path. I was running behind Bella Road Runners Keith Gibb and David Boyle and Bella Harrier Bernie O’Neil, Garmin notified me that we had completed the first kilometre in a time of 3:53. I was a bit worried that I might have set off too quickly and I was also conscious of my hamstring.

As we approached Monteith Road we turned ninety degrees right, behind the People's Palace and then vended left, as we completed our first mile. A bit further on and we headed down hill, turning a sharp left and then another to take us back to the Clyde and heading eastward. This was familiar territory for me as, not only have I ran and cycled along it many a time but it also forms part of the Atkins 3k race route. Tony McGale and then John McLaughlin encouraged me but my pace had slowed to 4:14 for the second kilometre and I had lost touch with Keith, David and Bernie. I could see the faster runners, making their way back, as I headed towards the same turn point as used in the Atkins race. I was disappointed with my pace but after turning I could see that there were still some ‘weel kent’ faces making their way outward. The third kilometre took me a disappointing 4:27. I increased the pace a bit and, after overtaking a couple of runners, I found myself at the front of a pack, well off of those in front. The fourth kilometre had taken me 4:17 but I wasn’t feeling particularly comfortable leading a pack, with no-one to aim at in front.  We retraced our footsteps, past the Boathouse for the second time and then the Weir.  A guy with a yellow running vest overtook me and I was happy to sit in behind him for a wee while. However we were now on a long, uncongested and flat part of the course and I knew that I should be making up ground. I overtook the guy and then with no-one to aim at repeated the number counting technique, which had served me so well in the latter part of the recent Land o’ Burns 10k. By the time I had turned right and was back behind the Peoples Palace I had closed the gap significantly and could now see David Boyle in sight. He was too far away for me to catch but he seemed to be slowing and I set out to reduce the gap between us as much as possible. There were a few runners between us and, as I turned right into the final strait, I managed to catch another runner (Neil McKenzie) as I gave it my all to cross the line in 43rd place with a Chip Time of 20:47 and a Gun Time of 20:50. The fifth and final kilometre had taken me 3:56 but I was still disappointed with my time. The first and last kilometres were fine, it’s just the middle three ones that I need to improve on!

Selected Results
Mark Cooper placed 23rd with a Gun Time of 18:44.  Keith was 31st in 19:53, Bernie 35th and third woman in 20:11 and David 40th in 20:22. Jock Ferguson, who beat me last year, placed 41st with a time of 20:36 and Andrew Fairlie one place and three seconds ahead of me in 42nd place with a time of 20:47.

Post Race
After the usual post race banter and mutual congratulations, I grabbed the opportunity to have those hamstrings massaged before warming down back to the car as the weather grew worse.


Race Results and Round Up
In the race itself Chris Black placed first in 16:47, Russell Whittington was runner-up in 16:49 and Euan Geddes third in 16:52.

Ruth Joss was first woman in a time of 18:16, a delighted Claire McCracken placed second, with a new 'post baby' PB of in 18:23 and, as stated above, Bernie earned third spot with her time of 20:11.

Despite the numbers being down by over 300, the event still succeeded in drawing support from a range of Club Runners, Work's Teams and individuals.  I had some friends who were running their first ever 5k race, at the other end of the scale, I was competing in my 97th 5k!!

Full Results

The Jammys are this year running all eight jogscotland 5k races (and more!) to raise money for Simpson's Special Care Babies (SSCB), the children's charity which is dedicated to the care of premature or sick newborn babies, and the support of their parents.  They are a small charity that supports the Neo Natal Unit based in the "Simpson's" maternity unit (formerly the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion), part of the New Royal Infirmary Of Edinburgh.  The charity is run by volunteers who either work in the unit, or have had a child (or children) go through it.  You can support their work by donating here