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| Almost Finished - pic by Kenny Phillips |
I had a frustrating day on Monday spending most of it in front of my laptop whilst the Geek Squad tried to establish the reason why it wouldn’t connect wirelessly to my router. Not the way that I had envisaged spending the local ‘Fair Monday’! I wasn’t therefore in the best of moods to run a race however I had pre-entered the Irvine 5 miler and decided to give it a go. I’ve never ran this particular race before, although I had run it’s predecessor the Round the Houses Race in Saltcoats, which I believe was initially held to give Glasgow folk a race during their annual exodus doon the watter for the Fair. The attraction of the Ayrshire Coast has been superseded by the attractions of the Costa del Sol and rather than let the event wither and die, the decision was made some years ago to relocate it to Irvine, the home of the host running club.
I was feeling a bit better after a shave and shower and headed down the M77 to the land of my birth. I was a bit surprised to arrive in plenty of time to see that the car park was almost full. The change in venue had obviously been beneficial. I collected my number and chatted with the hordes of running buddies from the Ayrshire clubs, as well as some from further afield, including a healthy turnout from Bellahouston Harriers. Omens were good as there was plenty of competition from runners about my level, including: Natalie Fleming; Toast and Fiona Ramsay.
Race Report
During the pre race briefing, the organisers reported that bizarrely overnight someone had stolen all the manhole and drainage covers on Marine Drive! To minimise the risk of runners injuring themselves, they had temporarily been covered with traffic cones. We were set on our way at 7:30pm from the town’s Montgomery Street, where a quick left took us on to Cochrane Street and another had us heading towards the Firth of Clyde. A further left turn and we were parallel to Harbour Road and making our way to the cycle path in Beach Park. Gamin beeped to inform me that the 1st k had taken 4:01, perhaps a little fast I thought. I made my way along the rolling path and glanced at my watch at the 1mile marker to see that it had taken me 6:42. At this point Natalie breezed past me, I tried to stick behind her but she opened a gap, someone, with a heavy foot step, was on my right shoulder and kept pushing me onwards. We closed the gap on Natalie but at the 2mile marker he overtook me and I saw that it was Howie Scott of Bellahouston Harriers. The second mile had taken 6:56, I’ve beaten Howie a few times and was confident that I would overtake him before the Finish. A bit further on and the lead runners were on my left, making their way back along Marine Drive. Lead cyclist, Jim Stevenson shouted words of encouragement to me as he led David Millar along the return leg. A fellow Killie Harrier also gave me verbal support on his return leg but it was to no avail as my pace dropped to 7:14 for the 3rd mile. I had overtaken a young lass (Bethan Hand) but those in front were increasing the gap. I tried to increase the pace on the way back but, even with Anthony Butler shouting support as he made his way out, my pace dropped even further to 7:23. The sun was beating down on me, the sweat was pouring down my face and my legs were tiring but I was still feeling good. Natalie and Howie were now well in front but I did manage to catch at least one runner as I maintained the 7:23 pace to cross the Finish line in 35:48. My Garmin indicated that the course had been 5:03 miles long but it’s the same course for everyone, well nearly everyone.
During the pre race briefing, the organisers reported that bizarrely overnight someone had stolen all the manhole and drainage covers on Marine Drive! To minimise the risk of runners injuring themselves, they had temporarily been covered with traffic cones. We were set on our way at 7:30pm from the town’s Montgomery Street, where a quick left took us on to Cochrane Street and another had us heading towards the Firth of Clyde. A further left turn and we were parallel to Harbour Road and making our way to the cycle path in Beach Park. Gamin beeped to inform me that the 1st k had taken 4:01, perhaps a little fast I thought. I made my way along the rolling path and glanced at my watch at the 1mile marker to see that it had taken me 6:42. At this point Natalie breezed past me, I tried to stick behind her but she opened a gap, someone, with a heavy foot step, was on my right shoulder and kept pushing me onwards. We closed the gap on Natalie but at the 2mile marker he overtook me and I saw that it was Howie Scott of Bellahouston Harriers. The second mile had taken 6:56, I’ve beaten Howie a few times and was confident that I would overtake him before the Finish. A bit further on and the lead runners were on my left, making their way back along Marine Drive. Lead cyclist, Jim Stevenson shouted words of encouragement to me as he led David Millar along the return leg. A fellow Killie Harrier also gave me verbal support on his return leg but it was to no avail as my pace dropped to 7:14 for the 3rd mile. I had overtaken a young lass (Bethan Hand) but those in front were increasing the gap. I tried to increase the pace on the way back but, even with Anthony Butler shouting support as he made his way out, my pace dropped even further to 7:23. The sun was beating down on me, the sweat was pouring down my face and my legs were tiring but I was still feeling good. Natalie and Howie were now well in front but I did manage to catch at least one runner as I maintained the 7:23 pace to cross the Finish line in 35:48. My Garmin indicated that the course had been 5:03 miles long but it’s the same course for everyone, well nearly everyone.
Despite my lack of pace, I was still shattered and took a few moments to compose myself before congratulating Howie, Natalie, Fiona et al on their runs and then supporting the remaining field as they crossed the line.
Results
A recovery run of close to a mile took me back to the Club House, where, after a quick shower and a cup of coffee and biscuit, the prizes were handed out. There were no real surprises with local athlete David Millar winning in 25:14, Kerry Liam Wilson being runner-up in 26:02 and Joe McKnight claiming third, with a time of 26:53. Billy Richardson was awarded the M40 prize, with his time of 37:49, Donald Petrie won the M50 race in 29:32, with Howie winning the M60 prize, with a time of 35:26.
In the women’s race Jacqui Thomson took Gold in 31:37, with Laura McGarrity earning Silver in 31:39 and Alison Winship Bronze in 32:45. Pam McCrossan was awarded the Vet’s prize with a time of 33:35 with Kate Todd being awarded the Super Vet prize in 36:54. Bethan won the Junior race, finishing in 36:26.
Fiona Ramsay placed 39th in 34:23 with Natalie placing 41st in 34:39, Howie placed 45th, one ahead of me. I think Toast must have dropped out, as he doesn’t appear in the results.
Reflections
There were a number of people disappointed with their performances but it didn’t take me long to get over mine, I had run my 41st race of the year, my WAVA was over 70% and I headed back up the road to Glasgow with a smile on my face.
Full Results
Full Results
Well done on the run, I found it quite a fast field last night.
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