50th 10k Celebrated with a New PB

Irvine Marymass 10k Start (Kenneth Phillips)

It was with mixed feelings that I made my way down to Irvine to participate in this year’s annual Marymass 10k road race. I ran a good race at the event last year but was feeling very tired this year and only decided to run it as it was a Kilmarnock Harriers Club Championship Race. I carbo loaded with porridge and made my way down the M77 before turning off and taking the more scenic route through Kilmaurs to the Ayrshire coastal town.

I arrived in plenty of time and was happy to receive the number 9 as my race number. As someone who loved mathematics at school, I’ve always been intrigued by the number. If you multiply it by any number and then add up the digits until there is only one number left that number is always 9. It’s what’s known as the digital root. Anyway back to the race, I chatted with loads of other runners from various clubs and some non attached runners, including Marianne Wilson from my old French class at Glasgow University. I drunk my Your Sports Fuel mixture and then warmed up as I led Bellahouston Road Runner Tom McMillan to the start of the race. The race director advised us that the event would be late in starting as there had been a sudden influx of registrations, however the local councillor and Gala Queen would need to leave for another appointment, so we staged a race Start for the local press. Once all the 211 runners were at the start line, we were advised that Scottish Athletics had measured last year’s route and it had proved to be short, so the route had been amended this year to take this into account. I knew that the Power of 10 had refused to accept athletes’ times from last year, when my endeavours had resulted in a PB of 42:19, way quicker than any other 10k I’ve raced. At 7:37pm we set off down the road, around the roundabout, up Harbour Road, past the railway station, and onward to the 1st k marker at the next roundabout. Garmin bleeped to inform me that I had taken 4:05 to reach here. I was tucked behind two runners but as I wondered momentarily if I should try to stay with them or not they sprinted ahead down the loop that had been added to the route before turning a sharp left onto the trail through the Beach Park. I found myself running at the front of a pack for much of the next, undulating, kilometre. I was overtaken by another Killie runner (John Parker?) and hoped that I would be able to catch him before the end. I was also a little disappointed that my pace had dropped to 4:19. Laura Wallace (aka Toni McIntosh’s twin sister) caught me at this stage and we ran along together for the next, slightly downhill, kilometre in a time of 4:08. I lost her over the next, slightly uphill, kilometre however I did catch up with the other Killie runner and although Al Murray overtook me, I was not at all disappointed as I knew that he was in a false position. At the turning point, I caught Ayr Seaforth’s Tom McCulloch and noticed that Alan Dempster was among the following pack. The fourth kilometre had taken me 4:19 and I was to stick at around this pace as I made my way along Marine Drive hotly pursued by Tom McCulloch and trying desperately to keep in touch with Laura ahead. The fifth kilometre took 4:20. Bella Road Runner Barry Edwards caught me and commented on how good I was running as he passed by with me struggling to breathe, never mind chat. I know how good Barry and Laura are and kept working away. The sixth kilometre took 4:19. After we rejoined the Beach Park path, I held off a strong challenge from, who I presumed to be Tom McCulloch, increasing my pace to keep in front on three occasions before I was finally overtaken, not by Tom but by Alan Dempster. The seventh kilometre took 4:19. I thought I was making up some ground on Laura but as we reached the 8k marker and Beach Drive, I could see her increasing the pace. I hard to work hard to maintain my pace here as we ran straight into a headwind. I could tell by the marshals’ comments that someone was right on my tail and I was adamant that no-one would catch me in the final stages. We turned at the roundabout and made our way along Harbour Street. The ninth kilometre had taken 4:19. The last kilometre seemed long, I was struggling, someone tried to pass me and I had to dig deep to find the energy to fend him off, I raced at a maximum pace of 3 min/k to complete the tenth and final kilometre in 4:00, a total time of 42:30. I grabbed a much needed bottle of water and slumped down beside the harbour wall before recovering enough to share mutual congratulations with my fellow runners. I had taken a remarkable 34 seconds off of my 10k PB and had achieved a wava of 74+% for the first time ever.

Concentrating on the Finish (Kenneth Phillips)

I compared notes with fellow Harriers, Michele Goldie and Brian Darroch, as we warmed down on the way back to the Irvine Sports Centre. After a cold shower, a hot coffee and more post run chat, I was just about to leave when an old school friend Jim Stevenson spotted me and we had a wee chat as the prizes were awarded. Of course I was nowhere near a prize, finishing in 70th place and 9th in my age group but I was still a happy chappy, even more so when I realised that I had achieved my new PB on my 50th 10k road race.

Huge appreciation to Les and Liz McDerment and David Mitchell for their support at various parts of the course and to all the marshals and officials who made the event such a success.

Results Here

Not So Merry at Marymass 10k

This year’s Marymass 10k was moved from its usual Wednesday night slot to Sunday morning. I’ve run a personal best on my last two attempts at the race, once when it was a short course, and was looking forward to this year’s event.

I was a bit later than planned in getting to Irvine. As I was collecting my race number the volunteer commented that he had seen my name in loads of results, at which I joked “yes but well down them”. I warmed up as I made my way to the race start at Cochrane Street with some Bellahouston Harriers and joined with the rest of the assembled runners outside the home of Irvine Victoria FC. This being a Kilmarnock Harriers Championship Race, I was surprised that there wasn’t much of a turnout from the pride of Ayrshire. Richard Skilling, David Lowdon, Brian Darroch, Ian Logan and myself from the men’s section were wearing the famous blue and white vest, whilst Kara Tait was the sole Killie Gal. Kibarchan were represented by Jim McMillan, Cat Stewart and flying machine Derek Hawkins, whilst Giffnock, Motherwell and Hamilton had one runner each: Sheila Lewis, Clare Barr and Jim Breen. Sarah Munn and Chris Clarke were there from Glasgow Uni Hare and Hounds whilst Cambuslang had Robert Gilroy and Kerry Wilson going head-to-head. Host club Irvine AC and their Ayrshire neighbours Troon Tortoises and Ayr Seaforth were all fairly well represented but again there were a number of runners noticeable by their absence. Together with a sprinkling of runners from other clubs and a number of those classified as unattached took the total number to around 130.

Race Report



After a staged ‘start’ for the local photographer we were set on our way at 11:14am. The first part of the router took us south and slightly uphill along Harbour Road and past the back of the railway station where the road veered right and headed down to Portland Roundabout. My Garmin beeped to reveal that the 1st k had taken me 4:13. “What a surprise”, I thought recalling that 4:13 seems to be the time it takes me to run the initial kilometre in a lot of my 10k races. The extended route, it was previously short, goes uphill at this point, along Beach Drive before a sharp left turn took us on to the cycle path, parallel to Marine Drive. I was disappointed but not surprised to see that my pace had dropped to 4:35. Clare was already well in front and Sheila and David Lowdon had also overtaken me. By the time that Garmin revealed that the 3rd k had taken me 4:32, I had slipped down the pack even further with Jim and Cat overtaken me. The 4th k was even worse at 4:42, Jim and Cat were increasing their lead and the only mystery was why Brian Darroch hadn’t overtaken me yet. I didn’t need to worry for long though as when I stopped to refresh myself at the water station he ran past me and turned left on to Marine Drive for the homeward leg. A guy with a yellow vest (Brian Hamilton) had also stopped for some water and as I chased after Brian Darroch, he overtook me. The 5th k had taken 4:40. I lent some encouragement to a few running buddies who I could see heading towards the turn before the road left the path at 6k. My pace had increased to 4:33 but I wasn’t having any success in closing the gap on Brian. In fact I had actually continued to slip down the field as Andy Taylor and someone else ( Darren Ramsay) had also overtaken me. I could see that Sarah Munn had dropped back a bit and I figured that I could catch her, Jim, Cat, Brian and Andy before the race ended. I made my move and caught yellow vest, Andy, Darren, Brian and just as Jim and Cat caught Sarah, I overtook all three of them. The 7th k had taken a much more respectable 4:23. I left the road and rejoined the path, there was now no-one else in sight and although I was telling myself to work hard, I could hear some runners closing in on me. My pace had dropped to 4:33. Someone cried “keep going Ian” as I rejoined Beach Drive. I could now see some other runners including David Lowdon in front and managed to increase the pace to 4:28 as I ran into a strong headwind. “It’s the same for everyone” I thought as I closed the gap slightly on at least one of the runners in front.  I lost my bearings for a second at the roundabout before a marshal shouted out “this way” and directed me onto the promenade, where I caught sight of the next runner (Neil Jeffrey).  I was chasing after him, along the cobbled road when “arghh” I felt a pain in my right knee. Jim Stevenson advised me that there was about 600m to go, as I decided to grin and bare it. “Nice smile for the camera” commented Gillian Scott as she photographed me just before the final strait. I heard my Garmin beeping as I approached the Finish and crossed the line to the sound of the timekeeper saying “ten”.  The 10th k had taken me 4:17.





Grin and Bare it



Poor Times

I couldn’t fathom why a race that had taken me 42:30 last year had taken 45:10 this year but as I congratulated the other runners a lot of them informed me that their times were also slower than usual.

 I managed a walk/jog back to the Sports Centre with Jim Breen, Sheila and Clare before showering and getting my biscuit and cup of coffee. Unfortunately Irvine is not one of those clubs renowned for its post race spread.


Winners

Derek Hawkins had, as expected, won with a new course record, whilst Robert Gilroy had out paced Kerry Wilson to earn runner-up spot. Kara Tait won the women’s race, with the departed Clare and Sheila winning the FV35 and FV45 races respectively.


Losers

With my leg growing more pain full and stiffer by the minute, I headed back up the M77 for an extremely late brunch and some painkillers before heading back to bed.

Poor Me

Today I can hardly walk, never mind run but I did manage the short cycle into work, hopefully I’ll recover soon as I have a number of races scheduled in the near future, including: the Glasgow Half; the Around Cumbrae 10miler and the Great North Half.



Full Results (to follow)

Great Scott Photos





IRVINE AC Marymass 10 K Road Race 21 August 2011- Full Results

Kilbarchan's Derek Hawkins ran a PB to set a new course record of 30:33 but others faired less well in slightly humid and windy conditions at Irvine AC's Marymass 10k held for the first time on a Sunday morning.  Kilmarnock Harrier, Kara Tait won the women's race in a time of 37:55.  The event attracted some 130 runners, significantly down on last year's 211, so don't be too surprised if it reverts back to its previous mid week schedule in 2012.

Posn No Name Cat Club Time
1 48 Derek Hawkins M Kilbarchan AAC 30:33
2 102 Robert Gilroy M Cambuslang 32:10
3 119 Kerry Liam Wilson M40 Cambuslang 32:12
4 128 Jamie Findlay M Irvine AC 34:39
5 120 Billy Richardson M40 Irvine AC 34:54
6 77 Steven Reid M Ayr Seaforth 35:13
7 17 Duncan Cochrane M Unaffiliated 35:18
8 104 Andy Campbell M Bellahouston Harriers 35:42
9 4 Ross Bark M Galloway Harriers 36:21
10 126 Pat Cullinane M Irvine AC 36:53
11 27 Brian Douglas M Bellahouston Harriers 37:27
12 133 James Breen M40 Hamilton Harriers 37:55
13 129 Kara Tait F Kilmarnock harriers 37:55
14 51 John Houston M Unaffiliated 38:00
15 16 Chris Clarke M Glas Uni Hares & Hounds 38:46
16 131 Martin McCrurie M FSR 39:10
17 115 Claire McArthur F Unaffiliated 39:14
18 137 Laurence Baker M50 Ayr Seaforth 39:16
19 132 Stuart McLean M FSR 39:33
20 90 Allan Wallace M Unaffiliated 39:34
21 50 Ian Hodge M Unaffiliated 39:34
22 61 Stuart Maclean M Unaffiliated 39:37
23 110 Jim Sneddon M40 Irvine AC 39:46
24 10 John Brown M Unaffiliated 39:50
25 130 Ruairidh MacDonald M Bellahouston Harriers 40:10
26 44 Gordon Gray M Unaffiliated 40:16
27 109 Gordon Thomson M40 Irvine AC 40:21
28 123 Paul Turnbull M40 Ayr Seaforth 40:43
29 143 Peter Laing M50 Ayr Seaforth 40:51
30 82 Alastair Skelton M Unaffiliated 40:52
31 83 William Smith M Unaffiliated 41:10
32 69 Harry Mulholland M40 Lothian RC 41:19
33 66 Melissa Wylie F45 Unaffiliated 41:32
34 37 Garry Gilmour M Unaffiliated 41:54
35 24 Derek Hill M40 Troon Tortoises 41:56
36 25 Gerry Dodds M40 Kilmarnock Harriers 42:18
37 47 Linda Hardy F Unaffiliated 42:21
38 84 Lyall Smith M Fusion Triathlon Club 42:27
39 76 Fiona Ramsay F Fusion Triathlon Club 42:27
40 94 Ewan Wilson M Unaffiliated 42:33
41 116 Richard Skillen M Kilmarnock harriers 42:51
42 3 Jordi Ballonga M Unaffiliated 43:00
43 5 Clare Barr F35 Motherwell AC 43:02
44 42 Stuart Gray M Unaffiliated 43:03
45 105 Craig Brown M Troon Tortoises 43:10
46 99 Digby Maas M60 Carnethy HRC 43:10
47 7 Michael Bowen M Unaffiliated 43:11
48 121 Tom Coughtrie M50 Jog Scotland 43:30
49 98 Mike Flinn M50 Irvine AC 43:41
50 100 Matthew Watson M Ron's Runners 43:43
51 58 Sheila Lewis F45 Giffnock North 43:48
52 96 Greg Dimmer M40 Unaffiliated 43:52
53 134 James Payne M Unaffiliated 44:00
54 59 David Lowdon M50 Kilmarnock Harriers 44:07
55 33 Kenneth Fowler M40 Troon Tortoises 44:12
56 127 Graeme McFarlane M Unaffiliated 44:14
57 142 Rhona Simpson F35 Unaffiliated 44:27
58 6 Paul Bennie M40 Kilmarnock Harriers 44:34
59 46 Scott Hanvey M Unaffiliated 44:43
60 32 Denise Forbes F35 Unaffiliated 44:45
61 62 Stephen Maher M Unaffiliated 44:47
62 54 Neil Jeffrey M40 Unaffiliated 45:05
63 38 Ian Goudie M50 Kilmarnock Harriers 45:10
64 140 Brian Hamilton M Unaffiliated 45:15
65 113 Darren Ramsay M Unaffiliated 45:16
66 112 Andy Taylor M50 Unaffiliated 45:29
67 151 Brian Darroch M40 Kilmarnock harriers 45:41
68 117 Ian McIlwraith M Unaffiliated 45:43
69 85 Catherine Stewart F Kilbarchan AAC 45:46
70 111 James McMillan M60 Kilbarchan AAC 45:51
71 150 David James M Unaffiliated 45:55
72 67 Christine Milne F35 Lothian RC 45:56
73 45 Fraser Hanvey M40 Unaffiliated 46:06
74 136 Robert Young M60 Clydesdale Harriers 46:16
75 103 Tom Gillespie M50 Jog Scotland 46:24
76 118 Gillian Geates f45 Ayr Seaforth 46:32
77 70 Sarah Munn F Glas Uni Hares & Hounds 46:35
78 60 Lesley Lynn F Unaffiliated 47:15
79 72 Stuart Murray M40 Kilmarnock harriers 47:28
80 92 Marianne Wilson F Unaffiliated 47:31
81 139 Mark Alexander M Unaffiliated 47:35
82 80 Christopher Scott M Unaffiliated 47:35
83 71 Darren Murray M Bellahouston Harriers 47:37
84 57 Dougie Lambie M40 Unaffiliated 47:38
85 148 Colin Hunter M Kilwinning S.C 47:51
86 43 Laura Gray F Unaffiliated 47:52
87 101 Colin Knox M Unaffiliated 47:55
88 135 Jim Dyet M50 Unaffiliated 48:08
89 34 Lesley Gilchrist F35 Unaffiliated 48:15
90 52 Alan Inglis M Unaffiliated 48:17
91 35 Calum Gilchrist M Unaffiliated 48:49
92 138 John Speirs M50 Unaffiliated 48:59
93 18 Gordon Cowie M50 Unaffiliated 49:03
94 108 Bernard Brown M50 Triathlone Ireland 49:19
95 1 Tariq Abdullah M Garscube Harriers 49:23
96 8 Suzanne Boyle F Bellahouston Harriers 49:33
97 89 Mike Turner M40 Unaffiliated 49:42
98 93 Joshua Wilson M Unaffiliated 49:47
99 91 Clare Wells F45 Unaffiliated 50:24
100 147 Craig Simpson M50 Unaffiliated 50:33
101 125 Jessica Gorman F Bellahouston Harriers 50:49
102 78 James Rowley M60 Law & District AAC 50:58
103 40 Scott Graham M jogscotland Cumbernauld 51:05
104 29 David Fernandes M Unaffiliated 51:18
105 114 Harry Sutton M50 Unaffiliated 51:22
106 122 Ian Logan M40 Kilmarnock harriers 51:28
107 75 Stuart Radcliffe M40 Unaffiliated 51:31
108 145 Darren Ridout M Unaffiliated 51:39
109 41 Craig Graham M Unaffiliated 51:43
110 149 Moira Connell f45 Troon Tortoises 51:54
111 64 Craig McLaughlin M Unaffiliated 52:17
112 124 James Winningham M40 Unaffiliated 52:31
113 68 Allan Moore M Paisley Jogging Buddies 52:44
114 144 Gary Cochran M40 Unaffiliated 53:26
115 86 Alan Strange M Unaffiliated 54:59
116 2 Hazel Anderson F35 Unaffiliated 55:28
117 14 Sam Cathcart M60 Unaffiliated 55:44
118 81 Pauline Selvey F35 Unaffiliated 56:19
119 141 John Hutchinson M Unaffiliated 57:20
120 12 Jacqueline Cairnie F35 Unaffiliated 58:35
121 79 Hazel Scott F Unaffiliated 59:15
122 19 Dorothy Cowie F45 Unaffiliated 60:03
123 55 Elaine Kean F35 Unaffiliated 60:53
124 107 Stewart Smith M50 Unaffiliated 61:53
125 95 William Drysdale M60 Law & District AAC 62:44
126 13 Joan Carrigan F55 Unaffiliated 65:42
127 88 Christine Tod F45 Unaffiliated 66:01
128 53 Jane Hill F35 Troon Tortoises 69:24
129 106 Derek Amson M40 Muller Running Club 69:37

130 39 Janine Graham F35 jogscotland Cumbernauld 70:04

Strathclyde parkrun #69

I’m running in the Marymass 10k in Irvine on Sunday 21 August so I had planned a rest day for Saturday.  I responded positively to a tweet from Strathclyde parkrun, who were still seeking volunteers late in the week and headed along the new motorway to Motherwell on Saturday morning.  I met up with the other volunteers and 131 runners in the morning sunshine.  After a warm up and a few pre race announcements the runners were set on their way around the Loch, whilst the volunteers prepared for their return.

I had quite an easy task, handing out the bar coded numbers to the runners as they completed their race, of course, as well as the tokens, I also gave them a few congratulatory words for their efforts.  Although the runners are of mixed abilities the expression on their faces, throughout the field, told a story of effort and enthusiasm.

It was no surprise to me that, now recovered from his Tour of Clydeside success, Kirkintilloch Olympian David Gardiner was the recipient of token 001.  David’s time of 16:59 was 52seconds quicker than runner-up Brian Carrigan, who earned a PB with 17:51.  Teenager Anthony Edgar claimed third spot, with a time of 18:46.  In the women’s race it was Tri-athlete, Naj D’Silva, of Optima Racing Team, who placed first with a PB of 20:07.  In Silver place was Richmond based Karen Weir, completing her 91^st parkrun but her first at Strathclyde.  The Ranlelagh Harrier completing the flat course in a time of 21:53.  Junior Elizabeth Edgar earned Bronze with her time of 23:17.

It was that man Gardiner again that topped the wava stakes with an 81.55 % ranking.

There were some 23 first timers at Strathclyde Park this week and a total of 32 runners went home with new course PBs.  Well done to each and every one of the runners and to all the volunteers who make the event run so smoothly.  If you’re not racing one week then please think about volunteering.

You can get a flavour of what the Strathclyde parkrun is all about in Mike Wards' parkrun-the movie.  

Results 

Rain Soaked Irvine Doesn't Dampen my Delight at a New PB!

The Irvine Marymass 10k road race, held on Wednesday August 19, was my 49th race of 2009 and my first ever race in Irvine. It’s a town that I used to know well, I used to cycle there from Stewarton. I wasn’t sure if I would do this race. I wasn’t feeling great, I’d managed a 30 min nap at lunch time and again after work and reckoned that I might be ok by the time the race started. I made my way down the misty and rain kissed M77, I somehow managed to find the Irvine Sports Centre. There were cars parked everywhere and the rain was bucketing down, I spotted Chris and Ellen, abandoned, oops sorry parked, the car and quickly ran into the Race HQ. After registering, changing and what constituted as a warm up, I lined up with the other 123 runners at the start of the race.

I started behind Laura Cairns, Paula Wilson and Erica Christie and in front of Brian Darroch. The race is advertised as a flat and fast course, so I was surprised to find myself running slightly uphill on the road for the first kilometre. I was feeling good and had overtaken Paula but I was still pleasantly surprised to see that I had clocked the first kilometre in four minutes. At this point the route joined the cycle path on the edge of the Irvine Beach Park. I made my way steadily along the slightly rolling course keeping my eye on the runners in front, however Paula caught me at the start of a hill at around 3k. I followed her up the hill and managed to sit in behind her as we made away along the course. She was receiving a lot of encouragement from the poor marshals standing around in the pouring rain and I also took some support from this. The route turned around at 4.5 k and as we joined the higher up road to head back, I was surprised to see Brian Darroch not too far behind us. The road left the cycle track between 5.5 and 6.5k. Although I felt that I could overtake Paula along this section, I decided not to, instead settling to sit tightly behind her. At 8k we passed the junction for the start and Paula started to work hard, I dug deep to keep close to her. She seemed to know where she was going and we were passing a few runners, so I was happy enough with that. At about 8.7k the route turned onto the seafront and headed along the promenade. I had been told that the race finished outside the Magnum Leisure Centre and presumed that we would turn into the right at some point. Paula was starting to pull away as we overtook Irvine’s Jim White and started to catch a group of four or five other runners. I was anticipating a turn to our left towards the Magnum but it never happened and we continued to run in the mist and rain along the seafront. I could now see a crowd of people and soon realised that this was the Finish Line as Jim White shot past me and I made my way over the line.
I stopped my Garmin at 42:18:21 and was ecstatic at getting a new PB by such a large margin. This was only my fourth time below 44 mins, one was last week at Pollok Park when I clocked 43:59, the other was Run with the Wind in Strathaven in November 2008 and the first time was when I set my previous PB of 43:04 at the Jack Crawford in January 2008, some nineteen months ago.

I looked for Pauline to thank her for a great run but she wasn’t there, instead I congratulated Laura Cairns, Jim White and Brian Darroch who had managed to take more than one minute off of his PB. Loads of people had enjoyed a great run and we chatted briefly before making our way back to the Sports Centre for a warm shower and hot cup of tea. After thanking Paula and congratulating Alan, Connell, Kerry, Robert, David, Claire, Sarah, Alison and others on their great runs and PBs, I made my way back up through the heavy rain and mist of the Fenwick Moors to Glasgow where some hot food and red wine capped a successful night.

My published time was 42:19. This didn’t take any shine off of my delight at beating my PB by 45 seconds, although the lack of photographers to capture the moment may have. Instead I've had to settle for a diagram of the course provided by Chris Upson.

Results

Glasgow parkrun #122 and Birthday Cake

I ran the Glasgow parkrun #122 on Saturday. My target was to improve on last week’s time of 21:48.  I started off fairly cautiously and was just behind Erica Christie for the first kilometre or so. I overtook her on the right and increased the speed a bit before turning left into the woods and the first hill. I noticed fellow Killie fan, Stephen Jones and his wife Caroline, both adorned in their blue Maryhill Harriers vests, in front of me. I managed to narrowly beat both of them at the Marymass 10k last year, when I PB’d with 42:30. However since then I’ve noticed both their times have been improving. Stephen has run a 41:54 10k and Caroline isn’t that far behind having timed 42:11. It wasn’t that long until I had lost sight of Stephen and Caroline was but a dot in the distance.


Encouraged by the shouts of encouragement by the merry band of marshals and supporters, who help to make the parkrun such a success, I kept to my task of trying to run faster than last week. I increased the pace in the second lap, with Caroline some eight or nine places ahead and started to reel in, one by one, the runners in front of me. I always used to struggle on the hills but not so often these days and it gives me so much confidence when I overtake people on them. At the top of the last hill there were still a few people between us but by the time we reached the final 200m downhill section, I was only two places behind. I thought for a moment that I might catch her but it wasn’t to be and she finished with a time of 21:20, with me two seconds behind in 62nd place out of 400.


As we congratulated each other, Stephen appeared from the bushes. He had run a great time of 20:23 but had been rewarded with a bout of vomiting. I guess that can happen if you really push yourself. Garmin revealed that my Heart Rate had increased throughout the 5k and had averaged 155.


I was happy to have taken 26 seconds off of last week’s time.  In all of my 63 Glasgow parkruns, I’ve only completed four of them quicker than on Saturday. However there is still a lot of room for improvement.


Race Results
As far as the elites were concerned there were some great performances and PBs from both the local Bellahouston Clubs, who between them claimed 9 of the top 15 places. First over the line was Westerlands’ Niall McAlinden, with a PB of 16:39, followed by the first of the Bella’s, Road Runner Liam Conway in 17:16. Greenock’s Michael McLoone’s PB of 17:23 was rewarded with third spot.

Women's Results
In the women’s race, pride of place went to Clydeside Orienteer Jana Jurackova, who placed first in 20:12, ahead of Motherwell’s Clare Barr in 20:57, with Caroline’s time of 21:20 securing her third place in her first outing.

Full Results

Photos

Post Race Birthday Cake

The après race was even better than usual this week as we helped Suzanne McMahon celebrate her 40th birthday with coffee and various cakes.