Turkey Trots....... Mine's a Double!

Despite having stuffed myself with way too much food and cheap plonk at my brother’s on Christmas Day, I didn’t sleep very well on Christmas night as the howling, gale force winds woke me up every two hours or so.  There’s no way that I was going to be able to run a 10k race with these preparations, I thought and checked my training plan, to discover that I had a 5 mile run scheduled.  I could maybe do the Turkey Trot 5k I thought and checked the Start time and the previous results, which revealed that the Start would be at 11:15 and that around 100 runners might be participating.  With my camera packed, so that I could take some photos of the 10k, which followed at noon, I made my way down the M77 to Burns Country.

I was surprised, to see that there were so many 10k runners arriving at the same time as me, including an early turnout from Kilmarnock Harriers.  Club mate Ken Wales informed me that he was also doing the 5k, as were Sarah and Emily Munn and Toni, running her second race in two days.

It was also good to see Douglas Alexander MP participating in the festive frolics.

Take One

I knew that the forecast had been for 25mph winds.  As I warmed up, I soon appreciated just how strong the winds would actually feel.  These were some of the windiest conditions that I had raced in, I thought as I joined the throng of runners on the wind swept esplanade. 

I was a bit surprised that I wasn’t able to stay with Ken Wales as he raced away from me from the very Start.  Toni started cautiously but it wasn’t long until she passed me quipping “you won’t beat me today Ian”.  I was then overtaken by a group of three runners, all dressed in black.  As they too opened up a gap on me, I recalled a previous year, when I was running the 10k, hearing Jimmy Irvine bellowing at me to catch up and run with the group.  I increased the pace and soon settled in with the threesome.  I knew that I could run faster than the pace that they were setting but it seemed like a daft thing to do, when I wasn’t chasing a time and the gap in front to Ken’s group was some 200metres or so.  Better, I thought, to conserve my energy and catch them in the second half.

There were times when had to close one eye and even both eyes, as the sand was blowing into my face.  A cheap way to get an exfoliation, I thought. 

5k pic by Kenny Phillips

We turned around a marshal at 2.5k and thankfully the wind was now behind us.  However I wasn’t the only one who increased the pace.  The pack of three split, when the female in the group (Christine Kling?) made her break, but the other two Chris McDermott, his personal trainer John Docherty and Ken, in front, were not for making it easy for me.  I managed to catch them at 3.3k and, just as I was wondering if I should pass them or not, a surge of wind caught me and I found myself in front of all three. 

I could see how strong Toni was running ahead of me and decided to focus on her, rather than the challenge of Ken behind me.  The woman in black (Christine Kling?) pulled over with a loose lace and then a runner with a GBR vest pulled up.  I was feeling good though and increased the pace with Toni in my sights.  I saw her looking over her shoulders and I knew that I had a chance, with the Ayr supporters screaming at her not to be overtaking by me, I sprinted down the last strait and crossed the line in front of her in 22^nd place, with a time of 22:12.

Splits: 4:43; 4:59; 4:35; 4:03; 3:52

Take Two

As I made my way back to the Citadel a number of people asked me if I was doing the 10k , “of course I am” I jokingly responded.  However as the hall emptied, I thought “Why not”, quickly filled in another entry form, pinned on my new race number and ran back to the Start Line just in time for the Off.  I joined in with the 10k runners as we battled against the head wind.  I hadn’t fuelled up for a 10k race, never mind a 10+5k race so I was happy to tuck in behind a slow pack and enjoy the race at a slower pace than normal.

 

The wind and the sand didn’t feel quite as bad the second time round.  As I reached the 2.5k point, Louie Plenderleith appeared over my shoulder and, knowing that I had run the 5k too, said “you’re mad, Ian” as he ran past me. 

The route then turned left, along the river path and gave us some respite from the wind. Another left, past the car showroom and along the road we headed.

Pic by Liz Mcderment

It wasn’t that long until we met the elites, making their way back, led by in form Stuart Gibson.  I applauded Stuart and shouted words of encouragement to the others as I ran along.  It wasn’t long though until a marshal directed me left and back into the wind.  A right turn and as I looked up to acknowledge Connell Drummond’s support, I could see Stuart flying along the esplanade with the wind in his back.

Pic by Andrew Scott

Another right turn took me past the 5k point and I was soon back on the road and heading back.  I was now offering support to the slower runners as they made their way towards the 4k mark.  I caught Louie at around 5.5k.  I was enjoying my race, increasing the pace slightly every kilometre and reeling in other runners as I did. We got the benefit of the wind behind us for the last 3k, or so.

I had another Killie Harrier (Brian McManus) in my sights and managed to catch him at 9k, I managed to get away from him as I completed the final kilometre in less than 4mins, to cross the line in 48:13.  I placed 127 out of 247 finishers and supported a number of other runners completing their final 200metres before heading back to the Citadel to shelter from the wind and enjoy some fine post race banter and an excellent Boxing Day buffet.

Splits: 4:51; 5:32; 5:06; 5:03; 4:55; 4:51; 4:49; 4:41; 4:27; 3:58

I really enjoyed both races and I think that my splits show that I ran quite intelligently.  I received loads of support in both races and in particular the 10k where Connell Drummond and Ken Wales kept popping up to offer me words of encouragement.  Huge thanks from me to my fellow runners, the marshals and the photographers who all helped for a great couple of races.

Races 66 and 67 in the bag, mine’s a double!

Results


Photos

Christmas parkrun

I was still feeling a bit rough on Christmas Eve, so I resisted the temptation to go out and settled for a couple of glasses of vin rouge before retiring.  I still wasn’t 100% on Christmas Day as the dreaded ‘second day hangover’ took control of my body but of course this wouldn’t stop me completing another parkrun.  I was surprise that over 100 other runners appeared at Pollok Park for the morning 5k, including speed merchants Luke Traynor and Jethro Lennox as well as Ayr’s Toni McIntosh making her return to running after a lengthy period out injured.

My VLM training schedule had me down to run 3miles, so a wee 5k would do fine and enable me to tick off day 25 of the Marcothon. 

The Finish  ...Pic by Chris Cue

I was feeling a lot better than the day before but didn’t want to overdo it, as I knew I was racing at Ayr the next day.  I thought about taking it easy and running at 5min/k pace but then thought that it would be good if I could take a couple of seconds off of yesterday’s time of 23:20.  I ran along chatting with Angela Campbell for the first mile, before she dropped off the pace a little.  I was surprised to see that Martin Myant wasn’t far in front as I made my way round the course at a constant pace.  Angela kept me in her sights and as I crossed the line in 34^th place, with a time of 23:18, I was pleased to see that she finished immediately behind me in 23:19.  Job done as far as I was concerned but Angela was upset, as she thought that she had worked hard and had hoped to take more than 4 seconds off of her time.  I did point out that the conditions were harder and in particular the strong wind would have slowed most runners.  It will be interesting to see if Run Britain confirms this or not.  Especially as Luke and Jethro didn’t seem to be too effected, crossing the line in an incredible 15:22 and 17:05 respectively.  Toni placed 40^th but her goal was just to make it around the course without any reoccurrence of her injury.

Post Race with Al, Toni and Jim

With the Burrell closed, many of the runners and volunteers had brought along hot drinks, cakes and chocolates to share.  It was just a bit of a shame that the cold wind didn’t make for amenable conditions for standing around chatting.

I had run my 90^th parkrun and my 65^th race of the year.

Results

Photos

Rough Running on Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas but I’m not a Christian……..which doesn’t really matter as the festival is actually an old Pagan one, which the Christians adopted and capitalism exploited.  Of course it’s always a good reason for families to get together, for better or worse, and the running family is no exception.  The kind volunteers at Glasgow parkrun put on their usual Saturday morning event and will follow up on Xmas Day with another, whilst my hometown of Ayr puts on the Turkey Trot races on Boxing Day.  Oh as well as running there are parties and other festivities too and of course holidays from work.

I’ve been on holiday since close of business on Thursday and put Friday to good use, running a steady state 10mile run as part of my London Marathon training and the Marcothon too.  This was the furthest I’ve ran since 22 September and I was pleased with my consistency as I maintained a 5min/k pace throughout the run.  I had to hit the shops later on in the day and the madness was enough to remove any doubts that I may have had about going to Sammy Dows.  I had an excellent night being entertained by the Dangerous Brothers.  However I must have had too many pints of the black stuff and I was feeling very rough on Saturday morning, I was nearly sick as I brushed my teeth, so the only thing for it was to head along to Pollok Park for my 89^th parkrun. 

Despite the overnight wind and rain, there were loads of running buddies participating with almost 300 runners, some of them dressed in their Santa outfits or hats.  I managed a warm up without being sick and settled in somewhere near the middle of the pack for the race start.  I found myself running along with former referee Kenny Clark for a while, before bidding him good luck as either he increased his pace or I slowed, at about 800m into the course.  “I’m sure you’ll catch me later” he said as he ran ahead.  I was then joined by, former Bellahouston Road Runner club mate, Louie Plenderleith and then Norman Boyle.  It was as if we had turned the clock back as we ran along together.  Norman took the lead, with Louie and then me.  However as we turned left and started up hill, just after 2k, I took the lead.  I was pleasantly surprised to be overtaking by, the much improved, Angela Campbell at this point. 

Angela, Norman and rough me......

I was feeling rough as Norman overtook me on the downhill section but with him, Angela and Kenny all ahead of me, I had plenty of targets to keep me going.  I caught Kenny at about the same spot as he had left me in the first lap.  I then found myself running at the same pace as a man and woman (Katrina Kynaston?) who were running together.  The three of us passed Angela on the downhill section just before turning left. I could see Norman ahead and the gap between us decreased as we ran the final kilometre.  I was quite happy to finish behind him until the final downhill 100metres, when I sprinted towards the finish.  Although I did catch other runners, Norman must have heard me and sprinted the last 10metres or so, holding out both his arms as he crossed the line just in front of me. 

I congratulated Norman and Angela before finding a tree to be sick behind and then making my way to the barcode scanning area where I shared congratulations with Louie and Kenny before doing my warm down and getting my daily mileage up to 5miles, as per my training schedule. 

It was good to see so many runners and volunteers in the Burrell for post race coffee and chat.   

I had placed 94^th with a time of 23:20, had completed the 24^th day of the Marcothon, and had run my 64th race of 2011.  Once again huge thanks to everyone for making it a great wee race and congratulations to Stuart Gibson for winning with a new course PB of 15:29!!

Results 

Photos

Blue Skies and Black Ice

‘Twas a gorgeous winter morning in Glasgow today, the sky was blue and the sun was shining, however these conditions are usually accompanied by low temperatures and today was to be no exception.  The temperatures had plummeted over night and yesterday’s melted snow had turned to black ice.  The attempted early morning inspection of the Glasgow parkrun course revealed that not only was the usual route too dangerous to run but that the roads into Pollok Park itself were also extremely hazardous.  The unusual decision to cancel the event was taken at about 8:30am and tweeted to the nation. 

View from my flat

My Plan B was to go to Strathclyde parkrun and congratulate Ross Goodman as he completed his 1000^th kilometre of the year.  However, despite my four wheel drive option, my car was unable to make it up the 200m of black ice which would have taking me to the relative safety of Pollokshaws Road and on my way to Motherwell.

Instead, I had to abandon the car, make my way home and opt for Plan C, a run along the road of at least 3miles to qualify me for day 17 of the Marcothon. 

The other view from my flat

I carefully negotiated my way over the ice and snow, the pavement being slightly less risky than the road, and was rewarded by a well gritted, and relatively quiet A77.  I made my way along through Shawlands, where I could use the salted pavements, towards the Pollok Avenue entrance to the park.  The safety of the pavement decreased between Shawlands and Bar 1901, where there was no option but to resort to running on the road.  My initial assessment of Pollok Ave was that it wasn’t that bad, however it didn’t take me long to realise that my feet were sliding as I reached the ice.  I heard a voice saying “Is it a bit slippy” and turned to see the only other runner that I would see this morning………………………..Jacqui Thomson!  I advised her that the parkrun had been cancelled but, like me, she was content to get a run under her belt.  Her trainers had more grip than mine, so I decided to return to the safety of Pollokshaws Road and head back towards home.  Whilst the run would have been about 4 miles and more than enough for the Marcothon, I decided to add another couple of miles and turned around at the junction with Moss-side Road.  This time as I ran down the road CatrionaGourlay, waiting in her car at the red light, called my name and we chatted about the cancellation and the underfoot conditions.  I, and thousands of others, are indebted to Catriona, Richard Leyton and the other core parkrun volunteers who give up so much of their time, in all weather, so that runners can have a Saturday morning 5k.

This time, I turned right and ran along Haggs Road, where the entrance/exit to Pollok Park was worse than Pollok Ave, with the road being covered by black ice.  Again, I turned around and rejoined the main road and ran back towards Shawlands, a detour onto Victoria Road took me over 10k, my target for the day.  A cagey warm down over the black ice and snow took me to the warmth of my home and an earlier than usual but no less deserved cooked brunch. 

Not a bad start to the weekend. It’s great being a runner!

Running in Holiday Mode

It was my office Xmas party on Friday so I wasn’t expecting to be in any great state for racing on Saturday.  With that in mind, I gave the West of Scotland Cross Country Championships a miss, deciding instead to bag another parkrun.  However, I felt surprisingly good on Saturday morning and was confident that I would improve on my last outing.  Unfortunately though, the weather was not conducive to fast times, with black ice and puddles making the course even more difficult than usual.  Race Director, for the day, Campbell Joss wisely advised the runners to “save our PBs for another day”.

Jacqui Thomson

I had a wee chat with Jacqui Thomson during my warm up and she advised me that as well as coming back from an operation, she was also suffering from a cold.  Despite her handicaps, I was surprised to find her running on my shoulder for the first third of the race.  She never said anything but she did seem to have a surprised look on her face when, rather than run around two runners, I shouted “runner coming through” and they moved out of my way.  We were running at 4:16 pace and on a very good day I might have been able to maintain that but running along side someone who has completed the course in 18:47 was a bit intimidating and rather than using Jacqui’s presence as a spur to a good performance, I did my usual and took my foot of the pedal a bit.  That said, I thought I was still having a good enough run and was making my way slowly up through the field.  I was just about to increase my pace for the final kilometre, when I noticed that the two runners that had let me pass them in the first lap were on my shoulder, there was no way that I was going to let them pass me.  I focussed on a guy in white in front and managed to catch another few runners before sprinting down the final 200m to cross the line in 22:31 in 39^th place.

As usual I shared congratulations with the runners around me.  The two guys had actually been father and son and they both complimented me, not only on my race but also my running style.  The dad, Graeme Pert, was delighted to have run a PB of 22:45, taking 8 seconds off of his previous best time and asked me if I could take a photo for them to mark the occasion.  For my part, I was disappointed with my time but delighted to have finished so far up the, albeit depleted, field of 162 runners.

My time was actually the same as my chip time last Sunday, which to be fair was on an easier course.  I had improved last week’s Glasgow parkrun time by 12 seconds but if I had worked a bit harder it could have been much more.  However I had chalked off another day in the 31 day Marcothon and my 63^rd race of 2011 not too bad given that I am kind of in ‘holiday mode’ with my London Marathon Training scheduled to begin on 18 December.  

Once again, huge thanks to my fellow runners, the supporters and in particular the marshals and other volunteers who seemed to be in fine fettle despite it being such a cold morning. 
Full results

Snow Photo

I've tried a few times to capture snow falling with the camera with little success to date but I think this one works quite well:

Cracker of a Race @Strathclyde Park

I had a good night at Sammys on Saturday, revelling in Killie’s win against Rangers last Sunday and being entertained by The Strangers, who put on their usual great show.  I probably drank too much of Arthur Guinness’s famous Stout during the night and I couldn’t resist topping the night off with a warming glass of Glayva.  Not surprisingly, I slept well but woke in plenty of time to make my way to Strathclyde Park for the Jogscotland 2011 Christmas Cracker 5k Challenge.  My thinking being that I’d need to run a minimum of three miles anyway to fulfil the requirements of the Marcothon. 

Festive Jammy Henshite

I was a bit surprised, when I arrived at the race, to find that Jim Buick and John Owens had travelled through from , snow bound, Edinburgh for the event but not at all surprised to see that, fresh from his 50^th parkrun, John Smith was in attendance, as was his lovely partner Moira Nicol and a number of other Jammys. I, of course, had my Jammy Henshite t-shirt on.  It was good to see Gerry Gallacher and Sarah Whalen, who had replaced their moustaches, of two weeks ago, with Santa outfits.  

 I hadn’t pre-registered and although the organisers had extra race chips, they didn’t have any extra numbers.  Instead they wrote my number (359) on a piece of A4 yellow paper, with a felt tip pen.  I fitted the chip to my running shoe and pinned the number on to my Jammy vest before doing my usual pre-race warm up routine.  I then made my way with the others to the Start Line, which was about 1k around the loch.  I said to Moira that although I had heard that the route had been changed due to some flooding, the weather conditions were almost perfect for running. 

Unfortunately the race didn’t kick off at the scheduled 11am but at 11:10, by which time the sky had darkened and a cold wind had appeared.  One minute into the race, things got worse as a heavy fall of sleet greeted us as we ran into the headwind.  “It will be behind you on the way back” cried a marshal as I tucked myself in behind another runner. 

The first kilometre took me 4:22, which I was happy enough with, as I usually shoot off too quickly.  I thought that it would be quite good to place first M50 but when I saw John Owens up ahead; I decided that I wasn’t going to race against him today.  I overtook a tiny lass, who later returned the favour, but she looked that young that it just didn’t feel right to race against her.  Instead I settled into my own pace and ran, rather than raced around the loch.  The wind died down and the sleet abated, there were a few puddles to negotiate and a bit of an incline around 4k but nothing severe enough to decrease my enjoyment.  Not surprisingly, the conditions had a bigger impact on my impromptu number.  Initially the ink had started to run but that wouldn’t matter much as the wet sleet took its toll on the thin paper and finally the wind blew it off my chest, leaving the naked safety pins in place.

Decent Goody Bag

A fairly young lad caught me with about half a kilometre to go, I increased the pace slightly and managed a bit of a sprint in the final strait, to cross the line in a time of 22:35.  The volunteers removed my chip for me and rewarded me with a decent goody bag and t-shirt.  I shared congratulations with a Clydesdale Harrier, who had finished behind me, before joining in with the other finishers.  I was wary of catching another cold, so I didn’t hang about too long after the race but got changed into some dry clothes and trainers and warmed down on the way back to my car.  As I left the park, I could see a number of others making their way along their final few hundred metres.  My friendly car horn beeps were met with smiling faces and waves of appreciation.  I had fulfilled day four of the Marcothon, had run a reasonable race, my 62^nd of 2011, had met up with some old and some new friends and had supported a worthwhile cause, all before noon.  It’s great to be a runner! 

UPDATE: Chip Time 22:31
It transpires that the 'tiny lass' was Heather Fawcett U13, who runs for Kilbarchan AC; the fairly young lad was 'Rory Harkins'; John Owens is younger than he looks and is only a M45, meaning that I was the 1st M50 (22nd overall); and the Clydesdale Harrier was Al Kerr.

Full Results here

Jammy Billy's Photos here

Marcothon, Mojo and Music

 My cold(s) and injury, combined with the terrible weather and demands of my new job had curtailed my running in November.  In fact I hadn’t run, cycled or swam since the Movember Run on Sunday, 20 November.  This isn’t a disaster as I’ve had a good year and I probably needed a rest before starting my London Marathon Training Schedule on 18 December.   

I wasn’t able to do the Marcothon last year as I was in transit between Thailand and Glasgow for over 24 hours and wasn’t able to run whilst flying.  The challenge being to run a minimum of 3 miles or 25 mins every day in December.  I’m not sure if I agree with the whole Ron Hill concept of running every day, arguing instead that rest is an important part of any training plan.  However I had lost my mojo in late November and was prepared to use anything to motivate me to get the trainers on and head out for a run in the dark and wet winter nights of old Glasgow toun.  So on Wednesday 1 December, after returning from a meeting at Ayr College, I donned my trainers, leggings, long sleeved vest and gloves and headed out for a slow 3.63 mile run in 32:23.  Of course I rewarded myself on Thursday night with a few pints in Sammy Dowe's, where I had the pleasure of chatting with percussionist legend RayWeston after he performed two numbers with host band Independence. 

Unassuming Ray Weston @sammys

Friday was a holiday to mark St Andrew’s Day and I headed out for a similar run, although this time I increased the pace for the middle kilometre and completed 3.74 miles in 31:30.

I had wanted to support the Glasgow University Hares andHounds 5 mile race on Saturday but didn’t feel that I was ready for it and settled for the Glasgow parkrun’s third anniversary instead, my 75^th .  I didn’t want to push myself too much but found myself sandwiched for much of the race between Martin Myant and Killie Women’s captain, Liz McDerment, Bella Harrier Jennifer Clark, having overtaken me at the 3k mark, much to my relief as she was making me work too hard. I took the foot off the gas for the 4^th k but increased it slightly in the last kilometre to cross the line in 68^th position, with a time of 22:42. 

After sharing mutual congratulations with my fellow runners, I introduced, first woman, Paula Wilson to Jennifer, who plays in the band Horse, which Paula is a big fan of and was actually going to see on Saturday night.

A short warm down and I made my way to a packed Burrell to get changed into some dry clothes and enjoy some post race chatting, a hot cup of coffee and some birthday cake.  Congratulations to John Gilhooly, who won the men’s annual points league and his female counterpart, who’s name I didn’t catch.  In fact I didn’t catch much of, Race Director, Richard Leyton’s speech and I’m sure that I’m not the only one, as although he is a self confessed geek and does a power of work for parkrun, I’m afraid that public speaking is just not one of his strengths.

I would have loved to have gone to Garscube to support the 5 mile racers, or even make the trip to Rugby Park to watch the famous Ayrshire Killie, I thought it was probably better that I headed home for brunch, a hot bath and a well earned siesta.

I had run my third run of December, my 61^st race of 2011 and my 87^th parkrun and, of course, I have another run tomorrow.

Movember

I wonder what became of her.

There's a lot of dodgy looking moustaches around at this month as people raise funds and awareness of men's health issues.  Of course, some of us were looking like Douglas Fairbanks Junior long before Movember .

Me and my best mate, the late, Willie McFall

Douglas Fairbanks Jnr

30,000 Thanks

I've now clocked up my 30,000th hit since adding a counter to my Blog, Thirty thousand thanks to you.

STV Mo Running Report

 Mo Running Glasgow, forward play to 2:53 to see the coverage of the event including me at the Start in my pink charity t-shirt.STV News

Phlegming Nora !

I’ve been suffering with the cold for a wee while now and didn’t manage a race last weekend. I had planned another race free race this weekend, as I wasn’t up to racing the Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile road race, nor the Ayrshire Cross Country Championships. Instead I enjoyed the relatively unusual occurrence of a Friday night out and had a few drinks in Sammy Dows as Kong put on another excellent show. However when I awoke from my stupor at 8:50am on Saturday, I knew that I could, just about, make the 9:30 Start Line for the weekly Glasgow parkrun. A quick wash and I was out the door with my bottle of Lucozade Sport and heading towards Pollok Park. “You’re looking a bit rough” commented a running buddy and he was right, in fact I was probably feeling even worse than I looked. My choice was either to stay in bed and rest, or run and try to sweat the cold and alcohol out of my system. Obviously, I chose the latter.

I coughed, spluttered and spat out phlegm as I struggled around the undulating course, increasing my pace slightly in the second lap to overtake, amongst others, Kilmarnock youngster Alasdair McGhee and Gerry Gallacher of the Scottish Prison Service, on his way to a new PB. I managed to hold off a strong challenge from Alan Bow to place 110th with a time of 23:30 in my 86th parkrun.

Results

Back in the Burrell Café, Gerry and Sarah Whalen asked if I was doing the inaugural Glasgow Mo Running 5k Race on the Sunday. Although I had thought about it, I hadn’t got around to registering and the race site indicated that the event was full.

Mo Running
I was up bright and early on Sunday morning and was looking forward to a decent cycle ride, however the possibility of running my 60th race of 2011 was playing on my mind, so I decided that I would include Glasgow Green as part of my ride and enquire about the possibility of being a ‘late entry’. I met up with Gerry and Sarah as they approached the registration desk and I was pleased when the organisers agreed to accept my £15. A bit expensive but it is for a good cause and the organisers had provided a breakdown of costs on their web site.

It's Not About the Bike
A quick change into running mode and I was just about to chain my bike to the railings when, Race Director, Dave Krangel asked, over the tannoy, if anyone had a bike that he could use to lead the race around the course. I immediately volunteered my bike, gave my bag to Annette Whalen for safe keeping and set about warming up. Although there was an organised session, I prefer to do my own race preparation, which, to be honest, is very much like the pre rugby preparation that I first learned about 40 years ago. Suitable warmed up, I made my way along to the Start line where I joined with Cambuslang’s Shaz Hakeem, a guy from Motherwell AC and another 170 runners and walkers for the 10:30 start. The race started on rather soft grass but it wasn’t long until we were on la terre ferme and following some of the Jog Scotland 5k route.

I was a bit surprised to see so many people pass me in the early stages but I was confident that I would catch at least some of them as the race progressed. Although there were a large number of fun runners, there were still a significant number of decent runners for me to compete against. Again I was coughing, spluttering and spitting phlegm but today my pace was a bit faster. It took almost half of the race for it to settle down and allow me to start targeting runners in front. As I thought he would, Shaz led the race from start to finish. I tried to keep the leading lady, Elodie Bourgault, in sight. Although there was no chance of catching her I did manage to catch a few others especially in the long flat section after the 4k marker. I was slowly catching the two runners immediately in front as we approached the final strait but they both found an extra gear and sprinted towards the Finish. I found a little bit more speed to race across the Line and finish in a watch time of 21:35. I received my goody bag and headed behind a tree for some more coughing and spluttering before rejoining the mutual congratulations. I was advised to return to the Race Directors tent, where I added my race number and received a print out of my gun and ship times as well as my placing. I had finished in 19th position and 1st M50+, with a chip time of 21:32. All things considered, I was more than happy with that.

After his exertions the day before, Gerry had decided to run round with Sarah and they finished 54th and 53rd with chip times of 25:37.

60 Races
A did an interview for quirky young journalist Harriet Brace of the Glasgow Journal before collecting my bag and bicycle and making my way home for a hot shower and well earned brunch. I had run my 60th race of the year, had done quite well and had supported a good cause.

Mo Results

Old Target Met, New Challenges Set

2011 in 2011
I ran my 2011th kilometre today as part of a 5k ‘recovery’ run, thereby achieving one of my goals for the year 2011, with plenty of time to spare.

Gie's a Joab

I also took up a new post today, having successfully interviewed for the position of Sector Development Manager – Aerospace, Defence and Marine Construction at Skills Development Scotland (SDS) the day before I left to go to Thailand. These are industry sectors that I know well, having worked in the Aerospace and Defence Sector and more recently Project Managed Construction Glasgow. For many years I’ve researched, lobbied and campaigned for employers to invest in the skills of their workforce to drive innovation and productivity. My new role should enable me to work with partners to develop the necessary learning and training opportunities to support individuals in gaining the skills that employers require, both now and in the future. In the current economic climate it may be a bit of a challenge but it’s one that I’m looking forward to. However I’m now located in the organisation's Head Office at Alambra House, Waterloo Street which, unfortunately, neither has a gym nor shower facilities.  I had both at my previous place.

London Calling

The other news, which I received through the post the day I was leaving for Thailand, was that I had been successful in the ballot for places for the 2012 London Marathon. I’d heard just how difficult it can be to get a place so was more than a little surprised to get a place at my first attempt.

I ran the first Edinburgh Marathon in 1983 with only four weeks of training, although you won’t find my name amongst the records. My good friend William McFall had entered the race but had died, following an accident whilst in Spain, where he was representing Scotland in the National Water Polo team. As a way of saying goodbye to Willie, I kept his marathon number and ran under his name.

It was in the days before electronic chipping devices and high tech running shoes, socks and vests. I don’t think I even had a watch, never mind a fancy Garmin and I recall it seemed to take ages for me to actually cross the Start line in Hollyrood Park. I think the route took us along the Grassmarket, down on to Princes Street and down into Leith where we headed along to Cramond where we turned around and headed back towards Leith and then up Easter Road to the Grandstand Finish in Meadowbank Stadium. I was delighted when two days later the Scotsman published the results and William McFall had finished with a time of 3:26:12. I later gave the medal to Willie’s fiancée but kept the memories and the photo of me sprinting across the line.

With a little more training, I ran the Glasgow Marathon in 2000 and missed my four hour target. I did train well for the 2008 Edinburgh Marathon and even managed to get a free place from the organisers to mark the 25th anniversary of Willie’s death. However the weather was against me and the heat coupled with my Chronic Fatigue resulted in me collapsing and spending an hour on a drip before convincing the medics that I was ok to complete the final six miles or so. My chip time was 4:43:04.

More recently I had won a free place for the Loch Ness Marathon but with my previous experiences and my Chronic Fatigue, I bottled it. Despite following Hal Higdon’s Marathon Training Schedule and enjoying the training the prospect of collapsing again played heavily on my mind and I decided to give the race a miss.

Hopefully I’ve recovered from my Chronic Fatigue and feel in a stronger frame of mind to undertake a new running challenge. I’ve uploaded an 18 week training plan onto Fetcheveryone aimed at getting a 3:30 time, although it’s early days. I officially commence my VLM training on 18th December, to keep me focussed I’ve decided to seek sponsorship for the race and I’ve selected MND Scotland as my chosen charity.

Mind my Sister

My younger sister, who won a number of medals for running, died of Motor Neurone Disease and MND Scotland supports both sufferers and their carers, if you would like to make a donation then please do so here

It Was a Misty Morning ..........



Leading Ladies at Bellahouston Park

 My original intention was to race Strathclyde parkrun on Saturday morning but, with the National Cross Country Championship Races being held later in the same day, I decided to do my local Glasgow parkrun instead. As well as being quicker to get to, Glasgow would also allow me to chart any progress from last week’s attempt at the same venue.


Frolics in the Fog

I arrived at a cold and foggy Pollok Park in time for a quick catch up with some running buddies and a brief warm up. As usual, I retied my shoe laces after my warm up and made my way into the assembled pack of runners. A number of regulars were noticeable by their absence, with the XC races and the next day’s run With the Wind 10k race providing alternatives. However the addition of 31 first timers helped to ensure a considerable turnout of 303 runners and walkers for the 105th staging of the event. For some reason, their also seemed to be a significant number of buggies on display today, this was good news for Chris Upson who will, hopefully, be in the market for one in the near future.

Leader of the Pack

I started a little further back than usual and, when the race got underway, I watched a bit of a melee as runners jostled for places as their exuberance got the better of them. “They’re wasting a lot of energy” I thought to myself as I negotiated my way down the hill. The road veered left and, as we made our way towards the ‘woodpecker’, I found myself, as usual, at the head of a pack with a bit of a distance to those in front, whose numbers included the very consistent pairing of Martin Myant and Jim McMillan. I decided to increase my pace and, as we entered the woods and climbed the first hill of the course, I was already picking off runners, catching Martin and Jim just after the 1k point. In fact, as my Garmin beeped to inform me that the lap had taken 4:26, I noticed Martin look down at his watch.

John Hagemeister must also have had a slow start as he caught up with me shortly after this and his efficient running style soon left me behind. I was quite happy with my pace and I managed to complete the first lap of the course with no problems. I was working quite hard as I weaved my way along the zigzag part of the course and back onto the park road. However with two miles under my belt, I noticed the wheels of a buggy to my right hand side, closely followed by the sound of someone chatting to me. “WTF?” I thought. When the buggy pusher drew level with me, I was relieved to see that it was Stephen Prentice, who is a class runner. I managed no more than a grunt in response to the words emitting from his happy, smiling, relaxed looking face as he ran past.

220m to go........

I now realised that I had a ‘frog in my throat’ which was impeding my concentration and breathing. Things got worse when I noticed that my right lace had come undone. With leaves, puddles and even horse droppings to manoeuvre through, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to complete the race without losing at least one running shoe. Perhaps this would be my chance to try out barefoot running. However I kept to my task and refocused my attention on a guy with a blue Edinburgh Marathon t-shirt ahead of me. With about 900m to go, I was disappointed to find myself dropping a place, as Alan Dempster overtook me. His advantage was short lived though as I attacked the last hill and opened up a gap on my way around to the last 200m down hill finish. I was still a bit concerned about my footwear but someone was on my shoulder and his presence made sure that their was no slacking on my part.

Sixty Nine
I crossed the Line in 60th place, with a time of 21:41. Only one place higher than last week BUT an improved time of no less than 69 seconds! Of course there’s still a lot of improvement required to get near my PB.

Worth a Mention
Further up the field Cambuslang’s Martin McLaughlin crossed the line first in 17.00, followed by Max Lancaster of Giffnock North in second place (with a new PB of 17.15) and Callum Matthews from Kilbarchan in third place (17.24).

Stewarton’s Andy McGhee placed fourth with a time of 17:27; there was a quartet of PBs for Graeme Gemmell; Andrew Carson; Paul McNally and John Gilhooly who placed 15-18 respectively.

John Hagemeister finished 38th with a time of 20:22, three places ahead of Central’s youngster, Emily Greenan, who won the women’s race with a new PB of 20.25. Second woman was Hilary Robinson in 20.36, followed by Romy Beard in third place in 22.20.

Alan Dempster finished two places behind me, in 62 place with a time of 21:45, with Jim McMillan 72nd in 22:15 and Martin Myant 79th in 22:24.

Ayrshire lass, Marianne Wilson was also among the 74 runners achieving a PB, placing 80th (fourth female) in 22:30. Kilmarnock Harrier's youngster Terry Mulholland took eight seconds off of his previous time to place 85th in 22:53. His mother, Sylvia, also did well, taken an impressive 40 seconds off of her PB to place 117th in 24:01, just ahead of Suzanne Boyle, who took 10 seconds off of her PB. Whilst Katy Smith’s time of 24:05 was just one second off of her PB, her son Robbie took the family plaudits by taken 39 seconds off of his PB, to place 250th in 30:09.



Post (and Pre) Race Repartee

After a quick coffee and cake with Chris Upson, Niall McAlinden (who were sugar loading before their XC race) and Claire Larravide (who had run the recent Dublin Marathon), I made my way along to Bellahouston Park to cheer on the runners and take a few photos of the first class action in the glorious winter sunshine, before having some lunch with four of Motherwell AC's finest and, eventually, making my way home in time to hear the Famous Kilmarnock FC being hammered by their highland opposition.



Luncheon Ladies



Thanks

Thanks to the 21 super volunteers that made Glasgow parkrun happen, to Chris Upson for the use of his pics and to all the runners and organisers at Bellahouston Park.


Full Results

Chris Upson’s Photos

My Photos of the XC Senior Races

XC Report from SA

XC Results

Back Home to Three Races

It’s a long journey from Jomtien to Glasgow but it’s one that went as smoothly as possible for me. I’d booked a ‘limousine’ taxi for the 120k journey to Bangkok, which took about 90 minutes and cost 1200 Bhat, or about £24. I thought that I’d got my flight times mixed up when I arrived at the KLM Check-in Desk at 21:30 to discover that there was no queue. Once relieved of my luggage, I made my way to the appropriate Departure Gate, just in time to board the aeroplane. I was pleased to hear that the plane wasn’t full and even more so when I discovered that the adjoining two seats to mine where unoccupied and that I would be able to lie down, after a fashion, and get some shut eye. The process was just as efficient when I reached Amsterdam airport. I made my way to the appropriate Departure Gate, just in time for boarding and a smooth flight to a dark and wet Glasgow, where my brother was waiting at 7:35 to take me home.


The flight had taken its toll though and I was shattered for the rest of the day, I ventured out to Sammie’s, for a wee while, in the evening to see Independence and their regular Thursday night Jam Session. Although the welcome I received was as warm as ever, it was nothing like the “Welcome” that you get when you approach any bar in Thailand.


3K on the Green

I headed down to Glasgow Green on Friday for the second of the 3k Run on the Green Series of Races. It was a beautiful, sunny day, albeit a little cooler than what I was used to recently. It was good to see so many running buddies, many of whom had kept in touch during my holidays through Facebook. My warm up only helped to confirm that I was still shattered and jet lagged but nevertheless I still lined up, with the other 30 runners, under the McLellan Arch for the 12:30 start.

I started near the back of the field and stayed there as my initial pace of 3:44, slipped to 4:08 and then settled into a pace of 4:18, increasing it slightly to 3:54 for the last 0.5k. My time being 12:21, 22 seconds slower than my last outing in February, but I was still happy enough with my performance. I could have worked harder and I could have increased the pace a bit more in the final strait but it wouldn’t have made too much difference. I enjoyed the run and meeting up with so many running buddies, it was also good to meet ex Kilmarnock Harrier, Allison Simpson nee Higgins. The former Commonwealth Game’s athlete was making her return to racing, after retiring through injury three years ago.

After my warm down, I bumped into another Killie Harrier Harald Bartl as I headed to the Winter Gardens with Tom Keenan to sort out the world’s economic woes, over a cup of coffee and slice of carrot cake.

Results

parkrun 84

On Saturday morning I made my way along to Pollok Park for my 72nd outing at the Glasgow event and my 84th parkrun. It seemed a lot quieter than usual. I knew that the Big Fun Run was on at 11am and that many club runners would be competing at the Allan Scally Road Relays, later in the day, but it still seemed very quiet. However there was no need for concern as, with around ten minutes to go, the numbers swelled to a healthy 264 runners, including at least four who had raced the previous day’s 3k on the Green.

After my warm up and pre race catch ups I joined the assembled ranks in time for the 9:30am Start. I was right about the lack of some of the regular club runners but despite the attraction of earning some decent points, I decided that I would be taking it relatively easy. I knew that Tom Keenan was looking for a decent run and I noticed that he set off quickly as I trundled down the first part of the course. I kept my eye on him for much of the race and he was looking very determined as he battled it out with Watson Jones around the two lap 5k course. I was content to settle for getting another race under my belt, although I did step it up a bit for the final kilometre and gained a few places to finish 62nd with a time of 22:50. Tom had placed 52nd in 22:31, with Watson two places behind in 22:34. I didn’t realise that Jennifer Clark had used me as a target and had taking 55 seconds off of her previous PB to finish one place and one second behind me, earning runner up spot in the women’s race, with a new PB of 22:51.

As for me, again considering everything, I was happy enough with my run and, as usual, enjoyed the post race coffee and chat.

Results



Southside Six



Andrew Wright

With its close proximity to my holidays, I had decided not to enter the inaugural Southside Six 16 mile undulating race around six parks in Glasgow’s Sou’side. However I did want to get a decent cycle in before the end of October. I was amazed at the lack of bicycles in Thailand, and I hadn’t been on a bike since 28 September. My initial intention was to do a few miles, get a Sunday newspaper and watch the Great South Run as I enjoyed my brunch before supporting the finishers of the 16 mile race. However I decided to cycle to Queens Park and follow any arrows indicating the route of the race. When I reached Stewarton Road, I looked at my watch and worked out that I could get back to Queens Park just about in time for the Start. I cycled along with the 220 runners to Linn Park and then made my way back to Stewarton Road to provide some more support as the runners exited Rouken Glen Park.

Jenny MacLean

At this stage the main places for the first runners were already settled, with Carnegie’s Andrew Wright having established a significant lead over his closest rival, Grant Baillie of East Kilbride, with Bellahouston Road Runner Bruce Carse in third place. Likewise in the women’s race Edinburgh’s Jennifer MacLean was well ahead of Bellahouston Road Runner, Deborah Gray although at this stage there was a bit of a battle for third spot, with little to choose from between Deb’s club mate Katie Padgham and the evential victor, Giffnock’s Mary McCutcheon. 

I then cycled down to Nithsdale Street and guided the runners onto Pollockshaws Road towards the Finish back at Queens Park before peddling to the Finish and enjoying in the post race banter, soup and cakes.

By the time I had stopped off for a paper and reached my home, I had cycled a total of 39.71k, not too bad for my first cycle of the month. My total for the year now stands at 1560k, with a target of 2011. My other targets of swimming 10k, has been achieved (12k to date) and I’m well on course to reach my running target of 2011k, having already run 1920k.

Results

Thanks

In summary, three great races , which all relied, almost exclusively, on people volunteering their services and doing a heck of a lot of hard work in the background to ensure that the races run smoothly and incident free.  My thanks to each and everyone of you!


Work

It was back to work today, after being on annual leave since 28th September, a bit of a shock to the system but all good things etc