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

Glasgow Races, Golden Mo and my 81st parkrun.

Bryan Stevens

My injured knee curtailed the final couple of weeks training prior to my target race, the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon, or as I prefer to call it ‘the Glasgow Half’. Every other city lends its name to the local race but not Glasgow which has to put on an event for the whole of Scotland. Although I don’t think that geographic profile of participants would reflect this. Most runners do tend to come from the west of Scotland. Gripe over.


I had been testing my knee by running on flat surfaces, around Crossmyloof and on the treadmill. I had built up the distance gradually as the pain and stiffness decreased and my confidence increased, to the point where I had run 10k on Thursday 1st Sept. I also cycled, swam and did some core work on Thursday, knowing that Friday would be a ‘rest’ day. I’ve swum more this year than ever before and have been working on my technique, with one eye on doing an entry level triathlon some time in the future.

Unfortunately I slipped and hurt my back on Friday. Not as the result of any alcohol but due to the combination of leather soles and wet pavements. I didn’t feel that my knee was up to a 13.1 mile race, never mind my back, so I decided to run the Glasgow parkrun 5k instead.

The route, with all its turns and hills, would be a good test. I wasn’t going to be able to get a great time, so I decided that I would do an experiment by trying to maintain my work-rate, rather than pace. It was strange not picking off runners as I made my way around the two lap course but it was a worthwhile exercise and I felt strong and confident enough to increase the work-rate a little on the final strait and catch a couple of youngsters. I know, I know but it was good for the confidence! I was happy enough with my time of 23:15 and 49th place. Whilst Sunday’s races had obviously decreased the quantity and quality of the parkrun, there were still some 161 runners.  This was my 52nd race of the year and my 81st parkrun.

Full Results


The Glasgow Races

Out in Front - Luke Traynor

GSR 10ks

Elspeth Curran

I hobbled along to the corner of Maxwell Road and the A77 in plenty of time to catch the first runners at around the 7k point of the 10k race. The first athlete was Bryan Stevens in the wheel chair event, closely followed by Luke Traynor - the lead car indicating a tremendous time of 25:03 for the Giffnock teenager. Next was Cambuslang’s Robert Gilroy, closely followed by Shettleston’s Michael Deason, Cambuslang’s Stewart Orr and then Kilmarnock’s Roger McNaughton. Cambuslang’s Bobby Bistrow was next, followed by Kilbarchan’s Elspeth Curran, the first woman. Elspeth was followed in the women’s race, at this point, by Garscube’s Kirsty Husband and then Jennifer Emsley of Arran and Central. Next was Central’s Alison Docherty and then, a very focussed, Claire Couper.

Results Wheelchair
Results

Photos


Golden Mo
I saw loads of running buddies and managed to photograph a few them before heading home, in time to catch Mo Farah’ stupendous, Gold winning, performance in the IAAA Men’s 5000m Final at Daegu.

Kilmarnock's John Parker struggles in the heat

GSR Halfs
By the time I headed back out to photograph the Half Marathon runners, I had missed the first 200 or so runners. However there were still plenty more to shoot and give a little support to. By now the sun was beating down on the runners and I was almost glad to be injured. I say almost because it’s not true. I wanted to take some photos from low down as it gives a different perspective. However as I crouched down I could feel my back my back ‘killing me’ and I crawled to the external wall of a house and propped my back against it. Once positioned, I was able to get loads of photos of the runners including a number of Kilmarnock Harriers, Bellahouston, Giffnock, Garscube, Motherwell, Calderglen and Dumbarton AC, who were all well represented, as well as those from other clubs and many from none. After an hour, I managed to haul myself off of the ground and made my way home, where I took a couple of pain killers and headed back to bed.

Results

Photos

Well done to everyone who participated in either of the races, especially those who suffered in the heat!