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

Some Great Performances at Ayr Turkey Trot

My 64^th race of 2010 was the Ayr Turkey Trot: it’s a Kilmarnock Harrier Championship race; it’s in the town of my birth and it affords me the opportunity to pop into the Golf Inn in Prestwick to see my relatives, so there are plenty of reasons for running it.  That said, I had raced the day before and was hoping that it would be rerouted along the beach and be a bit of a lottery.  However I noticed a change in weather conditions south of Kilmarnock as I drove down the M77 and wasn’t too surprised to be informed that the race would be on the traditional route.  For the first time since the Bangkok Mini Marathon, I would be racing in my shorts and racing shoes along a road, although the temperature was slightly cooler.  There was a decent turnout from Killie, Troon, Ayr and the two Bellahouston Clubs as well as other weel kent faces from Girvan, Dumfries, Central, Edinburgh and other clubs.  I also spied the two Winchester runners who I recognised from the day before’s Glasgow parkrun.  

Determined Final Strait

After a brief warm up I lined up with 176 other runners on the Ayr promenade to listen to the pre race announcements between chats, of course!  At noon we were on our way, heading southwards with the Firth of Clyde on our right hand side.  I noticed that there was a lack of the usual suspects around me during the first kilometre and started to wonder if I had set off too fast for a 10k, given that all my recent races have been shorter.  A quick glance at my watch, as I approached the 1k mark, revealed that I was running at an average pace of 4min/k.  I was actually quite glad to see Paula Wilson and Suzanne McMahon overtake me.  However my attempt at sticking with them as we ran into the wind was fruitless and my second kilometre took around 4:20.  I tried to stick behind a couple of guys but they also outran me and, as usual, I ended up running at the front of a pack. The third kilometre took me a disappointing 4:27.  Not that 4:27 is, in itself, a bad pace for me, it’s just that it was almost half a minute slower than my first kilometre.  The route then turned left away from the sea and along the sheltered River Doon path for about 400 metres.  I could hear a female breathing heavily behind me and when we turned left onto Doonfoot Road and started running northwards I opened up a bit and managed to keep her at bay.  That said the fourth kilometre still took me 4:25.  I knew that this is the part of the course where I usually see the lead runners making their way back and thought how good it would be to reach the turn off point before seeing them.  It was not to be today though as I could see the lead cyclist making his way towards me in front of an unknown to me racer who was storming along.  Behind him it was Kerry Liam Wilson and then Jeff Farquhar, I congratulated Jeff and then spotted Colin McGill running on his tail and congratulated him too.  Next in line for congratulations was Scott Kennedy, whose wife Linda seemed to be popping up everywhere offering me encouragement.  

At 4.5k the route does a loop of a housing estate and as we turned left I noticed that it was Troon’s Natalie Fleming that was running right behind me.  I’ve raced against her a couple of times and although she had beaten me at last week’s Harriers v Cyclists race, I was confident that I could beat her.  The fifth kilometre had taken me/us 4:19 and we had reached the halfway point in 21:35.  Although I had lost sight of Paula and Suzanne as we ran round the houses, I could see the red haired Bella Harrier Ruairidh MacDonald in front of us.  We rejoined Doonfoot Road at 5.5km and as we approached Ruairidh, Natalie made her move and overtook me and him.  I was kind of relieved that she had finally past me and relaxed for a moment or two before refocusing and catching Ruairdh.  I caught Natalie but she wasn’t for giving up and we ran along shoulder to shoulder for a while.  The sixth kilometre had taken us 4:24.  I edged in front as we entered the River Doon path but she kept right on my tail and we took 4:21 for the seventh kilometre.  I could see Suzanne ahead of me and Paula well in front of her.  I was thinking that I might be able to finish one place behind Suzanne when I heard a man’s footsteps behind me.  I lifted the pace slightly but it wasn’t long before I was overtaken by John Hagemeiser and Bernie O’Neil running shoulder to shoulder.  I made a cheeky attempt at catching them but they were too fast for me and I had to settle in behind them.  The eighth kilometre had taken 4:13 and I had managed to shake off Natalie.  John was running great and he soon left Bernie behind and she did the same to me.  There were a couple of guys ahead (Chris and Alasdair James) who seemed to be slowing and although I thought I might be able to catch them I tried to ignore them and focus on the stronger runners instead. Not surprisingly my pace dropped and the ninth kilometre took 4:21.  One kilometre to go and no surprises ahead, I gave it my all and could hear cries of “Great run, Ian” and “Well done, Ian Goudie” as I managed to catch Chris James and crossed the line in 42:45, a final kilometre of 3:50, only my third time under 43mins and a negative split to boot!

Paula had run a great race to place second female vet, behind Avril Mason, with Suzanne third in the same category.  I had placed fifth in my category, which isn’t bad when you think that it contains Jeff Farquhar and Al MacLachlan.

First across the line was Central AC’s tri-athlete David McNamee in 31:58, with Kerry Liam Wilson in runner up spot in 32:39 and Colin McGill third in 33:34. Jeff Farquhar was fourth and first super vet in 33:38 and Scot Kennedy was fifth and took the first vet prize in 34:47.  Kilmarnock’s Matt Ferguson being the first classic (V60+) in 44:27.

Natalie Fleming

In the women’s race Edinburgh’s Sarah Hood was first (eighth overall) in 36:09, followed by Alison Docherty (10^th overall) in 36:17 and Toni McIntosh  third (19^th overall) in 37:43. Louise Hill Stirling broke the 40min hurdle for the first time to win first junior prize in 39:14, whilst Toni’s mum Trish won the classic race (V55+) in a time of 56:33.

Selected results:

42 760 Paula Wilson Kilmarnock Hars F35-44, 41:50

 47 778 John Hagemeister Male 18-39 42:24

48 733 Suzanne McMahon Bellahouston Harriers F35-44, 42:29

49 776 Bernadette O'Neil Bellahouston Harriers F35-44, 42:37

51 841 Ian Goudie Kilmarnock Harrs Male 50-59, 42:45

53 795 Natalie Fleming Troon Tortoises F18-34 42:57

55 769 Ruairidh MacDonald Bellahouston Harriers Male 18-39, 43:25

Full Results

Congratulations to everyone who participated, marshalled, supported, organised or provided the lovely post race spread.