Me Run? Get on your Bike!

New Year - New Bike

I usually run, if not race six days, a week so this was my first 'rest' day of 2011.  I headed into Tiso for the sales but there was nothing there that caught my eye, so I popped around the corner to Dales Cycles, where I bumped into Chris Upson and Ellie Homewood on the hunt for a new bike for Ellie.

I've been looking for another bike for a long time now.  The one I have is ok for the short commute to work but isn't much good for longer distances.  They didn't have my initial choice in my size, so I had a look at the Specialized Sirrus Elite.  The manufacturer's blurb states:

 Fun can be serious work. The reasons you might ride will vary: could be an "easy" Saturday ride with friends, a 6:00 a.m. commute to work, even a 600-mile, week-long charity ride. Regardless of why you're throwing a leg over a bike, you need one capable, comfortable machine that covers all the bases with efficiency and ease. The Sirrus is just that: a lightweight, head's-up road ride that helps you beat car-trapped commuters home with a measure of safety on the weekdays, yet is still light and efficient enough for a long spin on the weekend. 

Independent reviews looked good and the Sale price was cheaper than anything I could find on the internet, so I bought it there and then.  I cycled 2010km last year, I don't know how many I'll cycle this year but I'm looking forward to getting out on my new bike soon.

Lenzie Jog on the Ice

I decided that as I had a planned 20min recovery run after yesterday’s race to take in the Lenzie Jog 2.5 mile course.   Although the Kirkintilloch Olympians’ web site was inaccessible I did notice that some photos had been posted on Facebook showing some of their members clearing away some of the ice on the course and presumed that the race would be on.  I looked at my trail shoes and headed out along the M80 to Lenzie and was redirected to a local church hall, which would act as this year’s race HQ.

There were three races being staged: a 2k family run; the 2.5mile run and the 5mile run, which was twice around the 2.5mile circuit.  I met up with a few of the Kirkies as well as Giuseppe and Graeme Aitken.  Both Graeme and I had plumped for the one lap event.  Race Director, Robert Rogerson gave his usual efficient pre race instructions and warned us that despite some volunteers given up fours yesterday and some more time this morning, there was still a bit of the course which was very icy and could only be traversed on the part which had been gritted.  We gave the volunteers a round of applause and set off at 11am.  I started nice and slowly and tucked in behind Christopher Craig for a short while, until he got into his race mode and left me way behind.  Around the houses we ran, avoiding the remaining patches of ice on the road.  I was quite comfortable with my pace until I noticed Graeme on my shoulder and decided to increase my speed enough to keep him at bay.

Almost There.....

Annmarie then marshalled us onto the icy path and we adopted single file.  There were a couple of youngsters in front of me and a guy enthusiastically coaching his nephew behind me.  At the end of the path, I managed to overtake the two youngsters and chased after a bald guy in front.  He seemed to know where he was going, so I was happy let him lead.  Around the new Health Centre we ran and then across a park to a road, where I could see other runners making their way towards us. For a moment I thought that these runners were in front of us and that there was a turning point ahead.  However the chap in front veered left and I followed him.  Eventually we made our way back to the icy path.  By now I was right on his tail.  Annmarie gave me a shout of encouragement and as soon as we left the path I overtook him.  There was a Kirkintilloch youngster a good bit in front and I realised that I would need to close the gap on him pretty quickly if I was to follow his lead.  I succeeded and then recognised the hills which form the last section of the course.  I ran up past Karen Craig who was taken photos and then turned right onto the main road before a sharp right took me down the side of the local hall and over the Finish line.  I had completed the course in 18:05 and my splits were: 4:22; 4:42; 4:38 and 4:23.  Given the underfoot conditions and the 100ft climb at the end, I was happy with my run, I had bagged another PB although once again my plan to take it easy was thwarted.

Superlatives aren’t enough to express my gratitude to the Kirkintilloch Olympians and the hard work that they put in to ensure that the races took place.

Unexpected PB at Beith - Report and Full Results

After running three races on Ne’er Day the thought of running another one the next day was far from appealing.  However Kilmarnock Harriers include the Beith Harriers 4.8 mile run in their Winter Championship, which I want to complete.  I ran the race five years ago and hated it. It’s on par with the Clydesdale 5k races which compete with it to be the most un-aesthetic race in the country.  Furthermore the Beith Race is not three times around an uninspiring business park but FOUR times, such a shame when there is so much outstanding beauty in the surrounding Ayrshire countryside.  The saving grace for the Clydebank races is that they are held on a flat and fast course, the same cannot be said about Beith, where the course is both rolling and testing.

I met up with a lot of friends and running buddies and warmed up as a number of Junior Races took place.   The Seniors Race commenced at 12:12 and some 50 of us set off and headed around the bland course.  My plan was to take it easy but try to maximise my championship points by beating fellow Killie Harrier Brian Darroch.  I contained my usual mad dash at the outset and instead tucked myself in behind Paula Wilson, who tends to have a more controlled start.  My legs were feeling a bit stiff and tired and I soon dropped behind Paula and into a more comfortable pace.  The first kilometre took 4:18 and as I glanced at my Garmin, Troon’s Natalie Fleming appeared on my shoulder and said “Hello, it’s me again”.  She stayed right on my shoulder as I set the pace throughout the race.  The incline slowed us slightly and the second kilometre took 4:27, however we over took Beith’s Ian Anderson and I was happy with the pace.  I felt as if we were working hard but not over doing it.   

The third kilometre took us 4:19 and we were receiving a lot of support from the onlookers as we ran around shoulder to shoulder.  The next, hillier, kilometre took 4:31 and the fifth one 4:22.  I could see Paula ahead and Eric Baxter in between us.  I was confident that our pace would be good enough to catch Eric but I was a bit surprised to catch him before we completed the third lap.  However he was not for giving in easy and I had to work hard to build a gap between us.  I had thought that my increased pace would be enough to get away from Natalie but she is becoming a bit of a bonny fechter.  However I attacked the first hill and could no longer hear her behind me. There was still a good bit to go and I concentrated in trying to close the gap on Paula ahead, rather than worrying about Natalie behind me.  I ran the next kilometre in 4:02 and completed the race in a total time of 32:17.  I was 14 seconds behind of Paula but only one second ahead of Natalie.

We then congratulated each other and cheered the other runners home before a quick warm down took me back to Garnock Rugby Club for some hot soup, sandwiches and cake.  In between post race banter with, amongst others Clare Whitehead who had won the women’s race today and the Glasgow parkrun the day before, I noticed the previous race results posted on the wall.  These revealed that I had taken 32:56 on my only previous outing in 2006.  An improvement of some 36 seconds, I have to be happy with that!

Men’s Race

Inverclyde pair, Chris Mackay and Craig Ruddy overtook Cambuslang’s Stuart Gibson in the last kilometer to place first and second consecutively with times of 22:43:and 22:49.  Stuart collected bronze with 22.55. Luke Traynor (Giffnock Harriers) placed first junior (fifth overall) in 23.51.  Kilmarnock’s Iain Connell  was first MV35+ in 24.50 with Hugh Laverty of Clydesdale Harriers first MV45+ in 31.24.

Women’s Race

In the Women’s Race Deeside’s Clare Whitehead exchanged her usual scenic hill races for the rolling hills of a North Ayrshire business park to place first in a time of 28:10.  Kilmarnock’s Kara Tait earned the runner-up prize with a time of 28:25, with Nynke Mulholland of Kilbarchan AAC placing third in 30.27.  It was good to see Paula Wilson picking up first women’s vet (35+) prize and Moira Nichol first women’s super vet (45+) prizes, with respective times of 32:03 and 36:04.

Vote of Thanks

As ever, huge thanks to everyone concerned in given up there time to organise the races, ensure that they ran smoothly and for providing an excellent post race spread. It really is much appreciated.

Photos by Kenny Phillips

Results:

Place  No                Name                             Athletics Club                       Time          Category:

1         332             Chris Mackay                     Inverclyde AC                      22.43          Senior Man 
2         345             Craig Ruddy                      Inverclyde AC                      22.49          Senior Man
3         350             Stuart Gibson                     Cambuslang Harriers            22.55          Senior Man
4         330             Mark Pollard                      Inverclyde AC                      23.47          Senior Man
5         364             Luke Traynor                     Giffnock Harriers                  23.51          Junior Man
6         328             Andrew Dearie                   Shettleston                          24.35          Junior Man
7         320             Lee Wilson                        NAAC                                 24.44          Junior Man
8         341             Iain Connell                       Kilmarnock Harriers              24.5            Male Vet 35+
9         340             Alex Allardyce                    Irvine AC                             24.52          Male Vet 35+
10       322             Andy McGhee                    Strathclyde Police AC            25.47          Senior Man
11       333             Pat Cullinane                     Irvine AC                             25.51          Senior Man
12       339             Greig Glendinning              Bellahouston RR               26.21          Senior Man

13       342             Scott Martin                       Kilmarnock Harriers              26.33          Male Vet 35+ 
14       358             Graham Evans                   Kilbarchan                          27.04          Junior Man
15       354             William Richardson             Irvine AC                             27.11          Male Vet 35+
16       353             Connell Drummond            Kilmarnock Harriers              27.13          Male Vet 35+
17       359             Steven Campbell                Greenock Glenpark               27.24          Male Vet 35+
18       327             James Wales                     Kilmarnock Harriers              27.28          Junior Man
19       317             Paul Kilby                                                                   27.35          Senior Man
20       343             Clare Whitehead                Deeside Runners                 28.1            Senior Woman
21       321             Kara Tait                           Kilmarnock Harriers              28.25          Senior Woman
22       319             Scott McKendrick                NAAC                                 29.41          Male Vet 35+
23       325             Andrew Jeske                    Jammys                             30.12          Male Vet 35+
24       331             Nynke Mulholland               Kilbarchan AAC                 30.27          Senior Woman
25       335             Emma Baxter                     Greenock Glenpark             30.58     Senior Woman

26       352             Hugh Laverty                     Clydesdale Harriers              31.24          Male Vet 45+

27       357             Kenneth Pryde                   Glenpark                             31.27          Male Vet 35+

28       351             Murray McDonald               Kilmarnock Harriers              31.44          Junior Man

29       347             Tom Gillespie                                                             31.49          Male Vet 45+

30       348             Paula Wilson                   Kilmarnock Harriers              32.03          Female Vet 35+

31       356             Ian Goudie                        Kilmarnock                          32.17          Male Vet 45+

32       338             Natalie Fleming                Troon Tortoises                    32.18          Senior Woman

33       334             Eric Baxter                                                                  32.44          Male Vet 55+

34       323             John Smith                        Jammys                             33.5            Male Vet 45+

35       349             Elizabeth McDerment        Kilmarnock                        34.07          Female Vet 35+

36       355             Brian Darroch                    Kilmarnock Harriers              34.34          Male Vet 35+

37       344             Ian Devoy                          Strathaven                          35.03          Male Vet 45+

38       326             Ken Wales                         Kilmarnock Harriers            35.05          Male Vet 35+

39       346             Andrew Scott                     Motherwell                          35.15          Male Vet 35+

40       361             Iain Anderson                    Beith                                  35.5            Male Vet 35+

41       324             Moira Nicol                        Jammys                            36.04          Female Vet 45+

42       318             George Young                    Maryhill Harriers                 36.57          Senior Man

43       336             Hazel McFarlane                Troon Tortoises                  37.06          Female Vet 35+

44       337             Anne Noble                       Troon Tortoises                   37.06          Female Vet 45+

45       363             Susan Clark                       Glenpark Harriers               40.34          Female Vet 35+

46       316             Sam Cathcart                                                             40.47          Male Vet 55+

47       362             William Drysdale                Law & Dist AAC                 47.31          Male Vet 55+

48       329             David Kerr                         Irvine AC                             50.50            Male Vet 55+

000      365             Robert Harkness                                                          DNF            Male Vet 45+

000      360             Les Hill                             Dumfries Running Club         DNF            Male Vet 45+

Third Foot in Auld Reekie - the One o'Clock Fun Run

Race 3 of 3 on 1/1/11

My third race of Ne’er Day was the One O’clock Fun Run down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to the Hub for 12:30 to collect my tickets so I shot off straight after the Portobello Race.  Along Seafield Road, right turn onto Portobello Road through Hollyrood Park and along the Cowgate took me to the Grassmarket, a sharp right turn and I was on West Bow, where I parked the car and walked up the steps to the Royal Mile and the Hub.  Unfortunately although the Hub Cafe was open, there was no sign that the ticket office had been open today. I asked a lass with a race t-shirt on where she had got it and she advised me to go to the Castle Esplanade.  I passed the word onto the other puzzled looking would be runners and made my way to the Castle.  As usual there were a lot of tourists mingling and a few places appeared open for business, in fact you couldn’t really tell it was Ne’er Day.  After receiving my ticket, I traded it for the pink race t-shirt and headed back to the car to get changed and wee bit of heat.  With my t-shirt on, I returned to the Hub Cafe for another heat before braving the cold for my warm up. 

At about 12:50 we assembled on Castle Hill and were advised that we would have to remain behind the two lead runners for our safety.  I was standing right at the front of about 1,000 runners, with the lead runners at the top of the Lawnmarket.  As soon as Mons Meg sounded one o’clock I sprinted off and soon caught them.  I sat in behind them surrounded by runners on both sides as we made our way down one of the most famous and historic streets in the world with support from the many tourists and locals.  The leaders did a good job at maintaining a fairly steady pace of around 5:40 min/mile before giving us the all clear to race for the last 0.1 mile.  As I ran through the middle of the pace setters, I could see youngsters dashing along on both sides of me.  I was no match for the quickest ones but tried hard and was pleased with my overall time of 5:26, to finish in twelfth position and first veteran (35+), a wava of 80% , for my first ever Mile Race.  However it must be stressed that the run was downhill for the first five minutes before levelling off as we ran past the Scottish Parliament and into Holyrood Park for the finish, a total drop of some 220ft.

Summary

It looks like I may have been the only person in Scotland, if not the entire world who managed to run three races in 1/1/11.  I’m so glad that I did it and with respectable performances (for my standard) in all three of them. A great start to the year!  Once again huge thanks to all the volunteers, organisers, supporters and fellow runners who make every race that little bit special.

Second Foot at Auld Reekie - Portobello Promathon

I headed down memory lane as I made my way down through Davidson Mains, through Silverknowes, around Crewe Toll and down through Leith to Portobello for the annual Portobello Promathon Four Mile Road Race.  I lived and/or worked in this part of the world for over 13 years.  I parked the car on Seafield Road and made my way down the promenade to discover a black cab and another car. These were the race HQ and when I registered my name the race organiser asked if I was the guy doing three races today. 

It’s only a few miles from Cramond to Seafield but here the weather was much stronger. The tide was lashing against the sea wall and the strong icy wind gave us all a reminder of what ‘the wind chill factor’ really means.  I had originally planned to run this race in my Scottish Veterans vest but soon abandoned this idea for a long sleeve wind proof top instead.   I was in plenty of time for the 11:30 start so, like many others returned to the relative warmth of my car until nearer to the start time.

Race 2 of 3

I had a decent  warm up and chatted with a number of other runners who had either ran or officiated at the parkrun and a number of east coast based runners that I know, before lining up with another 236 runners for my first ever running of this famous event.  I was informed that it was an out and back course and that there were other people using the promenade too.  I started beside Annmarie McCaffrey and we set off at a decent pace.  It was quite congested but no real problems.  There was an excellent field and, as usual, the elite runners dashed off leaving me to run at my own pace.  I was happy with my running and had completed the first kilometre in 4:01.  However my pace for second kilometre slowed to 4:15 and Annmarie passed me.  She was too strong for me and I had to let her go.  Instead I found myself jostling for position with Lothian’s Alec Agnew.  I could see the elite runners, led by Inverclyde’s Andrew Douglas, making their way back towards us.  The course narrowed ahead and I assumed that this was the turning point. Alex sprinted in front to get through the gap first but rather than turning here the route continued southwards along the pavement until we reached a marshal, ran around him and headed back into the wind.  Kilometre three had taken 4:20 and the fourth one 4:24.

By now I was competing against Davy Young of the Scottish Prison Service. He overtook me a few times but then seemed to slow down, which resulted in me leapfrogging him a few times.  As a result of pushing each other along we caught Alex Agnew.  The fifth kilometre took 4:22.  Annmarie was back in sight and I was catching a few runners as I dug deep in the sixth kilometre, which took 4:19.  Although it was hard work it only took me another 1:30 to cross the line in 27:10 in 89^th place.  A quick exchange of congratulations to Davy and Annmarie and I was heading to the car and on to race three.

Full Results

First Foot at Auld Reekie - Edinburgh parkrun

Race 1 on 1/1/11

I returned to Scotland’s Capital on Ne’er Day to participate in not one but three races.  The first of which was the newly extended Edinburgh parkrun.  I had always suspected that it was short, going by my time of 20:19 in my only previous outing.  Although all the snow and most of the ice has melted in Glasgow, that’s not the case in Edinburgh and the Cramond Car Park was a sheet of ice, as was the promenade road along to the new start.  I joined with a group from Carnegie Harriers who plumped to walk along the beach instead.  However the course itself looked fine and I decided to wear my racing shoes, rather than my trail shoes.  I joined with four Kirkintilloch Olympians: Ada Stewart; Annmarie McCaffrey; Pamela Parker and Stephen Allan for Ne’er Day Greetings and pre-race banter before being joined by their club mate and Glasgow parkrun regular Gordon McDonald. All of them were making their Edinburgh parkrun debuts and were all running the day’s next race: the Portobello Promathon.  I explained that I was hoping to do three races today, the same two as them and then the One O’clock Run down the Royal Mile.

You may recall that Annmarie and I run at similar paces, although she is marginally faster than me.  Before the Start she said that she was just going to jog the race and asked me if I was too.  I replied that even if I said I would jog it, I’d get caught up in the race and rapidly ditch that plan. I did concede that, bearing in mind that I had another two races today, I wouldn’t be running flat out.  

There was a surprisingly large turnout of 131 runners including a few Fetchies and Facebook fiends.  With little ado the race organiser and timer got us on our way at 9:31am and we headed southwards, with the Firth of Forth on our left hand side.  I set off quite fast and was happy to sit in with a couple of guys who seemed to be pace making for Ann Hood.  As I reached the 1k mark, Annmarie appeared on my shoulder and congratulated me on my pace.  We ran the initial kilometre in 4:03.  So much for her jogging it!  I pressed ahead and she slipped in behind me.  We completed the second kilometre in 4:07.  As well as the guys encouraging Ann, there was also a Carnegie Harrier just behind us shouting encouragement and directions to his dog!?  Annmarie overtook just after the turn and I was happy to sit in behind her for a while.  The third kilometre took me 4:10 and the fourth 4:11.  I was fading now and as Annmarie increased the gap, I slowed down and ran my final kilometre in 4:14: a total time of 20:45 (WAVA 72.8%), good enough to place 30^th.  Annmarie finished in 28^th spot, second woman, with a time of 20:33.

Full Results 
Bob Marshall's Photos