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

It's Been a Good Year for the Roses

In 2010 I managed to run 65 races.  I finished the year with three races in three days and I even managed one week when I participated in five races in five days!  Although there were no exceptional results, there has been a steady improvement and my WAVA , which is now consistently above 70%  increased from my maximum of 73.78% last year to 75.19% this year.  

I had aimed to run at least one overseas race and achieved this by running in the Swiegi 5k in Malta and the Bangkok Mini Marathon (10k) in Thailand.  I had the pleasure of spending a week in France supporting and running with Mark Cooper in his quest to run 25 marathons in 25 days.  I also ran the Haweswater Half Marathon south of the Tweed. 

On a down note although I followed Hal Higdon’s 18 week marathon training programme, at an increased estimated finish time, I, once again, failed to actually run the marathon, despite having a free entry into the Loch Ness one.   The early rise and bus ride to the start of the race just didn’t appeal to me and watching those poor souls struggling in the May heat in the Edinburgh Marathon would put anyone off participating in such an event.  In 2009, I stated that I would like to lose that particular monkey off my back and clock a useful marathon PB.  Although I failed to deliver on this, the training plan did play a major role in allowing me to achieve PBs in ten other distances: 3k, 2.54miles, 3miles, 5k, 4.8mile, 5.5mile, 10k, 12k, 15k and Half Marathon.

I also stated that I would love to get a sub 40min 10k and a sub 20min 5k.  I knew that this would be a big ‘ask’ and regarded it more of an aspiration.  However I did make big strides towards these targets and have now ran two sub 43min 10ks (PB 42:30) and, after recording a PB of 20:06 @ 5k, now believe that a sub 20min 5k is within my grasp.  

I also said that it would be good to finish at least one race as first in my category.  I pointed out that this would be difficult as there are so many good runners out there.  However I did achieve it and not just the once but, in fact, five times, including twice in the one weekend.  Both races were held at Strathclyde Park and were the sixth Strathclyde parkrun, which I cycled some 25 miles there and back to place 15th overall and first MV50-54, with a time of 21:46.  The next day I returned to Motherwell and ran the MND Scotland Four Mile Fun Run in memory of my late sister Christine, who died of the terrible Motor Neurone disease.  I placed seventh overall and first MV50-54.  My last race of the year the Cambuslang XC 3k saw me being awarded the first veteran prize, a bottle of wine.

The year wasn’t injury free and I missed a couple of months training and a few races as a result of going over on my ankle, whilst walking!  However this did allow me to spend more time on my bike and I cycled a total of 2010k in the year 2010, much more than the 840k of 2009.  However my running was slightly down, dropping from 2476k last year to 2360k in the past twelve months.  Again I didn’t swim nearly as much as I would have liked to but running and cycling were my priorities.

Apart from the statistics I’ve really enjoyed most races, although not always during them.  I’ve forged some great friendships.  It’s been a privilege to represent the famous Kilmarnock Harriers and Athletics Club and I’ve made and forged many a friend and running buddy over the last twelve months, not least from the Glasgow and Strathclyde parkruns; Bellahouston Harriers and Road Runners; the various Ayrshire clubs and the Scots Vets. 

Of course the less glamorous side of running, as well as most sports, is the training which is done away from the limelight.  I usually train six days a week but seldom blog on it.  I do blog on my races though and have had many a positive comment from fellow runners on my ramblings.  Like many a blogger I worried that no one would read my stories.  In mid July, I added a counter to my blog and have been amazed that since then I have had over 10,200 hits!  My own visits to the blog aren’t counted, so I’d like to thank each and every one of you for visiting my Blog, may 2011 bring you what you seek and please continue to feel free to comment on my ramblings either on here or on my Facebook wall.

In 2011 I’ll be doing a photographic course on Saturday mornings so I won’t be doing as many parkruns but I still hope to improve my running times and get a few more PBs and aim to start the year by attempting to run three races on New Year’s Day, followed by one on the second. As every atheist knows we only live once, so make the most of it.

Cambuslang XC Race Reports - My 65th and final race of 2010.

Prize Wine

I had a great night out and a real good laugh and dance at Sammy Dow’s on Boxing Day, I had no intention of racing on Monday but when I awoke with a hangover and sore legs, I knew that a recovery run was required.  A quick look at the Ron Hill Cambuslang website revealed that there was a 3k option at their annual ‘Down by the River Race’ and although it had been changed to an ‘Around Cambuslang Rugby Pitch Race’ it was going ahead.  

I eventually found the Rugby Club, with the help of some kind locals, to discover that its car park had been transformed into an ice rink.  This didn’t bode well for the race.  In the clubhouse I met some weel kent faces including: local pair Stuart Gibson and Kirsty Grant; Helensburgh’s Jan Fellowes and Michele Hetherington; Bella Harriers Tom Keenan and David Hay; Motherwell’s Claire Barr; Victoria Park/CoG’s  Claire McCracken and ex running buddies Clare Blue and Julie Fitzpartrick.  Of course all of these were running in the longer race, which had been shortened from 10k to 7k.  I did think about changing my mind and doing the 7k instead but decided to be sensible for my third race in as many days.

I put on my spikes and gingerly made my way outside for my warm up before the pre race announcements.  The organisers apologised for the underfoot conditions advising that the slight thaw followed by last night’s freeze had made the course icy in parts.  They also explained that they had decided to start both races at the same time and asked for a show of hands from those running the 3k, nine tiny kids raised their arms and one adult before I meekly joined them.  With 26 participating in the longer race, 37 of us lined up for the 11am start. 

I started fairly quickly and then remembered that I was supposed to be doing a recovery run and slowed the pace significantly and watched as one runner after another overtook me, the last two being Julie Fitzpatrick and Clare Blue.  As I approached the end of my first lap, I decided to up the pace a little and managed to catch Clare and a little lad as we left the rugby pitch.  A bit further on I caught Julie and finished my two lap race just behind local youngster Rachel Black.  I looked at my Garmin and saw that my time was 11:57, a decent enough time for a 3k but there was no way I had run a sub 12min 3k, Garmin backed me up by revealing that the distance was in fact 2.6k. 

I had planned in doing a little further, so quickly removed my number and headed out to do a further lap, keeping to the left so that the racers could pass.  After my third lap, I chatted with the organisers, joked about my top ten finish and gave them a rendition of ‘Ross Mathie fae Cambuslang’.

The RHC web site reports:

First home in the 3K race was local lad and fast improving Jack McGregor in a time of 9m 57secs, ahead of Stuart Tytler in 10m 22secs. 1st Female home was Under 11 Rona Tytler of Kilbarchan AAC in 11m 13 secs, 1 second ahead of Rachel Black of RHC.

I then had the pleasure of encouraging the 7k runners down the final strait.   

Here’s the report of the 7k from the Ron Hill Cambuslang web site:

The 7k race was warming up nicely with the RHC trio of Stuart Gibson, Johnny MacNamara and Iain Reid breaking away whilst setting a very brisk pace. The following group turned out to be a battle of the vets with Denis Williams of Shettleston, Paul Thompson of Helensburgh and Frank Hurley of RHC all working hard. A little further back and Claire McCracken was running well to lead the ladies from Michelle Hetherington of Helensburgh, with Clare Barr of Motherwell and Kirsty Grant of RHC having a great battle for 3rd place.

Stuart Gibson had upped the pace on a number of occasions to open a gap on 3rd placed Iain Reid, but Johnnny MacNamara was proving somewhat more difficult to drop in 2nd place. However a small but decisive gap opened up as they both entered the last of the 5 laps, and Stuart ended up finishing 9secs ahead of Johnnny, with Iain 25 seconds further behind. Paul Thompson and Denis Williams had a ding dong battle throughout and a final push for the line saw Paul (1st V50) get the better of Denis (1st V40) in 4th and 5th positions respectively, with Frank Hurley having an excellent run not far behind. In his 1st race as a V60, Tam McPake of RHC had an excellent run to pick up 1st V60 prize.

Claire consolidated her fine run to finish over 1 minute ahead of 2nd place Michelle, whilst Clare got the better of Kirsty for 3rd place with only 2 seconds to spare. Maureen McVey of Giffnock was next lady home to claim the V45 prize, with youngster Mairi Brown of RHC running well to be 1st junior lady. Julie Fitzpatrick of Bellahouston RR was next home to collect 1st V35 prize, and Jan Fellowes of Helensburgh joined husband Paul Thompson as a prize winner by scooping 1st F55 prize.

I won....ish
Some hot complimentary food and drinks were laid on post race in the clubhouse and the prizes awarded, I hadn’t realised that the only other adult Stuart Tyler had finished second, for which he received a selection box, which meant that I was declared the first veteran and happily accepted my well earned bottle of wine.  It was good to see so many friends receiving prizes and to share some banter with running buddies before making my way back to Glasgow.

Well done to all concerned and a special thank you to the sponsors of both races (MacDet, Achilles Heel, Barnie & Freddie) who provided the many prizes, including a certain bottle of wine.

Full results:

XC 3k			Age	Indiv	Fin
Name	Club	Cat	Group	Time	Pos.
Jack McGregor	RHC	M	U15	09:57	1
Stuart Tytler	U/A	M	V50	10:22	2
Charlie Wighton	Kilbarchan	M	U15	10:35	3
Struan Paton	RHC	M	U11	10:36	4
Grant McGregor	RHC	M	U13	11:08	5
Fraser Ebbitt	RHC	M	U15	11:12	6
Drew Pollock	RHC	M	U11	11:12	7
Rona Tytler	Kilbarchan	F	U11	11:13	8
Rachel Black	RHC	F	U13	11:52	9
Ian Gouldie	Kilmarnock	M	V50	11:57	10
Christopher McLew	RHC	M	U11	12:29	11

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.

Johnny Cash Man In Black

A timely reminder of what Jesus actually preached and to take a moment to think of the less fortunate people in the world today and absent friends.