2011- My Year in Running

2011 Statistics

This is my 2011 in words and numbers.

Races (including Parkruns)- 37, constituted thus:-

Road- 15

Track- 13

Cross Country- 9

1st places- 7
2nd places- 7
3rd places- 3

Clubs/Regions/Nations Represented:-

Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers- 28

Whitemoss- 5

West of Scotland- 2 (UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships and BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k)
West Coast- 1 (Scottish Inter Regional Championships)
Scotland- 1 (Home Countries Cross Country Championships)

Personal or Course Bests Set- 13 (not including courses or races run for the first time)

Championship Results:-

Scottish West District Cross Country Championships 2010/11 race (9.6km)- 31:02, 4th place, individual bronze (senior) and team silver

Scottish 4km Cross Country Championships 2010/11 race- 12:15, 8th place, 4th placed team
Scottish National Cross Country Championships (12km)- 40:21, 9th place, team bronze
UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships (12km approx)- 38:22, 63rd place, team silver
Home Countries Cross Country International (10.8km)- 35:36, 10th place, 2nd Scot and 2nd team behind England

Scottish Senior Track and Field Championships- 5000m, 15:17.91, 10th place
Scottish Inter Regional Championships- 5000m, 15:20.27, 4th place
Scottish Inter District 10km Championships (BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k)- 31:07, 12th place, 3rd Scot and 2nd team

Scottish West District Cross Country Relay Championships (4km)- 12:38, team silver

Scottish National Cross Country Relay Championships (4km)- 13:28, 4th placed team

Scottish 4km Cross Country Championships 2011/12 race- 13:04, 14th place, team bronze
North of England 10 Mile Championships (Brampton to Carlisle)- 50:42, 2nd place (ineligible for a medal)
Scottish West District Cross Country Championships 2011/12 race (9.6km)- 31:14, 7th place, team silver

Other Achievements

Scottish Mens League Division 2 Track Athlete of the Season
Scottish Mens League Division 2 Track Athlete of the Match, 21st May 2011

Longest Race- 10 miles

Shortest Race- 800m

Worst Race- there's been a few. I'm not the biggest Parkrun fan. So far this winter, I've had one or two slightly below par runs in the relays plus the 4km championship due to asthma induced breathing difficulties which thankfully a visit to the GP has sorted out. To pick one race though, the Sunderland City 10k, run in a heatwave. First 5km in 15:31, second 5km in 17:04. Painful from beginning to end. I'd been losing enthusiasm for a while. This performance was in the post.

Best Race- Bristol 10k brought a huge new 10k personal best (30:41). However, for the result achieved, it's the UK Inter Counties Cross Country in Birmingham. I still look at my team silver medal and wonder how on earth I got it.

Most Enjoyable Race- races with a good social side are the best ones. Probably a toss up between the Bella Belter 10k and Brampton to Carlisle. The former brought nothing more for winning than some food, drink and chat. Prizes aren't always necessary. The latter was a great day out in good company. Running well too does no harm.

Summary- the year can be broken into 4 parts.

1. January- March: a series of big races and achievements- West District, National 4km, Armagh, National, Inter Counties and Home Countries- with success all the way.

2. April- July: summer with one or two bright spots on road and track. Overall however, started the summer flat and never really got going with a combination of winter tiredness and one or two wee issues outside running, all of which combined to drain all my zest and enthusiasm. Ended up overtraining in late June/early July resulting in a knackered run in the Scottish 5000m. By my summer holiday in mid-July, I had lost all interest in running. I used the 10 days away to work out a way to recover it.

3. August- returned from holiday with a bit of appetite back. Wrote off the rest of the summer and ran for fun. Won the Dundonald and Bella Belter 10ks in the one week to restore some confidence, my first race wins all year. Had a poor run in the Inter Regional 5000m which I was very angry about. It was the kick start I needed to get my act together. I set out a training plan with the Round Cumbrae Road Race the target.

4. September- December- won the Cumbrae Race in hellish conditions, more importantly, taking two good scalps in Conor McNulty and Michael Deason. Felt good about getting a call up for the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k and fully redeemed after running a strong race, Andrew Lemoncello and John Newsom being the only 2 Scots crossing the line before me. Cambuslang club captaincy has brought a sense of self responsibility and helped me keep a focus. Some medals in the relays and West District and a couple of wins, in a Parkrun and at Ayr, helped end a difficult year on a positive note.

Looking back at my 2010 summary, I can't believe some of the steps forward taken. Health and fitness permitting, I go into 2012 with a clear idea of what I want to achieve, short and long term, and how I want to go about it. Fingers crossed.

Ayr Turkey Trot 10k, 26th December 2011

As a footnote to my last post, I reached Christmas Day 4 miles short of a 50 mile training week. In the 18 years since I first ran at primary school, I have never run on Christmas Day, until now. I thought about another jog after the Queen's game but I'd had a pint then a pie and bovril before the game. Nothing else for it. I had an early night on Christmas Eve and crept out the house at 8am for a run in a howling gale. 27 and a half minutes and just over 4 miles later I tip toed back to bed until everyone else surfaced none the wiser. I need to get a place of my own soon! Starting in the dark and ending in daylight was a new experience. Apart from a solitary dog walker, I encountered no-one.

My Parkrun put me 4th on the Pollok Park all time list for a mere 24 hours. Unknown to me, while I opened my Christmas presents and hid my washing from my mother, Luke Traynor was blitzing round the Christmas Day event 7 seconds quicker than me. I enjoyed the rest of the day oblivious to it.

Cambuslang's race now being in March, I had pencilled in the Ayr Turkey Trot 10k on Boxing Day as, I confess, a "pot hunting" opportunity. A 12 noon start gave me just enough time to be sufficiently sober to drive. After my obligatory wrong turning on route, I arrived at a rather blustery coastline with half an hour to spare. After some brief hellos with, from memory, Kirsty (Marcathon day 26), Gavin Harvie (I'm still owed that bacon roll), Scott Martin, Claire McArthur and Kerry Wilson, I took up a place on the start line.

I took an early lead which was quite short lived as the galeforce wind cut me in half. Previous winner David McNamee then Kerry caught me up and opened a 30-40m gap. I was also under pressure from behind since my heels kept getting clipped. Both Iain Connell of Kilmarnock Harriers and Irvine's Alex Allardyce crept up beside me. All the runners around me were stockier and handling the wind well. I felt drastic. I found enough strength to pull clear into 3rd and now had to find a way to catch the leading two.

Above: the first 3km direct into a galeforce wind, entering the festive spirit kitted in red and white. Photo courtesy of Kerry Wilson (pictured on the right). 

As we moved along the promenade, I attempted to run in David and Kerry's slipstreams, tracking every step they took. With sprinting impossible in the wind, I tried to lengthen the stride, lift the knees and work my arms more. Exaggerating my normal style really. By the end of the promenade, I had grinded my way up and was still 3rd but on their shoulders. The course then turned inland away from the wind, 20-30m before the 3km mark. I injected a surge of pace to take the lead. It hurt me but I hoped it would have a more adverse effect on them. I could sense David at my back because I could hear his number flapping in the wind.

From there, I tried to make the most of less windy conditions. I didn't need to look round to know David was still pursuing me. A 5km split of 17:18 shows how treacherous it had been on the coast. We were by no means out the wind but I did feel a bit more at ease and piled the effort in. The last 3km is back along the seafront in reverse. To get there, you pass the rest of the field. I got a few shouts. I needed them.

Wind now in my favour, I really went for it. I told myself, provided I ran no slower than David, I would win. 8km (5 miles approx) in 26:42 so 9:24 for the previous 3km. A definite pick up in pace. I found another opponent in the sea waves which crashed over the wall to give me a cool down I neither wanted nor needed. Prompted by a wee shout from Suzanne McMahon, I held on to finish a relieved and jaded winner with a time of 32:32. The second 5km took me 15:15 and the final 2km, 5:50. As the Broons say in this year's annual, "Jings." It had been very hard work.

David McNamee crossed the line in 33:14 and Kerry 3rd in 33:38. Sarah Hood (Edinburgh AC), who I did a short warm down with, was the winning lady in an impressive 36:12 following up a 34 minute clocking in Telford in no doubt kinder weather. Louise Hill Stirling (Ayr Seaforth) and Claire McArthur (no club) filled the next two spots. Kirsty battled through in 49 minutes with a spectacular 3 minute improvement in the second 5km (23 minutes) from the first (26 minutes). Her parents had travelled through from nearby Maybole. I'd met them once in less happy circumstances when Kirsty was in hospital. It was nice to be re-acquainted. I had heard an unfamiliar shout and wondered who it was. Many thanks Mr and Mrs Grant.

Another notable performance came from a man with itchy feet, Ian Goudie, who wasn't content with one race and ran both the 5km and 10km. He was non-committal on the question of running both the Hogmanay and New Year Day Parkruns. In addition, Toni McIntosh clocked a 22 minute 5km as she recuperates from injury and surgery. Fingers crossed she returns to her former glory soon.

I hung around for the post-race grub and such was the time the presentation took to start, enjoyed quite a long chat with Kilmarnock's Scott Martin about running and our respective football teams. £40 and a Ayr Turkey Trot mug was worth the wait. Next stop, Kilbirnie with the McLuckie Cup at stake.

Christmas Eve- Parkrun and Footie

Christmas week saw the continuation of a hectic period at work, earning running the role of light relief. With Christmas Day on a Sunday, my plan was to train straight through to Saturday then take Sunday off before the Ayr Turkey Trot 10k on Boxing Day. Training up to and including Friday looked like this:-

Monday: Road, 10 x 2 mins with 1 min jog recoveries, 8.5 miles including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: Club, Hampden run in reverse, 7.8 miles (46:47)

Wednesday: Tempo, 5km steady (19:24), 5km tempo (17:41), 1 mile warm down, 7.2 miles (43:39)

Thursday: 10 x hill reps, High Point, running hard off the top, 8 miles approx including warm up and warm down.

Friday: 10.2 miles easy (1:07:33)

Being stuck for a session on Christmas Eve, I made an impromptu decision to run the Glasgow Parkrun at Pollok Park for the first time since May. No major races in the immediate future so why not? I've learned to manage my expectations at Parkruns so decided to aim to run at a good tempo without worrying about time. Kirsty had shown up too and after exchanging best wishes I lined up with my brain awake but my body still in bed. I had enough time to exchange pleasantries with Parkrun regular Ian Goudie before being set on our way.

I put in an early surge of pace to wake my body up then settled down. I had Stephen Trainer of Greenock Glenpark for company. I hoped to use the hills to my advantage. I'd probably taken all the wrong turnings possible on previous Parkruns so felt able to take the lead with confidence. With a 10 mile run in my legs from 15 hours earlier, it was feeling like hard work. I felt the hill which rounded off the first lap. I then came to a path which gave a choice of left or right. Knowing left was the wrong direction having gone that way on a previous visit, it left one logical option and I carried on right into the second lap. Trainer was close enough that I couldn't ease off and I kept the effort level constant to the finish.

I was gobsmacked with my time of 15:29. 20 seconds quicker than my previous best at Pollok. 14 seconds faster than the Strathclyde event in September.  It did not feel as quick as that. Trainer was hot on my heels in exactly 16 minutes. After handing in my result barcode, I met Dave Thom who had also clocked an unexpectedly quick time. 18:09 represented his fastest of the year. He got within 4 seconds of it the next morning when he returned for the Christmas Day event. Kirsty got to within 6 seconds of her course best with 23:39. She is participating in some bonkers challenge called "Marcathon" which involves running for at least 25 minutes or 3 miles every day in December. This ticked off day 24 of 31. Fellow Marcathon participant Ian Goudie was only narrowly ahead, also clocking in the 23s.

By the time I had warmed down, Kirsty had handed in her own barcode and offered me a scone and a hot drink in the Burrell Cafe. I was in no great hurry and in a happy mood so accepted and relaxed for a wee half hour with a caramel cake and coffee chatting to various Parkrunners including regular blog reader Suzanne McMahon (hello if you're reading) and doing my best to answer questions such as "how did you go so fast?" I'm on the tab for Kirsty at the Burrell next time.

In the afternoon, Queen's Park were playing on Christmas Eve for the first time since 1988. Back then, Queen's defeated Arbroath 2-0 at Hampden with goals from Crooks and O'Brien. Current Cambuslang Harriers coach Michael Hendry started the game for Queen's that day. The Third Division's bottom side East Stirling provided the opposition at a wet, blustery Hampden before a crowd of 502. Queen's enjoyed the best of the play and a goal duly arrived when Longworth played Smith through on goal. Shire keeper Antell blocked his effort with the rebound pounced on by Ian Watt. 1-0 Queen's at half time. It was then very nearly a merrier Christmas as my Dad was one digit away from scooping over £100 in the half time draw.

Above: Queen's Park v East Stirling. Queen's (black and white) prepare to defend a corner.

Above: keeping warm at half time.

Queen's continued to keep control in the second half. Antell was having a great game in the Shire goal. You're never relaxed though with only one goal. A second finally came when Smith was played through again, this time by Anderson. His shot deflected off a defender, into the air above Antell's head and over the line.

Any time I've seen Queen's win this year, it's been with some conviction. This was no different. Shire substitute Lurinsky was presented with a late chance which Queen's keeper Parry blocked to keep his goal intact and leave the away side crying into their turkey.

The result puts Queen's into 4th, a play off spot. Touch wood, we're looking in decent shape for the trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell in the Scottish Cup on 7th January.

Queen's Park team: Parry, McGinn, Little, Brough, Meggat (Burns, sub in 87 mins), McBride (Gallagher, sub in 31 mins), Longworth, Anderson, Watt, Smith (Daly, sub in 87 mins), Murray, Subs not used: Strain (goalkeeper), Ronald.

Bits and Bobs, Including a Sunday Epic

Firstly, a correction to my last post. Cambuslang's under 17 men in fact won team silver rather than team bronze at the West District Cross Country. Thanks to medal winning team member Stuart Roe for pointing this out.

Secondly, I've had another version of a Brampton to Carlisle photo diverted my way by Steve Angus of http://www.athletesinaction.co.uk/ for directing some people to his site from here. It's a cropped version of me at 3 miles with a lesser watermark so a closer view of my ugly, make up clad mug.

Finally, as I write, I'm recuperating from doing 30 miles, over half my average weekly mileage, in 2 days. Tonight's road session of 10 x 2 minutes with 1 minute jog recoveries (8.5 miles including warm up and warm down, East Kilbride track still having traces of ice), was preceded yesterday by an experimental long run. I had decided at some point this winter when there were no big races in the immediate future to experiment with a 20 mile run to see how I coped. Viewing the Ayr Turkey Trot 10k on Boxing Day as a medium sized race, I devised a route after a couple of pints on Saturday night and at 11.50am on Sunday set off with a drinks bottle full of Lucozade, my house key and a packet of Fruit Pastilles, wrapped up in a hat, gloves, two layers...and shorts.

From the back gate, the first 2.5 miles took me to East Kilbride's Holiday Inn. From there, it was along the road then right into the country roads to Carmunnock then Castlemilk where one local encouraged me to "get my knees up." I held my tongue, took his pearls of wisdom on board and carried on over the brow of the hill past Kings Park then Hampden into the Gorbals area of Glasgow. Between 8 and 9 miles done.

I couldn't believe I'd dared run into Glasgow with no means of getting home other than my two feet. However, my Gran lives in the area so if I was really in trouble, at least I had somewhere to go. Maybe the bus fare would have been an idea though. I was really enjoying myself and feeling stronger as I crossed the bridge over the River Clyde past the Gala Casino towards the St Enoch Centre. The aim was to turn back at 10 miles. I reached that landmark at Marks and Spencers on Argyle Street after 65 minutes of running. I zig zagged along Argyle Street through the Christmas shoppers then turned left at Pizza Hut towards home.

Sooking pastilles on route seemed to keep up my energy levels. Looking at my reflection in shop windows and bus shelters kept me amused. Apart from spitting a pastille out accidentally sprinting across a road at the O2 Academy, eating on the run was without incident. My beer inspired route took me to Queen's Park, Mount Florida, Clarkston, Busby, back to the Holiday Inn then along the 2.5 mile route I started with, returning to my back gate at 2.10pm. The run was longer than expected, 21.5 miles, and took me 2:20:42. The pace stayed consistent since I went through 20 miles in 2:10:18. I'd have broken my marathon personal best by 18 minutes had I carried on without slowing down.

Overall, this was one of my barmier ideas but I felt brilliant after completing it. It became a slog from 18 miles on but I certainly didn't "hit the wall." Boy, did I have an appetite when I got back. Wait until I run it again with intervals.

West District Cross Country Championships, 10th December 2011

Despite a week of indifferent weather, this winter's West District Cross Country did not suffer cancellation, commencing on its scheduled date in December. The Royal Academy in Irvine again provided the setting for the second biggest cross country in the Scottish domestic calendar. I'd been down to the course 2 weeks before for a training session. I was joined on this excursion by club mate Kirsty Grant. Anything she says about my music taste is true. Anything relating to my driving is entirely without foundation.

I tapered down as planned in the week of the race having fulfilled my target of 4 weeks of 50 plus miles back to back with 52, 55, 55 and 53. Anyone desparately wanting to read my training, feel free to get in touch. By race day, my week's mileage, beginning on Monday, totalled 19.

I arrived on time to see the senior women race (6.4km) which I used to warm up by jogging to different bits of the course and check out the route. Keeping the tape to your right seemed to be the thing to do. Cambuslang had 3 runners in the field of 102, making history as our first ever full senior women team in this event. One aim as captain achieved. First year under 20 Katie Bristow ran very strongly throughout, finishing in an excellent 16th place and 6th under 20 behind some very capable runners. I didn't know anything about our second runner other than her name, Vicky Semple. She looked familiar though then I finally recognised her as one of the bar staff in our sports club. She was engaged in pretty much a race long battle among 3 Calderglen Harriers, Frances Maxwell, Karen Sturgeon and Joanne McEvoy, eventually beating all 3 of them to sneak into the top 50 in 49th. Kirsty meanwhile must have seen her life come full circle. The race not only marked her (ahem) 21st birthday but also took place in her town of birth. Considering her serious health problems this year (see my post on the Bella Belter 10k in August for more), watching Kirsty competing and holding her own was very humbling. She finished a competitive 84th, nowhere near the back of the field and well in touch with the main pack of runners. The 3 women earned Cambuslang 12th out of 19 teams.

After shouting on our women, it was time to practice what I preached. Sensible head today so no face paint. 18 Cambuslang runners took to the start line for the senior men race (9.6km). The course took a sharp, narrow left after about 100m so I ran hard from the starter's whistle through a sea of arms and legs to get there unhindered. Unlike the weather outside as I write this, the initial pace was hot. A group of 8 or so broke away going at a considerable lick. I was sprinting to stay on their coattails before realising I couldn't run this hard for 6 miles and, by implication, neither could they. I contented myself with the pace I was doing and got into my stride. Sure enough, barely halfway through the first of 3 laps of 2 miles each, I could see stragglers drop off. I passed Luke Traynor (Giffnock) early on who faded into the 20s. I saw David Vernon (VP City of Glasgow) and Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab (Shettleston) coming back to me.

In the first lap, Jack Hamilton, one of our under 20s, overtook me on the flat after a downhill. I initially muttered a four letter word as he did before giving myself a mental shake, digging deep and catching up. Jack has improved a lot and was having a great race. I came beside him and did something uncharacteristic- spoke during a race. I glanced at him and gasped "let's pull them in." He replied something like "eeugh" which I took to be agreement. Thereafter, all through the first lap into the second, we battled neck and neck, taking turns at having the edge, me tending to fall back any time I stepped on anything passing for mud. Don't get me wrong, we were racing but also helping each other. During the second lap, we caught and passed David Vernon who immediately withdrew from the race, clearly suffering for the folly of the early pace.

I was feeling relatively strong as we came to the sharp right turn leading into the final lap. Andrew Douglas (Inverclyde) was running a blinder, well on his way to winning ahead of club mates Craig Ruddy and Mark Pollard. Taking the turn, Jack and I closed in on and overtook a totally spent Mengisteab and forged on in 5th and 6th respectively. This wasn't for too long though as another Shettleston man, Michael Gillespie, came by us. I couldn't believe he had been behind me for two thirds of the race. For a spell it was a group of 4, Jack, myself, Mengisteab and Gillespie. Mengisteab gradually dropped off and eventually withdrew while Gillespie created some daylight for himself. With 4th placed Lachlan Oates (Shettleston) further in the distance, Jack and I had a straight shootout for first Cambuslang finisher. I tried everything to shake him off- taking advantage of the firmer parts of the course, even surging up the hills. Anything I gained uphill, he reclaimed downhill.

Eventually, on the final hill, I moved ahead and, encouraged by Colin Feechan, "let myself go" on the descent. So did Jack with more success than me. On a flat stretch, he had the advantage. Coming into the home straight, I decided to show I can sprint as well and stole a yard with 100-150m to go. The course was totally ploughed up here though. I stepped on a thick piece of mud and my feet slid sideways as I pushed my upper body forward. Jack found a firmer course, grabbed his moment and pushed on to go through the finish funnel 6th in 31:12. I got there 7th, 2 seconds later. Michael Gillespie took 5th place 5 seconds ahead of me. Douglas, Ruddy, Pollard and Oates took the first 4 places.

Jack received just reward for his run with an under 20 silver medal and team silver. Myself, Iain McCorquodale (11th), Robert Gilroy (17th), Jamie Reid (18th) and Kerry Wilson (19th) were our other counters. Kerry was also second veteran and part of our medal winning veteran team. We had numerous course and personal improvements throughout our senior male ranks, e.g. Gordon Robertson, Scott Hunter. Plenty to build on.

The day was a success for Cambuslang as a whole with our under 13 boys and under 17 men winning team bronzes and our under 13 girls and under 15 boys and girls just missing medals  in 4th. Overall, I'm satisfied with my own efforts. Lots of athletes have upped their games. I need to find a way of matching them. As Jack has shown, sometimes the big threat comes from your own club.

Above: silver medal winning team, left to right- Iain McCorquodale, Jamie Reid, Kerry Wilson, myself, Jack Hamilton.

As a footnote, Gavin Harvie (Kirkintilloch Olympians) bet me a bacon roll he would beat me, a bet he lost spectacularly. Make it a square sausage and we'll call it quits.

Blast From The Past- West District Cross Country Championships 2005

This year's West District Cross Country takes place at the Royal Academy in Irvine on 10th December 2011. In 2005, the race was at the Royal Academy in Irvine on 10th December 2005, hence, the idea for another post. 

I couldn't have had too much going on at university in the week leading up to the race since it constituted consistent training at the time. The previous Sunday, 4th December, shows I ran "a satisfying time of 36:04" at the Hugh Wilson Memorial 10k in East Kilbride, run over the same course which is used now. 13 members of the Glasgow Uni Hares and Hounds ran it with me and I recorded the fact I didn't get up until 10.45am, nearly missing meeting the train on which they were arriving. Here's a snapshot of the rest of the week.

Monday: 2 runs totalling 7-7.25 miles. In those pre-Garmin days though, it was probably slightly less.

Tuesday: Rest- I seemed to have a bit of coursework due that day.

Wednesday: 6 x 3 minutes on a "cold, dark night," 7.5-8 miles including warm up and warm down.

Thursday: 2 runs totalling 8.5-8.75 miles. Monday's pre-Garmin comments equally apply here. I note that I was "held up by a dog" on the morning run. Some things never change!

Friday: Rest- I had a traineeship interview in Wishaw that morning (I didn't get the job) and did a 4 hour shift in Morrisons petrol in the evening.

Saturday: Race day, not before I'd done a shift in Morrisons first from 5.30am-12 noon.

Here, word for word, is my training diary entry. "Rory" was a first year student at Glasgow while "Cullie" refers to a good friend, Alan Cullie, who I used to have some friendly rivalry with.

"The course at the Royal Academy in Irvine proved to be to my liking. It was relatively flat and mainly firm underfoot, all I had to worry about was the elements, particularly a biting cold coastal wind, and the fact I had been up since 5am working a shift before venturing to Ayrshire.

Two Hares and Hounds, Rory and myself, lined up in the field of between 150-200. I planned to take the first of three laps steady before raising the tempo. The gaps others open in the early stages are always a concern but I had to trust myself my tactics were correct.

Again in a tussle with Cullie. Both of us had been up for shifts (he was heading back in at night) so I believed whoever had more sleep would come out on top. We were shoulder to shoulder at some points. By the 3rd loop, I was in front but knowing any let up in pace would allow him to pounce. Rory eluded me until the final kilometre. Rejecting all advice about tackling hills in races, I attacked one hill, coming alongside him, sprinted a straight stretch then similarly assaulted a hill which came quickly thereafter before running hard off the top. A classic ploy de Castella used to great effect.

Time- 36:18. The head to head series with Rory and myself is now 3-2 in his favour."

For the record, I finished 47th and Rory 49th (I think) with Alan not much further adrift. What odds a similar result for me this year?

Blast From The Past- Marato del Mediterrani 2005

Rummaging through my cupboard for a photograph to form the subject of this post. I found my 2005 training diary and, out of interest, had a flick through it for a snapshot of what life was like then. I was in the final year of the Law degree at Glasgow University, working in Morrisons part time and learning to drive. I also ran my first and, to date, only marathon in March, the Marato del Mediterrani to the south of Barcelona in Spain. It gave me an idea for a blog article.

I remember deciding to do a marathon as a motivation to get fitter. I only really started preparing in January and managed to run for 2 hours on 3 occasions which, in my haphazard training world, I considered to be alright. I actually knocked over 3 minutes off my then half marathon personal best the week before at the Balloch to Clydebank race, clocking 1:19:52. I then spent most of the remainder of the week loaded with the cold. Against my better judgement, I flew out to Barcelona with the rest of the participating Glasgow Uni Hares and Hounds hoping some sunshine would perk me up.

Here, word for word, is my training diary entry for the race on Sunday 20 March 2005.

"best to break this into chunks of 10km each. Overcome with trepidation, baking in the Catalunya sunshine, with two clicks of my stopwatch and timing chip, I began my long journey.

0-10km: extremely congested start at least stopped me belting away. Consequently doing 3:15 pace for a spell, 5km in 22:40. Sweating profusely, every drop of water was a prisoner. 10km passed in 44:30.

10-20km: hopes of a sub-3 hour marathon still lingered as we came back to the Olympic rowing pond at Castelledefels. 16km came and went in 1:10 (3:02 pace) before it dawned I had up to 2 hours of running left so deliberately held back as we came to the coastal town of Gava.

20-30km: through halfway in 1:33, thoughts now merely of holding myself together. Still drinking fluid whenever possible and now picking people off. Enjoyed some relief with a coastal breeze then turned around into the glare of the sun again.

30-40km: now entering unknown territory going further than any of my training runs. Completed 32km (20 miles) in 2:21, a mere 10km remaining. Every kilometre seemed to come by less frequently, heartbreaking when your legs become heavier. Now on autopilot.

40km- finish: 2km left, I could barely go another 2m. Back around the rowing pond again pining for the finish. It finally came with my debut marathon concluding in 3:08:06 (133rd out of 1413 finishers). Could not stand up unsupported afterwards."

This was the one and only time I've taken a massage after a race. It made me mobile enough to hobble to the station for the train back to Barcelona. I enjoyed my debut marathon so much, to date, I have still to run another one.

Brampton Snaps

Time was marching on a little bit when doing the Brampton report (check the time it was published) so I didn't have time to add any more than the one token photograph. Generally, I look terrible in running photographs but I've picked out a couple. Compared to the weather outside as I write this, the crisp November afternoon feels like a distant memory.

Above: around the 3 mile mark. Photo courtesy of http://www.athletesinaction.co.uk/. Before anyone asks, I bought the photo before using it.

Above: around 200m-300m to go. Photo courtesy of Joanne McEvoy.

Brampton to Carlisle 10 Mile Road Race, 19th November 2011

"The Brampton" is a Calderglen Harriers tradition. Since the club's formation in 1984, it has been an annual trip. One member, Charlie Steven, has been present for all 27 of the Harriers' visits. Another, Gerry Mullen, has clocked up 26. Others have varying degrees of longevity. I'm at the shorter end having been twice, clocking 57:07 for 23rd place in 2007 and 56:34 for 11th in 2008. After a 3 year absence, Calderglen were kind enough to allow me back.

With such a long history of attendance, Calderglen have the organisation to an art form. An 8.30am departure (the race starts at 12.30pm) is followed by a 45 minute tea/coffee/late breakfast stop at Gretna then a short hop over Hadrians Wall to Brampton, photos and warm up, the race, post race drink in Carlisle then the UK's narrowest hotel, the Star Hotel in Moffat, for dinner then homeward bound. The road to Gretna includes a sweep, £1 a head, where you predict your finishing time. The closest wins the cash. 50:48 was my wild stab in the dark. Still feeling peckish after breakfast, I had a roll and sausage, shortbread and a black coffee at Gretna. 2 and a half hours until the race, plenty time.

After number and race chip collection at the Howard School in Brampton, it was time for priorities- photos and make up. One Harrier, George Stewart, was having face paint in Calderglen colours of yellow and black applied by another Harrier Joanne McEvoy, present in a spectating capacity. Egged on by some other non-runners, I succumbed to the temptation and, 15 minutes before the start, was having red and white stripes applied to my cheeks with the reassurance that it washed off. On my ugly mug, anything constitutes an improvement. Try and keep it a secret. 

Overcome by this hilarity, I reminded myself I actually had a race to run and headed for the rather conjested start line for the start of Britain's oldest 10 mile road race. The first 5 editions, from 1951 to 1955 were around 8.5 miles, all won by a Carlisle resident, Bill Boak. The great Ron Hill won in 1974 with a time of 46:40 while the course record of 45:50 was set by a chap called Nick Sloane the following year. The 2010 winner, James Douglas of Border Harriers, was in the field this year.

The race begins on a downhill slope then takes a sharp right out of Brampton. Knowing this, I took up position to the extreme right on the line and started faster than I normally would to get away from the crowds and negotiate the turn unhindered. It worked as I went into the lead. However, the prospect of a solo 10 miles didn't appeal so I wasn't concerned to be joined by James Douglas, Ian Harding of Morpeth Harriers and Durham's Michael Crawley (21st in the Scottish 4km Cross Country running for Corstorphine). The African figure of Yared Hagos (Wallsend Harriers) also appeared but soon disappeared into the sunset on his way to a winning time of 47:51.

After starting fast, I saw no point in easing back and pushed the pace quite hard in the pack including the gamble of doing so up a hill between 2 and 3 miles. I checked the watch at 3 miles. 14:45. Yikes. The pace had given me a gap in 2nd but I was under great pressure from behind. Hagos was away so I was now running blind. Most of the course is through rural country roads passing through a couple of picturesque Cumbrian villages. I focussed on gaining any advantage I could such as running tight into corners to cover the shortest route. Another thing I did was ignore the water stations. On a crisp November afternoon, I considered fluid unnecessary. The main reason though was I didn't want to pour water over my head and smudge my face paint. I had also read in Charlie Spedding's book that apparently accelerating past a water station works. I did this at each and every one.

I clocked up the miles at a rate that even amazed me. 5 miles in 24:50 something (a personal best). 10k in 31:03 (having a kilometre mark among the mile ones is quite unusual). 8 miles in 40:20. Another nasty hill is thrown in between 8 and 9 miles. The last 2 miles were horrible. By now, you are entering more urban territory and have more traffic and pedestrians to negotiate. Calderglen coach Alan Derrick shouted encouragement and grabbed a photo as I battled on to the finish at the Sands Sports Centre in Carlisle.

Above: "where's the pub?"- the final mile, looking ready to cry- I refused to smudge my make up though. Photo courtesy of Alan Derrick. Make up courtesy of Joanne McEvoy.

Amateur make up artist Joanne and numerous others gave me a shout as I crossed a bridge towards Carlisle city centre, taking a left turn before I hit the shops, into the finish, and 2nd place in 50:42, a new personal best by over 2 minutes. Ian Haining joined me 4 seconds later then James Douglas (51:04). After exchanging congratulations, I went off for a warm down and to cheer more folk in. David Watt, a Scottish international and 65 minute half marathon runner at his peak, was first Calderglen finisher in 56:03 and second vet over 50. Former East Kilbride resident Louise Beveridge (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) was first lady finisher from our bus in 65 minutes, 12th female overall.

While the others headed to the nearest pub, I joined a few other Harriers at the prize giving to collect my £100 second prize. The lengthy affair ended in time for the bus departing for Moffat. At least it gave me time to have my lunch. I made sure I was among the first into the Star Hotel's bar to make up for lost time. Pints before, during and after dinner, compounded by the earlier physical exertion, rendered me fairly "refreshed" by the time of the return leg to East Kilbride. Amazingly, being only 6 seconds away from my prediction did not win me the sweep. Someone was within 4 seconds. If only I'd listened to my body and eased off in the last mile.

We arrived back around 9pm. I had another pint and a half "for the road" at Calderglen's Sports Club to round off as good a day out as I've had in a long time.

For another account of proceedings by Alan Derrick, click here.

Blast From The Past 2

6th May is when my first "Blast From The Past" was posted on here. This is another one courtesy of one of my former classmates, my Primary 1 class photo. Spot me if you can. No clues.

Canicross

Now and again, I have seen and heard of people running with dogs. Little did I know that it is actually a sport in itself with a unique identity, canicross.

The sport of canicross is cross country running while tied to a dog. It is related to two other sports of skijoring and bikejoring. Generally, the human runner has a belt clipped round their waist which in turn the canine runner is attached to by a harness. The latter then runs on all fours in front while the former runs as normal behind. Races are even organised by bodies such as the Sled Dog Association of Scotland. Human and dog get a medal each.

I became aware recently of something called Cani Fit, essentially a training service for dogs and equipment supplier.  It is the brainchild of Rutherglen based Lindsay Cloughley who has pursued it as a business venture since September 2011. She organises a canicross trail running group at Chatelherault Park in Hamilton on Wednesdays, taking along her own dog Suko to take part. I'm a bit weary of dogs and cross them with some trepidation during training runs. However, this sounded such a novel idea, I went along to the training group recently. I also wanted to see who in their right mind ran in a country park after dark. I was equipped with a head torch as instructed.

Not being a dog owner proved no barrier as I was soon belted and harnessed to a rather energetic little female called Lunar. I didn't get a chance to set my Garmin properly since Lunar was too keen to catch her friend Suko and, being tied to her, I was left with no option but to go with the flow. I had a good bit of fun once I got going, overcoming various troubles like the harness getting tied round the dog's legs, my head torch falling over my eyes, Lunar deciding to randomly pursue a rabbit and insisting on stopping to wait for Suko (attached to Lindsay) every time we ran ahead. Running on trails was definitely easier on my legs and the head torch does help visibility a lot. A 5km loop was completed in about 24 minutes followed by a short warm down round the shadow of Chatelherault House then a photo opportunity and a chance to talk to new acquaintances, human and canine. Thank you to the guy who introduced himself as Alistair for the free can of Irn Bru. To keep the mileage up, I did another 2.5 miles, into Hamilton and back, before heading home with a couple of Cani Fit flyers to distribute.

Above: first attempt at a group photo. Suko is on the left and Lunar on the right. Lindsay is in the bright orange/red jacket.

Above: second attempt at a group photo.

Above: with Suko, one half of Cani Fit.

Should you have a dog needing more than a daily walk, you could do worse than contact Cani Fit. Details below.

Useful Links

Cani Fit

The Sled Dog Association of Scotland

European Cani-Cross Federation

Scottish National 4km Cross Country, Bellahouston Park, 5th November 2011

A change to the calendar brought this race forward from its slot in late January to early November. With all the short relays around this time, it makes sense. After attending the previous Saturday's Glasgow Endurance Session at Bellahouston, I knew, despite the dry day, to expect heavy underfoot conditions. With the phony war of the relays over with, this would show where everyone really stood in relation to each other.

After the various junior races and a sound debut for first year under 20 Katie Bristow in the senior/junior women race, 19 Cambuslang athletes lined up in the field of over 200 senior and junior men for the 4km race run over 2 laps. Knowing there was a tight right hand turn early on, I positioned myself on the extreme right of the start line. It paid off as I got close to the front stealing a march on several runners I hoped to be around. As the first lap progressed, I worked my way up to 4th behind a trio of Shettleston pacesetters, Matthew and Michael Gillespie and Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab. Knowing the capabilities of Matthew in particular, it was encouraging to be there. Going the long way round a field then through a gap in a hedge led you on to the second lap. The mud was especially thick here. One option was to run wide on the firmer grass but in doing that, you would be conceding ground to your rivals. Nothing to gained doing that. Like the others round me, I ploughed through the mud, a real momentum and strength sapper. It was telling on me as I entered the second lap.

Above: 1st lap, in 4th place with Michael Gillespie (Shettleston Harriers). Thank you to Alan Derrick for permission to use this photo.

I've looked back on my report of this race in January 2011 as I write this. Back then, I said I was at the limit of my endurance and beyond. However that felt, this was feeling even worse. The heavy ground was digging into my legs. Matthew Gillespie and Mengisteab continued to battle it out joined by a vastly improving Alex Hendry of Central. I got joined by various people- off the top of my head, John Newsom and Ross Houston (both Central), Mark Haskett (Aberdeen), Lachlan Oates (Shettleston), Ross Matheson (Lasswade), David Vernon (VP City of Glasgow), Mark Pollard, Andrew Douglas (both Inverclyde). I had actually been ahead of all these athletes for over half the race. It became a real war of attrition through the mud. I think within a kilometre, I had gone from 4th to 12th. However, this was not as bad as it sounded. I was still actually in contention to win. A burst of pace would have taken me back up with Matthew Gillespie, Hendry and Mengisteab. The constant swapping of positions made proceedings a blur to me as a participant but must have made for exciting viewing for spectators.

With a kilometre or so to go, my legs were burning. I managed to dig deep enough to reverse the downward trend by overtaking Mark Haskett and Lachlan Oates then focussed on staying in touching distance with the rest. I was close enough to count my position as we circled the field. 11th. After the gap in the hedge, it was a 100m-150m dash to the finish line. I couldn't lift a sprint of any description and got ambushed by clubmate Jack Hamilton, Mark Pollard and Edinburgh's Andrew Crichton in one swoop. I could do nothing about it. The previous 3.9km sapped me. I was dead on my feet and crawled over the finish line 14th in 13:04 before anyone else arrived at my side.

Above: within the final 200m. I'm unsure whether to thank Ian Goudie for this photo.

Matthew Gillespie won in a time of 12:37, one second ahead of Alex Hendry. Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab was 3rd. A 10 second improvement on my time would have brought me into 9th. Such was my exhaustion, I could barely walk through the finish funnel and took around 15 minutes to fully recover, encountering some light headedness and dizzy spells as I did.

Team medals in this race have been hard to come by for Cambuslang so I was delighted to join Jack Hamilton (12th), Stewart Orr (15th) and my predecessor as club captain Jamie Reid (29th) in receiving team bronze behind Shettleston and Central, my second medal in this race in 3 years.

I will conclude with a few general observations. In January, I was 8th. This winter, I was 14th. I took 4 scalps I didn't get at Cumbernauld on 22nd October and was competitive with a lot of good runners. I was quicker than Cumbernauld though it should be said there's little to be gained in comparing cross country times. Conditions vary, even on the same course from year to year. I don't think I'm running any worse than last winter but I think that the competition this year is a lot tougher. Several athletes have raised their games and a number of talented ones have come through to the under 20 age group. I have to find a way to respond. Thank goodness Jack is still a under 20 which means I take poll position after one race in the Cambuslang Senior Men Club Championship. The next big target this side of the New Year is the West District Cross Country on 10th December. Training has been mapped out day by day, week by week and is in progress. 32 days and counting at the time of writing...

Oh yes, the sharp start at Bellahouston let me get to Hampden for the Queen's game. Queen's Park-0 Annan Athletic-0. Why did I bother?



Scottish Athletics Awards 2011/Amazing Who You Meet 6

For the fourth consecutive year, I got my junket (I'm not going to pretend it's anything else) to the Scottish Athletics Awards courtesy of Whitemoss AAC. I've been a member of Whitemoss in some shape or form since May 1996- first claim athlete, second claim athlete, junior committee member, website administrator (twice) and, most recently, treasurer, a post I only relinquished in October 2010 after three and a half years. I content myself now with Mens League team manager. I consider the annual blow out a reward for services rendered.

Whitemoss had something to celebrate having achieved charity status from the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. Off the track, a lot is happening for Whitemoss. I may devote another post to it. Having taken responsibility for the charity application, I didn't feel a total fraud taking up the free ticket. We weren't as close to the back of the room as normal which suggested an award may be in the offing. Sure enough, the club won Community Club of the Year. It was only natural the whole table got in the photo. 

Above: Whitemoss Chairman Graham Ravenscroft (middle, red tie) receiving the Community Club of the Year Award on behalf of Whitemoss. Also in the photo, from left to right, are Allan Boyd (coach), Iain McEwan (coach), Mark Stringer (secretary and team manager), myself (hanger on, see above), Willie Sutherland (coach and auditor) and John Robertson (athlete and junior committee member).

After the disappointment that was Daley Thomson last year, 1996 Olympic 400m silver medallist Roger Black proved himself a Guest of Honour worthy of the name, giving an entertaining speech and being readily available for autographs and photographs for whoever asked. I managed to get both. I like his taste in dinner wear.

James Bond and Johnny English. You decide which is which. I hope I look that young when I'm his age.



Scottish National Cross Country Relay Championships, 22nd October 2011

The latest relay took us to Cumbernauld Park for the Scottish National Cross Country Relay. This was the one where a below par West District performance relegated me to the B team last year where I totally muddled up the apple cart by clocking the club's fastest time of the day. Conditions were drier this year but with a fairly gusting wind to keep it interesting.

For an afternooon, Cumbernauld Park is taken over by hundreds of folk huddled under trees and in tents and racing. I saw some of the women's race unfold. Sarah Hood of Edinburgh AC, who trains with us at the track on a Monday, kept close order with Hunters Bog Trotters A and B teams in the lead. Keeping such order proved decisive for her club as Edinburgh took the gold medals ahead of Fife AC and the aforementioned Bog Trotters A team. The women's team from my former club, Calderglen Harriers, are slowly gaining prominence, finishing 35th from 73 teams following their silver medal haul at the Lanarkshire Road Relay. A settled line up of Julie Beveridge, Frances Maxwell and Joanne McEvoy is paying off. We had no team this time with our mainstays so far, young Katie Bristow and Lucy Deeny, having a well earned break after 3 relays in consecutive weeks.

We lined up with 4 and a half mens teams for the 4 x 4km relay. The initial cavalry charge actually saw Stewart Orr and Andrew Coulter take an early lead before things settled down. Michael Gillespie and David Vernon (13:03 each) ran  storming legs for Shettleston and VP City of Glasgow respectively to bring these clubs in ahead of the chasing pack. Stewart kept us in touch in 6th with Andrew bringing the B team through 11th. It was becoming an unpredictable race at the front with Sean Fontana (13:30) taking VP City of Glasgow into pole position under strong pressure from Alex Hendry of Central (13:03), Thomas Fay of Shettleston (13:46) and Andrew Douglas of Inverclyde (13:26). Admittedly, we were falling slightly out of medal contention, 16 seconds behind 3rd place by the end of leg 2, but Jack Hamilton's time of 13:37 gave me plenty to chase on leg 3. Iain MacCorquodale brought the B team into the top 10.

VP City of Glasgow, Central, Shettleston, Inverclyde and Cambuslang set off in that order, one after the other in single file. Paul Sorrie (Shettleston) and Mark Pollard (Inverclyde) were my nearest targets and I set off out the start pen up the first hill in pursuit. In relays, only the first leg runners really get a true race against others. After that, it depends. I was on my own but close enough to do something. I felt strong on my way round and was moving well. I think I did actually gain ground on Sorrie and Pollard. However, they were together, working off each other which I think is key. I was more distant and just didn't get close enough to see the whites of their eyes. Further ahead, VP's medal challenge faltered as Ethan Sloan-Dennison was caught by John Newsom of Central plus Pollard and Sorrie. I faltered a bit in the final kilometre up hill and round woodland into the finish, coming through in 13:28 compared to 13:21 for Pollard and 13:27 for Sorrie. I did gain 20 seconds on VP, allowing Robert Gilroy to finish the job on leg 4 to earn us 4th for the second consecutive year. Cambuslang last won a senior medal in this in 2003. They are hard to come by. David Munro gained another 2 places for the B team and Jamie Reid climbed another one to give them 7th.

Giving chase. Photo courtesy of Kenny Phillips.

Inverclyde won the race following a blistering effort from an in form Craig Ruddy on leg 4 (12:55) while Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab overhauled Ross Houston in the home straight to give Shettleston silver ahead of Central, both teams being credited with the same time. A photo finish after 16km of racing. Our Vets team defended their title, taking gold and 20th overall and our D team were 40th.

In conclusion, while not a poor performance, I feel my personal report card reads "room for improvement." The National 4km Cross Country is on 5th November. A head to head will be a different story from a relay where everyone is running at different times in varying conditions. I'm also entered for the Strathaven Striders Run With the Wind 10k the next day. I'll gauge how my legs feel after the cross country before committing to that for sure. The club matched its performance of a year ago and also had 3 athletes- myself, Stewart and Jack-  in the top 20 times compared to one in 2010 and, with Iain MacCorquodale, 4 in the top 30. Plenty more to come this winter hopefully.

Cambuslang Harriers Mens Results

A Team
6th: Stewart Orr, 13:28
5th: Jack Hamilton, 13:37
5th: Stuart Gibson, 13:28
4th: Robert Gilroy, 13:55
B Team
11th: Andrew Coulter, 14:03
10th: Iain McCorquodale, 13:53
8th: David Munro, 14:10
7th: Jamie Reid, 13:57

C Team- Vets gold medallists
42nd: Alan Ramage, 15:15
29th: Kenny McPherson, 14:45
20th: Kerry Wilson, 14:14- fastest Vet
20th: Michael O'Hagen, 15:15
D Team
47th: Dean McNaught, 15:22
30th: Gordon Robertson, 14:40
36th: Scott Hunter, 16:11
40th: Stephen Paris, 16:37

E Team
Thomas McPake, 18:42
Zac Hunter, 20:23

Scottish Athletics Mens League AGM 2011

This afternoon, I went through to Falkirk for the Scottish Athletics Mens League AGM as the Whitemoss representative. Part of the agenda was the presentation of various Athlete of the Season awards. At the end of each of the 4 meetings, team managers are asked to choose their top 3 track athletes and top 3 field athletes in their Division that day. The points are totalled up and the winners receive a prize at the AGM.

I only noticed I had won the Division 2 Track Athlete of the Season award on Thursday when printing off the agenda and seeing my name mentioned. The photo below shows me receiving a £50 voucher for athletics store Run and Become and a medal from League Chairman David Low.

West District Cross Country Relay Championships, 8th October 2011

Photos courtesy of Chris Upson.

Out of all the races during a successful 2010/11 winter season, this one stuck out. It's the only one where I came away feeling I hadn't done myself justice. I didn't handle the two lap circuit of Rouken Glen Park at all. Still, it fired me up for the National Cross Country Relay two weeks later. Reports on both those races can be found earlier on this blog.

It being my parent's anniversary, I was happy to excuse my Dad's attendance so set off for Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge on my own. Amazingly for me driving to a relatively unfamiliar venue with no directions in adverse weather, I found it first time. Just as well with no Bob and Winifred from Edinburgh to help me this week.

With heavy legs and a blister on the big toe of my left foot, both helped by a bath on Thursday, my case for a B team place fell on deaf ears with the Cambuslang hierarchy and I was allocated 3rd leg for the A team. I replaced Andrew Coulter who, when I spoke to him pre-race, wasn't perturbed in the slightest. Still, I had ensured everyone was happy, captain's duty fulfilled.

I wandered round the course with David Munro, Gordon Robertson and Robert Rossborough. The length of a muddy football pitch, under a bridge, round a narrow grass verge, lap of a field, onto a trail, through the same bridge then a series of convuluted twists and turns eventually leading to a finish line adjacent to the main road. I spent a good 10 minutes watching the senior women race to ensure I knew the correct route. Our youthful pairing of Katie Bristow and Lucy Deeny combined to be 6th after 2 legs and, with a 3rd runner to complete the team, would easily have earned a top 10 place.

On the senior men first leg, Derek Hawkins stormed half a minute clear of the chasing pack to give Kilbarchan the lead. For us, Robert Gilroy came through 6th, Andrew Coulter in 8th, under 20s Bobby Bristow and Dean McNaught in 12th and 21st respectively and Alan Ramage 23rd for our vets team. The race made for exciting viewing. Conor McNulty held off a chasing Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab to keep Kilbarchan 18 seconds clear. Shettleston's B team were clinging on to 3rd narrowly ahead of VP City of Glasgow and our A team. Jamie Reid kept our B team in 8th, Charlie Thomson brought our vets/C team up 11 places to 12th, 5 seconds ahead of Alistair Campbell who took over from Bobby Bristow in the D team and Robert Rossborough, running in the incomplete E team, competed well considering limited cross country experience, handing on to the vastly experienced David Fairweather.

Jack Hamilton gave me plenty to chase in a close 5th place. I set off to put us in the medals. In the first few hundred metres, I caught and passed VP City of Glasgow's Alan Ramsay and set my sights on Shettleston's B runner Lee Wilson as I went under the bridge. Determined not to let one club win two medals in the same race, I chased him hard.

Not my most flattering of poses. Heel flick clearly visible.

By the time we got to the narrow trail, I had overtaken Wilson and achieved my target of putting Cambuslang into the medals. Now to keep them there. The trail went slightly downhill and I lengthened my stride to try and pull away. Back under the bridge, I still had about half the race to go. Club treasurer Colin Feechan gave me a shout and some directions to keep me on course. Chairman David Cooney told me the gap was closing. I thought he meant the chasing pack were getting me. However, he was referring to me closing in on Kilbarchan's 3rd runner, Graham Evans. He had been overtaken by Michael Deason who completed the catch up job Mengisteab started for Shettleston on leg 2. I was closing on Evans with every stride. By the end of the leg, I would have closed the gap from 1 minute 6 seconds to 18 seconds. I threw everything into catching him but ultimately the finish line beat me to it. I ran 12:38 to Evans' 13:36. I had a minor triumph of clocking the fastest time on leg 3.

In the home straight.

Stewart Orr finished the job Robert, Jack and I started, overhauling Kilbarchan's last runner, Craig Haxton, and safely securing us a silver medal. A speedy effort from Matthew Gillespie (12:16) won Shettleston gold. David Vernon hauled VP City of Glasgow up 2 places to bronze medals pushing an unlucky Kilbarchan quartet, in the medals for 75% of the race, to 4th and Shettleson B into 5th. David Munro guided our B team to 7th and Greg Hastie overhauled Scott Hunter to earn our vets team gold medals and 12th overall one place ahead of our D team.

This was a huge improvement for me on a year ago- first ever District relay medal, fastest Harrier and 7th quickest overall. At the prize giving I had a chat with Calderglen Harriers coach Alan Derrick. He ran a swift 14:05 on 2nd leg to help my former club to vets bronze medals. I received an open invitation to do the Brampton to Carlisle 10 Mile Road Race on 19th November. I haven't been to Brampton for 3 years. I might just take the offer up.

On my way back to the car, I spoke to a guy I'd never met before who reads this blog. I didn't get his name so if you're reading, please re-introduce yourself at my next race and hopefully you've enjoyed reading this.

 

Cambuslang Senior Results

Men

A Team (2nd)

6th: Robert Gilroy- 12:58

5th: Jack Hamilton- 12:44

3rd: Stuart Gibson- 12:38

2nd: Stewart Orr- 12:47

B Team (7th)

8th: Andrew Coulter- 13.16

8th: Jamie Reid- 13.11

8th: Gordon Robertson- 14.06

7th: David Munro- 13.16

C/Vets Team (12th, 1st vets team)

23rd: Alan Ramage- 14.24

12th: Charlie Thomson- 13.17

12th: Michael O' Hagen- 14.26,

12th: Greg Hastie- 13.42

D team (13th) 

12th: Bobby Bristow- 13.51

13th: Alistair Campbell- 13.55

10th: Ian McCorquodale- 13.19

13th: Scott Hunter - 15.08

E team

21st: Dean McNaught- 14.18

31st: Robert Rossborough - 16.20

35th: David Fairweather- 18.25

Women

8th: Katie Bristow- 15:52

6th: Lucy Deeny- 16:47



BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k, 2nd October 2011

Selection for this race came 10 days beforehand. I considered an overnight stay but it seemed, unless I wanted to book some quirky guesthouse or other, the nearest I could get to Edinburgh was about 7 miles away. Besides, I had club duties transporting visitors from Armagh to the McAndrew Relay and back the day before so I settled for a 7am rise to get ready and drive through for the 10.35am start since there was only one train which would get me there on time and, with the persistent rain, I feared a delay or cancellation. Arriving wasn't without its difficulties but the short account is I made it to a soggy Holyrood Park with time to spare.

District selection entitled me to stand in the elite start where we hung about until Channel 5 were ready for the select few to be introduced and do their wee waving bit to the crowds. Getting this treatment were Titus Mbishi (Kenya), Jose Manuel Martinez (Spain), Arizona based Scot Andrew Lemoncello (I don't think he recognised me from the 2008 Scottish Senior 5000m) and Great North Run winner Charles Mathathi (Kenya). I was anxious to get underway.

As we tackled the first couple of kilometres uphill round Arthur's Seat out of Holyrood Park, I decided both for my own race prospects and for the sake of another 30 seconds on TV, it wasn't worth pursuing Mathathi and Mbishi and focussed on placing well among the Brits around me. I overtook Michael Crawley of Durham City Harriers and tried to move away from various Scottish adversaries including Murray Strain, Michael Gillespie and Conor McNulty. By the time we hit the city centre streets, I had a bit of a gap ahead of me. I don't know how close anyone else was to me because as I've said before, I never look back in a race.

As I negotiated the undulating course, I recognised East District runners Alex Hendry, who beat me in the Inter Regional 5000m, and John Newsom. I saw from the TV coverage later both had gone with Lemoncello at the start. Encouragingly they were coming back to me. Maybe these High Point hill sessions do work. By the time we reached the Meadows between 5km and 6km, Hendry had dropped behind Newsom and I was gaining with every stride. On a long, flat stretch, I took my chance and overtook without a first look never mind a second one and pounded up a slight incline on a right turn out the Meadows to try and open a gap. As well as I was running, I knew guys like Hendry were more than capable runners and I couldn't ease up.

Eventually, we headed along Princes Street where the crowds thickened and the last two flat, downhill kilometres. I was feeling strong and confident. In an interesting development ahead, Newsom had caught and overtaken another Kenyan, John Kelai, who had been 3rd early on. I was gaining as well. He had blown a gasket. I went through 8km (5 miles approx) in 25:13. Going down the Royal Mile back to Holyrood Park, I threw everything into catching Newsom and Kelai. Probably sensing a lawyer from East Kilbride was about to beat him (okay, maybe not), Kelai rallied and managed to keep his lead over me. Seeing the front of my vest, a random guy outside a pub shouted "come on Gibson" which did make me smile.

I entered the home straight flat out, finishing in 31:07, hands in the air for the camera pointed at me hoping it would make the TV coverage. It didn't. I ran the final 2km in 5:54 and it wasn't enough to gain another place. I narrowly avoided walking in on race winner Mathathi's Channel 5 interview and went through the finishing funnel where I exchanged high fives with the children handing out the goody bags.

I was delighted to place 12th and 3rd Scot with my 2nd fastest 10k ever over a tough course in the rain. At long last, I feel I'm getting close to my true form. Following a gentle warm down, I enjoyed a Sunday roast and a couple of beers on Rose Street and headed home knackered. My legs took 3 days to recover.

Thank yous are due to my Dad for getting me to Edinburgh, Sweatshop's Gavin Harvie for holding on to my clothing during the race and my warm down and giving me a carrier bag for my muddy shoes and, last but definitely not least, a nice Edinburgh couple called Bill and Winifred who helped us locate my car post race after my Dad couldn't find where he parked it. I'll never entertain any cynical comments about Edinburgh folk again.

Full race results are here.

Training for the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k

Up until 22nd September, the title of this post would have been "Training for the McAndrew Road Relay." A sudden change came as I was notified of selection for the West of Scotland team to compete in the Scottish Inter District Championships incorporated into the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k. The 7am rise on a wet Sunday morning proved worthwhile as I took 12th place (3rd Scot) with my second fastest 10k ever of 31:07 over a demanding city centre course. I have to admit I've enjoyed the minor fame of 5 minute cameo appearances on Channel 5 and BBC 2 which have come with it. With the recent 3000m at Shettleston, race at Millport and now this, I finally seem to be nearing the form I feel I'm capable of.

Detailed below is my training leading up to the race for anyone interested. If it's boring, brilliant, because that means I've been consistent. September has been predominantly steady running to build up stamina for the winter. Track sessions and tempo runs will be eased in gradually.

Week Commencing Monday 29th August

Monday: 8.4 miles easy (53:09).

Tuesday: Club, 6 miles approx easyish (38:50).

Wednesday: 9.7 miles brisk (1:00:34).

Thursday: Hill reps, High Point, 6 circuits running hard off the top, 5.5 miles approx including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: AM- 6 miles (38:03) including 3 sets of 3 x 30 second strides, 30 second jog recoveries, 5 mins between sets. PM- 3.3 miles brisk (20:09)

Sunday: Longer run, including 20 mins easy then intervals, 5 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 5 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, all with 5 mins jog recoveries, 15 miles approx (1:38:09).

Mileage: 53

Week Commencing Monday 5th September

Monday: 8.5 miles easy (55:08).

Tuesday: Club, 8 miles brisk (50:30)

Wednesday: 9.7 miles brisk (1:01:03)- last Wednesday's route in reverse, hillier.

Thursday: Hill reps, High Point, 6 circuits running hard off the top, 4.3 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Glasgow Endurance Session, Glasgow Green- 6 x 3 mins, 2 mins recoveries, 6.4 miles including warm up and warm down.

Sunday: Race- Round Cumbrae 10 Mile Road Race, Isle of Cumbrae, 1st in 53:08, heavy rain and galeforce winds, 13.1 miles including warm down.

Mileage: 50

Week Commencing Monday 12th September

Monday: 8.8 miles easy (57:36).

Tuesday: Club, 6.8 miles easy (43:13)- AGM after training, elected Club Captain.

Wednesday: 9.7 miles brisk (1:00:45)- same route as 2 weeks ago.

Thursday: Hill reps, High Point, 6 circuits running hard off the top, 5.6 miles approx including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5k time trial, Strathclyde Parkrun- 1st in 15:43, 6.2 miles including warm down- first meeting with some club members since taking the Captaincy.

Sunday: Longer run, including 20 mins easy then intervals, 5 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 5 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, all with 5 mins jog recoveries, 15 miles (1:34:12).

Mileage: 52

Week Commencing Monday 19th September

Monday: 7.3 miles easy (47:06).

Tuesday: Club, 8 miles approx easy (54:00)

Wednesday: 9.7 miles brisk (1:00:00)- last week in reverse.

Thursday: Hill reps, High Point, 6 circuits running hard off the top, 4.75- 5 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Showground, East Kilbride (cross country)- 8 x 3 mins, 2 mins recoveries, 6.5- 7 miles including warm up and warm down.

Sunday: Longer run, including 20 mins easy then intervals, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, all with 5 mins jog recoveries, 14.3 miles (1:29:54).

Mileage: 51

Week Commencing Monday 26th September

Monday: Strathclyde Park, 7.7 miles (55:43)-  4 miles (24:07) on my own then 3.7 miles (31:36) with Kirsty.

Tuesday: Rest- at a seminar after work.

Wednesday: Hill reps, High Point, 4 circuits running hard off the top, 5.4 miles approx including warm up and warm down.

Thursday: 6.2 miles (37:28) including 3 sets of 3 x 30 second strides, 30 second jog recoveries, 5 mins between sets.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 4.3 miles brisk (26:38).

Sunday: Race- BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k, 12th in 31:07, 8.2 miles including warm down.

Mileage: 31