After a 2 year absence I returned to Armagh for the International 5km Road Race. Flying out a day later than the rest of the Cambuslang party, I arrived at the Armagh City Hotel in time for the lunch reception with the young lady currently occupying the post of Mayor of Armagh. If there's one thing Armagh AC do is feed you. Beef stroganoff, a few cakes and coffee went down well as a pre-race meal. Afterwards, having been up at 5.50am for my flight to Belfast, I had a quick shop at a supermarket then went back to the hotel for a nap....surfacing 2 and a half hours later! It certainly freshened me up. I felt very pensive and really hoped the last 2 months training would count for something.
I made the short walk from the hotel to the Mall to get into the correct mindset. I tend to retreat and keep to myself before these types of races, mainly because I'm a bag of nerves inside. I knew how important a good run was. The entry criteria is under 17 minutes. No slouching allowed. I saw the women's international 3km where Sarah Hood, who trains with us at the track on Mondays, finished 6th in 9:32. Katie Bristow meanwhile was an excellent 22nd from the 99 finishers in a personal best of 10:34.
A field of 69 runners lined up for the men's international 5km. While I would be flying the Cambuslang flag solo (snow prevented Ben Hukins getting from Aberdeen to Glasgow for his flight over), I had company from Shettleston in Michael Deason and Paul Sorrie. Athletes from England, Ireland and USA made up the remaining numbers. Course details are in my 2011 report. Suffice to say, after approximately 200m, we then did 4 full laps of the Mall.
We set off round the jail end of the Mall into the home straight for the first of 5 occasions. Paul and Michael got off to superb starts. I heard through the grapevine later Paul had gone straight into the lead. I bet that scared the Yanks including Michael, the American member of Paul's own club. I absoloutely hammered it into the first of the 4 full laps, completing the first kilometre in 2:52 yet there were still 20-30 runners running faster than me.
I passed Paul round the jail end in the first complete lap. Michael had got into a great position just behind the large leading group. Going round past the Armagh County Museum in the second complete lap, I finished 2km in 5:49. I was feeling very encouraged to be just off the leading group and was going hammer and tongs just to stay within a few metres of them. I really needed a performance in this race.
3km passed in 8:46. Runners were starting to tail off as the leaders turned the screw so I began to pick people off who had blown up chasing them. I knew 6 minutes for the last 2km would secure me a personal best. All I had to do was hold it together.
I needed something to focus on. Something to get me to the finish. Out the darkness came a red vest with the name "Hogan" on the back. It immediately made me think of the wrestling great Hulk Hogan. Surely I could beat the Hulkster?
Into the final lap, I slipped back 2 or 3 places, one of them passing me being "Hogan." I psyched myself up at the museum end for a long Spedding surge for the finish line. The effort took me past both "Hogan" and someone else. I sprinted through the finish, taking 25th place in a huge new personal best of 14:44. 8 seconds quicker than Armagh in 2011 and 4 seconds faster than I ran on the track in Bedford last August. There are times I wonder why I put myself through so much training midweek after working full time in a stressful job, often eating dinner as late as 8.30pm, then also training during leisure time at weekends. Results like this are why. What an unbeatable feeling. It's amazing what it does for your self esteem. For the record, Ethan Shaw (USA) won the race in a time of 14:11. 37 runners, more than half the field, ran under 15 minutes. Michael took 19th place in 14:38 while Paul battled on gallantly to finish 48th in 15:21. Since Michael is American, I could claim the honour of first Scot.
While I returned to earth, I took in the open 3km. Stewart Orr competed well throughout, eventually taking 4th in 8:56. Alistair Campbell continued his impressive return from recent health problems, finishing 7th in 9:16. Rounding off the Cambuslang participation, 16 year old David Robertson took the honour of our only prizewinner, putting the rest of us to shame, winning his age category in 9:31 and 12th place.
Above: with the racing over, team photo before hitting the pub. Left to right- Stewart Orr, Alistair Campbell, Katie Bristow, David Robertson, myself, Sarah Hood. Thanks to Jim Orr for taking the photo.
After a warm down jog with Stewart and David, it was back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes then to the local Gaelic football club's bar for chicken curry and refreshments. I felt I'd earned some relaxation so happily relaxed, downing a few pints of Smithwick's and getting the chance to chat to Michael and Paul. They were on the Guiness.
I flew home the following night after a hugely enjoyable 2 days which ended all too soon. Many thanks to the Cambuslang group (all in the above photo), Sarah Hood and club coaches/ambassadors Jim Orr and Bob Burt for their company and to all at Armagh AC once more for their faultless hospitality.
Callendar Park on 23rd February, here I come. I'm ready!
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