West District Cross Country Championships, 7th December 2013

My report on this race (and indeed any blog update) has been delayed for various reasons but here we go. Little did I know at the time that the West District Cross Country would be my last race of 2013. I decided to do my usual weekly hill session on Boxing Day instead of racing at Ayr and no other races caught my eye.

This year, the event was hosted by Kilmarnock Harriers on a course next to the new Ayrshire Athletics Arena. Not a long journey either on road to the venue nor on foot to the course, the start being about 100m from the sports centre and, at first glance,  a decent course. All in stark contrast to the unaussprechlich  of Inverkip 12 months ago.

The biggest challenge looked to be a 20-30m patch of ground, which could be kindly described as a swamp, just after passing under a bridge. Negotiate that while retaining your footwear and you were on to a winner. Nevertheless, even the firmest of courses will adversely suffer when 8 races have been run on it before you and so it proved.

As the field of just over 200 were set off, I felt I had a point to prove to myself and started with a bit of aggression, moving into 3rd behind Shettleston duo Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab and Lachlan Oates. After a short lap of some playing fields, we faced 3 larger laps, described quite accurately elsewhere as a more agricultural setting. While there were no hills to speak of apart from a few muddy mounds to hurdle, the ground had been softened considerably by several hundred earlier runners. David Vernon (VP City of Glasgow) and Luke Traynor (Giffnock North) had slipped past me before the first of 3 visits to the swamp.

Inverkip, all is forgiven. Being tracked by Matthew Sullivan (Shettleston), who later overtook me, through the East Ayrshire Everglades.

Normally by this point in the winter, I would have had some relay races and 2 months of training in October and November. Since I was tapering off for most of October leading up to Dublin and found walking a challenge in November, let alone running, I had not built up the same fitness base. It told when during the second lap, I slipped to 11th place. 3 of my clubmates, Iain MacCorquodale, Robert Gilroy and Ben Hukins were among those overtaking. As I headed into the final lap, I got a shout from David Cooney that we had the team gold "in the bag" and I was well clear in my position. This helped and gave me a second wind to hold on to the position I had established. With only the first 6 finishers from a club taking the medals, there is a lot to lose from falling out that half dozen. Despite feeling dejected at the defeats I was suffering from other runners and the gaps they had opened on me, I dug in to see the race through, taking 11th place in a time of 37:45 for a course measured by a few at 10.5km. Our 5th and 6th counters, Kerry-Liam Wilson and Stewart Orr came in immediately after me in 12th and 13th to secure us the team gold ahead of Shettleston who, by that point, had only 3 runners over the line. The importance of packing in team races clearly illustrated. A round up of all Cambuslang's West successes is here. The results are here.

A few of our 20+ strong senior men team, left to right- Andrew Coulter, Stewart Orr, Gordon Robertson, Kerry-Liam Wilson, Iain MacCorquodale, Jamie Reid, Robert Gilroy, Ben Hukins and a grumpy me.

In the heat of the moment, I was thoroughly dejected despite numerous assertions I had no cause to be. I know now I simply needed to train though at that time I couldn't see the woods for the trees. Straight after crossing the finishing line, an offer to run the Inter District Cross Country on 11th January wasn't something I wanted to hear but I'm grateful for it now. After a 10 mile crawl in horrific wind and rain the next day, I had 2 complete days off. On the Monday, I watched a Queen's Park reserve team match with a friend and, the following night, had a meeting to attend with Whitemoss Athletics Club. It's encouraging that, as I watched the football match, I actually felt like training again. I've kicked on from the Wednesday onwards (11th December) and, in terms of recovery from sessions, the Christmas break has been wonderful. Due to the organiser's personal circumstances, my annual year curtain raiser at Beith is not taking place so 2014 is beginning with a 3000m at the Emirates indoor track. Hopefully I start as I mean to go on.

Touch wood, after a couple of false dawns, I'm now back!





Lanarkshire Cross Country Championships, 30th November 2013

By the time this race came round, I finally felt I was shaking off the shackles of the marathon. I'd had 2 weeks of 55 and 51 miles with key sessions- track, High Point hills, Saturday grass reps and Windfarm long runs- all in their appointed places. I kept the momentum going in the week leading up to the Lanarkshire though did a short session on the road on the Friday since I had a meeting on Tuesday 26th November so took it as a rest day. Both this race and my next (West District Cross Country, race report to come) disproved me of my notion a little.

 

Looking back as I write this, my preparation wasn't the best. Yet another stressful working week and no ease up in training meant I headed to Coatbridge's Drumpellier Park feeling more like I was getting ready for a training session. I even warmed up with some other guys from the club, something I never do before races. I was in training, not race mode.

 

Cambuslang's senior men responded to a rallying call I issued after the Scottish 4km Cross Country by turning out in good numbers for this local championship. Using Inverkip as my yardstick, the 4 lap course looked perfectly runnable. A field of just over 40 runners, 9 of them for Cambuslang, took to the start line. Among the others were 3 from one of my other clubs, Whitemoss, including my good friend William Sutherland. He's also a Clyde supporter so is rather enjoying the current plight of my own team who happen to also be his side's derby rivals.

 

Heading along the opening straight, myself, fellow Cambuslangers Robert Gilroy and Gordon Robertson, Grant Baillie (East Kilbride AC) and Darran Muir (Law and District) forged a gap. Seeking to boost my fragile confidence, I moved into the lead as we crossed a narrow path under a railway bridge before taking a sharp left into some thicker mud. Not Inverkip style thick mud however. After some grassy trails, we doubled back under the railway bridge again into a full circuit of the area where we started into the next lap.

 

By the end of lap 1, Robert and I were in a straight head to head. He was battling hard and I simply wasn't shaking him off. We remained locked together into the final lap. In a short climb through some trees, I ran hard up the hill then hard off the top in an attempt to create some daylight. In the same pattern as earlier, he descended with more grace than me and closed me down. Through the bridge for the last time, he forged ahead, leaving me broken and unable to respond. Robert won the race in 30:56 with me coming though in 30:59. It was his first victory over me since Inverkip.

 

Looking back now, I didn't take it well and had a bit of a tantrum to myself, throwing my watch to the ground in disgust. However, the better man won and I did congratulate him. I realise all that sounds ridiculous but it was a bad reaction from me in the heat of the moment.

 

Meanwhile, Jamie Reid came through strongly to finish 3rd and complete our counting 3 in the team competition. We took 5 of the first 10 places with Gordon Robertson in 4th and under 20 Ross Stephen, in his senior debut, finishing 7th. Scott Hunter continued a rapid improvement to take 14th, pipping Colin Feechan by 4 seconds after a similar race long battle to Robert and I. Mick O'Hagan in 17th and Dave Thom in 25th rounded off a strong club showing. Gordon, Ross and Scott were unlucky not to take team bronze with a rule change preventing B teams from winning medals whereas they had in previous years.

 

I couldn't stay too grumpy since it was also my Mum's birthday and I treated her to a drink at our local, the Greenhills, that evening. I wasn't too muddy after the race or else she may not have agreed to it.