Championship races on midweek evenings aren't ideal but, with my desire to keep my running fresh by trying new things, I put in an entry for the Scottish 5km Championship in the Silverknowes area of Edinburgh. It proved worthwhile as my recent welcome upturn in fortunes continued.
Preparation wise, I took a half day at work to wind down during the afternoon and get to the venue with some time to spare. In hindsight, 4.30pm was maybe still too late to leave home and, after numerous traffic delays on the outskirts of then in Edinburgh itself, arrived at Silverknowes Promenade at 6.15pm in a state of harassment. I was still in plenty time for the 7.30pm start but felt ruffled by such a long drive. It was just as well I travelled solo because, on that sort of journey, my co-pilot (Dad) and I start arguing. I needed to get my race head on so, after a few brief hellos to various people, slipped away on my own to walk/jog out to the first kilometre mark and back. The wind would be against us at the beginning as we set off from the tea room on the promenade, with us until 3.5-4km then against once more to the finish at the same tea room.
With a lot of the country's more prominent runners in attendance, I felt quite edgy. I followed my pre-race plan at the start by sitting comfortably in the initial large group, resisting the urge to follow any of the faster starters. By the turn at 1km, I happily hadn't noticed the wind much and, with the change in direction, decided to up the ante. The promenade was congested with bodies running at their limit and saw one of our guys, Ryan Thomson, take a tumble so I ran wide to get a clear view. By halfway, I had worked my way up to 4th on the coattails of Tewelde Mengisteab (Shettleston), Grant Sheldon (Cambuslang) and a man finishing a day when he was named in Scotland's Commonwealth team for the marathon, Ross Houston (Central). Congratulations to him! The marathon isn't that easy. I may have alluded to this once or twice before....
Anyway, I also had Alex Hendry (Central) and Murray Strain (Hunter Bog Trotters) for company and, as the results proved, several other good calibre men on my tail. Apart from the breeze, conditions were ideal. As we veered off to the left to keep the sea beside us just after 3km, I was working extremely hard. It was one of those races where I was hurting but knew from how it kept panning out I was putting in an excellent performance. I burst a gut to keep with the leading 3 but they were simply too strong for me and, by the time we took 2 right turns to face the wind, they had forged a gap.
With a kilometre to go, Alex and Murray had also overtaken me. While I kept in close contact with them, I wasn't near enough to gain protection from the elements. When I run with a wind against me, I tend to start leaning forwards, especially as I tire. I felt myself starting to do this and endeavoured to keep my posture as upright as possible. I got joined by clubmate Ben Hukins who gained a stride on me. I battled back and, by 500m to go, headed him but eventually lost out to his experience and superior strength on the night. No-one else closed me down before the line however and I finished a pretty exhausted 7th place in a time of 15:02, a 23 second improvement on my Clydebank performance in mid March. Listing the first 30 finishers will give an idea of the race quality.
30 Craig Reid Bellahouston RR 16.17
The race was a great one for me in terms of scalps. Amazingly, the 2 runners who took gold and silver at the Scottish 10,000m, Luke Traynor and Neil Renault, came in behind me. A sport of swings and roundabouts. The crowning glory came with Grant, Ben and myself taking the team golds for Cambuslang. This constituted a personal triumph, being the first ever Scottish gold medal of my entire running career, and I mean one which began at primary school when I was 10. It meant that I have now completed the set with Cambuslang in Scotland, now being the proud owner of West District gold, silver and bronze medals and the equivalent Scottish medals. I had a glut of Scottish silvers and bronzes but, until now, no golds. A proud night in what is becoming something of a purple patch for me.
Finally, full marks to the tea room for staying open and being good enough to prepare me a hamburger and onions during the prizegiving. Paul Sorrie availed himself of the same opportunity. My journey home was a bit shorter in duration and a lot happier than the reverse trip earlier.
Full race results, including an extensive Cambuslang turnout, can be found here.
With a lot of the country's more prominent runners in attendance, I felt quite edgy. I followed my pre-race plan at the start by sitting comfortably in the initial large group, resisting the urge to follow any of the faster starters. By the turn at 1km, I happily hadn't noticed the wind much and, with the change in direction, decided to up the ante. The promenade was congested with bodies running at their limit and saw one of our guys, Ryan Thomson, take a tumble so I ran wide to get a clear view. By halfway, I had worked my way up to 4th on the coattails of Tewelde Mengisteab (Shettleston), Grant Sheldon (Cambuslang) and a man finishing a day when he was named in Scotland's Commonwealth team for the marathon, Ross Houston (Central). Congratulations to him! The marathon isn't that easy. I may have alluded to this once or twice before....
Anyway, I also had Alex Hendry (Central) and Murray Strain (Hunter Bog Trotters) for company and, as the results proved, several other good calibre men on my tail. Apart from the breeze, conditions were ideal. As we veered off to the left to keep the sea beside us just after 3km, I was working extremely hard. It was one of those races where I was hurting but knew from how it kept panning out I was putting in an excellent performance. I burst a gut to keep with the leading 3 but they were simply too strong for me and, by the time we took 2 right turns to face the wind, they had forged a gap.
With a kilometre to go, Alex and Murray had also overtaken me. While I kept in close contact with them, I wasn't near enough to gain protection from the elements. When I run with a wind against me, I tend to start leaning forwards, especially as I tire. I felt myself starting to do this and endeavoured to keep my posture as upright as possible. I got joined by clubmate Ben Hukins who gained a stride on me. I battled back and, by 500m to go, headed him but eventually lost out to his experience and superior strength on the night. No-one else closed me down before the line however and I finished a pretty exhausted 7th place in a time of 15:02, a 23 second improvement on my Clydebank performance in mid March. Listing the first 30 finishers will give an idea of the race quality.
1 Tewelde Mengisteab Shettleston Harriers 14.40
2 Grant Sheldon RH Cambuslang H 14.46
3 Ross Houston Central AC 14.48
4 Murray Strain HBT 14.55
5 Alexander Henry Central AC 14.59
6 Ben Hukins RH Cambuslang H 15.01
7 Stuart Gibson RH Cambuslang H 15.02
8 Max McNeill Lothian RC 15.08
9 Neil Renault EAC 15.10
10 Lachlan Oates Shettleston Harriers 15.12
11 Bryan Mackie EAC 15.14
12 Calum McKenzie Corstorphine AAC 15.16
13 Kerry-Liam Wilson RH Cambuslang H 15.16
14 Robert Gilroy RH Cambuslang H 15.18
15 Patryk Gierjatowicz Ed Uni Hare & Hounds 15.21
16 Luke Traynor Giffnock North 15.23
17 Paul Sorrie Shettleston Harriers 15.26
18 Conan McCaughey Central AC 15.29
19 Ryan Thomson RH Cambuslang H 15.30
20 Andrew Lawler EAC 15.31
21 Keith Hood Corstorphine AAC 15.31
22 Bobby Bristow RH Cambuslang H 15.51
23 Donald Macauley Corstorphine AAC 15.59
24 Bryan Clark Corstorphine AAC 16.01
25 Ben Johnson Shettleston Harriers 16.02 M
26 Scott Kennedy Shettleston Harriers 16.06
27 Dean Cunningham Inverness H 16.13
28 Morag MacLarty Central AC 16.14
29 Barney Phillips Lasswade AC 16.15
30 Craig Reid Bellahouston RR 16.17
The race was a great one for me in terms of scalps. Amazingly, the 2 runners who took gold and silver at the Scottish 10,000m, Luke Traynor and Neil Renault, came in behind me. A sport of swings and roundabouts. The crowning glory came with Grant, Ben and myself taking the team golds for Cambuslang. This constituted a personal triumph, being the first ever Scottish gold medal of my entire running career, and I mean one which began at primary school when I was 10. It meant that I have now completed the set with Cambuslang in Scotland, now being the proud owner of West District gold, silver and bronze medals and the equivalent Scottish medals. I had a glut of Scottish silvers and bronzes but, until now, no golds. A proud night in what is becoming something of a purple patch for me.
Finally, full marks to the tea room for staying open and being good enough to prepare me a hamburger and onions during the prizegiving. Paul Sorrie availed himself of the same opportunity. My journey home was a bit shorter in duration and a lot happier than the reverse trip earlier.
Full race results, including an extensive Cambuslang turnout, can be found here.
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