Dave’s annual Christmas Day run up Carnethy Hill
[picasa width=”640″ height=”400″ bgcolor=”#000000″ autoplay=”1″ showcaption=”1″ user=”penicuikharriers” album=”es_ChristmasCaper2014″]
A good crowd of harriers braved the cold and drizzly weather and ventured out with their santa hats on for the xmas handicap. Due to the slippery conditions underfoot the Mauricewood loop was chosen but we did it in reverse to avoid a treachurous downhill section. Thanks to the coaches and marshalls for looking after us. After the running we went into Beeslack High School for the secret santa draw.
Merry Christmas to all the harriers and I wish you all a happy running 2015! 🙂 X
Lots of Harriers turned out for this race round the 7 reservoirs in the Pentland Hills. Forecast was for snow and pretty snowy and windy when we arrived but after the first mile of the race the sun shone right until the last mile – beautiful views of Edinburgh as we dropped down to Bonaly!
A really well marshalled route so no doubt about where to go and lovely soup and cakes at the finish-line. Many thanks to Ian Morrice the organiser and his wonderful team of helpers
[picasa width=”640″ height=”400″ bgcolor=”#000000″ autoplay=”1″ showcaption=”1″ user=”penicuikharriers” album=”es_7ReservoirMultiTerrainHalfMarathon”]
A perfect day for the first race in the Borders xc at Lauder, a great turnout from the Harriers, please look at the photos to see who was there though as too long a list to type. Lauder is a fantastic xc course taking you up and along the Southern Upland Way and back through a lovely valley before you get to the mudslide of a climb into the final fields before the home straight.
Obligatory wash in the stream afterwards, helps get rid of the lactic acid so actually very necessary – thanks Kevin!
Wonderful shouts from Gill’s boys who even had a banner that they’d made (wow!) just as you got into the field which certainly helped me get to the finish.
Provisional results are here – https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3dEdnufX65IcnhsaGhUSVJUazA/view
Please add your own experience in the comments box below fellow xc runners 🙂
[picasa width=”640″ height=”400″ bgcolor=”#000000″ autoplay=”1″ showcaption=”1″ user=”penicuikharriers” album=”es_BordersXcSeriesLauder2014″]
At 14.5km and 850m, this race is a great mid-distance route. In many respects, similar to Dollar, but with several kms of track at the beginning and end, may well suite trail runners (Rachel?) and be a good introduction to hill racing – in good weather at least.
Stuart, Chris, Sarah, Sadie, Alasdair, Jan and myself braved the poor forecast for this nice jolly – but it did feel as we were entering Mordor as we left the sun of Midlothian. Registration was in the No.5 Inn in Alva with the promise of hot soup at the end of the race.
The race starts at the base of Alva Glen and takes an initial convoluted route up through twisting paths, steps, gates and under a pipe before going up onto the side of the hill above the town. The contouring track then enters a woodland of 2.5 kms sprint to Tillicoultry. For those in the know, the route then goes up to the start of Maddy Moss and their starts the steepest stage of the race. Stuart (and 3 others) got a little confused at this point and started running Maddy Moss losing him a good minute before realising his mistake. The ascent slowly becomes more gentle and with the strong wind on our backs was probably more runnable than usual. At ca.300m, we entered the cloud, never to see views again until the final descent.
The next 7-8 kms was a fairly lonely but wild affair with the runners being strung out in the murk with all of us trying to keep the person ahead in sight. I had to stop at least twice to check my map and compass to ensure I was going in the right direction. Of course, along the northern section of the race, we were running either against the wind or with it coming from the left. I think we were all being buffered around A LOT!! This was not a time to stop – potentially very cold – and the only option was to dig deep and battle on to stay warm. I actually managed to catch up a group on Ben Cleuch. Some were in shorts and I think were slowing because they must have been bloody cold. However, on the descent, with a little bit of navigation help from me (no one ever seems to want to look at a map!) they flew off and left me.
The final 2 kms are a fast gravel road which re-joins the original track with only one difficult choice of running around a hairpin bend or taking the direct route through it over some very slimy rocks and through old knotty bracken. My legs were rubber from the road so I think staying on the road would have been better. Luckily, no sprained ankles.
It was with great relief that I entered Alva Glen, navigated the twists and turns and crossed the finish line with bowls of Twixes awaiting my grumbling stomach. The weather was pretty grim, and Stuart (came in 9 minutes earlier) and I did not wait around for the others (sorry) but felt warm dry clothes and hot soup was our primary aim.
Results up already: 95 runners, 1st guy in at 1:10:59.
Stuart: 18th: 1:26:46
Rob: 36th: 1:35:37 [40 seconds slower than PB]
Alasdair: 52nd: 1:44:06
Jan: 71st: 1:50:17
Sarah: 85th: 2:02:11
Sadie: 93rd: 2:26:43
Chris: 94th: 2:26:44
All in all, a great relief that no one got lost. Conditions were miserable, but the soup, oh the soup, was lovely.
Rob
Run of Mill Route
It was quite a late decision to join Rachael Campbell and Sarah McKechnie in running the first of the East District XC races, at Stirling University. I hadn’t competed in a XC race since 2010 and I’m most at home on the roads so it takes a bit persuasion to get me onto the soft stuff. It was bizarrely warm for a XC, a balmy 17 degrees one woman told me in the queue for the disabled toilet. It was nice to meet up with Rach and Sarah and feel like “one of the team” again in our matching vests complete with matching pre-race nerves!! Dave Cairns came to say hello to us and had a word of warning that the course was “quite tussocky” and told us to watch out.
From that moment on I was worried. Hills may be Amy’s friend, but tussocks of grass are not mine! They lull you into thinking they’re nice and soft but really they’re just horrible little unpredictable lumps of grass that weren’t talented enough to form a lawn! Jamie will testify I can’t even walk on them without injury, let alone run. Anyway, have confidence I told myself! Bang, the gun went off and the field tore off like a pack of hounds. I hung back a bit, as I’d no idea of pacing and didn’t want to go off too fast. I could see Rach just ahead but Sarah had vanished into a sea of bobbing pony-tails. The course was 2 laps for the ladies so I settled into a nice little pack of similar paced girls, and started to slowly catch Rach.
The first hill of the course was approaching and it looked fairly short but sharp. It was at this point that the tussocks waged war, and out of nowhere I suddenly felt my left ankle buckle. OUCH I’d gone over on it! All I remember is yelping in pain and the tears rolling down my face as I danced about on my other leg screaming at myself. Of course to make matters worse, it seemed like a stream of runners passed me, with some kind souls shouting words of encouragement to me. I didn’t know what to do, so I started trying to jog/limp in the hope the pain wore off. I also started to panic, which when I look back was totally ridiculous but I knew there was a real risk of finishing last.
So I stupidly kept going, albeit carefully and wincing in pain whenever another tussock decided to have a second shot at my ankle. In my head I started composing an email to the club, asking if someone wanted my place in the Borders XC series and I’ll stick to the roads thank you very much. Stop being negative I told myself!! The pain did wear off slightly on the smoother terrain and I managed to complete the course in 30.54. The ankle stiffened up immediately after I’d stopped and I knew I had been stupid to continue. Maybe queuing for the disabled toilet was a sign of things to come!
Anyway, to my wonderful supportive team mates: Rach ran a good race with no injuries and finished in 29.08 but Sarah had (sensibly) pulled out after lap 1 due to injury and recovering from illness. She’ll be back though. We weren’t able to stay and cheer on Mark Snodgrass and Chris Downie, but they too did well in a very competitive field finishing in 36.41 and 45.12 respectively. I believe Mark’s sons had also run well in the junior races. All in all, it felt nice to be back but the confidence has taken a major beating. Next up is Lauder which I am now dreading, but I’ll give it a bash. Do you think the organisers would notice if I was to sprinkle a little tarmac over the course the night before??
The Yorkshire Marathon took place for the first time last year. I’d heard it was a great race and sold out within five hours, so booked the pre-sale website option when I got a link about it. Many people had told me how flat York was, so I was starting to think about a PB possibility as training was going quite well at the end of the third month. However I wanted to take part in the Spartan Sprint obstacle course which was three weeks before the marathon, it was much shorter than Tough Mudder and so I thought I’d risk it to break things up, certainly managed that with another broken/cracked rib at the same high wall obstacle. I tried an eight mile training run a few days later but only managed quarter of a mile, so planned to rest it. However there was a Munro trip which I had planned for some time so did that two weeks before the marathon as cross training. This was great but my rib was much worse after, so it was touch and go if I was going to manage the marathon.
It took about four hours to drive down to York the night before. Bib numbers, time chip etc all sent out by post previously, so no Expo needed. Jan dropped me off at the drop off point about an hour or so before the race, as it was going to be tricky parking in town. Everything was very well organized and I got to my zone in plenty time. I was regretting wearing shorts as the temperature was just three degrees and very misty. We all set off and I hoped the mist would lift a bit and it would warm up a little, but unfortunately it staid for the full race. The ibuprofen I’d taken for my rib was working, I could feel it but it wasn’t sore, so this was a great relief. Pleased with this I kept up a good pace for me well past half way, where I saw Jan and the kids wave me on at Stamford Bridge, where our caravan park was. The cold was making my hamstrings quite tight since mile eight though, and this started to be more of a worry as I saw quite a few people stopping with cramp. I was quite worried about this till the end but thankfully it didn’t happen. At mile eighteen or so I started to wonder where any downhill running may happen as the finish line was where we started and there was just light ascent and a little flat before going up hill again all the way so far. York may be flat but we ran right out of York and around the Yorkshire countryside which was quite undulating. There was very little in the way of downhill and the constant mild hills started to take their toll on my legs. The Yorkshire crowd were great and since everybody had their name printed on their bibs they would shout out your name as you passed which was great for motivation. With the fog not lifting we really only saw hedges and a misty tree or so all the way round. I was still hopeful of possibly getting a PB up until mile eighteen or so. There was lots of energy drink and water on route and gels at mile fifteen and twenty one, which I made use of at every occasion. A guy called out “Are you from Penicuik?” (because of my Harriers vest), turned out he stayed in West Linton for quite a few years. Another guy had a great Wallace and Gromit running top on with ‘Keep up lad!’ on it, looked great! It turned out he was from Aberdeen and lived in Edinburgh. I ran with him for a couple of miles. After mile twenty three (The amount I’d trained up to) I really started to slow down and any thoughts of a PB were long gone and I now just wanted to finish with four hours. I managed to run all the way till the last hill at mile twenty five and a half, where my legs would not do up hill any longer (first time I’ve walked in any race), but I carried on with a slow jog after I got to the top where it was quite flat for the last half mile or so. I was really knackered at this point and was quite uplifted by the crowd who were spurring everybody on. I hobbled along expecting a muscle to twang at any point but just managed to make it and put a small run in at the end to try and get myself in within three hours and fifty eight minutes, which I was quite amused to have succeeded with by one second! 3:57:59.
I had a quick stretch and then picked up some clothes I dropped in at baggage very quickly with no waiting. The event was very well organized and I made my way up to the pick up point where Jan had just arrived in the car from Stamford Bridge. Pleased in the end to do it within four hours considering missing three weeks training. Marathon number ten done! 🙂
It was great the marathon was on the first day of the holiday, so I didn’t need to train during it. Had a great steak at a local bar at night. Quite funny watching two woman that had done the marathon trying to get down the steps outside the bar as their legs had stiffened up. I could hardly walk up the steps into the caravan earlier!
York is quite a place to spend a week or so for a holiday. Lots to see there and the surrounding area!
It seemed a good idea at the time and definitely a big challenge.
This is a competition concocted in about 2002 by some sadistical Carnethy
person (allegedly) and combines the Manor Water (10 miles) and Pentland Skyline
(16 miles) hill races on consecutive days. Mark, Carl and Chris have all tried
this in the past and they are still running effectively, so it can’t be that bad.
My ‘practice’ for this self-inflicted pain was running Largo Law and the Seven
Hills of Edinburgh over a weekend in June (sheer coincidence actually). In fact
the best preparation was probably the Two Breweries 2 weeks beforehand.
Manor water on Saturday was incredibly pleasant for a change with ideal weather
and a slightly throttled-back pace to save the legs for the Sunday. Of course,
the slower pace increased a bit in the heat of competition, but a piffling 10
miles, what damage could that do? A time of 1:21:51 was 4 minutes off my PB so
probably judged OK. The many bonuses of the race included watching the sheep dog
trials, standing in lots of sheep poo, entering a raffle for a black face lamb
and winning a bottle of wine for 2nd M50 (not forgetting the bottle of
Broughton Ale for just turning up)!
The downside of approaching the Man or Mouse in a serious manner was having to
watch my family tuck into huge platefuls of fish suppers and swigging beer
(hopefully not all my family quite yet) whilst I modestly sooked my spaghetti.
The forecast for Sunday was promising and Rob very kindly gave the Harriers
contingent (Rob, Chris, Sadie, Andrea and me) a lift to Hillend. Chris admitted
to some butterflies and I was also getting a bit nervous when my legs began to
feel quite stiff climbing up to the start.
When the Organiser announced at 11:00 that there would be a kit check, we thought
that the start could be delayed for ages, but fortunately they just did a few
random spot checks – hooray.
On the dot of 11:11 we were off up the steep climb beside the ski slope – our
hill reps route. Rob and I ran together for the first few minutes until my legs
started to feel OK and I pulled away a bit. In fact, he wasn’t far behind even
going up Turnhouse (racing girlies no doubt).
The first half of the race is pretty straightforward with good (and very
familiar) paths, although the temptation to go too quickly was high, especially
when loads of girls seemed to be passing me as well. The legs felt good and I
downed my first gel going up Carnethy. The joy of coming off the Kips and turning
on to the Drove Road without being pelted by mist and drizzle was immense. Things
started to go downhill though trying to negotiate the horrible heather and soggy
tussocks down to the valley from Hare Hill. At least this route avoids the deep
bog at the bottom. Then the traverse and steady climb up Black Hill. There was
the usual half-hearted competing with other runners, but I don’t think I lost
or gained any places. I remembered that horrible steep climb up the Bells Hill
(?) gully from last year, but kept telling myself that it was a breeze compared
to the last hill in the Breweries.
Although not particularly big or steep, the last few hills seem to drag on for
hours and become increasingly huge and painful. There were a horrble few minutes
somewhere on Capelaw Hill when my legs quite suddenly ran out of fuel. Phew,
I still had a gel left. Euch, unfortunately it was a reduced-price one from
Run and Become very close to its best before date and it was exceedingly
sticky and disgusting. However, it did the job and the legs picked up somewhat.
I think it was near the top of Allermuir that I was greeted by very loud whoops
from some Penicuik Harriers (mostly Amy I think). Deafening and probably heard
on West Lomond, but very encouraging! In fact the support along the route was
great – lots of Harriers – apologies if I haven’t put names to faces whilst
wincing in pain, but I think we saw Gill, Julian, Amy, Jan. (Rob will no doubt
put me right.) Anyway, whoever you are, thanks, much appreciated!
Last bump on Caerketton and then the wobbly descent down to the ski slope and
the finish. Wow, not bad, only 5 minutes off my PB. Ah, there was Susie! I was
still feeling a bit queasy from the squidgy gel and had to wait 10 minutes before
I could start eating the flap jacks. And of course Susie’s marsh mallow cake,
yum. (next time, bring a flask of tea will you? Sorry, just joking – must be
catching from Rob!!).
Rob came in 10 minutes later, followed by Sadie, Chris and Andrea. Well done
Harriers Team. (Sorry we had to hang around a bit to collect my Man or Mouse
bottle of beer, but these things are important!) Provisional results are:
Duncan 38th 3:07:55
Rob 75th 3:30:16
Sadie 161 4:15:33
Chris 175 4:27:01
Andrea 178 4:31:27
Thanks to Shane and the Carnethy team and of course Broughton Ales (again).
Duncan Ball
Penicuik Harriers.
Report by Sadie and Michael:
The race was varied and enjoyable despite the wet and cold weather.
Sadie, Michael and Tracy travelled through to Dunbar together after Sadie had popped home for some safety pins (or else there wouldn’t be any!). On arrival the weather was bleak until the race was underway, so we took shelter in the Hallhill Healthy Living Centre’s bar, and enjoyed a hot cup of tea. Ngeme appeared at this point and we went outside for a quick team photo. The starting gun went off and we headed through the houses before the route took a more convoluted trail along roadsides and fields. Some of the route was quite slippery and muddy thanks to the rain and the varying gradient added to the fun including some high speed downhills. The race was well marshalled with plenty of route markings ensuring we all went the right way. 😉
Afterwards we were rewarded with soup and sandwiches as well as a stylish medal.
Tracy Philp 1.22.15
Sadie Kemp 1.22.47
Michael Greens 1.29.53
Ngeme Ntuli 1.32.31
This race has a bit of a reputation and I had experienced it in full last year along
with a large dose of cramp. I was determined to avoid cramp at all costs this year
and was meticulous in my preparation, wearing a camel-back filled with carbo-drink
and several squirts of concentrated electrolyte.
Lorna had very helpfully agreed to drive the Harriers ‘team'(Stuart, Mike, Rob and
myself) down to Traquair directly. Great, a lie-in and no long nervous trip in the
shuttle bus from Broughton. On the way down, the Two Breweries ‘veterans’ kept Stuart
fully informed of the numerous hazards and really painful parts of the run, and by
the time we reached Traquair, he was looking a wee bit shoogly. We tried to sneak
past the entrance hut, but the wifey was obviously alert and shot out and almost got
run over. Stuart in his best brusque manner said “I’m a runner!”. Undaunted, she
replied “well, I didn’t know that” and even with a “well, you do now!” from Stuart
we were allowed to continue.
We had arrived in good time and marvelled at the really nice weather (yet again).
The wind had even died down and it was slightly cooler than last year. Negotiation
for a shortcut between Trahenna and Broughton was eventually rebuffed along with a
long list of improper behaviour which would certainly result in embarrassing
disqualification. Also at the briefing, we were told not to provoke the large bull
at Glenrath.
Not much point in a long warmup as the energy needed to be saved, and promptly at
12:00, almost 200 runners were off! Up the Traquair drive and then right along the
quiet road towards Peebles. After a mile, we turned left up a short farm track which
led up to quite a runnable path towards the first hill. I thought better of trying
to keep up with Stuart and let him go. Rob and Mike were a little way behind. In
fact, it was a nice steady climb, mostly on a path all the way up to Birkscairn Hill
(2168′). Little time to enjoy the view before starting the heathery gallop down to
Glensax Burn.
It was a long way down and now a long way up to Hundleshope (2237′). Gasp. Another
splendid view and then the long traverse to Stob Law with a mixture of heather and
peaty paths. It seemed a bit drier than last year but we still had to concentrate
on finding the best route and planting feet. My legs were still feeling OK and I
even passed some runners on the descent to Glenrath and the Manor Water (unheard of).
At the water station, I drank a full cup of water and then regretted it a few
minutes later with stiffening legs and the first signs of cramp. Oh no! Amazingly
a few sooks from the camelback spectacularly got rid of the twinges and I started
the arduous climb through the forest up to Whitelaw Hill with renewed confidence.
The confidence did subside quite quickly, especially when two lithe women zoomed
past. I could still see Stuart some way above but the gap seemed impossible to close.
No sign of Mike or Rob.
Phew, the top. Sharp left and a very decent path, but the legs were starting to
hurt quite a bit on even slight inclines. Right turn and a hugely enjoyable long
descent down towards Dawyck and Stobo. Across the Rio Tweed and on to the B road.
Yuck, horrible painful tarmac. Fortunately it was only half a mile and then we turned
off up a farm track and the second water station. I took it easier on the water
this time and scoffed down a jelly baby, but could have done with some crisps.
Never mind, still plenty of salt in the camelback.
Now for the track. I had bad memories of that track from last year – you could
hardly call it uphill, but I actually had to walk quite a lot of it. This year,
though I ran most of it, almost gleefully. Left down to the dam and then it was the
dreaded tussocks and heather up to Trahenna Hill. The twinges had come back so I
dug out my second gel whilst deciding the best route towards the hill. As there
didn’t seem to be a best route, I dug in and dug in some more up the horrendous,
steep, heathery slope. Some strange yell came from somewhere above me and I saw
Stuart actually sitting down, obviously a bit worse for wear. A glimmer of hope,
could I catch him? Nope, he saw me crawling relentlessly upwards and took off again.
I say ‘took off’ more like ‘grope’.
After a very long and painful time, the top appeared. This time there was no cramp
and I joyfully sprinted past where last year I had sprawled for several minutes.
Stuart seemed to have gained some super-human strength from somewhere and was now
pretty much un-catchable. The slog along the tarmac to the Brewery is not worthy
of any mention at all, and at last, the finish! And of course, the bottle of
Broughton Ale.
Stuart and I waited for Rob and Mike to arrive and we all limped slowly back to the
hall. Lorna had also arrived by that time (phew). The food and drink was as usual
excellent and we spent a pleasant hour reminiscing on our achievements (although
Stuart spent a lot of it on the floor and Mike may not want to refer to it as an
achievement).
Again, many thanks to the Organisers, Broughton Ales, Traquair House and Moffat
Mountain Rescue. And of course, our driver. Results are:
37th Stuart 3:29:00
40th Duncan 3:29:36 (PB)
72nd Rob 3:47:59 (PB)
98th Mike 4:02:19 (yes, he had a bad day!)
Before and After
Duncan Ball.
Langdale Half Marathon 2014 Race Report
By Sarah Burthe
Hills, hills and more hills! The Langdale Half Marathon race has, according to the organiser’s website, the reputation of being amongst the toughest road events in the UK, with a very hilly course throughout, and with some parts of the course climbing 1:3. I’d heard good things about the race from Sadie, who ran it last year and so decided to give it a go. Surely it couldn’t be that bad? Could it?
The race takes place in the very beautiful Langdale valley in the Lake District, with the dramatic Langdale Pikes over-shadowing the start and finish. The route goes in an anti-clockwise direction starting in Great Langdale, conveniently close to the pubs for spectators (or mad runners- did see someone swigging a pint at the half way point for the marathon!), and heads through Skelwith Bridge, Chapel Style and Dungeon Ghyll before returning to Great Langdale. The weather on Saturday was pretty perfect, with cloud keeping the sun from making conditions too warm, but dry and with a light breeze. There was a good atmosphere at the start and quite a buzz as we lined up to get going, and quite a nice sedate pace at the start…which was good because I knew that there was a horrible steep hill close to the start! Indeed it wasn’t long before I was panting and wheezing my way up the steep road that head up south of Langdale, a long and evil climb that seemed to go on forever! I was pleased that I managed to run most of it, albeit at a slow pace, so all the hill training on Thursdays must be counting for something. Sadie of course powered off and the gap between us widened. I don’t think I saw her again past about mile 3. The descent on the other side was wonderful!
I seemed to be running either up or down hills for the entire course, there didn’t seem to be very much flat running at all. All the pounding up and down hills on the road certainly sapped my legs. There were three water stations on the course but water was being handed out in plastic cups- I think next time I would take my own bottle. The first time I just managed to throw the water all over my own face and realised that I couldn’t drink and run at the same time, so ended up having to stop completely to drink, which was annoying. There was another nasty steep climb that I wasn’t expecting (I hadn’t really studied the course) coming out of Skelwith Bridge- think it was a 22% hill. It was one of the few places that I stopped to walk for a short while and eat a power gel- just as a cyclist came past and shouted “go on Penicuik! Dig deep!” to which I laughed and said that “Penicuik has had enough of hills and would like a lie down!” but it did give me a boost to start running again J
I think my favourite part was heading on the nice soft track round the back of Loughrigg Tarn, the only bit that was not on the road. With all the beech trees starting to turn golden, the Lakes was looking particularly spectacular. Coming down the steep descent into Elterwater was definitely the highlight for me, with the amazing panorama of the Langdale Pikes and Crinkle Crags looming at the head of the valley. The cloud had lifted off the tops and the crag-studded hillsides were a vibrant patchwork of colours, with pale-green grass patches of grass looking like velvet and streaks of russet bracken. Luckily I didn’t have to look at my feet too much on the way down! The final stretch along the valley was pretty undulating and was feeling really quite tired by this point- although the last couple of rises were short and not very steep, they felt like they went on forever! The final water station had a very welcome box of haribo and a couple of those definitely gave me a kick for the final stretch! I spotted Mark and Smudge (boyfriend and dog!) about 300m from the finish which also gave me a final boost and I managed a sprint finish (well at least it felt like a sprint finish, it might have been a waddle!) down the last 50m through the field to the finish line. Phew! Met up with Sadie who had finished a few minutes ahead of me.
The race was really well supported throughout with very friendly and encouraging marshalls, and there was also free massage and ice-baths to soak tired legs in at the end- we both went to soak our feet- bliss! I did feel incredibly sorry for the marathon runners- the marathon course is two laps, which is psychologically a killer. The thought of having to carry on and run back up the steep hill at the start was just horrible! And the sun was starting to come out and heat things up a bit. Still, it would certainly be a good challenge to work towards…maybe next year?! Also, having now looked at the results for the marathon I noticed that there were not very many female runners- only 25 female runners so maybe we need to boost the numbers. Very handy having the pub so close (and a very lovely boyfriend to drive me home)- very much enjoyed a post-race pint.
Sadie ran it in a time of 1:59:37 (19th female out of 91) and I came in at 2:02:43 (28th female), which considering the hills I was really pleased with. This was a really great race with stunning scenery- I’d definitely recommend it and would come back and do it again!
Jan and I drove down to Newcastle which took about two and a half hours. We stayed at the Cairn Hotel which was quite good and only about a twenty minute walk to the start line. We had a great meal at the Italian restaurant Zizzi to fill up on pasta before heading back to sort out our kit for the race. It was quite a lively Saturday night in Newcastle, which was rubbish since we couldn’t have beer! We looked forward to a cold finishing beer the next day though.
In the morning everybody was up first thing for breakfast. I was pleased I took my Weetabix with me as they had nothing I was used to before race day. This was great with a sliced up banana. We headed down the road to the start line which was very busy with 57,000 runners all putting their bags into the drop off buses, to be driven to the finish line at South Shields. We got to the start line in plenty time and had a short warm up with the instructor getting everybody to do all sorts of warm up exercises, most of which were impossible to do when you’re shoulder to shoulder in a pen. It was a lovely sunny day but not too hot, the crowds were fantastic for the full 13.1 miles with lots of hand slapping going on as the runners passed. I remember this from my 2011 run but I had forgotten the route was mostly a gradual uphill climb to South Shields. We started off at good pace and wanted to keep it going as long as I could as I was hoping to get a PB. As there was little flat before another gradual hill, it started to take it’s toll on my legs after my previous week’s 22 mile training run for the York Marathon in October. However with a lot of motivation from Jan who was as fresh as ever, we ran on keeping positive about a PB time for myself, not planning on matching Jan’s Edinburgh half time. Running the 2011 race I noticed the crowd a lot more, but this time the race was a bit more of a blur as I pushed on as hard as I could. It was great to see the sea at mile 11 or so, and there was a great downhill short stretch. Jan and I both went into downhill fell racing mode and outstretched our arms, leaning forward for a fast run down the hill, much to the crowd’s amusement. There was then a long flat stretch along the coast to the finish line where the crown were once more fantastic for cheering everybody on. Jan and I then held our hands in the air together for a 1:41:44 finishing time. We picked up our goody bag with medal, T-Shirt etc and then headed to Jan’s charity tent. They were great and we had sandwiches and a Mars bar there before heading down to a great pub by the beach at South Shields for a much appreciated cold beer by the seaside. There was about a half hour wait at the Metro station to get the train back to Newcastle which wasn’t bad considering the numbers coming from the race. It’s good to spend some time in South Shields to avoid the long waiting times right after the race.
We headed back to the hotel for a shower and then out for a fantastic steak at Cafe Rouge to regenerate the muscles. We were really surprised that the town was very quiet. Almost all of the 57,000 runners and family all just go home after the race. The bars around the centre were very quiet too, quite disappointing when we were expecting a crazy Newcastle night out. I had some great local Newcastle ales down at the Quayside area of town though before heading back to the hotel a little worse for wear.
Hi folks, I hope you get this as I’m not really in to this techie stuff, but here goes.
Saturday 6th September 2014 A big turnout of around about 2500 runners at the 1st Scottish Half Marathon in East Lothian. The weather was ideal for the race, very light winds not too sunny, starting at Meadowmill Sports Centre, just outside Prestonpans. I met fellow Harrier Sadie at start in one of the colour coded pens. The run started in waves at 11am sharp heading out to Longniddry through village back streets then out on to main road to Gosford House turning on the road and heading back along Longniddry Bents coast road to Port Seaton and Cockenzie then through Prestonpans following the Edinburgh Marathon route to the finish at Musselburgh Race Course main Stadium. A reasonable turn out of spectators especially in Prestonpans where the locals like at the Marathon handed out jelly babies to the runners. Plenty water and gel stations along course and a better finish in the stadium than at Pinkie Park for the Marathon as the spectators had a chance to see runners come in to the finish.Good medal and finishers goody bag and tech top t shirt on completion, great to see Sadie waiting at finish for me as well.Good PB potential on a flat course.Results are
Sadie Kemp 1:41:59Tracy Philp 1:50:28
She stepped in a puddle right up to her middle and never went there again! Well it was actually a bog anf it went up to my neck and I haven’t decided if I’ll go there again… Think Vicar of Dibley puddle sketch where she goes right in, well that’s what I did when I tried to step on some bright green moss to get me over a bog, poor Chris had to pull me out whilst not falling in himself!
Banddingsgill Round Race, 11 miles round the hills that surround the reservoir, 8 hills but you don’t hit the top of all of them. Beautiful route with 63 starters (all looking far too speedy) 5 of them being Penicuik Harriers. The ground was not as ‘runnable’ for me as had been suggested it would be, it was very marshy and energy sapping and then in other places very tussocky and heathery. I was very lucky to have lovely Chris who was taking it easy with his 24th Ben Nevis Race in 2 weeks time and he did all the navigating but I think I did my fair share of the chatting he didn’t have to do all that.
Beautiful views back over to ‘our Pentlands’ from the top of East Cairn and just the most beautiful day for running. The race reminded me of Dollar especially the lovely downhill at the end, nice that these hills that we go up do come down too – to quote Stu ‘Hill racing would be very boring of it was flat’ 🙂
Thanks for the lift Rob, thanks for the compass and being my chaperone Chris and thanks Stu for the cramp excitement when you got out of the car!!!
Great race but would recommend wearing a divers mask and a wetsuit though 🙂
Finishing order: Stu, Rob, Mike, Chris & Susie.
[picasa width=”640″ height=”400″ bgcolor=”#000000″ autoplay=”1″ showcaption=”1″ user=”penicuikharriers” album=”es_Baddinsgill2014″]
By Sarah Burthe
This was only my second hill race (the first being North Berwick Law a week or so ago) and this is my first race report, so can feel smug this week about trying out new things! I live in Peebles so this race was on my local patch and part of the route was one of my regular runs with the dog (not that this seemed to help me run very fast!). This was a new race organised by the Moorfoot running club and 40 runners took part. Turn out by the harriers was good, with Mike, Sadie, Michael and me running.
The race was 6km in length and a good introduction to some of the fantastic hill and trail running on offer in Peebles and the Borders. I may be biased, since I live here, but I think Peebles offers outstanding running, and even after having lived here for five years, I am still finding new routes and exciting places to run. Maybe one weekend I will organise a club trail run to show some of the routes off! Hanging around at the start was pretty chilly, the rain starting about 5 minutes before the race was due to begin… which meant for a bit of shivering in vest and shorts! Wind and rain is a bit of a shock after all the lovely sunny weather we have had lately, though was actually lovely to run in once we got going. The route started on the outskirts of the town, just where the John Buchan Way heads off into the hills. This meant a start straight up the hill, which I found pretty tough!
There was quite a bit of silent cursing and questioning why I was putting myself through this on the first ascent (silent because I had no breath to do anything but wheeze a lot), as I watched Sadie disappearing off ahead of me, before some lovely flatter undulating terrain and a nice long descent before the main hill. I was pretty far towards the back by this point (think I need to work more on my uphill running!) but relieved to not be last. The route up the main hill was very steep so most folk were walking. Saw Michael hurtling down the hill as I was about three quarters of the way up. Bit of a shame there was no chance to enjoy the summit- the wind and rain were howling up there and I got down again as soon as possible. I really appreciated the enthusiasm of the poor marshalls on the summit, who offered kind words of encouragement despite the fact that they must have been freezing!
The route was appropriately named as “the rollercoaster”- there was a lovely big descent, followed by another long ascent and then a whole series of really fun undulating bumps to run over before the final descent down to the finish. I actually felt like I was getting into my stride after about 5km and started over taking people on the last km, then felt like I wanted to carry on running by the finish. Maybe I could try a slightly longer race next time (or do a better warm up!). Fabulous race- think I could get addicted to this hill running lark… though maybe not as much as Sadie who courageously went on to run the Lomonds race the next day!
Results were as follows:
Results were as follows:
Mike Brooks 13th in a time of 32:38
Michael Greens 27th in a time of 40:04
Sadie Kemp 30th in a time of 41:22
Sarah Burthe 32nd in a time of 42:05