Nothing to say except some piccies

Great stuff Mike and Andrea – and sorry Tim – your red Carnethy top crashed my camera!!

Rob

[picasa width=”600″ height=”450″ bgcolor=”#000000″ autoplay=”1″ showcaption=”1″ user=”penicuikharriers” album=”es_Turnhouse2013″]

Having run the Edinburgh Marathon five weeks previously it was possibly not particulary
sensible to then run a 27-mile hill run. However, this was a must-do run and I couldn’t
wait another year!

The race was at 10am which meant an early start and a two-hour drive to Braemar via Perth
and Glenshee. Gee whizz I had forgotten how bendy and bumpy the road up to Glenshee was.
It was actually quite fun in a car for a change that didn’t result in ‘white knuckle’
corners. I did however begin to feel a bit queasy after taking off a couple of times on
the worst bumps.

I arrived at Braemar still intact at 9am and took in the great scenery. As this race was
a bit of an unknown, I had decided to take it easy and make sure that I got to the
finish without any help from Cairngorm Mountain Rescue. I was also determined to take
some pictures on the way. 9:30 and the usual kit check and I also stashed 3 gels,
3 small bottles of carbo-drink and water and my ‘ruggedised’ mobile phone into my wee
rucsac. My phone actually weighed more than everything else put together but it was either
that or a proper camera that wasn’t able to phone the mountain rescue.

It was quite crowded at the start with a record entry of about 200 runners. The pre-race
briefing by Deeside Runners mentioned an extra water station at Derry Lodge (also the
cut-off time of 1:30), we were told not to drop used gels and the mountain rescue team
were on holiday in Lanzarotte (no, that was a joke). We were off at 10:03 and jogging
into quite a hefty westerly breeze towards Mar Lodge. The first four or five miles were
along quiet tarmac roads and I stuck with a small group of about six runners until we got
to the first water station (plastic water butt) and started properly uphill on a
landrover track (good set of 2004 photos on the Deeside Runners website). This climbed
steeply for half a mile and then levelled out through some stunning natural woodland
and through Glen Lui to Derry Lodge. I had a brief chat with someone from HBT who had
already run five races that week, chasing the club grand prix (it’s amazing to what
lengths some people will go just to get a Run and Become voucher!).

Now into Glen Luibeg and rather peaty and boggy underfoot for a mile or so until we
arrived at the dreaded Luibeg Burn. At the briefing we had been told to “wade the
burn” rather than detour 200 yards upstream to a bridge. Someone in front did exactly
that – the rest of us watched them being swept downstream (joke) and nimbly used the
natural stepping stones! I was actually quite relieved as I knew that wet feet would
probably mean blisters later on.

This was becoming quite an adventure and I was in my element as the track became
narrower, rockier and steeper and started to curve northwards towards the Lairig Ghru.
We were now properly into spectacular hills and it was getting windier, drizzlier and
much less pathier. In fact the ‘path’ was just a line of jaggedy stones and rocks with
less heather than the surroundings. I was beginning to get a little bit wet, but as
no-one else were putting on jackets, I stuck it out. Fortunately the drizzle eased off
but not the wind and the path wound ever upwards past the massive hulk of Ben Macdui
(it must be massive as its name is in capital letters on the OS map).

Ah, at last, the Pools of Dee. It was now not possible to run at all and we picked our
way carefully across the granite boulders. It was now high time to take some pictures
and I found my phone and pointed it up an down the path. As the other runners had all
vanished I didn’t linger too long, but long enough to scoff a gel. I also took out a
bottle of carbo-drink to run with. Through the Lairig Ghru proper and along more
intensely rocky paths for a mile or so and suddenly we could see the green of
Rothiemurchus forest in the distance. Another very quick photo stop before starting the
descent towards Aviemore.

The path was very tricky and it took huge concentration to avoid spraining an ankle.
I had caught a couple of runners but was content to run behind them to save my legs
which were getting a bit wobbly by now. The path steadily improved, the woodland and
forest scenery was superb and the sun was out – what more could you ask for? Legs that
worked better possibly. Ouch, things were starting to seize up and the pace was slowing.

Suddenly it was flat and we arrived at a ‘water stop’ burn. I didn’t bother to drink any
water as I was still had my carbo-drink to hand, but I did dither a bit so that I was
still running vaguely with two other runners. Despite ridiculously sore legs things were
going OK until I decided to slacken off and waggle the legs to free them up. Ow, ow,
cramp! I hobbled past some guy at a gate who asked me if I was OK. Yeah, yeah, fine, just
cramp (as my right quad tried to self-destruct). Fortunately I still had a gel left and
hurriedly gobbled it down. Magically it seemed to do the trick and I was up and jogging
after only a couple of minutes walking. I reckoned it was less than three miles to the
finish and I was determined to jog the whole way and on no account attempt to free up any
legs.

The last two miles were along the pavement between Coylumbridge and Aviemore and it was
just a case of slogging it out, short strides and keeping some sort of rhythm. At last,
across the river, under the railway bridge and right onto the Aviemore main road. There
was the finish! Excellent!

Deeside Runners had ‘booked’ the Mountain cafe and laid on soup, scones and cake. They
even phoned up someone to bring along extra salt! It was now quite a long wait for all
the other runners to finish and the prize giving before we could board the shuttle buses
back to Braemar, but actually quite pleasant in the sunshine. We met Hilary and family at
the cafe (on holiday) and even my wee brother and his wife stopped to say hello on their
way down to Edinburgh.

I haven’t seen any results yet but my time was 4:03 something and the winner’s time was
3:15 I think. Many thanks to Deeside Runners for staging an excellent event and to
Cairngorm Mountain Rescue for their support. If you want a long-run challenge and enjoy
changes in terrain and spectacular scenery then this run is a cracker.

Duncan.

It was one of these ‘will I won’t I’ slightly scary races, but I took the plunge
and found myself wandering down towards Calton Hill from George Square on a warm,
dry and sunny Sunday morning. Up the steps and past scores of Japanese tourists to
merge with scores of runners. I had done my homework, read the route description
and gone through the Portobello photos at least twice, but I was still paranoid at
getting lost or making a huge detour. I needn’t have worried as I bumped into
Mike who had done the race a couple of times before and I was reasonably
confident I could keep up with him.

We watched the Challenge runners go off at 9:45, Susie and Sadie in amongst them
somewhere. Still not confident of the route, I stuffed a street map and my reading
glasses (for goodness sake) into my hill-running rucsac along with gels and carbo-
drink. Mike I noticed was carrying nothing but a gel!

10:15 arrived and after a short briefing, we were off! Where had Mike gone? Gee
whiz, there he was streaking ahead! I caught up with him and we followed the
initial mad charge down to Waterloo Place, up the Bridges and right up the Royal
Mile. Too fast! Our first stamp at the Castle and then down the steps to Johnston
Terrace. It was quite exciting weaving through the town with other runners and
we were soon trotting along Belford Road and slowed a bit for a brief chat. Then
along Ravelston Dykes and chasing shade as it was getting quite hot. Wow, very hot!
Up some steep steps at the base of Corstorphine Hill and a bit more shade. Mike
and I were running well and I was glad of his company and help with Navigation.
A welcome water station, another clip and we were descending southwards towards
our third hill. Now that the pace had steadied, I was beginning to enjoy this and
was feeling good. In contrast, Mike was starting to flag a little in the heat.

Through Craiglockhart Sports Centre, out the back and up a ridiculously steep
and slippery hill to the next checkpoint. The water station was a big relief and
so were the sponges. I made myself stop and drink a whole cup of water to last
until the Braid Hills station. Down the hill was great and we were passing a lot
of Challenge runners now. Navigation was actually very easy as most people
looked like they knew where they were going. I had left Mike behind on the descent
and he gave me a wave from across Braidburn Valley Park. Oh well, I’ll keep
going. Braid Road was a bit of a slog in the heat but we were soon onto a track
leading up to the 4th checkpoint at the top of Braid Hill.

I was still feeling good at this point and followed some runners down grassy
slopes, through gorse-lined paths, down very slidy banks, across the burn, over
a stile and then the very steep slope up to Blackford Hill. There was a bit of a
queue up the last bit, but a welcome rest. And at the top were Susie and Sadie!

Off down the hill towards the Observatory and a brief chat with another runner.
Through the Arch, through the allotments and then back to streets and pavements.
Another hot slog up Ratcliffe Terrace and I was now beginning to get tired.
Phew, Dalkeith Road and the next water station. Gulp, cough, gulp. I naively
followed some girls through the grounds of Pollack Halls (they could have been
students for all I knew) and found myself at the bottom of a rather tall wall.
Fortunately I watched how some young and supple athletic person effortlessly
vaulted over it and followed suit – or rather didn’t and sort of scrabbled up
and fell down, scraping my knee in the process.

Into the Park and crikey the place was swathed in pink! 40 000 girlies in pink
may just have witnessed me falling off the wall! Now concentrate on the ascent
of Arthur’s Seat. It was still pretty hot and very steep and rocky, but highly
enjoyable. Now for the last titchy little hill. On the descent my legs began
to show the first signs of cramp and I realised that I hadn’t eaten a single
gel. How stupid. Probably too late now. Yet another 40 000 pink joggers
to weave around as I headed for the Parliament Building. At last, Calton Hill,
which wasn’t actually that titchy and seemed exceptionally steep. Have to walk
for a bit. After two people passed me jogging, I started running again and
there was the finish!

Very hot and tired but not completely destroyed, I wandered around guzzling
cups of water and rhubard pie. Mike arrived followed by Sadie and Susie and
we swapped experiences and took photos.

Although quite a long and hard race (15 miles with 2200 feet ascent/descent)
I was surprised at how much I had enjoyed it. The varying terrain keeps you
interested and I heartily recommend it. Harriers results are

Duncan 47th 2:05:49
Mike 67th 2:10:11
Sadie 173rd 3:00:18
Susie 174th 3:00:21

Duncan Ball.

It pains me to say this, but this was a day for the girls.

Mike, Hillary, Sarah and I left Penicuik at 10am – race start time 12pm. Forecast was sunny with little wind. It was a hot one!

If you’re looking for a quiet Sunday afternoon drive, the A702 drive to Durisdeer is fabulous. It is only marred, if you’re planning on running the race, by the appearance of impossibly steep hills as you drive through the Dalveen Pass as you get close to the village and you suddenly realise that these are the beasts you’re about to run through.

The Durisdeer Hill Race is 15.4 km with 1250m of climb. It is that extra height (and steep gradients) which makes this a tough race. Obviously many hill runners knew about this already as only about 40 runners turned up. They were probably all running Traprain Law – wimps!

Click here for the route map
Figure caption: Durisdeer Hill Race route. Locations of cat/mouse overtaking of Harriers is noted. e.g. MoR = Mike overtakes Rob; SoM = Sarah overtakes Mike etc.

The start/finish was located in the centre of Durisdeer, a cute little village of about 10 houses in the middle of nowhere, dominated by a large church full of cake!  After a short warm up run along a track and across a burn, the route takes a long slow steepish climb up Black Hill. It was hot! Sweat was pouring off me and I was salt blind pretty much most of the way up the hill. However, I could see the beginnings of what turned out to be a rather competitive race between us four Harriers (Hillary included, despite her wearing a Carnethy top – spit!). As is the norm, I lost my top five place quickly and Mike passed me followed closely by Sarah – the latter running most (if not all) of the way up the hill. Sarah soon then passed Mike. I reached the top of Black Hill already sucking on my electrolyte drink and saw Sarah in the distance – Mike already having passed her. Time to disengage to neutral and let gravity generate some speed. The run off Black Hill down to the A702 crossing is the steepest descent in the race. However, it was not rocky and the depth of Blaeberries was not too bad so it was not too bad although my thighs were burning. As I had hoped, I managed to pass Sarah on the steep descent and was only about 300 meters behind Mike after crossing the A702. However, after such a descent, my legs were like rubber, and it took a while before I could manage to get some normal function back into them. The next few kms were quite runnable and although Sarah was not too far behind I managed to keep ahead. Mike had flown off and was a good half kilometre ahead at this point. Mercifully, while following the steep-sided river valley at the north end of the race route, the sky clouded over for a while which gave us all some relief from the relentless heat. On the ascent up to the second col, Sarah passed me again and told me that Hillary was not far behind. That provided me with the impetus to push a little and I left Sarah at the col and pushed for the descent back down towards Dalveen Pass. This was a more technical descent than it had appeared on the map, but I luckily found a good route through the steep sided gulleys and as I got close to the valley floor, I saw that Mike was not that far ahead. I tried to push harder but my legs were starting to feel heavy. On crossing the A702 again, there now started the final major ascent up to Well Hill. Mike was about 100 meters in front and the girls were not too far behind. The climb was awful. There was no give in the hard dry uneven hummocky ground and the route took us up the NE side of a valley which meant that we were contouring on a very steep slope for most of the way. There were also sections of scree just to add some spice. Running was very difficult, even when the route flattened a bit. At ~10 km just at the beginning of the final steep ascent up Well Hill, Sarah and Hillary finally passed me. My legs were junk by this point and I knew that I was not going to catch them. I shouted up to Mike ahead and said that male honour was now in his hands. I think I heard him gurgle back.

From Well Hill, the route is “mostly” downhill until the finish line and normally would be a pleasurable run. However, I was finished and simply assumed a rather stilted wobbly running style trying to battle the cramp that was not far away. I could see Sarah, Hillary and Mike in the distance, but there was no way I was going to get any speed back to try and catch up. I thought that the descent from Black Hill was going to be pleasant, but everything seemed to hurt and there was definite signs of blisters – everywhere! Running down just seemed to go on forever.

I finally crossed the line in just over 2:17 to find that Hillary was the first woman back in about 2:12 (she had overtaken Mike on Black Hill) with Sarah close behind as second woman. While Mike and I were wrecked, the two girls look pretty fresh in my mind!

It turned out that many people had suffered. Whether with the heat or the many kms of contouring almost everybody complained about blisters. One of Mike’s heel soles had almost completely been shredded off. He was quickly on the phone to mummy to patch him up when he got back to Penicuik as he has the Edinburgh 7 Hills next week and he could barely walk.

Overall, this was a really tough race due to the steep ascents, the heat and the constant contouring. However, it was a lot of fun, despite the pain that most of us felt in the final kms.

Kudos to Hillary and Sarah. Hillary was definitely the tortoise who slowly took her time and passed all the hares. Sarah is just a hill climbing beast. If she learns to run downhill quicker there will be no stopping her!

Rob

Update: Results are in. Of 39 runners, 34 made it.

12th: Hillary Holding 2:12:12

13th: Mike Brooks 2:12:53

14th: Sarah McKechnie 2:14:14

17th: Rob Wilson 2:17:39

I’ve been meaning to run Traprain for many years. I grew up in East Linton, and to my shame have never even climbed it – though I’ve walked that river path to Hailes Castle more times than I’d liked to think. Keith Burns of Carnethy is my best friend’s dad, and has been trying to persuade me to do it for years too, so his face was a picture when I finally showed up on Saturday, adorned in Penicuik Harrier vest, looking like I meant business! And I did – after all, Traprain is not for the faint-hearted and I was glad for those Harrier hill sessions I managed to pack in over the past two weeks! Had a great chat with fellow Harrier Chris Downie at the start line, who has done the race many times and gave me some pointers.

And what a day we got for it. East Linton Gala Day (of which the race is part of) is either scorching hot or tipping it down with rain (I should know, I’ve been going to them since I was Gala Queen in *mutters under breath*… 1988). And it was a scorcher indeed. About 20C with no wind. The race was at 3pm so it was still pretty hot as we set off – all 108 of us – a record entry for the race. There were a fair bunch of club runners there, mostly Carnethy and Hunters Bog Trotters. I set off at a steady pace, knowing I’d need to preserve energy for the sheer clamber up the Law. The river path was as dry as a bone and the dust from it got kicked everywhere. I was glad to get into the river at the crossing, which was mercifully low due to the run of good weather. A steep climb up the opposite bank led to a slow, steady incline up farm tracks and fields to the bottom of the Law. I was flagging a fair bit by this point, but grabbed the ropes that led up the far side of the quarry fence and dragged me and my soggy, heavy trainers up that hill! At the top I spied Bob Marshall and cracked the biggest smile I could muster despite barely being able to breathe, then took it steady till my heart dropped from my mouth back into my chest. I legged it down hill (I love down hill!) and broke out onto the road with as much power as I could, passing a few runners at last. The return along the river proved my sticking point and I got stuck behind a few runners as I tried hard to pass them on the narrow track (I really need to work on my passing etiquette, I’m way too polite!).

The heat had proved to much for one runner, however, who was pegged out on the river bank, with a Carnethy runner in attendance. The runner in front of me asked if he needed help but he said it was in hand, so I guiltily ran onwards. I heard later that he was OK but had a bad case of dehydration and needed treatment.

Coming out of the river path I tried to give it some welly, as I knew there was a Carnethy lass behind me who was trying to catch me up (she’d been on my tail since the top of the Law). The crowds from the Gala were much needed encouragement and I ran up School Road towards the finish looking for my friends and family who’d come to cheer me on. Just as I spotted my kids, Carnethy lass sprinted past me and finished a few seconds in front! Oh well, I had a great race and we patted each other on the back and congratulated each other.

I grabbed a much needed beer from the beer tent and pondered my time: 52:48 for a 6 mile hill race. Very happy with that. Keith Burns himself says I’d have beaten him by a minute if he’d been running! Now if I can just work on that passing etiquette for next year…

Chris finished in 58:34, which he says is a bit slower than his Traprain PB but still a great effort in that heat!

Some photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/113562417702657933373/TraprainLawRace2013#5887146529009372482
https://picasaweb.google.com/113562417702657933373/TraprainLawRace2013#5887147794820173954

Full results here: http://www.carnethy.com/ri_results/traprain/tr_2013.htm

Knew there must be something nasty lurking when I asked at Registration if there were any “nasty” hills. The 2 guys on Registration looked at each other knowingly and said “it depends on what you mean by nasty.

Well after tackling 1 hill I was a little (?) anxious when I looked up at about the 4 mile mark and thought : this is what I mean by nasty; hastily followed by I wish I’d done the Fun Run.

On a more serious note is was a good evening for running and a good crowd of runners. Penicuik Harriers numbered 5 runners (apologies if I missed anyone else) and I think we did well.

I hope I’ve got these results right?
Mark : 29.55 36th
Duncan : 30.44 44th
Sadie : 36.23 120th
Lou (me) : 37.02 126th

I know that Kevin was also running but can’t find a result. But I wasn’t listed as attached to the Harriers so that might explain things.

Would I do it again : yes it was a nice route (even passed by the odd car) and actually a 7.30pm start was fine.

Cheers

Lou

A new race for 2013.
The route is approximately 10k – a loop which heads up Ben Ledi over the summit and down Stank Glen.
According to ‘mapmyrun’ this race had a total ascent of 677m, boy did I feel that! The route meandered up through the forest and then around and up the hill, with small sections of flat few and far between. Once at the summit it was a dash along the ridge and then down the glen, over open ground, then a short section back through the woods.
A very enjoyable race, the weather was warm and the little bit of cloud and rain was much appreciated near the top as it cooled me down. There was a piper to entertain us as we made our way across stank glen.
Shortbread and water was available at the finish along with some burgers for the hungrier.
There were only around 60 participants but as they had a sponsored walk on at the same time it wasn’t too lonely for the slow ones such as myself. The walkers were very obliging and got out of the way for the runners and were cheering us on.
Very enjoyable race, I highly recommend it. 🙂

2.06.2013 – sunny, warm, minimal breeze

What a great race to start the summer with. Conditions were almost perfect – although perhaps a tad too warm for those conditioned for cooler climes. May the good weather continue though.

Despite a good 1.5 hr drive from Penicuik, I really think this race was worth the trip. Stuart, Mike and I left in good time to ensure that we had a good 40 minutes to oil Stuart’s old joints – his first race, I believe, for almost 4 years. The race is ~13kms and 760m of climb. It is annoyingly runnable with a steady, but undulating climb until the half way point.

NB. for some reason I could not insert graphics so have provided links only.

profile here: http://www.hillrunningscotland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Yetholm.jpg

The final climb to the high midpoint did seem to go on and on and on however. The run back down is great and you can really settle into a good pace with only a couple of minor annoying climbs which tell you how wobbly your legs really are due to dehydration. Yes – it was rather warm and both Stuart and I were kicking ourselves for not taking water with us. Och well – you live and learn.

Massive spread of cakes afterwards of which Mike and Stuart embarrassingly took advantage of. Stuart ate so much he needed a sleep on the way back!!

The race was part of the British Championship so there were a lot of good runners there. Quite depressing really. Our final places and times from 231 runners were:

94th – Mike Brooks: 01:22:51

98th – Stuart Sanderson: 01:23:04 [overtaken by Mike ONLY in the last kilometre]

122nd – Rob Wilson: 01:27:14

a great warm up for Durisdeer (14.7km, 1240m) on Saturday

http://www.scottishhillracing.co.uk/RaceDetails.aspx?RaceID=RA-0060

Rob

Full route map here: http://www.norhamrc.co.uk/YHR_print.jpg

The forecast wasn’t too bad, the training had gone OK over the past couple of
months and I was quietly confident about a PB on Sunday. My other half very
kindly (well actually was firmly persuaded) gave me a lift to Market Street
and it was just a 15 minute gentle walk down to Royal Terrace and the baggage
trucks. It was great to see the East End chock a block with other runners and
the expectant atmosphere was building. I looked around for other Harriers but
didn’t meet anyone (even after the race – except for Vicki helping out at the
finish). I strapped on my trusty camelback, donned my custom-tailored bin-
liner, said goodbye to my rucsac and joined a loo queue on London Road.
Crickey, the queues were slow – I had barely any time left for a warm-up
before I headed into the red pen. Hmm, the red pen, just behind the blue
stripe elite pen! Well one has to aim high.

It got more and more crowded and the buzz increased. Come on, lets go! At
last with a big cheer we were off! Even in the red group the pace seemed too
slow and I overtook runners steadily. Up to Holyrood Park and then left and
down towards Seafield. I didn’t see any mile markers until mile 3 and was
relieved to see that the pace was spot on at just under 7 minute miles. I
felt OK and concentrated on a steady relaxed pace, along the sea-front,
Portobello and on towards Musselburgh. The sun was out and with a following
breeze, I began to overheat. Water bottles were welcome for a cool down as
well as a drink and somebody had thoughtfully put up a sprinkler. As my
stomach was complaining a bit at this stage I didn’t drink much of the
carbo-drink in my camelback and didn’t grab any gels.

At the Half Marathon point I was still running strongly but it seemed quite
a lot harder and the pace had dropped off – over 7 minute miles now. Past
the hubbub of the Musselburgh relay changeover and onwards towards Longniddry.
The legs were now complaining and I was pretty sure that 3 hours was now in
cloud cuckoo land and I would be hard pushed to beat my PB. Gosford House
grounds are very pretty and all that but I was definitely starting to toil
and was definitely not enjoying myself. Back on the road we were at least
heading back towards Musselburgh and there were plenty of runners coming
the other way to grimace at. Crickey, so many runners! And suddenly a brief
glimpse of Chris!

20 miles and really very sore now – the legs didn’t seem to do what the
brain was egging them on to do. My stomach had settled enough now but no
gel stations in sight so I slowed to a walk and got one out of the
camelback. The legs had seized up pretty severely by now and things had
degenerated to a walk-jog-walk-jog survival. At one point something very
strange happened to my breathing and I was forced to walk for a good 4 or
5 minutes.

At last, one mile to go! I gritted my teeth and managed to jog the whole
mile, spurred on by multitudes of yelling spectators. I tried to grin
cheerfully but as the photos later clearly portayed, the result was a
pain-filled baring of teeth and peculiar squinting. Probably my least
favourite marathon finish but at least I was still alive.

I collected my whapping medal and T-shirt (it took me a while to work out
what S, M and L stood for!) and hobbled around aimlessly for a while looking
for someone to tell how awful that run was. At least the fish supper later
on that evening tasted superb.

Put it down to experience. The other Harriers seemed to have paced
themselves better than me, especially Mark who did an amazing 3:03 (despite
walking most of the last 6 miles). Times were

Mark 3:03:
Duncan 3:28:00
Helen 4:04:18
Chris 4:43:45
Ngeme 4:59:57
and the Half Marathon
Jan  1:33:52
Sadie 1:44:26

The results were a bit rubbish on the EMF website (search engine didn’t
recognise running clubs) hence no seconds for Mark. (I actually don’t think
that Mark tried hard enough as he also ran the 6-mile handicap on Tuesday
only two days later!)

Duncan.
PS. Apologies for not finding Helen and Jan first time round!

Thank you to all of you who donated to Cancer Research in exchange for the wonderful home-baking and sandwiches they enjoyed after the Penicuik 10k this year.

We raised a fantastic £225 for this very good cause.and are so grateful to you all. Thanks!

Congratulations to Sarah McKechnie who had a superb win at Kinnoull.   Her time was 31m04s which I think is her best time for the race.    Sarah had a win at Kinnoull in 32m10s in 2007 but this one was even better.

Thanks to all of the wonderful runners who ran in our race today and made Penicuik Harriers’ 30th Annual Road Race such a great event.  It was lovely to welcome all of you and fab to hear that you had such a good experience – that means that all of our hard work was worth it!

Thanks also to the Police – without their support we would not be out on the roads at all.

The feedback and emails so far say how great the support is from the marshals on the route – what can I say, Penicuik Harriers are a friendly, encouraging bunch!

As I said at the prize-giving, thanks again to everyone who supports me in my role as organiser.

Today’s results are now available on this website : http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/10k-road-race/10k-race-results/. Some photos in our album now from the superb Bob Marshall – thanks once again Bob! http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/photograph-album/2013-10k-race/

Susie

We now have a little video of our race, from the start following the lead runners (and then runner, singular!) and then all of you going through the finish line. It’s been edited a little to remove some of the gaps but is still 29 mins long – you might want to use the YouTube time slider to locate the section you want to see! Happy viewing, Susie.

Online registration via EntryCentral has now closed with a record 222 runners using this option to guarantee their place on the day.

However, that still means we have 78 places available for entry on the day itself (£12 affiliated or £14 non-affiliated) – first come first served as usual. Registration opens at 12 noon and closes at 1:30pm; please get there early to avoid disappointment!

More information about the race is here: http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/10k-road-race/road-race-details/

Look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Susie

Race Organiser

This was my longest race so far so I was quite daunted by it. I didnt sign up until the week leading up to it which was probably a good thing as I didnt have time to get wound up about it. The weather was lovely and you had a great view from the start at Portobello promenade round to North Berwick which looked quite far!. Mark very kindly gave Ngeme and me a lift from Penicuik and when we got there Helen was also there and it was nice to see Davy and get a few words of encouragement from him. We briefly saw Peter having a good stretch on the promenade.
The race was mostly flat and on pavements apart from a slight hill at Gullane that really drained my legs so the last 5 miles we tough for me.
There was refreshments laid on at the sports centre in North Berwick which were much appreciated. Very well done to Mark who knocked a few minutes off his time from last year.

The results:
Mark Snodgrass 10th 2.10.55
Peter Avent 13th 2.12.53
Sadie Kemp 130th 2.50.22
Helen Titchmarsh 182nd 3.06.11
Ngeme Ntuli 208th 3.32.38