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

Having had to pull out of Stuc a`Chroin last year due to a pulled calf muscle, I was determined to make it this year. Stuc is the first of the SHR Long Classic Series races (last is the Skyline) and at 22kms (1500m), it is a real good test for one’s fitness at the beginning of the main hill running season.

The weather was stunning in Edinburgh when I picked Tim Doyle up at 10.30 and we made our way north in good spirits. The forecast was to cloud over, but to stay stable with a fresh westerly wind. However, as we drove towards Callander the weather noticeably cooled and I kept having to notch the heating up. On arriving at Strathyre, spots of rain were already starting to fall and as we came out of registration, it had turned to a more persistent mizzle.

Being 1hr early, there was plenty of time to get prepared, chat, warm up etc. Most people however hunkered down in their cars as the light rain fell. It was only about 20 mins before the start that runners started appearing out of the woodwork. Sarah (McKechnie) also turned up for, I think, her longest hill race to date.

In actual fact, at the beginning, the weather was not too bad, and the first few kms were a steady gentle climb along a forest road. I was almost too warm! At the end of the forest road, the route plunged up through a dark dense spruce woodland up onto the open fell. It was at this point that my calf went last year, so as I traversed the contours along the forest edge northwards, I felt quietly happy that the sport massage had done its magic yet again. I could see Sarah about 400 meters ahead of me, but decided to keep a steady pace. Many people have told me that this was a tough race so for once, I put my sensible hat on. At about 7 kms, there is a steep muddy descent into Glen Ample. I had stumbled this far last year just to see the snake of runner climbing the steep slope up to Beinn Each. This time I was part of the snake. The ascent is simply awful – very steep and muddy – but was partly made manageable as Sarah (now just in front) was cursing in front of me about how the hell she was going to make it down. One of the other runners allayed her fears and said that the descent was down a more gentler route to the north. Soon after this, I managed to squeeze some life out of my legs and passed Sarah.

As we climbed, the weather started filling in. There was a stiff wind and constant rain. Luckily I had brought a cap or I would have been pretty much blind with my glasses. I had assumed that the hard part of the race was the ascent up to Beinn Each. Surely after this, the ~3kms of undulating ridge to the top of Stuc a`Chroin would be almost enjoyable. Well – the weather was pretty awful and this section seemed to go on and on and on and on. It was exhausting and I was expecting Sarah to power past me at any moment. As it was so misty it was impossible to really know how far along the ridge I was. Luckily the route is very well marked, so navigation was not really an issue, but that final peak never seemed to appear in the mist. After what seemed like hours, the lead runners started appearing on their way down. This gave me some hope that I was getting there – slowly! At ca. 1:45, I started the final ascent of Stuc. The weather had really filled in by this point. It was incredibly windy, with driving rain, mud everywhere (with snow patches to catch you out) and slippy treacherous rocks. This was my low point. I was getting cold which worried me as this was the first time in any race I felt that perhaps I had not brought enough extra clothes. This was not a place to twist an ankle. So, I stuffed myself with cake and battled my way up to the peak.

Thankfully, on the descent, due I guess to the slow pace going up (and maybe the cake), I still had some juice in the old legs and the run back down into Glen Ample was “almost” a joy although rain and glasses are never a good mix. At least most of the descent was not too rocky and was more of a mud slide. Importantly, I warmed up.

As is so often the case in these longer hill races, there is always one final killer hill and the ascent out of Glen Ample was pretty tortuous. A steep muddy slope. A lot of fun to run down, but incredibly frustrating to stumble up. A couple people were battling cramp at this point, but I managed to get to the top in the knowledge that I had about 6 kms of almost continual gentle downhill until the finish. I took my time over the boggy paths, but once on the forest road, managed to stretch my pace to something that looked more like running than the usual stumble. Gio from Carnethy joined me and we chatted all the way down which somehow was a huge help in those final kms.

It was a huge relief to cross the line. No cramp, which for this stage in the year and after such a hard race, was amazing. The soup at the end was much appreciated – in fact – the whole organisation of the race was incredible. Not only was the whole course well marked, but there were marshals everywhere and this certainly was NOT the day to be standing around over 900m. According to the Stuc website, ” 2 runners and a marshal were taken off the hill near Stuc a’ Chroin summit  and  several runners were suffering from varying degrees of exposure “.

So – final Harriers results from 193 completed runners (13 pulled out):

Rob Wilson: 95th: 3:18:05

Sarah McKechnie: 132nd: 3:32:59

Tim Doyle: 163rd: 3:53:13 [cursing as he crossed the line about the “#*#&#” weather!]

thoroughly rewarding to have completed such a tough race, but next time, I am going to make sure I have a couple of more layers with me.

Rob

THE HIGHLAND FLING TRAIL RACE IS . . .

A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME – if you’re like me, you go feet first into projects which seem a great idea at the time. Of course you know that you have taken on a bit of a beast but you’re in denial as to the fact that the beast is in fact a bit of a scary monster. Meanwhile, you are busy telling folk that you’d better do it now because you’ve paid an entry fee. The Highland Fling is most definitely one of these ideas. Then again, I was determined that I was not going to look back when I’m 70 and say I wish I’d done that – the Fling was not going to that graveyard which is full of great but unfulfilled ideas ?

TRAINING HUNGRY – to paraphrase a well renowned hill runner and coach from Penicuik, if you are going to run a long way, you’ve got to run a long way. There can be no substitute for starting well in advance, getting in some serious miles and getting used to many hours of time on feet (tof). I started in earnest in late November 2012 and aimed for at least one extended run each month with increasing challenge. December saw 26 miles on the road, January 30 miles, February 17 miles over the Pentlands and March the D33 / Alloa Half back-to-back. To be totally honest, I think I only did about 60-70% of what I thought I realistically thought I should be doing ?

ANTI SOCIAL – and as the Fling is so mile hungry, it is also time hungry (especially at the speed I go at). And of course this is time that you don’t spend with your family and friends. This is a very serious aspect and requires some delicate negotiation ?

DAUNTING – as I got closer to the big day, I became just a little apprehensive – would all this bravado and training come crashing down as I ran out steam and didn’t make to the cut-off point? Anything well beyond what I have done before, I call the ‘Forbidden Zone’ and the Fling definitely comes into this category. What kept me going was mostly encouragement from my Fling mentors (Debbie and Mike) and just a small amount of self-belief ?

A LONG WAY IN 3-D – 2 marathons in one day is quite a long way. Throw in 5,500 feet of climbing (including two climbs of over 1,000 feet) and some very technical sections and it’s starting to grow arms and legs ?

TECHNICAL – while probably over 80% of the trail is either over very good or reasonable surfaces with manageable gradients, there are significant sections (mainly alongside Loch Lomond) where the surface is dominated by ankle busting rocks and / or tree roots. Parts of these sections also have some very steep parts with big steps and need for a very hands-on approach to stay upright ?

SUPPORT NEEDY – personally, I am so glad for my super amazing support gadgie (the one and only, Big John). John drove me to the hotel the night before, up to the start to register, got up at 5 to get me to the start on the day, met me at the second and fourth drop bags points (helping out with refueling & offering encouragement) and most importantly of all, was at the finish to welcome me, take photos, pour beer down my throat, get me fed and drive me home. I would strongly advise on a support crew who are up for a very long day ?

HUNGRY – everyone has their own feeding plan, here is mine. Between getting up at 4 to leaving Tyndrum for home 18 hours later, I guzzled porridge with honey and banana washed down with a bucket of black coffee, 2 bags of Hula Hoops, 12 gels, 11 cereal bars, 5 mini Mars Bars, 12 Dextrasols, a bottle of beer, one venison burger and a chip buttie. Not all at one sitting though ?

BEAUTIFUL – we all know Scotland has the best scenery in the world and the West Highland Way is very much a part of this. Two very memorable points for me were reaching the top of Conic Hill and looking down along Loch Lomond and some of the bits alongside the loch with beaches, trees and green, green grass. All this in glorious sunshine, what more could you ask for? ?

LUCKY – everyone involved in the Fling in any way was so, so lucky with the weather. No rain, a fresh light breeze, major sunshine for more than half the day and temperatures staying in single figures – perfect conditions for running ?

WELL ORGANISED – congratulations to the team who organised the Fling. They have a good website, make good use of Facebook, were very communicative without being overwhelming and were never found wanting. Hats off to all of them, not least for their very cheering welcome at the end ?

VERY REWARDING – I am so very proud at having done this – the run, the scenery, the camaraderie, the finish line were all way more than worth it. I even managed not to be last home and proudly wore my Harrier jacket at the line. Those who know me will tell you I ramble on about the best running being the running you enjoy and to enjoy yourself, you have to know yourself. I’m certainly getting closer to this and because I more or less got it right on the day, have not completely flattened myself in the process. Non, je ne regrette rien, j’ai couru et je suis devenu ?

FOOTNOTE – There is just one small problem, it’s all very addictive and I am seriously thinking about next year already ?

Home at last 🙂

What a fuss over a wee jog 🙂

A beautiful sunny day for the Bog Trot today.  Kevin, Rob, Andrea, Sadie and myself pitched up for this race ‘with lots of gradient and not much else’ as YP told us in his pre-race speech.

You start by St Margaret’s Loch and head up through Hunters Bog before turning sharp right and after 100m starting the climb up to the top of Salisbury Crags.  Beautiful run down the crags back to the start area which you run right past to head along by the road and run up the Radical Road. Off the RR you then turn left back into the Bog and back up the hill to the Crags.  If there’s anything left in your legs you then have a really fast downhill to the finish.

I passed a guy on the Radical Road who told me this was his first race after his hip replacement, I really should take the hint

Our finishing order was – Kevin, Rob, Andrea, Sadie & Susie

The tales of woe afterwards were – Rob’s knees, Rob’s burst shoelaces, the heat, the hill(s) and wondering why we do it every year….?

Lots of great support from Trotters marshalling and a very funny prize-giving.

1st F40 win for Andrea woohoo – go Andrea!

Well what can I say – meteorologists were somewhat off with their forecasts! We were welcomed with lashing rain, strong headwinds – saved for the uphills of course, and the cold. All at 9am in the morning. It was a game of 2 halves. The first part wasn’t too bad and the wind and hills were in our favour. But oh boy we paid for that with the second half. Uphill (and more uphill) in a headwind and horizontal rain required some “manning up”. I was hoping for around the 1 hour 50 mark but standing on the start line I was happy to just get round. But the Gods were smiling on me and I managed 1 hour 43 minutes and 35 seconds. Have had a quick look at the results as best as I can. Didn’t see anything of Mark until the end but then he did 1.25.48 . Think Julie came in on 2.15.09. Think I may have missed someone else off the list. Sorry but the results wouldn’t let me search under clubs. Well down fellow Harriers I salute you! Now for that wine!
Cheers
Lou

Blackpool marathon went well today with a personal best time of 03:18:59, with an average mile pace of 7 minutes 35 and came 73 out of 638. Personally I thought there was a few problems with the organisation. First, no portaloos along the route, no showers, no physio at the end and no marathon t-shirt. For £28 to enter which is half you normally pay for a marathon. The rest was organised well with the roads closed, well marked, marshals and plenty of water stops.

It was 2 laps on Blackpool promenade, so it was quite flat except a 2 mile section which was undulating. The start and finishing point was at Blackpool football stadium. They set off the half marathon runners with the full marathon, which made it hard to pace my miles with the half marathon runners over taking me. After the first lap the half marathon cut away, leaving a string of marathon runners left.

Throughout the second lap there wasn’t much support from the side lines, most people did not even care that there was a marathon going on. Just like I did in the Highland marathon I kept a good mile pace, in fact my first mile was slower than my last. This meant all the runners which set off to fast at the start, started slowing down around about the 18 mile point when it started to get tough. I overtook a lot of runners. I tried to encourage them along, but some of them looked in a lot of pain. In the last 200m there was a small crowd of supporters in and outside Blackpool football stadium. I crossed the line and as always I was overwhelmed with happiness, plus my family was there for me at the end.

Tips • I used 7 jells, one before I started plus Beetroot juice, one every 4 miles after that.
Kit • Adizero Trainers – good for the marathon but had to buy two pair because they do not last. • Nike runner shorts – A good size back pocket to put jells in, plus light weight. • Garmin GPS – really good for keeping my mile pace through out the marathon. • Keeping clothing to a minimum – shorts and vest were perfect, do not wear warm clothing even if you are cold at the start. • Thorlos Experia running socks – really good, worn them on two marathons. I have put my marathon pictures on the Penicuik Harriers facebook page.

The race started and finished at the primary school at Pencaitland. There was a zumba warm-up to begin with that was great fun. The race was mostly done on a trail through the woods and was very enjoyable with the birds singing and the sun shining. There was plenty of fruit and water at the finish. There was a very friendly atmosphere and the race was well organised and well sign-posted.

Well I’ve done it now – I have signed up for the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday 29th September. Plenty of time for preparation – I hope. The website says that it is the 2nd largest marathon in Scotland and runs along the south side of Loch Ness into Inverness – so no loops which is good. Nothing quite deflating than seeing the elite runners on the other side of the road, about 13 miles further on and still running twice my speed!
Lou

Hi

Is anyone doing the Edinburgh Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on Sunday 14th April? Have signed up myself. Just hope that Elvis in a Lycra suit doesn’t pass me!

Cheers

Lou

19.3km (700m)

Race day – shortened to ~16.5 km – north of peak was deep snow drifts – see map.

Including “detour”: 17.3km

Well, this was a race for all you cross-country runners. A nice mix of woodland tracks and forest roads with a short final technical ascent and descent. More climbing (640m) than descent (550m) however!!

The race started at the Dunkeld Hilton – where I am sure a more organised person would go into the Spa afterwards. Start conditions was glorious sunshine and spring weather – conditions were cooler on top!

The route steadily climbed through a network of tracks for the first 3.5 kms and then levelled off until ca. km 8. Above ~250m, the tracks were in snow, so much of the race was a little hard going although it helped not being first as the snow was well compacted. The ascent of the first few kms really sucked the energy out of me so by km 9, I was finding it really tough to keep the next person in sight. The course was quite convoluted (although well marked) and although I had a map, I thought it best to follow the Carnethy runner in front of me. This has served me well in the past. Well, the lemming approach to running did not work this time and around 10kms, I came around the corner to find a whole huddle of runners debating where they had gone wrong. Bugger! So we all backtracked to find the turn off for the final ascent (which was quite obvious!!). Overall, we only ran about an extra kilometre (see map above), but our places and times undoubtedly suffered. There is a moral to all of this I am sure!!

The descent off Deuchary Hill was a steep snowy rocky mess and was a lot of fun. As my knees are behaving at the moment, I actually passed quite a few people on this section – I guess most of them had “passed” us when we took our little detour. Once back down on the main track, the last 6 kms was a mad sprint along a forest road. My legs are just not designed for this type of running anymore and this really drained me and frustratingly, I lost a couple of places. I guess I should do more Tuesday night training!!

Anyway, I crossed the line in 1:45:54. Probably 5 minutes longer due to the “detour” than it should have been. The style of race meant that my pace (6.08 min/km) was substantially quicker than similar races (e.g. Dollar (7.03), Lomonds (7.11) etc) so it was a great race to force me to run that little bit quicker than normal. I am however a tad achy today :-).

Rob

The weather was nice and sunny although a little cold. It became more overcast but remained dry throughout the run There was a good turnout of harriers and we all ‘enjoyed’ the race.with Derek the overall winner. Well done you! Maybe it was because his wife was running and he didn’t want her to beat him! Altogether a fun event with the added extra of a tasty plate of food along with a t-shirt,medal and the all important chocolate egg.

http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/photograph-album/?picasaViewAlbumId=CricketClub10k%2C0

A bit of a belated post – having some technical difficulties of late. This was only the 2nd time that I had run this race and can say that I enjoyed it this time (still needing therapy to remove the thoughts of my first attempt). I think knowing just how hard the words “undulating course” really meant was a great help!  A very cold morning but that managed to encourage me to run faster. I saw a few Harriers before the race started but only realised just how many of us there were when the results came out. I think we numbered 10. The after-race buffet was great – I managed to get round the course while there was a good selection of food left – not quite how my first attempt went. This time I also managed a couple of conversations with fellow runners. Thanks especially to the Ferranti runner who “woke” me up from my own little world around the 5 mile marker which helped me to believe that I could make my target time. I had hoped for about 80 minutes – came in on 77 minutes and 56 seconds – giving me a PB improvement of 21 minutes and 14 seconds over my first run in 2009! Hopefully still some life left in this old dog yet. Lou (McConnell-Trevillion)