After the events of yesterday up on the frozen wastelands of Deeside, I truly expected getting up at 6 on Sunday morning would be a struggle. Luckily I made it into the car without hitch and the drive to Alloa whilst rainy was uneventful.

I guess I’ve probably said it all before, but the Alloa Half is my favourite half in pure running terms. It has a few small hills to keep things interesting but it also has a long, long back straight were pace is king and you really do get a chance to knuckle down without distraction. It also finishes on a downhill and flat – what more could you ask for? Great organisation and friendly team – yes, it has this as well! Would recommended this to anyone especially if they are after a PB.

For the first time in two years, I was entering the Forbidden Zone – least that’s what I call a run or running situation that I’ve come nowhere near doing before. The ultra bible I read is big on back-to-back training. This means a big run one day one. Not too much rest or food overnight and then a smaller but significant run the following day. And so it was, complete Alloa OK and I would be topping out at over 46 miles within 28 hours. Truth be told, I was just a little apprehensive but nothing ventured, nothing gained. The main key was remembering not to be bothered by running right at the back end of the race – an ultra pace will never be a half pace.

Anyway, the weather was marginally better than yesterday but still cold and wet. I set myself 11 minute mile pace and only just overshoot this – dignity more or less intact as I did just beat the rabbit charity runner ! The run was a plod but genuinely not anywhere near as bad as I had feared.

So, I’ve come out the other side and now have just 6 weeks to go before the Fling – look on the bright side, it’s only another 7 miles but then again, it’s all in one go and yes, there are a few hills I believe. Still, can’t wait 🙂

Links
http://www.alloahalfmarathon.co.uk

Headed north on Friday night with my pal Carole Fortune (Gala Harriers) for third visit to the D33. Overnight stay in Banchory at my cousins (which is kind of handy) and an earlyish night.

The D33 is the first in a series of ultra races which take place is Scotland every year and like all areas of running, it’s getting ever more popular – there were over 250 finishers this year. It starts in Duthie Park (Aberdeen) and is 33 miles out and back to Banchory along the Deeside Way. It’s very flat with just a few wee rises here and there, only a few hundred yards on roads with cars and very picturesque (on a nice day anyway).

I guess if one has done a race for past two years and been blessed with glorious sunshine as one trots along the banks of the Dee then there is a tragic Scottish weather logic that says it will raining like nobodies business sooner rather than later. Needless to say, sooner was Saturday. It was just above freezing, it rained continuously – sooooo cold! That said and to be honest, if you have done the training then finishing a run like this is more of a mental challenge than anything else – especially at the speed I run at. My main reason for being there was as part of my build up to the Fling at the end of April. Tomorrow, I will face the Alloa Half as part of a strategy the real ultra guru’s call back-to-back training. It’s based on the idea that your body will learn what it’s like to be made to keep on going – relentless forward progress they call it. Anyway, finally arrived at the finish and was offered an opened bottle of Stella – nectar or what!

Day topped off with a mad dash down the hill again, washing on and dried ready for another 06:00 hrs rise . . . Run and Become 🙂

Links

D33 : http://deesidewayultra.webnode.com

SUMS : http://www.zen31010.zen.co.uk/sums/

The day did not start well. Cold wet snow falling, Andrea’s tennis being cancelled and me having to put up with her grumpiness as she realised she had no choice but to run Chapelgill – a rather ridiculously short sharp race of 2.6kms (390m).

Kevin was chauffeur for the day and drove us and Duncan to Glenholm, just south of Broughton. Chris made his own way as he said he was going running in the Pentlands afterwards! Did he? (hmmm – I wonder?). Although the snow got thicker, the road was passable and when we got to the car park, there was a rather muted cluster of runners waiting for the 3pm start.

The snow was a few centimetres thick at the bottom of the slope and Chapelgill Hill was not to be seen as it was hidden in the mists above. As we were early, we had plenty of time (and needed to anyway) to go for a jog to warm up. Most people decided to run up the first main steep slope. It soon became apparent that no one could stay upright and that controlled falling down slope would be the name of the day. Part of me started cursing the “individual” who had chosen this race as a Grand Prix fixture and found myself hoping that a snow storm would hit the Alloa Half Marathon the next day.

When the race started we all dutifully sprinted off up the hill (well – I did anyway). At first, I thought I was doing amazingly well as there were only 4 people in front of me. I then realised that another cluster of runners were ahead and to the right in the mist (Duncan included) – bugger! The ascent was really tough. As we went higher the snow got deeper and it was a definite advantage to follow the footsteps of someone in front of you. It only became easier when we got close to the summit where the snow was not deep at all due to the stiff cold easterly wind blowing it away. One lone Carnethy marshal was busy taking pictures of us all (see below) at the summit. The run down was not much easier. A mixture of deep snow and heather made loping along difficult and the lower slopes became extremely slippy and I think most runners spent much of the time on their backsides.

Despite the conditions, the race was a good laugh and I think we all enjoyed bouncing down the last slope. It was not a day for PBs. The winner (26:55) was over 7 minutes slower than the race record (18:50).

Results from only 31 runners:

Duncan Ball (6^th): 28:58

Rob Wilson (13^th): 31:44

Kevin Anderson (22^nd): 36:57

Chris Downie (24^th): 37:35

Andrea Wilson (27^th): 38:55

The good news is that yet again, Andrea admitted that running is much more pleasurable and less complicated than tennis!!

Now only to persuade her to run the Deuchary Hill Canter on the 31^st.

Rob

My heart sank when I discovered there was snow on Sunday morning – 3 out of 3 races with snow or ice is not what I wanted!  However as we headed towards the Scottish Borders the snow disappeared giving way to a dry and fair day – very pleasant for running/cycling.  Jamie and I were pleased to see Mike Brooks who’d made it in time after struggling to get the car out his street in Penicuik! 

So this was the final race of the 3 part series and the longest too.  I was worried before it even started, with the race organiser describing the run as “more technical than the bike ride” and then mentioning the use of a rope to help get across a rocky stream!  For a roadie like me, this was daunting stuff!  I cheered Jamie and Mike off and then got some food and warmed up, trying to anticipate when Jamie would return for the handover.  He did really well, although was very frustrated at the lack of overtaking opportunities especially on the singletrack downhills, which is where he thrives and normally gains time.  Over to me.  The route was an out-and-back, proper cross country course – very few trails or roads – more just a case of finding your own way through forests and steep muddy hill climbs.  The marshal at the turn point handed over a lollipop to prove you’d made it there and then it was homeward bound.  I found the whole course very tough (thankfully Mike echoed my thoughts) and at times I felt I was going backwards.  I think to fully enjoy it, I should’ve done some cross country training over the winter!!  (I can hear Bill agreeing with me).  

But to the bad and good news:  the bad news was that we stayed for prize-giving and then didn’t get a prize.  Jamie found this very odd, as we’d been leading the relay category after the first two races so we politely queried the result.  The good news – we finished joint first overall in the relay!!  Our result had not appeared on his list and he had assumed we hadn’t shown up for race 3.  Disappointing to not have the glory of collecting our prize, but apparently he’s going to post us a trophy!

Well done to Mike who did brilliantly and finished in 29th for race 3.

Enjoyable series overall and I’d recommend it for next year!

Results here http://www.durtyevents.com/results.html

Many thanks to Olly Stephenson and his team at Carnethy for organising a great race last Saturday. 15 Harriers took part and enjoyed a race in beautiful weather conditions even if a bit soggy underfoot.  Some newcomers and a few old hands, one thing’s for sure – it doesn’t get any easier

Thanks to Bob Marshall, Bill Bennett, Carnethy HRC and those mentioned below for the photos

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Some photos in the Penicuik Harriers’ Album (shown in the above slideshow)

Photos from Paul Dobson from Cumbrian Running – there are loads, thanks!

More from Paul Dobson of the Carnethy descent

Photos from Steve Graham – loads more, thanks!

Susie

This year the Harriers managed to put two teams together – the girls and the boys. The forecast was light wind, ca. 4 degrees and low mist in the morning – lifting by lunchtime. The reality was much more dreich with the low cloud not clearing and the mist/fog more like a thick mizzle – especially on the higher ground. However, I think the less than ideal conditions added a navigational challenge for at least legs 2 and 4 which made the race much more fun and challenging.

As the girls were likely going to be a tad slower, we went for the early 9.30 start. This meant an early 7.30 start from Penicuik with Hillary making her own way directly to the start of leg 2 as she needed a lie in! (although apparently she had a different reason). All my carefully laid plans of shuttles, kit swap etc quickly broke down into blond chaos (not my place to go into details) but we somehow all made it back to Falkland. Perhaps for next year, we’ll go with Julian’s formula as it was obviously clearer than mine: Car k goes to changeover k with runners for leg k+1 and “get warm” kit for the runners on leg k and then is driven back to Falkland with the runners from leg k and the “keep warm” kit of the runners on leg k+1. However, beware the theoretician whose axioms do not admit team members needing a lie-in.

The PH teams were:

Girls                                       Boys

Leg 1      Jan Dawson                      Kevin Anderson

Leg 2      Hillary Holding                   Duncan Ball

Leg 2      Sarah McKechney            Julian Hall

Leg 3      Susie Maxwell                  Ian Forrest

Leg 4      Andrea Wilson                  Rob Wilson

Leg 4      Sadie Kemp                     Carl Proctor

Those bolded have written a short spiel below:

Leg 1

Ladies (Jan): Being a novice not only to trail races but also to trail running, I was honoured to be asked to join the Harriers team, and a bit scared as to what lay ahead of me! At least Leg 1 required the minimum of map reading and not too much hill running. Not wanting to let my team down on the first leg though, I set off as close to my road pace as possible (after some great pre-race warm up tips from Kevin, who put me through my paces and kept my feet from freezing into solid blocks). The trail, which for the most part was well-packed rocky forest track, climbed fairly steadily towards the woods and the runners very quickly spread out, with not too many people passing me after the first few minutes. Before long there was only one pair of male runners in front of me that I could see, and after almost following them into a side lane where they had clearly headed to relieve themselves (blush) I was on my own until I reached the first checkpoint. Just past this I almost veered left too soon off the trail but a distant ‘NoooooOOOO!’ from a runner behind saved me from disaster. Turning left – at the right spot – off the forest trail I hit tarmac, my running ‘home’, so I scoffed a jelly baby, sipped some water and gave it some welly. A bit of trouble with my bum bag (resulting in a ‘wardrobe malfunction’) distracted me a bit and I forgot to open my waterproof to reveal my team number so had a load of marshals shouting ‘Number!’ at me as I approached the finish, whilst trying not to slip on the quagmire farm track that was the finishing stretch. I also forgot to get the race card out ready to pass to Hilary and Sarah, who were raring to go. But still, I finished in a not too shabby time, and I got a hug from my navigational running saviour, who had caught me up near the end. But I didn’t get out of the post-race stretching and Kevin put me through my paces once again (photographic evidence on the Harriers Facebook page)!

Really enjoyed the race and have definitely caught the trail running bug! Thanks for letting me be an honorary Harrier for the day.

Leg 2

Boys (Julian): After Duncan and I had trotted back up the slithery field and onto the tarmac, we could see the team ahead of us, but my lack of road speed meant that it took a long time to reel in two women who weren’t running very fast.  It was already clear that Duncan should punch the controls so he could get a few moments running at a respectable speed as he caught me up. Gradually the other teams ahead of us came into sight. Out of the forest, the terrain became rougher, and after contouring round the base of West Lomond wondering which misty re-entrant to climb, the leaders turned up what proved to be the right one. On the ascent, we steadily caught and passed the leading team so had the task of navigating off the summit of West Lomond. I followed my bearing and then, confident of my direction, stopped looking at the compass and veered off the right line. When almost down into the valley, Duncan spotted three other teams further west, and after we had got back onto their route we were about 50m behind. The four teams then followed each other across the moor hoping that they were going in the direction of Bishop Hill. Another team appeared from behind: they must have found a better line since they didn’t overtake us. Navigational uncertainty continued as the leading teams crossed snow, semi-frozen marsh and mud until a forest looming out of the mist indicated that it was time to look for White Craigs. After that, it was mainly a question of finding the right way down to Kinnesswood. Again, we were fortunate to be following folk who knew the way. Once we had dropped out of the mist and could see the steep route straight down to the village, we shamelessly left some of our guides behind. A pink-vested lady coming back up the hill indicated that we were a minute or so off the lead, although the scatterings of pairs at the bottom of the hill made it very hard to tell our precise position. When Susie heard that the leaders were coming down, she assumed we wouldn’t be among them. However she eventually spotted us, alerting Ian just in time to be almost ready to go when we arrived.

Leg 3

Girls (Susie): When I heard from Jan that she had run the 1st leg in 37 minutes and Sarah & Hilary were on the next one I started to get a bit anxious that I wouldn’t keep the pace & place of the team.  My leg started with 250m straight up to White Craig, I ran 1/3 of the way up it twice to warm up and then ran back and forth and the bottom in between chatting to Ian and other people.  Heard a shout that the leaders were coming and looked up the hill to see not only the leaders but 2 guys with PH vests on too, looked round and realised no Ian so amidst the silence I am shouting his name and the poor Ian came running up the path pulling off his jacket & gloves, they changed over and he was off up the hill. As I watched him I spotted Sarah & Hilary almost at the bottom so my turn to throw off my stuff! Quick changeover and I set off.  The hill was hard, imagine the steep bit to the post at hillend multiplied by 20 and that was the first half followed by more hill but less steep.

Once at the top I punched my sheet and set off through the deep snow by the wood on an undulating path until turning into the trees, from there it was the most fantastic long, straight never-ending paths that were a wee bit snowy but very runable.  Because everyone else on the team had done so well I pushed as hard as I could (yes, I was making that full effort noise!) and was so glad when I saw the changeover and heard Andrea & Sadie shouting for me.  Couldn’t speak so just gave them the punch sheet, took their jackets and that was it, they were off.

I passed one guy on the way up the hill and was passed by another guy so I maintained our position and as I couldn’t have run any faster I was really pleased.

I then drove Rob’s car back to Kinesswood where I rescued a very cold Duncan & Julian who, due to an organisational ‘blip’ were stranded.

Great soup, marshmallow cake (if I say so myself) and laughs afterwards, a really great team spirit and all pleased with our efforts.  Rob & Carl were first home from the early cohort with the girls not far behind.

Thanks to Jan for coming onboard last minute and sorry that your new trail shoes got messy – not!

Thanks to Rob for organising us all and sorry for my part in messing up the car/bag/key thing, as Hilary said , “Boys and girls shouldn’t mix!”.

Boys (Ian): Panic at the start as I was away ‘warming up’ (ie trying to stop from freezing)  as Julian and Duncan arrived, caught my hand on a briar as I ran to the start so blood, sweat and tears were part of my effort (sweat and tears going up that hill at the start).  Was passed by a female runner just before the top of White Craigs, but then somewhat gallantly I thought, helped her out of a bog later on. She kept asking me for directions and I was following her! Anyway once we hit the track it was a great run to the reservoir; kept trying to catch that blasted woman and kept failing.  Apologies to Rob and Carl for the blood-soaked chitty.

It was great to be back running again and loved being part of the team.

Leg 4

Boys (Rob): Carl and I were reasonably balanced and once Ian arrived at the changeover we sprinted off in 5^th place (of the early cohort) along the road towards the misty mess that should have been East Lomond. The initial road soon changed to a boggy track which had been churned up due to logging activities. Luckily this section was relatively short although I did find this initial ascent quite tiring. Once on top of the first rise however, the course levelled off around the 2^nd reservoir and we soon got into a good rhythm, although we both had to take layers off as it was surprisingly warm. We soon overtook three teams before the mid-section road but once we were back on the fells, we could not see the other two teams which we assumed were way ahead. We ran well over the moor section and although steep, we did not really have a problem going up East Lomond (Carl might say something differently). From the check point at the top of Lomond, we wisely had our compass bearing pre-prepared and we soon plunged off into the mist looking for that all important bit of woodland that would guide us to the final check point. I was fairly blind with the mist fogging my glasses. Carl was adamant that he could see the wood and that the compass bearing was correct. Finally, out of the gloom, the woodland did appear and we quickly followed its edge and with the shouting help of some lone guy, we quickly found the last check point. There then followed a fast 1.5 km sprint through the woodland back to Falkland. This was definitively Carl’s element and I struggled to keep up. We crossed the line with a leg time of ~43 mins to find out that we were the first team back. Somehow, the other two teams in front of us had gotten lost. We celebrated!!

As usual, the soup, buns, cakes and tea were much appreciated, but the added free massage was the cream on the cake of an excellent day.

Final Results

Overall, either because of the direction change and/or weather, times were slower this year than last (even for the winners). However, I think we did OK and should be proud that we did not get horribly lost and we all made it back in time to get some grub.

Runners                                                               Leg 1

Kevin Anderson                                                  00.33.27

Jan Dawson                                                        00.36.59

Runner                                                                 Leg 2                                      Total

Duncan Ball Julian Hall                                        01.26.21                                 01.59.48

Hillary Holding Sarah McKechney                        01.28.54                               02.05.53

Runners                                                               Leg 3                                      Total

Ian Forrest                                                           00.36.30                               02.36.18

Susie Maxwell                                                      00.37.09                               02.43.02

Runner                                                                 Leg 4                                      Total

Rob Wilson Carl Proctor                                      00.43.05                               03.19.23

Sadie Kemp Andrea Wilson                                 00.55.05                               03.38.07

Julian went a little geeky and delved into the results to pull out the leg (cumulative race) positions.

Boys
Leg 1: 46
Leg 2: 48 (46)
Leg 3: 72 (50)
Leg 4: 27 (36)

Girls
Leg 1: 73
Leg 2: 51 (53)
Leg 3: 77 (56)
Leg 4: 56 (49)

Maybe three teams next year? Carl wants to mix and match to make is more competitive within the club. Could be a recipe for disaster!!!

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Jamie and I pitched up at a very snowy and slushy Selkirk for the second race (the medium distance) of the Bowhill Duathlon.  Bumped into Mark who was doing it solo and not splitting the pain like we were and doing it as a relay.  In a change from the last race, the bike section was first.  We had to sing happy birthday to one of the marshalls on the start line, leaving him very embarrassed then I cheered on as the cyclists headed off into the first bottleneck of the course.  From what Jamie and Mark said, it was a very tiring mud and slush fest turning into carnage in parts, with folk getting stuck, falling off or fixing punctures in the snow.  Both did great, with Jamie finishing 39 secs ahead of Mark in the cycle.  So after a smooth changeover of our timing “dibber” I headed off for the run.  I was feeling pretty good and took advantage of many having tired cycling legs and overtook a fair few.  Mark was doing great however and feeling more comfortable on the run and steamed past me.  The course was very ungulating, mostly consisting of deep mud and slushy snow.  It was very slidey and I did find myself sprawled out on the deck somewhat ungracefully on one slippy downhill!  Was glad to see the finish line approaching and I put on a Rachael style sprint finish and managed to hold off the two pursuing male athletes, only to get my dibber lanyard stuck in my buff!  Lost a few seconds trying to find it but all in all I was happy with my time.  Our results were:

28th place – Mark Snodgrass (01:11:42 overall)

41st place – Susan and Jamie (01:15:27 overall)

The final race is the longest distance and is on 24th February – anyone else fancy coming along??

Saturday saw the inaugural Feel The Burns Race at Selkirk

I went on my lonesome but bumped in to Tim and a couple of my pals along with 140 other soles mad enough to take on the snowy conditions on the rolling borders hills.

The route, a 22km circular affair, via Peat Law, Three Brethern, Minchmoor and another cheeky leg breaker the name of which escapes me, prior to finishing where we started at Philphaugh.

It turned out to be a perfect day, weather wise little wind and visibility fine all the way round with even at bit of blue sky in places revealing several glorious vistas.

The good covering of snow allowed decent running over the no doubt very boggy conditions underneath.

I suffered a bit ,later on after a longer than expected jaunt the previous Sunday on the Tri Trail Race at Balerno where a 2.00 hour and 13 mile race was rather unexpectedly extended to 3.10 and 17 miles, dropping from about 15th to last along with five others, its a very long sad tale best not relived here, the shame!!

I finished in 2.05.13, and 48th

I reckon the race will cement itself as a firm early season favourite as there is definitely a gap in the market for such an event at this time of year

Superbly organised with Marshalls and Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue on Standby

Apres Race, Hot Showers, Home Made Soup, Tea, Coffee, Home Baking and as the title suggests a wee homage to the great man himself a piping hot plate of Haggis Neeps and Tatties, they even had the bar open should anyone have felt the urge for a toast with a drop of the strong stuff.

More Harriers next year please

Ceilidh being held on Saturday 16th February this year at a new venue this year!  St Mungo’s Hall, Kirkhill Road is the venue at 8pm with Bill Richardson and his band with Annabel Oates calling the dances it promises to be a great evening.  Tickets are only £10 for adults and if you can’t get a babysitter bring your kids for only £5 each. It is a BYOB event so don’t forget to bring yours and drinks for the kids. Tickets available from secretary@penicuikharriers.org.uk

The ceilidh is open to all, not just running club members and is always a very energetic evening!

Well done the the hearty souls who enjoyed a run up Carnethy on Christmas Day – photo here in our album

http://penicuikharriers.org.uk/photograph-album/?picasaViewAlbumId=ChristmasDay2012%2C0

Here are the results for the Greenmantle Dash on the 2nd. It was a fantastic day and another good turn out for the Harriers. Dry for a change lets hope this is a dign of things to come after the wet year of 2012. I think the only hot, dry day was the day of the Edin Marathon when none of us wanted the good weather! Bill put in a fantastic run as he raced with his son and his grandchildren. Three generations from the same family running the race.

22 Mike Brooks 00:20:15

69 Susie Maxwell 0:29:05

76 Bill Bennet 0:32:35

83 Kirsty Loudon 0:34:27

90 Vicki Lyon 0:45:36

His son Sandy came in at:

36 Sandy Bennet 0:22:08. I couldnt find the juniors race results but as I saw them coming back down the hill after I was still struggling up the hill so I am sure they did a great race.

Sean my wingman came in at:

88 S Lyon 0:39:51. He very gallantly waited for me at the top. And after being bitten by the running bug went home and bought himself a pair of fell running shoes so get him an application form Susan as he is going to join the harriers. Looks like we will have to fight it out over who gets to go to hill training from now on!

Last thing Id like to say a big thank you to all of the Harriers who cheered me on at the end as I hobbled over the line with my dodgy back.

Photos here https://picasaweb.google.com/113949690782185441256/Dash2012