Ian Goudie

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Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:29:00 +0000

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Ian

Kilmaurs Classic

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:02:00 +0000

With numbers more than doubled from last year and perfect running conditions the second Kilmaurs Gala 5k wasan outstanding success. Event organiser David Mitchell had done a great job inpromoting the race and improving the course from last year.

Kilmaurs is the next village to Stewarton, where I was brought up but I’ve never spent much time there, when we were youths we tended to travel the other direction to Dunlop or even Irvinerather than there. Although I’d travel through it often on my way to Kilmarnock and there was a smashing lass from there, Lesley Roy, at Kilmarnock Academy with me.

Anyway I joined in with another 42 runners, of differing abilities, to take part in the East Ayrshire race onWednesday July 29. There were also anumber of Killie Harriers in attendance but not competing, some of which weremarshaling others supporting and others blethering.

The race started on a track,which had seen better days, in the village’s Morton Park. I started quickly and then deliberately slowed down a little as we completed our second lap of the track. We then joined an undulating and scenic paththrough the park and back up past the track. Race organiser David Mitchell was waiting here and gave me a shout ofencouragement as I climbed the hill. We then ran along the road between the park and the main Kilmaurs – Kilmarnockroad where Paula Wilson shouted me on and then Brian Darroch behind me. I headed towards Kilmarnock ensuring that Ikept Brian at Bay, past Kara Tait who was texting on her mobile as shemarshaled the race. We were then guidedoff to the left and down a minor country road. I could hear someone behind me and I tried to hold them off but whenMike Flinn of Irvine passed me I decided to let him go but pressed on to ensurethat Brian didn’t catch me. Instead Itargeted the runner in front of me and overtook him (Graeme Aitken) just beforewe turned into our left and upwards along a farm road, I pressed on but hetagged on behind me. A sharp left turntook us back onto the track and he was still on my shoulder as we ran aroundthe track, this time running in the opposite direction from the start. As we reached the bend before the finalstraight I gave it my all and managed to hold him off as I crossed the finishline 16th place, four seconds behind Mike Flinn, in a respectable time of 21:14, two seconds ahead of Graeme and seven ahead of Brian.

Local lad Gavin Holgarth (25) wonthe East Ayrshire event in an impressive time of 17:04. Irvine young gun SarahMunn (17) continued her recent good form by winning the Women's Race in 19:08.

I Ran Around Arran

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:51:00 +0000

Well I ran some of it, the South 1 leg of the Around Arran Relays held on Sat July 25. I was part of one of three Bellahouston Road Runners teams that took part in the Isle of Arran race organised by Irvine AC. The leg, which was approximately 7.5 miles long, started at Blackwaterfoot and finished at the Lagg Hotel. The leg started with an uphill section from the harbour over the hills for approximately three miles before levelling off, dropping down at five miles and being undulating until about seven miles and then a sharp downhill section took us to the leg finish. The sun was scorching and the hills were more than a little testing but I managed to keep going, though I did have to continuously wipe or wash the sweat from burning my eyes. I'm so glad that a couple of locals had decided to provide cups of water to those running my leg.

It was extremely difficult but also a great occasion. There were 23 teams and I finished in 8th place, in a time of 55:50, ahead of the other two Bella teams but behind two of the three Killie teams.

Bella Belles won the Women's Race for at least the fourth year in succession, despite having a completely different team from last year. The event organisers, with a little help from their Arran friends, deserve huge congratulations for not only organising the race but also for transporting some 140 racers and officials to the four starting points around the island in time for the start of their legs and also for providing such a hearty spread of post race food and drinks. A special mention is due for those who took the time and effort to provide water stations to the runners as they struggled up some of the islands testing hills in the scorching heat.

Full Results: http://www.irvineac.co.uk/Seniors/Round%20Arran09.xls

It had been about 25 years since my last visit to Arran, when I participated in the recent Half Marathon and now a few weeks later I found myself back. The Half had also started at Blackwaterfoot but had headed north, along the same route as the North 1 leg of the relay. If I manage a different leg every year I should be able to run around the entire island by 2013.

The Very Muddy Famous Grouse 10k - Sun 12 July 09

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:39:00 +0000

I ran this race for the first time last year and enjoyed the experience so much that I returned this year. In fact four of the five Bellas that ran it last year returned, the exception being Alan Brown who has since emigrated to Australia. A further four runners from the parkrun and a healthy contingency from Kirkintilloch Olympians made Crieff a familiar place.

I had taken the caravan up on Saturday, after participating in my 18th parkrun of the year and booked into Braidhaugh Caravan Park. The weather had been great all day and evening on Saturday but it rained all night. The morning brought intermittent showers, some extremely heavy. But as I lined up with the 246 other runners at 11am for the start of the Famous Grouse 10k Race the rain abated. I got the chance to chat with Perth Road Runners Bob Brown and Peter Ritchie who had also raced in Arran last week and with Angela Park that I had met at the race last year.

The cool conditions were such a refreshing change as I’ve had to endure record high temperatures when running over the last few weeks. However the race was far from easy, starting in the Perthshire town's Dallerie Park the course heads out over the River Earn and up Turretbank Road before climbing up through the woods. I had started slowly last year and had to race hard in the later stages to catch my nemesis Norman Boyle with about 50m to go. This year I started nearer to the front but within a few minutes I could see Marie McChord and Norman opening up a gap on me. With conditions underfoot being heavy, the first three kilometres uphill sapped the strength from many racers who struggled to keep running, including Kirkintilloch’s Susan Addison and further up her club mate Anne Marie McCaffrey who had both resorted to walking. As I reached the top of the 350m Laggan Hill, my running pace wasn’t much quicker than walking and as I started the downhill section Anne Marie overtook me and sprinted away. I decided to try and stay as close to her as possible but she also overtook the two guys in front of me. The level and downhill sections were not much easier as the heavy rain had made the paths muddy and I had to negotiate my way through the woods avoiding the many pitfalls provided by the narrow path, slippery stones, puddles and hanging tree branches before a sharp left took me back briefly onto terra firma. One of the guys in front of me took advantage of the water station but I decided to run on and grab the chance to overtake him. However as I made my way along the country path, he caught up with me and reclaimed his position. I made my way along the old railway line and as I reached Lady Mary's Walk, I could see that Anne Marie was running strongly and about three places in front of me. Ahead of here there was a large group of runners, including Norman Boyle. Here the path widened and I once again overtook the guy in front of me but this time I pressed on to endure that he wouldn’t be able to tag onto me. I had to watch my footing as I crossed a wet wooden bridge, before making my way up the last hill of the course and back towards Turretbank Road. Once again I could see Anne Marie and the others, with just less than one kilometer to go, I pushed in a little bit more as I ran down to my right and back over the River Earn Bridge. I could see the supporters and marshals directing runners through a narrow gate back into Dallerie Park. However the race was far from over with half a kilometre of heavy going grass to cross before the Finish Line. I dug deep into my energy reserves and closed the gap between us and with less than 200m to the end I caught up with her and sprinted to the end beating her by six seconds as I finished in a time of 48:45. I turned immediately to thank her for pulling me around the course and to congratulate her for having such a great race.

We then collected our well deserved goody bags, containing a miniature of Famous Grouse whisky and a matching baseball cap. I shared mutual congratulations with Norman, who had got his revenge for last year by beaten me by 33 seconds, with Marie, Bob, Peter, John, Andy, Maddie, Susan, Angela, Veronika, Roslyn , Katy and others as we were rewarded with an excellent spread of home baking, sandwiches, teas, coffees and soft drinks.

Results

Murray Strain of Hunters Bog Trotters(HBT) won the race in a time of 34:59; last year's winner and course record holder Robert Gilroy of Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers was second in 36:42, with Tony Jackson of Perth Road Runners taking third place in 37:18.

Women's Race

Lothian's Edel Mooney won the Women's Race in a time of 38:39, followed by HBT's Megan Mowbray earning second place in 41:50 and Garscube's Alison Winship in third place with a time of 42:15.

Unattached Pat Harker closed the race in a time of 1:17:25

I introduced myself to the two winners and got a couple of quotes from them for the Scottish Running Guide.

John, Roslyn, Katy, Veronika and I then headed back to Braidhaugh Caravan Park, where after a hot power shower and a change into dry clothes we made our way uphill to the town centre for some more food and drinks. The heavy showers returned as we enjoyed our lunch, how envious the drivers looked as I enjoyed my red wine

Full Race Results

One small complaint was the lack of safety pins at registration, with some competitors being advised to remember their race number and shout it out as they crossed the finish line. Although the Race Director did promise that there would be a public execution of the person responsible for safety pins after the race!

Isle of Arran Half Marathon - 5th July 2009

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:30:00 +0000

I had decided to run the Isle ofArran Half Marathon as it has been a while since I visited the island known as Scotland in miniature and it coincided with a 14 mile training run tha tI had scheduled as part of my Loch Ness Marathon training. Any Island Half Marathon is also part of the Bellahouston RR’s Championship criteria. Whilst I have long since met the criteria, a number of other Bellas decided to run it as part of theirs. Pauline Wright, Louise Ross, Jane Simpson,Claire Thompson, Brian O’donnell, Joe Sheriden, Robert McEwan, Lyndsey Munro,Chris McKiddie and a number of partners and friends made their way to the North Ayrshire town of Ardrossan for the ferry to Brodick. The weather forecast had looked ideal, predicting that when the race started at noon the temperature would be 15-16c with some light rain. However on Sunday I awoke to a scorching morning and fearing that the weather would be much hotter than predicted, thought twiceabout going to Arran. However I did need to do 14 miles that day anyway and decided to plump for Arran. I made up a packed lunch of rice, tuna andsweetcorn, jumped on my bike and headed for Glasgow Central Station where I met up with Chris and his friend Tom. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you could purchase a cheap day return ticket which included train and ferry travel for £14:55. The journey was completely hassle free and a pleasant way to prepare for a race. A slight mix up with the runners bus from Brodick to the race HQ at Blackwaterfoot didn’t dampen our spirits, although it did curtail any chance of having a long warm up.

Fellow runners explained the course to me as we got ready at the Kinloch Hotel and at noon some 111 of us set off up hill from the seafront at Blackwaterfoot and headed north towards Shiskine, the home of the once famous Shisky Discy. I had decided that I would run the race as a long training runand was planning in doing between 8:30 to 9:00 minute miles. I noticed the Perth pairing of Bob Brown and David Armstrong and tucked in behind them. I’ve seen them running in a number of full and half marathons and when they have overtaken me I always thought that they must be running a good race,starting slowly and working their way up through the field. However today they shot off at a pace which I had no intention of matching, instead I made my way past Lyndsey and TonyMunro and settled in behind Louise Ross for a while before taking my shot at leading and then running side by side. The first mile of 7:40 was quicker than I was looking for and the second mile’s pace wasn’t much slower as we made our way along the undulating road to Torbeg. Louise and I stopped at the first waterstation and I decided to slow my pace a little as we joined the coast road from Tormore to Auchagallon. I noticed that Killie’s Brian Darroch had started well but seemed to be tiring as the gap between us was narrowing. At the six mile point the route turned right and I caught up with Brian and chatted as we ascended the hills on the Machrie Moor road. However the combination of the heat and the hills was getting to me, I started to struggle and dropped off the pace. I had been warned about the peaty water station and decided not to drink it but to eat half an energy bar instead. I kept going over to The String road, through Ballymichael and Shiskine before being rewarded with a flat and downhill section. Brian O’donnell’s support during his warmdown helped me increase the pace as did Claire’s a little further on and other Bellas and supporters as I neared the finish in Blackwaterfoot. I targeted a runner in front of me and overtook him on the final bend…but where was the finish…..not where I thought it was going to be ….I held on until I reached it and crossed the line to the cheers of the small band of supporters and runners. I had finished in 59th place in a time of1:48:23. After taking a moment or two to recover I shared mutual congratulations with Brian Darroch, Louise and others as we received our medals and enjoyed our post race soft drinks and bananas. After the race finished I made my way into the hotel and joined some of the others for a warm down in the hotel’s pool…….pure bliss! A pint ofguiness and some freshly made sandwiches helped to replenish me before the awards ceremony.

Girvan’s Kerry Liam Wilson won the race in an impressive time of 1:13:28. Cambuslang's Stuart Gibsonfinished behind Kerry in second spot with a time of 1:16:02, followed by Corstorphine's Grant Wilkie in 1:19:11.

Robert Rogerson of Kirkintilloch Olympians claimed first M40 prize with John McLaughlan of Kilbarchan finishing second. Unattached Terence Coyle won the M50 race with Bellahouston Road Runner Robert McEwan picking up the second prize. Hamilton's David Adams collecting the M60 prize.

Local runner and sub-three hour Marathon runner Jan Roxburgh won the Women's Race in 1:25:12. Bellah ClaireThompson was second completing the course in 1:28:53, followed by Arran's Jennifer Emsley in 1:29:32. Moorfoot's Julia Connor won the F35 race with Bella Pauline Wright collecting the second prize. Unattached Alison White won the F45 race.

Bellahouston RR's capped asuccessful day by also winning the Team Prize with Brian O'Donnell, RobertMcEwan and Joe Sheridan accumulating the points.

Verdict

This was my 35th raceof 2009. It was hard, very hard but it was also a great race, with fantastic scenery. The post race swim was an added bonus and just what my legs needed. My shoulders got sun burn but I loved it. To me it was much better than the Mull HaM but also much harder, hillier and slower.

Tough Going on the Road to Moscow

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:54:00 +0000

My 33rd race of 2009 and the 1st one I’ve ever ran in Kilmarnock.

I wasn’t sure if I would race it or not. The weather had been stifling recently and I had already entered the Arran Half Marathon taking place at the weekend. However I had taken the day as annual leave, had went to a yoga class in the morning and had a siesta in the afternoon, so I decided to give it a bash, despite the weather.

I arrived at the new St Joseph’sAcademy in New Farm Loch, Kilmarnock at about 6.45pm the exact same time as fellowBellas Scott Telford, Carla Deans and Andrew Hardman. I chatted with the Killie Captains and race organisers Paula and Connell and also Michelle Goldie and hermum Karen Quinn, who I know from the parkrun. I also chatted with David Miller and Jim Sneddon of Irvine as well as Kerry Liam Wilson who runs for Cambuslang and Gillian Mullen, also ofKilmarnock. As I was about to start mywarm up I recognised a lass that runs for Sprinburn and we introduced eachother. I recognised her name, CarolineBrownlie, from previous race results. Whilst chatting she informed that she had lived in Kilmarnock for10years and that her 10k time was around 44mins. Not dissimilar to mine. I thought about running round the course with her but decided just to run my own race.

I asked some previous runners fora description of the course and learned that it was in the shape of a ‘P’. Starting at the school, up hill, over themotorway and then undulating around in a reverse ‘C’ back to the motorway andthen downhill to the school. I hadlooked at last years results and knew that the field would be about 80-100strong with times ranging from 32mins to over an hour. I therefore picked my spot behind the fasterrunners but in front of Gillian and Caroline. Without any announcements the race started at 7.30pm and we headeduphill. An Irvine AC runner asked me ifI knew if the roads were open to traffic or not and I replied that I presumedthat they were. I felt quite good as Icontinued up hill and was satisfied with my 1st k time of 4:34. I heard a couple of marshals supporting‘Gillian’ as I past by them and presumed that Miss Mullen was just behindme. As I made my way across themotorway junction I noticed Keith Haining marshalling. The road took a right and continued uphill, through the scenic Ayrshire countryside with thecounty’s famous cattle grazing in the fields. At the 2nd k my time of 09:16 reflected a steady, ifunspectacular, pace. As we ran alongthe road towards the hamlet of Moscow, I was overtaken by a couple of Killierunners. At the 3rd k markerI was depressed as my pace seemed to have dropped significantly, however when Ireached the 4th one I had made up significant time. There’s no way that I made up so much time,I thought. The markers must have beenincorrectly placed. I reached the 5kmarker with a time of 23:30 and thought that a 47 min 10k would be acceptablein these conditions and on this course. Just past the half way point was a water stop and as I stopped to take adrink and to cool myself down a bit by pouring some over my head the guy I hadbeen running along side for the last couple of kilometers passed by me.

I rejoined the race before anyone had overtaken me and within the nextkilometer I had passed my temporary running mate. I took another couple of scalps between the 6 and 7 k markers alongthe undulating road towards Crookedholm. I could see my next target but he was a good bit in front of me but Iconcentrated on catching him when my body was telling me to stop and have arest. By the 8k mark he was definitelyin my sight but I could see that there was a big gap between him and the twoKillie runners in front and decided that their was no point in overtaking himat this stage. I was right on his tailas we approached the M77 interchange. “C’mon Ian” shouted Keith and I grabbed my opportunity to overtake therunner and increase my speed. “It’s alldownhill from here” shouted the next marshal and I increased my stride. However the finish line wasn’t even in sightand as I hadn’t seen the 9k mark, I wasn’t sure how much further I had torun. Downhill I raced. I was tired butI was determined that no-one would catch me in the final stage of the race andI gave it my all until eventually I could see the Finish Line and pushed it inuntil I crossed the line. I was happy with my time of 45:44 and receivedcongratulations and my commemorative mug, soft drinks and banana from Paula andher band of little helpers. I had finished 19secs behind the Killie runner, Andrew Taylor, in front of me and had opened up a gap of 13secs on the runner behind me, Peter Williams.

My splits reflecting my strong finish: 4:34; 4:34; 4:44; 4:41; 4:43; 4:40; 4:15;4:46; 4:35; 4:04

Men’s Race

Irvine’s David Miller won the race in an amazing time of32:08. Kilbarchan’s Thomas Hearlefinished over one minute behind him to claim second place in 33:18 withGirvan’s Kerry Liam Wilson finishing third in 33:30. Brian Craig of Irvine AC won the Vet Men 50 Prize, withGarscube’s Tony Hall claiming the Vet Men 60 equivalent. Girvan AC beat Irvine AC by one point totake the Men’s Team prize.

Women’s Race

Unattached Fiona Hogg won the women’s race in 44:42. In the closest race of the evening,Springburn’s Caroline Brownlie beat Kilmarnock’s Gillian Mullen by 9secs totake the Second Women’s Prize in 47:12. Kilmarnock’s Karen Quinn won the Women’s Vet Prize in 49:55. Host club Kilmarnock also won the Women’sTeam Prize.

Glasgow jogscotland 5k

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:40:00 +0000

This was a really hot and windy night. I don’t usually function in the heat very well, maybe it’s the Viking genes in me that prefer the cold, however tonight Iseemed to be one of the minority who enjoyed the race.

I had prepared well, having a 30 minute siesta during mylunch break, something to eat at about 4.00pm and a sport’s drink 30 minutesbefore the race. Well 45 mins as therace start was delayed by 15 mins due to excess queues at the late entry deskand the toilets. I had a short warm uprun, a trip to the toilet and then a walk to the race start in plenty oftime. Although there was a last minute jostle for positioning when the organisers announced the race was about to set off.

The Glasgow jogscotland 5k is a Bella Club Championship raceand there was a healthy showing from the purple posse. I settled in beside Keith Gibb and behind Lynne Andrew and Karlyn Forsyth and Clydesdale’s Marina McCallum. As the hooter sounded I started my Garmin aswe set off at what I thought was quite a reserved pace. I could see Shona Donnelly and Erica Christie just ahead of me and was content to let them use their experience toset the pace. I did however notice Bella's David Boyle and Jane Simpson shooting off at a race of knots in front ofus.

After about 600m I noticed the 4k sign and realised that thecourse must come back on itself later. The field was still congested as we reached a sharp and tight bend atabout 1km, runners, including me, were jostling to keep sufficient space to runin. I pulled away from Keith andovertook David as I settled into a comfortable pace behind Lynn and Karlyn,with Marina slightly further in front. At the 2k marker I looked at my Garmin to see what pace I was running atbut it read “are you indoors now?” About a kilometre later I noticed that Lynn was pulling away fromKarlyn, I thought about chasing after her but at this stage I had to use all mymental strength to keep running as the demons called on me to stop and have arest. I could see Lynn pass Marina andwiden the gap as I struggled to hold on behind Karlyn. I knew that the 4k marker wasn’t far aheadand concentrated my efforts on reaching that. I seized the opportunity to overtake Karlyn as we climbed a shortincline. Marina was now in my sightsbut there was still a long way to go and I concentrated in getting around thecourse behind her without doing anything silly. I could hear the announcer but I couldn’t see where the Finishline was as we ran a long straight part of the course. There was a right turn ahead of us and as wereached it I cut inside of Marina and ran past her. ‘Go for it Ian’ she shouted as I sprinted towards the finish line. I overtook Kilmarnock’s David Mitchell as Icrossed one set of electronic chip mats but the Finish Line was further away, Ikept pushing in and ran over a second set of mats before crossing the line.

I shared mutual congratulations to those Bella and otherswho were recovering in the space over the line and then with Marina, Karlyn, Keith,David and others as they crossed the line. My target for the night was to improve on my President’s time of 21:17and hence gain some points for the Bella Championships. My fellow runners assured me that I musthave done that easily. I knew that Ihad run a good race but I would need to wait for the results to be published todiscover that I had finished it in 20:59.

A few of us stayed behind for the prize giving and with noneof the top Bellas there, it fell to me to collect the award when the organisersannounced that Bellahouston Road Runners had won the Team Prize.

Selected results:

Jim Robinson 19:48

Shona Donnelly 19:54

Claire Wharton 20:00

Jane Simpson 20:03

Erica Christie 20:32

Lynne Andrew 20:38

Ian Goudie 20:59

Marina McCallum 21:06

David Mitchell 21:06

Karlyn Forsyth 21:09

Keith Gibb 21:16

David Boyle 21:24

Richard Leyton 21:45

Brian Daroch 21:36

Glasgow East 5k fun run

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Sunday was my first running of the Glasgow East 5k. I had had a heavy night on Saturday and was more than a little hungover as I made my way to the unfamiliar Tollcross Park. As I drove along London Road Inoticed that part of the road had been closed off to traffic. I saw a 2k marker and later a 3k marker,informing not only of the course route but also its direction. I followed the cones around to the left andas I observed the throngs of white 5k t-shirts, I joined in with those othercars seeking a parking place. Once Iwas safely parked I joined the masses walking towards the park. People of all ages and all shapes and sizes– apart from athletic- were adorned proudly in their race t-shirts and avariety of foot coverings, with only the very occasional pair of running shoes on display.

We made our way through the park towards the event HQ, where an over enthusiastic PA had joined with the female fitness instructor in leading the 2,500 through 30 mins of warm up exercise movements. I took my usual pre race pit stop and my usual stretches before meeting up with Joe Chambers of Springburn, Bella Harrier Connie and her two friends and fellow Bella RR Jane Galt. After agreeing with Connie and her friends to consider running in the forthcoming Famous Grouse 10k, it was time to make our way to the race start. The announcer asked for ‘serious runners’ to go to the front. As I had decided that I wasn’t going to race the event I had chosen not to wear my Bella racing vest but another running vest, however even this made me stand out like a professional amongst the white t-shirts. Joe introduced me to his club running mate Jonathon Graham and suggested that he was in with a real chance of winning the race. He was the only person that I had noticed with a club vest on.

The event had three starts: a wheelchair one, a ‘seriousrunner’ one and one for the vast majority of participants. I noticed that there were loads of kids amongst the second group and as we started they shot off at pace. However they seemed to spend have their time looking over their shoulders to make sure that their pals were with them. I started well and made steady progress out of the park and along Tollcross Road. Even by then a lot of kids had adopted a stop/run approach. I looked at my Garmin and it hadn’t started! I pressed the start button again and the timer started counting. We turned left, downhill slightly and then another right turn took us onto LondonRoad. I took a note of my time at the2k marker 3:20 and again at 3k 7:50, a 4:30k, or a 22:30 5k pace. I heard a young lad saying that he was hoping for a sub 20min run and thought ‘no chance’ as I overtook him. I probably ran a little faster during the next kilometre but didn’t notice the 4k marker. The route turned left off of London Road and towards the park. As we climbed a small hill, I over took a wheelchair racer, who then overtook me on the following downhill section. The course then climbed a little more and I could see a marshall guiding runners into the park. I followed his guidance and was now insidethe park and running along a tree lined path. I could hear the over enthusiastic PA guy shouting “c’mon wee man” to the lad in front of me and as he cheered him over the line, I crossed almost unnoticed. It’s the first run I’ve been at where runners finishing places and times are not recorded. I walked around to the girls handing out goody bags and fruit and then made my way to the toilet before finding Jonathon and Joe, who had came in 1st and 3rd respectively. A few minutes later Connie and her two friends arrived and we congratulated each other before heading our separate ways. After I had got changed I drove back around the route in the reverse direction and witnessed the sea of white t-shirts who were still walking around the course, with no intention of even a token jog or run. It’s their event I thought, most of them would have been local to the east end and for many of them the 5k would have been a significant challenge. Well done to each and everyone of them.

Loch Ness Marathon ....and parkrun 30

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:19:00 +0000

I’ve decided to train for the Loch Ness Marathon which isbeing held on Sunday 4th October 2009. I blame Norman Boyle for this moment of madness as he registeredfor the event before I did. There’s nowa small group of us doing it from Bella RR.

I’ve adopted an 18 week plan which has seen me training forthe last 6 weeks, whilst Norman has gone with a 12 week programme.

I’ve got into the habit of doing the Glasgow parkrun andrather than give this up for my long runs, I’ve decided to include the run atthe end of my Saturday morning run and use the combined training as my longrun.

This week I had a scheduled 13 mile run and planned to do 10miles plus the parkrun 5k. I had planned a route leaving from the start of the parkrun in Pollok Park at 8am and returning 10 miles later, before the event start of 9.30am. However I was a few minutes late in settingoff and my best laid plans were amended when I met running mate Pauline Wright in Barrhead Road after only 2.5 miles. After a chat and sharing some water, I offered to amend my route and we turned around and headed back towards Pollok Park. We continued past the park, up Cockerhill Road and then along Mosspark Boullevard and around the north perimeter of Pollok Park to Pollockshaws Road, where she headed home and I entered the park at Pollok Avenue. I ran along the riverside patht o the stables, where I made use of the toilet facilities. I then ran around Pollok House and back on to the avenue, as I approached the turn off for the Burrell – the parkrun start- Iasked a fellow runner for the time. 9:25 he replied and I realised that I would need to head straight for the start line. However as I ran over the brow of the hill expecting to see around 200 runners assembled I was met with an empty road. Maybe he’s got the wrong time I thought for a second before noticing that in the car park down to my right my car had been joined by the pakrunners. A quick wipe with my towel and a drink of water and the eventstarted from its amended start point.

I took my time wanting to continue my run at the same pace,I ran along congratulating Catriona Gourlay for her recent recognition of Glasgow parkrunner of the month. However her pace was just too slow for me andI started to make my way slowly up through the field. By the second loop I was struggling and the sweat was pouring off me but I wanted to maintain or increase my pace slightly. A young man had overtaken me and I decidedto follow his tail. There were a coupleof other regular runners ahead of us and although they looked to have too largea gap for us to catch, they must have been feeling the pace and we caught themat the final hill. At the top of the hill I pushed in a little more and overtook the young man in front of me,Stuart McBeath. I wasn’t sure where the amended finish line would be but presumed it wouldn’t be too far away. I saw a blue vest in front of me, who looked a bit like Tom Keenan and although I gained some ground on him his strongfinish saw him finishing 3 secs in front, before disappearing into the trees for a pit stop.

I finished in 25:14 and was 95th out of 190 finishers and picked up some more parkrun points.

As I joined Tom and his wife for coffee in the Burrell I asked him if he had finished in 94th spot. How did you know that ? he asked …because I was just behind you I replied.

Tom Keenan 25:11; Stuart McBeath 25:21; Catriona Gourlay27:07 new PB by 57 secs.

I’m now 16th in the men’s league with some 989 pointsand have completed 16 parkruns. Only Dan Maher with 21 has completed more than me.

Glasgow parkrun 20th June

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:33:00 +0000

This was my 15th parkrun and my 29th race of 2009. My original intention wasto run this race as part of my long run. My marathon schedule had an 8 mile run, so I started with a 5 mile runfrom Pollok Park to Bellahouston Ski Centre and back. I met about a dozen other Bellas out for their long run as I left Pollok Park. After I had finished my 5 miles I met up with some of the usual parkrunners as well as Jan Fellows from Helensburgh making her debut. Jan’ sbeen under the weather recently and advised me that she would be taking it easy today, likewise I informed her that I wasn’t racing it but using it as part of my long run.

As we chatted I noticed a number of blue and white vests ofKilmarnock Harriers, who had chosen today’s event as one of their clubchampionship races. 13 Killie membershad travelled to Glasgow this morning to compete, including Brian Darroch, whoI had overtaken in the recent Helensburgh 10k. Brian’s running loads of races at the moment but is still trailingbehind my 29 in 2009.

As the race started I found myself running at a decentsteady pace and made my way around most of the first lap with fellow Bella Jim Robinson just within eyeshot. There was a guy in white that I overtook near the bottom of the first downhill section,the point where Marie McChord usually overtakes me, although she waits until the second lap. However as I approached the first of the three consecutive hills, he overtook me. I overtook him again and a young Motherwell runner on the second hill and as we approached the third hill, I heard the youngster asking one of the supporters (his mother?) if there was far to go. We were about half way round the course at this point and I could tell that the supporter didn’t know what to say. I overtook another runner at thef oot of the third hill and increased my pace on the slightly down hill part of the course, catching quite a few runners as I did but also being overtaken by a heavy footed 14 year old from Giffnock. As I turned to run up the hills again, I could see Brian in the distance and thought that I might be able to catch him. I pushed it in and started picking of those runners between us as I closed the gap. As I feared he was justt hat wee bit too far ahead of me and I crossed the finishing line some 20seconds and two places behind him, in 57th spot and a time of 22:17. Jan finished in 69th position in 22:57 and Jim in 30th spot in 20:00.

I’m now in 14th place in the Glasgow parkrunmen’s table with 973 points. Only three runners have ran more than me, two on 16 and one on 20. I might be able to pass a couple of these before the year end.