Clyde Stride 2013

Now I know why the Clyde Valley is famous for it’s tomatoes – it’s b!**dy hot!
On the hottest day of the year, so far (ever the optimist!), 108 runners lined up near Partick station for the start of the fourth running of the 40 mile Clyde Stride ultra. After a slight delay to accommodate a couple of late arrivals we were sent on our way by a blast from an air horn which probably doesn’t go down too well with the locals at nine o’clock on a Saturday morning!
 Ian Rae & I were representing Calderglen, my first but Ian for the fourth consecutive year. He had been informed earlier by Lee McLean the race director that he was now one of only four ever-presents at the CS, a consistency beaten only by him being the sole ever-present at all eight Highland Flings - sorry Angela, that means no holiday at the Fair weekend for a few more years.
Slow and steady is usually the order of the day at any ultra but with the temperature somewhere in the low twenties at 9am slow meant even slower than normal. We plodded along past the Riverside Museum, through Glasgow Green, past the Commonwealth Games athlete’s village at Dalmarnock, Celtic Park, Bothwell Castle,the David Livingstone Centre and, in my case, reaching the second checkpoint at the 19 mile mark in Strathclyde Park quite comfortably. Up to that point a lot of the route had been in the shade but the long straight down past the Watersports Centre under blazing sunshine and with almost no wind was a big effort and the wheels start to come off not long after, somewhere around Baron’s Haugh RSPB reserve. As some of you will know my training hasn’t been ideal of late with visits to hospital and a minor operation (sorry Ian) over the last few weeks so I had expected to struggle over the latter part of the route but it was depressing to toil this early. A couple of unscheduled stops involving non-sticky elastoplast, a painful nipple and Sudocrem (yes it’s for big babies too) slowed me even further and the walking sections became longer and longer.

Through the checkpoint at Mauldslie bridge and beyond seemed to last forever and I walked/ran towards Crossford and my only meeting with my support crew, aka Alison, who was waiting patiently with a big smile, a hug and fresh melon, pineapple and orange juice – heaven! ( I’m reliably informed Ian blagged some of my pineapple, the swine!) Suitably fortified I carried on and began to feel better the longer the race went on and really enjoyed most of the beautiful last section into New Lanark and a wonderful welcome at the finish in 8.03.23. A cup of tea and a can of Guinness rounded the day off nicely. A PB for me as I hadn’t run forty miles before and the chance, with some decent training and normal Scottish summer  weather, i.e. cool and wet, of another next year as I can surely better that time. Ian ran a pleasing 6:12 and was probably home with his feet up, showered and fed, before Alison and I started on the long drag up to the Munro-like car park for the journey home.  
Never ever again  where’s that entry form for next year?  
Stop Press:  I seem to have recovered quicker than expected so should be at Chatelherault tonight although I may miss out the loop at the end.

Davie Searil

Well done to Davie and Ian on another stupendous effort and thanks for the report.

Alan