The Marcothon 2013, Done and Dusted

Last day done and my attempt to run all 31 days in December is finally complete. In case you don’t know already it was started four years ago by Marco Consani of Garscube Harriers who decided to challenge himself to run every day in November 2009 and, in response, his wife Debbie decided to do one day more and run every day of the following month, dubbing it the ‘Marcothon’ and writing about it on her blog. She and her husband are well-known international ultra runners and  consequently her blog is read by many people. Soon loads of other nutters were wanting to do the same, to the extent that this year there appear to have been over 1600 people from around the world having a go. Coach tells me he’s had a couple of goes at it but had to taper for races so didn’t complete it.

Each year I only remember well into December, too late to even start, however this time I read about it on Tuesday the 3^rd and realised I had accidentally already completed the first two days, Sunday and Monday being normal running days for me. A minimum of 3 miles or 25 minutes per day, whichever comes first, doesn’t sound much to begin with but obviously gets progressively harder although I managed surprisingly comfortably. Having said that, there were undoubtedly one or two days where just getting out of the door was an effort, the weather being the biggest problem – think of the low temperatures and the incessant wind and rain through most of this month. Dogged determination and stupidity (pre-requisites for ultra-running) were my greatest allies, more than one comment from my fellow-harriers confirming this, such as ‘ya daft sod’, ‘are you nuts?’, ‘you’re aff yer heid’, etc, etc. Thanks for the encouragement guys…in truth you were all very encouraging.  

Taking part in races was also a great motivation for continuing and I ran the Tollcross, Pollock and Victoria parkruns not forgetting that old perennial, the Ayrodynamic Turkey Trot. The latter was probably the most enjoyable day of the lot, running both the 5k and 10k races with around 20 minutes break between the two in the bright and warm Boxing Day sunshine. Not to mention the  good company of other Calderglen harriers and Athelites.

Some brief numbers: 32 runs in 31 days..169.5 miles in total..an average of 5.296875 miles per run..only 3 days of sunshine..1 massage from Grant…and goodness only knows how many washes and how much Daz.

The contrast between the first and last outings of the month couldn’t have been greater, the first being a very enjoyable long run down the glen to Blantyre and back with Ian (and Jez!) on a calm and sunny Sunday morning (we only got lost the once) and the last a stolid, lonely plod through the cold, wind and rain which have been almost a constant throughout December 2013

The next question of course is whether to do a parkrun or not on Ne’erday or, more to the point, will Alison put up with another set of winter running gear washing? Will I survive her wrath if I run again so soon? Will the washing machine survive the pounding it’s been getting?

If I live I’ll see you all at the club next year

A happy and prosperous new year to harriers old, new, near and far, ane and a’   from Alison and I

And the winner is..................

.......Friday 27th December. The Festive Pub Run will depart the Sports Club at 6pm prompt on Friday 27th. Please be resplendent in your high viz attire, head torches fully charged and a handful of money for your refreshments en route. The total distance of the run is 6 miles with 5 aid stations on the way and a 6th one at the finish. According to the poll result, we should have a record turn out!
Alan

Christmas Training

Just so everyone knows the Sports Club is open on Thursday 26th Dec so training will be available for anyone who still wants to go to training.

May I also at this time on behalf of your committee wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

MEMBERSHIP FEES 2014

As you should all be aware the membership fees for 2014 are the same as last year and are due from 1st Jan.
As with previous years we understand this is a difficult time of year for some financially so you have until the end of January to pay. Anyone that cannot make payment by this time please come and speak to me in confidence and we can try to make payment arrangements suitable to you.
Fees are:
Family                   £114
Ordinary                £70
Intermediate          £50
Junior                    £30
Retired Family      £59      (both parties must be above national pension age)
Retired Ordinary   £40      (must be above national pension age)

Russell

Christmas Handicap - Good Elf Wins

Blustery but thankfully dry conditions greeted the Harriers who made an early start to take part in the annual 4 mile Christmas Handicap around the grounds of Calderglen Country Park. A more accurate long-term forecast may well have caused a few of the Harriers to re-think their fancy dress but in the absence of that, some very non-aerodynamic Harriers battled against the strong winds.

For the second year in a row, our up and coming youngsters triumphed, with the world's tallest elf Craig Stewart finishing first (27:28), closely followed by a (football) focused Mark McQuaid (28:14) in second place and glam rocker Alison Lessells (27:56) in third (I am including Alison in the up and coming youngsters category too). Jim "Zorro" Holmes continued his tradition of being armed and dangerous on the handicap, finishing fourth in the fastest time of the day (26:37). A very close group followed, lead by Richard Lawton (29:52), taking the kilt and braces approach to ensure victory (it won't happen again) over daughter Emma (27:06). In Emma's defense, she did lose some time playing the Santa's Little Helper role to perfection, stopping to pull the mummified Kenny Leinster out of a bush after he had tripped over a loose bandage. Joanne McEvoy managed to remain glamorous throughout (28:33) despite being chased to the line by a skeleton in the shape of Andy Henderson (27:02). Rock 'n' Roll Ruth Kelly had her first experience of the Christmas handicap, finishing in 34:24, whilst Kenny "The Mummy" Leinster was somewhat unraveled when he crossed the line (31:06). Jim Mearns clearly did have a Scooby what to  Doo (31:54), impressively out-sprinting a Penguin shaped Frances Maxwell (33:16) on the line. David Herbertson was about the only harrier who would not be blown off his feet, running as a well ballasted Santa (30:29). Final finisher and chapping from start to finish was Eddie Reid in the shape of a domino. Non-finishers were Russell Couper making a very convincing appearance as an injured athlete and Billy "Indiana" Buchanan who's injured hamstring may well have survived had he swapped his whip for some of Kenny Leinster's bandages. Full results are here.

Finally, a big thanks to Martin Duthie and family for the donations to charity awarded to the first three finishers in memory of the Christmas Handicap's biggest fan, Margaret Ann.
Alan

One Man and his Vest

John McBride with the signed Steve Cram Jarrow & Hepburn vest he won in the raffle a few weeks ago.

Christmas greetings

Hi all,  Carolyn and I wish all Harriers and their families a special New Zealand Christmas greeting. I've been keeping up to date with all the races and events and the club has had some memorable results. I'm sure that 2014 will be just as good if not better. I'm still grinding out the miles, sorry, kilometres on the bike. Looking forward to having Gavin, Louisa and especially Ruby down for Christmas.
Malcolm & Carolyn

Christmas Pub Run

We are trying to decide which night to hold the traditional Christmas Pub Run. Please vote using the widget on the left to indicate which nights you could make. Click all the dates you could make. The most popular one will be the winner.
Alan, Eddie

Christmas Handicap Fun Run

....... is next Sunday15th December. Please be at the Sports Club from 10:30, all ready for the first runners to be off at 11am. Fancy dress is advised, there being a high standard to live up to from previous years. Also please bring a small value prize to put into the lucky dip. Everyone who brings a prize gets to draw a prize at the end. As for the running; it is a 5 laps of the 0.8 mile circuit around the country park drive; slowest starting first, fastest last.
Alan

West District XC - Kilmarnock, definitely not Doha!

Kilmarnock Harriers excelled themselves by setting a proper cross country course all within easy reach of civilisation (Ayrshire Athletics Arena) on Saturday. A hard core of Calderglen women and men accepted the challenge and were further motivated by the fantastic victory by Emma Lawton (individual and team champion) in the U13 girls 3.2km event earlier in the day.

The course started with a grassy loop around the perimeter of the sports grounds before heading off on the first of 2 (women) or 3 (men) larger loops in a more agricultural setting! The men's large loop included a few extra fields compared to the women giving course distances of 5.8km for the ladies and 10.5km for the men. There were not many hills in the course, just a few embankments to go up and over, but there were many very heavy sections, not least the so-called "swamp" (pictured above). On passing under a bridge, we were funneled into a narrow path through an absolute quagmire which sapped the strength for about 10-15m before we quite literally plunged into the swamp proper for a further 5-10m. This started off ankle deep and got deeper with each of the three laps. Prior to the senior men's race a spike was spotted floating in here and one of the U23 men was covered from head to foot in mud so had obviously taken a dive, something we all wanted to avoid. From here we diverted into a few small fields used for grazing sheep which were on a nasty camber but otherwise grippy for those wearing spikes, except for the gates in and out of each field which were all deep mud.

Official finishing order and times are now confirmed.

Looking strong throughout and enjoying herself, Joanne McEvoy (26:31) was first of our ladies today with Alison Lessells (27:17) using the race as an effective Christmas night out hang over cure not far behind. Frances Maxwell (28:05) completed our team and despite feeling the cold pre-race, soon warmed up and also had a strong run. Joanne now leads both the Grand Prix and Club Championships going into the Christmas break.

For the men we had a few last minute call-offs but were still well represented. I had a very tired run from start to finish (43:48) but was glad to have completed a tough cross country for the first time in a few years. Andy Henderson (48:01) had another very strong run in his age group and must surely have been one of the top M60's. Jim Holmes (49:42) thoroughly enjoyed the course and seemed to be handling the deep mud very well. David Herbertson (51:38) was making not only his first race for 3 or 4 weeks but more or less his first run, so not an easy comeback. Richard Lawton (53:04) had never competed in an individual West District XC and, ecstatic about daughter Emma's gold medal performance earlier in the day, also had a very strong run. Jim Mearns (55:23) was a late arrival but ran well in only his second cross country race; certainly one of the muddiest he will ever have to do. John McBride (57:29) was our only Harrier to lose a shoe in the mud, fortunately early on in the race while he still had the strength to retrieve it. Chas Steven (64:39) was in his element here and it is great to see Chas returning to form week after week following a few years of injury problems. Both Richard Lawton and Alan Derrick retain their leads in the Grand Prix and Club Championships respectively.

Most popular spectator, photographer and comedy corner was at the swamp where we were all glad to be cheered on by our ladies team, Ruth who had dashed to the course from work and Russell who was there enthusiastically organising our race numbers and providing words of motivation. Finally, it was only a short walk to the showers (luke warm to cold by the time we arrived but good enough for removing the mud) and a hot coffee. A big thanks to Richard for organising the club tent and for the many hands who helped put it up and take it down.

There will be many photos to come (probably all at the swamp) but for starters, here are the photos taken by Alison.
Lots of photos from official photographer here.

Alan

Doha College 10k

Friday 22nd November Aspire Park,  Doha , Qatar
Within 2 hours of arriving in Doha on holiday I had entered a 10k. In years gone by I would more likely have been booking a pedicure but I am an athlete now! Besides, running is turning my toenails black with alarming regularity so pedicures are a bit pointless now.
I hoped that having a goal would encourage me to continue training throughout my holiday, albeit on a treadmill due to the heat and humidity. I did a reasonable amount but have to admit that my focus strayed more to the wealth of amazing eateries at my disposal.

The race started at 7 am in order to beat the hottest temperatures. I awoke early to the amazing sunrise over The Pearl, the man-made island where my family live.
 My wonderful brother and sister-in-law arranged for their friends to pick me up as they were also running that day so we all arrived bright and early to pick up our race pack. Aspire Park is an amazing facility with a 5k perimeter (handy!) There is a state of the art air conditioned football stadium, an indoor running track, cutting edge physio and sports injury unit and a 300m tower in the shape of a torch among much more. This is where Premiership football teams come to train.  The park was built for the Asian games in 2006 and at the time the tower was topped by a flame. The whole park is incredibly impressive and it was a real thrill to run around it....twice.

The race was two laps of the park with a single lap 5k race starting at the same time. I didn’t have my club vest or a watch so had to run as a civilian, incognito, under the radar. The sun was already high and the temperature was steadily rising so I thought I would take it easy and see how it went. No pressure. I thought I had done a reasonable job of keeping hydrated throughout the preceding days but within 500m of starting my mouth was completely dry. Imagine my delight when I encountered the first water station at 1k, hurrah! These guys know what they are doing. Doha is completely flat so I knew there would be no hills as such, just gentle undulations with a good portion on spongy running track type surface. Running round taking in the sites with an 80% ex-pat field, I noticed very few spectators but hundreds of stewards and helpers who had obviously been encouraged to cheer us on enthusiastically. They were going nuts! Fabulous entertainment for the runners and a grand wee boost in the energy sapping heat. Running into the centre of the park to start the second lap, the sun was blinding on the white polished road surface and buildings, the heat increased and it felt a bit like running in a ceramic oven.  It was nice to exit again to the perimeter and benefit from a nice breeze. I didn’t get lost once, shocking I know, and ran in to the finish area feeling quite good and pleased that I had managed to run in the quite different climate of the Middle East. My time was 53:57, not my fastest but pleased nonetheless. I was 264th, 57th Female and 7th in my category from a field of 547.  I made the cut in the official video as well so that satisfied the entertainer in me. My Sister-law Nicola tells me that things like this 10k are notoriously difficult to organise in Qatar but I have to say that this was one of the best organised races I have entered and was a real credit to the city. If you happen to be in the area I would definitely recommend it!

Ruth

WEST DISTRICT XC (KILMARNOCK)

This Saturday is the West District XC.
Ladies start at 1pm and Men at 2pm.
Please arrive in plenty of time to warm up.
I will be there early and will collect the numbers and be at the course.
Those entered are:
Frances Maxwell, Joanne McEvoy, Julie Beveridge and Allison Lessells.

A Derrick, R Lawton, C Steven, J Holmes, D Herbertson, C Banks, J McBride, J Mearns,
A Henderson, E Reid.

If anyone can no longer make it please let someone know.

Russell

25TH CLUB LA SANTA LANZAROTE INTERNATIONAL RUNNING CHALLENGE

I headed to Club La Santa (CLS) in Lanzarote with my sister Louise (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) and her boyfriend Stuart (Falkirk Victoria Harriers) to take part in the 25th International Running Challenge which involved 4 races over 4 days.
The first race took place on Sunday and was a 10k road race, which started in the sports stadium within CLS and involved a lap around the track before leaving the complex and heading out into La Santa.  The race is run on asphalt roads and involves running towards the villages of La Santa and Caleta de Caballo.  The course was over two laps, which included coming back into the stadium and running another lap of the track.  Having not arrived until 7.00pm the night before and with the heat on the Sunday I did not do as well as I might have done on this race, finishing in a time of 45.05 (Louise – 43.58, Stuart – 40.21).
Monday’s race was a 13k ridge race, starting yet again in the stadium.  As Louise and Stuart had competed in the running challenge last year as well they knew what to expect and warned me that the first half of the race would involve a bit of climbing.    The terrain for this race was a mixture of asphalt roads and dirt trails, running around one of the big volcanoes near to CLS.  The first 4-5km were mainly uphill but the decent off the ridge was not as bad as Louise had made out (we came off a ridge earlier this year than what they did last year – on Friday we went out and re-ran the ridge race ourselves but we tackled the second ridge as well and I certainly would not have liked to have tried the decent off that ridge in a race!)  I enjoyed this race more than Sunday’s race and I found I was able to settle into a rhythm over the last few kilometres, completing the race in a time of 58.20 (Louise 56.54, Stuart – 55.14)
On to Tuesday and we headed to Puerto Del Carmen for a 5km beach race.  However, as we had to be transported to this race, together with the fact there were only two toilets at the start area, I spent  a lot of time queuing and therefore had very little warm up time.  I thought with me being in the middle of the cross country season that this would stand me in good stead for this race but as I soon found out the soft sand was not east to run on.  Once we got near the sea I headed for the harder ground (albeit I did get my feet soaked a few times).  But we were soon back on to the soft sand and I found myself struggling again.  The heat was not helping me either.  This was a two lap course which I completed in 25.49 (Louise – 25.04, Stuart – 22.07).
And so finally on to the last day which was the 21km La Vuelta de Tinajo.  We were transported to Mancha Blanca, a small village about 10minutes away from CLS.   The buses were slightly late in leaving CLS and therefore by the time we got to the start line we literally just had time to go to the toilet and then the race started (a common theme was emerging here!).  This run took us around the volcanic Montana de Tinache (1 loop) through Tinajo and back to CLS.  It was a similar terrain to Monday’s race with a mixture of asphalt roads and dirt tracks.  However Lanzarote experienced rather windy conditions that day (and speaking to someone later on in the week they said they had not seen such a windy day as Wednesday for a while).  As a result I found in the latter part of the race I was struggling against the wind and the sand which was being blown up.  Apart from a climb around about 4km into this race, this one was relatively flat and downhill.  This was my most satisfying race of the week as I felt once I got going that I was able to pick off other runners as I made my way through the race.  Once I arrived back at CLS I had one lap around the track to complete before I had finished the running challenge.  My time for this race was 1.33.33 (Louise – 1.31.51, Stuart – 1.22.54).
My overall combined time for the challenge was 3.42.46 and I was 22nd overall in the women’s competition (7th out of 14 overall in my age category).
The running challenge overall was a very good experience and was well attended with over 400 runners taking part from a wide range of countries all over Europe.  Some running clubs were well presented such as Crusaders and Sportworld running clubs of Ireland and Sparta of Denmark.  There was an awards ceremony on the Wednesday evening followed by a showing of the race video (this can be found at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weDACRvBzNY) and afterwards a disco.
Julie

Well done Julie on keeping the Harriers' International racing tradition going. Back to reality on Saturday at Kilmarnock!

Alan

What shoes to wear?

This picture was taken from my local paper showing local school sports. As you can hopefully see, no shoes are worn this young athelete. This is common practice in New Zealand as you often see groups of children out running in bare feet. So much for expensive trainers! Enjoy the cross country season especially at Kilmarnock!

What shoes to wear?

A few pictures from the Kilmarnock Open Cross Country Races a month or so ago which trialed the course to be used for the West District Cross Country this coming Saturday. The organisers have not yet decided whether to keep the "swamp" in the route or not but just in case they do, here is what to expect!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kilmarnock_harriers/

Alan