A 50th birthday party for a Bowmore local the same weekend as the Islay Half meant that Bowmore was fully booked and accommodation was difficult to come by this year, severely limiting the number of Harriers participating. However, Jim Holmes' mum came to the rescue and via her local contacts, B&B was found for 6 of us. The withdrawal of Kenny through injury reduced us to 5 in B&B in Bowmore whilst Andy B and girlfriend Sandy were staying with Andy's friend in Port Ellen. The forecast for the weekend looked iffy with torrential rain possible on Saturday and Sunday. We did not expect to be overheating during the race this year!
So on Friday afternoon, 3 sets of Harriers and support converged on Inverary for a lunchtime rendezvous at The George. A pleasant onward drive to the ferry terminal at Kennacraig (construction work and re-modelling now complete) followed, although the queues for the ferry did seem smaller than usual. A few hours later we disembarked in Port Askaig. With the address of the B&B programmed into the sat nav (a rather vague address which variously confused the sat nav or the driver, or both) we headed off in convoy. We knew that the B&B was near the hospital, a location I was all too familiar with, and after a brief diversion into the grounds of the hospital (sat nav!), we parked up outside the B&B. Of course the B&B was at the highest point in Bowmore and I made a mental note to save some energy post race and post ceilidh to get back up there. Room assignments were equally confusing, particularly as one of the rooms had so called "Jack &Jill" doors into a shared, en-suite bathroom - endless confusion for some wondering which room they would exit the bathroom into!
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| Almost all the Harriers |
Race morning, true athletes that we are, we all postponed the Full Scottish until Sunday, had a light breakfast and then a nice downhill run to registration and the start line. Andy B made his first late appearance of the weekend and had a very limited warm-up as a result. Runners appeared from all around and the field looked at least as big as usual. Conditions were perfect, overcast and windless. The race started right on schedule and we charged up the hill and out into the wilderness. I could not go with the pace of the lead pack of 7 but Davy Watt stretched them all out and Andy followed.
The relentless climb during the first 6 miles split up that lead pack and I could see Davy, Paul Thomson and an unknown (to me) newcomer breaking away with the remainder split into individuals and pairs. Meanwhile, I was dropping a couple more places but at least still running consistently. As we hit the finishing straight (only 5.5 miles to go!) I managed to stabilise the 20m gap to the Shettleston Harrier in front and then the drizzle started too. Years of experience of this course came into play and I gradually started to overhaul the isolated runners in front. Andy B was one of them and I tried to encourage him to tuck in behind me at about the 9 mile mark but he had blown up. The leaders, including Davy, were out of sight by this point. On the final ascent at about 12 miles I passed two more and was closing in on the next one but there was just not enough uphill left. As soon as the course turned downhill in the final half mile I could close the gap no further and ended up sprinting(ish) down the hill about 10m behind Terry Coyle, a long-time rival on this course. Davy was third, I was 6th, Andy 10th and Jim 41st (Billy was 26th but as usual at Islay, we had to declare our 4 counting runners in advance), so it should have been good enough to claim the team prize for Calderglen. However, as has caught us out a few times over the years, a composite team consisting of individuals from various clubs, most of whom were in the top 10 took us by surprise and we had to settle for second team. Anyway, the prize haul was still extensive as the photos show. Full race results are here.
The afternoon was a complete washout, at least that is how it seemed from the relative dryness of the Lochside Hotel Bar. This passed many hours with the added benefit of a wide screen TV to watch the Commonwealth Games and only a few steps to our pre-booked table for dinner. The evening ceilidh was absolutely mobbed as the 50th birthday party had planned their evening around the dancing too. No sooner had we walked in and I was grabbed for a dashing white sergeant and from then on I was the Harriers' nominated dancer for the night whilst the rest of the Harriers kept the bar in business. By midnight I was burnt out and a few of us made the ascent back to the B&B leaving raffle specialist John McBride in charge of all the raffle tickets (and Davy).
Sunday was another sunny morning although the TV revealed torrential rain in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games cycle race. Full Scottish dispatched, we decided on a drive round to Portnahaven to find a beach and announced our intentions to our hostess before checking out. Meanwhile Billy was turning his room upside down and paid a further visit to the swimming pool looking for his trunks, but to no avail. Oh well, no swim for Billy. We were advised that John the shepherd had told the B&B hostess that the weather would be good (I think he has an iPhone with a weather app) so the top went down on the car and we set off in our small convoy. Its about 15 miles to Portnahaven and half way along as we approached Port Charlotte, a people carrier came flying past at great speed. What an idiot I thought, must be late for church. A couple of bends later and the people carrier is in a layby and the driver is out in the middle of the road waving at us. It was our hostess waving Billy's trunks! Apparently they were in the bottom of the wardrobe although as the B&B lady was putting a washing out as we left, there is a sneaking suspicion that Billy had put all his gear in for a full laundry service and the trunks had been missed! The swim was back on for Billy. Just as well we did not change our mind and head for some other part of the island or Billy and his trunks may not have been reunited.
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| Portnahaven |
What a beautiful place Portnahaven turned out to be, despite having to endure a party political broadcast on behalf of the local conservative candidate (who owned the shop) whilst trying to buy a Magnum. The beach was too enclosed and residential for a swim though so after a relaxing half hour, we headed back towards Port Charlotte. There we found another fantastic, sandy beach and the intrepid Billy, John and Jim donned trunks and swam to their hearts' content (or hypothermia set in). This is definitely a beach to return to! All too soon it was time to return to Port Askaig and the ferry. Plans were hatched over a coffee to do Jura next year. As ferry time approached, we noticed that Andy and Sandy had not yet turned up. Some minutes later Andy made his second late appearance of the weekend, driven by his pal. Apparently the car had run out of petrol and petrol stations are few and far between on Islay, let alone open ones on a Sunday. Finally we were onboad and another Islay weekend was almost over. It was only a few miles past Inverary that I hit the torrential rain. Its amazing how the weather could be so different a short distance away on Islay.
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| Port Charlotte |
Thanks to the guys for excellent company and Jim for stressing himself with the B&B arrangements. Thanks to Sandy for putting up with us old guys and taking the photos. Many more photos have been added to the album here. Roll on next year!
Alan
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