Southside Six 2015

On a glorious autumnal Sunday morning three hundred and twenty two souls lined up near the flagpole in Queen’s Park for the start of the fifth Southside Six. Previous SS6’s have had very decent weather for November but this year we were blessed with by far the best yet.

The usual madcap dash down the hill and out of the park gates was followed by the even steeper descent down Battlefield Road. As always the southside public, out for the Sunday papers, just taking a stroll in the morning sunshine or still heading home from the night before, looked on bemused as we streamed past. You could almost imagine them saying to themselves ‘didn’t realise it was that time of year already’. The event may only have been going five years but that has been more than long enough to firmly establish this race as probably the premier running event in Glasgow. Yes I know there’s another, bigger, brasher event the previous month but that doesn’t have the same local, homely feel as this one. In many ways this is the Glasgow run for Glaswegians (plus a few invited guests). More popular than ever, this years’ event sold out (400 entries) last February in an astonishing 30 minutes, six minutes faster than the previous, record-breaking, year.

On a personal level and despite the perfect running weather I struggled to find any sort of rythym or cadence right from the start and, although not being a ‘steady’ type of course, consisting as it does of constant ups and downs all along the route, was disappointed with my eventual time of 2.27.38. Later I was temporarily pleased to find I was a minute quicker than two years ago only to be subsequently deflated by the realisation that in 2013 I had run a 33 mile race the day before! All in all not a good day at the office but it leaves me very ready for my ‘off-season’, a drastic scaling down of my mileage over the next two or three weeks. 

  

Not surprisingly the leading harrier on the day was Ian Hughes, 33^rd overall and 17^th veteran in 1.52 dead, followed by Ian Rae in 2.03.06, Graham Ramage in 2.11.29 and, in a triumphant long-distance comeback, Alison Lessells in an excellent 2.12.35. Alison is now undoubtedly ‘back’ and was calmly posing for photos with Becca only minutes after her finish, see below. I'll leave it to you to decide which of them looks the happier! I trailed in a quarter of an hour later followed by Alison Crooks in 2.40.40.

Other finishers some of you may know were Louise Beveridge, 6^th Female and 2^nd FV in 2.00.21, Davie Mooney of EK in 2.01.24, Mark Russell in 2.08.14, David Wardrope, just holding off Graham, in 2.10.44 and George Haining in 2.12.25.

Highly appropriately there were wins for two southside clubs, Jack Arnold of Bellahouston Harriers taking first place in 1.34.55, improving by two places on last year and also Mary McCutcheon of Giffnock North AAC, winning in 1.51.22 coming home in 30^th place overall.

Probably due to the wonderful weather there seemed to be more supporters out on the course than ever and huge, heartfelt thanks from all the harriers must go to Alison, Frances, Geo, Russell (although I wish you wouldn’t stand at the top of those stairs in Stamperland waiting to see me walking!) Martin and his wife (sorry I’ve forgotten her name), John and Becca and not forgetting Kay and daughter Brooke on marshalling duties in Rouken Glen. I didn’t see them myself but I’m told the rest of the Wardope family were shouting us on too. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone out, my memory is worse than ever these days.

I’ve added a few photos from the day, for which credit goes to Alison Searil, John Lessells, Marc Blane, Rachael Goslan, Frances Maxwell and Martin Howell (I don't actually have Martin's photos yet but will add them later)

SS6 photos here  

PS you may need sunglasses to view these, the sunshine was unrelenting!

Postscript, I have now added Martin's photos to the end of the album which suits nicely as all five are of the finish line. Apologies for missing out Julie and Mrs. B.from the long list of supporters.