The City of Stirling 10k

On a Saturday night somewhere about a month ago Neil Green and his family were at our house having a very convivial evening, yes, there might have a beer involved or a glass of wine but nothing in excess. Somewhere along the proceedings Neil sneaked in to the chat that he had entered the City of Stirling 10k, his first competitive 10k in 5 years! Well, an occasion I couldn’t miss I thought and it would be a shame not to optimize car space so I merrily dug out the computer and immediately went on line to secure a spot.

After both our entries were done and dusted (we were both late entries, pick up number on the day routine) we set about a very (very) brief run in training plan. A fortnight of some longish runs and a handful of 6 milers and some lung burning efforts for me was all I could squeeze in and for Neil it was a continuation of his solid block of recent decent running, which in some weeks has seen him clock 60 miles.

So as set as we were ever going, we set off Stirling bound on the day of the race. With the weather forecast ominous at best, the wipers on the car got a good workout on the way there – a prelude to the conditions we were about to run in perhaps? Upon arrival at the Forthbank Stadium, and having been efficiently marshaled to a car parking space, amazingly we seemed to be experiencing the eye of the storm, clear sky, no rain and very pleasant conditions.

Collecting our numbers from the sports complex, it was clear that this was a fiercely competed event with what seemed like everyone who was anyone in our little community being there and ready to give it their all.

It was encouraging for us to soon realise we were not the only Harriers taking part on the day with the black and yella being donned by Russell Couper and Stuart Waugh too although somewhere along the line Neil had managed to acquire an extra large vest. Stuart’s daughter Lynsey had also thrown her hat in the ring and was giving it a go as well. And keeping it firmly in the family, Lewis and Ashleigh were going in the 2k event.

Neil and I set off down the road on a warm up only to see Louise Beveridge running the other way – out on her Sunday run and routing her past where all the hullaballoo was going on. Anyway – we stopped and chatted for a few minutes and she explained to us that her journey back to running is going well although she’s taking everything in bite-size chunks, one step at a time.

Warmed up and ready to race, we took our places among the melee of runners waiting to start, me electing to start with Stuart and Lynsey and Neil deciding to start with the guys who have names instead of numbers pinned to them! As it happened he later told me that he started about five rows from the front.

Poised and ready to go, watches primed, stretching the Achilles, pre-race breathing exercises on the go, rain coming on again, waiting for the shunt forward - the starter seemed to have fallen asleep. The time of the start came and went and then we saw what must be every race organiser’s worst nightmare (apart from runners going the wrong way) – the inflatable Start/ Finish arch suddenly and surprisingly deflated and sat in a heap across the start line with 1200 runners behind it about to stampede! Anyway, the guys from Central quickly tried to put another ten bob bit in the generator without success so reverted to pulling out the archways anchor points on the ground and hastily bundled it to one side. A cheer went up from the running contingent, the starter did his thing and we were off!

The start involved some bobbing and weaving and some turning to and fro, eventually leading to the main road and on to the course proper. The first mile found us doing the usual routine of finding a nice pace whilst dodging the slower runners who after 400m were out of puff despite having had visions of emulating Sir Mo.

I started with Stuart thinking that my recent 10k outings would be around his times but found that after the first mile I felt a bit stronger than I expected and started to peel away. Neil on the other hand, it would seem, was taking his recent Parkrun form to the extreme and momentarily must have forgotten he was running in a 10k instead of a 5. He went through the first mile in 5.45 whilst I could have had time to stop for a roll and sausage, completing the first mile in a little less than 7 minutes.

As the race progressed I managed to maintain the pace and completed the first 5k in 21.02 whilst Neil went through in a little over 18 minutes. For me, and given my recent viral challenges this pace was comfortable and I managed to keep it going all the way to the line coming home in 42.02, a full two and half minutes quicker than three weeks ago at Paisley! Neil admitted that he had gone too quickly over the initial stages and faded as the race progressed. Later he reflected that with little to no race form his pace judgment and racing form needed a bit of honing in, commenting that if he had taken the first 5k easier he probably would have finished with a quicker time than the 38.18 he clocked. At the end we all met up and exchanged views of the course, the event and our own individual performances. We all agreed it was a well-run event (barring the deflating arch). Stuart commented that he was a bit indifferent about his performance on the day, saying that after a mile he knew it was not going to be the run he hoping for. Nonetheless, he still put in a sub 45-minute effort and came home 14th in his age category. Russell on the other hand was quite pleased with his effort, mentioning that he was more or less treating this as practice for events coming up, most notably our grueling training camp!

The course itself was good if not a little twisty and turny. At about 6k there’s a hairpin turn setting the runners off on the way back but going round the cone totally demolishes your stride and rhythm. Other than that and a small climb about 8k the course is largely flat and quick.

Thanks to Louise Beveridge for her cheers out on the course and of course the Waugh’s and the Moir’s for their shouts too.

Oh – and the inflatable arch I hear you ask – well as we approached the finish I heard a runner just behind me shout “oh the wonders of Viagra!” Yip, they had it standing tall again just in time for the finish!

So here are the scores;

Neil Green 38.18 153rd
Martin Howell 42.02 275th
Stuart Waugh 44.29 349th
Russell Couper 58.00 668th

Lynsey Moir 51.07 536th

Martin