Lanarkshire Track & Field Championships

Our regional athletics assoication Lanarkshire Amateur Athletics Association (LAAA) have now opened entries for this year's Track & Field Championships on Saturday 1st September at Wishaw track at 11:30am.   

There are track events for all age groups from under 11 to seniors (includes masters).

The middle distance events that might suit some Harriers is the rarely ran 3000m event if anyone fancies having a go at beating Luke Traynor's recent sub 8 mins of 7.53.88!  There is also the 800m & 1500m which is all about tatics and final sprints if you fancy reliving the Seb Coe/Steve Cram/Steve Ovett era!

There are shorter distances and field events if you fancy having a bit of fun and trying something different, its up to you.  Closing date is Monday 27th August.

To enter the access code is laaat&f after clicking on link to q-buster:

https://www.q-buster.co.uk/laaa-track-field-championships-2018

Richard

AYR RUNNING FESTIVAL

We are very proud to be hosting the Ayr Running Festival 5k and 10k chip timed road races on 29 August 2018. A fantastic opportunity to achieve a PB on a fast, flat course on closed roads.

Stay for the weekend and visit the spectacular Scottish International Airshow.

http://cannonballevents.co.uk/ayr-running-festival/

Canal Running Festival

Run the Blades

Last weekend saw the fourth running of this series with a 10k on the Friday evening and the main events of the half marathon and the 50k ultra the following day. Having missed last year's race due to injury I was pleased just to be lining up on the start line along with 127 others once again including our own Kay Conneff. Kay had a score to settle with this race as, in her first attempt at an ultra distance two years ago, she was forced to DNF due to a knee problem.

The usual nervous pre-race chatter among the turbines

I was talking to the coach of Hamilton Harriers who had just picked up his number for the half when he suddenly told me 'your race is away!' Sure enough, after I wished him all the best in his race and ran over to the start/finish, I was joint last to cross the line! Reasoning that I was using this race purely as training for the Devil O'The Highlands in a fortnight I shrugged off this slight mishap and decided to start even slower than I had intended and see how things panned out.

Damn, there's evidence of my 'late' start! The 'arriere du peloton', as it were

 Having stopped behind a bush for a 'comfort break' a couple of miles in, as is my wont these days, I stepped back out onto the road and started a conversation with a fairly young girl, early twenties I would guess, and heard she was seriously worried about finishing last. Only five or six years ago first-time ultra runners tended to be forty-something but times are a changing indeed. Looking round we couldn't see anyone although I reassured her, I hope, that as we couldn't see the tail runner(s) then there must still be other(s) behind us, maybe just around the bend. How did she get on, I hear you ask? I'm pleased to report that she finished 122nd and was well over an hour ahead of the final finisher.

Meanwhile I gradually made my way through the slower part of the field, keeping my pace nice and steady, and thoroughly enjoyed having conversations here and there as I did so. Approaching the 'turn' near the Ardochrig end of the windfarm, see the right-hand side of the route map above, I thought I spotted Graham Ramage in the distance then realised I could see Charlie McDougall too. Having tried to look like an athlete, briefly, see below, for their photographs I stopped long enough to choose a haribo from G's daughter Eva before turning to head back approximately west in the direction of the visitor centre. Cheers folks, support like that is wonderful and is much appreciated.

Heading for the haribo...

Kay looking strong around the 30k mark

This race gives and takes by being uphill overall to Ardochrig but usually with the wind behind and the opposite on the way back. The EK side of the windfarm has much less forestry and the runners are thereby more exposed to the headwind, at least that was the excuse rattling around in my head as my pace dropped and, later,  my right quad started to cramp. I rationalised that it was the same for everyone and I should just suck it up and get on with it, MTFU in other words.

As usual my competitive instincts began twitching in the latter stages as I was overtaken for the one and only time in the race. I upped the effort, held the gap between these two guys and myself for a while then pushed on past them when they stopped for a drink. As coach would surely recommend I put the hammer down (in ultra terms at least!) and opened a large gap very quickly. By the time I reached the top of the big hill near the finish and paused to look back the only other runner in sight was someone I had passed much earlier but who was now finishing very strongly. Using him as motivation I pushed for the line and came home in 6.03.09, roughly half way between my previous two finishing times in 2015/16. I was 93rd overall, 4th 55 plus and 71st male.

Later I was delighted to hear that Kay had no problems this time around and had her first-ever ultra finish in 5.47.43 for 75th place, 17th female and 7th FV. Congratulations Kay and all the more worthy considering how difficult it has been for you to get the training in this year. At the same time Paul Rooney ran the hilly half marathon in an excellent 1.48.46

The winners were Lee Muir in 3.28.53 and Toni McIntosh of Ayr Seaforth in 4.08.11 and impressively, given the warmth of the day, there was only one dnf so there were 127 finishers. 

Given there were only 44 starters for the ultra in 2015 (no 10k or half then) it's nothing short of astonishing how far this event has come in only four years. There were a total of 1,022 finishers over the three events and the two days and I can highly recommend the organisation, tee shirts, goody bag and brilliant medal (the blades spin round, whee!). All the more so when the same team, Breaking Strain Events, organised a 24 hour race around Arthur's Seat only the weekend before.

Loving the turbine socks. 

The spinning blades

Photo credits to Graham Ramage, Charlie McDougall, Sandra Hunter and Paul Rooney.

B2Run Munich

BMW HQ and museum

On a previous training course, a work colleague had told me about a running event when I was next in Munich and I must have responded enthusiastically because an email dropped into my inbox saying that there had been a cancellation and he had managed to get me entry. The only problem was that the Munich trip was coming off the back of an all-inclusive family holiday in Ibiza so I was unlikely to be in peak condition – or to be more exact just less peak condition than normal.

Firstly a disclaimer. Some of the following was I picked up from my German host, some that I managed to pick up fom the internet and some via the notoriously inaccurate Google Translate. Imagine not providing everything in English !

The B2Run is a corporate running series which seems to have started to encourage fitness in the workplace. In that sense maybe similar to parkrun but I was told it is much more commercial and certainly not free, although the companies rather than entrants seem to foot the bill. It is a team event and everyone has t shirts with company logos. It now seems to operate in 10 or so countries across Europe, with events around the 5km or 6km distance depending on course.

We travelled the short trip across Munich to the amazing setting of the Olympic Park. The history and events of the 1972 Olympics is worth a read.

Munich Olympic Stadium

The event claims to have 30,000 runners tackle the 6km course around the perimeter of the Park site and finishes on the home straight inside the Olympic Stadium. The intention is that each group of companies are given a start time at 20 minute intervals over a 2 hour period. Within that starting slot there is supposed to be a further set of pens based on your predicted time.

The first runners were off at 6pm and as our start time was at 7pm we could see runners already finishing when we had a look into the stadium on our arrival. As we got down to the start area I realised that nobody was paying attention to any time pens and that it was just a free for all. German efficiency was obviously having a day off because at our start time of 7pm the colour group before us were just lining up. As we had to return to the company training event that evening my colleague suggested we just join the earlier group – turning out to be a very lucky decision. We queued for about 30 minutes in blazing sunshine with temperatures of 27 degrees, jostling and edging forward in a mass of people, the DJ guy building the atmosphere. It was probably like many other mass participation runs but maybe slightly less controlled! If you think the Great Scottish Run has this number of people of 2 days or running, while at this event its squeezed into 2 hours. As time moved on there was thankfully some cloud cover but the predicted thunder seemed likely with dark clouds appearing on the horizon. The sights of all the different teams in their t shirts with company logos was amazing. There probably wasn’t a technology brand that wasn’t represented, plus the car manufacturers, business community and education sectors. It felt like every business in Munich was in attendance.

Olympic Park

We edged nearer the start and I realised that a good time was never going to be on the cards as there was everything from joggers to large work groups all around me.  I was separated from my colleague so had no idea what instructions were being given over the PA. Then we were off. There was no gun just a quickening of shuffling, moving to a fast walk and then a jog. There was a lot of zig zagging and squeezing between people before I realised that it would be quicker to run on the grass verge. At places the path was no wider than Strathclyde Park so the whole thing was quite chaotic. I was surprised to go through the first km in 4:20 as I thought all of the bobbing and weaving would have killed any time. However that was to be the story of the run as at no stage was there  a clear section of path. The problem with the format is that you catch the slow runners from the earlier groups, and as this is really an event about participation rather than pace then there are significant numbers of people jog / walking. It was undulating rather than flat through the first half, with a couple of short sharp climbs up onto foot bridges. 3km brought us back into the main area of the park, passing the amazing BMW World and sights of the Olympic swimming centre. The course then flattened out but the clouds had gathered and the humidity sharply increased. The first crack of lighting was followed a few seconds later by the roar of thunder (anybody else count the seconds to work out how far away it is? – it wasn’t.) At 4km the heavens opened. I’ve never seen it go so quickly from rain to monsoon. Over the last 2km it was interesting to say the least. The fun runners had now slowed right down, the rain was blinding, the paths and cobbles slippy. I tried to lift the pace but even as we entered the famous tunnel into the stadium there was more congestion. The 1972 marathon athletes didn’t have to contend with 4 people dressed as a train (although there was a bit of “fancy dress” in the 72 marathon). However it was great to run down the short section of the Olympic track and over the line. Officially 6.1km (although Garmin had it shorter) I couldn’t really complain about my time of 25:23, although a sub 25 would have been good.

Storm brewing above the Olympic Tower

Our company was a major sponsor so we had a tent near the finish. I wandered around in the rain as everyone took shelter. It was only when I caught up with my colleague who told the PA announcements were telling people the race had been suspended due to the lightning. We went down for a non alcoholic beer only to find they weren’t allowed to use the fork lift truck in the lightning therefore all the beer was stuck in the truck. I suggested they just opened the back doors ! By now we were right in the middle of the storm and they evacuated everyone from the pitch to the  cover of the stands. The suspension of the race turned into an abandonment so we were really lucky that we went in the earlier group.

Drookit

Of the 250 runners from our company only around 150 got to run. I was 7th in the company, around 2 minutes slower than our fastest runner.  It was only later that I found out there was a special group allowed to go out first on a clear course if they had previously run sub 25. I’ve no idea how I was overall as I couldn’t make head nor tail of the search function on the results page.

It was a fun event and an amazing experience getting to run in such an iconic setting. I’ve already dropped hints about getting to go back next year !
Stephen

Tetra-Decathlon

Tetra-Decathlon which will be performed at Motherwell Theatre on Thursday 9th of August, as part of a short tour and before heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

The show is about athletics and one woman’s real-life decision to train for an “ultra-multi event” with no background in athletics or sports at all. We think this story will be of interest to your members and I’d love to organise a group discount for Calderglen Harriers.

Here is some more information about the show:

By Lauren Hendry 

Directed by two-time Fringe First Winner Jenna Watt

Having never set foot on a running track in her life, Lauren Hendry decided to sign up for the Tetra-Decathlon, a gruelling 14-event track and field competition. This audacious solo show charts Lauren’s journey as she trains for and competes in this most taxing of sporting events, whilst asking pertinent questions about the psychology of sport and what drives us to compete. 

Supported by Festival 2018, the cultural programme of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, Creative Scotland and Tron Theatre. 

 

We’d love to see some of the Calderglen Harriers members in the audience, let me know what you think, and we can sort out that group discount!

Anyone that's interested please speak directly to Frances for more information.

TTC 2018 - September 14 to 16

The 2018 edition of the TTC is  ready to launch. This year's event takes place from about 5pm on Friday 14th September through to about lunchtime on Sunday 16th September 2018 based again in the Leny Estate, Callander.

Limited spaces in the cabins and also the need to keep the packs to a manageable size for the 4 coaches means that we operate a first come, first served policy. Places will be allocated on payment of the £20 deposit AND completion of the on-line form (on-line entry is preferred although a printed form can also be downloaded to fill in manually here). Total cost is £80 for the weekend which includes all the usual features (Friday/Saturday accommodation, Sat/Sun breakfasts and lunches, Fri/Sat Lade Inn dinners, T-shirt, the full attention of your delightful coaches).

The list of those entered (form + deposit) is here. This list does not update automatically but will be updated every few days.

Further details on the flyer and web page or just ask me at the club or via e-mail if you have any questions.
Alan

.

Tour of Fife Day 5 - 10k Trail Falkland to Strathmiglo and back

Brutal! Probably one of the worst I've ran in a race for a long time. At the start I was smirking at people with mini water bottles on belts and these ultra water vests. It was up and down all the way out and back and finished down the hedges. People that have participated in the national train championships will know roughly where we were running. I finished 106th in 55.28 and Joanne 54th in 46.18 (9th female).

Overall results after 5 days: Joanne 46th in 2:15:36 and 9th female. Me 91st in 2:37:37

It was a good mixture of races, but hill runners will always win the battle over a road runner. For example,  the 4th placed girl ran a PB in the 5k TT of 18:29, but Joanne beat her by 22 sec in the 10k trail.
George

Tour of Fife Day 4 - Glenrothes 5k

I'm a bit 5k shy these days, but this is actually a great course. It's out and back with a few slight climbs out the way and a great run back. I think part of it is in the 10k which Russell did recently. It was really hot running at 2pm and it seemed warmer on the path between the hedgerows and tunnels. This was my worst race last year and hated every minute of it. It's a road runners race and you can tell straight away, if you have speed you'll love it. My plan was to just run it steady and don't get caught up with times. This worked well and I was pleased to be over a minute faster. Joanne on the other hand had a few breathing down her neck on the overall scoreboard and was under pressure to perform. As I came towards the turning point, Joanne passed me heading home, I felt a bit sorry for her as 2 of her racing enemies were within 5 mtrs of her. She would need to maintain that pace to keep them at bay. I eventually finished and was keen to hear how she got on.....she ran away from them and was the exact same time as the previous year.

Joanne 47th - 8th female in 20:05
Me 100th 23:39

Overall after 4 days
Joanne 48th 1:29:18 9th female in a group of 6 with 1min 25sec separating them, all to play for on the 10k trail.
Me 90th 1:42:09

George

Tour of Fife - day 3 (contd)......

Did I say my legs felt okay?...that was in the morning, but as the day worn on stiffness followed. It should be the same for all, but maybe more sever for us low mileage wimps!

We arrive 2 hours early and decided to park at the finish. This was the opposite direction from the previous year as there was supposed to a slight wind. There was none, but we always run the same direction as the wind.  We had plenty of time for a good warm up, so a mile walk to the finish and back was on the cards. Joanne found it difficult to walk and was away doing fartlek sessions and trying to experience race pace. I left her to it as I was off at 7.51pm and she was 7.39am. We go off 3 or 4's at a time and every 30 seconds. The promenade is marked with official markings every quarter mile and just what you need to see.

Once we returned to the car, most runners had arrived and the usual pre race chat commenced. Two familiar faces appeared, David and Alison Searil who were on a tour of Fife themselves - beaches and coffee bars! It was great to see them and have their support.

The first runners are off at 7.30pm so it was time to jog the mile again, that's a 3 mile warm up now! I kept telling myself that it's only a flat mile, anyone can run that....the only trouble is that the first thing someone will want to know is...what was your time? That's why I steer away from 5 and 10k's these days. All runners were probably more nervous about this one out of them all. Most never run a mile and it's know what pace to run at.

It's start time for Joanne and she's off with a guy from Fife and a Dundee girl who was just ahead on the first 2 races. The guy was faster and was off leaving the two girls to slog it out. Joanne couldn't quite catch her but still finished strong with 5.58.Me next. We were all lining up with people who had finished beside us in the beach race. That wasn't a good one for me, so I was hoping that I good kick ass with the two guys I was running with. We off and running and a fast steady pace. The guy from Falkland was already struggling and dropped away before we were at quarter of a mile. As we approached the halfway stage I was starting to struggle to hold the pace 3.03 and had to let him go on a few meters. It stayed like that the whole way until the final 100mtrs where I bust past him to finish 6.23.
George

Gothenburg Training Camp (warning, this is a long report!)

Our reception party at Gothenburg Landvetter Airport

It seemed like a long time ago that the plan was proposed by our Swedish friends to invite the Harriers over to Gothenburg for a weekend of running, somewhat similar to our own TTC weekend. However the last few months flew in and last Friday nine Harriers made their way through to Edinburgh Airport for the direct flight to Gothenburg. Stuart Gibson had gone out earlier in the week and would meet us there but unfortunately Kenny had to pull out at the last minute reducing our number to ten.

Friday 6th July - A long delay to our departure (about 3 hours) left us with time to kill at Edinburgh Airport and threw the meticulously detailed plan sent by our hosts into the recycle bin. However this did provide plenty of time for the well read Billy Buchanan to work his way through the crosswords in all the free newspapers available in the airport (I'm not saying he completed any of them though) and for us to get our hopes up that we might be able to buy Sweden tops at the airport JD Sport to lend our support to our hosts (no luck, only Brazil and England tops).

Eventually we boarded and distributed ourselves throughout the plane for an uneventful flight where the pilots obviously had the hammer down to make up time. I had kept Johan and Ulf up to date with our lack of progress from Edinburgh Airport and the team of Johan, Ulf, Ljöt, Mats and Eva were still at Gothenburg airport to enthusiastically welcome us on arrival. A more delightful welcoming committee would be very hard to find! The guys had three cars with enough room for all the Harriers and we were soon off to the ferry terminal at Saltholmen on the southern outskirts of Gothenburg. We had missed the last of the fast ferries to the island of Vrångö where we would be spending the weekend but the slow boat seemed more appropriate anyway given the relaxed pace of the island (the island has no cars, only a few motorised tricycles for carrying goods to and fro and one tractor belonging to the local playboy no doubt).

Of course we were way too late for the planned pre-dinner run and after crossing the island on foot from the ferry pier to the fishing harbour (OK, the island is only a half mile wide) our attention turned to checking in to our two delightful harbour-side cabins (5 in each cabin with a nifty vertical ladder to the loft for three of the beds). After smartening ourselves up we made our way to the rented house just around the corner where Johan and the guys were staying where pre-dinner drinks were served, event T-shirts distributed and welcoming speeches made. With the sea as a backdrop, this was a very civilised start for a Harriers event!

Johan and Ulf had arranged a seafood dinner al fresco back at "our place". There were four or five buckets of cray fish (I wasn't counting but ask Gordon as he had a good go at emptying them) fresh from the fishing boat berthed 100m along the harbour. We also had the small matter of 91 beers and three boxes of wine to work our way through over the weekend (don't worry, we are responsible adults; Chris was on soft drinks). Again, we had a good try.

Seafood dinner

After a great evening, we were in to our cabins for a well earned sleep. Or so we thought. Lack of planning on our part (to open doors and windows on arrival) and a two month heat wave in Sweden meant that the loft accommodation was like an oven! Add to that the need for a certain person to make multiple descents and ascents of the creaky loft ladder to the downstairs bathroom and a good night's sleep was a non-starter. However, Saturday would also be a relaxing day, so no problem.




Saturday 7th July - military precision was required for today's events. The long run would be in Skatås country park on the mainland on the northern outskirts of Gothenburg at 10am where we would meet the local running club, Solvikingarna (The Sun Vikings) at their clubhouse. Only one important thing to get right: be at the pier to catch the fast ferry to the mainland on time. Next critical time check would be to catch the afternoon fast ferry to be back on the island for the 4pm kick-off for Sweden v England where our support was required. Only one important thing to get right: be at the pier to catch the fast ferry to the island on time. This seemed like a simple plan.

The ferry attempts to make up lost time......

Of course things did not go exactly as planned. Gothenburg foot passenger ferries run to a very precise timetable and depart on the minute stated in the timetable...... until the Harriers arrived! I was the first one to fall foul of the timetable (I know, imagine the coach letting the side down). Having walked across the island in plenty of time to catch the fast ferry, 10 minutes before the ferry was due to arrive/depart, I noticed that I had forgotten my phone. Not that I was intending to phone anyone but I did want to use it as a camera, its main purpose nowadays! Ten minutes? I can run across the island, get my phone and be back in ten minutes no problem. Its amazing how the seemingly simple network of footpaths through the village turned into a maze when travelling at 5 minute mile pace! Lets just say that my return journey was on a very unique route that involved back gardens, playgrounds, various quizzical looks from pedestrians and a heart rate through the roof due to lack of a warm up. I rounded the last corner and saw the ferry ready to depart with all aboard. Somehow Johan had managed to persuade the ferry to wait and so it departed one or two minutes late with a fully warmed up me on board. Tut tut! To make matters worse, I forgot to start my Garmin, so the pace and route remains a private memory for me.

Julie leads out across the floating boardwalk

Time for a cool down swim

As the guys had left their cars at the ferry terminal, we were soon whizzing through Gothenburg to Skatås where a reception committee from Solvikingarna were waiting for us at their club house. After introductions to the 4 coaches in attendance, we split into 4 packs aiming for between 90 minutes and 2 hours of slow, easy running on the extensive network of very undulating trails through the forest. Julie, Chris, Stuart and I went in the fastest/longest distance pack under the leadership of Ove, the club's fastest runner and with another 4 club members for company. It took me a good ten minutes of running to work out that the runner I was talking to who spoke English extremely well but with a slightly strange accent was actually Welsh and not Swedish! That explained everything.

The pace was a very strictly monitored 6 minutes per km on average, which was fine for me given the severe undulations and heat. This two hour run would be Chris' longest run ever but he was well up to the job, only beginning to struggle in the last 30 minutes or so.  Needless to say Stuart didn't break sweat and Julie was doing fine. The route involved some very steep climbs, beautiful lakeside trails, a 200m long floating boardwalk across a lake (quite bouncy with a pack of runners on it as the girl lying sunbathing in a bikini on the middle of the pontoon discovered), a brief stop at a cafe in the woods to re-hydrate the Harriers who had run dry and, 2km from the end, a diversion to a bathing beach for a quick swim before a gentle run into the finish. If only all runs could be like that!

It had become slightly overcast during the long run but was still very hot indeed. Therefore, the showers and refreshments provided for us in the clubhouse were very welcome. After an hour or so of "fika" (Swedish word for coffee and snack/lunch) and emptying the club's shop of Solvikingarna vests and T-shirts, we realised that we were under time pressure for the ferry (again!). As we were now one car down (Ljöt had an afternoon wedding to attend), our plan was to take the tram from outside the forest park to the city centre and then take another tram direct to the ferry at Saltholmen. By now we had only one choice of trams that would get us to the ferry on time. No pressure! Fortunately the head coach, Anders, took us on a shortcut to the tram stop so we were off to a good start. We exited the tram in the city centre where everyone it seemed had a Sweden top or flag except us. We did try. With a close eye on the tram arrivals board it looked like we were fine when the number 9 turned up and we all boarded without problems. This is a long tram journey out of the city and I was quite relaxed until Johan phoned me about 5 minutes from the end of the journey to say that he was at the ferry and it was leaving in 5 minutes or so! It is about 400m from the tram stop to the ferry. I felt another speed session coming on although this time in pedestrian rather than running gear!

Made it....... again!

As soon as the tram stopped we were off, chasing a local girl who was (hopefully) also running to the ferry. I was the lead chaser initially until Sandy flew past with designer handbag over one arm, mini skirt and stylish shoes and absolutely going for it. I couldn't live with the pace so had to let Sandy go. This is a bigger ferry terminal with a ticket office in an archway entrance to the pier. Sandy "sailed" passed the local girl at the ticket office and I was in hysterics to see the ticket office staff hanging out their kiosk window shouting "Hej Ja, Hej Ja" which is basically a standard sports supporting chant in Sweden, as the Harriers raced through the line, sorry ticket office, onto the pier where once again a ferry had been "held" for us. Or at least for most of us! Julie couldn't live with the pace and had been dropped in the final sprint. The gangway was on its way up when Julie arrived and short of a Tom Cruise style leap to grab it with her fingertips, she was at the mercy of the captain lowering it again. Thankfully he did as I'm not sure Julie has the arm strength for Mission Impossible style stunts. Relax!

And so after a pleasant ferry journey and heart rates restored to normal, we walked across the island again and prepared for the football, starting in a half hour or so, pacing our way through the 91 beers as we went. There was not a cloud in the sky over the island and it was absolutely scorching. As the football was not going as our hosts had hoped, and presented with the view from their house shown below, a few of us decided that a swim was the most appropriate half time activity.

A room with a view....

Due to the attraction of the warm water (at least 22 degrees C we were told) the second half completely escaped me and Sandy, Billy, Chris, Gordon, Colin, Stuart and myself made a good job of impersonating seals for the rest of the afternoon.

The evening was fast approaching and for this Ulf was preparing a BBQ back at "our place". Ulf and Johan's wives had made it across to the island for dinner too which was a nice addition to our party. Ulf is definitely an expert BBQ'er and had everything under control. Even when flames spouted out of the BBQ 3 feet sideways very close to the wooden hot tub and pier, I wasn't scared! A selection of BBQ ribs were on offer along with salmon pie. A very filling meal indeed. We still had a lot of beers to work through and had even acclimatised enough to venture onto the 7.5% Elk Beer. In a quiet moment, Frances had visited the well stocked supermarket 100m along the harbour and stocked us up with ice cream to complement the fresh strawberries Johan's wife had brought for dessert. Even more perfect!

After dinner, some of us climbed the small hill to the highest point on the island to watch the sunset (just too late for that too as it turned out; unlike the ferry, the sun doesn't wait for the Harriers).

The day rounded off with an unscheduled game of frying pan rounders. Given the Harriers' history with things that are thrown or hit usually ending up stuck in trees, it was fortunate that there were no trees in the vicinity of the harbour. However, there was a large body of water otherwise known as the sea. By some miracle, the ball did not end up in the water. Another major Harriers' achievement. We had even worked out how to get a cool flow of air up into the loft, so Saturday would be a peaceful night (except for the creaking loft ladder and occasional thump of someone falling out their bed) where we all slept well.

Sunset on Love Island. Who are those shady characters?

Sunday 8th July -  This was to be another scorcher with varied activities to fill the day entirely on the island and hence (probably) no ferries to catch. We were meeting up with local house owner Philip who would take us on a pre-breakfast run on the nature trail that goes all the way around the island, a full 7.5km circuit. What a pleasant run this turned out to be as most of it was through shady, tree lined paths hugging the coast. We ran as one big pack and stopped every so often to re-group.

I am even told that some of us were up for a second lap (Julie, you must shout out louder next time!). After breakfast it was time for another swim (of course), this time off the bathing pier in the harbour. A bit deeper and a bit cooler (still over 20 degrees water temperature though), very pleasant and very busy too with plenty of swimmers. I think all the Harriers were in the water at the same time which is probably a record as usually there are some who insist on staying on shore to watch the jackets, kagools and survival blankets. Not here though!

After the harbour swim

After lunch we had a choice. Something had been playing on Billy's mind since we arrived and now it was time to let it out. Yes, there were a half dozen sea kayaks stacked outside our cabin, the sun was blazing and the sea was calm. There was no way Billy was missing this opportunity! The kayak hire was from the same guy renting us the cabins, so that was easily arranged. Billy, Gordon, Sandy, Geo, Frances, Chris and I were quickly kitted up and instructed on procedures by Hakan, the owner. Of course, with our own expert, Billy, in attendance, the map reading capabilities of Gordon and Chris safely installed in a two-man kayak with nominated responsible adult, Gordon, we felt perfectly safe venturing out into the sea with Denmark the next coastline if we got it wrong.

Unless you have been to the west coast of Sweden, it is difficult to imagine how much the Swedes are into boats and yachts. Gordon expertly navigated us around little islands and in the sheltered bays between islands there were dozens of motor cruisers and yachts berthed as the owners sunbathed and partied on the isolated beaches. We had hired the kayaks for 2 hours but with a slight breeze, progress was slow when into the wind. I eventually remembered to start my Garmin and estimate that the total trip was about 6km which took us two and a half hours. The only slight mishap was running aground on a sand bank between two small islands. Unfortunately these kayaks are not fitted with SONAR for depth readings, so I'll let Gordon off. Despite the fact that the owner noticed that Billy's kayak had a lot of water sloshing around in it on our return, Billy insists that he was not Eskimo Rolling when we were not looking.

During the kayaking expedition, Stuart and Colin had stayed ashore to relax and Julie had ventured to the ferry for a trip into Gothenburg city centre and a canal boat sightseeing tour. However, the (mis) adventures were not over for the day. The cabin/kayak business owner, Hakan, is a former Swedish national wrestler (Greco Roman Olympic wrestling, not WWE!) and he had offered Johan the chance to put us through some drills and wrestling strength training in the afternoon. Of course most of us jumped at that chance. With Geo going for a wander and Julie still in Gothenburg, Johan and the rest of us were back into our running gear and jogging behind Hakan to a beach about 1km away. It wasn't a straightforward jog though as he had us touching the ground as we ran, running backwards, sideways, hopping and jumping to mobilise all our muscles before hitting the beach.

Trouble brewing - Colin v Hakan

No surprise in the end result though.

Once on the beach we paired up and went through a series of resistance exercises, one against one strength drills, pushing and pulling each other along the beach, testing our dexterity with wrestling grips and generally using every ounce of strength in our bodies. In the Sweden/Scotland cultural exchange, perhaps the most exciting was the "match" of Colin against Hakan in a straightforward Scottish Square Go, for which there was only going to be one outcome (Sweden 1, Scotland 0). I tried my best to get one back for Scotland but Hakan had every vertebrae in my back and joint in my arms cracking before I too was elegantly flipped onto the beach.

Best matched pair of the day was probably Big Billy "The Mosquito" v Wee Al "The Coach". However, he's a slippery customer Big
Billy and definitely streetwise, so I lost out on that one. After a final round of 4 v 1 escape the circle (an elaborate group hug with one person in the middle who has to try to escape the hug) which again Hakan won, dismissing Billy, Frances and I as mosquitoes on his back, we were done! However, as we were at a beach, it was time for another swim. We then hobbled back to the cabins to prepare for dinner, a very nice pasta which Frances somehow had the strength to prepare!
Johan and the guys had departed at various times throughout the afternoon, so in the end it was just the Harriers left.

As we would be off for an 8am ferry on Monday, we had one last thing to do before leaving the island. Get up that hill before the sun set! This time we made it and captured some amazing photos to end our trip to Vrångö.

Monday 9th July - in the morning we were up bright and early and unfortunately ready for a third time lucky attempt at meeting the ferry. No problems this time! Our journey continued by tram to Gothenburg Central Station and then by airport bus to Landvetter. A baggage belt problem delayed check-in by a half hour or so and the flight was also slightly late as a result but pretty smooth all the same and soon we were back to Edinburgh and onward to EK.

We owe our Swedish friends, their families and club mates a huge thanks for inviting us over and organising one of the most exceptional weekends I have experienced. A nicer group of people you will not meet. A huge thanks to Johan, Ulf, Mats, Ljöt and Eva for everything they did for us and most of all for the wonderful company through the weekend. Of course, if it was not for Philip suggesting the venue, the experience would not have been the same, so a big thanks to Philip also. We look forward to seeing you all at the TTC in September!

A few more of my photos and videos are in this album. Please feel free to join the album and upload more photos of the weekend if you have them.
Tack så mycket!
Alan

Tour of Fife - Mid Way

Well, It's the Tour Of Fife once more, 5 night - 5 races in different locations and over different terrain and distances.

It's my 10th year of competing, although not consecutive due to a few injuries. Joanne's 3rd year.

I have to say that, it's all a bit underwhelming this year. It's the same races (although 2 are run in reverse), no goody bags and nothing at the start...where is the start? No marker, flags or anything to make it look or feel special. It gives you the impression that the organizers just can't be bothered. Numbers are well down with 182 and it wasn't fully subscribed. I used to have to go on to a waiting list. Someone needs to take note!

Anyway, we are here to enjoy it and experience the races.

Day 1 - West Sand, St Andrews - Beach Race 3.9 miles
St Andrews is the furthest away race and I wanted to get there early to pick up numbers, say a few hello's and get organized. This wasn't to be the case as Kincardine bridge was closed and with early finishers trying to get home to watch England getting beat, it was a nightmare and we only arrived 40 minutes before the race started. The warm up was minimal and this really took it's toll as everyone went off like the clappers. The first mile was horrendous, Joanne said the same. There was about 1.5 miles on nice wet sand and made decent running conditions. The tide was well out and you had probably 800m wide of sand to run on, but as usual in races, it's follow the leader. The beach then curves to the left and everyone comes off the wet sand and tries to take the curve as tight as they can. It's you choice, you can stay on the wet which is faster, but you'll be several 100m wide of the rest. At this point it became very had work as the sand changed and every foot step sank 2" deep. The turning point wasn't far ahead and the leaders were passing me on both sides as some opted the shortest route over dry sand and others ran wide looking for a better footing. At last, after turning, I started to find something and began passing people on the way back. There's a flag pole half a mile from the finish and I was longing for it to appear. At last I'm close enough to see the finish and a funnel which had been erected after the start. I finished 102nd - 33.09 and Joanne 50th (8th female) - 28.14. Times don't mean much as it was very difficult conditions. Having ran the Sandy Slither a few weeks ago which was 2 mile longer, this was much tougher.

Day 2 - East Lomond, Falkland - Hill Race 3.7 miles
Today we arrived in plenty of time, 2 hours to spare, so that allowed a good recce of the route. For those that are familiar with Falkland, head up from the factories, up the stairs and turn right on to the trail. They don't want us to run up stairs, so there's a bit of trail that take you round them. The race starts with a very steep climb for about 500m, then a hairpin left which is slightly easier and flattens out before a few stairs, through the gate and that's you on to the hill side. We recced all of that and went back down the stairs as it's the shortest way back. This was good to know, plus when talking to the race leader Ben Huskins, his plan was to attack the hill to get a good position and go for it on the way down.

Race time....Once you hit the hill, there's no chance of running, everyone was bent over gasping for breath. I kept thinking, "I wish Alan was here, just to see if he could actually run up it?"I felt I was doing okay as I was walking past people with my hands on both knees and searching for a better route. Eventually I can see people straighten up at the top and out of sight, my turn soon and I can't wait. A gentle jog past the monument at the top to get my breath back and I'm off down the hill side. It's a bit gung ho and I was brave/lucky not to take a tumble as you don't know what's under the heather/long grass. Once at the foot of the hill there's still maybe 2 miles of down hill. I knew I was running well as there was people around me that I hadn't seen for years. Running down Maspie Den was great compared to having to run up it last. I thought the race was finishing at the the DB change over point, but we came down the tar path with the hedges to my left and finished just before the duck pond.
Me - 86th 38.58 - 90th overall.Joanne - 52nd 34.59 11th (female) - 49th Overall, there's 5 females ahead and Joanne is in the next group of 5 with 40 secs between the top - bottom.

Day 3 - Kirkcaldy Promenade  - 1 mile Time Trial
So it's day 3 tonight. Legs are much better than last year due to the reverse route on East Lomond. This side was more runable at a fast pace whereas you were using your quads to break all the time last year as it was just too steep.

George

Harriers Web Site is Down

12th July 2018 14:00
Web site home page fixed and functioning as normal.

12th July 2018 08:00
Temporary fix - to access the home page, use the following URL:
www.calderglenharriers.org.uk/index.html

All other web pages (e.g for trail race results) work fine.

11th July 10:00
The Harriers web site (www.calderglenharriers.org.uk) is presently down for some reason. I have logged a support request with our domain host and await their response.

Alan