THE AYR CLASSIC RUN

The Ayr Classic 5 Mile Road Run on Sunday 6^th October 2019.

 

The Ayr Classic 5 Mile Road Run is a brand new road running event in partnership with Ayr Racecourse, starting and finishing underneath the famous grandstand and including two perimeter road loops of the racecourse. There will also be a Junior Run (3km) and Family Mile race on the same day for all of your junior members. You can find all information on our website www.theayrclassicrun.co.uk

 

We would be delighted to welcome Calderglen Harriers to our event, and can offer all members 10% off our £16 entry fee.

 

Additionally, there are generous cash prizes available for male and female participants who finish 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in our 5 Mile event:

 

• £500 – 1^st Male & Female
• £250 – 2^nd Male & Female
• £100 – 3^rd Male & Female

Basic Life Support Training Wed June 12th

As part of the build up to the trail race we will again be holding a short session on basic life support, CPR, and defibrillator training up at  the club. Recognising a cardiac arrest and being familiar with BLS  can dramatically improve  chances of survival. If you didn't make last year's session please try to come along. If you did attend last year, it is recommended that you update your knowledge and skills every year. An hour of your life might just save someone else.

The session wil be from 8-9pm in the main hall just after kids training and circuits.

Land O'Burns 10k 2019

Fine but slightly breezy conditions greeted a large contingent of Harriers on Wednesday evening for the Land O'Burns 10k Road Race organised by Ayr Seaforth AC. This is an officially measured and reasonably fast course and many of the Harriers were on form for good times.

Fastest Harrier on the day was Davie Watt who was first M50 in 37:11. Our fastest lady was Julie Beveridge, running into second place in a time of 40:26. Throughout the field we had some great performances from the Harriers. Andrew Buchanan ran a well paced 38:12 whilst Chris McCarron was first U20 in 41:10. Stephen Phimister was another who had made a good recovery from the Wet Highland Way at the weekend to finish in 41:25. Jim Holmes is switching to swim mode for the forthcoming Day in the Lakes Triathlon relay and hence would have found this coastal run a useful step towards getting wet, finishing in 44:03. Eddie Reid made a long awaited return to racing with a good opener of 44:11, having found the pace judgement a little tricky after so long out of racing. David Wardrope continues to turn in very consistent performances despite a high volume of racing, crossing the line in 45:26. Richard Lawton ran what he considered a fairly normal time for this course for him, finishing in 45:29. Maintaining the tight packing of Harriers and consolidating her position in the Grand Prix, Alison Lessells finished in 45:54. Paul Rooney had a good steady run to finish in 46:34. David Searil has some major miles in the legs at the moment (as always) as he heads towards the WHW race but still finished in a speedy 48:54. Then it was serial PB'ers Lorraine Buchanan and Julie Thomson who both recorded 10k PB's in 49:04 and 49:14 respecitvely. This was the first time Julie had broken 50 minutes and she did so comprehensively. Gordon McInally continues to gradually return to form (although not pain free) and is stringing the races together, finishing in 49:49 whilst Russell Couper was happy with his time of 50:57. It won't be long before Russell is back under 50 minutes.

Also in the prizes, Stuart Gibson was second overall in the race in 31:58 whilst Marion O'Connor was first F60 in 45:35.

Numerous photos from the event are here and the full official results are here.
Well done all!
Alan

WHW Relay 2019

After a week of fine weather, the Harriers faced a night and early morning of rain when we awoke (or not) to make our weary way out into the streets to meet the minibus. After a slightly longer tour of EK than expected, we arrived at Milngavie station ready for a 5am start. Fortunately the rain had now stopped when Andy Henderson was dispatched for the umpteenth time for the first leg to Carbeth. Stephen Phimister was on a marathon mission and volunteered to accompany Andy along the twilight trails out of Milngavie. Andy splashed his way to Carbeth in 39:40 giving us a good start.

For leg 2 to the Beech Tree Inn at Dumgoyne, we had Sandy Hayden who would be able to put her speed and descending skills to good use on this trail. Sandy's entourage comprised David Wardrope and Gordon McInally, both of whom were a little surprised (or shocked) by Sandy's initial pace but managed to hang on to changeover along the path of the old railway line to Buchlyvie. Sandy finished the leg in 24:44.

Russell Couper was on leg 3 to Drymen. Russell was in great shape following his preparation for the London Marathon but had experienced a twinge in his hamstring the week before which meant he would have to be cautious this morning. Fortunately Russell had no problems on his leg, even keeping a large group of mountain bikers at bay (I imagine some elbows were involved). Conditions were good for running by now with a comfortable temperature and no rain, the only problem being the slightly soggy field to end this stage. Russell handed over in a time of 47:26.

Stephen Phimister was sent out on the first of the long legs, up and over Conic Hill and down to the changeover in Balmaha car park. Of course Stephen's welfare on this tough leg was very much central in our minds as the rest of us contended with the trials of retrieving our frisbee and other throwable items from burns and undergrowth. For once the frisbee did not end up stuck in a tree, a significant achievement for the Harriers. So with our dynamic warm ups complete, we remembered why we were in Balmaha Car Park at this ungodly hour and a few runners headed back up the trail to "spot" Stephen.

Five or ten minutes later, the shout was heard that he was approaching and Kenny Leinster and his escort of Chris McCarron and Davie Watt lined up for the handover. Stephen looked remarkably fresh as he sped down the trail to finish in 61:20 but reported that the conditions had not been so nice up on top and were very slippy on the way down.

This next leg would be a short one but definitely not easy and would be the first of two legs assigned to Kenny that day.  The leg finishes in a lay by at Milarrochy, a short distance along the road from Balmaha. As always, Kenny had completed his secret warm up and was aiming to be "in the zone". However he found the constant encouragement from Chris distracting to the extent that he only got into "a" zone and not "the" zone as planned. Notice from the photo that Davie stayed a safe distance behind, fully respectful of the "exclusion" zone around Kenny. Kenny completed the leg in 15:40, hardly warmed up but, importantly, not injured.

Next up was Jim Holmes along the really tough trail to Rowardennan. This leg is rarely flat and is either steep up or steep down on a twisting trail through the woods along the loch shore. The weather was still dry and the temperature fine for running. We had driven along to Rowardennan where we were disappointed to find that the midges had awoken, not as bad as usual but bad enough. It was therefore imperative (to us) that Jim dispatched this leg pronto, which he of course did! Jim finished in 53:45.

Cometh the hour (or two and a bit), cometh the Man. The loch-side leg from Rowardennan to Inverarnan is the longest, toughest and most risky leg (about 14 miles of undulating hell). Eddie Reid had volunteered for this leg some weeks ago, so the usual dilemma of deciding who could do this leg in a reasonable time, ensuring we got to Fort William in time for dinner, was solved. However, it is always a worry and a long wait at Beinglas Farm wondering if the person on this leg is OK. But the rain was on again by this time so many of the team positioned themselves in the farm cafe or slept on the bus! Stephen Phimister still didn't have enough miles in his legs so volunteered to run back along the trail to look for Eddie. I was on next so attempted a warm-up and some drills whilst standing under a tree. A few more headed off along the trail to keep a look out for Eddie. We were all glad to see Eddie appear in 2:22:40, looking in remarkably good shape and also uninjured. By this time of the morning, there were plenty of hikers out on the trail and this had added to the obstacles that Eddie had to negotiate.

I was pretty wet and cold by this time so decided to keep my running jacket on. This proved a sensible decision as I was into driving wind and rain for the whole run. As I was soon reminded, this leg is all up hill but that was OK as I was under medical instruction to "take it easy" and "don't fall" and the hill kept the pace and risk of falling under control. I was also pleased to see that the final half mile of this leg had been surfaced with compressed ash/gravel, having previously been a quagmire of cow poo. Everything up to that point was as bad as usual though with puddles and burns to run through (and hikers to pass). My time for the leg was 51:37.

It was now Kenny's turn for his second official leg of the day which Kenny remembered as a steep, technical descent to the A82 main road just outside Crianlarich. This would suit him well as he is an ace descender. Unfortunately, Kenny had forgotten that there are a number of significant "ups" before the "downs". One benefit of being a super veteran athlete is that some things that are best forgotten are genuinely forgotten! Kenny completed the leg (marked appropriately by the "friend of handship" in the photo), in a time of 23:56.

Gordon McInally was assigned the next leg at the first of several virtual handovers at the main road crossing. Gordon was accompanied by Stephen Phimister and Jim Holmes for the run into Tyndrum, a leg that seems quite flat but has sufficient hills to punish if the initial pace is too fast. Unfortunately, this is the only leg for which I don't have a photo (I do have a good photo of a van passing in front of Gordon, Jim and Stephen though) but Garmin Connect is the place to go if you want to see Gordon's effort in detail! Gordon completed the leg in 32:48 and did another virtual changeover across the road to Joanne McEvoy who was on the spectacular leg to Bridge of Orchy.



Not only is the scenery particularly spectacular on this leg but the underfoot conditions are pretty good. By now the rain was easing a bit too. Joanne was absolutely flying on this leg, not giving us much time in Bridge of Orchy to meet and greet Jim, Ruth and Davie who were out on an epic WHW Race training run. Joanne completed the leg in 50:29.



Fully warmed up and waiting to take over from Joanne was Billy Buchanan, another of our squad on the injury comeback trail. Billy had Sandy to blaze the trail ahead of him and would also be chasing down Jim, Ruth and Davie, so plenty of targets to aim for.

This is a steep wee climb and immediate descent down into Inveroran. The leg was not completely without incident though as Sandy twisted an ankle. It didn't stop a very speedy descent to the finish though. Billy was glad that his knee did not flare up as he negotiated the rocky trail to the hand over in a time of 22:50.

Chris McCarron was on his first WHW Relay and was given the atmospheric leg over Rannoch Moor to Black Rock Cottage. This is a 2/3 up hill 1/3 downhill leg but is pretty good running, as long as you avoid the Oban road. After a few false sightings, we spotted a fast moving dot on the horizon which was indeed Chris. Whilst Chris approached and although Colin Banks was lined up for the next leg, we had a re-shuffle of the subsequent leg as Andy Henderson was a little bit achey after his early morning leg. Fortunately, Davie Watt was up for using the next two legs as a warm-up for his assigned leg over the Devil's Staircase into Kinlochleven. Chris arrived in 65:18 and Colin was off like a rocket.

Colin's destination was the Kingshouse Hotel, completely rebuilt as a modern, Alpine style hotel with the old historic hotel cowering alongside it. A little bit of a visual shock but of no concern to Colin as he stormed into the car park for the changeover in a time of 8:47 to hand over to Davie Watt. This was difficult as Davie was a good 10m behind Colin chasing him down!





Davie set probably the fastest Harriers' time ever on the run to the foot of the Devil's Staircase. We anticipated a continuation of this fantastic pace on the next leg and stayed on the bus to ensure a fast getaway to what would be a very tight drive to the changeover at Kinlochleven. Davie reached the bottom of the Devil's Staircase in 21:00 and then seemed to accelerate up the rocky steps on the next leg.

Fortunately we arrived in Kinlochleven in plenty of time as it turns out the final bridge across the power station pipes had been demolished and there was a minor diversion in place at the usual changeover point. David Wardrope was on the next leg and was a bit unsure of the route out of Kinlochleven onto the trail up onto the military road to the Lairigmore.

Not to worry though, as Stephen Phimister had volunteered to run with David. This was a bit of a shock to me as Stephen already had a lot of miles in his legs and this is one tough leg but it would at least ensure David stayed on track. On balance, this seemed like a good idea until we found out that Stephen had not run this leg previously either! Oh well, you can't get very lost on this leg!!!! Meanwhile Davie Watt came flying down the side of the pipes to the changeover point and David and Stephen were off on a voyage of discovery. Davie Watt completed the leg in 44:55 but not without taking a tumble on the descent. Fortunately nothing was broken.

Another tricky drive followed as we headed to the next changeover at Lundavra. This was another long and anxious wait as the underfoot conditions on this stage are tricky and twisted ankles are easy to acquire. There's no phone signal up there either. However, at least the weather had improved and it was dry which would help David and Stephen. We were all glad to see the duo running steadily and injury free along the rocky trail to hand over to Geo Ferguson. David completed the leg in 92:45.

We then had a relaxed drive into Fort William and up Glen Nevis to the Braveheart Car Park for the final changeover. There we met former Harrier Jimmy Stewart who lives nearby. All of a sudden Geo flew into sight, running very well indeed and handed over to the "masses" for the final mile into Fort William. Geo finished his stage in 50:00 and carried on straight through for the final run in to the finish.

The total time for the 96 miles was 14:15:07, which was in our usual range of times when we have an incident free run. Even better, we had time for a swim at the hotel before our 8:15 dinner booking.

This was another very enjoyable WHW for the Harriers. Thanks to Frances for setting the whole weekend up and gathering the names, to Kenny for organising the right bus for the right weekend and to the team of drivers including Jim and Kenny and especially Eddie for arranging the complex pick-up schedule!

As always a good time was had by all that evening (and for some into the early morning) in the Ben Nevis Hotel. Sunday was a very relaxed journey home in the rain via a cake stop at Glen Coe Ski Centre.

All my photos from the weekend are here. The official timing sheet is here.
Alan

Trail Race T Shirts

Entrants to this year's 5k and 10k races will receive a technical t shirt with a brand new design created by our very own Graham Ramage. I've seen it and it's a cracker. Club members have an opportunity to purchase one of these little beauties.  The price is being held at £5 and well worth that. Size range is Large child, small, medium, large, xl,xxl.
I'm putting the order in over the next couple of days. If you wish to purchase one please enter your requirements in this form. Those orders received so far (including all previous comments to this post) are summarised here.

Jim

Highland Fling 2019

Another (very late) joint report...
Jim

One of my favourite races, for several reasons. The route is incredible, and on a nice day with a bit of sun and a fair breeze, it’s magical.

The organisation is second to none with the emphasis on customer care. An example of the attention to detail is the crack team who hand you 4 safety pins all joined together in advance….I’m so easily pleased (mental note for Trail Race…volunteers?)

Speaking of crack teams, it was the usual trio of Davie Searil, Ruth Kelly, and myself. Davie is going to talk you through his race and the second half of Ruths, this is mine.

There are several views on the Fling. Covering the first 53 miles of the West Highland Way, it is the perfect way to get a long training run 9 weeks before the big one while others see it as the first step in the Triple Crown (all 3 WHW races).

For most it’s the furthest they have or will ever run; some will be happy to finish, others will look to scratch the WHW itch in future years.

For me, it’s a race in itself, and I decided to see what I could do. Having run it in 2016 and accidentally (watch always runs out at 8 hours or so) managed 12 hours 59 min, I set myself a target of sub 12 hours.

There were 3 starting waves. I chose wave 3 (12-15 hours), mainly so that I get a blether with the guys as we run out together for the first mile. Johnny Fling announced this as the “Party Wave” as we went off.
Davie

Cloudy, maybe some light rain and 8 to 11 degrees was the forecast about a week before the event but by race day that had changed drastically, the skirt tails of Storm Hannah were due to hit later on that morning so even the speedy runners, the ones who generally get away with just short shorts and a vest, were dressed up to the nines for this one.

The calm before the storm, in this case literally

 As usual Ruth, Jim and I had had different approaches to the Fling - Jim was only three weeks from running the Manchester marathon, Ruth by her own admission hadn't trained as much by this stage of the year as she had in 2018 and felt under-prepared while I went down with a virus (Gordon's?) some twelve days before and only finally decided I was (just about) fit enough to take part on the Friday morning.
The three of us ran together for the first mile or so before Jim took off, we are his anchor in races, give him a steady start and help him avoid the temptation to go off too fast. (I knew we had a purpose!)

Jim heading along the old railway line to the Beech Tree

Having mistakenly asked Alison for an americano instead of an espresso at Milngavie station prior to the start I consequently had four 'relief' stops before Drymen so Ruth was soon well out of sight. In a way I was quite glad as I simply didn't know how my body was going to react to being asked to run for so long while still carrying this lurgy and was able to plod entirely within my perceived comfort zone (and chat to my heart's content) uninfluenced by anyone's else's pace.
My jacket stayed in my race vest (unlike most of the 726 starters who'd had them on from the beginning) until the approach to Conic where one look at the sky ahead convinced me now was the time to cover up. The cloud came over, the heavens opened and, although it was changeable, the downpours were frequent and prolonged for the next six or seven hours making for a fairly miserable experience. Amazingly, as he always is, Graham Hewitson was standing up on the shoulder of Conic Hill taking photographs - and people say we're nuts?!

Jazz (balance?) hands even in the wind and rain coming down Conic

Plodding the last few meters to Balmaha

On the other side of the hill underfoot conditions were treacherous in the extreme which likely helped everyone avoid trashing their quads by forcing a slower pace than normal on the descent. Jim arrived at Balmaha in 3hrs 16m with Ruth through in an astonishingly fast 3:48 (we would normally run that section in 4:15 - 4:30 during training) while I tailed in some 17 minutes down on her.

A marshall's words of encouragement (I think) at the Balmaha road crossing

Jim

The first section to Balmaha is about 19 miles. It’s about getting out of Milngavie on to the Way….oh and the wee climb over Conic Hill!

I managed this in 3 hours 16 min which felt simultaneously faster that I wanted to go but also very comfortable.

I get very frustrated sometimes with me! I can take out huge chunks of folk on the difficult sections, and hills in particular, only to see half of them fly past me descending Conic, as I tiptoe down like Bambi on Ice…grrrr!

Balmaha to Rowardennan is a joy to run. Still feeling reasonably fresh, it’s a tricky wee 8 mile section with some lovely running, and sensational views…don’t be fooled though if you are doing this in the club relay, there are a couple of really tough climbs.

I’ve always said that it’s the cumulative effect of all the hills you forget, and not the big ones that you’ll always remember, that wear you down on the WHW.

Anyway, another 1 hour and 35min to cover this section meant that I was still under 5 hours for the first half of the race.
Davie
Being always conscious of how my body was coping I made steady if unspectacular progress over the next 14 miles to Inversnaid. Here, while eating and taking on more fluids, the rain was absolutely chucking it down and, as I left the checkpoint, started to feel ever so slightly hypothermic. Knowing the next section to Beinglas Farm was the least runnable of all I reasoned that I had to run now to warm up while I still had the chance. This must have had a galvanising effect on me as even later when the terrain forces you to walk I found my pace was taking me past more than a few competitors, looking  at the splits it seems I made up thirty places over those seven miles - perhaps my conservative start was paying dividends.

Jim

Looking back it seems really obvious that the first half is the easy bit. So again, it seems that the strategy of saving yourself for the 2^nd half can be an unsuccessful one.

I remember Alan in a good luck text on the evening before the race, suggested that he would be able to extrapolate my finishing time based on my first few tracking notifications.

I countered that he might be better using the law of diminishing returns as a guide!

Onward to Bienglas via Inversnaid and the famous Lochside section. If you take nothing else from these ramblings please remember this…..unless you want to break your personal worst for the half marathon, don’t ask Alan for a longish leg next week. And remember also to be nice to whoever takes this on…they really are taking one for the team!

For the record the 15 or so miles from Rowardennan to Beinglass took around 3 hours 45. At a cumulative time now of 8 hours 36 min, and the death of the watch battery, the finishing time was now anyone’s guess.
Davie
Sadly I didn't make such good headway on the relentless climb up Glen Falloch despite cow poo alley being free of poo and, as the farm is currently un-tenanted, entirely free of coos too! The path here has been completely relaid and is actually very runnable as some of you will find on the club relay this coming weekend. I read in Iona Mackay's blog that the elevation from Beinglas to Glen Bogle is greater than the climb up the backside of Conic albeit over a much greater distance and although I didn't know that at the time it certainly explains how I felt.
At the deer fence at Glen Bogle I met my pal Katie from whom I received a lovely hug and the news that Ruth was only a couple of minutes ahead. Surprised, as I'd had only positive news of her thus far, I looked up and could see her near the top of the climb. As I followed her up the hill I would have caught her quicker but for some pre-arranged hugs with a couple of accordion players, playing for the runners for the second year in a row.

I think Cat and her sister Fiona were wetter than most runners

A wee while later Ruth and I joined forces and I learned her nausea/digestive problem had returned with a vengeance and she was for walking the rest of the way. As I had already decided that should I catch her we would finish together and, despite her telling me to go ahead a few times, that's exactly what we did. No records were going to be broken that day and I wanted to finish without exacerbating my virus so what better way was there to complete a 53 mile race than in the company of one of your best running buddies?

Jim

Bogle Glen is the halfway point if you find yourself walking the WHW. In the Fling, it’s the beginning of the home stretch. Getting there has previously involved negotiating the path commonly known as Cow Poo Alley.

It’s now a rather surreal experience as this kilometre section of path has been smoothed and re surfaced. My shoes enjoyed this experience, and the smell in the car on the way home was not as bad as usual, but I’ll be honest…I missed it!

The final part of the Fling involves the “roller coaster” over Crianlarich, down to the road crossing, and the last 3 mile section from there to the finish line. I’ll be honest, I was knackered and it seemed to go on forever.

The red carpet finish, the accompanying sound of the pipes, and a big hug from Evelyn, who came to support saw me finish in 11 hours, 23 min,26 sec….Job done!

Again the organisation at the end is amazing as I was guided through the finish area to a nice warm shower, and a lovely lady handing me a beer.

A quiet and understated finisher's picture from Jim

Too tired even to lift my arms

Davie
We had heard in a phone call while in the forest above Crianlarich that Jim had taken an hour and twenty minutes off his previous time by finishing in a tremendous 11.23.26. Although Ruth and I quite literally finished together, as you can see from the picture below, I was given the nod by one second in 14.22.25, she must have been marginally ahead of me at the start (must remember that ploy for another day!) 

Dragging each other to the finish

The female winner was previous victor and course record holder Beth Pascall of Salomon UK in 8.02.46, runner-up was Nicola Duncan of Carnethy seventeen minutes behind and in third place was Morgan Windram-Geddes of Fife AC in 8.45.02.
The male podium places were taken by John Hammond from Carnethy, Sam Humphrey of VP Glasgow and Toby Chapman from Bournemouth AC in the respective times of 7.30.29, 7.32.08 and 7.32.57, apparently the closest and most exciting finish in the event's fourteen year history (not that I would know, being many miles away at the time). Scott Craighead, Stuart Paterson, Graham Connelly, Marco (the marcothon man) Consani and last year's WHWR winner David McClure raced more or less together along the lochside chasing the 2019 Scottish Ultra Trail Championship eventually finishing in that order and fourth to eighth overall.

Over two hundred volunteers give up their day and in some cases their weekend to make this probably the best lager in the world, sorry, best and most slickly-organised ultra race in Scotland. Unfortunately the weather also ensured the race had it's highest-ever DNF count of 79 (yes, they were included in the results - no rant about that from me today!).

Postscript. That's four weeks now and I'm still not 100% clear of this virus, finished a course of  amoxocillin last Friday so here's hoping - less than six weeks until the WHWR so I have to get another couple of big runs in.
Post Postscript. Once again I have to say how friendly, helpful and considerate all, and I do mean all, of the walkers were - it never fails to warm my heart how nice people can be. Which leads me neatly to the fact that Ruth has today just completed the West Highland Way (walking this time) with her husband Kevin and a couple of their friends, as I type they have just reached Fort William.
Post Post Postscript. I'm with Jim on the four safety pin thingy, really impressed!

MONKLANDS HALF MARATHON

Well that was a warm one. 11 Harriers lined up today for the Monklands Half and we were joined by a couple of past members Kay Conneff and Neil Green sporting his Giffnock North vest.
4 Ladies and 7 men for the Harriers arrived at the start and jokers declared a few warm ups and onto the start line. Were off and the first 150 metres or so is run on the grass which is a bit bumpy in places so you need to watch for twisted ankles and thankfully all the Harriers made it off this section in one piece. We then head uphill towards the golf centre on the verge of the road again slightly dodgy until you hit pavement at the brow of the hill. I could see at this point that Gerry McParland was near the front of the field with Andy Buchanan, Julie Beveridge, Kevin Farmer, Jim Holmes and David Wardrope in hot pursuit. Karen Allen was not far behind taking an easier start and Lorraine Buchanan at this point had just passed me. Down to the water centre and a sharp left into Drumpellier park for the first of 3 times on this section. Not long into the park and Gordon McInally passed me and was slowly moving away but I was running slightly faster than plan. Through 2 miles and I felt the first tightness in the hamstring that ive had problems with this week so just eased ever so slightly and it done the trick and at this point Julie Thomson came past also like Karen opting for a slightly easier start. Down hill to the main road and and were on the first long loop of 4.9 miles. Running well and still running inside the pace I set myself of 1.58. Through mile 4 and Lorraine was out of sight and Gordon and Julie T were still moving away but both within a minute of me. Another right turn with a little down hill before the biggest hill on the course and a real slog. Definetly need some hill training as I struggled this mile but this was ok as I had plenty time in the bag from the first 4. It still climbs after this but only slightly and the pace was back on track as we hit mile 6 going back into the park. By this point Gordon and Julie T had disappeared but I was comfortable in my pace. Exiting the park I hadn't been passed by the leaders which is the first time in years that's happened but I was feeling the heat from a strong sun. Through mile 8 and although losing a little of my earlier pace I still had time in the bank. mile 9 and I had to stop and give the hamstring a little massage as it was getting real tight. still got 16 seconds in the bank through mile 9 and if needed I have another 2 mins to get under the 2 hrs. Mile 10 and this incorporates the big hill again and I struggled even more this time with the heat and a dodgy hamstring. All of a sudden from being on pace I was 1.20 outside it and the next 3 miles weren't going to get any better having to stop and massage the leg several times.
Mile 11 back in the park and ive lost another minute, mile 12 and another 2.20 lost, mile 13 and another 2.30 lost. What a horrible end to a run that was going so well. Back onto the grass for the last 0.1 mile and I got the pace back but I was done and felt baked with the sun. Over to the gathering of Harriers to see how everyone did and Julie Beveridge has a nice shiny trophy in her hands, 2nd Lady and 18th overall in a time of 1.29.37 . Our first Harrier home was Gerry in a time of 1.23.12 and 6th place, Andy 1.30.14 21st, Karen 1.37.09 5th Lady, Jim Holmes 1.39.41, David Wardrope 1.43.40, Julie T 1.53.42 and a massive PB, Gordon 1.54.01 and an excellent time considering where his times have been this year. Next was Lorraine with 1.57.09 and also a massive PB although Lorraine did tell me her pace really dropped off in the latter stages again like me she doesn't do strong sunshine well. Finally Russell 2.05.09, not what I was looking for but all things considered it was still 6 mins better than last year. Unfortunately Kevin didn't finish dropping out about 4 miles and just wasn't feeling it today. Kay Conneff ran an excellent 1.39.18 6th Lady and Neil Green in his first half finished 2nd in 1.20.23 . Well organised again by North Lanarkshire

TTC 2019 Launched

Preparations for the 2019 Trossachs Training Camp are well underway and I am now pleased to say that it is formally open for entries using the on-line form here. The dates for your diary are Friday 6th September (from 5pm) to Sunday 8th September (till about 1pm) 2019. There is a brochure to download here.

Due to a change in booking policy, it was not possible for us to return to Leny Estate so this year we are going back to where the TTC began, Trossachs Tryst Hostel on Invertrossachs Road, Callander. The hostel is now owned by children's charity FAB Scotland who are opening the hostel for general bookings for hald of the weekends each year, the charity using it the other half. This means we have more accommodation (up to 36 places at a squeeze), a dining room for breakfasts and lunches and a meeting room for indoor stretching, etc, should the weather turn bad.

Otherwise the format will be as usual with dinners at the Lade Inn on Friday and Saturday and lunches provided by Cafe Albert on Saturday and Sunday. We will provide the breakfast goods for Saturday and Sunday. The runs will be on familiar routes with a few new variations to keep it fresh. As always, the training camp is open to Harriers and non-Harriers, basically anyone who enjoys running in wonderful scenery and with good company.

Please let me or Eddie know if you have any questions.
Alan

Free Tickets

Gavin Maclure from Sport Scotland has contacted me to offer FREE tickets for the Scottish women's football game against Jamaica on the 28th May at Hampden.
This is the final game before our fantastic women's team head to the World Cup. I need to tell him how many tickets we require by 12.00 on  MONDAY  6th May and we can have as many as we want, within reason.
If you want a ticket(s) can you put your details, e.g., your name and number of tickets required on the comments section  on this blog before noon on Monday and I will collate them and send to Gavin.
Kenny

VICTORIA PARKRUN B

Tomorrow is part B of the Victoria parkrun Grand Prix
I will be there this weekend and if you catch me early you can declare any jokers your playing.
If you prefer you can let me know in advance if your going and any jokers your playing.

Russell

Fast Auldhouse Opener

An excellent turnout for our first Auldhouse 5k time trial of 2019. Despite the cold and breezy conditions and a headwind to finish, there were many excellent times, course bests and even PB's. Fastest of all was Gerry McParland with an excellent time of 18:21 on his first ever timed lap of the course. Andrew Buchanan was next fastest in 19:04, only one second out from his opening time last year and from that point on Andy got faster and faster. So we expect the same this year. Next was Kevin Farmer, making a welcome return to training in 19:27. Our fastest lady was Karen Allen in 21:20. This was Karen's fastest time since 2014 and demonstrates a steady return to top form. Alison Lessells was next in with a time of 22:22 which was also Alison's fastest time since 2014 (which must have been a good year!). Third fastest with a massive 5k PB was Julie Thomson in 23:28, a full 23 seconds faster than her previous best. It was also a course best for Lorraine Buchanan in 23:42 (almost a minute faster than her previous best) and another massive PB for Seonaid Morton in 24:03, a full 30 seconds faster than last year's PB. I shall update the Auldhouse results summary containing previous year's results over the weekend.
Alan

For full results of tonight's TT:
Click here for results

WHW FINAL PAYMENT

Please could anyone that still has the outstanding balance to pay make the payment to Frances on or before the 6th May as the Hotel needs to be paid for in advance.