Run the Blades 10k

This was a race I had contemplated entering last year but by the time I decided to enter it the race was full.  I saw a few people on Facebook registering an interest in this years race and instead of hanging about this year I decided to enter it early.  There is also a half marathon and 50k ultra (perhaps more race reports to come from other Harriers?).  When I entered I knew I had the Heb 3 series before it and therefore I decided just to do the 10K.  Plus it also appealed to me that the 10K was on a Friday night and it was a local race.  The race takes place up at the Whitelee Windfarm.  I have done a few runs up there over the last year both at the visitors centre side and the Ardochrig side so I knew what the terrain would be like.

The race is essentially a run around Lochgoin reservoir.  It starts by running around Brown Hill before heading to Array Road.  From here it was an anti-clockwise run around the reservoir.  At the 7K point there was a hill which a few people had remarked about pre-race.  I felt my recent island half marathons prepared me well for this and after I had got up the hill I found myself moving strongly and overtaking a few guys.  I finished the race in 41.41 and was first female and 12th overall.  This was also a new female course record with the previous record being 43.32.  Well done to Gordon and Marion who also ran the race, with Gordon finishing in 53.06 and Marion in 46.53 - joint 4th with two other competitors.

The weather had stayed dry for the race but it was a bit of a muggy night, quite humid for running.  Unfortunately it came on rain as I was waiting for the prize giving which was a shame as the event organisers had a tented village set up with quite a few food stalls and it would have been great to have sat after the race and had some food.

Overall it was good to go off-road for a change.  The event was very well organised and it is definitely an event I would do again.  It was great to get a local race on a Friday night.

Julie

Hebridean Half Marathon Series: Part 3: Isle of Harris

The third and final destination for Joanne and I on our Heb 3 adventure was the Isle of Harris. And for this race we were also joined by Karen and Alison.  Setting off on Friday we travelled to Stornoway by plane.

The history lesson (for those who have been following our race reports) came quite early (pre-race for a change) on this trip.  On our journey down to Harris we stopped at the Calanais Standing Stones.  These are believed to be between 3000-5000 years old.  There are many of these ancient sites across Scotland which were erected when the first settlers arrived in Scotland over 10,000 years ago!

Once we arrived in Harris our first stop was to the Isle of Harris gin distillery, one of the places I was most keen to visit when I knew I was doing the Heb 3.  As I had mentioned in my previous reports we were collecting a gin from each location.  We just about had time to have a drink before the distillery shut (we could not have said we had visited the distillery and not had one!).

Saturday arrived and we headed up to the school to register.  A few hours later and we were back at the school to get the bus which would take us to Borve, the start of the race.  This was to be a point to point half marathon and whether it was a good thing or not the bus journey out showed us what we had to run back.  This has to be one of the most scenic half marathons I have ever done.  The course had a few good climbs in it.  However there was a steep decent towards the end of the race which greeted the welcome site of Tarbert.  The finish was about a further half mile down a side road adjacent to the school.

The results were:

Julie - 1.33.41 (2nd female)
Joanne - 1.39.33 (4th female and 1st Vet 40)
Karen - 1.40.49 (5th female)
Alison - 1.46.14 (10th female)

We were all delighted with our times, especially when we had seen the course on the way out.  We narrowly missed out on the team prize which went to Stornoway Athletic Club men, us Harriers losing out by 30 seconds (calculated on overall time for the first three counters).

This was also the concluding race of the Heb 3 series.  The results from this were:

Julie - 4.39.27 (2nd female)
Joanne - 5.08.02

Well done to Joanne who did very well considering she was bothered with injury throughout the series.

I have included a picture of my Harris half marathon prize and Heb 3 prize.  Both prizes were hand made and these make such a change from a trophy or a shield.

As a final summary to the Heb 3 series I must say both Joanne and I had a great time visiting Stornoway, Skye and Harris.  The half marathons have all been challenging in their own right.  However we have also enjoyed visiting new locations.  And it was great to be joined by Karen and Alison for the final trip.  A visit to the magnificent Luskentyre beach on Sunday rounded off a fabulous trip and series.

For anyone thinking of doing the series there are also the Barra and Benbecula half marathons.  To take part in the Heb 3 series you must complete at least three of the five half marathons.  For doing so you get a commemorative t-shirt.  However each half marathon is an individual race in its own right which you can enter as a stand-alone race.

Joanne and Julie

July Auldhouse TT

Reasonable conditions, if a little blustery and only a small but motivated turnout of Harriers for this month's TT due mainly to holidays and a races at the following weekend.

Fastest time of the evening was Paul Murphy on only his second time around the course in a time of 18:36, just 5 seconds down on last month's debut but with a smaller field to chase. Andrew Buchanan was next in 19:03, chipping away at his time from the previous two months. Kevin Farmer is a bit out of sorts now but ran a well controlled 19:53. Making his first appearance on this course (at least under TT conditions), Calum Wright ran a strong 20:17 and could have been faster had he known the finish was just around the corner from Langlands Club House and not back down the hill where we started. Allan McLellan ran his fastest time on this course as the "Auldhouse TT" (Allan has of course run way faster around this loop earlier in his running life) and was delighted to be getting faster again, finishing in 21:12. Next target for Allan is sub-21. Our youngest runner, Lewis Moir was not feeling too good tonight and was a bit down on his usual for this course, finishing in 21:42. Geo Ferguson is very consistent on this 5k loop and powered round in 22:22.

Claire McSorley is just back from holiday and did a much faster and issue-free lap than on her first time last month, finishing in 23:08 as our fastest lady. David Wardrope was feeling a bit dead on his feet and was some minutes down on his fastest time this season, finishing in 23:09. Julie Thomson continues to improve and broke her 5k PB by a dozen or more seconds, finishing in 23:10 (it would have been a close race indeed had Claire, David and Julie set off together!). Billy Buchanan is gradually getting back to his former fittness levels and finished in 24:02, only a little down on last month. Russell Couper continues to pile in the miles and the races, finishing in 25:36, consistent with the previous month and still heading in the right direction. Colin banks really is just getting back into regular training and ran steadily round in 27:42.

Well done to all. The results from all previous Auldhouse 5k's are accessible from the menu on the left of the blog and this month's results are summarised here.
Alan

Trail Race 2019

Location: Calderglen Country Park

Date: Friday 28th June 

Weather: A lovely night for a run

Feedback: 

"Thanks and well done to a cracking race. Loved every minute of it. Can't wait for next year"

" Marshall's were excellent. Very encouraging. Course was challenging but fantastic- big thanks to all involved.Post race buffet was just the ticket"

"Thank you for a superbly organised race.Really enjoyed my run, a lovely (challenging) route and great support from the friendly marshalls"

"Utterly brutal....but fun"

"I went to the race goodie bag from last night....

I got the spot prize....on my birthday😁"

"Excellent event.1st trail run and loved it. Will definitely be back. Thanks to all involved in organising "

"Thanks for an amazing night. First time doing this race and loved it. Great wee route. And if the weather is like that every year,I will certainly be back"

" Really good race, well organised and challenging "

" What a fantastic event!Amazing marshalls, beautiful but challenging route(10k), and buffet afterwards was top notch"

" Great race with a fab route and fab marshalls. Very well organised.  3rd year here"

Special Mention:

 Eve McAlpine 2nd Female Under 12 ( Calderglen Harriers)

Cara Rooney, Emma Hutton, Eve McAlpine: Female u/12 winning Team ( Calderglen Harriers)

Well done girls!

A special thank you to Graham Ramage for producing another outstanding T Shirt.

And thank you to Alison for an incredible effort producing an amazing buffet for runners.

And thank you to everyone in the club for making this event a resounding success yet again and one of the highlights of the running calendar.

Jim

Let's Do This!

The following may be of interest to some Harriers who regularly miss out on races that fill up fast or have a ballot.

Hi Frances,

I hope you're well! My name is Kyle from Let's Do This. We're an online, community focused marketplace for endurance sports events across the UK.

I wanted to make you aware of the new ballot feature we've just launched. Our new ballot page allows users to set automatic reminders to sign up for the most sought-after races across the UK and the world, giving them the best possible chance to compete. 

We would be really grateful if you would consider sharing this feature by placing a link to this page on your site. Hopefully you think it might be useful for your members to prevent them from missing out on some great events!

A final bit of info is that we're working in partnership with London City Relays, aiming to improve the lives of young homeless people throughout the UK. Please feel free to share in case any of your members would be keen to take part to raise money for a great cause!

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

All the best,

Kyle

--
Kyle D McCormick
Digital Content Director
+44 7796 713516
www.letsdothis.com