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Monday 30 September 2019

Great Scottish Run

Sunday dawned as predicted, cool with very little wind and the hint of some sunshine to come. A goodly number of harriers headed into town for the day's races both to race and support with the prospect of almost perfect conditions, there would be no excuses for the runners today!
Advertising our trail races prior to the start
No sooner were we (Marion, Gordon and I) in George Square than we met the Beveridge clan - mum, Julie and Louise along with Emily in pram and soon after John Boyd and Allison Johnstone.
Julie and mum, note her fast paced runners' number

A couple of well known characters 'taking part' in one of Saturday's races
The typical 'great' organisation meant one bus only for green wave runners in Brunswick Street and a 60 meter queue just to drop off your bag. It turned out, eventually, that the other green bus was parked in Hutcheson Street beside the white vehicles - I didn't know whether to curse at McGills Buses or Brendan Foster, certainly not a 'great' start, fully fifteen minutes wasted. As I had allowed plenty of time I was still able to get in a decent warm up before taking my place in the green pen. Having assured Marion earlier that they were much stricter these days about folk starting in a faster pen than they should I was surprised to see so many pink bibs beside me. I (almost) ignored this second display of poor organisation and stayed calm, concentrating on my own race plan.

After my debacle at the HamilTEN the week before (thanks for not mentioning it in your report Martin) I was determined to get my pace right this time. To that end I changed the screen on my Garmin to show only two displays, time and pace. There are mile markers all the way round and I have run the course once or twice(!) so didn't need distance and the consequent extra space meant even I could read the screen easily (or so I thought, more on that later). Nine minute miling was my goal, 1 hour 57 minutes for 13 miles, just enough wriggle room should I hit problems along the way. 

We were finally off only a couple of minutes late and headed west up St. Vincent Street with me trying not to be swept up in the general enthusiasm all around me. A first mile in 8.43 up the hill was certainly a vast improvement on my far-too-fast 7.12 of the week before. It wasn't long before we encountered the results of the poor pen management in the square. The course narrows to just a single lane on the approach to the Kingston bridge and everyone immediately in front of me almost came to a halt. As we resumed running the cause became obvious, two runners, side by side, running at something around 12 minute mile pace had managed to unintentionally impede dozens of us. I wasn't in the least surprised to notice two pink numbers as I ran past them, reasoning that as we were almost at the two mile marker they must have started two waves ahead of where they should, grrr!

Staying calm and checking my watch almost as often as Julie does, there's not much else to report, thirteen miles is a long way when you're operating around your current limit. I stayed more or less on target but coming through the McLellan Arch into Glasgow Green I glanced at my wrist to see 1.59 and something. I know the finish is a much longer drag than it looks and my dismay was such that all the impetus drained from me for forty meters or so until, disbelieving, I looked again to see I had misread the time and I was still under 1.58!! Doh! Gratefully dragging myself over the line in 1.57.45 I cursed my eyesight for giving me such a shock and then it was out to the green itself to find as many harriers as I could. Sadly David Wardrope had headed away already but Jim Holmes and I shook hands on the mutual completion of our twenty seventh GSR. I'll shake David's hand when I next see him.


The results are;

10k

Graeme Lindsay, 167th place in 40.27
Callum Wright, 237th in 42.19 and a pb
Kirsty Wilson, 416th in 44.51
Douglas Meldrum, 1,640th in 53.04
John McBride, 1,719th in 53.29
Colin Banks, 2,811th in 58.19

Half marathon

Iain Tomb, 442nd in 1.29.41
Julie Beveridge, 454th in 1.29.55
Stephen Phimister, 577th in 1.32.36
Jim Holmes, 1,108th in 1.39.06 closely followed by
David Wardrope, 1,178th in 1.39.43
NB Claire McSorley also ran (unnoticed by me, sorry Claire) and finished in an excellent 1.53.55
David Searil, 3,663rd in 1.57.45
John Boyd, 4,261st in 2.01.44
Monica Houston, 5.539th in 2.09.51
Kevin Farmer, sadly, was a dnf

Mention must be made here of the stunning performance of Gordon's other half, Marion. Not only did she run a pb by fully five minutes in 1.33.21 she was also 39th female and first FV60-64 by over thirteen minutes wow! We really have to get her signed up to the harriers...

Some action shots here;









Made it onto the telly again in Monday night's highlights
The winners were Timothy Torotich in 1.01.29 and Edith Chelimo in 1.07.38. Ex-harrier Stuart Gibson, racing a distance, in his own words, well outside his comfort zone, still came home in an excellent 20th place in a time of 1.09.08 closely followed by another ex-harrier Kevan Harvey, fresh from his victory at HamilTEN last weekend, only 31 seconds later.

A big thanks to Frances, Geo, Gordon, Mark, Emma and Jim for their support and apologies to anyone I've missed. Photo credits to Gordon, Frances, Jim and the bbc.

Saturday 28 September 2019

Grand Prix - Lanarkshire Road Relays 2019

Details are now out for this local event in Dumpellier Park on Saturday 19th October. Only £2 per head for this 4k relay (seniors) which always has a great competitive atmosphere about it with all the age groups at the same venue. The full time table is as follows:

Time                    Age Group                        Distance                            Entry Fee

11:30                   U11 Girls                           3x1200m                           £6 per team

11:50                   U11 Boys                          3x1200m                           £6 per team

12:10                  U13 Girls/Boys                3x2KM                               £6 per team

12:45                   U15 Girls/Boys                3x2.4KM                           £6 per team

13:30                   U17 Men/Women - 4KM – Straight race on 1st leg of senior race. £2 per individual*

13:30                   Senior Men                      4x4KM                               £8 per team

13:30                   Senior Women                3x4KM                               £6 per team


* U17 men/women will not be allowed to run in Senior Men’s/Women’s teams.

Ages as at Midnight 31st August 2019.

Only first claim members of fully paid up clubs with LAAA can take part in this event.
Leave your name on the form here to be entered in a team. Those entered so far are here. We need names by 15th October to meet the closing deadline.

It is a condition of the event that each club provides a minimum of 2 officials/volunteers to help at some point during the day otherwise our entry will be declined. So even if you can't run and perhaps can only make the earlier or later part of the day to help marshal, please put your name down on the form above and put in the "Other Info" box that you will be volunteering to help and the time you can be available.
Alan

Tuesday 24 September 2019

Martin's TTC Howlers

As promised, our videographer in residence at the TTC (Martin Howell) has released a series of videos from the Saturday afternoon core conditioning session. Check them out if you dare.

Part 1 (Let Billy do the Talking)
Part 2 (Even the Best Suffer)
Part 3 (Michael in Motion)
Part 4 (In Form Phimi)
A TTC Sunday Morning (A Frances Ford Ferguson Production)


Alan

Monday 23 September 2019

HamiTEN(ish) 10k


“I think Phimi and one or two others have entered it” Mark Saez told me as we were hurtling along Leaburn Road for the second time last Sunday afternoon.

“Well in that case!”

The seed of challenge had been planted. My appetite whetted, the last mile of our 14 miler was our quickest, nothing do with me desperate to get my hands on my Mac and to the Entry Central sign up page.

Entry done and dusted before Mark had finished his post run cup of tea back at mine, next up, Saturday morning out of bed bright and early, no fuss breakfast, harriers vest dug out, (first since the men’s health 10k in June I think!) in the car and rolling down the expressway to Hamilton.

Arriving nice and early and parked across the road at the Ice Rink, I jogged over to the registration hall, pick your number up on the day affair. A well set up scene with runners lists on the wall directing you to the relevant desk to collect your number, I was in and out in less than 5 minutes.

I should mention that at this point it was 9am and already the temperature was getting in to the high teens, clearly this was going to be warm work out!

As time went on the throngs of our local running community assembled. I met Davie Searil, Mark and Lucy and closely followed by Stephen, Frances P (who had also thrown her hat in the ring and was taking the challenge on) and Emma, along to cheer us on. Then we bumped in to big John McBride and Kevan Harvey and one or two others. The local clubs were well represented; Cambuslang, Motherwell, EKAC, Strathaven, Airdrie and of course Hamilton, be criminal if they hadn’t turned up!

A good two mile warm up for me, with some quick hill climbs, the beating of my heart race ready, we took our places in the starting grid. This being a bit of a community event there was the obligatory mass aerobics thingy and the never stuck for words woman on the mike talking just about everything - fancy dress, the weather, water stations, first aid, the route, bright t-shirts, nice dugs at the starting area, cute babies, the weather, mare dugs……………blah blah blah. Too much Americano I’d wager!

The aerobics wummin (Kay would have been proud of her!) was so revelling in her gig that she actually ran on a bit too long and the start was delayed by a couple of minutes.  But once everyone had slotted in to the pen the air horn hollered and off we went down the hill for an extremely rapid start. A familiar but unseen voice from the crowd shouted us on our way, Frances had come along with her niece to cheer us.

So, as we went down the hill from the pedestrian precinct we turned right on to the dual carriageway which had been closed to traffic and along towards the retail park entrance opposite Asda. For a special treat, the organisers had chucked in a wee bit of XC as we ran down the steep banking and over the freshly cut (but not raked up – does my heid in, lazy beggars!) grass and on to the path leading towards the palace grounds football parks.

At this stage of the race the field was still quite tightly compacted and with the paths being narrow with some 90-degree tight turns to negotiate, care had to be taken not to end up your bahooky! Right, left, left, right, right and we were at the end of the palace grounds and heading for the tunnel under the M74 and over the River Clyde bridge and in to Strathclyde Park. From there the route essentially followed the same course of the Parkrun with a wee bit chopped off at the turn on the far side. Then back along the other side towards the bridge, palace grounds, the XC section, the dual carriageway and the climb to the finish – but it wasn’t quite as simple as that – keep reading, I’ll tell you in a minute!

As expected Mark took off like a bullet from Dirty Harry’s Magnum although that said, me and Stephen weren’t slouching either. He shouted out the time through the first K and although I had no idea what he said such was the tone of his voice, it sounded like we were going pretty fast.

Looking at the splits, my first mile was 6.18 with a fastest speed of equivalent to 6.02 m/m so yes, we were shuffling along.

So, just running off of Stephens shoulder he was setting the pace and I was content to let him since he has had a far more successful season than me but before the race he mentioned that late on in the week he had come down with a cold and wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Nonetheless, keep the ambitions in check and measure the form as the race progresses – I ordered myself.

Out on to Strathclyde Park and at about 2 miles, I felt that I had a wee bit more to give so risked stepping ahead by a couple of strides. Managing to maintain the fragile pace, we headed towards the half way point, shaky cup of water, invariably that goes up my nose, tight turn and on the way back – YASS. Except, you’ll remember from my previous musings on this blog that I always feel the run in to the end of the Parkrun there goes on forever. Relentless, knackered, another harrier vest 5 yards behind me. Look at the tarmac, keep it going, keep it going. Splits going south, the pace is slipping, footsteps behind me and their long shadows ahead of me, this is going to be tough.

Holding on, we get to the end of the path where it splits on to the road or along the path to the water sports centre. The guy in front of me goes along the road, so do I, no marshal to tell us otherwise. Across the bridge which involves a wee climb just when you could see it far enough and off the other side and a welcome steep downhill before the tunnel.

In to the Palace grounds and this where it all went pear shaped.

We ran along the way we had come and made a sharp left turn, I’m still following the Motherwell AC guy 15 yards ahead of me. The Marshalls, it seemed had all gone for lunch, or tea, or home!

So, you all know how it is at 8.5k, bloody awful, head in the zone, concentrating on holding out to the finish, my performance about to blow up, happy to be told where to go, follow vileda!

Except where we were to go left we didn’t and went straight on towards the XC grass banking strewn with freshly cut grass! The watch said 5.5 miles, something no right here! Running out of course, going to be short. Never mind keep the head down and get to the end – no doubt the shouting’ll start later.

So onwards, up on to the road, along past Asda and the final turn up the hill to the finish line – Frances shouting encouragement from the crowd.

I crossed it in 39.14, my best since Grangemouth in 2015 although my speed of 6.40m/m average meant that I had only ran 5.89 miles. It transpired that Mark who had finished in 37.38 had also gone the wrong way, Stephen was following me so he was short too and from talking to a few finishers at the end, there were tales of this route and that, some had completed the 10k, some a wee bit short, and others (like me) who had chopped a big slice off.

The moaning has already began on social media – apparently there were a few other issues with the event over and above the route confusion but all in all another great chance to get out racing with some clubmates and on such a beautiful day for a run!

So, the scores as we crossed the line;

Anybody know Robert Haig, I don’t, but he was registered as a Calderglen Harrier and completed in 36.39

Mark Saez 37.58 28/ 428 7 M40
Martin Howell 39.14 43/ 428 9 M50
Stephen Phimister 39.29 47/ 428 11 M50
Robert Gibson        47.54 138/ 428
David Searil 52.52 221/ 428 11 M60
John McBride 53.45 232/ 428 40 M50
Frances Phimister 57.28 281/ 428 25 F40
Lucy Saez 59.32 300/ 428 75th SF

The overall winner on the day was ex Harrier Kevan Harvey in a brilliant time of 31.56 with the first lady and also taking 1st F40, Karen Kennedy from PH Racing in a time of 36.58.

So, once the shouting had died down and we posed for the obligatory post run snaps we headed off to a lovely café for some well-earned refreshments.

Thanks to Frances M and Emma for the cheers at the finishing line and for the photo’s attached below.
Martin H.

Sunday 22 September 2019

Grand Prix - WEST DISTRICT XC RELAYS

There was a problem with the link to the form below. This has now been fixed.
Alan

IMPORTANT MESSAGE
PLEASE CHECK YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS UP TO DATE BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR NAME.
SCOTTISH ATHLETICS HAVE BEEN GETTING STRICTER EACH YEAR AND ALTHOUGH I'VE BEEN ABLE TO UPDATE ENTRIES JUST BEYOND THE ENTRY DEADLINE IN THE PAST, THEY HAVE MADE IT QUITE CLEAR THIS YEAR WILL BE STRICTLY NO CHANGES AFTER THE ENTRY IS SUBMITTED AND ANYONE WITHOUT AN UP TO DATE MEMBERSHIP NUMBER OR WRONG NUMBER WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE START LIST. YOU WILL ALSO STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE ENTRY

This years event will take place at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena in Kilmarnock.
Date is Saturday 12th October
Ladies start at 13.10 and Men at 14.10
Each leg is 4k with 3 legs for Ladies and 4 for Men.
Cost is £5.50.
I need names by Tuesday 24th Sept. If you miss this I wont be able to enter you.
If you wish entered please leave your name HERE.
Those registered are listed HERE.

Wednesday 18 September 2019

Cumbernauld 10k

Sunday 15 September saw two Harriers line up at Broadwood Stadium for the start of the Cumbernauld 10k.  A dry and cool morning made for good running conditions although both David an I would admit we did not feel at our best pre-race for various reasons.

The first 6k or so in this race is run on closed roads.  The route is relatively flat from the stadium along the road towards the Irn Bru factory at about 2-3k.  At this point there is a slight decline before a similar incline up to a roundabout.  After about 6-7k you head towards Broadwood Loch.  The last kilometre brings you back out onto the road to run the same kilometre but in reverse as to the first kilometre back to the stadium, making for a fast finish.

Finishing times (chip) - Julie B - 39.26 (3rd female)
                                      David W - 44.20

If you are looking for a fast 10k then give this race consideration for 2020.  Watch out at the beginning of the year because often this race offers early bird prices. A good size field (1105 finishers this year) and it has great PB potential.

Julie

Tuesday 17 September 2019

Auldhouse 5k - Grand Finale


The final Auldhouse 5km of 2019 was held on the first Thursday of September, finishing in darkness outside the Auldhouse Arms. 15 contested the individual time trial. Those participating in the TTC the following day were under instruction to cruise around, keeping the effort under control. Fastest time on the night was Ross Mullen (18:02) just seconds in front of Paul Murphy (18:05). This was Paul's fastest time of the season. First lady was Claire McSorley in 23:20, her second fastest time of the year. Others also set their fastest times of the season: Billy Buchanan (23:45), Graeme Lindsay (19:51), Gordon McInally (24:15) and Ian Tomb (18:35).

Our monthly winners through the 2019 season were:
May - Gerry McParland (18:21) and Karen Allen (21:20)
June - Ross Mullen (17:51) and Lorraine Buchanan (23:48)
July - Paul Murphy (18:36) and Claire McSorley (23:08)
August - Gerry McParland (18:47) and Claire McSorley (24:25)
September - Ross Mullen (18:02) and Claire McSorley (23:20)

Well done to everyone who took part throughout the year, its all useful training for the forthcoming road and cross country relay season. All results from this year and previous years are available from the menu on the left of the blog.
Alan

Monday 16 September 2019

Grand Prix - Houston Road Relay 2019

The 2019-2020 Grand Prix is almost upon us! As always, the season opener is the Houston Road Relay on Saturday 5th October (14:30 start), a very popular event with clubs and one where you might even see and Olympian or two turning out for the host club, Kilbarchan AC. The format is the familiar 4 or 3 lap course of the undulating 2.7 mile loop in the country roads around and through Houston. The men compete over 4 stages whereas the ladies contest 3 stages. Further details on the Kilbarchan web site here.

If you want to be entered in a Harriers' team, please leave your details on this form. Those entered so far are listed here.

Let's try for an even more competitive Grand Prix than last year.
Alan

Sunday 15 September 2019

TTC 2019 - Costa del Callander

The Trossachs in all it's glory, Ben Venue in the distance - Saturday morning run perfection!
A return to the original home of TTC at Trossachs Tryst Hostel brought with it a return to absolutely perfect weather for running. Although we started off with a pretty much full house of 31, in the weeks and days leading up to the training camp the numbers were gradually eroded by circumstances such as the BA pilots' strike which knocked out our Swedish friends and some injury niggles which removed some more and in the end we had 27. Still a good number.
Off and running on TTC 2019
For a change and as this is a long post, let's start with the thank you's. Clubs such as ours depend on the voluntary services of many to put on events such as this. So its a huge thanks to Russell, Eddie, Frances and Kay for leading you all through the sessions with such enthusiasm. For the first time we trained up a reserve pack leader, ready to step in should any of the coaches pick up an injury or be otherwise unable to continue. That super-sub was Kenny who stepped up admirably to take over when Russell had to unfortunately leave on Saturday afternoon. I am sure you will all agree that we are very lucky to have club members like that who are prepared to go the extra mile (or 3)!
Cheers to Davie Herbertson for the first round
The long arms of Harriers' and TTC legend David Herbertson were much appreciated as he reached all the way from Sydney to behind The Lade Inn bar on the Saturday night to buy the first round. Thanks again Davy! Many people and organisations kept us fed and hydrated; the staff at the Lade Inn, the very cheerful lady from Cafe Albert who delivered and set out our lunches, Eddie for doing the breakfast shopping and to Kenny for the porridge. It was our first time at the hostel under its new charity ownership but it seemed just as relaxed and easy as before, especially as we had Janet and Mark (the original owners) just across the car park to chat to and to fix the shower in dorm 5. Finally, we must not forget that this event is heavily subsidised by our club sponsor EKGTA who allow us to keep the cost we charge at about 50% of what it actually costs. I doubt we could bring this event to so many people without EKGTA. We got the perfect weather too. Thanks to who ever organised that.
Pretty in pink..... and the back row!
After a fairly wet week we were all hoping that the forecast of dry weather by Friday afternoon and wall to wall sunshine for Saturday/Sunday was indeed correct. Things were looking promising when I arrived at the Trossachs Tryst to pick up the keys from the caretaker on Friday afternoon and by the time that Eddie arrived, the sun was out. Not long after, the furthest travelled participant, Ian Hunter from Nottingham arrived. Ian is a regular at the Algarve training camp and clearly brings the good weather to any training camp he participates in! Over the next 45 minutes pretty much everyone arrived and was changed and ready to go on the first run at 17:15. A quick safety briefing preceded the always controversial assignment to packs. After quelling a potential riot we were off for an easy 5 miles with the inevitable big climb thrown in for fun. The quality of the runners participating this
Morgan reminds Jim what it
was like to have hair
year was such that all the packs were doing more or less the same run, up through Callander Holiday Park and then the big climb through Coilhallan Wood emerging above the tree line before immediately looping back down through the wood for a nice run back to the hostel on fine forest trails. The pressure was then on for all to get stretched, showered and changed for dinner, particularly if you have as long hair as Morgan. At least that was the excuse being given for some of the ladies' late arrival at the Lade Inn! On the other hand, some were so efficient at getting ready and the weather was so nice, that they had time to walk the mile and a half to the Lade Inn. I am glad to report that there were no menu choice shenanigans this year and everyone ate more or less what they ordered.

Saturday dawned cold (5 degrees) and bright with perfectly clear skies. This is the busiest day and fine weather makes it all so much more practical and enjoyable. First on the agenda was the T-shirt reveal and the group photo. For many years Eddie has threatened a pink T-shirt and this year, having finally exhausted the rainbow, he (partially) delivered on that threat. Surprisingly there were some disappointed men when they found out that they were getting red T-shirts rather than pink. That leaves Eddie scope for the future though.
All smiles in Eddie's pack early on in the Saturday run high above Loch Venachar, Ben Ledi in the background
The morning run was to be a 7 to 9 miler. Both Kay and Stuart were able to join us for this run which boosted our numbers (and potentially the pace). Having recc'ed the route the weekend before with all the pack leaders, including the reserve, there were no real worries when we set off as it was one of those famous routes that is both straightforward and impossible to get lost on; just a simple out and up (of course) the north slopes of the Menteith Hills, a sharp descent, loop around Invertrossachs Estate and back. All packs were doing the same initial 4 miles (climb and descent) and thereafter Russell's pack would double back whilst the other 3 packs were to do the Invertrossachs Estate loop. The route and weather provided plenty of photo opportunities too.
My pack looking relaxed
The first problem was of my doing. As all will have noticed, since April, 90% of my runs have been wrecked by gut problems. This run was to be no different and just before the steep descent, I had to explore the undergrowth for a minute or two, sending my pack on round the corner with the instruction to wait for me at the bottom of the long descent where the track rejoined the road. As I emerged back on to the track and round the corner, I saw what I had forgotten to mention, a junction with a track (dead end after a very long way) veering down to the left and the intended track climbing ever so slightly to the right before the long descent. I feared that my pack had taken the left turn as I had said continue "down" to the road but I carried on to the right anyway at speed (passing Russell's pack for the second time) all the way to the bottom where my pack were nowhere to be seen. I knew where they were so had no option but to turn around and start running back up the very steep hill (passing Russell's pack for a third time!). Much to my relief after only a few hundred metres of ascending, I met my pack coming down the correct route, all smiles. They had indeed taken that wrong turn but had the sense to send Stuart on when that route started to climb steeply after a few hundred metres to see if it did indeed start to descend steeply. It didn't descend, so they came back. We carried on trouble free from there to complete the route, meeting up with one of my Callander running pals (Andy Dimmer) on the way.
Frances' pack pose at the top beside the lochan on the Rob Roy Way
We stretched and waited for the other packs to return. I was surprised to see Billy as the next one back, thinking that he must have been running very well indeed to have left Frances' pack and caught and overtaken everyone in Eddie's pack to finish ahead of them all. Looked like Billy would be in my pack for the Sunday run on that form. However, a minute later the rest of Frances' pack arrived and they denied any knowledge of having seen Eddie's pack, thinking we were joking when we said that they were not back yet! It's another Eddie wind up. Eddie and his pack are hiding behind the hostel aren't they? Oh no they are not!

Where could they be? Again, I knew the only place they could be..... they had missed the turn back at Invertrossachs House (the very turn that I had stopped at during the recce and pointed out that they should not miss this turn as the other road is a long way to nowhere) and were on the road to the back of beyond (which is another dead end). The weather was fine and they would eventually realise they were wrong and find their way back, was my thinking, so I had a shower. Indeed this turned out to be the case and 30 minutes later they appeared to rapturous applause, having covered an extra 3 - 4 miles of exploration through remote trails and bogs to rediscover the shore of Loch Venachar via the dam at Loch Drunkie (and another extra bit from Loch Drunkie to the Achray Forest Drive before doubling back). There's no hiding with Garmin/Strava. These are all places we have visited (intentionally) in previous TTC's over the past 13 years, so it was really just a run down memory lane (I think we need a special Calderglen Harriers TTC map with those place names on it, back of beyond, dead end, memory lane etc, because it would be about as much use as the real maps I provided which were in various pack leaders' cars for safe keeping rather than with them on the run).

Despite two fully trained pack leaders in the pack, it needed the calm, logical mind of Julie to quietly point out that they were standing beneath a sign post with directions and a map on it to bring them back on track.  There is a reality/comedy/TV show/disaster movie in there somewhere if we can get Bear Grylls interested. Should have given them Phimi's GoPro. On the bright side, the long Sunday run would seem relatively short in comparison.
Warm up before running drills
We now had a few hours to relax in the sun and to enjoy the fine buffet lunch. The afternoon started with a running drills session on the hostel's lawn. Good running form is vital to run efficiently and to avoid injury but it is something that most runners neglect until they go on a training camp. In the space of a half hour and after only a few simple drills, improvements were evident, hopefully not to be immediately forgotten and undone. Unfortunately at this time we lost Russell as Catherine had had an accident at home. We wish Catherine a speedy recovery.
Kay surveys the damage

Training camps provide different things to different people. There are those who are consistently training hard and have a specific event coming up for which the training camp provides a planned peak in the training. There are those who are getting back after injury or who train at a leisurely level throughout the year. For those, the training camp helps identify aspects of their fitness that are lacking and should provide the motivation to work on those weak areas in the months following the training camp. It might be a lack of endurance or general fitness identified by the concentrated volume of running over the TTC weekend, it might be a lack of strength highlighted by the hilly routes, it might be the inability to handle a full Lade Inn three course dinner. Or it might be a lack of overall body condition. Running is second only to cross-country skiing in the percentage of the body's muscle that is used. Consequently if you are carrying any non-productive flesh that is not muscle, running form and efficiency is going to suffer lugging that around. A handful of us came to that realisation some years ago on another of the club's concentrated training camps (the Pub Run) and introduced weekly circuit training to our training. But who do you call if you really want to quickly identify lack of condition?
A multitude of demanding positions

Kay Coneff, that's who! I was delighted that Kay was able to join us again this year to deliver a core conditioning session and to run with us over the weekend. I gave Kay a full hour to do whatever she wanted with everyone but kind hearted Kay came to the conclusion that 45 minutes would be enough. I don't think anyone was arguing. We had the benefit of being out in the warm sun this year and Kay had also brought a sound system to further distract us from the pain. The photos (and videos) tell most of the story. I also hear that downloads of the Police hit Roxanne have slumped to an all time low this week. Personally, I fear the potential accidents that may occur should I ever hear that song on the car radio and I automatically drop to the press-up position. Kay's session finished with a competitive element splitting us into two teams passing (in our case) a heavy kettle bell or (in the other team's case) a beach ball that looked like a medicine ball along the line whilst adopting a stress position. Obviously the team with the "medicine" ball won but the real winners were those who benefited from the core strength boost realised with the heavy kettle bell. Not that we are a competitive club or anything. A huge thanks to Kay and here's hoping that at least a few more people have awoken to the idea that they need to use it or lose it (muscle condition) and join us for weekly circuits.
Stranded in the Lade
Ready for the Lade Inn
After some more relaxation in the sun we had a final mild interval session to finish off. I chose the flattest place in Callander for this (the old railway line) although we had to climb over a hill to get to it (naturally). Unfortunately the railway line appeared to be mobbed with tourists so I made a stupid decision to change to the farm access road (which was too short for the planned session). As it turned
out, the crowds on the railway were only there for that brief moment when we first arrived. If we had waited 5 minutes we would have had it to ourselves. Oh well, lesson to self - make a plan and stick to it. And so to the Lade Inn again. There was more time for those who have hair to dry it this time, so no rush. We were surprised and delighted to hear that Davie Herbertson had phoned the Lade Inn from Australia to organise paying for the first round. Once again, thank you! Other than the fact that some Harriers were inexplicably stranded at The Lade Inn until 1am, everything went as smooth as clockwork as usual.
Sunday run - I'm not saying Gerry Mullen has a favourite son but I have heard him say that he thinks the sun shines out of Michael's a?$e! He could be right.
So to the Sunday run, a straightforward route on which it is impossible to get lost (like the other routes). The mist was hanging low over the loch and conditions were absolutely perfect for the run. In Russell's absence, we reorganised the pack leaders. Frances would take Russell's pack, Eddie would take Frances' pack (almost a riot there), Kenny would take Eddie's pack and I would take my pack. There were a few changes to pack members too given the cumulative effects of the TTC so far although I gained one as Andy Dimmer would join us for the Loop of the Loch. To keep the distance up, I added the zig zag road up Glen Finglas back in which climbed a bit higher than the usual route before dropping down to join the high path on the north side of Loch Venachar. All in this run would be about 22km and 550m of climbing, so not too bad. Kenny and I would take the full route whilst Frances would take the old route up via Brig O Turk. A mutiny within Eddie's pack resulted in them also taking that route (sensible decision as it cuts a 2 to 3km off and there were a few weary souls).
Amazingly, the run went very well. Nobody got lost and everyone finished in fine form. Ann got exactly what she asked for on the registration form, and I quote "Make the Sunday long run more than 8 miles. 16 can be too long and 8 is too short", so I gave her 12 miles, exactly in the middle of the requested range! We rounded off with another fine buffet lunch of sandwiches and soup and another TTC was over. This was definitely a more appropriate venue.
What it's all about - running in spectacular
surroundings

We had several photographers documenting our exploits throughout the weekend (Frances, Eddie, Martin so far) and I have uploaded a selection of these photos in this album. If you have more photos of different aspects of the weekend, drag and drop into the album or forward to me. There is also a much anticipated series of videos of the core conditioning session courtesy of Martin. I am in the process of ratifying the video clips with the British Board of Film Classification to determine if they are suitable for public release. Watch this space.

Finally, thanks to all of the participants from near and far who made this one of the most enjoyable TTC's yet.
Alan

Sunday 1 September 2019

TTC 2019 - Final Arrangements

The running routes have been checked out by your team of coaches and all that remains is to fill you in with the final details. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY AS THERE ARE MANY CHANGES TO PREVIOUS YEARS.

The Venue
We are returning to the Trossachs Tryst Hostel on Invertrossachs Road, Callander. Refer to the map in the How to Get There section for the precise location (your sat nav will only get you very approximately onto the right road due to the remoteness of the location, so look at the map first). This was the original venue used for the first 9 years of the TTC for those who have been regular participants. However, the hostel is under new ownership (the children's charity FABB Scotland) and is no longer permanently staffed. Therefore, the venue will not be open until the part time caretaker can meet up with me to hand over the keys. This will not be until after 4pm on Friday 6th September (we will be charged extra if we want in earlier than that). If you are coming through to Callander earlier in the afternoon, please spend your time in Callander having a cake and a coffee or whatever rather than coming to the venue. Also note that Wheels cycle hire, which is located beside the hostel and is permanently manned, has nothing to do with the hostel. Note also that we do not have access to the upstairs area of the hostel, so don't go up there).

Please be ready to run at 5:15 pm on the Friday evening. If you are going to be late arriving, please give me a call (07867863741). For the safety of all, we can't really delay the start too long but will try our best. Please don't take any risks to get there on time if you are late. Its only a run! Dinner is booked for 7:30pm at the Lade Inn.

The accommodation is in dormitories of various sizes with a mix of bunk beds and single beds, each dorm accommodating from 4 to 9 people. I have worked out the jig saw puzzle of fitting the 28 participants into the 32 spaces. I will let you know on arrival what room you are in just in case we have any further changes though this final week. Bedding is provided. Please bring your own towels.

We have to be out of the hostel by 1pm on Sunday. Please make sure you have taken all your belongings as we don't have the luxury of the previous resident owner calling me up to tell me what she has found after we had left!

How to Get There
Approaching Callander on the A84 from Stirling, proceed to the centre of Callander to the traffic light controlled cross roads where you should turn left down the hill onto Bridge Street/A81. Follow the road across the bridge and the various speed humps past the primary school to the mini roundabout a hundred metres or so further on. Turn right onto Invertrossachs Road and follow this road for about 1.5 miles (do not bear left into the Callander Holiday Park caravan site entrance after a half mile). There is a big green sign at the entrance to the hostel.
This Google Map shows the route from Callander Main Street.

What to Bring
Please bring the following:

  • Towels
  • Running gear appropriate to the weather forecast! (1 run on Friday, 2 runs on Saturday plus a core session, 1 run on Sunday). From the information provided, it seems that we do not have access to a washing machine, so bring enough changes of clothes with you.
  • All of the runs are on a mixture of trail and tarmac. I would say that road shoes are fine on all of the routes but some of you may also wish to bring trail shoes if you have them and are comfortable running 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8km) on tarmac in them. Due to the torrential rain this "Summer" many of the routes are wet, slippy and eroded so care is necessary irrespective of the footwear chosen.
  • Water bottle and belt or bum-bag or running back pack. This is not an expedition and the runs are of normal training run duration from 30 minutes to 2 hours so no massive back packs that will only slow you down; just enough to carry a light running jacket and your water bottle/gels on the long Sunday run. Your pack leaders will not be able to carry stuff for you as they are running too.
  • Any medication that you require (and let your room mates and pack leader know where and what it is just in case of emergencies)
  • A yoga mat or beach towel for the core session which Kay will take. We have the luxury of the large indoor hall for this if the weather is bad.

Food and Drink
  • The water from the taps is beautiful Trossachs water so is fine to drink. If you think you need any special gels for the runs, then please bring your own. We will be doing 5 to 6 miles on Friday, 7 to 9 miles on Saturday morning, 3 to 5 miles on Saturday afternoon and 11 to 14 miles on Sunday morning. The distances are not far but the elevation gain is significant on all the routes. You shouldn't really need gels during any of these runs except perhaps the longest route on the Sunday.
  • Everyone has made their menu choices for dinner on Friday and Saturday and they have been submitted to the Lade Inn. A printed list will be available on each of the dinner nights for those (like me) who can't remember what they ordered.
  • Breakfast goods will be provided on Saturday and Sunday and if you are lucky, Kenny will even make a pot of porridge each morning! Breakfasts will be help yourself in the communal dining room/kitchen.
  • Buffet lunches are provided on Saturday and Sunday by external caterers as usual. As with the breakfasts, the buffet will be set up in the main communal dining room. The caterers will bring their own cutlery and dishes so please do not mix up with that which belongs to the hostel.
  • We are responsible for washing the hostel's cutlery, so please lend a hand and don't leave it to the few.
  • The lunch caterers will wash their dishes/cutlery, so no need for us to do that.
  • We are bringing communal tea, coffee, milk and biscuits which will be in the communal dining room.

Safety
Safety is paramount for the entire duration of the weekend. There will be a briefing before each session highlighting additional points but here are the main ones:

  • All runs will be in approximate equal ability packs based on what you have told us on the entry form and what we know to be the real situation. Please stick to the pack you have been assigned at the start of each run. We can always move people up or down a pack for the next run. If you are struggling during the run, your pack leader should have noticed this but please let your pack leader know anyway. 
  • Nobody goes off on their own or is left on their own as there are several hundred km's of trails to get lost on in there.
  • We are sharing the trails and roads with other users (motorists, cyclists, walkers). Be respectful of all and be aware of what is going on around you.
  • There are public access Automatic External Defibrillators at various points on the routes. Your pack leaders are aware of the locations and many of the Harriers are familiar with their use through the training organised by Jim Mearns. Heaven forbid we need them but they are there if we do.
  • The Lade Inn is over a mile away from the hostel. We shall shuttle people back and forward in cars over the two nights for dinner. However, if anyone is walking to the Lade Inn, they MUST NOT walk on the main road (A821) to Kilmahog. This is an extremely dangerous narrow road with blind dips and bends and a high proportion of tourist traffic (cars, buses and motorbikes) who are not familiar with the twists and turns and often drive too fast. If you are walking to the Lade Inn, take the high level footpath parallel to the main road.
  • There is a 70km mountain bike race taking place on part of the trails we are using on the Sunday. They have exclusive use of the trails on the south side of Loch Venachar due to the speed they will be racing at and the trail will be closed. However, their race starts at 9am, our run starts no later than 8am. We have to be clear of the fist section of the trail beside Loch Venachar before that trail is closed.  That means there will be no turning back on the long run. Once we have all passed the section of trail on the south side of Loch Venachar, we have to continue with the loop on the north side.

If anyone has any additional questions, then please drop me an e-mail (w.alan.derrick@gmail.com) or text (07867863741).

As always, this will be fun weekend if we all take heed of the above.
Alan