Club Training Monday 30th June

After a good few weeks of racing mid-week and at the weekends with pre and post race recovery runs, this week sees a return to more conventional training. Monday's session is 8 x 3 mins at slightly faster than 10k race pace with a 3 minute jog recovery. It should be possible for all the packs to regroup during the 3 minute jog recovery with everyone turning around and jogging back to the person at the back and then jogging forward until the recovery is over.

The route is through the glen to Langlands. The first rep starts at the bottom of the steep hill at Langlands. From there the route passes Park Farm, turn left on Leaburn Rd and then immediately right. At the cross-roads, turn right and follow that top road all the way along and down to Leaburn Rd. Turn right on Leaburn Rd and then left, down and up to Auldhouse Cross. Turn right at Auldhouse Cross and back to the club via Langlands and Sainsburys.

Take it nice and easy during the warm up through the glen.

Thursday is the July Auldhouse 5k TT.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 26th June

As is traditional, the Thursday run before the Trail Race is a final running recce of the Trail Race routes. Although many have been over the courses in ones and twos, sometimes running the course in a big pack highlights hazards or areas that need attention which only become apparent due to the congestion caused by a large pack. So I propose that as a minimum, the packs run the full 10k course and then when finished, packs A and B can run the 5k course and C to how ever many packs we get can run the 3k course. This is an easy run. Keep your eyes open and report any difficulties back to Jim.

Alan

TTC - Not this year

I've been trying for a few months to get the TTC arranged for September this year. The accommodation has been the problem. As the Dreadnought Hotel was up for sale, I had to wait until early June for the sale to go through and for the new owners (Caledonian Travel, a bus tour company) to start taking bookings. Initial information looked promising as the sale did complete and refurbishment has started with the hotel planning to reopen at the end of July. However, when I made contact with the booking office, although they did have rooms for our planned weekend (12th to 14th September) they would only take 3-night bookings (Friday to Monday). So that was a non-starter. I've spent the last few weeks exploring alternative accommodation but there is nothing available (I do have a few options for 2026 though). So there is no TTC this year unfortunately.

We will instead do a TTC long run in the Trossachs on Sunday 14th September in packs, followed by a lunch. Details to follow nearer the time.

Alan

Club Training Monday 23rd June - Chatelherault

Monday's session is the normal lap of Chatelherault as an easyish run. The ups and downs of Chatelherault are such that even on an easy run there are huge strength and fitness benefits. Aerobic fitness gains come from time spent training in the aerobic zones and not from distance run in the aerobic zones. So spending 5 or 10 minutes longer running slower on a lap of Chatelherault has more aerobic benefit than pushing hard to run a faster (and shorter duration) lap.

Register for training as per normal, selecting "training venue" if going direct to Chatelherault or "EKSC" if meeting at the Sports Club first.

Alan

Trail Race Roles- Final List

 Plese see the document at the following link for the final allocation of roles for the Trail Race this Friday:

Trail Race Roles - Final Version

If there are any questions or any call-offs, please let Jim Mearns know as soon as possible.

Club Training Thursday 19th June - Vertical Mile

Thursday's session is the final race in the Grand Prix. Please register as usual for training. The route to the bottom of Auchentibber is via Newhousemills Rd, turning left onto the back roads to Auchentibber. Eddie will be doing the timing, so please pay attention to any instructions given by Eddie.

Could last year's male and female trophy winners please remember to bring them to the club if not already returned as we do the VM presentations after the event. 

Have a great run. Alan

Club Training Monday 16th June

For Monday's session, let's do a gentle recovery run down the glen until it comes out on the express way and then climb back up on the back roads (through the overgrown section of the old tarmac road initially) to Newhousemills Rd and back into the glen at the narrow bridge. I will make sure that every pack has an experienced Harrier who knows the route back. Take extreme care on the road sections and run in single file on the right hand side of the road facing any traffic on Newhousemills Rd. This will at least show the reverse of part of the road route to the start of the Vertical Mile which we will be at on Thursday.

On Thursday I will be out of the country with work in a different time zone, so may not manage to update the packs. However, Eddie is timing the Vertical Mile and will look after you.

Alan

Dechmont Law 10k Trail Race

After a gap of a few years, the Harriers returned to Livingston for the Dechmont Law Trail races; the 10k race being race 15 of the Harriers Grand Prix and Kai Wheeler competing in the 6k race. The course was the original course that we have run on many times before but an element of disorientation was introduced by the fact that the car parking was a couple of km away rather than the usual school at the foot of Dechmont Law. This provided a very good warm up though!

After collecting our numbers and timing chips and a some more warm ups and photos, it was soon time to line up for the uphill start, but not before a personal trainer had taken us all through a dynamic warm up. Then we were off. I dropped in behind a tall guy as we climbed off the grass and onto the gravel trail, so I couldn't really see how many were ahead but I knew my limits. As the climb steepened slightly, I passed the tall guy and pulled away, and that was it for the rest of the race, sitting 50m to 100m behind the young guy ahead and having nobody near me behind! After about 800m we descended into the woods and the first of the very muddy and slippery sections of the course. I had decided to wear my usual road shoes and was slipping and sliding a bit but felt more comfortable with them than I would have in trail shoes which I have hardly worn for a year. As we descended through the woods, we discovered that the green aliens were out in force, cheering enthusiastically at several points on this short loop. After a few km we emerged from the woods and repeated the initial climb before descending again into the woods onto the big loop. This descended down to the M8 and was generally quite good underfoot until the section parallel to the M8 which was an absolute quagmire. The 5km mark was at about the point where we passed through a tunnel under the M8 and a drinks station was a few hundred metres later on the other side. This was the lowest point of the course and that meant a gradual climb for the final 4km or so. This was also an extremely muddy section but perfectly runnable. The steepest climb on the course was when we crossed back over the M8 on a pedestrian bridge at about the 8km mark and I just about ground to a halt crossing that. From there we climbed back gently along trails. Just before we entered the woods for the final time, Kai's mum and dad were spectating and shouted that I was fourth, which was a surprise as I thought there were at least a handful in front of me. Briefly I wondered if I could close the gap on the young guy 50m ahead and get on the podium. However, as we descended again into the woods he stretched away on the downhill. When we turned at the aliens and climbed back towards the finish, I was closing again but there was not enough uphill left as we emerged on the trail at the point we had first entered the woods. The final 400m started with the end of the climb to the high point of the course and then a nice final 300m descent to the finish on the grass.

I finished 4th overall and first M60 in a time of 42:46, about as close as I am likely to get to an overall podium finish these days! The last time I did this in 2016 I was almost 4 minutes faster and the year before that I was almost 5 minutes faster, however, these were the worst underfoot conditions I have done this race in so it wasn't just age slowing me down. Next Harrier to finish was Jason Grant in 46:04. However this had been quite a close battle in the middle of the race between Jason, Julie Beveridge and Stephen Phimister. At the water station at the 5.5km mark, Stephen had twisted his ankle in a deep puddle and even stopped briefly at which point Jason stretched away. By the finish, Julie had opened a small gap on Stephen, finishing in 46:59 and 3rd F40 with Stephen limping home in 47:04 and heading straight for the physio's bench where an ice pack was attached to his ankle. Stephen and I had had a pre-race conversation about which shoes to wear; road or trail. I had said that road shoes would do me and Stephen had gone the same route. What I didn't realise was that Stephen had gone the road "racing" (semi-cheat) shoe route which was a poor choice given the lack of stability of these shoes and most likely explains the twisted ankle. Oh well, the coach's fault apparently for poor shoe advice!

Craig Ferguson had already been at his work that morning but that didn't stop him finding the strength to power all the way to the line in 55:46. Gordon McInally continues to get over his toe operation and confirmed that the toe was the least of his concerns on that course, finishing next in 57:47. Richard Lawton had a strong finish and crossed the line in 58:57. Frances Ferguson was "just taking it easy" due to the on-going injury but enjoyed being out again in the Harriers' vest finishing in 60:20. Russell Couper found it difficult from the moment the race started but as usual carried on regardless to finish in 69:02.

Meanwhile the 6km race had started shortly after the 10km race. Kai had finished 2nd in the 6km race last year but found that Lothian Road Runners, the organising club, had some speedy individuals out this year. Kai finished a very respectable 5th position, 2nd under 20, in a time of 27:29. Not only was Kai running, but he was also off getting some practice in with his very fancy new camera before next weekends WHW Race where Kai will be on a mission to get photographs of every single competitor.

Thanks to Jim Mearns for the support on the course and for distributing flyers for our own trail races. As was pointed out, given the state of some folk when they crossed the line and dropped to their knees, perhaps the last thing they wanted was a flyer for another tough trail race but as far as I know, nobody told Jim where to put his flyers.

Now we move on to the final race of the Grand Prix series, the Vertical Mile, this coming Thursday.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 12th June

Thursday's session is an easy run with fast strides, given that the last week or so has been full of hard efforts and races for many in the club and this weekend sees many of us at another hard race, Dechmont Law.

The route is out through the glen to Langlands and then up to Leaburn Rd via Park Farm. Turn right onto Leaburn Rd and follow that along until it veers to the right, steeply downhill to Auldhouse Rd. Turn right on Auldhouse Rd and then left past the Kennels and on to Shields Rd. Turn right on Greenhills Rd and back to the club.

The extended, easy warm-up is all the way to the Kennels. From that point all the way along Shields Rd, do 6 x 10 seconds very fast running. After each of these, jog easy for 3 minutes. Run very fast but stay relaxed without straining. If you start to strain, you are trying too hard; ease it back a little until you feel smooth and in control. The idea of fast strides is to remind the nervous system how to fire the muscles quickly without the muscles fighting against each other because the timing of the opposing muscles firing is not quite right. Being able to run very fast in a relaxed way adds power and efficiency to your much slower race pace as well as training the ability to pick up the pace briefly at the beginning or end of a race.

Alan

Club Training Monday 9th June - Chatelherault World Championship - Calderglen Grand Prix Event

Monday's training is at Chatelherault but instead of normal training, it is the Chatelherault World Championship! In fact, Richard reminded me that this is the 10th anniversary of the first Calderglen Chatelherault World Championship, the race report for which is here.

Please register for training as normal (selecting "training venue" if going direct to Chatelherault or "EKSC" if going to the sports club first and sharing cars to Chatelherault). The registration list will form the start list. Let Russell know at any time before we start running if you wish to play any jokers as this is a Grand Prix event.

Depending on the range of abilities, we will most likely start the event in waves, with the fastest packs starting last so that everyone finishes reasonably close to each other. We run the normal, 7 mile lap.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 5th June - Auldhouse 5k

Thursday is the June edition of the Auldhouse 5k time trial. As we approach mid-Summer, the weather deteriorates as usual, so tomorrow may be a battle with the wind (but hopefully not the rain). The purpose of the Auldhouse 5k is mainly to teach judgement of effort on a difficult course. It is not about looking at the watch and trying to nail every km at the same pace; at Auldhouse it is about knowing how to distribute your effort to take account of the uphills and downhills and to get the satisfaction of judging it well so you finish strong rather than on your knees. This is the skill that is needed for most of the road and cross-country races we do in Scotland; few of them are pan flat and windless and even effort rather than even pace is usually the fastest way around such courses.

Register on the training form as usual as this list will be the start list for the time trial. I will be at the club to confirm starters beforehand.

Alan

Polkemmet Parkrun Grand Prix Race

Saturday was the 2nd half of the Parkrun Grand Prix race (2 dates are chosen to give a better chance of being able to take part) and 11 harriers made their way through to Polkemmet Country Park for the run. The first half of the Grand Prix race took place on 26th April where we had Iain Maclean (21:39), Joseph Coleman (25:33), Richard Lawton (26:12) and Russell Couper (31:10) taking part, so everyone knew what times they were aiming to beat. It was pouring first thing on Saturday morning but thankfully it had dried up by the time I arrived to find Charlotte Buchanan well underway with her warm up preparations and had been told she was determined to beat dad Andy.

At the first timers briefing the course was described to us and to me it sounded quite complicated as was 2 laps with each lap having 2 about turns but in fact when running it wasn't complicated at all and was well marked out with cones to direct you. As it was 2 laps and had the sections doubling back on yourself it also meant there were lots of opportunities to see where your fellow harriers were and how they were getting on.

Charlotte Buchanan charged off at the start of the race with coach Alan Derrick also admitting to going off too fast after her, but they both settled their pace down and the first section where I saw them had Alan the first of the harriers followed by Charlotte then Andy, Jason Grant then Julie Beveridge not far behind, then me, Scott Hair, Gordon McInally, Peter Moyes followed by Frances Ferguson and Lorraine Buchanan running together. Frances was taking it easy and trying not too aggravate her pelvis injury too much and she was certainly the most cheery of all the harriers racing round. The next section where I saw everyone Andrew had caught Charlotte and they were running together with everyone else remaining in the same order, by the final section both Andy and Jason had overtaken Charlotte and Frances had pulled away from Lorraine (or I think Lorraine had asked her to run on instead of being so happy on the uphill sections...).

Alan was first harrier home in 7th place, sneaking under the 20minute barrier in a time of 19:57, Andrew Buchanan was 2nd harrier home in 9th place in a time of 21:00, Jason was 2 places behind in 21:11, followed by Charlotte in 21:35. Charlotte was also first female and had a brilliant run for her very first 5k. Andy better watch out as with a few more 5ks under her belt she'll not be long in being the fastest in the family! Julie Beveridge was 3rd female and finished in a time of 22:14, Alison Lessells was next harrier in 24:15 with Scott 2 places behind in 24:34. Gordon McInally is continuing his fitness comeback and finished in 26:32 with Peter Moyes next in 27:20, complaining of too many pints at Laurens engagement party the night before, Frances Ferguson enjoyed her run finishing in 30:19 and Lorraine followed in 31:23, pleased not to aggravate her knee injury anymore.

We all agreed that even though it was a tough course and not one for a good time (its mostly on trail, and mostly either downhill or uphill - the hills are long and gradual as opposed to being steep - except the final 50m which was the steepest uphill) that it was an enjoyable parkrun and we would all like to do it again so thanks Russell for the suggestion of putting it in the grand prix this year. 

Thanks to Susan and Heidi Grant for the support :)

With 3 races to go in the grand prix, Andrew Buchanan is leading the way, with Russell Couper in 2nd place, Scott Hair in 3rd and Jason Grant only 1 point behind in 4th place. Andrew is also leading the scratch.

In the ladies Grand Prix Lorraine Buchanan is leading with Alison Lessells in 2nd place, Julie Beveridge in 3rd and Frances Ferguson 6 points behind in 4th. Alison is leading the scratch.

Post Race Team Photo

Running Survey

 Survey Invitation

We’ve been contacted by Dr. Neil Baxter, a social researcher with a special interest in running, who’s conducting a new study of running in Britain. 

He’s asked whether any of you would be kind enough to take 5-10 minutes to complete his survey, which focuses on your racing and running experiences.

The research is self-funded by Neil – he is not being paid for the work or doing it on behalf of a company - so he is heavily reliant on the generosity of the running community to allow him to complete the project.

You can find out more about his research and participate in the survey here:

Survey - Running Studies  

Once the data has been collected and analysed, reports will be available on the website, www.runningstudies.co.uk(where you can also find out more about his work). 

Kilbryde Hospice - Stryde Walk

 A lady from Kilbryde Hospice dropped in before training last night to tell us about their charity fundraiser midnight walk this Saturday 7th June. Event entry is £20 plus a minimum sponsorship of £20. You can enter on the night, however they would appreciate any entries as soon as possible to help with their planning as there is a burger, T-shirt, flashy headband etc included for your entry money.

Full details are on their website:

https://kilbrydehospice.org.uk/events/stride-for-kilbryde/

Club Training Monday 2nd June

Monday's session is 12 x 2 minutes at slightly faster than 10k pace/effort with a 2 minute jog recovery during which there should be enough time for everyone to regroup. The route is through the glen and out onto the road at the Crutherland and onwards to our usual corner on the backroad where the reps start. On reaching Leaburn Rd, turn right towards Leaburn. Follow the road through Leaburn and then turn left up the hill towards Ardochrig. Turn right at the cross roads along the top road and follow that all the way back down to Leaburn Rd. Turn right and then left down the dip and up to Auldhouse Cross. Turn right through Auldhouse, to Langlands and back to the club via Sainsburys and Strathaven Rd.

Thursday is the June Auldhouse 5k time trial.

Alan

Mull of Kintyre Half

 

I’d fancied doing this race for a few years, since I’d seen a picture of it and saw that it had previously been voted most scenic in UK in Runners World magazine but the distance away had put me off. However, after getting a campervan last year, decided that this year would be the year to do it and we could make a family weekend of it as it also coincides with the late May bank holiday weekend.  With the kids also having the Friday off school I took the day off work and we set off on Friday morning, stopping in Luss for some water fun on Loch Lomond and staying overnight at the campsite there to break the journey up. With the great weather we had had for all of May I knew it couldn’t last and sure enough the rain came on about 6pm-ish and stayed on until after we set off for Campbeltown the following morning. We arrived in Campbeltown about lunchtime in plenty of time for the kids races that I had entered Rebecca and Max in. It had also stopped raining by now and the sun even came back out too. The kids races were well organised and had been split into separate races for boys/girls and different age groups. The kids were delighted with their goody bags and finishers medals. The half marathon and 10k event was the following morning at 10:30. As forecast the wind picked up during the night and I cant say it was the most restful night sleep with the noise of the wind and rain however at least the rain stopped in the morning, unfortunately the wind didn’t die down. I had heard it was a tough course so was targeting a time of around 1h45ish but with the wind I re-evaluated this to between 1h45-50. The race started and finished in the park near the harbour and sport centre in Campbeltown and had a pipe band playing at the start/finish area. There was almost 800 runners taking part with 585 of them doing the 10k and 201 doing the HM. The start is combined and after about 500m the 10k runners turned off and the Half Marathon went straight on running up the A83 before turning onto a smaller road heading towards Macrihanish Dunes, where you eventually turn onto an undulating grassy trail section before dropping down through the sand dunes onto the beach.  For this first half of the course it was a headwind all the way and it was relentless. I had been aiming for around about 5min/km pace but in hindsight this was probably too fast for me as this was also mostly uphill aswell as being into the wind, I lasted with this for about 3 miles before it dropped slightly, dropping even more on the beach section.  

Race winner - on beach

The beach part was absolutely stunning, you drop down through the dunes onto the wet sand and run up to a turning point about 500m away before heading back the way and up the dunes. It was hard work climbing back up the dunes but it was a welcome relief for the wind to finally be behind me. The race headed back the way we came in for a couple of miles before turning off past Campbeltown airport and back to Campbeltown. I was aiming to pick the pace up here now that the wind was behind me and it was mostly downhill and I managed it for a couple of miles but started to struggle again between miles 10 and 12, the final mile was significantly downhill so I did manage to pick the pace up here and was delighted to be finally finished in a time of 1:51:06, slightly over my target time, in 68^th position overall (15^th female/4^th FV40).

Close to the finish!

The race was very well organised, with chip timing, 4 water/Lucozade stations throughout the race, plenty of portaloos available pre-start, well marshalled and a goody bag at the end with caramel wafer, Lucozade, bag of sweets, wooly hat, T-shirt, draw string bag and a pottery medal. The kids goody bag had slightly different contents but was equally high quality. The race weekend also incorporated a ceilidh on the Sunday evening, that you could buy tickets for (we didn’t), and in the end decided to go home after a family swim on the Sunday afternoon, not fancying another night of wind and rain in the campervan.

I would recommend this race to anyone who wouldn’t mind the long journey to get there, the finisher in front of me was from Boston so he had a longer journey than most!

The highlight for the kids was seeing a group of 8 ladies, running the 10k in a joined up caterpillar costume, raising money for the Mairi Semple fund (a local charity to Campbeltown), I was informed that the wind did tear their costume before the end but it was impressive.