AULDHOUSE TIME TRIAL TIMES

Times for this months time trial are now on the link at the left hand side
Special mention goes to Catherine Anderson on her 1st run with the club completing the course in 32.20 and thanks to Chas for keeping her company on the run

Auldhouse Time Trial - August

Tomorrow is the August edition of the Auldhouse 5k TT. As I am hopefully in Tour of Clydeside action, Graham Allan has kindly volunteered to organise the TT. Please give Graham as much assistance as possible by turning up early at the club and giving your name to him so he can work out the start list. If you are going direct to the start and not going to the club, please leave a comment on this blog post well before 6pm Thursday. Have a good one!

Alan

Tour of Clydeside - Day 2 Canalbank Canter

A quick way to get your heart up to racing speed is to turn up at a race thinking it is 4.8km only to find it is 4.8 miles! Ah well, this was not going to be an easier night after all. The course followed the canal tow path from Clydebank eastwards for 2.4 miles before turning around and following the same course back. There were a few undulations in this one (30 feet at the highest point) and the numerous locks we passed on the way out confirmed that we were indeed climbing. The paths were mainly dirt tracks with about 2 miles of tarmac

section at the start/finish.

Now kitted out in one of my (fast) Harriers vests, Joanne looked the part and felt fine despite yesterday's race. The pre-race plan to stick with the woman who she usually beats for the first half and then to pile it on in the second half to regain some of the gap from yesterday did not quite work however and all the ladies seemed to finish in the same order as yesterday with Joanne 4th lady (and even being passed by a man who she recently sold a pair of racers to - that's gratitude for you!). Joanne's time was a fine 32:46 (6:48 mins/mile).

Meanwhile it seemed that the two Kilbarchan athletes who had finished ahead of me yesterday were not here and it was just the overnight leader, young (and fast) Adam Lee who was now ahead of me in the series if I finished tonight in a similar position to yesterday! With wearier legs throughout, the pace was much more even than the night before (although surprisingly a slightly faster pace overall by me). The very fast Paul Thompson from Helensburgh turned up tonight and chased after Adam from the start. I let them go although closed the gap towards the end, finishing third overall in 27:25, falling probably another minute behind Adam in the series but extending my second place in the series also. There were inevitably a few neds out on the course tonight with their usual limited range of predictable comments who hopefully did not spoil the event for anyone, particularly the ladies.

Wednesday is a rest day (but I'm going for a run) and then it is (definitely) a 5km trail race at Dawsholm Park on Thursday (note that you can enter any of the races as a one off on the night and that the final race - a 10k in Pollok Park on Friday - includes a free BBQ afterwards courtesy of Bellahouston Harriers).

Alan

Harriers weekend results

Various Harriers were racing in various places over the weekend
See the report below for Georges efforts
On saturday Stuart Waugh ran Strathclyde Park parkrun in a PB time of 19:37 no report but fantastic run, also on the same day Colin Jarvie ran Glasgow parkrun in a PB time of 22:28 another fantastic run.
On to Sunday and 3 Harriers headed for the seaside at Helensburgh and the 1st Harrier home was Graham Lindsay 1:40:41 followed by David Wardrope 1:46:32 then in what i believe is his first race as a Harrier Andy Riley 1:58:24 again no report available
Two Harriers headed to the other coast at Aberdour for the Donkey Brae Run on what turned out to be a very warm and muggy day. David Searil was 1st Harrier home 57:56 continuing his comeback after a long lay off and happy to make over a 2 min improvement from the last time he ran it. Also coming back from yet another injury was Russell Couper never pushing as promised 1:06:14 but 3:30 faster than last year and no adverse effects
Nice to see Harriers spreading themselves about various races and this week we can follow the progress of Alan Derrick and Joanne McEvoy in the Tour of Clydeside.

Tour of Fife - The Conclusion

Now for the real Tour - a 6 race series which George Stewart completed on Saturday. Here comes George's race report:

Wednesday - 28th day of rest!! Well, physio actually...thighs, hamstrings and lower back!!

Thursday - 29th 4.25 mile St Andrews beach "where chariots of fire was shot".
Any normal minded person usually stays well clear of sand, in fact there was about 5 meters of it on Tuesday's race and everyone sacrificed a few strides to run round it!! No hiding from it tonight!! A few different faces tonight, I think some just come for this one. Lost 2nd female last night on the hill (chucked it after half a mile) and tonight no leading female. The guys race is a bit of a non event as 2 guys from Portobello have been 1st and 2nd all the way. 22 people have dropped out or haven't participated in all races since the first one.

Actually really enjoyed this one, one end of the beach round a buoy and back. Wet sand was fine for running, but everyone decided to cut the corner and save a 10 meter wide turn. Bad idea! Lost the will to live on the soft stuff and got past by a few. Once back on wet sand I managed to pick up and finished a bit closer to some that had beaten me in previous races. Afterwards headed in to the sea with about 50 others, minus god knows what degrees, lovely!!

Friday 30th 2.25k TT
The BIG ONE... so I'm told. I mean, it's only a mile and a bit!! I did the vertical mile in 7 minutes something....can't be that bad! Apparently, Andrew Lemoncello holds the record at 9.52....he's only one of two that have broken 10 minutes.
So, off in 2's, 30 second intervals, completely random, not allowed to help your partner. They were right....absolute "HELL"...had to walk twice. There are definitely NO hills in EK!!
Great atmosphere, they do make it feel like a ski slope with all the locals at the top cheering and banging on pots with wooden spoons, cow bells and whistles. 14.36 for my efforts...and managed to beat some for the first time in 5 races! Might actually be improving.

Saturday 31st 5.6 Multi Terrain
The last one. I thought that it was going to be a bit of a wind down after 5 hard days. No chance, 5.6 mile including the last 4 miles of "The Devil's Burden" relay course. More hills!! A good mixture of tar, hills, woods, cabbage field finish!! Ran well considering the tired legs, but same for every one. 45.05 was my time. Just wanted to get finished and get started on the 100's of cakes waiting.

In summary
I finished 65 out of 158 starters, 3.32.54 to run a combined distance of 27.3 miles. 133 completed the full thing.
One of the best things that I have ever done. It's hard, takes a lot of commitment (I mean travelling as well as running) great mixture of events, distances etc...met some great people over the week and the organisers did really well too. Definitely do it again next year....and perhaps persuade a few others to take the plunge.

Pictures of all 6 races are in the following link (courtesy of RoadRunPics.com)

Very well done to George; it just shows what you can do if you have some confidence. I doubt that George has run 6 times in a week many times before let alone raced 6 times, so that is a huge achievement. In fact George is already lining up 2 more races in the coming fortnight (6.8 mile Hill race and an 8 mile road race, both in Fife).

Tour of Clydeside - Day 1

Two Harriers, Joanne McEvoy and myself (yes, Joanne has officially joined the club) made their way via varied routes to Kilbarchan for race 1 of the 2010 Tour of Clydeside, a four race series taking place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of this week. A record field lined up on the disused railway line to Lochwinnoch (now converted to smooth tarmac and part of National Cycle Route 7) for the 5.5 mile race. The course was a straightforward out and back route following the (thankfully) meandering railway line through the Renfewshire country side. To say the course was flat would be an understatement, the largest undulations being a few piles of horse manure!

The initial pace was a relatively steady 35 minute 5k pace which gradually accelerated over the first mile to around 33minute 10k pace at which point I realised this was stupid for someone back down to single figure weekly mileage with screaming Achilles tendons and eased back to let the leading three go. A lonely few miles followed until the turn at which point I was joined by the Clydesdale athlete who kept the pace going for the next mile or so. Two approaching horses provided the "spur" for me to move ahead into single file and then to break away over the final mile, finishing well clear in 4th in a time of 31:11, although probably already an insurmountable 2 minutes down on the leading three. Meanwhile Joanne was having a little battle for 3rd placed lady with a Westerlands athlete, eventually settling for 4th place in a time of 37:02. There are plenty of races left this week for Joanne to turn that around. Next Clydebank and a 3 mile Canal Bank race; no hills there either then!

Alan

TTC 2010

There are a few people that still owe for the Trossachs Training Camp, can you please get the remaining balance to me by the 15th August (this year).

You can drop it off at the shop or post it to me at;
ATHelite, 58 Cadzow St. Hamilton. ML3 6DS.

The TTC is full however it is not unknow to have cancellations so, if you are keen in attending let me know and I can start a waiting list.

Many thanks.