There was a good turnout from the club at the Nationals, held once more in Callendar Park in Falkirk this year. We arrived with a welcome addition to the team in the shape of the Bella Gazebo. Despite one of the walls attempting to swirl round the course at one point, without a race number and chip it was never going to gain us team points. Although it my first time participating in this race, there was no need to be nervous as there were plenty of club members on hand who had raced here before and were happy to explain the course and what to look out for. In addition, the familiar sound of Brian Burnett’s commentary over the PA made it feel like a Bella race in Bellahouston Park and I was immediately put at ease. After my last cross country experience, I decided that no matter how slow I was, the one thing I wouldn’t be was cold. I snuggled into my survival suit and didn’t protest too much at Gerry H’s slagging about how many layers I was wearing. He had a point. Although there was a wind chill factor in the cold February air, the sun at least made an appearance, and the torrential rain promised for the Senior Men’s Race never amounted to more than a thick drizzle. With the largest field for 20 years, the start of both the Senior Women’s and Senior Men’s races was great to watch and even better to be part of. Callendar House made an impressive backdrop, and with hundreds of runners lined up in club colours it was like being on the set of Braveheart. At the gun you could feel the earth shake under a thousand feet hurling themselves at the first hill, inevitably far too quickly for the long battle with the course to come. For a road runner, cross country is always hillier and muddier than the routes we’re used to, and Callendar Park was no exception. The hill at the back of the course was a river of mud by the end of the afternoon. Wearing trail shoes, I found my legs spinning like Fred Flintstone, except I wasn’t staying still, I was going backwards. I felt like a particularly poor contestant on Total Wipeout and the question was simply ‘when’ I’d fall flat on my face in the mud and not ‘if’. Amazingly, it was another runner who got an impromptu facial mud mask, 10 points from the Russian judge on the sidelines, and I escaped relatively unscathed. Approaching the end of the second lap two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was how quick Callum Hawkins was as he lapped me and disappeared round the last bend to win the race. I then contemplated how unfair it was that the men had to run a lap more than the women but concluded my indignation wasn’t because I was a champion of equality, it was merely a result of me being tired […]
Daily archives: March 6, 2014
The Scottish Masters Cross Country Championships have been held annually since 1971. It’s a chance for athletes over 40 to prove they’re not over the hill. At least not until they’re halfway round the course and have disappeared over it. Teviotdale Harriers celebrate their 125th Anniversary in 2014, which is why this year’s event was held in Hawick and not anywhere remotely nearby. After seeing the weather forecast, I was clearly several chips short of a fish supper for not pulling out like almost half of the registered field. If, heaven forbid, “I’m a Celebrity…” is ever set in Scotland, Saturday’s event would make the perfect Bush Tucker Trial. The weather wasn’t too bad when Robert, Peter, Shona and I met at the Ski centre shortly after 10:30. Once on the M8 though, the rain became torrential. Ever the optimist, our Club President assured us that it was always drier on the East Coast. Ever the realist, Shona reminded us that it was always colder too. Two hours later we arrived at the Leisure Centre in a very cold, and very wet Hawick, and met Greig and Danielle, and Scott and Linda Kennedy but there wasn’t any sign of Hamish. We got our numbers, put our change of clothes in a locker for after the race and looked to get to the start. It was so cold and wet we decided to drive the 1/2 mile or so. A sensible plan if I had the first clue where we were going. After our impromptu tour of every street in the town, we eventually found the course 5 minutes before Shona’s race, up a steep hill and round a narrow farm track between two houses. The course itself was well designed with a mix of hills, open terrain and muddy farmland, but that was irrevelent. It was just so cold. And wet. The women’s race was won by Angela Mudge of Carnethy Hill RC in 26:06, almost a minute and a half ahead of second place Janet Dunbar of Edinburgh AAC. Shona placed a very creditable 36th in 32:41, and considerately neglected to say how much worse the weather was on the far side of the course. I thought waiting for the 8km men’s race to start were the coldest 45 minutes of my life, as we kept running up and down the field supposedly to warm up. Only we weren’t getting any warmer. And there still wasn’t any sign of Hamish. The relief of huddling together on the start line like a bunch of penguins was far too short lived. The first kilometer was ok, steadily up hill with footing that wasn’t too bad and I could see Robert not too far ahead. After that the course was onto the open moor, with horizontal hail and sleet and a wind that cut deeper than one of Malcolm Tucker’s tirades in “The Thick of It”. Foolishly I’d left my hat, gloves and long sleeved top at home (what was I thinking?!?). […]
With this race counting for both the club championship and the winter handicap, there was an impressive Bella turnout of 24 guys and 9 ladies. After a (mostly) straightforward distribution of race numbers up at the yacht club, and me recieving lots of envious comments about my fancy new Bella tracksuit (buy one here: https://www.bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk/the-club/club-kit/), and some not so envious comments about the colour of my ridiculous new race shoes, the migration to the start area began. A stiff breeze meant that the normally flat and fast course was likely to be a bit more tricky than usual. Everyone was shivering on the start line, subtly looking around for someone suitably large to hide behind in the wind, and simultaneously realising that unfortunately they were surrounded by scrawny club runners. Oh dear! After a lap-and-a-half of Battery Park we were out on the road and up the one slight hill and down past the yacht club and onto the esplanade. The waves suggested the wind was at our backs to carry us (although I didn’t feel it myself) down to the turn point. So it was round the lone high-viz jacketed marshal who was acting as the human turn point, and back into the wind It looked like there were some pretty serious battles going on at the faster end of the race, with an extra-fast field this year from all over Scotland (well, a few folk came through from Edinburgh). And it turns out Callum Hawkins set a new course record in a staggering 23.58. After the world’s longest raffle (seriously, did anyone who bought a ticket NOT win anything!?) it was time for the prize giving. Inverclyde MP (that means’ Member of Parliament’, not ‘Marathon Pace’…) Ian McKenzie was there to dish out the prizes, not before taking a good ribbing from the race organisers about how sh*t he is at running. Anyway, little did team Bella know, untold bounty was headed their way…. Ladies: Carla was 2nd in the ladies race, and Katie won a gold medal for 1st place FV40, with Mary Senior hot on her heels taking the silver for 2nd FV40. 2nd team prize (Carla Molinaro, Katie Mathieson and Louise Ross) Men: 3rd team prize (Craig Reid, Bruce Carse, Bruce Carmichael, Iain Burns, Russell Whittington and Grant MacDonald) There may well some male vets prizes to follow too, but Bella club captains were severely reprimanded for not filling in the entry forms properly with age group categories. It sounds like there were PBs galore in some tricky conditions which is great to see. Your captains are proud, well done folks! Bruce