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
Yearly archives: 2014
Before sitting down to write some thoughts on my race I had a little read over some blogs from this years race and I think no one summed up the experience more accurately than Mimi Anderson who declared “shit that was hard”. I don’t think anyone who took part in the race would disagree with that. If you can’t be bothered reading on that should be your take home message But for the rest of you, a bit of background: the Spine Race is a 268 mile non stop race along the entire length of the Pennine way. In January. For those who don’t want to spend the next 3 months recovering they also offer a shorter race: the Spine Challenger- a 108 mile race from Edale to Hawes. Exactly the same route as the Spine race, you just get the luxury of finishing at checkpoint 2 instead of pushing on to Kirk Yetholm. I like a long run but 268 miles is pushing it a bit so I went for the more sensible 108 mile Challenger option. Me and Elsie travelled down the day before, staying at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Inn, which sounds delightful but was a bit shit. Thin walls and neighbours having a lively bit of rumpy pumpy didn’t make for the most restful night. And they wouldn’t give us an early breakfast either, so a quick cup of tea and porridge in a pot it was before we legged it over to Edale for an 8am start. The weather forecast had promised a dry day, so inevitably as we gathered on the start line the heavens opened prompting a mad dash in the packs for waterproofs. I had to feel a bit sorry for the optimistic chap in compression shorts when the rain turned to first hail and then snow. The first few hours flew by and were pretty good fun despite the unexpected snow. Navigation was pretty easy at this stage mainly because we could just follow Marcus Scotney’s big Hoka footprints in the snow. In what felt like no time we were at Torside reservoir, where I was told Marcus was going well and was 10minutes ahead in the lead. I decided I wasn’t going to try and hang on at that pace and stopped to sort out my feet which were already very wet and were getting a few hot spots. The field started to spread out at this stage and I was mainly on my own. Things were going well until I had a lapse of concentration on Castleshaw Moor where I missed a turn and went too far west. I dithered about retracing my steps, but instead decided to take the fell runner approach and straight lined it back to where the Pennine way crossed the road a short way ahead. Probably the wrong decision as I watched Daniel Hendrikson overtake me taking the correct path while I struggled through tussocks and bog getting back on track. I imagined my […]
Looking at the competitors after each of the races at the inaugural East Kilbride Athletics Club Cross Country at Jackton today reminded me of the Asaro Mud Men I met in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (Asaro Mud Men by kahunapulej, on Flickr). To say the going was ‘heavy’ is as much of an understatement as a Lady Gaga costume. On paper it looked like a walk in the park, and as I’m such a fan of a run in the park, I thought I’d give it a go. I took my daughter Joy along as she loves getting muddy and like me, had never tried a Cross Country event before. Arriving just after 1pm we were directed to the overflow car park. An encouraging sign that the event was well attended. We wandered up the farm track and eventually found the rather empty registration area in a sports hall hidden amongst the numerous farm buildings. Despite being met with a curt “Girls over that side”, the organisers thankfully took my word for it that I was male, and that in addition to Joy entering the girls race, I wanted to run in the veteran mens race and I was on the right side after all. With numbers pinned on it was time to make our way to the swamp field where the under eleven boys and girls had just finished. I’ve seen people return from two weeks in Tenerife looking paler than those mud darkened legs and faces. Joy was relishing the challenge ahead at the same time as I was wondering what a crazy idea this was and whether I could get my money back. The under 15 race was about 4km, or two big laps of the course and Joy duly took off, the only non club runner in her category. She really enjoyed the experience – once it was over – and despite finishing towards the back of race is keen to do it again. There were one or two faces I recognised and I was chatting to Stephen Prentice (Bellahouston Harriers) when fellow Bella Peter Goodwin appeared. Bella Hayleigh McCrorie was also on hand to provide support for the Bellas (and her other half running for Shettleston), which was very much appreciated. Having seen the state of the course, I resolved it was a day to try and simply get round safely and leave the PB for another day. At 4 laps and just over 5 miles I was certain I’d bitten off more than I could chew. My enthusiasm had triumphed over my inexperience to get me there, but then done a runner at the first sign of adversity. At least the weather was fine. Although pouring in the morning it had brightened up with warm winter sunshine taking the edge off the January chill. Ideal conditions for running. Ideal for running in a park that is, and I’d decided that whatever this was, it wasn’t a park. We lined up at […]
Firstly thank you to everyone for all of your support pre and post the race it was really appreciated! About a week after racing at the West Districts XC Race Bruce sent me an awesome email to say that I had been selected to race for West Scotland at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International and Scottish Inter-District Cross Country Race in Edinburgh. I don’t think it had really sunk in what level I would be racing at until I turned up in Edinburgh on a very chilly Saturday morning! As I arrived at Holyrood Park at 9am on Saturday morning the park was already buzzing with marshals putting barriers out, people warming up and blaring music from Capital FM. When I arrived at the park I started to walk the course I thought one of my ‘friends’ was running towards me as I recognised her, so I gave a cheery wave for it only to register as she passed me a pretty rapid rate that it was in fact Paula Radcliff an idol not a friend! At that moment I think I registered that this race was a pretty big deal. After warming up for about 45minutes with a combination of lunges, monkey squats (don’t ask) and strides I was ready to go. I stood on the start line completely under-dressed with 42 other girls. It was pretty intimidating standing on the start line with so few runners but also really exciting to get your name called out by the commentators as you stepped up to the line. The course entailed 3 x 2km laps that went up shorts sharp hills, along slippery muddy banks and across a couple of small streams. It was a great course and certainly sapping on the legs, as I was warned that it would be. The race was great fun and I loved having my name shouted out at every corner, it would become apparent later that this was because another girl called Karla was one place behind me! After 24minutes of running I finished the race in 26th place, 6th in the West District (beating my previous West District placing by 4 places) absolutely shattered! This was definitely one of the hardest races that I have ever done, I ate 4 Hot Cross buns for dinner because I didn’t have the energy to cook and slept for 12hours straight to prove it! Give me another Ironman any day !
I’ve been planning to do the Aonach Mor Uphill for a few years but have always been put off by bad weather or bad hangovers (or both). With renewed resolve I decided 2013 was going to be the year. I even recce’d the course from the car park on Hogmanay and seeing that the hill was snow-free up to 2000 feet, it had to be ‘Game on’ for the 1st Jan. My first error was not to have checked online – the race has been such a success in recent years that it’s now pre-registration only. I managed to convince the organisers to allow me to follow the race as long as I didn’t cross the finish line. Mental note for next year! At 9 quid including soup and a gondola ride (see later) it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. The race is classified AS, meaning short and steep (4k/610m), and is one of the 3 uphill-only races in Scotland. As far as I’m aware it is also the only hill race that starts at a cafe and finishes at a restaurant (Pine Marten at the bottom, Snow Goose at the top) which on the first of January is a major bonus. As 11am approached, only 3 out of 108 entrants failed to show – pretty impressive stuff given the date. A very brief briefing and we were off. The route follows the World Cup Downhill Mountain Bike course for about 90 percent of the way, avoiding gap jumps and drop offs but seemingly not much else. Anyone who’s ever ridden or spectated at the course will know that the bottom part of the track is fast and steep; mud, rocks and burns keep things interesting, but there’s no escaping from the relentless up hill slog. By now I was somewhere mid-pack, with most around me walk-running up the single track and not much overtaking going on. Half way up, the route emerges from the forest onto the open hill with a mixture of gravel paths and those slatted wooden bike tracks covered in chicken wire. The angle softens a bit here, with a few zig zags and traverses allowing some decent runnable sections. A chilly wind and patches of snow added to the fantastic mountain atmosphere. I was running with my son, and with no race numbers we could take the occasional breather. A nice bonus, as the views northwards across the snow-capped hills to Knoydart were amazing. A last push across the snow line and a sidestep past the finish marshals and we were heading to the Snowgoose for celebratory hot chocolates. For those officially registered, the entry fee includes soup and a roll, a cup of tea and the gondola ride down, a nice way to swap experiences with other runners. One competitor I spoke to was truly inspiring: having partied till 6:30 am, he got a couple of hours sleep before hitching to the start line. Impressive! Winner on the day was Robbie Simpson […]
Spurred on by a tough but thrilling hill debut on Ben Venue a few weeks ago, I decided to have a crack next at the short but steep Dumyat Dash. When Bella hill veteran David Stakes and I set off from Glasgow there was no sign of the forecasted high winds and rain, but then my fave weather app (weather pro HD) had confidently predicted that it wouldn’t appear till EXACTLY 12noon, after the race was over. Great! What could go wrong? Compared to triathlon, pre-race was refreshingly simple: sign the sheet, pay a fiver, read the warning, get your number (pin onto shorts) that’s it. With a jacket and old ski hat in my bumbag, I was all set. After a warm up around Menstrie and quick course recce, we lined up with around 90 hill runners for 11am. A brief briefing, then ‘Ready? Go!’ And we were off. The route kicks up steeply during the first mile, and as we crested the first ridge we got a breathtaking view across the forth valley. We also got a view of the serious-looking rain clouds scudding towards us. By now I was roughly mid-pack, and with the wind at our backs I was feeling good. A quick and hilarious descent through waist-deep bracken led to two burn crossings (I don’t know why I had bothered to try to keep my feet dry) before the climb up to the summit of Dumyat. By this stage the wind and rain were really getting going, and most people were reaching for their jackets (how could my app have got it a whole hour wrong?!) I’d now picked up a few more places, and got my head down for the slog/crawl/heave up the hill in increasingly wild weather. My concentration was broken by the sound of thunder which turned out not to be the weather but the leaders coming down the hill towards us at full pelt. I still can’t get my head round how fast some people descend. I felt a sudden stab of panic that they were so far ahead, which spurred me on to the top. Rounding the cairn with a cheery word from surely the hardiest marshal in Scotland (‘you’re 40th!’), I headed back down into the teeth of the gale. By this stage my woolly ski hat was sodden and had stretched to the size of a baggy jumper. Hurtling downhill, one hand holding it on, eyes half shut against the battering rain, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable, spectacular crash. Hard-won places on the way up were immediately lost. Darn! Back through the burns, followed by an ankle-testing traverse along a muddy sheep trod (cue several more comedic prat falls) and we were back in sight of the village and the sprint to the line. I finished in 64 mins/41st, while the legendary David Strakes (who ran most of it in his Bella vest!) grabbed a PB of 69mins/64th with fellow Bella Ronnie McGavock […]
My first Cross Country encounter… Location:Darrock Park / Gourock Race Type:Cross Country – Individual Distance: 6miles gents / 4miles ladies Start Time 13:40pm for both When Captain Bruce Carse posted on the Forum there was a xc race in Gourock I was interested as the location & start time was appealing. However my race started early Sunday morning at 11.30am at the Bella Ski Centre car park – I’ll explain later. With this being my first xc race, I needed shoes that would over see mud!!! After some intense research I decided to take a trip over to the well stock Achillies Heel and take advantage of the 15% discount card I won / well I always tell myself that I win these cards despite everyone getting them for taking part in certain races. Stephan the shop manager as usual was giving me the best of advice in choosing the appropriate footwear. After trying on several brands inov-8 came up trumps so I eventually went for the Mud Claw 265 size 8.5 – I must point out I did try Spikes, however, felt it was too much of a transition from only ever experiencing Road / Trail Shoes. So I paid for my new xc shoes skipping out the door along Great Western Road down towards Byres Road for a well earned coffee break. I stumbled across Patisserie Francoise, a bakers’ shop serving a selection of bakery products including bread, confectionery and pastries – got lucky and managed to obtain the window seat tucking my new found friends {inov-8 shoes} under the table that will see me eat up the Gourock Mud & anything else it has to throw at me. Feeling like a King sitting on his throne with the best seat in the house watching the Byres Road commuters go about their Saturday afternoon business, my mind started to drift and think about the race which was less than 24 hours away, suddenly my day dreaming was over with a gentle voice with a hint of a French accent looking to take my order. I decided to go for a lovely looking crepe sandwich thing from the menu that had tons of green oils as part of the side food{s} and a grande Cappachino. My heart beating faster as I noticed a guy running by which brought my thoughts back to Gourock.!!! Food and hot drink gone I decided to head home. Once home I took off my Timberlands followed by thick Mountain Socks and decided to wear my new Mud Eating Machines in and around the house with a pair of Inov-8 Trail Socks to break them in – the start of my Tsunami – shoes were too big, it was too late to call the shop, I panicked.!!! After a sleepless night, worrying what I was going to do, I resigned to the fact that I would have to run in my La Sportiva Wildcat 2.0 Trail Shoes and there was no way I was going […]
Saturday saw a impressive squad of 14 guys and 14 ladies from the club made the journey down to Kilmarnock to take part in this in cross country race. It was hosted by Kilmarnock Harriers and registration and changing was at the impressive looking new Ayrshire Athletics Arena.The writing was on the wall for what the course would have in store for us when we saw the state of some of the junior runners who had finished the race, with one or two of them cake head to toe in mud. And one of them doubled over spewing after his race. This was going to be REAL cross country! The ladies were first to experience the mud-fest, with the main highlight(?) being the knee-deep swamp section. It was pretty interesting the first time you negotiated it as you had no idea how deep it was or what was at the bottom. Thankfully there were no nasty surprises lurking in the depths (abandoned shopping trolleys, etc) although the swamp monster did help itself to one of Julia’s shoes. I guess on the plus side, a least there weren’t too many hills. Everyone successfully got round the challenging course, complete with bemused looks from the sheep who’d had to give up their field for the day. And all of you regular race report readers will be happy to hear that Derek Rigmand had taken delivery of his new XC shoes – probably not looking quite so new now though! Bella superstars on the day were Ally Ewen (18th place) and Carla Molinaro (10th place). And yet again the club showed its great strength in depth with a fantastic performance in the team competition with both men’s and ladies team picking up bronze medals against some top class competition. Counters for the ladies: Carla, Romy, Elsie and Louise Ross Counters for the men: Ally, Greig, Ciaran, Bruce, Liam, Grant Well done to everyone who took part, there were some great runs and your captains are proud of your efforts! Next XC race is the big one – the National Championships in Falkirk on Saturday 22nd Feb – so get the date in your diaries. Big thanks to Brian for all his help with transporting and set up of the gazebo. Cheers, Bruce UPDATE: Carla Molinaro has indeed qualified for the Inter-District XC in Edinburgh on Jan 11th. Scottish Athletics confirmed this today.Nice one Carla, we’ll maybe see you on TV!