Six Bella’s headed to Livingston on Saturday, 31 March, for the Scottish Road Relay championships. This is the most important of the road relay events in the running calendar and so it is important for our club to be taking part. Conditions although overcast at first turned into an afternoon of fine weather and excellent for running. The men’s event comprises 6 stages, 3 runners covering a short loop of approximately 3.2 miles and 3 runners covering a longer loop of 5.8 miles. For this sort of race you need a bit of self motivation as, beyond the first runner, you can be heading out on your own without anyone to keep pace. Our team put in a fine performance. We were 22nd out of 46 finishing teams, covering the course in a total time of 2:36:37 Brian O’Donnell 18:59 Bruce Carse 33:45 Rankin Lawther 20:01 Cieran Dougherty 32:55 Gerard Scullion 18:06 Craig Reid 32:51 It’s interesting to note that, last year our first team finished in a time of 2:34:14, just over 2 mins quicker than this year but finished in 8th position out of 43 teams. Entries from some clubs must have been a lot stronger this year. Results Report from Gerry
race report
This is an off-road sprint distance triathlon, (distances are roughly 400m swim/20k bike/5k run) and is aimed at the novice and not-so-serious triathletes (the tone was set by Frazer the race director at the briefing: ‘anyone caught taking this too seriously will have penalty points added’ and ‘activities such as stretching will be frowned upon!’) It’s a very popular event, and with Saturday already full I turned up on a gorgeous sunny highland Sunday morning to race my first tri of the season. The swim took place in the newly refurbished and swanky Lochaber Leisure Centre, where competitors ranged from very accomplished freestylers to more leisurely breaststrokers; heats were run in lanes (none of the usual rough and tumble of open water swim starts) with a very civilised break between swim and bike. Times duly noted, (I finished 14th, 4mins30 behind the fastest swimmer) we got changed and cycled to the bottom of the Glen Nevis road, ready to set off according to our swim times. It is truly agonising to watch 13 cyclists get a head start on you and disappear off into the distance, but over the 20k mix of tarmac, fire road and single track (including a couple of climbs that had me reaching for the granny ring and one white knuckle descent) I managed to catch a few and by the time we got back to transition I was in 6th place. Using my signature move of overtaking one person who was changing her shoes, (I’m not proud of it but it all counts!) I set off back up the Glen, this time on foot. By this time the sun was out and the views were stunning across the Mamores, taking my mind off the akwardness of running straight off the bike. Some ‘interesting’ offroad climbs and a furious forestry descent later, I now found myself in 3rd place with number 2 in sight; with the gentle easterly wind at my back I managed to reel him in slowly and finished in 2nd place, 1st SVet. Congrats to Race leader Martin Steven who won by nearly 5 minutes, and to Saturday’s winner Ewan Thorburn who was over 7 minutes quicker still. Very glad not to have been in that race! Once again, No Fuss conjured up really nice atmosphere, a great course, big medals and bobbly hats. If anyone fancies it, they run another triathlon in September, although it’s slightly more challenging: a 1.9k swim in Loch Lhinne, a 90km offroad bike ride, finishing with a 21k run to the summit of Ben Nevis and back. Details. Go on, you know you want to Report from Hamish
Last Saturday saw the 42nd (I think) running of the classic wintry Carnethy 5 hill race over the scalloped Pentland hills south of Edinburgh. The popularity of the event (it fills up online before it opens) didn’t stop a large squad of nimble fingered southside road runners from entering the event. The race was notable for the quality of the field, the placidity of the weather (the week before we were battered off the hill during a recce) but also for the individual achievements. Whether it was Greig Glendinning dipping under an hour for the first time, Gordon Clements’s remarkable first timer bulldozing run, Grant and Elsie Macdonald’s continued excellent form, Barry ‘the jeggin’ Edwards daring to step on a hill, Sandy ‘hill-lover’ Brindley embracing the hills oncemore or David ’funny-man’ Stakes showing his darkhorseness [add to dictionary], the joy of running was all around us. Whether puffing up hills or charging along roads, running form and fitness are fickle and fleeting; it is on days like these with a tingle in your spine, you know truly that your running days are golden… Report from Chris Results
This short but challenging event was the first of three mixed terrain winter duathlons organised by Fort William based ‘No Fuss’ events. Set in the stunning mountain amphitheatre of Glen Nevis (moved from last year’s Glencoe route due to fallen trees) 84 duathletes turned up on Saturday 14th to do battle on mountain path, fire road and tarmac. The first leg was a short but steep run, (about 4-5k, they’re not sticklers for exact distances) up the single track path towards Sgurr a’Mhaim, followed by a rapid road descent back to transition. The dilemma with an event of this distance is whether it’s worth changing from running shoes to cycling shoes; figuring there may be some ‘technical stuff’ ahead, I decided to stick with the trainers. The 12k-ish bike section followed the fast, undulating road almost to the bottom of the Glen, before hanging a left and climbing back up a forestry road. Most people opted for some sort of mountain bike, but there were some pretty racy looking cyclocross numbers making short work of the dry, hard packed conditions – with thankfully no ‘tricky bits’ to reveal my woeful lack of bike skills. Back at the transition, I managed to overtake a few of those whom had smoked me on the ascent as they struggled to change back into their trainers (always a nice moment, on a longer ride it would have been a very different story!) By this time I was in 7th; with the front three well out of sight, over the same run loop I managed to catch one competitor and squeeze 6th overall/2nd SV. Great result from Inverness triathlon’s Henry Blake, who came first by over 3 minutes. The prize giving took place in the Nevis Centre in Fort William, where podium finishers received giant medals and a bobbly hat, courtesy of Big Bobble hats (http://www.bigbobblehats.co.uk) For anyone looking to try something a bit different, these events are nicely run, low key and friendly, and take place in some truly fantastic parts of Scotland (the second leg of the ‘winter feast’ is in Arisaig http://www.nofussevents.co.uk/event/Win … ries/2759/). As one who mostly runs, the challenge of a bit of mountain biking (and changing shoes against the clock) is quite good fun. Full results at http://www.nofussevents.co.uk/userfiles … %20Nevis(1).csv Report from Hamish
On Saturday I headed through to Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh to compete in the Great Winter Run 5k and then watch a feast of top quality Cross Country action with Kenenisa Bekele topping the bill. The 5k started on the road next to Arthur’s Seat went uphill for two kilometers, levelled out for one and then back downhill for two. The first kilometre was sheltered and I found myself out in front. We were then met by a fairly strong headwind and I held onto the lead until two kilometres. At that point Adam Priestley from Corstorphine AAC and Sean Gaffney from Inverclyde AC both came past me and then got about 50 metres ahead. I was feeling tired, but dug in and hoped for the best. At about 3.5k I caught Sean and moved back into second place. At 4k I passed Adam and had the amazing feeling of only having the pace car and 1k of running between me and a win. I managed to hold on and for the first time in my life had the incredible feeling of breaking the tape at a race. Neil Thin of Edinburgh AC came through to take second place. My split times should give a flavour of how hilly the course was. The first mile was run in 6:03, the second in 5:52 the third in 4:49 and the last 0.1 mile in 4:52 pace. The third mile was the first time that I have broken five minutes for the mile. After the race I met up with Stewart Roberston and Bryan Burnett to watch the cross country. It was very entertaining and we witnessed the race event of Bekele being outshone in a cross country. To finish of the perfect day after the races had finished we headed to The Royal Mile for a few beers. Report from Russell
Dawsholm Park was the venue for the Glasgow Uni 5 miler on Saturday, 3 December. Things weren’t looking too good, as after registering and getting changed I found the entrance foyer of the sports complex jam packed with apprehensive looking runners sheltering from the cold, wet and windy conditions. Luckily the rain stopped for long enough to get out for a quick warm up before heading to the start line. I had been warned before the race to get a fast start as there was a bottleneck at a gate near the start, but it seemed that this year they managed to get the gates open fully and slapped some wood over the cattle grid, so no problems there. After a steady climb for the first 500m we got a nice downhill section which led us through the forecourt of a car was (where we had to dodge some hosepipes!), then it flattened out a bit til we descended into Dawsholm park. Things got a bit muddy through here, and we were then faced with a beast of a hill to climb back out to Maryhill Road, back into the sports complex and then had to do it all again for lap 2, at which point the rain decided to start lashing down again. This was a pretty tough race, so there weren’t many PBs, but it gave us all a good workout. Good spread of cakes afterwards too. The race was won by Thomas Fay of Shettleston Harriers in an impressive 25.14. First Bella home was Kieran Docherty. Full results using link below: http://www.haresandhounds.com/roadrace.php Thanks to Bruce for providing this report.
Craig Reid sent in this report from last Saturday’s Glen Ogle Ultra marathon. Saturday 5th November saw the first running of the Glen Ogle Ultra Marathon. The 33 mile out and back route started in Strathyre at 8am and followed a scenic route towards Killin. Weather conditions were perfect on Saturday morning and over 120 runners lined up at the start line. Due to the larger than expected field the route had to be cut to around 31 miles. I started at the back of the pack as I didnt want to set off too fast. The first 6 miles or so were very hilly and so it was difficult to get into a steady rythm. As I moved up through the field I met fellow Bella runner, Rebecca Jonson who was also doing the race. Miles 6 – 10 were very gradual and took us up through the glen and over the viaduct to the second checkpoint. My legs felt fresh and after stopping for water I pressed on. Miles 10 – 18 were through the forest on a mixture of paths and trails. By this point I was completely on my own and was making good time on the paths. By mile 14 I hit a massive hill and actually had to stop and walk up it as my legs ached. This left me feeling full of doubt as I wasnt even halfway round and I was walking already, I began to wonder if I would even finish. Thankfully that was the worst uphill section and once I got to the top I soon got back to running and returned to the 18 mile checkpoint. At 18 miles I took my first energy gel even though my legs were still feeling surprisingly good (apart from on that one big hill). I decided to try and run nice and steadily to the last checkpoint at 25 miles but the route was slightly downhill at this point and everytime I looked at my watch I was hitting between 6:30 and 7 mins per mile. At 24 miles I managed to catch another runner. He told me I was looking good and that the other guys werent far ahead so if I pushed on I could catch them. I thought at this point I was maybe in the top 20 or so but this runner informed me that by overtaking him I was now 5th! At mile 25 I got to the last checkpoint. Unfortunately this was where I had left my drop bag so I would have to do the last 6 miles with a rucksack on my back. I wasted a couple of mins trying to find my last energy gel and bottle of lucozade and set of again. The last section was on road and by mile 27 I had caught the 4th place runner and could see 3rd a few hundred yards up the road. Somehow my legs still felt good and I was battering out 6:45 […]
Grant MacDonald sent in this excellent race report from this year’s running of the Clyde Stride 40 mile ultra marathon: I had been toying with the idea of an ultramarathon this year so when I found out there was one that started a few yards from my front door I thought it would be rude not to really. So, the Clyde Stride. A 40 mile jaunt from Partick train station to the slightly more scenic New Lanark via the not very well signposted Clyde walkway. About 100 of us gathered at the back of the train station and were set off running down the clyde battling against confused cyclists and dogs coming in the other direction. The 1st section goes along the clyde towards Glasgow Green and it was here I passed a few Bellas running in the opposite direction on their Saturday morning run, strangely none of them were tempted to turn around and join me. Otherwise it was an uneventful and almost pleasant run to the 1st checkpoint at Cambuslang. I shoved a banana down my gob and continued along the 2nd section towards Strathclyde Park. This section is mostly offroad trails and was a bit of a relief after pounding the tarmac. The only shock during this section was coming out of miles of serene woodland and suddenly finding yourself having to cross a massive roundabout with no marshals for assistance. After giving myself a pat on the back for not getting runover by a massive lorry I trundled on to the 2nd checkpoint where Elsie was helpfuly waiting to load me up with sugary things before shoving me in the direction of strathclyde park. The race then follows the river through Barons Haugh Nature Reserve. It was around this point I suddenly heard the friendly voice of Matt W (who was doing the race in a relay team) say hello. Not someone I would normally expect to see at this stage in a race. He kindly slowed down for a chat before effortlessly bounding off into the distance. At this point I was still feeling really good and wondering how long it would last. The answer to that question was about 3 more miles. As I came into the final checkpoint i started to feel a bit sick and was starting to bonk a bit too. I tried to shove some food down me for the last 12 mile hilly section but was really struggling to swallow anything. I shuffled onwards and was confronted by a near verticle series of steps. At this point the most rational thing to do seemed to be to lie down and have a good cry, but probably due to dehydration the tears wouldn’t come so I had to carry on. After a seemingly endless series of ups and downs I eventually came into New Lanark, but here the race has a sting in the tail. Just when you think you are finished you are diverted back into the woods for […]
Elsie Downham ventured a bit further afield to our usual race reports… I thought I would write up my latest (and now not so recent) racing experience as it was a bit different and very fun. And muddy. On 18th September I went to Norway to run an off-road/x-country/hilly half marathon race. I have a friend living in Oslo who told me about the event and twisted my arm to enter it back in the spring when running in the Norwegian hills for 13.1 miles seemed like a good plan. The race is famous amongst Norwegians, and they are very proud that 8000 people run it each year (given that the Norwegian population stands at only about 7 million, I guess this is quite an achievement!)So, the race is called, take a deep breath, the Birkebeinerløpet and takes place just outside of Lillehammer (a 2.5 hour train journey north of Oslo). There is a website to visit which has information about the race I did, as well as other running events (on the same day there is the Halvbirken, 11km and the Ultrabirken, 73km) and cycling and skiing races which take part at the same location http://www.birkebeiner.no/ – you can translate the page to English if your Norwegian is a bit rusty I flew to Oslo on the Friday. We woke up very early on Saturday morning for porridge and sandwich making (Norway is super expensive so you always need to make sure you have a good food supply on you so as not to blow your credit card on a banana (£1.59 I paid for ONE banana on the morning of the race, not amused). We then got on a train (nice trains in Norway) to Lillehammer with lots of other runners. There was a very complex but well organised system for leaving your bags at the finish (the stadium in Lillehammer), and for dropping any extra layers just before the start which were then shipped back to the finish for you. We were then bussed up the mountain to the start at Sjusjøen, just less than 900m above sea level. It was cold when we got off the bus, and being a true northerner I’d already stripped down to my shorts. Lots of funny looks from sensible Norwegians in full length tights, long sleeves, hats and gloves. What a bunch of wusses! I was very glad to be sporting my new INOV8 Mudclaws – lots of boggy and muddy sections, very steep downhills, rocky and rooty singletrack, and some sneaky uphills too. I managed to more or less stick to a 5 minute kilometre pace and finished the race in 1hr48min28sec, which they seemed to think put me above average for my age group and I got a small silver cup (average finishing time for women aged 25-29 was 1hr59min02sec). There was a good spread for race finishers – soup, bread, cinnamon buns, bananas, and even showers!So, all in all a long way to go for a race, but I’d […]
After last year’s gale force winds, the weather gods were slightly kinder to the 95 runners at the Bella Ben Venue Hill Race today, with a torrential downpour on the start line and only 30mph winds on the ridge to contend with.But the weather did not stop some fast racing, with the lead changing hands many times between the top group before Matt Sullivan (Shettleston) & Peter Devenport (Bellahouston) used local knowledge for a good line on the final downhill on the open hillside from the ridge into Gleann Riabhach, and managed to pull away from the others. Matt held off Peter to win in a time of 1 hour 10 mins for the 8 mile course, but if Peter had not been forced to stop and tie a shoe lace in the run-in, the finish could have been even tighter. Finishing close behind this pair were the Shettleston duo, Tom Owens and Jethro Lennox.In the ladies competition, Jacqui Higginbottom (Carnethy) used her speed (& long legs) on the steep trail section to overcome Shona Robertson of Westies, while Ellie Homewood, also of Westies finished in third.In a tightly fought male vet race, the eventual winner was Bruce Smith (Carnethy) from Will Manners (Strathearn) and Alan Gilkison (Westerlands). In the ladies vet competition Fabienne Thompson of Carnegie held off the Carnethy pair, Joanne Anderson & Joan Wilson.The teams prizes were split to the east & west of the country, with Shettleston winning the men’s (Matt Sullivan, Tom Owens, Jethro Lennox) and Carnethy winning the ladies (Jacqui Higginbottom, Fiona McKinnon & Joanne Anderson).Being a new race, not everyone took the optimum route today, and I’m sure everyone knows of places where they can shave off a few seconds in the big race next year, but spare a thought for the runner who took a very non-optimum route, and ended up at Kinlochard, resulting in a 12 mile taxi ride back to the finish!Ben Venue is one of the SHR championship races in 2011, so with this being the first race over the full course, we are keen to learn from your experience, so please send any comments or suggestions for improvement to benvenue@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.ukThe race doubles as a fundraiser for the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, so many thanks to all the runners, marshalls & helpers who helped raise £500 for team funds.Hope to see you all next year! Results available as either a PDF (link) or Excel (link)
Sunday 8th August was a fine day for the Achilles Heel Bella 5k race, with the sun making a pleasant appearance for the first time in a while.152 runners took part in the event, 35 from the host club Bella Road Runners. Achilies Heel Bella 5k Results 2010Winning the mens race in fine style was Paul Sorrie from Shettleston Harriers in an excellent time of 14:59, a new course record. Eilis McKechanie from HBT won the womens’ race in an equally impressive time of 18 mins. Paul was followed by David Millar, Irvine AC who took the M40 prize and third was Bella’s own Kenny Richmond. In the ladies race Garscube Harriers runners Lesley Chisholm and Kirsty Husband took second and third place respectively and Lesley first FV35.First Male Team prize went to Bella Road Runners: Kenny Richmond, Ciaran Dougherty and Craig Ross. First Female Team was Garscube: Lesley Chisholm, Kirsty Husband and Jill O’Neil.A fine selection of food was on offer after the race in the Palace of Art for runners and helpers to savour and enjoy the excellent sunshine. Many thanks to all of the volunteers who helped provide such excellent support to the event. Photos will follow soon. Thanks to Gerry Scullion for the race report!
Bellahouston Road Runners was well represented at the annual National Cross Country Relays, in Cumbernauld. Out of 100 men’s senior teams (plus 20 part teams) and 63 women’s senior teams (plus 11 part teams), we fielded a whopping five men’s teams, and two women’s teams. The rain kept away for the duration of the races and the Bella Brollies (this years prize for completing the club championship) were in attendance, but not required until the post race walk back to Cumbernauld High School. With the conditions so much better than last year there were PBs aplenty as the purple posse put in some credible performances. Emma and Matt recorded the fastest Bella times and Club Captains Jane and Brian did a sterling job but everyone did well in a great turn out from the club. Women’s13 Bellahouston RR “A” Claire Thompson 17 17:18 17:18Emma Birnie 10 16:52 34:10 Jane Simpson 13 17:20 51:30 42 Bellahouston RR “B” (V) Jane Wild 57 20:20 20:20Jacqueline McGuire 50 20:10 40:30Julia Harris 42 19:21 59:51 Men’s19 Bellahouston RR “A” Alasdair McLeod 39 14:58 14:58Marcos Sanz Gomez 34 15:26 30:24Matthew Williamson 28 14:41 45:05Liam Conway 19 14:55 1:00:00 31 Bellahouston RR “B”Neil Farnell 44 15:10 15:10*Grant Edmondson 40 15:36 30:46 Craig Ross 34 15:08 45:54Russell Whittington 31 15:16 1:01:10 48 Bellahouston RR “C“Brian O’Donnell 60 15:55 15:55David Weatherhead 51 15:53 31:48Andrew Birnie 47 15:54 47:42Brendan Moriarty 48 16:08 1:03:50 77 Bellahouston RR “D” *Peter Goodwin 76 16:34 16:34Robert McEwan 70 16:29 33:03Ewan McDonald 78 18:31 51:34Ian Goudie 77 18:49 1:10:23 Bellahouston RR “E“Norman Boyle 118 19:53 19:53Douglas MacGregor 114 20:46 40:39Mike Devlin 105 23:09 1:03:48 Thanks to Ian for the race report, and well done to all the participants. Full results available at the Scottish Athletics website.
As the day wore on, and the clouds got lower & lower, Bella emerged as top Scottish team (& 11th overall) in this years British Fell/Hill Relay Championships at Kirkland Leaps in West Cumbria on Sun 18th Oct. The championships are a 4 leg relay with legs 1 & 4 run as solo, and 2 & 3 run as pairs. Maps & checkpoints for Legs 1,2 & 4 were provided beforehand which allowed us to run the routes on the Saturday (in beautiful sunshine!) to find the best lines & identify some landmarks. Leg 3 is the navigation leg, with map supplied 500m after the leg start, so with 20 metre visibility adding to the joys of the deep bogs, high heather & tussocks it was a real test. In total 7 Scottish clubs entered teams making up a total field of 148 teams. The teams consisted of some of the top hill runners, road runners & triathletes in Britain. But fast runners don’t always know where they are going, resulting in drama at the end when the top 3 clubs were disqualified for missing a checkpoint on the last leg. But no such drama for the 2 Bella teams, as everyone climbed well, descended well & navigated (almost) flawlessly. The boys team are still kicking ourselves, missing out on a top 10 spot, with slight navigation errors on legs 3 & 4. But thats what will have us going back for another shot next year, in the Lomonds of Fife. A final mention for the best sprint finish of the day has to go to Stuart on the last leg for the Mixed Team, after flying down the final steep descent, crossing the field and lunging for the electronic dipper box on the line. The photo evidence shows the monumental effort – and the Race Face Award for 2009/10 is already closed! I cannot recommend these events highly enough, the sense of team spirit is 2nd to none, and the bad weather only added to the fun and to the decibel level of the supporting Bella team members. The Devils Burden Hill Relay at the end of January uses a similar format, and your next chance to come along to an event like this, go on, you know you want to…. Representing Bella were: Bella Boys Team (11th) – 1. Matt, 2. Mark/Marcos, 3. Andy/Dougal, 4. Kenny Bella Mixed Team (73rd) – 1. Katie, 2. Brendan/Davie, 3. Emma/Dave, 4. Stuart Full results here: http://www.sportident.co.uk/results/2009/BritishFellRelay/BritishFell&HillRelay2009Results.pdf Cheers to Andy Birnie for the Race Report
Bella were, as ever, well represented at parkrun. The weekend saw the 44th running of the Glasgow parkrun event, and the first running of the Edinburgh parkrun. A great day for the Bella Posse at the Glasgow parkrun today, Sat Oct 17. Scott Kennedy who seems to have caught the parkrun bug, in between running marathons, took a further 8 seconds off of last week’s course PB to finish third in 17:44. Jane Simpson continued the fine form which made her Bella Member of the Month by going one better than her second place last week to win the women’s event in 19:30, taken a further 24 secs off of last week’s course PB! Club President Robert McEwan retained his place as best age grade %, by achieving 79.01% with a time of 19:08. Bruce Carse also earned a new PB and John Sandbach and Sandra Houldsworth both took part in the Pollok Park event with excellent first runs. Position Athlete Sex Run Time Age Grading % Age Category Personal Best 3 Scott KENNEDY M 17:44 76.41% SM35-39 New PB 5 Bruce CARSE M 18:15 70.87% SM30-34 New PB 10 Al MACLACHLAN M 18:42 78.88% VM50-54 13 Robert MCEWAN M 19:08 79.01% VM50-54 16 Jane SIMPSON F 19:30 75.90% SW30-34 New PB 45 John SANDBACH M 21:45 64.67% VM40-44 1st run 53 Linda KENNEDY F 22:01 69.19% VW35-39 66 Murdoch RODGERS M 22:49 69.69% VM55-59 80 Sandra HOULDSWORTH F 23:58 61.89% SW30-34 1st run Last week’s winner Carnegie Harrier Andrew WRIGHT was the first athlete across the finish line today. He completed the course in 15:49 and posted an age grade score of 83.35%. A total of 193 runners completed the course. Over in Edinburgh: Some 204 runners completed the inaugural Edinburgh parkrun in a Baltic, sunny and surprisingly wind free Cramond foreshore…………. and of course Bellahouston Road Runners were represented at the historical event. Strong performances from Richard Leyton and myself earned us both all time PBs. Richard took 16 seconds off of his best 5k time to finish in 48th position in 20:43, an age grade % of 64:04%. I proudly displayed my Bella vest as I finished four places ahead, in 44th place with a time of 20:19 (wava 73.75 %) some 19 seconds better than my previous best 5k time. Running legend Neil Renault (Edinburgh AC) led from the start and was first over the line in a time of 14:59, an age grade of 86.1% and in a day when loads of cyclists and triathletes took part, it was fitting that the first woman home was Rachel Ramsay of Edinburgh Road Club who completed the course in 20:48, 71.31%. Thanks to Ian Goudie for the race reports, and a huge thanks to the teams of volunteers that made both the Glasgow and Edinburgh parkrun events such a success on Saturday.
Great report on the recent Melbourne marathon, from Alan Scott, proving that Bellahouston Road Runners is a club with a decent range! Perfect conditions for the marathon at 7am this morning. We started next to the Rod Laver Tennis Arena (home to the Australian Open) and headed up and into the city centre before heading south along St Kilda Road. We then turned into Albert Park to complete a circuit of the Melbourne Grand Prix Course. I had set off with the 3hr 30min pace runners but from here found myself gaining on the 3hr 20min bus as we headed north along the bayside. Sally was perfectly placed to give me my second gel and we headed out to the furthest point of the course. I then started to pull away from the 3hr 20min mob, a mistake as I would later learn. Round about the 30km mark we merged with the slower participants in the half marathon. We then spent the next 10/15 mins weaving through them. The two groups briefly seperated as the marathoners headed up the only ‘hill’ on the course alongside the Tan (think Melbourne’s equivalent of Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park, London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park or Tokyo’s Imperial Palace). At this point I was struggling and was swiftly passed by the 3hr 20m guys. But from here it was less than 4km to the finish at the MCG where we had to enter the stadium and complete a lap on the hallowed turf. According to my watch I managed to duck just under 3hr 21mins, much quicker than I had ever imagined and almost 35mins knocked off my previous PB. With such perfect weather conditions I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone. Alan