Cumbernauld 10k 2016

On Sunday 18th September, I ran the 10th Cumbernaudl 10k.  Today is 26th October so I am cathing up with my blog updates!

This is the second time I have ran this race, the first being two years ago and reported in this very blog.  Big thanks to my sister, Kirsty for entering Kata and I into this race, and to Kirsty and her husband, Scott for looking after Ruby while Kata and I got to run.

 

3 Runners 

As before the race started at Broadwood Stadium, home of Clyde FC and Cumbernauld Colts.  It's a medium/large sized race with I believe 800 starters this year.  

We set off out of the stadium, to the refrain of a pipe band.  Cumbernauld certainly puts a lot of effort into this race adn it is very much appreciated.  There are pace makers, but I noticed that the fastest pace maker was 45 minutes - I suppose if you are plannig on being faster than that, you don't need a pace maker?  My plan was basically to stay ahead of the 45 minute guy.

The start of the race takes you out into an Industrial Estate and past the Irn Bru factory.  At about 3km there is a long steep hill whihc is pretty much the only hill of any significance on the course, although the rest of the course is "undulating".  Kata, who normally hates undulating, actually said later that she enjoyed that aspect this time around.          

While Kata and I were running, Kirsty and Scott were completing the Victory Mile with Ruby. As far as I can establish, the Victoy Mile is a way for people of all abilities to take part in the 10k day.  I beleive Ruby was carried around and was a minor celebrity.  She got her first ever race number and medal.  So proud :-)

 Baby Sitters and Victory Mile Runners

The course is good and the support when you come back into the housing estate is fantastic.  I received the usual shout of "HBT" in support from an apparent stranger.  It's remarkable how will recognised and suported our little (World Famous) club is.  The loch section becomes trail for a while, and is narrow.  This isn't a problem because we are about 8km into the race by now and the pack is spread well out.  One complaint here, at 8km a marshal shouted "Nearly there".  No am bl**dy not!!!  Nothing is more annoying for runners.  Nothing.  I don't want to hear "Nearly there" unless it is 9.6km into the race and I am back in Broadwood Stadium!  Seriously.   

I can remember glancing over my shoulder and seeing teh 45 minute pacemaker not as far behind me as I'd hoped.  It helped push me on.  I crossed the line (running back into a stadium at the end of a race, even if it's Clyde's stadium, makes you feel like a hero) and went stright to look for my family.  I found them sitting on the grass playing happily.  I immediately gathered everyone together and went to cheer Kata home.  She appeared a lot sooner than she had lead us to expect, and we made sure that everyone (including Ruby) gave her a big cheer.

 Ruby looks suitably unimpressed. 

I finished in 43:59 which I was quite happy with.  I notice that two years ago when I ran the same race, I finished EXACTLY 1 minute faster in 42:59.  I was pretty speedy back then though and in better shape.  I remember it was the first 10k in ages where I hadn't recorded a PB.  Despite being nowhere near a PB, I really enjoyed the race.  Big thanks to the organisers, and especially to Kirsty for entering us in the race. 

Here's the link to my Garmin record of the race. 

And here are the results.

START!!!  I'm front and center, Kata is on the left about 2/3 up.

Seven Hills of Edinburgh Race

On Sunday 26th June I ran the Seven Hills of Edinburgh Race (today is 28th September so I'll try my best to remember the race).

 

Brown Out - Ruby wondering what on earth is going on.

Kata drove me (and Ruby) to Calton Hill where the race started.  There was a big turn out from HBT - hill runing and Edinburgh are two of HBT's favourite things.  The weather was ideal - cool and overcast.  There was quite a bit of waiting at the start as the Challenge part of the event set off 30 minutes ahead of The Race.  I didn't mind at all - there were plenty of club mates there to pass the time with.  

 

And we're off!   

The Challenge got underway at  09:45 and after cheering them on their merry way, the race started at 10:15.  On the command of the starter pistol, we ran accross the grass on out way down from Calton Hill and on to the first check point at the top of The Esplanade (Edinburgh Castle).  There were some odd looks and laughs from tourists as we pegged it up the hill to the castle.  Having never ran this race before or anything like it, I was surprised at the top to find at the checkpoint a number of hole punch type things attached to string.  You were responsible for punching your own race number to prove you'd reached this check point, and then you were good to go again.  As an aside, no one ever checked my number, but i suppose they weren't interested in the "also-rans", only the winners. 

 

123 

 

 

Proof if it were needed that I reached 6 check points on my way to the finish.

Leaving the castle, I experienced the first doubt.  Iturned right and headed towards Corstorphine Hill via Princes St Gardens.  SOme othres went Left via (presumably) Grass Market?  Had I gone the right way?  Who knows?  This race is as much about finding a route as it is about running and running up hills.  There are decisions to be made.  Do you take the direct and steeper (possibly middly and slippy) route, or the easier but longer route?  It doens't matter so long as you reach all 7 check points and in the right order.  I noticed a few times that a runner beside me would go a different way from me at a turning, only to re-appear next to me again in about 5 minutes.  

Corstorphine Hill I can't remember much about.  It's a steep hill with some trail sections but it was early in the race and was quite enjoyable.  I stamped my race number and ran on to Craiglochart.  

There is a long road section to Craiglockart, with busy traffic to be negotiated.  It's a tough section.  I passed my first runners who were running The Challenge on my way, just near to The Corn Exchange.  Craiglockart does have a steep, muddy section that required hands and knees to ascend, but it was quite fun and all was going well.  I stamped my race number and ran on to The Braids.

The Braids is a great place to run.  I have ran The Braids in a Cross Country race. I have ran it for trainign with HBT, and I have ran it for te pure fun of it.  It's scenic, and hilly.  At least I knew what to expect at every point and knew where I could push hard.  Race number stamped, I ran off to Blackford Hill. 

#

Looking intense

Blackford Hill I have also ran in trainign and for laughs.  It is steep.  I was a mess by the time I reached the top.  Ther are stairs at one point, but I am not sure if they are better or worse then just runnign up the grassy hill.  In this instance I did take the stairs.  There was a huge turn out of supported from HBT at the top which was fantastic, and gave me gosse bumps.  I was cheered on and the adrenaline surge give me a boost which also sent be slightly the wrong way!  I was tired, and excited, and went the wrong way.  Oops.  I fixed my mistake quickly and headed off to Arthur's Seat, the penultimate hill.  I coudl see both Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill from where I was at this point, and frankly, I have to say, they looked pretty far away!

 

  

Looking tired.  Thansk HBT for the support at the top of Blackford Hill. 

I ran towards Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat.  I met my friend and fellow runner, Kate at a water statin there.  She mentioned something about finishing in an hour, and I thought to myself, "No way is at nearly as much as an hour from here to the end".  Ha!  Arthur's Seat was one of the worst experiences of my life.  The uphill was agony.  Torture.  Who decided that this was the second last hill on the course (basically the last, Calton Hill is a 'bump')?  Sadists!  My everythng ached and the sun was properly out at this time so it was hot too.  I passed HBT club mate Michael on the way up who was running The Challenge with his girlfriend, Fiona.  I'm afraid to say I took some comfort from the fact that they looked as miserable as me.  I just kept thinking to myself tht once I got to the top, I was basically done.  It was downhill and a short(ish) run to Calton Hill which wasn't really that much of a hill and was all on tarmac.  Wrong again.  The agony of the uphill paled in comparission to the agony of te downhill.  My knees!  Oh God, my knees!  I remember thinking I was too old for this sort of nonsense.  Coming out of Holyrood Park and crossing the road at the bottom of The Royal Mile, I ran half way accross the road adn stopped for traffic, a guy in a car shouted at me out of his window "WHAT ARE PAVEMENTS FOR?!"  My temper frayed, my response probably wasn't wise given that if he had decided to up the ante, I had no energy to run away!    

I finally made my way up Calton Hill and crossed the finish line in 2:33:33.  127th out of 165 finishers (presumably 35 DNF) isn't great, but it was a strong field, I am not a hill runner, and my time was decent.  I was quite pleased.  I definitely consider this my time to beat and I woudl love to try agian next year.  It was hard.  Very hard.  But it was great fun and a great achievement.  

Here are the official race results. 

Best.  Supporters.  Ever.  

Allermuir Gallop and Rigg Race

Allermuir Gallop and Rigg Race

An update on a couple of races I have ran recently.  First of all, The Allermuir Gallop.

The Allermuir Gallop - Thursday 12th May 2016

 

This is a hill race in the Pentlands and is organised by one of my club mates, Ian Campbell.  Very low key, and entry is by donation to Ian’s charity of choice, which this year helped to build a school in Guatemala.  

The weather was perfect, and the race was short, steep, and challenging.  As any reader of this blog knows, I am not a hill runner, and so I struggled.  Every single time I run a hill race, I swear to myself that I am “never doing this again” but, inevitably, I do.  My Garmin tells me that I ran 4.34km in 6:46, but it’s worth mentioning that the majority of that is uphill.  The race route is about 2/3 uphill and 1/3 back down again.  Elevation gain was 319m. 

Here are the Garmin stats…

And here are the results…

I was beaten to the top by most people, but managed to pass a few again on the way back down (unusual for me).  One incident worthy of a mention is that in order to pass fellow HBT runner Amy,  I had to go slightly back uphill on a sort of mound, then back down again because the path was too narrow to pass her otherwise.  As I went by her she said something to me that sounded a bit like, “You cheeky bar steward!”.  I must ask her what she meant.

Rigg Race

Brilliant race.  Loved, loved, loved this race.  Loved it.  Straight into my all time favourite races, and I am already looking forward to next year’s. 

Again, in the Pentlands, starting from Balerno, ostensibly a  road race, but extremely hilly.  You might say “undulating”, but you’d be stretching the definition of that word to it’s limit.  I had no idea about the race at all beforehand, only deciding to run it at the last minute, and I couldn’t find any information about it on the website of the organising club, Harmeny.  I took with me my road, trail, and fell shoes.  What I forgot was my wallet, so thanks very much to Jon Rathjen for paying my entry. 

According to my Garmin, I ran 9.41km in 42:26 which I am very please with given how “undulating” it was.  Check out this graph sowing how uphill then back down it was.  Before the race, the aforementioned Amy suggested ‘d probably beat her to the top of the hill easily.  I wasn’t so sure, and to be fair, although I did (just) reach the top before her, it wasn’t easy.  I think I passed her with about 200m to go before the top, and as I passed I did mention to her that she had been right.  The downhill was like dropping off a cliff.  I pegged it with my maximum pegginess, trying to keep my balance as I ran the steep downhill at pace.  At the end, my right heel was BURNING – I had to take my shoes and sock off and put my heel in the cool mud to let it recover. 

The weather was great, the scenery was fantastic (great view of the Pentlands), friendly race ran by mainly club runners with a few locals thrown in, and cheap beer in the rugby club bar afterwards. 

Here are the results, and the Garmin stats…  

Running with Ruby and Kata

We bought a running buggy.  This is the 4^th buggy/pram/stroller/whatever that Ruby has had, which is slightly ridiculous, but this is the first one that I have taken for a 6 mile run.

 

The Baby Jogger XC, Kata, and Ruby

 

We decided on the Baby Jogger XC, predominantly because Kata’s friend and fellow HBT runner, Fiona, was selling hers – so we bought it.  Running with a buggy and an 8kg baby is surprisingly difficult.  I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me how hard it would be, but it’s hard.  Really hard.  I am sure it’ll get easier with practice.  We took it out for a run around Inverleith Park for our first family run, and it was great.  It’s the first time Kata has been running at all since… ages (weeks before Ruby was born) and it was really great to get out with her – she’s responsible for me running in the first place.  Ruby didn’t seem to notice we were running.  The trail around the park is covered in rocks and tree roots, but the suspension on the Baby Jogger XC is fantastic and Ruby even had the audacity to FALL ASLEEP!!! 

 

Wheeeeeee!!!!!

I took our daughter and our new rung buggy out for a longer run the following weekend.  It went well and at the moment every run with a buggy is a learning experience.  I took her down to the cycle path because it would be quieter, wider, and there are no roads to cross.  In order to get there, I had to run the first 3km or so on pavement which is useless.  You just can’t run with  a buggy in a busy city centre.  It’s like trying to ski down Oxford Street.  Pedestrians and roads to cross made progress slow but once we reached the cycle path it was great.  I received a few smiles and waves from other runners and walkers, one girl even gave me wave and shouted “Good job!”.  Ruby was asleep for most of this run too.

What happens if I pull this chain?

So it’s hard running with one arm and sometimes no arms, but I enjoyed it and if it helps me get out for longer runs at the weekend, and gives Kata some well deserved downtime, it’ll be well worth it.  I am excited about the Baby Jogger XC.

On a side note, a lot of cricket seems to be played in Edinburgh on sunny weekends.

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket

National Road Relay Championships 2016 - Livingston

On 3^rd April the National Road Relay Championships were held in Livingston, a commuter town on the outskirts of Edinburgh.  My running club (Hunters Bog Trotters) had entered a few teams in the event, but also appealed for volunteers to marshal.  Kata and Ruby were in Hungary and so with nothing better to do with my weekend, I volunteered myself and that’s how I found myself standing around in Livingston one Sunday afternoon…and then running in the National Championships.

 

The route

 

Did this sign make me redundant?  No. 

Knowing HBT like I know HBT, I decided to pack my club vest with me on the “off chance” that something would go awry and I would be required to run.  Wise decision.  The day started to plan, I assumed my position at a turn on the race route.  At first I thought that my role was redundant as I was standing next to a giant arrow that pointed the way.  Turns out I was needed.  Despite the big arrow, I had to point a few runners who were about to miss the turn and point them in the right direction.  One runner did something totally weird and did a U-turn which I was not expecting and not ready for, and I had to shout after him.  He’d have realised his mistake pretty quickly anyway as he hit a dead end.  Anyway, I stood on my corner with my yellow vest, arm outstretched pointing the way, and occasionally shouting some encouragement. 

 The view from my station

Then…inevitably…one of my club mates (Dave) who had earlier ran by me at speed, jogged up to me and asked if I would mind awfully running a leg of the race if he took over marshalling duties from me.  And that’s how I found myself running around Livingston.  I didn’t do very well and completed the 5k leg in a poor 21:56.  I was running for the club’s B-Team so it didn’t really make much difference anyway, and I tried my best on the day so I couldn’t do any more.  Despite the poor time (and some later confusion about which leg I had ran), it was a fun experience none the less, and I saw parts of Livingston I had never seen before.

Maybe I’ll give Livingston Parkrun a go one day. 

 

My reward

    

Balfron 10k - 2016

On Sunday 24^th April I ran the Balfron 10k race.  This is the third time I have ran this race and it’s one of my favourite events.  It’s hard to say why I like it so much, it’s an out and back route and is pretty much uphill the whole way back.  The course is undulating with some pretty steep climbs thrown in, and is predominantly downhill for the first 5km where you turn back and run back up he hill to the start again.  It is not a PB course by any stretch of the imagination.  It’s a nice sized race and has a good, community feel to it.  

 That's me with the weird shaped calves

Driving to the race (90 mins away) I started to get flash backs to last year.  As last year, the race was on London Marathon day, and was listening to the coverage of the marathon on the radio on the way there.  The radio commentators mentioned how cold it was and that the leading elite women runners were wearing gloves (they are East African to be fair).  A glance at the car’s thermometer told me it was 6 Celsius outside.  I now remembered last year, it was a bright sunny day, warm in the sun, but chilly when the sun went behind a cloud and there were occasional icy showers.  Remarkably, it was pretty much identical today.  The showers weren’t as icy, but it was pretty much identical conditions as last year – pretty good running conditions actually. 

 Underway

 

I arrived with only 25 mins to spare, collected my number and chip (hopefully a WORKING chip this year – last year’s chip timings didn’t work) and made my way straight to the start where I bumped into my club mates Pete and Stuart.  Turned out to be a decent HBT presence in the race with 5 of our runners taking part.  The race was started by Balfron High School alumni and Rio Olympics Team GB runner, Ross Murdoch, and off we headed out of the school grounds and down the hill.  

There is a sharp left turn just as you exit the school and I got caught up in traffic a bit.  I had to slow a lot to get around the corner and that is a learning point for next time I run this race – make a fast start and a dash for the first turn.  My attitude to this race was pretty relaxed.  I am not going to do a 10k PB either in my current level of fitness, or probably ever on this course.  A course PB wasn’t very likely either due the fitness issue.  I have been sick recently (conjunctivitis and a bad cold) and spent last Saturday in bed the whole day.  So I just ran as best I could.  The lovely sunny weather and picturesque scenery reminded me why I always try to run this race.  I ran the first 3km in times of 3:56, 4:32, and 3:59.  I wasn’t getting over excited because I knew I was going downhill and had to come back up again, but I was encouraged and felt I was doing better than I thought I might.  My target such as it was, was to run sub 45 mins and I could see that was very achievable.  At the 4km mark, one of my club mates, Lucy caught up with me and said “Hi, Steve!”.  After asking where Kata was, (at home with Ruby), she mentioned at the 5km mark that she had just ran a 5km PB.  J  Impressive.  She obviously had a lot more energy than I did and this was born out as she pulled away from me on the uphill and at the 7.5km very steep incline, she was well ahead of me.  However….she had just made herself a target and so off I headed in pursuit.  I caught and passed her at I think about 8.5km, but at about 9.5km she passed me again and I hadn’t the energy to go any faster.  I made it my new goal to finish behind her and not be overtaken.  I finished seven seconds behind Lucy, and 3 seconds ahead of the guy behind me, so mission accomplished.  These was ‘gun times’ by the way, chip times show that Lucy was 10 seconds ahead of me and they guy behind me actually finished in a faster time than me. 

 The 7.5km hill.  This is roughly the distance apart that Lucy and I finished as well.

My time of 43:54 was OK.  I am pretty happy with it.  It is over a minute slower than last year’s time, but all things considered, I am pleased.  It’s amazing really how long it took me to break my goal of a sub 45 minute 10k, and now sub 45 minutes is my mark or respectability.

 

Out and back and undulating.  Makes a pretty, symetrical graph on my Garmin. 

 

Nice medal and t-shirt this year.  This year was the 10^th anniversary of the race and I think they pushed the boat out.  The t-shirt is technical as opposed to the usual cotton, and the medal is ceramic which is nice – I don’t think I have any other ceramic medals.  There was a display along the route of all the previous year’s t-shirts.  I say “display” – someone had pinned them to their garden fence.  Amazing though.  Really good. 

I love this race.  Thanks to everyone involved in making it happen and I very much hope to run again next year (and get a course PB). 

 Technical T-Shirt and Porcelain Medal.  Nice.