A rough chronology of my thoughts this morning: Walking to Pasos De Las Delicias: OK, a bit of sniffle, a slight temperature, that’s fine, that’s fine, this is going to be good, this is going to be good. Start Line: [Excited Now.] Let’s have it! Mile 3: That felt a bit hard, but you’re just
It’s the race that I didn’t run that I think about the most. Should I have followed those guys when they made a break? Maybe I could’ve picked up the ‘final effort’ pace a little bit earlier? I was surely being too conservative for the first few miles? I decided I wanted a
I ran this race. It went well. Thought I might be able to win for the first five miles, then realised I probably couldn’t. I slowed down a bit in the second-half. Because I went too fast at first? Or did I get lazy once the top-spot was out of reach? Or was
As much as the thought of busting a gut legging it up the track under the gondola at Aonach Mor following the excesses of a Hogmany in Glen Nevis appealed, I decided I was going to be spectating and snapping for this one. Not enough inclines in my training recently and doing three races in
I was cheering in the Falkland Village Hall when it was announced that the Westies Men had won the Devils Burdens for the first time, that cheer was pretty good and then so was the cheer for the V60 Men repeating the feat a few minutes later…I got trashed on the prize keg on the
What makes the brand-new Tilli 10k an excellent race? The course is a fast, flat out-and-back with a long loop turn-around; one for a good time. The course is also an idyllic meander through the woods by the river if you’re in to that sort of thing. The start is 20ft away from the
Unlike the hills, for a road race I reckon you want an unremarkable course – flat, minimal changes in direction, laps maybe and just enough scenery to avoid tedium. ‘Unremarkable’ because ‘boring’ is the wrong word. With nothing else to distract, you can focus on the important task of running as fast as you can
[With apologies to WH Murray.] Standing atop the hill in Bellahouston Park, the wind swirling the leaves around our legs, the rain falling in quantities sufficient to sink even the most buoyant of spirits, it seemed that the universe had abandoned its usual indifference and instead had become one with my dark mood. The
A strong Westies contingent (and me) made their way to the Lake District for the annual Hodgsons Brothers Mountain Relays last Sunday. This is a four-leg race on the hills around Patterdale; a stunning course and, thanks to a strictly limited number of competitors, one that always offers some seriously competitive racing. Everyone was out
I left my flat on my own at 7.30 to make my way up to Ben Resipol, collecting runners along the way; Alistair & Dan in Partick, Sam at Crianlarich and Highland Hill Runner Ally Beavan in the lay-by by the Corran Ferry to make a full car by the time we reached the Ardnamurchan