Photo: Danielle Glendinning http://po.st/kaim15More photos (Kenny Phillips): http://po.st/L5YEuH Another Wednesday, another Bog & Burn. Chastened after Ben Dubh last week, I set off at a steady, economical pace and soon settled in to 6th place with Owen & Gregor in front of me. The short stretch of road, brief forest trail, treacherous river crossing and then
Well that’s a new one – a race that went better than I expected. I’d been getting some decent training in recently, but an unexpected trip North at the end of the week, a couple of late nights/early starts and a fair few hours slumped on public transport meant that when my alarm went
What are the pleasures of road racing? There are retrospective ones. A good time with a solid placing. Satisfaction of a race well ran – nerve held, plans stuck to and opponents dealt with. A wry chuckle at how absurdly difficult it felt at the time. Then there are the ‘real time’ enjoyments. Moving with
I also made a trip to the Jedburgh Running Festival, opting for the more amenable 1/2 marathon distance. I’d set myself the wee challenge of a sub-74 1/2 for this Autumn, tough but doable I thought. Did I succeed? Nope. Why? I’m not sure. Work/holidays/life had left a couple of holes in my training diary,
A fine day for a fitting end to the Scottish Hill Racing Championship. Everything crisp, clear and cool, and Lochtayside looking rather nice with the beginning of Autumn. We parked & got changed up by the dam at the rave tent, didn’t expect to see one there and the big beats seemed out of
Results A cool, grey evening in Irvine – ideal conditions for an evening 10k. Part of the Marymass Festival which meant an obligatory pre-race photo for those and the front of the crowd with the ‘Marys’; four local girls wearing red sashes, destined to spend the year promoting good works or be ritually sacrificed at
My second try at this fun long race at the Dufftown Highland Games. My 2013 attempt came to an abrupt and painful end descending The Ben, as the locals seem to call it, and I still have the scars to prove it. (A similar mishap apparently decided the men’s winner this year.) My only goal
Results I would like to note the excellent Westies turnout and fantastic performances (especially Arnis’ giving me a brilliant battle/sprint-finish at the end), the fine weather, the excellent marshalling & course-marking, the wonderful view down Loch Lubnaig bathed in summer-evening light and the small pleasure of cooling-off in the burn after the race. I will
Results An exciting dead-heat finish for the top 2, the rain staying off till the last minute, no organisational issues on the night, superb marshalling & timekeeping, nearly 30 Westies taking part, lots of muddy, happy-looking runners and, amazingly, no midgees – from where I was sitting the Kilpatricks Hill Race 2014 looked like a
I was feeling a bit jaded after Ben Sheann and the thought of getting my arse kicked on a hot hillside didn’t really appeal this week. I decided a road race would lift my spirits – forgive me Manny for I have sinned. This was not a night for glory – very little running since