Alloa Half Marathon

The start of the 2019 Alloa Half - the winner in Fife vest

What fantastic weather to run a race in! This was my deferred entry to the Alloa Half from 2018, when I had entered it as a training race for the Copenhagen Marathon six weeks later. Unfortunately, the famous Beast from the East (polar continental) air mass blew in from Russia and the race was cancelled due to ice and freezing winds.

Finally the date had arrived for my deferred entry and thankfully the weather was kind. When I pulled up in the chaotic King Street car park, the sky was blue, the air temp was 5C and there was no wind. After a quick look at the 3D map the race organisers had provided, I found my way to registration and orientated myself with the start/finish line.

Back to the car to pin on my number (incorporated chip) and tog up. Plenty of others doing the same and lots of club vests. At 09:45 I decided to head over to the start and had a wee jog to warm up. The starting pen was already busy so I squeezed my way towards the archway, eventually stopping about 50metres short among people who looked capable.

There was a good countdown to the starting gun from 5 minutes out and within a minute or so I was over the line and jogging. The great thing about larger races (~1800 runners here) is that they get permission to close the roads. This means a wider area to run in and less jostling at the start. Unfortunately, the first mile or so is a loop around a residential area of Alloa, where there were a lot of cars parked (quite rightly). But it made the track narrower, and for a long time I was on the pavement.

Eventually the field started to thin out in to one lane width and I found myself amongst runners at a similar pace as me, although I was definitely working hard to maintain it. Watching the miles beep by on the watch, I was heartened to see 6min20ish on average.

I am in this picture, but it requires a magnifying glass

We hurtled down  the hill into Tillicoultry, passing the Sterling furniture place and then turning sharp left onto the A91 and ascend the main street towards the second water station at 9km where I chose to stop, drink and stuff a gel down my throat. Onwards to the looooonggg straight road towards Alva and then Menstrie. I managed to hold my pace, but there were still some stronger runners coming through.

At Menstrie we left the road briefly onto a cyclepath, then back onto the road for the main hill of the route climbing gradually up for 500m up to a large roundabout. There were many supporters here, cheering us on. Gently downhill through Tullibody left turn towards the final water station where I stopped again to hydrate from the wee Strathmore bottles. I was pretty nackered at this point, not really worrying about my position anymore, just trying to survive.

Another long incline, and then fast running downhill towards Alloa and the finish, well marked at 400m out etc. The finish was a 'sprint' towards the big yellow archway and I was spent over the line.

01:33:11 237/1816

KB5 Road Race

Whilst searching for results and information about the GU5 race in February, I came across this reciprocal race organised by the Edinburgh University Hare and Hounds club. With a minimal entry fee (£7) and a good, logical route, I happily entered.

As per usual, the best laid plans were overturned with a dump of snow on the Saturday morning between 03:00 and 10:00. It turned to rain soon after and turned to sloppy wet slush. When I reached the King's Buildings car park at 11:30, there was a mixture of deep puddles, tarmac and rutted slush on the pavements.

On the way to registration in the Common Room, there was a mixture of hardy shorts-and-vests and full covered runners. Not so many old duffers like me, but that was to be expected for a Uni race. At 11:55 I found my way to the start line where after the usual short briefing we were off.

Wet tarmac for the first 200m out of the campus, and then left onto the slushy pavement heading towards Blackford. There were some very fast runners in this field and I soon found myself amongst the old duffers, some females and larger young males. After a mile or so, I felt my shoelace loosening which was unusual. I couldn't run the race like that so took the decision to duck into a bus shelter to retie.

I lost about 5places in doing so, most of which I had already overtaken so I knew I'd be able to claw them back. We had to climb round the side of Blackford up the wide Midmar Drive and had to keep to the road due to the pavement slush. On the climb to the Braid Hills hotel, I finally managed to regain my position before the shoelace stop.

The route turned east onto Braid Farm road and the runners were spread out. Despite the race marshal asking us to run on the pavement (in the slush), we stayed on the clearer tarmac road for a short while, before the narrower carriageway meant we were forced into the pavement slush. It was heavy going, and I was only able to keep running due to being in a race. If I'd been alone, I would have surely taken a break.

There was a sharp left into Alnwickhill Road and I was overtaken by a vested HBT runner wearing a wide brimmed sun hat and long grey socks as we sploshed down the steep brae. Onto Liberton Brae for some more downhill and then into Mayfield Road for the final climb back towards the King's Buildings.

I had managed to keep my position, but the lack of overtaking indicated a fast field. I got through the finish and returned straight to the car.

No idea of my result since the organisers don't seem to think that important to publish, even 2weeks after the race.

Fox Trail Race#6

After returning from Norway, perhaps unrelated, I was struck down with 'flu and sweated in my bed for a weekend. The following Saturday I was scheduled to run in the Foxtrail Race#4. The good doctor said that was not gonna happen. I contacted the Fox Lake email and they kindly allowed me to defer to the final race of the series in March.

As a bonus, I discovered it was going to be a rematch of the first race back in November which was run in a gale. That would give me a PB target to beat, plus I'd be familiar with the route and be able to pace myself. Arriving in the car park at 08:30, I had plenty of time to pick up my number and prepare for the race. There's a 5km race that sets off ten minutes before the main race, so I watched them warming up.

The weather was dry, a light breeze but warm enough for shorts and t-shirt. At the start line, I was please to see Roger Peppiette lining up. I had just managed to beat him in November in the first race, so I would be able to use him as an indicator of my pace this time round.

Off we went with a clang of the bell, and quite quickly I sensed Roger was going strong (or I was slow) as he headed into the distance, reaching at least 100m in the lead after 2km. I kept him in sight though trying hard not to lose too many places.

As we reached the park in Dunbar, I noticed the route had slightly changed by avoiding the copse of trees we'd had to negotiate in November; presumably adjusted on safety grounds as there were a few branches you could run into. There was the usual clash of racers as we changed direction over the bridge running past the tail runners and canicross teams.

I struggled across the looser sand section and lost three or four places, Roger now a yellow speck ahead. Into the forest at halfway, and south to the sharp right-hander I remembered from the first race where I could see Nigel gaining on me. At the turn, I noticed Roger and his followers had gone the wrong way, contrary to the signage. I stopped and mumbled to the woman behind me that they had gone the wrong way and pointed at the sign. We both continued running the race route, and then shouted through the trees over to the wrong-wayers.

Whether they heard us was quickly forgotten as we were now following no-one with no more runners in view ahead. An odd feeling - thankfully I could remember the route otherwise I'd be dithering.

Whilst running the narrower coastal path, we chatted and she revealed she was the leading woman and was desperate to keep it that way. I let her overtake, but kept on her heels as far as I could. Leaving the fields and into the trees, one of the marshals let her know she had 40m on the 2nd place female. She asked me how far to the finish - "500metres!" I shouted. She cranked up the pace and was a long way ahead over the finish line.

I got my PB 58:19, and came in 16th of 190.

2019 Races

Date	Race	Dist(km)	Surface	Time	Position	Percent*	Price
05/01/19	Polar Night Half-Marathon	21.27	Ice!	1hr40:59	103/938	10.9	£50
16/02/19	GU 5mile road race	7.89	Tarmac	00:34:20	87/195	44.6	£9
02/03/19	Foxtrail Race#6	13	Trail	00:58:13	16/190	8.42	£17
16/03/19	KB5 road race	7.9	Slush	00:34:36			£7
31/03/19	Alloa Half	21.15	Tarmac	01:33:11	237/1816	13.0	£27
28/04/19	Balmoral 15 Mile Trail	23.62	Trail	01:53:13**	107/965	11.0	£26
12/05/19	Saltire Trail Race	10.59	Trail	00:48:16	5/66	7.5	£11.25
20/05/19	Balerno Rigg Race	9.45	Road	00:39:40	25/188	13.2	£10.25
26/05/19	Cateran Trail Run	18.48	Trail	01:33:13	6 / 71	8.4	£12
05/06/19	CAAC5	8.05	Road	00:33:21**	78 / 223	34.9	£6
09/06/19	Cheviot Trail Race	21.08	Trail	01:53:17	9 / 136	6.6	£12
16/06/19	7Hills	22.8	Road	02:08:41**	49 / 210	23.3	£7
3/07/19	Tain 10K	9.98	Road	40:59	12 / 103	11.6	£12
6/07/19	Glamaig	6.2	Bog	01:21:16	54 / 102	52.9	£4
27/07/19	FW Trail Half	21.99	Trail	01:40:48	6 / 136	4.4	£29.50
11/08/19	Lowther Trail Race	21.16	Trail	01:46:20	37 / 190	19.4	£15.50
8/9/19	Islay Half Marathon	42.2	Road	03:21:57	6 / 37	16.2	£30
28/9/19	Two Breweries Trail Race	30.7	Everything	03:57:21	72 / 179	40	£15.00
05/10/19	Penicuik House Trail Race	9.6	Trail	00:45:02	7 / 78	8.9	£10
02/11/19	Foxtrail Race#1	12.78	Trail	00:57:12**	23/242	9.5	£20
14/12/19	Foxtrail Race#3	15.4	Trail	01:13:58	31/218	14.2	£20

*lower percent generally means better performance
**PB

Luib Chonnal

The bothy of Luib Chonnal from the west

In 2016, I had spent an enjoyable evening with an old friend at the Invermallie bothy one snowy January weekend. Our original plan had been a visit to Luib Chonnal at the head of Glen Roy, but heavy snow during the daylight hours of the Saturday meant the single track glen road would become impassable. Fortunately there were a few alternative, lower level bothy options available, and Invermallie was a valid replacement.

In late 2018, we hatched a plan for another attempt to visit Luib Chonnal and pencilled in a date in February 2019. Keeping an eye on the weather, we kept other options open, such as Glen Buck or Staoineag (direct access off the A82) in case of a repeat of the 2016 snows. To our fortune (depending on the outlook), climate change or Global Warming had a severe effect on the Scottish winter of 18/19 so that February was recorded as the warmest month in the UK since records began. There was to be no snow risk to our visit.

Of course, there still had to be some precipitation to endure, and when we parked up at the Brae Roy road end, it was chucking it down. The windscreen wipers on at a steady rate. It was 2pm. After a few minutes of discussion, and eradicating the Plan D of heading back down the glen to a local (dry) hostelry to watch France play Scotland in the Six Nations, we donned boots and full waterproofs to set off.

The start of the walk passes the deserted Brae Roy Lodge, nothing happening other than a generator making a racket in an outbuilding. Thence onto a decent land-rover track over the Turret Bridge, and gradually east.

Turret Bridge in the rain

The rain was intermittent, so hoods were up and down a few times, but it wasn't windy and we made good progress. A couple of rivers were obstacles to cross, but we always found a dry option upstream of the track. Old friend took his time, since he was carrying a 10kg bag of coal in his pack but we were in no hurry. At the high point, the weather had cleared and we could see all the way east towards the Corrieyairick and the Monadhliath.

A couple of hundred metres short of the bothy, the LR track turned south towards the river, and a rough footpath headed directly across some very boggy ground. To the south, across the river the White Falls came into view looking very impressive. Beyond them, the ground rose gently up into the clouds of the Meagaidh massif.

The White Falls

We had a great night in the bothy, the upstairs room with the stove making a very comfortable place to spend the evening. Chilli and rice for dinner, followed by a Double Decker, and then a copious amount of Ballatines blended whisky.

The sun sets in the west, down Glenroy between showers. 

The following morning, with blue skies overhead, the rising sun shone brightly through the excellent Velux rooflights to wake us both. My head was surprisingly clear, perhaps still a bit pished but I was up and out to collect water for the stove soon enough. Porridge down the hatch, we packed up and set off on our separate paths. Old friend straight back out the way we'd come, me to horse over the two Corbetts to the north.

"How long do you think it will take you?" he said, presumably wondering how long he'd be waiting at the car.
After a quick glance of the map I made a guess at least 2.5hours, but depending on the ground conditions it could be much more. We bade goodbye and I set off at a trot up the ATV track to the north that ran parallel to the Allt Chonnal. The path crossed the river at a new bridge after 1km, so I continued over tougher ground. Eventually it was time to leave the river and start the cross-country ascent towards the lower Carn Dearg.

Unfortunately the ground here was the peat-hag wobbling morass that I'd heard of in the book. At one point I was faced with a 5metre wide, 100m long water filled gap of slop. Eventually after 60minutes I reached the summit cairn in a strong westerly wind. I grabbed a quick photo and spied my next summit to the north.

View down Glen Roy from Carn Dearg

I could see a figure on that summit, standing near the cairn. I knew it wasn't a trig pillar, and I could see it moving. I expected it was an early day walker who had come in from Brae Roy so assumed they'd be heading my way next. On my descent to the bealach, I kept an eye on the summit figure, but suddenly they disappeared. I never saw them again, and they definitely didn't come south.

During the descent, I was able to see the Teanga Mor which extends west from the summit of the northern Carn Dearg and was described by the Walkhighlands with "There are some extensive areas of peat hags to cross on the long, steady pull that curves round towards the summit of the northern Carn Dearg". It was clear these peat-hags were confined to the highest part of the shoulder. On the southern slopes it appeared featureless and grassy. I made a note to head that way on the descent. 

Dropping 200m into the bealach was unfortunate but necessary to continue to the second summit, and thirty minutes after the first Corbett, I was on the summit of the 2nd Carn Dearg of the day. The wind was keen here so I didn't hang around long, just enough to stuff a flapjack down my throat and a quick scan of the horizon. There were good views out to the west, Knoydart and Kintail prominent, but east was non-descript. 

West from Carn Dearg(2) between Ben Tee and Sron a Choire Garbh to Knoydart - guess the peak?

I set off jogging on the descent, remembering to keep to the left of the Teanga Mor and aimed for the 650m contour to traverse. As hoped it was very grassy and not a sign of any peat. I made fast progress and soon enough was able to start the knee-bashing, relentlessly steep descent back to Glen Turret, 300m below. I didn't want to repeat that in a hurry. I even slipped onto my arse once, and my ankles started to ache. A heavy pack and fast movement made it tougher than normal. 

I crossed a wooden Argocat bridge over the Allt Eachach and joined a rough ATV track that headed south towards Braeroy. This wee glen felt very remote, but there were lots of ruined shielings and remnants of houses dotted about. It would have been a lovely place to live in its time. 

I hit the tarmac and kept jogging, reaching the car with the waiting old friend after 3hours from the bothy. 

Glasgow University Five Mile Road Race

In January I succumbed to a bout of influenza after we had returned from Norway. It knocked me for six and I hadn't felt so ill for a very long time. I was bed-ridden for almost three days and the only thing that kept me going was the dot watching of the annual suffer-fest also known as The Spine race. Jasmin Paris was such an inspiration to a sniffling sufferer.

After seventeen days, I managed to don the running gear again and venture out. I had entered the fourth Foxtrail Race on 19th January but the kindly let me defer until the 6th race on 2nd March. I needed to find another race in February to enter. It had to be reasonably short, and I'd prefer a road as I was worried about winter.

Some googling led me to this race and I happily plugged my details into Entry Central. At £9 what could be better? I decided to kill two birds with one stone on my visit to Glasgow by dropping in to the recently saved Fopp store on Byres Road after the race.

I arrived in the car park at the Garscube Sports complex at 10am, picked up my race number and returned to the car to get changed and watch my fellow runners arriving. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of club vests and mostly younger competitors. Eventually I trotted down to the start line on the other side of the Kelvin. The weather was good - dry, fairly calm, overcast about 10degrees.

The start was marked by a line of flour across the road, and with a couple of minutes to go, a man started to shout some instructions. I couldn't hear a thing, but just fitted into the middle of the pack, ready to follow the crowd. Off we trotted, but it felt very busy. Almost like the Cramond Parkrun start and I found it difficult to get into a decent pace.

Not long after the start there was a steepish climb out of the park onto the main road which really came as a surprise and I was puffing a bit. There followed some fast downhill and then a gradual climb along the southern perimeter of the park. There were a lot of fast runners in this race. I tried to settle into a group but we were constantly changing positions.

The route was a double loop of the park perimeter so the 2nd one felt easier as I knew what to expect after each turn. The last few hundred metres were downhill off the main road past the main buildings to the finish line. I was in a bunched finish, clearly several minute after the leaders.

It was a well supported race, and seemed well organised. And very cheap! My only criticism would be the actual route itself - not very picturesque.

00:34:20 87/195

Polar Night Half Marathon

The leaders heading out on the Storgata

After Copenhagen in May, which had been a great wee trip to celebrate my birthday, we decided we had to do something special for Sally's 50th in January. Sally has always been fascinated by the Northern Lights so I thought a trip to Tromsø in peak Aurora season might be a good opportunity. Conveniently, her birthday weekend just so happened to coincide with the running of the Polar Night Half Marathon around the city! There was no deliberation required - we were booked up!

Even better was the fact that my good friend Matt lived in the city, and could provide on-sight information and advice. I found a good Air BnB apartment, very close to the centre. If we were taking the kids, we couldn't live in a hotel room for 4days so had to have some personal space. Later in the year, we discovered that Matt's working rota meant he was able to enter the race too.

In November, in a piece on Radio Four's PM programme, we learned that the sun had set in Tromsø for the last time in 2018 and the city would be in darkness until January. How very depressing we thought.

We spent Hogmanay in Fife, staying in a huge detached villa on the beach at Elie. Sally and I took the opportunity for some last minute training and ran from Lower Largo to Pittenweem (18km) along the FCP on the 31st. On New Year's Day, we ran in the Kirkcaldy Parkrun at 9am, and then I made it a double by running at Loch Leven in the 11am race. The weather was perfect.

We had monitored the weather forecast in Tromsø for the week in advance, so were well prepared for the 'warmer' thaw that arrived as our plane left Oslo. Our landing in Tromsø was delayed for 15minutes while they cleared the rotting ice from the runway. Matt kindly met us at the airport and drove us along the rutted roads to our cosy apartment. The conditions looked awful.

On the Friday, we went on an unforgettable husky dog trip on the nearby island of Kvaløya and in the evening were entertained at Matt & Rigmor's house in the south of the city. During the darkness of the afternoon, I went for a recce run around the streets, following a Matt recommendation. I realised I could probably get away without wearing spikes on my shoes, even though some of the ground was pretty icy.

The three of us ready to go, waiting in the lobby of the cinema

Saturday and race day arrived. We collected numbers and pins and then waited at the apartment for 2pm. It was an awkward time for a race, but all part of the experience. At least it wasn't midnight - like the summer race version. Underfoot conditions had worsened since Friday and I was now seriously considering spikes. But I knew the start of the race was on wet tarmac so wanted to keep them off as long as possible. Then I kind of knew I wouldn't be wearing them, as I wouldn't want to stop and lose time whilst putting them on.

At the start line

In the darkness, we gathered in the starting throng, standing behind the 1hr50-2hr marker. The organiser welcomed us all and repeated his hope that we were all wearing spikes. Oops I thought.

Off we went, I dotted between Sally & Matt trying to find their rhythm and then after 3km, with a verbal check that she was ok, she told me to go at my own pace. I did. We left the city and followed the coastal road north towards the airport. The pavement was slick, so we all ran on the wet road tarmac which made the pace much easier. I was able to run at my own speed and was able to consistently overtake all the way until we reached the airport. Leaving the road, the ground became really slippy and I was struggling to keep my position.

Approaching the airport

It was near this point that the leader passed us on his return leg, being heralded by a fast bike with a horn blaring to get us out of the way. I saw and waved at Sally on one of the out-and-back legs before returning into the wind. I managed to hold my position as we skited through underpasses and over roundabouts, before getting back onto the dark tarmac when I was able to up the pace and pick off more runners.

I felt great and was really enjoying myself, oblivious to the turmoils of Matt going on behind. As we arrived back at the city limits and the ice ruts returned, so my pace slowed and I struggled to keep up with a German fella I had been chasing for two or three kms. Finally we hit the Storgata again and I cranked it up, throwing a wee Mobot to the squatting Marathon Photos team.

Once through the finish, I found my way round to the baggage collection, quickly got changed and then returned to the finish to wait for Sally & Matt. At 16:56, Sally came storming in, looking very fresh. We greeeted, posed for selfies with our medals and then settled to wait for Matt. At 17:10 we gave up waiting and headed into the cinema lobby. At the same time, I got a text from him saying he was in the toilet, hadn't finished. Poor Matt!

1hr 40m 59s   103/938