The AGM is open to members and parents of junior members. This is your chance to learn a bit more about the workings of the club.

On the basis that several folk are willing to help out, but are put off the idea of  joining a committee(*), we will be putting forward a motion proposing the setting up a “Coaches & Parent Council” to oversee the operation of the junior section, and a “Runners Council” to oversee the organisation of the adult running section. Please come along if you would like to find out more, or play a part in either group.

(* We will also like to hear from any prospective committee members!)

Cross Country Season

Come October and thoughts turn to cross-country …. mud, rain, ice, snow, …. some folk can’t wait. As last year we’ll aim to have male & female teams in the East League (where the ladies out-performed the blokes). I’ve not got dates yet, but when they’re out I / Tom / Iain / Alex will be contacting the most likely candidates for mud-yomping.

New Jogscotland Beginners class on Sundays.

I’ll be looking to start a new beginners group on Sunday 22 October so spread the word around.

But what about the current Sunday Beginners I hear one or two of you asking? Most are now fully fledged runners and will continue to come along as “steady improvers”, under my watchful eye. So if you know of anyone who would like to come along for a steady (flattish) 8k run and chin-wag, bring them along.

 Performance Details

Musselburgh 6 mile race, 29 July

18m Hamish Bell                   37:13
33m Paul Houston                 40:15
42m Tom White                     41:42
43m Kenny Tindall                42:10
81m Alan Grierson                49:28
22f Beverley Dodgson        55:58
27f Pauline White 59:20

103 m runners
37 f runners

Scottish Gas 10k, Granton, Edinburgh, 6 Aug

36 Paul Houston                   39.31
58 Andreas Wilhelm            41.52
90 Kenny Tindall 43.44
91  Thomas White                43.44
161 Robert McCauley          47.16
179 Carl Dennis                   48.10

287 Ros Smillie                      54.32
312 Beverley Dodgson        56.06
346 Morag Tweddle             58.28
371 Pauline White                1.00.12
418 runners

This was our August handicap event and the winners were:

Paul Houston                         29 seconds inside the handicap target

Ros Smillie                              28 seconds inside the handicap target

Haddington Half,          12 August

55             Andreas Wilhelm                  1 31:44

215 finishers

13/8 - Forth Bridge Pitreave 10K

247           Beverley Dodgson                55.41

338 finishers

Comment from Robert: “Great race over the Forth Bridge twice, very well organised and perfect conditions.”

http://www.pitreavie-aac.co.uk/pdf/2006_Forth_Bridge_Prov_Results.pdf

23/8 - Elswick Cup - Exhibition Park 5K - Newcastle. 

209 finishers

http://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2006/exhib.htm

“5K hurts!

The London Triathlon

By Alex Gordon “Having raced in the London Triathlon last year, I had such a fab time that this year, I wanted to share the experience with a few of my friends. So, 5 of us flew down to London, which was almost as exhausting as the race! Getting the bikes on the plane was a challenge in itself, as was getting to the airport for 6:30 in the morning.

But, we arrived in one piece (the bikes arrived in many pieces), took one look at the London Docks and thought "Oh **** - that looks a bit scary!"

Once we had rebuilt our bikes, jumped on our hotel beds, doned our sexy lycra tri-suits and even sexier black rubber wet-suits, we were ready to let rip (literally...)

It was a scorcher of a day, so jumping into the docks was actually quite a relief. Swimming 750m, in the open water, with 300 other similar looking, orange-capped, goggled swimmers was a sight to behold. Catherine (predictably) swam well and was 5th out of the water and surprisingly, Janice actually enjoyed the swim.

The cycle section (20k) was good - pretty flat and straight (apart from the 20 roundabouts!). Steph managed a particularly fast lap!

The run (5k) was also good - almost completely flat with lots of crowd support, music and plenty of sunshine. We all finished, drained but euphoric - ready for an evening of yet more fun and games!  

Catherine, after a heavy training schedule of bacardi breezers and BBQ's came in 17th out of .... , Janice, despite her usual lack of sleep managed to enjoy herself so much she would contemplate doing it again next year, Steph has already been out training in Threipmuir in preparation for next year, Verity needs to seriously reduce her transition time (she took her hair-drier, dried between her toes, and tried on a couple of different out-fits during her 5 minute transition!), and me? I'm just knackered!!! 

Until next year...”

Crieff Highland Games, 20 Aug

By Bob “For my second race of the year I thought I’d do a 90m (handicap) in the land of men-in-kilts. There were men-in-kilts in one corner of the field blowing their pipes, men-in-kilts in another corner of the field twirling their batons in the air, big men-in-kilts in the middle of the field throwing big heavy things around, official men-in-kilts directing men-in-kilts, spectators-in-kilts watching men-in-kilts. We weren’t in kilts, we sprinters wear greyhound bibs. None of the organisers seemed to know when the races started: 12.00 I was told the day before, 12.30 according to the programme, 1:00 according to the lady-with-bibs. The lady-with-bibs over-ruled the men-in-kilts.

It rained…...so we warmed up by running around in our waterproofs which soon started functioning as personal sauna-suits. The first round was negotiated safely with a win. I was third in my semi, but it was first three to the final. Just enough time to cool down in the drizzle. Then the organisers decided to alter the programme. “When are the 200m heats?” someone asked. “After the 90m final” said man-in-kilt. “When’s the final?” I asked “Now” said man-in-kilt. “Sxxx!” I thought. “No warm-up in my sauna suit”. I was third in another close final, and another few ££’s to the good. Then the rain stopped and the sun came out.

With a handicap of 20.5m I ran 208.5m (3 x 69.5m) in a total time of about 28.8secs (3 x 9.6s) with no sitting down between races cos the grass was sodden! Jings – hard work! And you marathon folk think we have it easy….  Only four months to recover for New Year.”

Track Race Night, Wed 9^th Aug

The Thursday folk had suggested a night of one-off races to see how fast they could go. A total of 13 responsible (?) adults and 5 fit youngsters came along. Kenny Tindall had thrown down the gauntlet in the 100m. After working out I was nearly (but not quite) old enough to be his grandfather, he asked how much of a start I’d give him! …(  %£&&?$% to that I thought)… so I was mildly happy with the outcome of the race.

Young Roddy will have to wait for another day to break 13 seconds. His time of 13.00 sec was slightly frustrating.

Results are on the website.

If there’s sufficient demand we could do this again in the winter when we’re looking for a bit of variety on winter nights.

Pursuit Handicap, Sunday 27 Aug

The target times received their last minute adjustment, the (approximate) kilometre points were marked on the course, cars were sorted at the finish …  and the sun was out. The prize categories were worked out, the officials were primed and off went the eighteen runners in reverse target time order, including four of the jogScotland girls who a year a go were not runners. There were a couple of close finishes, with the bulk of the field finishing within a couple of minutes. Pride of place goes to April Birrell who dealt with the psychological pressure of leading the race most of the way to win by a margin of just 7 seconds form Robert McCauley.  There were a few even closer finishes. Results are on the web-site. The prizewinners were:

“Elite” Ladies:       Janice Carruthers                                  0:01:30 over target

Ladies                       April Birrell (Overall winner)                  0:01:16 under target

“Elite” Men             Kenny Tindall                                          0:03:25 over target

Slow Blokes             Robert McCauley                                    0:01:09 under target

The psychology of being a race leader.

April joins a very select band who know what it’s like to be a race leader, and the psychological pressure it brings. For many folk, going to their first 5 or 10k brings fear of being last: “I’ll be so slow….I’ll be last…It’ll be so embarrassing..” are the usual comments. Some have sleepless nights worrying before the big day (you know who you are). But on the day such fears are unfounded, as most folk make their debuts in fun events where there is a long tail of much slower runner / walkers behind them. So fear of being last disappears.

95% of folk at 95% of races have the easy job of following someone else.

A small number of folk turn up for races knowing they could be in the lead, and are prepared for it. They usually know who else is likely to be in contention, and hope the course is signposted and well-marshalled.

But when normal runners find themselves in the lead, all sorts of things start going on. Panic!

 “Where is everyone else?” 

…and the longer you stay in that position the more the demons start playing mind games…

 “I might win this”

               “Don’t be silly”

“OK….. I’m being silly, …………….. but I might”

                “Put the idea right out of your head now!”

“OK I’ll stop thinking about it ……… I’ve stopped thinking about it …………..but I might”

                “Shut up”

“ …. I’m still in the lead….…….. and here’s the finish …………told you so!”

The next level is lining up for a race and the fear is of NOT winning…

Glasgow 10k, 3 Sep

1553         Morag Tweddle                     54:20

1565         Jackie Allan                            54:22

2672         Sarah Craig                             59:23

6379 finishers

Sarah’s beaten the 60 minute barrier!! All three girls were happy with their times.

Moray Marathon, 3 Sep

64 Andreas Wilhelm            3:48:42

128 finishers

Remaining events this year

Sun 17 Sep             Stirling 10k

Sat 23 Sep               David Marshall Lodge 5 Mile, Aberfoyle (EOD)

Sun 24 Sep             Linlithgow 10k      (Club Handicap event)

Sun 1 Oct                Loch Ness Marathon, 10k & 5k

Sun 8 Oct                Pitlochry 10k

Sun 8 Oct                Tesco 10k Run for Cancer, Hopeton House

Sat Oct 14               David Marshall Lodge 5 Mile, Aberfoyle (EOD)

Sun Oct 15              Braemar Half Marathon

Sun Nov 5              Templeton 10 mile road race, Dundee

Sat 11 Nov              Glen Clove Half marathon

29/30 Dec                New Year Sprints, Musselburgh

1 Jan                        Portobello Promethon

1 Jan                        Edinburgh Triathlon