June Update

Lots of results and reports this month as May/June are always busy race months, we’ll get a bit of a rest in July. 

Facebook group

I understand one or two people are having problems finding the Harmeny Facebook page.  If you use  this address http://tinyurl.com/nmglau and add the page to your bookmarks/favourites it should help.

Running times

Norma’s Monday/Friday group run at 9.30 during the school holidays if anyone would like to join them.

Saughton track – Thursdays at 6.45pm – continues during school holidays (except 9^th July as Bob on holiday).

Club Socials

Runners Council meeting was held on Thursday 25^th June (nimutes on Harmeny website)  and plans are to have a bowling night in the autumn sometime, hopefully a BBQ following a Sunday run at the end of July and also an alternative sports day in Malleny Park (weather permitting for the latter two!) And if you’ve got any suggestions  for social events you would like the club to organised then just let us know.

Helpers required WOL club handicap run

Gail Crosbie has offered to organise this year’s Club handicap run from Balerno down the Water of Leith and the canal to Harrison Park on 23^th August.  Help will be needed especially on the day. Please email Gail or Bob/Anne

It was great to see so many members running the Rigg race and thanks to Frank for taking on the task of organising it–any volunteers to help with the organisation next year?  It’s easier if we spread the load, so please  think about giving a hand.

Coffee & Cake run, 17 May

Those who’ve never been on a “C & C” run missed a special treat on Sunday 17 May. We’d planned to run to the Gyle Centre, and had reccy-ed the course the day before .. yes the new railway bridge had been opened (the day before) and the notorious perma-puddle on Warriston Farm road was passable. Everything was falling into place on Sunday morning when Lynne suggested a minor change to the destination … with rather a lot of cake and party goodies left-over from their daughter’s 18^th the previous night, we were all invited to chez McBride to help make inroads on a veritable feast.  Well I certainly did my best to oblige – and so did many others! Many thanks to Lynne and Ian for their hospitality, it was much appreciated, (and we hope the garden seat makes a full recovery).

Next C&C: Sunday 26 July Route to be confirmed, but these are gentle paced, social runs designed to end with calorific replenishment.

Saughton training – Not on Thu 9^thJuly: I’ll not be at Saughton on 9^th July, but it should be business as usual through the rest of July and August.

Reports from  recent races ( of all sorts!)

The LAMM June 6^th – 7^th       Ian May

Its 5:30 am and the piper is playing his heart out and I am wondering what I am doing in a tent in the middle of hundreds of other tents with my running partner – in this case my son, Chris.  It’s almost time to start the LAMM, the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon.  At 7:20 after getting dressed, breakfast and checking our kit we make our way to the start – about 15 minutes walk away we were instructed the previous night.   Another surprise!  The first one had been a couple of days before when we finally were informed that we should meet in Kintail, this is one of the charms of the LAMM in that you do not know where in the Highlands it will be until the Thursday before!.  We are put on a bus and driven some way up Glen Shiel.  Then we start, we are given the map references of 6 check points and the camp site where we are to spend the night.  The day comprises of about 21 k with 1250 m of ascent – virtually all of it over rough ground peat hags through rivers etc.  If you are on a path you are probably going the wrong way!  And of course we are each carrying a pack of about 8 kg which contains the tent, food, sleeping bag, etc.   The most daunting part of the first day for me was when, after about 3 hours, we were met by a 600 m very steep climb to a summit.

We arrive at the camp site after about 5 hours and 50 minutes, 80 minutes behind the leaders, pitch our tent, collect water and drink gallons.  We have just managed to make the chasing group having arrived within 90 minutes of the leader – we are in the top 30 and I am elated – 2 goals already achieved, I have managed the first day and we are in the chasing group.  Later in the day I return to the tent to find Chris has pinned three balloons up and has put a candle on the cake we are to have as part of our evening meal – it is my birthday, which of course has to be celebrated!  The event photographer soon appears and we are now on the LAMM home page - www.lamm.co.uk!! 

The next morning again starts with the piper this time at about 5:00 am!  The fastest team in the chasing groups starts at 6:00 am and the other teams start after them at the time they were behind them so we have to wait until 7:20.  Again we are given a series of checkpoints and off we go again.  Today we are only going to have to do 18 k and 850 m of ascent.  The blister plaster I put on my heel doesn’t appear to have stuck very well and the heel is rather painful the knees threaten to give up on the final descent towards the camp site and the finish – this is a real pity because we loose time and I suspect places.  The last 2k is along a road and much to my surprise we run in at a reasonable pace to the finish after about 4 hours and 40 minutes from starting.  I have achieved my third goal I have completed the LAMM!

We rest, eat, drink, pack up the base camp, ring home, and check the results.  We are 31^st out of 119 starters in the D category.   The Elite A, B, and C categories have even further and more ascent to run than we have had. 

Reflections after a couple of weeks now that the blister has healed – it was hard!, Chris, who is obviously much fitter and faster than me was brilliant and very encouraging and managed the route finding with great precision, the scenery was great, we were lucky with the weather, and the lack of midges was a real bonus. Running with a pack over rough ground and up hills is not easy.  It has also taken a couple of weeks to recover!   I am particularly grateful for the runs in the Pentlands with Iain Morrice, which certainly improved my stamina. I would have been lost without them.  But I was a bit taken by surprise by the roughness of the terrain.  We also brought some of the food back – we could have saved a few ounces in our packs – I wonder how much difference that would have made!  

Albert Bartlett Edinburgh Marathon Sunday 31 May by Paul Houston

I'm sure everyone was a bit nervous seeing the forecast for the day of the marathon a few days beforehand, which predicted a scorcher. Right up until the Sunday morning, I was convinced that it would be overcast and would stay nice and cool, with a bit of a breeze. Those hopes were dashed on the way through from Falkirk at 7:30am with clear blue skies, calm winds and an already increasingly hot sun in the sky.

Despite all of the negative comments about the organisation on the course itself, the start area was relatively smooth, with the exception of the decision to situate 40 odd portaloos behind St Andrew's House with only a ten foot wide access gate which had to serve as both entrance and exit!  That aside, the pens seemed to work, although I was jealous just before the start catching sight of Bob in the elite area having 30 odd metres of clear road in which to warm up!

The gun went off right on time and Jonathan, Bob and the rest of the elites hared off down Regent Road. My plan was to stick to 6 m/m as long as possible and just play it by ear. The first few downhill miles to the coast were comfortable and the heat didn't play too much of a factor until around Musselburgh. I started a little faster than planned, only because I was running neck and neck  with a guy dressed as Elvis and after a few miles the constant shouts of 'go Elvis' started to grate a tad. I heard a good few 'go Harmeny' shouts though around the racecourse but I didn't recognise any faces so apologies if it was you and I didn't wave!

Heading along the coast, through prestonpans to longniddry the temperatures were really starting to rise and make things more difficult. I managed to catch the leading woman and stuck right behind her for the whole of the outward portion to Gosford House. Just before the funny little turn off at Longniddry, I caught sight of Bob getting back to the main road, looking fresh and comfortable. I also met Jonathan passing me in the opposite direction in Longniddry and he was also looking like he was going great guns.

At Gosford House though, things changed. In the estate itself, there was no fresh air and it was like running into a giant oven. Immediately my pace dropped and never recovered. In fact, when I got back to the main road and headed for home, I almost stopped a couple of times. A quick boot up the behind kept me going for a bit and then seeing the other harmeny runners, Kenny, Tom, Norma, new member Sandra, and others gave me a huge lift. Also passed Gavin at Longniddry Power Station on the way back and got some nice words of encouragement.

The last few miles were torture. It was now roasting, the gels were all used up and the water stop seemed like it was never going to appear (although I should be thankful that I actually got water when it did appear I guess!). But things seemed to pick up in the final mile and the feeling coming into the racecourse was even better than I remembered it being last year! I finished in 2:42:48 which wasn't what I'd been hoping for, but given the conditions, I was delighted on the day to get sub 2:45 which gives me the option of a championship entry for London next year.

Really well done to Bob who finished in an amazing 2:33:50, 13th place, and was the third Scottish male to finish. I hope everyone has marked down Sunday 20 September in their diaries to watch how Bob gets on in Berlin, with sub 2:30 a very real possibility!   Also well done to everyone else who finished in the unbelievably hot conditions, especially those who were caught up in the water shortage.

And Paul Thomson on the Dunfermline Half

Well I prepared myself for this particular race by having 2 days off and downing a bottle of beer, a bottle of wine and what can only be described as a large double vodka on Friday night. Now I know the race was on the Sunday, which should have left me a comfortable 36 hours to recover, but for some reason I was still tired and somewhat dehydrated on Sunday morning – I can’t imagine why though I can already hear Kenny and Tom calling me a “light weight”.

So on a bright sunny Sunday morning, with a palpable desire to drink gallons of water, I collected Ian (May) and headed over to sunny Fife. Never let it be said car sharing is dull. I think it’s safe to recount that I was subjugated to some awful puns as Ian related parts of his speech for Sally’s wedding – apparently he’s the family talent? Anyway, on arriving at Pittencrief Park (puns safely locked away) we bumped into Norma, Bev, Alan (Price), Ian (Smith) and Lorraine and shared the usual pre race gumph on how we weren’t going to do well due to injuries, lack of training and, in my case, psychological damage from car sharing with a pun master.

For once Interloq didn’t cause too much upset, rather it was the prolonged speech by the local Councillor that caused most groans as the 11am start slipped to 11:01, 11:02 before finally officially starting at 11:05.

I’d already decided that I was going to “bimble” (or is it “pootle – you’ll need to check with Gavin for the definitions) round the course, but then I never manage to stick to what I plan. I spied one of Tom’s “friends” from the track (at Saughton) with an Edinburgh AC top on and from then on in that was it. All I can say is I don’t think all blondes have fun, judging by her ragged breathing as I staggered by thinking my job was done only to see another one further in front. Well I did manage to pass the two of them, in between choking on water at the water station (wasn’t supposed to inhale it but I wasn’t about to slow down to drink properly).

I have to say lap 2 was a bit of a challenge (no more Edinburgh AC tops) as the scenery had a touch of déjà vu and the sun was definitely making an impression on the top of my head – being follically challenged, the top of my head acts as a great barometer. Still I managed to surprise myself and finish in a good time in what, for me, has always been a challenging course. The others all came home in fair times too, with Lorraine at the end (camera in hand) to help cheer them on.

Oh, forgot to mention that Interloq rewarded those who’d done the Edinburgh half as well with a “ring pull” attached to a “bootlace”, a very fetching memento to add to my collection.

PS thanks to Mo for the tea and cake afterwards, more than made up for the bad jokes.

And Frank reports on the 7 Hills of Edinburgh 21^st June

This is a superbly well-organised and supported (5 water/juice stations with raisons and sponges) event- particularly the prize-giving which included prizes (Run n become vouchers, wine and trophy) for oldest man and woman, fastest overseas man and woman in addition to 1, 2, and 3 prizes for those in Challenge and Race, veteran prizes and extra memento of a double whisky for those completing 7 Hills and Edinburgh Marathon. Instead of a medal, winners get a commemorative coaster and socks. The 7 hills are: start at top of Calton, Castle, Corstophine, Craiglockhart (really hard climb up a cliff), Braids, Blackford (getting between these 2 required fording a burn, scrambling up banks and running through gorse bushes across a golf course), Arthur’s Seat (climbing with hands to get up vertical slope) and back to Carlton hill for quiche, fruit, apple pie etc. Your time was printed out and on display by the time you get through finish channel! A great way to see Edinburgh. Only 14.6 miles but very hard work due to the steep ascents. Caroline was pipped on the line for 2^nd place.

Caroline Dunn            2. 17.29

Martin Okely              2 .33.38

Frank Tooley              2. 37. 47

Chris Morgan              2. 53. 44

Ian Smith                   2. 53. 47

Ian May                     2. 54 .17

Karin McKendrick     2. 59. 55

Bill McKendrick         2. 59. 57

Jonathon Carpenter 3. 08. 15

Other Results

Penicuick 10k 9 May 09                           197 Runners

25       Alan Kerr                         40.13     

107     Bob Douglas                    49.07     

125     Lorna Broadhurst          50.33     

192     Laurie Manson                 63.27     

Dunfermline Half 10 May 09                  622 Runners

62       Paul Thompson               1.32.10  

251     Bev Dodgson                    1.46.50  

268    Ian May                           1.47.29  

329    Martin Okely                   1.50.59  

351     Alan Price                        1.52.23  

548    Norma Bone                    2.08.43 

Glasgow Ladies 10k 10 May 09               10740 Runners

117     Margie Leitch                 45.12     

221     Chris Morgan                  47.38     

514     Fiona Donaldson             50.24     

672    Katy Mattingley              51.34     

3299  Ann Laidlaw                     1.01.09  

Meadows 2 Mile  13 May 09                    87 Runners

80       Alan Greirson                  14.26     

Loch Leven Half 16 May 09                    449 Runners

4         Johnathon Carpenter   1.15.37  

46       Gavin Orr                         1.28.27  

63       Paul Thompson                1.31.10   

159     Tom White                      1.40.52  

175     Bill McKendrick               1.41.47  

244    Willie Cummings             1.48.12  

247    Bev Dodgson                    1.48.24  

259    Lorna Broadhurst          1.49.41  

291     Karin McKendrick          1.52.50  

356    Pauline White                 2.03.03 

357    Norma Bone                    2.03.09 

Black Rock 5 22 May 09                          730 Runners

240    Ian Smith                        33.34     

500    Shona Stewart               40.38     

581     Shona Baird                    42.51     

Glasgow Park Run 23 May 09                  219 Runners

1         Robert Turner                16.07     

West Lothian Half 24 May 09               139 Runners

62       Bev Dodgson                    1.49.14  

Rigg Race 6 Mile 25 May 09                   210 Runners

4         Johnathon Carpenter   33.19     

21       Alan Kerr                         37.08     

23       Gavin Orr                         37.38     

29       Paul Thompson                38.22     

42       Kenny Tindall                  40.11      

47       Caroline Dunn                  40.28     

55       Nicola Ross                      41.25     

64       Tom White                      41.58     

74       Alisdair Grey                   42.48     

77       Margi Leitch                   43.02     

81       Tim May                           43.22     

84       Hugh Chalmers               43.35     

110     Ian May                           45.40     

115     Neil Wilson                      45.58     

131     Lorna Broadhurst          47.04     

134     Mo May                            47.23     

136     Fiona Donaldson             47.52     

149     Nia Ball                            49.14     

157     Gordon Miller                  50.28     

161     Janis Brown                     51.07     

170     Pauline White                 52.42     

171     Ian Mcbride                    52.53     

174     Nicky Freidman              53.09     

177     Jo Hoggarth                   54.05     

178     Sybil Grey                       54.13     

183     Ailsa Docherty               54.40     

191     Alan Fleming                   56.51     

194     Ray Wyper                      57.22     

195     Rhoda Ross                      57.43     

197     Laurie Manson                 59.23     

198     Bob Douglas                    59.24     

199     Lyn McBride                    59.41     

Dunfermline 10k 17 May 09                    253 Runners

124     Bev Dodgson                    49.20     

209    Gail Crosbie                     57.15     

Clydebank 10k 28 May 09                       700 Runners

623    Morag Leitch                  58.31     

Dumbarton 10k

639    Morag Leitch                 58.04

Edinburgh Marathon 31 May 09            

13       Robert Turner                2.33.50 

23       Johnathon Carpenter   2.39.42 

29       Paul Houston                   2.42.48 

1699   Kenny Tindall                  3.47.32 

1903   Heather Barnes              3.50.53 

2991   Bill McKenderick             4.07.13  

3911   Tom White                      4.20.08 

5470  Pauline White                 4.43.05 

5839  Karin McKendrick           4.49.21  

6427  Norma Bone                    4.59.41  

DNF   Bev Dodgson                                  

Silverknowes 5k 3 June 09                     150 Runners

109     Alan Greirson                  23.23     

112     Nicola Nash                   23.33     

124     Nicola Freidman             25.11      

Tri results  Peebles sprint tri and come & Tri 14 June

                                               Swim                cycle                run                   total

Sprint 93 Beverley Christy   00:15:16         00:43:16        00:22:26    01:24:28

C&T 17    Anne Douglas         00:09:46         00:20:36      00:12:55   00:46:36

C&T 23   GailCrosbie              00:09:04          00:21:54       00:13:29   00:48:28

Club Handicap Races 2009

 If anyone requires a handicap please let Ian May know – ideally a race time is best but if you don’t have one we can usually make a reasonable estimate. Current handicaps are on the web-site.      Club handicap races below. 

 August 2nd                Scottish Gas 10k and 5k

August 23                  Club Handicap down WOL

September 20th       Stirling 10k

October 25th            Jedburgh half Marathon

November                  Cross-country

Cancer Research 10Ks (info from the organisers)

Run 10k is a series of 43 fundraising events held across the UK this autumn where men and women come together to help beat cancer.This year we hope to bring together 60,000 men and women to raise £6 million towards Cancer Research UK's life-saving work. 

The three Run 10k events taking place in Scotland this autumn are:

Hopetoun House, South Queensferry - Sunday 27th September

Scone Palace, Perth - Sunday 18th October

Strathclyde Country Park - Sunday 25th October

 Further information can be found at www.run10k.org

Race Dates – but check SAL website for complete listings

Tue 30 June JogScotland Challenges (5k) Edinburgh:  Inverleith Park

                        Split into 2 races (Fun runs) 6pm and 7.30pm pre enter

Sat 25 July   Musselburgh 6 mile road race

Sun 2 Aug      Scottish Gas / Granton 10k & 5k

Sat 8 Aug      Haddington Half

Sun 9^th Aug   Helensburgh Half Marathon  - scenic route down Gareloch!

Sun 23 Aug    Club 10k-&-a-bit pursuit handicap race.

Sun 6 Sep      Great Scottish Run / Glasgow half & 10k

Sun 13 Sep     Linlithgow 10k

Sun 20 Sep    Stirling 10k

Sun 4 Oct      Loch Ness Marathon / 10k / 5k

Sun 18 Oct   Aviemore Half marathon

Sat 14 Nov   Glen Clova Half marathon

See the club website for more local races coming up this year. http://www.harmenyac.org.uk/prunners/events.htm

The full Scottish Athletics fixture list for the season is at http://www.scottishathletics.org.uk