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The Kingdom of Fife, in general, doesn’t have much to offer the running community, a few nice hills, some pretty bridges and a few roads that take you out of Fife are among the highlights. Its generally a cold, lacklustre and soulless place where it is acceptable for people to enjoy dressing up in plus fours and tweed whilst wasting a nice walk following a small projectile round a well manicured garden.

On Saturday the 21st of January, we bade a tearful farewell not only to one of the few decent things that Fife has to offer, but, also to one of the last bastions of running tradition. For years the Devils Burdens Cake Raffle has grown in stature and status in Bella folklore and this year it was cruelly snatched from us…

The story of the fabled Cake raffle began with Helen Palmer (now of Bella’s Norway branch) having partaken in the Burdens race returned victorious with Carrot cake held aloft like an exalted hero. Helen told of iced carbohydrate riches beyond compare. In the years that followed legions of Bella’s followed in Helen’s legendary footsteps we all pretended that we were there for the race, but this was just a charade, we were all really there for the cake. Team Bella in the last years have fared well in the raffle largely due to spending more money than is required to bail out Greece on raffle tickets. Each year when our first victorious raffle winning warrior went forth to claim their prize the calls of “CAKE…. CAKE” could be heard in the hall. It was not uncommon for a Bella to forego a bottle of Champagne or spirits in order to satisfy their cake habit. Once all the cakes had been won we only then turned our attention to the wine, spirits, slankets and left over/unwanted Christmas presents.

The cake raffle made no appearance on Saturday, there was no mention and then it was all over. Some Bella’s were stunned, the others just shocked that something so loved could be taken from us without even a whimper.

The side show that was the Devils Burdens race was attended by one Bella Ladies and 3 Bella Mens teams.

The Ladies team was: Leg 1: Ciara Baxter and Romy Beard, Leg 2: Jackie McGuire, Leg 3: Elsie Downham and Sandy Brindley, Leg 4: Emma Birnie. Who completed the course in 3:37.28 and were 12th Senior ladies team.

The Mens A team consisted of Leg1: Grant McDonald and Craig Reid, Leg 2: Mark Johnston, leg 3 Matt Williamson and David Weatherhead, Leg 4 Russell Whittington. They were 17th overall in a time of: 2:44.02

The Mens B team consisted of: Leg 1: Bryan Lamb and Brendan Moriarty, Leg 2: Stuart Mathieson, Leg 3: Robbie Hayman and Andy Birnie, Leg 4: Nea MacInnes who were 30th overall in: 2:54.25

The Mens C team was : Gordon Clements and Alex lawther, Barry Edwards, leg 3: Steven Gilligan and Chris Brotherstone and leg 4: Nick Forrester in a time of 03.22.24

Notably there were a few close times between the teams and a few people were a bit burst at the end. Special Mentions to all of our Bella Burdens debutants, Davie Weatherhead who came straight off a 12 hour night shift and then ran leg 3 with Matt W. Bryan Lamb in his first competitive outing for Bella and Emma B on her return to competitive running after her dodgy ankle. 

I feel it is important to mark the passing of our beloved friend in some way, perhaps we could all post pictures of our favourite cakes as a mark of respect and to show our appreciation for the hero that was the DB’s cake raffle.

PS. apologies to anyone that likes Fife.

Thanks to Brendan for the report.

This short but challenging event was the first of three mixed terrain winter duathlons organised by Fort William based ‘No Fuss’ events.

Set in the stunning mountain amphitheatre of Glen Nevis (moved from last year’s Glencoe route due to fallen trees) 84 duathletes turned up on Saturday 14th to do battle on mountain path, fire road and tarmac. The first leg was a short but steep run, (about 4-5k, they’re not sticklers for exact distances) up the single track path towards Sgurr a’Mhaim, followed by a rapid road descent back to transition. The dilemma with an event of this distance is whether it’s worth changing from running shoes to cycling shoes; figuring there may be some ‘technical stuff’ ahead, I decided to stick with the trainers. The 12k-ish bike section followed the fast, undulating road almost to the bottom of the Glen, before hanging a left and climbing back up a forestry road. Most people opted for some sort of mountain bike, but there were some pretty racy looking cyclocross numbers making short work of the dry, hard packed conditions – with thankfully no ‘tricky bits’ to reveal my woeful lack of bike skills.

Back at the transition, I managed to overtake a few of those whom had smoked me on the ascent as they struggled to change back into their trainers (always a nice moment, on a longer ride it would have been a very different story!) By this time I was in 7th; with the front three well out of sight, over the same run loop I managed to catch one competitor and squeeze 6th overall/2nd SV. Great result from Inverness triathlon’s Henry Blake, who came first by over 3 minutes.

The prize giving took place in the Nevis Centre in Fort William, where podium finishers received giant medals and a bobbly hat, courtesy of Big Bobble hats (http://www.bigbobblehats.co.uk)

For anyone looking to try something a bit different, these events are nicely run, low key and friendly, and take place in some truly fantastic parts of Scotland (the second leg of the ‘winter feast’ is in Arisaig http://www.nofussevents.co.uk/event/Win … ries/2759/).

As one who mostly runs, the challenge of a bit of mountain biking (and changing shoes against the clock) is quite good fun. Full results at http://www.nofussevents.co.uk/userfiles … %20Nevis(1).csv

Report from Hamish
 

On Saturday I headed through to Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh to compete in the Great Winter Run 5k and then watch a feast of top quality Cross Country action with Kenenisa Bekele topping the bill.

The 5k started on the road next to Arthur’s Seat went uphill for two kilometers, levelled out for one and then back downhill for two. The first kilometre was sheltered and I found myself out in front. We were then met by a fairly strong headwind and I held onto the lead until two kilometres. At that point Adam Priestley from Corstorphine AAC and Sean Gaffney from Inverclyde AC both came past me and then got about 50 metres ahead.

I was feeling tired, but dug in and hoped for the best. At about 3.5k I caught Sean and moved back into second place. At 4k I passed Adam and had the amazing feeling of only having the pace car and 1k of running between me and a win.

I managed to hold on and for the first time in my life had the incredible feeling of breaking the tape at a race. Neil Thin of Edinburgh AC came through to take second place.

My split times should give a flavour of how hilly the course was. The first mile was run in 6:03, the second in 5:52 the third in 4:49 and the last 0.1 mile in 4:52 pace. The third mile was the first time that I have broken five minutes for the mile.

After the race I met up with Stewart Roberston and Bryan Burnett to watch the cross country. It was very entertaining and we witnessed the race event of Bekele being outshone in a cross country.

To finish of the perfect day after the races had finished we headed to The Royal Mile for a few beers.

Report from Russell

The West District cross country championships took place on Saturday, 10 December at Irvine. Thankfully for both runners and supporters conditions were better than earlier in the week. Although there was a cold breeze, it was quite pleasant for running in, less so for standing around. The course had altered from previous years, nearly a reversal in direction. The ground conditions were fairly good, a couple of areas of softish ground though nothing like Rouken Glen so it made for fast running.

While we were short for a full ladies team the three ladies who made it along (Julia Harris, Romy Beard and Jane Wild) gave an excellent performance and were rewarded with silver vets team prize. Well done to them.

In the men’s event, where eight Bellas took to the course, we were 11th placed team overall out of 17 and our vets team came in 5th of 21 teams. Our finishers were: Greig Glendinning, Bruce Carse, Craig Reid, Scott Kennedy, Gerry Scullion, Tomy O’Connell and Rankin Lawther with Keiran Docherty pulling out during the race.

We were a bit jealous of the various clubs tents on display where runners could take some shelter before and after running and in particular we noticed that Inverclyde had room for flasks, food and whatever else – now that would have been very welcome. Still I think we all enjoyed the trip to Irvine.

Full results available from the Scottish Athletics website.

Report from Gerry

Dawsholm Park was the venue for the Glasgow Uni 5 miler on Saturday, 3 December. Things weren’t looking too good, as after registering and getting changed I found the entrance foyer of the sports complex jam packed with apprehensive looking runners sheltering from the cold, wet and windy conditions. Luckily the rain stopped for long enough to get out for a quick warm up before heading to the start line.

I had been warned before the race to get a fast start as there was a bottleneck at a gate near the start, but it seemed that this year they managed to get the gates open fully and slapped some wood over the cattle grid, so no problems there. After a steady climb for the first 500m we got a nice downhill section which led us through the forecourt of a car was (where we had to dodge some hosepipes!), then it flattened out a bit til we descended into Dawsholm park. Things got a bit muddy through here, and we were then faced with a beast of a hill to climb back out to Maryhill Road, back into the sports complex and then had to do it all again for lap 2, at which point the rain decided to start lashing down again. This was a pretty tough race, so there weren’t many PBs, but it gave us all a good workout. Good spread of cakes afterwards too.

The race was won by Thomas Fay of Shettleston Harriers in an impressive 25.14. First Bella home was Kieran Docherty. Full results using link below:

http://www.haresandhounds.com/roadrace.php

Thanks to Bruce for providing this report.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the race today.  We hope you enjoyed it.  Well done to all the runners and many thanks to the supporters. 

Full results are available here (click on link).

Any queries should be sent to races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk

Pre entries are coming in quick and fast for this Sunday’s Achilles Heel Bella 5K which is great.  Still room for plenty more but online entry for the 5K closes at midnight tomorrow!!!  If you haven’t entered already then there is still time to take advantage of the series discount and get a series t shirt.  If you have entered then we’ll see you on Sunday.

All the details are on the Events page.

Just over a week to go until pre entry closes for the 5K and 10K race series.  After this the discounted entry is no longer available, and the series t shirt is no longer on offer.  Online entry for the Bella 5K closes on Wednesday 17th August, after this date it is on the day entry only for an additional £2.

All the details are on the Events page.

Entry is now available for this years race series.  The Bella 5K takes place on Sunday August 21st, the Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K takes place on Saturday 12th November 2011.  Both races will be in Bellahouston Park.  Online entry is available for both races through EntryCentral.com with discounts available for pre entry of both races.  Both races are kindly sponsored by Achilles Heel.

For more details, please see the Events page.

Well done to the men’s and ladies teams for taking home medals at today’s Renfrewshire AAA Road Race Championships over 5 miles being held at Battery Park, Greenock. The men’s team retained the title of county champions.  The ladies team finished in second place this year.  Pete Devenport took home bronze medal in the men’s race and Claire Wharton took silver in the Ladies race.  There were other superb individual performances with some excellent PBs.  Well done all.