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.

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
 

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

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

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.

It was certainly a wet and windy Saturday afternoon, so huge congratulations to everybody who took part.

Russell sent in this superb event report:

On Saturday I had the amazing opportunity to run for the Scottish Masters team in the British and Irish Masters Cross Country in the home surroundings of Bellahouston Park. The race is split up into age categories in five year groups starting at V35 and going up to V70 for the men and V65 for the women. The event is made up of teams from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

I was put in a strong looking V35 team along side David Miller, Jamie Reid, Robert Gilroy, Joe McKnight and Iain Connell.

The weather and course conditions were very challenging. The weather was wet and windy and the the course was muddy and hilly so all in all it was a proper cross country.

The first race was for all the women and the male V65 and V70 categories and was made up of one big loop and one smaller loop. The Scottish women got the team off to a great start with stand out performances from Lesley Chisholm third overall and second V35, Melissa White 4th overall and first V45 for the second year in succession and Fiona Matheson 5th overall and first V50. The F35 and F45 teams were both one point behind England in second place and the F50, F55 and F65 teams all took bronze medals.

Our own Julia Harris was representing Wales in this event and finished 75th overall in a time of 27:15.

The male race for categories V35 through to V60 was two big loops of the course. The race started at 12.45 and started on the pitch and put area. From there we headed uphill through the wooded area of the park followed by the downhill heading towards the House for an Art Lover. This descent was the trickiest part of the course as it was very muddy and several runners fell over in this section. After the House for an Art Lover we headed into a strong headwind past the Palace of Art and then up the second of the tough hills. The loop finished with a lap around the back of the cycle track before setting off on the second muddy lap.

I finished in 76th place in a time of 28:39. Peter Matthews was first home for Ireland in 24:54. First Scot was Jamie Reid who was 7th overall and 2nd V35. My V35 team finished 2nd overall one point behind the winners Ireland. The four to count for the team were Jamie Reid, David Miller, Robert Gilroy and Joe McKnight. Fortunately for me there were medals for all six of the team and so I am the very proud owner of a British and Irish Masters silver medal. The V55 team also won a silver medal and the V50 team won the bronze.

The event was followed by a dinner dance and awards ceremony at the Crown Plaza which I went along to with my wife Maureen. There was some very entertaining ceilidh dancing later in the night with more marks for effort than quality, but all teams got involved and the dance floor was always full.

Next year I think that the race is due to be in Belfast and I am going to give it my best effort to retain my place in the team and make the trip over the Irish sea for the event.

And Julia added:

Yes, it was a fantastic opportunity and although no medals for my Welsh team (I was put in with the young V40′s) and I slipped and went down my full length both times on the wee boggy downhill, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Cymru am byth.

Full results available on the Scottish Athletics website.

For more on Scottish Masters Athletics, they have a website here.

Runners at the start of the race

Saturday 12th November saw the second running of the Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K, sponsored by Achilles Heel.  The race is named after the founder of Bellahouston Road Runners Jimmy Irvine and the race made its debut on the calendar last year to celebrate the 10th year of the club.

Big big thanks to everyone who made today’s race happen.

Provisional results can be found here.

Any race queries please send to races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk

Full race report to come.

Saturday 5th November saw the first running of the Glen Ogle Ultra Marathon. The 33 mile out and back route started in Strathyre at 8am and followed a scenic route towards Killin. Weather conditions were perfect on Saturday morning and over 120 runners lined up at the start line. Due to the larger than expected field the route had to be cut to around 31 miles.

I started at the back of the pack as I didnt want to set off too fast. The first 6 miles or so were very hilly and so it was difficult to get into a steady rythm. As I moved up through the field I met fellow Bella runner, Rebecca Jonson who was also doing the race. Miles 6 – 10 were very gradual and took us up through the glen and over the viaduct to the second checkpoint. My legs felt fresh and after stopping for water I pressed on.

Miles 10 – 18 were through the forest on a mixture of paths and trails. By this point I was completely on my own and was making good time on the paths. By mile 14 I hit a massive hill and actually had to stop and walk up it as my legs ached. This left me feeling full of doubt as I wasnt even halfway round and I was walking already, I began to wonder if I would even finish. Thankfully that was the worst uphill section and once I got to the top I soon got back to running and returned to the 18 mile checkpoint.

At 18 miles I took my first energy gel even though my legs were still feeling surprisingly good (apart from on that one big hill). I decided to try and run nice and steadily to the last checkpoint at 25 miles but the route was slightly downhill at this point and everytime I looked at my watch I was hitting between 6:30 and 7 mins per mile. At 24 miles I managed to catch another runner. He told me I was looking good and that the other guys werent far ahead so if I pushed on I could catch them. I thought at this point I was maybe in the top 20 or so but this runner informed me that by overtaking him I was now 5th!

At mile 25 I got to the last checkpoint. Unfortunately this was where I had left my drop bag so I would have to do the last 6 miles with a rucksack on my back. I wasted a couple of mins trying to find my last energy gel and bottle of lucozade and set of again. The last section was on road and by mile 27 I had caught the 4th place runner and could see 3rd a few hundred yards up the road. Somehow my legs still felt good and I was battering out 6:45 miles. Before I knew it I had passed 3rd and just had to dig in until the end. There were some tough hills in the last 2 miles and I kept thinking eventually I would hit the wall and the runners behind would catch me!!

Amazingly though, it never happened and I crossed the line in 3h 40mins taking 3rd place! I was (and still am) absolutely delighted. I collected my goody bag, had a seat and before I knew it Rebecca was also finishing in 3h 59mins, taking the 2nd ladies prize. Overall it was a very succesfull day along a stunning and challenging course. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone thinking of doing an ultra next year. Race website can be found at http://www.go33ultra.com.