Posts Tagged “Racing”

Great report on the recent Melbourne marathon, from Alan Scott, proving that Bellahouston Road Runners is a club with a decent range!

Perfect conditions for the marathon at 7am this morning. We started next to the Rod Laver Tennis Arena (home to the Australian Open) and headed up and into the city centre before heading south along St Kilda Road. We then turned into Albert Park to complete a circuit of the Melbourne Grand Prix Course. I had set off with the 3hr 30min pace runners but from here found myself gaining on the 3hr 20min bus as we headed north along the bayside. Sally was perfectly placed to give me my second gel and we headed out to the furthest point of the course. I then started to pull away from the 3hr 20min mob, a mistake as I would later learn. Round about the 30km mark we merged with the slower participants in the half marathon. We then spent the next 10/15 mins weaving through them. The two groups briefly seperated as the marathoners headed up the only ‘hill’ on the course alongside the Tan (think Melbourne’s equivalent of Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park, London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park or Tokyo’s Imperial Palace). At this point I was struggling and was swiftly passed by the 3hr 20m guys. But from here it was less than 4km to the finish at the MCG where we had to enter the stadium and complete a lap on the hallowed turf. According to my watch I managed to duck just under 3hr 21mins, much quicker than I had ever imagined and almost 35mins knocked off my previous PB. With such perfect weather conditions I would definitely recommend this marathon to anyone.

Alan

Hot off the press, Ian Goudie has sent through this race report from Wednesday’s Troon 10k:

“Wet wet wet! and breezy blowy windy!” is how one of the over eight hundred runners at the 24th Troon 10k described Wednesday’s race. The torrential rain, sleet, hailstones and gale force winds made it a challenging event but the marvelous support provided by Scott, Craig, the stewards and the hardy Ayrshire locals, kept runners going to the very end.

The wild weather didn’t stop Bellahouston RRs taking 35 runners for a jaunt along Troon’s South Beach esplanade. Bella’s Star of the night was Emma Birnie, who finished first in the Women’s Vet Race and third in the overall Women’s Race in a great time of 39:54.

However on a night when everyone had to battle against the elements, every one of the Bella 35 were winners! Full result and photos are available on the Troon Tortoise web site: http://www.troontortoises.org.uk

Ian’s personal race report is available here

Club members Raymond and Susie recently tied the knot, and celebrated as any good running couple should, with a trip to a far away marathon. Here’s their full report:

The Boston marathon was on Monday 20 April, with the build-up kicking off in earnest the previous Friday with our wedding.

Conscious of the endurance benefits of alcohol me and the best man squeezed in a couple of sneakies at a windowless pub in Garscube Road to calm our nerves prior to the ceremony. Susie claims not to have troubled the champagne beforehand but even I know that it beggars belief that she married me sober.

After the ceremony – and some obligatory stretching shots outside the ski centre – the carb-loading continued inside the House for an Art Lover with both grape and barley energy drinks.

As the night wore on there was time for a final pre-marathon session: 1 x tango (warm up); 3 x Strip the Willow (tempo) @ 2 pints recovery; Gay Gordons / Dashing White Sergeant / St. Bernard’s waltz (continuous loop); Auld Lang Syne (cool down). 

Experienced marathoners will appreciate that this is all textbook stuff.

Shamelessly hawking our newly-wed status at check-in the following day earned us an upgrade to club class and a passport to the BA executive lounge at Heathrow. There we were surrounded by a dizzying array of complimentary fine foods and drink. Susie retained her dignity whilst I treated it as an against-the-clock all you can eat/drink buffet. Once on the flight the hospitality continued in the same vein. By mid-Atlantic I felt like a goose being fattened for foie gras.

Having registered at the expo on the Sunday – and given our livers a well-earned rest – it was up at around 5am on race day to wolf down some contraband porridge and head off to the start. The Boston marathon is a point to point race and so fleets of yellow school buses left central Boston from 6am to get all 26,000 runners out to the town of Hopkinton in time for the 10am start. The organisation was superb. The only downside was that once at Hopkinton there was the grim prospect of hanging around for a couple of hours in a field that doubles as the high school sports ground. It was a bit like T in the Park but without the neds.

New England can be pretty cold at that time of year. You could tell the Boston veterans: they were the ones with thermals, bivvy bags and tents. Susie wasn’t too badly off with her bella hoodie and a couple of tops. I’d taken one look at the early morning blue sky from our hotel room window and figured that a vintage men’s health 10k T-shirt would be more than enough. Whilst I sought refuge in a portaloo Susie managed to cadge a few spare bin liners that proved just about enough to stave off hypothermia.

The race itself was unforgettable. It’s a tough up and down course that leaves your quads feeling pretty beat up. Still with more than half a million spectators lining every inch of the course – from the packed pavements of Hopkinton to the screaming girls of Wellesly college at mile 14 to the grandstands of the finish straight – there’s just no way that your not going to keep going. The club colours went down well too with enthusiastic shouts of “Go Bella-Houston! Go Texas!”

Ever the romantic, Susie and I ran it together…. and ever the competitor I dipped her on the line by a second. From just married to married just in 3 hours 39 minutes. Fantastic!

Here’s Brian’s report from yesterday’s “Eddie’s half marathon” in Fort William:

Greig and I, with support crew of Danielle and the dogs, headed north for this half marathon in Fort William. Excellent weather conditions allowed for some spectacular scenery on the drive up, and indeed throughout the race. Snow capped hills all the way. The race starts and finishes on the shinty pitch next to the Nevis Centre, and it’s an out and back course. We headed out through a housing estate and onto a cycle path for the first mile or so, then onto the roads all the way to a turning point at half away with only a few turns to get us there. It was a bit hectic for traffic with runners on both sides of the road and the cars having to get between us. Limited marshalling, and this caused a problem for Greig on the way back as he and the group he was running with ended up on the wrong path for a short time (about 19 seconds worth claims Greig!). I was delighted to get a new PB 1:21:43 and finish in 10th place, but hats off to Greig for another stunning performance. He finished 5th in 1:19:18. That’s his first sub 1:20 and he did it in style. Afterwards there was loads of biscuits, tea and coffee for the presentation. Slightly disappointed that with the range of prizes on offer Greig didn’t manage to bag one but I don’t think that took the shine off the day for any of us. Thanks to Danielle and dogs for support once again. The race was won by Robert Gilroy in a time of 1:10:46. Highly recommend this one.

More here, on the forum.

Craig Ross submitted this race report:

On a warm and uncharacteristically sunny day, four Bella teams participated in the West District relay champs, this year held at the Royal Academy, instead of the beachy Magnum Centre. 

Despite torrential rain in the days leading up to the event, the course was relatively dry underfoot, which suited many of us unaccustomed to the dark and mysterious arts of off-road running. Some say that it’s not a real cross-country unless it is chucking it with rain, and you end up covered in mud, but I’ll take a dry track any day thanks. 

The men’s A team was lead out by novice stand-in captain Craig Ross, who muscled and cornered econmoically around the course to have the team well placed after the first leg. Marcos SanzGomez then took over and finished stronlgy before tucking into a meal of home-made pasta in a trademark plastic container. Jim O’Hara in his debut XC ignored all advice and took off like a rocket, and worked hard in the final stages before handing onto Gordon Durnan, up until this time a Bella race virgin. The A team finished in a respectable 20th place in strong field. 

For the B team, Euan Black started well before handing onto a hungover Dougie MacGregor, and then onto Norman Boyle who despite fancy new bold spikes had his efforts impaired by a bad cold. The team was anchored by Chris Doak who had a strong run, to bring the B team home in 44th. 

For the ladies’ team, Louise Ross finshed looking remarkably fresh before handing onto Emma Simpson, who had been out of XC for 16 years. Iona Robertson finished typically strongly, and clawed back several places to bring the team back in a commendable 10th. 

For the ladies’ vets team, Karen Clarkson (who had been roped in after a few drinks the night before at the Awards night) started things off, before passing onto the consistent Julia Harris, and finally Maddie Smillie brought the team home in 17th, after some time spent running the wrong way. 

All told, a great day out, and notable for the number of athletes who made their XC debuts.