Great news from the weekend: The club had two representatives at the British and Irish Masters Cross Country in Bellahouston Park. Russell Whittington was running in Scotland’s V35 team (and came away with a Silver medal), and Julia Harris representing Wales in the V40’s. 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 […]
Monthly archives: November 2011
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. Bright autumn sunshine and slightly breezy weather greeted just over 400 runners on the start line in Bellahouston Park. The race was won by Robert Gilroy (Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers) for the second year in succession in a time of 32:07. Second home was Kieran Docherty (33:47) and third was Russell Whittington (34:38), both from host club Bellahouston Road Runners. In the ladies race the honours this year went to Julie Doncaster in a time of 40:03. In second place was Yana Thandrayen (Portobello RC) in a time of 40:30 closely followed by Sheena Jack (Fife AC) in a time of 40:48. The male V40 category was won by Michael McLoone (Greenock Glen Park Harriers) who also finished 5th overall in a time of 34:50. Andy Law (Mid Argyll AC) retained the V50 title finishing in 37:34. Clydesdale Harrier Watson Jones took the V60 category with an impressive 45:58. Katie Mathieson from Bellahouston Road Runners took the V35 female category with a time of 42:06. Julia Harris also from the host club capitalised on good form by taking the V45 category in a time of 43:17. The V55 category was won by Margaret Deas from the Scottish Veteran Harriers completing the course in 52:07. Given the number of purple vests on display it was no surprise to see Bellahouston Road Runners take both male (Kieran Docherty, Russell Whittington and Greig Glendinning) and female (Katie Mathieson, Ann Robin and Ciara Baxter) team prizes. Outside of the prizes all runners received goody bags and medals for their efforts, with an impressive spread of savoury and sweet eats, alongside teas and coffees on offer for all. This years race proved to be extremely popular with all entries sold out in advance of the race. Many returned for a second year, and we hope to see them all again for the Bella 5K next August and the 2012 Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K. Full Race Results are here. Race photos available for purchase from http://www.scottsportphotography.co.uk/
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.
Craig Reid sent in this report from last Saturday’s Glen Ogle Ultra marathon. 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 […]
All race numbers were posted today Tuesday 1st November. Please remember to bring your number on the day.