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Peter posted this report after the Amsterdam marathon on Oct 16th 2016: It’s never ideal heading to a race feeling totally under prepared, especially when it is a marathon but that is exactly where I was when heading out to run the Amsterdam marathon on Sunday. Training had not gone so well with breathing issues, injury and several chest infections together with an inability to train with the club (due to work and family commitments) all playing their part in this scenario. This was quite easily the least prepared I have been for any marathon and my PW of 2:58 was in serious jeopardy! Luckily I have some really loyal and caring friends at the club including Moriarty, Weatherhead, Paterson and Glendinning who gave me their individual words of wisdom. ” Man the F*$@! up!”, “Grow a pair!” and “Stop Whinging” were just a few of the very technical coaching techniques they adopted to encourage me. The Sunday morning in Amsterdam was glorious with the sun splitting the sky and temperatures around 9 degrees. Perfect running conditions. The race set off from the Olympic Stadium at 9:30am. There was significant congestion as we headed out of the stadium and into the tight streets but I decided to settle in. The first 10k were pretty uneventful as we were taken firstly towards the city centre and then back out again through a park. All was fine as I reached 10k in 41:11. I knew this was faster than I had hoped for but was glad to have built up something to fall back on later in the race. I expected to pay for pace! The next 15kms of the race route were horrible as it ran along one side of a canal crossed a bridge and then back again. As we headed out towards half way I felt very tired and knew the faster than planned pace was starting to get to me. Luckily I saw a Portobello running vest in front of me so I ran up to it and started a conversation to try and take my mind off the tiredness. We ran together for a couple of miles chatting but he also felt poor and dropped back. Fortunately I felt better again and was able to push on. I managed to hit halfway at 1:27:17 and was delighted. I was still worried that I was feeling too tired for such an early point in the marathon and knew it was going to be tough but continued to push myself along. At mile 14 however I suddenly felt my breathing go. This is something I have been experiencing over the past months which manifests itself in short shallow breathes which I find difficult to change. This then results in a real weakness in the arms and the legs as I cannot get enough oxygen to my body. Cue the Wise Men’s comments and MTFU and Grow a pair rang around my head. I just focussed on a vest in […]

“What a ******* shambles!’ shouted Maz as she crossed the Fort William finish line. She had taken a wrong turn which meant she ran 16.5 miles instead of 14. Julia, who was way up the field, had a nasty fall running back down the Devil’s Staircase. She now has three stitches in her arm. It meant Kenny didn’t get to run his final leg. Their eleven month old son Harry, who made up part of the support team, was unperturbed. Mandy missed the Kinlochleven turn off and ran on, I never saw her or her search party again. On the positive side, it meant she missed watching me trail in late, puke outside Kinlochleven leisure centre and get taken to the doctors’ tent. This was a tough course. A three stage relay over 42 miles from Tyndrum to Fort William, 17 miles, 10.5 miles and 14 miles, part of the West Highland Way Midsummers Race. It’s not just the distances. You are running on hard exposed trails. As Mandy put it ‘you are all cursed it is worse than the Inverness marathon’ The full race starts in Milngavie at 1am on Saturday. Ultras run, jog and walk the full West Highland Way to Fort William, finishing no later than noon on the Sunday. 95 miles, including 14,760ft of ascent. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I swing from full respect to downright nuts. The relay teams start in Tyndrum about half way. They set off at midday. Runners get themselves to changeover points at Glencoe Ski Centre and Kinlochleven. Teams run well into the midsummer’s evening. As ultras arrive at checkpoints back up teams who drive the route swarm around them with food and fluids. They cook chicken soup and give massages out the back of camper vans. As we drive home at 11pm ultras, with head torches and midge net hats, can still be seen feeding on custard, as they jog back into the Scottish wilderness hoping to make Fort William by the 35 hour cut off. You run through the landscapes of one of the worlds greatest walks: Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, Bridge of Orchy, Devils Staircase, into Kinlochleven. Looking down onto stunning lochs, across sweeping moors and mountain ranges with Buachaille and Ben Nevis in the distance. It is simply stunning, especially on the longest hottest day of the year. Bellas entered 6 relay teams, 18 runners, the biggest in the field. Not all ended up in the medical room or lost. Jane Galt ran an amazing first leg for my team. She came into Glencoe with 17 miles of exhaustion behind her shouting “I thought it was flat, it was not flat!”. Roz and Elizabeth came into Glencoe shortly after. They ran the 17 miles together across tough terrain getting badly sunburnt on Rannoch Moor. They kept their pace and came in well up the field. Even stopping for a selfie. Mirsia came into Glencoe ahead of them all, an inspiration. ‘Trail running you love […]

Congratulations to Bruce Carse who finished 10th overall in the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday in a time of 2:35:22. Other Bellas in action in the capital were first time marathoners Dave Ferguson (3:24:02) and Graeme Pert (3:44:29). Meanwhile in Liverpool Pauline Bradley ran the Marathon in 4:00:58. Let us know if we’ve missed anyone! Well done to you all.