Matthew Campbell sent this report in shortly after taking part in the Rome Half Marathon The race started on the outskirts of Rome and finished on the coast in a town called Ostia. The weather on the day was ideal a few light showers and fairly overcast although I still managed to get slightly burnt! The course didn’t take in any of Rome’s tourist sites and for the most part was ran on one big long straight road, it was a fairly flat courses although between mile 6 and 7 there was a quite steep incline that eventually leveled off at about the 8 mile mark. The rest of the race was gradually downhill. At the three mile stage I was regretting the amount of walking I did the days before sightseeing as my legs were already starting to feel a bit heavy but I found a second wind (I knew there was a good reason to eat all that pasta) and reached the 10 mile mark, the last 3 miles were a bit of a struggle but I dug in and managed to finish in under my 2 hour target (1.56.53) Looking forward to my next one.
race report
What a fantastic morning at Pollok parkrun! 71 Road Runners competed against 63 Harriers with the Road Runners coming out on top again, to retain the title, although the Harriers had more presence in the top ten. Many PBs were had, and our turnout contributed to the 2nd highest ever attendance at Pollok. Full results are on the parkrun website. Thanks to the Pollok parkrun organising team for accommodating us, and putting on such a great event ? Thanks also to the Harriers for their great hospitality at the after party/presentation back at Cartha. All participants also received a commemorative buff to mark the occasion. C’mon the Bellas! ?? Photos from the day are being added to our facebook page, so give us a ‘like’ there to see them all!
A busy weekend for the club! Friday evening saw a great turnout at the Harrier’s popular Brian Goodwin 10k, in nearby Pollok park. A friendly welcome and a lovely evening, with Callum Hawkins and Luke Traynor going head-to-head at the sharp end, and the beer and burger a popular reward for everybody who took part (as well as valuable club championship points!). We had a superb 40 runners complete the course, and many members out and about on the course supporting the local event. Delighted to report that Ann Robin was overall third lady home in a fantastic 39:10, and together with Louise Ross and Shona Donnelly, took home the women’s team prize. Well done! Graeme Paterson led the club’s men home in a very impressive 34:59. Best of all, a healthy number of PB’s and season bests. A full race report available on the Harriers website, and the full club breakdown on stuweb. Thanks to the Harriers for once again staging such a super event. A good number of member’s popped along for an easy (or not so easy!) recovery parkrun on Saturday morning, then on Sunday morning 24 members also helped out with marshalling the start of the Glasgow Men’s 10k, a great way to support the many men out taking part as well as help raise the club’s profile. Congratulations to everybody that took part, particularly all the father’s! Particular well done to the 8 members who ran the event, led home by Craig Reid who finished in 4th overall, and Stephen McQuade with a huge PB. Thanks to Camilla Simms and Kevin Queenan for the pics. Loads more photos to be had on our Facebook page, and members are active on our Strava club too.
Fantastic news today from the Kilbarchan AAC’s George Cummings Road Relays today: the Bella ‘A’ team consisting of Russell Whittington, Andy Campbell, Greig Glendinning, and Graeme Paterson were the first Vets (V40) team home and scooped the vets team prize. The club had a total of ten runners taking part today, so huge well done to everybody who managed to get around in far from ideal conditions. Wet and windy all afternoon, with a particularly tough headwind to battle through in the last half mile or so. Another bit of great news today from the club is Russell Whittington has been selected to represent Scotland in the Great British & Irish Master XC race in Glasgow’s Tollcross park later this year. Results will follow when available. Thanks to Daniella Glendinning for the photo.
With no other major sporting events on today (right?), 10 Bellas headed down the coast for the 2016 Girvan Half Marathon, part of our 2015/16 club championship. Less than ideal conditions awaited, but a fantastic friendly welcome as usual from Girvan Athletic club. Fantastically well marshalled and supported out on the course: we’re very grateful as ever for staging the event. The half marathon course is a challenging one (600ft of ascent, details on the Strava segment), and a light drizzle which picked up to heavier rain at points, with a small headwind after the turnaround point at Dailly made it tougher than usual. But despite that, and whilst we await full/final results, we’re pleased to report at least one PB (well done Marc!), and a successful defence of the male (Bruce Carmichael, Marc Bromwich and Gerry Scullion), and female team prizes (Debs Gray, Jackie McGuire and Alison Brown), from last year. Well done to Bruce and Debs for taking 2nd male and 2nd female prizes too. Full results available on runbritainrankings.com
A fantastic turnout of 46 club members, with a few past and present club members also volunteering, meant there was a big Bella presence at the 385th Pollok parkrun. After an epic downpour earlier in the morning, there were great conditions for the run itself. Some super performances, including first male (Russell Whittington, 17:14) and female (Ann Robin, 19:40), and an impressive 10 course PB’s too. Bella results below. Full results for the event available on the Pollok parkrun results page. The next event in the club championship is the Girvan Half marathon (10th July). The next short distance event is the Irvine 5 mile road race (17th July).
The Calderglen 10k trail race, the fifth event in the club’s new Hill running championships, took place last night. Despite the midges that descended around the finish area, it was a lovely evening for a run, on a super course. Full results are available on the Calderglen Harriers website. Bella results below, and the Hill running championship standings are available here. A few prizes for the club. Congratulations to: Judith MacGregor who was 3rd F35. Gerry Scullion who was 1st M50. Craig Ross, Gerry Scullion and Richard Leyton, who comprised 3rd male team. Many thanks to the Calderglen Harriers for a well organised event and warm welcome.
From the pen of Henry, comes his tale of a first ever Marathon… Having moaned, moped, grumbled and complained my way through the training for my first marathon, I was surprised to find myself looking forward to the race on Sunday. I’ve made no secret of my goal of sub 3hrs, and although this was always going to be a stretch, nothing in training had left me feeling it was impossible. The early morning rain had stopped by the time we got to Blackheath, but it was still a chilly 4-5C, cloudy, and with an occasional gust of an icy northerly wind. Great for running but not ideal for spectators or standing around waiting for the start. There are loads of toilets so queues weren’t bad at all. Just as well, because I made no less than 4 toilet visits before the start. I was rather bemused by the notices for female urinals. Obviously, I have no idea about such things, but I shall say this: I didn’t see anyone look desperate enough to use them. Joining me in pen 2 of the Blue start was Craig Taylor from Portobello, who I’d met on the Jog Leaders course last year, and Bella David Lockhart. We made a procession round to join up behind the championship and elite starts and I spotted fellow London Marathon Golden Ticket winner Hamish. Friendly faces really helped settle the nerves, and after handshakes with these guys and a countdown from astronaut Tim Peake, we were off. I’d expected streams of runners to go past me in the first mile or two, but the speed was dictated by the crowd who were only pushing each other, not the pace. I enjoyed a comfortable mile settling in, waving to Fiona and Danielle on the sidelines, and chatting to Hamish before he urged me to go on and I remembered I had a race to run. There was a bit of space on the pavement and I picked up the pace and caught up with Louise. Ever the coach, she checked I hadn’t done my usual and gone off too quickly. We then merged with the Green start runners alongside the 3hr pacer. I was high-fiving the kids, and enjoying the local shouts of “Well done ‘Enry” thinking that I’d better enjoy this all now as I’ll not be feeling like it 15 to 20 miles down the road. London’s an extrovert’s paradise, and the crowd support is worth several minutes to someone like me who energises on people. Down the hill we went, steel bands playing and a public address blaring out “Welcome to Woolwich”. Time for the first gel and I’m running comfortably and feeling confident. The next few miles, I’m trading places with the pace group and scrambling for water at the water stations. I see Al Maclachlan just up ahead at one point and am looking forward to one of his pearls of running wisdom, but when I look again he’s disappeared. Only later do I […]
With perfect running conditions, today’s London Marathon saw Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge run one of the fastest marathon runs of all time, setting a new course record of 2:03:04. In the ladies race an amazing recovery after a heavy fall saw fellow Kenyan Jemima Sumgon win in 02:22:58. It was also a quite remarkable day for Glasgow area marathon runners, with Kilbarchan AAC’s Callum and Derek Hawkins finishing 1st and 3rd of the British runners in the men’s race, and Shettleston Harrier’s Tsegai Tewelde finishing 2nd. Rio now beckons for Callum and Tsegai, and hopefully Derek too. Our own club had 25 club members taking on the course, and some fantastic performances ensued. Particular mention to our first gent home Russell Whittington (02:43:54), Henry Merriweather (03:03:33) and Louise Ross (03:15:31, also our first lady home), with fantastic debut marathon performances, and Shona Donnelly running a great PB of 03:23:41. Tomoyo Fujiwara – as she builds up to her Comrades race next month – ran a superb 03:30:20. Great to see Bryan Burnett getting a chance to take part this year, and trust you got a huge shout out on the finish line! Full results below. A huge thanks to all the family and friends who’ve supported our runners through the last few months of training, as well as out on the course today, or later this week when they need a hand getting up or down some stairs, and a huge congratulations to everybody who took part! Look forward to seeing you back at training soon: Enjoy the celebrations and recovery! photo from Virgin Money London Marathon media library.
It was with some trepidation that I headed to The Great Tartan Skidaddle yesterday morning at 6am. Having never run an ultra, in my wisdom I thought it would be a good precursor to the Devil o The Highlands. All contestants met in Callander and were bussed out to Inversnaid for the start of the race. The duathletes left ten minutes before us then we were off. The first stage of the race is an undulating trail with stunning views of Loch Arklet to the first checkpoint at Stronachlachar. We were blessed when the sun decided to make an appearance and stay with us to the finish of the race. Feeling happy I hit the first checkpoint and it was onwards and upwards on road alongside Loch Katrine with a lovely detour up Primrose Hill. The views at the top of the surrounding hills and the snowy top of Ben Lomond were stunning. From here I set off to the next checkpoint at Trossachs Pier to the last stage of the race. From here onwards the race takes you off road through forestry tracks and open hillside with stunning views of Loch Achray and Venachar til you finally reach Callander. The last stage of the race was tough. My calf was giving me gip and I was having to dig deep. Thankfully a friendly face had appeared unexpectedly at the last stage of the race and pulled me through it. Arriving in Callander I was both happy and relieved to finish the race. Much to my total amazement and happiness I was informed that I was the 3rd female in. This is a tough race, it’s hilly and undulating for most of the way but the support of other runners and marshalls really helped me along the way. It’s well organised and the route is well marked. I would recommend this to fellow runners who love the hills and getting out in some of the best scenery our country has to offer. Finally congratulations to Grant MacDonald on his gold medal as overall winner, what an achievement. Congratulations to Elsie Downham who won a gold medal in the duathlon (1st female and 4th overall). Elaine Congratulations too to Elaine on winning a silver medal (2nd female vet and 11th overall) at her first ultra.[ed] Results and photos over at: Skidaddle.org Photos by Skidaddle.org
Short and sharp race at the Emirates Arena this afternoon. I think a few others from the club would have fancied this but some had niggles and others were doing the final race of the Borders XC series or the Kirkie 12.5k. On such a fine winter day it almost seemed a shame to be running indoors. If only this race had been last Sunday and the Greenock 5-miler today! I’d noticed some much faster guys on the start list for the V35 race and thought they’d quickly establish a lead. Instead we ended up in a tight bunch. I looked at the clock at about half-way and the pace was just a shade slower than I’d have needed to repeat last year’s time. I couldn’t say it felt comfortable at all, but just not quite as uncomfortable as it should! No-one wanted to make a move. Reluctantly I took the lead with about 3 laps to go but I knew I wouldn’t be there for long! There was an injection of pace and three guys went by me one-by-one, at a speed I couldn’t live with. It felt like I was going backwards but I managed to hang on for 4th place out of 7. A bit slower than last year but happy enough with it. This one as well as the 3000m at the start of January are good opportunities to run at such a marvellous venue. Hopefully we can get more Bellas involved next year. Iain
Well done to everyone who turned out for the President’s Cup 5k Handicap race this evening and thanks to everyone who helped out. Congratulations to Norman Boyle and Lynne Goldie who won the men and ladies trophies, and kudos to Bob Reid who was closest to his predicted time. Bruce Carmichael was the fastest male on the night in 15:52 and Ann Robin fastest female in 19:16. Full results below which allow you to sort on any particular field by clicking the arrows in the column header. Email races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk with any queries.
The second counter in this championship was held at Durisdeer in the Lowther Hills on Saturday. A record entry of 270 was a far cry from the 33 who did it last time. The crude statistics of 14.7km and an accumulative climb of 1240m told only half the story of a challenging course of steep climbs / descents, sheep trods and rock strewn grasslands. I ran with Derek Rigmand who bravely was only just recovering from a nasty “fever”. We arrived in the beautiful hamlet of Durisdeer in good time. The hamlet of about 12 houses and one huge church has the air of “Brigadoon” about it (it sleeps for 100 years between races). After Derek took some of the healing waters, we wandered into the gothic mausoleum to discover a stunning burial vault covered by a large marble canopy, carved cherubs, and macabre skulls. However enough, on with the race as they say. The first section is a steep climb up Black Hill (531m) followed by a sheer, sheer descent down the rock strewn “Pettylung”. After Dalveen farm the course follows two very steep valleys around Steygail. Line choices were critical here. I stuck to the burn for the first half which gave a bit of an advantage over those contouring around the hill. Once round the hill my fence “hurdle” left my foot caught in the wire, face in a thistle and calves in a spasm. The course then involved clambering further over rough ground to Lavern burn. This then led to the foot of Well Hill which is a total misnomer. The hill is an ill crawl. After that there was some good running for tired legs back round to Black Hill. It was on the route back up Black Hill that the “healing waters” kicked in for Derek and he flew passed me. Heading down to the finish, my time was well up on last year and I was feeling well chuffed. Unfortunately however hill running is a cruel mistress. Before hitting the funnel, Brian Brennan of Westerlands, flew passed me still clutching the sole of a shoe he had lost half way round the course. There was consolation for my soul in the wonderful array of post-race tea and cakes in the church. Tired bodies were strewn about the church yard with their picnics made me mindful of the Mexican Day of the Dead. The whole day was wonderful and topped by Scottish victories for Tom Owens (Shettleston) and Jasmin Paris (Carnethy). Next stop Wasdale. David Stakes Photo by Chris Wimbush [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Distance: 15.5k Climb:870m The sight of blood running down the knees of the unlucky ones made me more determined to get down Fellow Bella Jamie Howie & myself ran up and down Arran’s highest along with another 200. During our voyage across from Ardrossan the waters were choppy with rain thrashing down on us – memories came flooding back to last years Bella Arran weekend – “Martie Pellow”. Stepping onto the Island and by some miracle the skies cleared and the rain shifted over to the mainland which brought a smile to all. Heading on foot over to the Ormidale Pavilion the atmosphere was building, jackets & layers getting stuffed into rucksacks leaving Goatfell with a blue background. Once dressed we decided to go for a little run around the grass field at the back of the Pavilion chatting to other runners with the main topic being “who’s going to finish in second place?”. You start with a lap on the grass with plenty of support from the sides then out onto the road for about a mile leading up onto forrest trails before you start to climb onto the hill. Trying my best to keep going the steepness really kicks in which brings you to hands on knees dance forward – most people do this. About mile 4 a tall bearded guy wearing a white vest with a blue band across it came flying towards me, this guy was motoring and was obviously in a hurry to get down – it was Finlay Wild – David Beckham of Hill Running. By then I realised I wasn’t going to win this race, I was 20mins away from the top. It gets tricky near the top with a little scrambling involved, however, the descent is bonkers, finding top gear comes easy but dangerous dodging folk that have still to summit. The sight of blood running down the knees of the unlucky ones made me more determined to get down before I got bitten by the Mountain Beast. Running down boulder fields allows only for nano-second decision making on foot landings, plays havoc on the brain especially when other runners are trying to overtake you. Eventually you hit the trail allowing to push a little harder and any luck over-take a few that went out too strong. The last section brings you back down through the forest onto the road for the last mile. Well marshalled throughout, you finish with a grass lap and plenty of shouts to run faster(I will next time) then over to a water station followed by tea,coffee and all the cake you can devour. Nobody really cares who finishes second, which is a shame. Finlay Wild 1hr 14mins “unofficial” giving him a 2min Pb on last years time. This race is well organised from top to bottom, with the Arran Mountain Rescue guys out on the mountain which brings a massive sense of security. Derek’s time 1hr 50min {unoffical} Jamie’s time 1hr 58min {unofficial} Look forward to […]
I’m pondering where the report for the National Cross Country championships at Falkirk’s Callendar Park is, given a whole week has passed since the race. My first conclusion was that everyone is trying to blank out the memory of the sleet, hail, wind and mud, and the last thing we need is a further reminder of the cold, wet and mud with a race report. But then the more likely explanation struck me. Ordinary Bella club members just feel their writing skills and narrative of the cross country race in Falkirk are just too unworthy to follow that eminent, animated, and inspired Conundrum race report from Peter. So here’s a dull race report. It was freezing. And very wet, with runners contending with rain, sleet and hail throughout the day. The wind blew most club tents away, and really ripped through the tape marking the course. There was lots of mud to run through. And a lot of hills. Not sure I have reconciled the trail shoes v spikes debate: a good part of the course is on rocky trails which were great for my trail shoes and I took a fair few runners on this stretch; but trail shoes meant I pretty much had to walk up one steep muddy hill as it was impossible to get any grip so I just went backwards at this stage. This was my first cross country, and my main objectives were to stay on my feet and not get injured. I did achieve these, but I will be adding not getting hypothermia to my key aims for the next one. I was sent home early to thaw out, so I missed cheering the boys on in their race. Everyone who ran in such conditions deserves applause, but the performance of the day goes to our club for keeping the lovely Bella gazebo upright to give us a bit of shelter before and after the races. by Mary Bella results are here Scottish National XC 2015 – Bella results