Millport 10

9th September 2007
Results

Fun day out to Millport. Fairly cool and grey, but OK for running apart from the strong headwind in the 2nd half.

Aimed to start out steady, but got sucked into chasing a group of 4 comprising Kenny Richmond, Calum Morrison, Conor McNulty and David Phee. David Millar of Irvine had already disappeared off the front to eventually win in 50:51, followed by Alastair Morrison in 52:55. Before long I was also caught by Jack Brown of Cambuslang, and Mark Johnston of Edinburgh AC. I ran with Jack for a while, but once Mark passed they both sailed off into the distance.

I went through 5 miles in 27:25, but this had some wind assistance as I found out in the 2nd half as we turned down the west side of the island into the teeth of a gale (or that's how it felt). I could see Calum and Kenny not far in front, but wasn't really making any ground. Around 6 or 7 miles Conor McNulty faded fast, and I passed easily and then started closing on Calum Morrison. I carried on chasing him down hard but never quite caught him. Calum finished in 56:12, while I was 56:25 for 7th and 8th respectively. Still I was pleased enough to get a 10 mile PB by more than 3½ minutes.

Despite feeling quite unwell, Ellen managed to struggle round in 67:34 to finish as 3rd lady, holding off the 4th woman by 10 seconds. Toni McIntosh was 1st lady, with Alison Winship 2nd.

Ben Nevis Race

1st September 2007
Results | Photos

Ian Holmes clocked his 6th win in 1:32:57, and Angela Mudge was first woman in 1:48:28. The weather was fairly cool and driech, but perfect temperature for running.

I set out nice and slowly, before picking up places on the road and jogging up to Red Burn in a group with Jamie Thin, Angela Mudge, Jon Wright, Andrew Robertshaw and Richard Pattinson. After the burn I was quickly caught by Manny and Steven Fallon who both tore off along with Angela - disappearing above into the mist. I more or less kept pace with Andrew Robertshaw until the turn at the summit a few seconds under 1:09.

The descent was fun with mist and smirry rain making it hard to read the ground, dozens of runners blocking the path at every narrowing, and Clayton's Paul Thompson on my heels. Once onto the green wall I passed Angela, but had Alan Smith, Donald Paterson, and Paul Sheard all reaching the tourist path first. I thought I'd easily catch Alan Smith, but this never happened.

Apprehensive at missing the cuts off the tourist path, I let Peter Kennedy and Paul Thompson drift in front, but once we hit the final mile of tarmac I ramped things up and passed Paul Thompson, Peter Kennedy, Donald Paterson and Paul Sheard to finish 19th in 1:46:03. Manny had already finished in 12th place in 1:42:18 for his 21st Ben Nevis Race at the tender age of 39!

Croftamie Handicap

29th August 2007
Results

22 runners for this Westies club handicap race.

7.8 miles on track and road. Managed the route more than 4 minutes faster than in 2005 to finish in 45:05. Very close to my target time of 45 minutes. Hoping I can recover in time for Ben Nevis on Saturday.

Ochil 2000's

25th August 2007
Results

A classic new race traversing the Ochils. Similar in some ways to Pentland Skyline and Two Breweries, but with KIMM-style rough ground and tricky navigation thrown in for good measure.

I enjoyed jogging along with Graeme Campbell, Dave Cummins and Ali Hubbard up until Ben Cleuch and Ben Buck. It was after that we started to drift apart and do our own things. Graeme & I ran together through the horrendous peat hags to Blairdennon, but Ali seemed to get a better (higher) line to our right and pulled in front. I caught Ali as he stopped for a bearing off the summit of Blairdennon. We ran together until Ali collapsed in a heap with cramp, allowing me to take the lead down to Jerah.

I was fairly confused at finding the track past the ruins to below the dam and had to stop a few times to check the map. This allowed Ali and Andy Kitchin to start catching me. They looked like they were closing me down fast on the final climb to Dumyat, but I figured if I could just top out before them, they would never catch me on the descent.

Arriving at the summit I was surprised to hear I was 2nd, since I thought Donald Naylor was in front, as well as Andy Symonds. With this extra incentive I hammered the descent as fast as I could, slightly nervous about taking the correct left forks off the main path. Luckily I didn't get any twinges of cramp until after finishing, when trying to change my shoes and socks was a bit of challenge!

Lomonds of Fife

19th August 2007
Results | Photos

Good weather for my first attempt at the new-improved Lomonds of Fife route. Clear and dry, but not too hot. I finished 13th in 1:39:49

Drymen 10k

18th August 2007
Results

Monsoon-like conditions for the Drymen 10k.

Alastair Morrison successfully defended his Drymen 10k title, interestingly wearing a Garscube vest, instead of his usual Dumbarton colours. I finished 2nd in 35:44, probably around 600m adrift of Alastair. Other Westies running were David Riach, Hamilton Semple and Catriona Miller who finished as 3rd lady, and only a few metres behind ladies 1 and 2.

Broadwood Loch 5k

16th August 2007
Results

A brand new race around Broadwood Loch at Cumbernauld.

The race was won by Allan Ramsay of Kirkintilloch in 16:42. I finished 2nd in 16:53.

Red Moss Revolution

15th August 2007
Results

A brand new race in the Pentlands to finish off the 2007 Bog and Burn series.

Haddington Half Marathon

11th August 2007
Results

Pleasant cool rainy conditions for a jog around quiet backroads of East Lothian.

Scraped another half marathon PB, finishing 2nd in 1:16:45, but not without a fight - mainly with my bowels - which necessitated a diversion into a field at 9 miles. Thereafter I was chasing the remaining 4 miles, trying to claw back 2nd spot which I managed with a last ditch effort 400 metres from the finish.

The race was won by David Gardiner of Kirkintilloch Olympians in 1:14:04. In 3rd place, and breaking the women's course record was New Zealand athlete Rebecca Moore who finished just a few seconds behind me in 1:16:50. 4th overall, and 3rd male was Martin Ferguson of Edinburgh AC in 1:17:07.

Kilmarnock Trail Race

8th August 2007
Results
A short sharp jog around Castle Dean Country Park. Probably more like 4½ miles rather than the advertised 5 miles. Finished in 4th place just behind Jeff Farquhar. Other Westies running were Don Reid, Dave Calder and Ellen Homewood who finished as 3rd lady.

Defi de l'Oisans

29th July to 3rd August 2007
Results | SMAG Blog Report | Previous Results
Completed my 4th Defi de l'Oisans - a 200km route around the Ecrins National Park with 12,000m of ascent. Finished 5th overall, and 1st V40.