Swaledale Road Runners

Following my move north of the border earlier on this year I have been busy exploring new places to train around my new home in Doune, Perthshire and also hooking up with local runners in Stirling. Although there has been loads to do as a result of the big move I have managed to find some races flying the SRR green vest in the process.

Scottish Gas 10K - 7th August 2011

This was my first race after finally settling up here. The race started outside the Scottish Gas HQ in Waterfront Avenue very close to the Firth of Forth and a few miles east of the Forth Bridge. It was a cool and wet Sunday morning when I arrived at the registration to collect my number. Edinburgh AC were the host club and club members were out in force to ensure that the whole event went smoothly. When I collected my number the official said " A Swaledale runner - you've come along way to run this one!" Once I'd had a quick chat about SRR she wished me well for the race and hoped to see some more SRR's next year! By the time the race started the rain had stopped and we got underway heading towards the waterfront. After half a mile we were running along a good tarmac path along the side of the Forth with spectacular views across the water towards Fife, and as the race unfolded I could see the Forth Bridge in the distance. At around 6km we turned around a small band stand area and headed back towards the finish. At the 9km point the route took us inland and up hill which soon slowed everyone down before winding back through some side roads back to the finish. Quality goodies at the end: technical top, wash bag and portable water bottle! I managed 42:01 and was a respectable 54th out of 333 finishers.

Sheriffmuir 11 - 21st August 2011

This was a fairly small local race a short drive to the East of Dunblane. It was originally created by the Margaret J Gordon Trust set up by her husband following her death a few years ago.

Margaret was a very fine artist and also loved doing craft work. She contracted Rheumatoid Arthritis in January 2004 and was doing really well against the disease until May 2005, when she suffered a massive stroke and passed away on May 18 2005. The trust was formed in June 2005 as a memorial to her artistic skills & the aim of the trust is to promote art and craft in classes one and two in the primary schools along the Ochil Hillfoots from Muckhart, Dollar, Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton, Alva and Menstrie. The race starts on moorland very close to the site of the Battle of Sheriffmuir that was fought in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England & Scotland. The first mile was up hill along tarmac roads and once again there was plenty of drizzle and (Scotch!) mist, and then the next four miles were undulating heading down towards the bottom of a valley through some great open Perthshire moorland. As we got to the bottom we turned back and now we had to climb all the way back up to the ten mile point which was a lung buster! After years of training mainly on the flat in York suddenly I was trying hard to race up hill. After battling hard all the way up I could finally speed up and fire down hill for the last mile to the finish just outside the Sheriffmuir Inn! All finishers were treated to a free well earned pint in the pub which I think made a change from the usual T shirts. I crossed the line in 1:18:18 and was 14th out of 85 finishers.

Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run - 4th September

From running in a very small local event two weeks earlier it was now time to race in something bigger. After a lacklustre performance at the Humber Bridge Half Marathon in June I was eager to get back to business with a good performance. The Great Scottish Run consists of a half marathon and 10k which both start from George Square in Glasgow's city centre. This year there has been some filming in this area of the city and a certain Brad Pitt was in town! Over the course of the races over 22,000 runners take part with over 8,400 finishing the half marathon. This is a fantastically well organised event which although is very well sponsored credit must go to Glasgow City Council for the way the course was managed and organised to ensure that it was traffic free for all runners. There was a pulse start with the start grid split into four colour coded areas and you were allocated a start depending on your predicted race time. I was lucky enough to be on the white start which was the first one to go - so far so good! Once Daley Thompson and the Major of Glasgow had set us on our way we were off up the hill heading west. This was a tough start to the race and with the sun out it did not take long to get up to race temperature. After the first mile or so we crossed over the River Clyde via the Kingston Bridge to the south side of town and then some wide roads west towards Paisley. The support along the way was excellent and lots of people were out with water, buckets of oranges etc and there was some music along the way. It did remind me of a small version of the London Marathon in a lot of ways. We then ran through Pollock Park and Bellahouston Park which were mildly undulating in parts before getting back onto tarmac roads. As the miles clicked by the support got better and better, with more in promptu water stations. I had lost a bit of concentration at the 7/8 mile point but at mile 11 I felt better and then continued to hold my pace through mile 12 crossing the river Clyde again before running along the side of Glasgow Green to a finish in the middle of the park. At the end were were greeted with bottles of water, bananas, goody bag, T shirt and of course a great medal. Before enjoying some post race junk food I had a photograph taken with me & my training partner Max, our working cocker spaniel, stood next to a replica of the Olympic Torch! My race time was 1:30:27 and I was 336th of out 8482 finishers - 23 seconds outside my PB but maybe next time!

Stirling 10K - 18th September

This race is hosted by Central AC who are the main running club for the area and was also the venue for the Scottish Athletics 10K championships. The route is pretty flat with some mild undulations on two or three points along the way. It starts outside the Peak leisure centre and Forthbank stadium ( host to Stirling Albion) and heads along good roads through Stirling with great views of Stirling Castle and The Wallace monument. There was a keen competitive edge to the field with several sharp looking runners and the pace was quick from the gun. As the race headed along the riverside and towards the Wallace Monument I felt good and could not believe how quick the pace was. By the time we had reached the 8k point I knew I was going to clock a great time and kept up my pace all the way to the finish. As I crossed the line I looked at my watch and couldn't beleive it. I had smashed my PB that I had set earlier in the year during my marathon training with an official time of 40:15 - a huge 52 seconds!! I had come 166th out of 866 finishers. This is the first time I have managed to crack 41 minutes and I was over the moon! The race was won by Ross Houston of Central AC in 30:20 with runners from Shettleston and Central coming in very close behind. If you are in Scotland and fancy a PB course then this is a great one to run.

Baxters River Ness 10K - 2nd October

After bagging a great PB two weeks earlier I thought that I would not worry too much about performance for this one and try to enjoy the race that would take in the last 3 miles of the Loch Ness Marathon finishing in Bught Park in Inverness. It was an earlier start than I thought as I had worked out that the drive from my house would take around 2 hours or so which mean't leaving at 7.00am on a Sunday morning! Once I had arrived at the start the atmosphere was buzzing. Loads of runners warming up, plenty of marshalls, load music and also a mass warm up lead by a fitness instructor 10 mins before the start. Then two minutes from the start the Bag Pipes were heard as a boy waded through the field of runners to the start line which also signalled the start of some cold rain. Then we were off and once again the pace was quick. There was plenty of support along the way as we headed south of Inverness and then through wooded areas on undulating roads. It wasn't long before some of the runners were finding the speed a bit too hot to handle and I started to overtake several who had set off too quickly. At around the 5k point we joined the final stages of the marathon route along the side of Loch Ness. The water looked so clear and the Loch was a very inspiring sight as we headed north towards the city. I had to laugh at a sign near the 25 mile point that was asking marathon runners to place litter at a certain spot - if anyone has run a marathon they will tell you that the only thing you are thinking about is finishing at this point in the race! As we continued the support got better and better, and then I could hear the live music at the finishing line the other side of the river. At this point I knew I had less than 2km to go so I decided to up the pace to the bridge over the ness and then back along to a fast flat finish. After I had crossed the line I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that I had set another PB - 40:12! What is even more impressive is that I had come 94th out of 2385 10k finishers! The early start and long drive had not taken too much out of me after all. I was really pleased and it means that I have broken my 10k PB three times this year - now that's a first! The race was very well organised from start to finish and there was plenty to see at the finish; loads of things to eat and drink, live music, running shops etc. Once I met up with my wife and Max we had some Baxters soup, a roll and then a Highland Venison burger - what more could you ask for.

I hope that this makes an interesting read and if any SRR members are planning to visit Scotland then I would recommend any of these races - it would be good to have some team mates there! For now that is the end of my Scottish road racing and my next event will be the Dalby Dash in November.

Simon Barlow