Borders Cross Country Final Round in Dunbar and Overall 2016/17 Series Placings

The final round of the Borders Cross Country series took part on Sunday 19 Feb which allowed for the overall series placings to be finalised, with the best 4 results counting out the possible 7 rounds to allow an overall placing.

25 Juniors and 5 Seniors took part in at least one race in the series and well done for the 8 juniors and 4 seniors completing a series placing.

In particular congratulations go to Esme Minto, Thomas Glasgow, Cameron Munro who all secured 3rd places in their respective series categories and Carol Moss and Mike Pearson for their 2nd places.

Juniors Series results (placings in orange indicate that less than 4 races completed):

Forename	Surname	Age	Gender	Cat	Placing
Esme	Minto	11	F	F10-11	3
Holly	Hobbs	11	F	F10-11	18
Kate	Harvie	11	F	F10-11	19
Trinity	Dimmock	11	F	F10-11	23
Hannah	Sorrell	10	F	F10-11	26
Eilidh	Mooney	13	F	F12-13	15
Charlotte	Morrison	13	F	F12-13	16
Megan	Hobbs	13	F	F12-13	17
Madeline	Collins	12	F	F12-13	18
Beth	Hobbs	14	F	F14-15	8
thomas	glasgow	9	M	M8-9	3
Cameron	Carlyle	9	M	M8-9	5
Ben	Allan	10	M	M10-11	6
Angus	Carlyle	10	M	M10-11	7
Danny	Lancaster	10	M	M10-11	13
Thomas	Hilton	10	M	M10-11	15
Jake	Lockyer	10	M	M10-11	28
Alec	Sellar	11	M	M10-11	34
Innes	Cormack	10	M	M10-11	36
Cameron	Munro	13	M	M12-13	3
Ethan	Elder	14	M	M14-15	17
Craig	Angus	14	M	M14-15	18

 Seniors course Results (placings in orange indicate that less than 4 races completed):

Forename	Surname	Gender	Cat	Placing
Carol	Moss	F	F50+	2
Mairi	Wallace	F	FJ	5
Russell	Anderson	M	M50+	9
Ian	Munro	M	M50+	20
Alan	Elder	M	M50+	50
Michael	Pearson	M	M70+	2
Kobe	Stevens	M	MJ	10

Full results here: http://bordersxc.blogspot.co.uk/

Photos of Dunbar Senior race here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125100284@N03/albums/72157678948072830
Photos of Junior race here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125100284@N03/albums/72157676954317084

 

Strathaven Striders "Run with the Wind" Half Marathon 2017

A wee foray back to my old stomping ground near East Kilbride, and a mid way marker on my road to the London Marathon in April.

This is the third year of the Strathaven Striders' half marathon, with the field growing steadily. 300 runners this year, and a competitive 'sharp end', with a lot of speedy MV40s....

Weather was good for February on the moors, although the cloud was right down, pretty much from the start, but relatively mild and only a slight breeze from the west, so no real 'weather excuses'...
It's a lumpy course though, making pacing quite challenging - there are a couple of long uphill climbs, matched by two long downhill blasts - so certainly a good test of strength and leg speed.

Winning time was 1:11 by MV40 Rab Gilroy of Ronhill Cambuslang...

I managed a 1:27, (relatively pleased with that) - this was 12th MV40.
(Possibly some rich pickings for MV50s though, as first MV50 was 1:25...)

Full results here....

Well organised race, well marshalled, soup and sarnie afterwards....Strathaven is only about 65mins drive from Peebles, so worth a look again in the future...

Regards...

Kenny

Sports and Leisure Recreation Survey - opportunity to have your say!!

Peebles Community Council are looking for input from local sports club members into how to improve local recreation facilities.  If you have not yet contributed then  now is your chance - go to the Peebles Community Council Facebook page and complete the above survey (see entry dated  26 January).  It will only take a few minutes. it can be found at https://en-gb.facebook.com/peeblescommunitycouncil/

They have had a reasonable number of responses, but could do with more to enhance credibility.

Issues which have been raised include - 

1. opening hours at the Gytes (particularly for those working out of Peebles)
2. poor maintenance of and lack of investment in existing facilities/ pitches (over many years/ decades)
3. need for safer crossings of Innerleithen Rd for cyclists (both coming out of Whitstone Park and also in the vicinity of Glentress)
4. outdoor ‘gym’, possibly in Victoria Park
5. better places to run after dark, especially for juniors

 Please respond if you can spare a minute, and give support or otherwise to the above suggestions, or raise something completely different. 

Thanks

Carnethy 5 below zero

On a day when it would have been unwise to stray neath the nethers of a brass King Kong, 471 weather - clad lads and lasses boldly undertook this year's Carnethy 5.

Among them Tom, Lucas, Paul N and me. It was my first outing on this run and was unsure what to expect - so I had a minimal recce on the Friday to check the lay of the land. Seemed manageable from the heated seat I was sat on in the layby outside Silverburn. Then Saturday came and the weather arrived in Penicuik. I met Paul in the hall and, once changed, we headed over to the bus for the jaunt to the start. With the external foulness, we questioned our sanities en route to the starting area - since none of us could come up with a reasonable answer - onward it was.

There are a couple of mini marquees, in which 450 people are trying to keep out of the wind and sleet until the race starts. Difficult in a 15 foot square area. We huddle like Gore Tex-clad rockhopper penguins, jostling and stomping until it was time to face the shrill easterly wind.

10 minutes to go and it's time to 'warm up'.  I head to the start line and am off to the sound of the bagpipes - never seen a piper so chilly! The Braveheart charge is underway and many fall foul of the initial foot freezing bogs. I manage to avoid these and am keeping a good pace to the first and second gates around Charlie's Loup. I take a heathery line and make up a good few places down to the Grain Burn.

The ascent to Scald Law is treacherous as first footers have compacted the snow and turned it into something my shoes don't agree with. Nearing the top, I pass the other guy who is wearing shorts. He is making strange noises. 

The route drops before rising again to circle the cairn at the top of South Black Hill. On the ascent, the runner in front of me is blown clean off their feet. Another takes a similar line and meets the same fate. The wind is snarling viciously and it is difficult to stand or see - and I have no idea where I am or where I have to go. I follow the runners in front and am soon on the down hill to the bottom of East and West Kip. There are surreal moments every now and again as many of those marshalling are wearing army uniforms and shouting directions above the howling wind - felt like I had been whipped in to a disaster movie at times!



Following the Kips, a good run down to The Howe - where many take part in the hillside-backside toboggan ride. I find a westerly route and avoid the drookit bahookie. 

A calf-busting climb up from The Howe through Crooked Rig where compressed snow proves challenging underfoot.

Things take a turn for the worse - yes it was possible! The final climb to the cairn on Carnethy and things become surreal again. I can see no further than a pair of blue mudclaws at the bottom of the legs of the runner in front of me. I become aware that my windward jaw is numbing and that dainty little drifts of snow are forming on the outer edges of my calves. With a little more knee pumping, I am around the final cairn and heading down hill.

Many are grunting and tumbling at this point. I manage to pick up a few places and can now make out the main road through the snow. I muster a good (all thing considered) charge from the last gate to the finish where three other runners have a Steve Ovett moment and I race in and gain a cheeky three places.

All in all - Heart a little fuller, smile a little broader - legs a little redder!

Paul and I took the bus back to Beeslack but didn't see Lucas or Tom after the race.

However, Lucas had a great run and fought his way round in 1.01 - definite sub 1.00 in better weather.

Tom keeps Moorfoot Runners on the map with a fantastic 1.03 and  3rd M50 prize!

Alan and Paul sledged round in 1.25 and 1.28 respectively

Short Video  here Ice cream  it's no joke

(vids Courtesy of Carnethy website)

Also - huge praise for the marshals and special thanks to the ones who sorted out my number at the start)

Foxtrail Half Marathon, Tyninghame

I (Colin) took part in a trail half marathon in Tyinghame in East Lothian on Saturday as part of the low key Foxtrail series. Although it was on a completely low level course it was very exposed to the wind, being next to the coast with parts along the beach. The terrain was challenging in places with very heavy mud and ruts. Course here: http://www.mapometer.com/running/route_4470738.htm

Once the race started the field quickly spread out and I settled into 3^rd place with 2^nd place runner (Richard Laucht of Portobello) about 10 secs ahead with the leader stretching ahead to build a growing lead throughout the race. I was fortunate as Richard paused at about 3 miles unsure of which way to go we then ran shoulder for the next 3 or miles until he had to pause to tie his laces. I got a gap then which I held to the finish, however without his short stops the positions would probably have been reversed. In the end I managed to come second in a time of 1:27:05, three minutes behind the winner: Results here: https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=92307

 

Indoor Juniors Do Well - Medals for Ethan and Ailsa

A few of the juniors, including some who are Moorfoot trained but run for Lasswade, performed well at the Scottish Age-Group Indoor Champs over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ailsa Innes, after a handful of National 800m finals over the last 2-3 years, finally got a well-deserved national medal with bronze in the U20 800m, taking a full second off her recently set PB with 2.17.14. Patrick Cannon was also in action on Saturday in the "time-trialled" U13 800m and smashed his PB for 7th place overall in 2.29.13, a six second improvement.

Scottish Athletics U/13/15/20 Champs(C)Bobby Gavin

On Sunday,  Ethan Elder finished 3rd in Heat 1 of the U15 1500m and with only the top two qualifying by right for the final, had to wait to see if he his time of 4.38.55 would be good enough for one of the four fastest loser spots from the two heats. He felt confident that it would be and was duly proved correct. Not only that but he then went on to take the silver medal in the final with a sensible run, letting the runaway leader go and focusing on the race for the other medals. Leading the chasing pack at half-way, he throttled back to sit in, then kicked again into silver medal position with 200m left and stayed half-a-second clear to the line. His time of 4.25.47 was a PB by 0.1 of a second, an excellent return to form after a slow winter build-up following an autumn virus.

Scottish Athletics U/13/15/20 Champs(C)Bobby Gavin

Niamh Shaw was only just over a second outside the bronze medal in finishing 4th in the U20 1500m in 5.07.54, albeit in a small field of five.

The U17 Indoor Championships were held alongside the Senior Champs two weeks previously where Charlotte Clare ran well to qualify for the U17 800m final where she came 5th, just marginally outside her PB. Euan Hood had a solid run for 6th in his U17 1500m heat in 4.31.76.

Wishing Mad Mads a Speedy Recovery

Madeline Collins (and mum and dad Helen and Pete) had a horsey experience to forget earlier this week when wee Mads took a horse kick to the stomach and then a nasty bang on the head when hitting the deck. She was tending to her own horse which another brute of a horse took exception to, lashing out with a hefty kick. Madeline's horse was nifty enough to side-step the incoming blow leaving Mads to take it full in the belly, then hitting her head on a rock. By all accounts the staff at the BGH said her strong core helped protect her from some of the blow so thumbs up for all the ab work she has done over the winter at our Monday indoor sessions at The Gytes. She is now recovering at home and although still very sore, dad Pete says that the National XC U13 Championships at Falkirk in two weeks time have not been ruled out. Best wishes for a good recovery Madeline.