Club Age Graded TT on Tuesday 4 April

Age Graded 5km Time Trial (TT) on Tuesday 4 April Further to the succes of the age graded TT in October last year we have decided to arrange another similar TT on Tuesday 4 April. I have therefore put together some notes on Age Grading for the Club as well as guide lines for this upcoming TT. Firstly the 5Km TT. This will take place on Tuesday 4 April as part of our Seniors weekly Tuesday training sessions coordinated by Gillian Dean. Please meet in the usual place, Kingsmeadow Carpark, at 7pm and we will jog down to the start of the TT which will be at the Eshiels sign on the Tweed Valley Trail. It will be a mass start and the 5km course will follow the Tweed Valley Trail to the turn point at the start of the Cardrona bridge (where there will be a marshal), and then return the same way back to the start point which will complete the 5km. Shown here: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/75198539 It will be crucial to get an exact time. There will be somebody at the finish to take your time (or shout it out) but you may also wish to record it yourself (eg Garmin watch). Please also ensure your DOB is given to the timekeeper. This is important so we can calculate your accurate age graded result. It should be daylight for pretty much the whole time but you may wish to bring a head torch just in case. The course is all tarmac so road shoes or light trail shoes would be OK. Wear warm clothes to jog down to the start. I will calculate the age graded percentage and let you know the results (personally, if you leave me your email address). This is a new way of keeping a track of your progress as well as a fairer way of comparing your fitness with your colleagues, no matter your age or sex. so please come along and give it your support. For background interest I have included below some notes on age grading for runners, as well as the results to date for those that either competed in the last event or have done an individual run and sent me the details. I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday Mike Goddard mjsgoddard@gmail.com 07976358024 Age Grading for Moorfoot Club Runners Introduction Most or us will be familiar with age grading for runners through the park run races but I would like to look at how we can use it within the Club environment. From a personal viewpoint I have always been impressed with how some athletic organizations have used age grading in one form or another to provide motivation outwith the elite groups. My personal experience has been within the triathlon community where age grouping (in 5 year blocks) has been extremely successful worldwide. I started some 12 years ago since I needed the motivation to compete against triathletes of my own age (albeit in 5 year blocks which favours those at the beginning of the age block!). I quickly found that I could be competitive and was soon selected to represent GB at the European and World Championships culminating in a silver medal at European level and 4th at world level. Despite the advancing years the motivation to continue competing has been immense and I have qualified for the GB team every year since 2011. There are examples within the running community (and our own Alastair Walker from Hawick is a world champion and world record holder in his own age group). It's a simple biological fact that as we get older we can’t run as fast as we could have when we were younger, and this aging process begins at a pretty young age! But this doesn’t mean we can’t improve and become better runners for our age, or even set new PB’s if we didn’t achieve our full potential in our younger years! However, with the right motivation and training, improved running performances can be achieved long after the prospect of new PB’s has faded away. But how can you tell if your performance is improving when your times are getting slower? This is where Age-Grading comes in. Age-Grading is a simple but very effective method of measuring your performance, making allowances for your age and sex. It gives you a percentage score for each run calculated by comparing the time for your run with times set by world record runners of the same age and sex. Benchmark times are collated, and performance adjustment profiles are produced for various distances and ages for each sex. So why is Age-Grading beneficial? Motivation – Getting slower can be demotivating for runners who are 'past their peak' even if they are running well for their age. So, rather than focusing solely on how fast you are running, it can be more motivating to focus on your Age-Graded performance. Comparing with other Runners - By factoring out age and sex it is possible for two different runners to compare their performance for the same run on even terms, enabling people to compete with each other regardless of age and sex. Long-Term Performance Tracking - Factoring out age enables you to see how good your performance is at any time given expected norms for your age. Using this you can track how your performance has changed over the long-term. For example my PB for 10km when I was 39 years old was 34 min giving an age grading of 81%. I now know that by running 46 min at my current age I would achieve the same age grade of 81%. I could similarly track my half marathon performance and my mile performance. I find this immensely motivating as I now know that my hard work at training can prove to me that I am as competitive for my age as I was then, rather than bemoaning the fact that I cannot run 34 minutes for the 10 km any more! Predicting Race Times - You can use you current Age-Graded percentage as a basis for predicting finish times for races of different distances. Interpreting Age-Grading Scores As Age-Grading scores are based on a comparison with world record times, don't be disappointed if your scores are a long way from 100%; you’ll probably get the most motivation by aiming to improve on your own scores and by comparing your scores with those of your friends. In general over 60% is club class running, over 70% is regional class, over 80% is national class, over 90% is world class (or your garmin is lying!) How do I see age grading being used by Moorfoot? The key of course is to be able to access an accurate and reliable age grading predictor. I have done some research on this and found that the goodrunguide.co.uk has a good, user friendly calculator. I have joined this site (for the sum of £24 per annum) so can access this calculator at any time. We could also join as a Club but I am not sure of the cost or benefit but can easily find out I am sure. My ideas for Moorfoot are as follows: - we can select some local training/racing routes, and plot them on the goodrunguide (which automatically calculates the flat equivalent distance rather than the measured distance to take into account the hills). - These routes can then be used for a Club competition, either as individuals (who would submit their time) or as a handicap race with the results being based on the age grading scores. - There could be an annual award for the best age grades on the nominated routes, and the most improved based on the previous year. - Individuals could keep a record of their own scores over a period of time and note the changes, or could set an age grade target and train for it. - Individuals could use the calculator to predict their finish times for races of differing distances. These are just a few ideas but all suggestions welcome. Current Club rankings as follows: Age Graded 5km TT Club rankings 22-Mar-23 Age graded position Name Age graded score Recorded time Date Course Distance (flat equivalent) km 1st Jen Misak 75.82% 00:21:05 04/02/23 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 2nd Dean Carr 74.68% 00:19:52 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 3rd Craig Walling 70.40% 00:19:48 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 4th Tim Warner 68.21% 00:25:12 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 5th Pete Caddick 65.56% 00:24:24 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 6th Vicky Morrison 65.43% 00:23:58 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 7th Eilidh Davidson 61.02% 00:24:18 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 8th Sam Laydon 60.27% 00:23:51 25/10/22 Eshiels to Cardrona cycle route 5.13 Mike Goddard 07976358024 22 March 2023

Scottish National Masters Cross Country 2023

 Great runs today from the "auld yins" at Tollcross park in the east end of Glasgow.  Perfect conditions for racing: cool, dry day with no wind and a feel of spring in the air.  The course was a 3 lap 6k (ladies and over 65 male), 4 lap 8k for male 40-60.  It was classic cross country: fast on grass, with some muddy patches and short punchy climbs.  Great atmosphere with lots of spectators.  We all really enjoyed the edge of competing  in a large field of  runners from different clubs across the country.

Gillian has a great run coming 13th in the F45 category

Female results.

In the Men's race David Carter Brown has a stormer finishing 20th in the M40 Cat.  Dean finished 22nd in the M50 and Alan finished 27th in the M60 Cat.

Male results

Also a special note to Gala Harriers who had Daryl Hastie winning the men's race overall and Sara Green winning the female's race.  Pretty amazing for a Border club to win both at national level.

On the way home we rewarded ourselves with a trip to McDonald's for a Plant based burger !!!

Feel the Burns 2023 (by Kerry Law)

 The weather gods were kind to us again for Feel the Burns this year. It was a cold, clear day with a dusting of snow on the tops and eight Moorfoots headed to Selkirk for the race. 

 

The start was as tough as always, with the climbing beginning after the first mile, but it was nice to head up though the bracken and into the sun. After the lung-busting climb up to the Three Brethern the race follows the Southern Upland way along the tops on a lovely runnable track. There were a lot of muddy puddles, and some snow and ice to dodge, but the views of surrounding hills were beautiful. And helped distract from burning calves!

 

It was great to be cheered on by Dean and Gillian, who’d run up to the summit of Brown Knowe, and their vegan sweeties were much appreciated! The marshals all around the course were great too, always with a smile and offering encouragement as we ran past. 

 

There was a chance to enjoy the long descent to Broadmeadows Farm—lots more muddy puddles and far-reaching views—before steeling ourselves for the last steep climb up the aptly named Foulshiels Hill. 

 

Back at the rugby club we enjoyed the simple pleasures of dry socks and hot tea! The soup and haggis pies made for a good post-run feed too. 

 

The Selkirk Fund Runners managed to capture some great pictures of us all grimacing. I’m sure we were smiling on the inside!

And special mention to Diana who came 2nd in the W40 category. Well done! 

Full results are due soon here.  

Kielder Winter Trail 10M (By Dorien Kimenai)

On 7th January, a few Moorfooters crossed the borders and headed off to England to run the Kielder Winter Trail 10M. The organization should be applauded for this race as the route was beautiful and the runners were smiling all the way despite the very heavy rain. With the endearing Kielder Castle in our back we started the race. The first 6 miles included some effort with a big ascent, but the downhill was superb, and the last 4 miles were Scottish flat. Team Moorfoot did great as we all ended up in the top 5 of our age category! A special mention to Martin who came 1st in his age category 5 years ago and did it again this year – well done!

Results: Kielder Winter 10 Miles Race (timingupnorthresults.co.uk

1st MV50 - Martin Holt

4th FV40 - Gillian Carr

4th FS - Kerry Law

5th MV60 - Tim Warner

2nd FS - Dorien Kimenai

We warmed up again in the car on our way back with dry socks, heated seats (sorry Kerry and Gillian, next time you can sit in the front!) and with the lovely Sun that came out. The Moorfoot team couldn’t resist a stop at the Three Hills in Selkirk for coffee and cake. It was another great day out and a race I would love to do again and definitely recommend!

Masters Cross Country Championships 2023

 Hi Everyone,

The Scottish Masters Cross Country Championships 2023 is on the Sunday 5th February at Tollcross Park in Glasgow.

If you are a Vet runner (40+) and fancy running have a look at :

https://scottishathletics.sportserve.net/pages/event/athletics/athleticsbookingdetails.aspx?id=12529

Its a great event and a chance to run at national level for your club against other clubs in Scotland.  

I think it would be good for the club profile and I'm looking to see if anyone is interested in completing.  To be eligible you must be a member of Scottish Athletics and the Moorfoot Runners must be your first claim club.

If you are not a member its easy to join and if you race in Scotland often its worthwhile as you get a discount on most race entries:

https://www.scottishathletics.org.uk/membership/

Entries must be declared by the 19th January.  If you are interested please get in touch with me (Dean) via Whatsapp, Facebook or by email deanocarr@aolDOTcom (replace DOT with . to avoid me getting spammed by Internet Bots) by Monday 16th January.

Many thanks

Dean

Greenmantle Dash 2023 (Gillian Carr)

 

A cracking start to the new year!

After a break of a few years the Greenmantle Dash was back with vengeance. Now hosted by the Penicuik Harriers the short dash up the front face of Trahenna on a glorious sunny day, drew over 100 runners from the south and beyond.

A few Moorfoot Runners made their way along to Broughton, including Heather & Dorien who cycled there, warming up on this frosty morning, and racking up a few extra miles for Doddie Aid.

The race is only 2 miles long, but full of challenges! Starting at Broughton Brewery, first you have to loup over a wall, wade across the river (which wasn’t as bad as a couple of days ago) but still knee deep! Plod through a muddy bog and then slog up to the top of the hill! Beautiful views and you were certainly warm by the time you got to the top! Then it was a case of trying to stay on your feet on the steep slippy down hill, back through the muddy field and then a flat sprint along the road to the village hall.

Everyone had well earned their soup & Broughton Ale!

 

A really friendly event, well organised by Penicuik Harriers, encouraging Marshalls and great kitchen helpers

Some great prizes as well - a box of organic veg & eggs for the winners from each age category!

A few Moorfoot prize winners -

3rd MV40 - Andy Cox

2nd FV40 - Gillian Carr

2nd MV70 - Mike Goddard

 

Results below enter details in search.

Results

Moorfoot Boxing Day Runs

The annual Moorfoot Boxing Day Runs will be on again this year (in the event of dodgy weather, check for updates on Boxing Day morning on the Moorfoot Facebook group)

Our three course Menu offers....

Run to the Mast
Seven and a bit-ish hill run up to Dunslair Heights at a sociable pace (90mins-ish) - regular stops to regroup - and back to the Glentress Peel Café for coffee/cake/a blether.


Meet at Gytes Leisure Centre Peebles 9:50am for a sharp 10.00 start. Leader Kenny Davidson
Dress accordingly for a slowish run with stops - it is often snowing on the tops - December in the hills - all runners being suitably dressed for running in the hills in winter; full body cover (inc hat and gloves) and backup warm fleece/insulated jacket in a bum bag or small back pack - you have been warned...
Should be back down at the Peel café for 11.30ish... see below

Handicap Fun Run

While the seniors slog up to the mast on Boxing Day, all juniors (under 9s accompanied), plus Mums and Dads looking to run off some over-indulgence, or anyone too late/not up for the mast run, are all invited to take part in a c.2mile handicap fun run on the foot/cycle/horse path Peebles to Glentress where we will meet up with the seniors in the Peel café for coffee/juice and cake(s) at about 11.30am - see below.

Meet at the entrance to the old Hydro stables at the foot of Janet’s Brae ready for an 11am start, setting off at intervals, slowest first, fastest last. The finish is just before the main road opposite Glentress (with a couple of adults there to help with crossing the road.) The approx 2 mile route can be found here http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6766898

Contact Gregor if you want to take part so he can work out a handicap gjn7nil@gmail.com 

Rule No.1 - Handicapper Gregor has the final say. Rule No.2 - Handicapper Gregor has the final say. Rule No.3 - don’t forget to turn left for the finishing stretch towards Glentress, otherwise you will end up in Cardrona. Rule No.4 - Organise your lift back (or you may be running back on your own). Rule No.5 - Handicapper Gregor has the final say.

Much sought after prizes on offer! Spare clothing etc can be left in Gregor’s car to be transported to the finish.

 

Cafe afterwards

For those who don't fancy the 'run' bit, just meet up at the Peel café for 1130.