bella blethersummer 2008THE

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THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF BELLAHOUSTON ROAD RUNNERS

Jan / Feb 2010

In this issue: Turkey Trot• Festive 5k• Cyprus Running Festival• Power of 10 Rankings• Many other fun packed pages•

‘Frozen’ Turkey Trot It was a cold and wintry morning….. oh yes, indeed it was, it was very, very cold! The day of the 2009 turkey trot dawned, cold and crisp, without the instant melting of snow or the overnight global warming I had been hoping for. Despite muttering my best excuses under my breath, I set off for one of the chilliest races this year. And then nearly turned back, as blizzard conditions hit halfway across Fenwick Moor. A quick phone call ahead confi rmed the worst… the race was still on! After a rather slow few miles the weather cleared and as I approached Ayr, I felt I had made the right decision to head down.

As I drove along the front I was slightly perplexed to see very few people around but, in usual Simpson-style, I was running a bit late so had no time to question this. After a quick change, it was back down onto the front to see an even more perplexing sight- a large crowd gathered on the sand. Uh-oh, my heart sank, as I recalled dreary autumnal evenings dragging my sorry self across this very beach a couple of years ago, not long after I had started my foray into running.

The pain and misery immediately came fl ooding back as I pelted across the sand to the start line, towards the ever familiar and heart-warming smattering of purple vests (I’m not the only complete eejit about here then). I thought back to last year- no, it was defi nitely a road race last year, I would never have entered otherwise-boxing day is the day of chocolates and dvds, not snow, sand and sore legs. Some other equally cheery looking soul informed me that due to the weather conditions we were now doing and out and back across the sand- twice! I am never a fan of out and back races but to do it twice, this was going to be a toughie, and I was right.

As we set off I was glad to fi nd the sand fairly fi rm underfoot, at least for the fi rst couple of kilometres, sadly it then degenerated into dancing through cold sea water and over hard lumps, and fi nally a trudge through soft sand, designed to kill the calves. By 3km I thought I’d had it but settled into a steady pace as I headed back to the start.

It was very encouraging to hear the support from some bella fellas who had travelled out in the cold to cheer us on, although personally it didn’t keep me digging in quite as much as the supporters of the girl behind me, as they shouted ‘that’s it, stay on her shoulder’, ‘keep pushing her’, ‘you can take her at the end’- very sporting and I don’t think. Lap 2 was not any easier than the fi rst, not helped by the fact that I decided to really push on as the end came into sight, getting a fi nal surge of energy to speed towards… no, not the fi nish line, but just some guys playing footie on the beach.

Apparently I wasn’t the only visually challenged competitor to make that mistake and there were some seriously weary faces coming across the real fi nish line. Anyway with less than 1km left I managed to complete the race without humiliating myself by crumpling onto the sand, and even managed to keep my friendly rival fi rmly behind me. As with all races, I thoroughly enjoyed it, as soon as I’d fi nished. Any residual cold and pain was quickly washed away by the lovely tea and cakes provided afterwards. A big thank you goes out to those who came down to support, it really did help to get a cheer, I shall defi nitely be back next year, if only to justify that extra mince pie (or three!).

Jane Simpson

Amongst 11 Bellas who braved the snow and ice Jane was 3rd Lady, Peter Gallanagh and Andy Birnie 2nd and 3rd Vets respectively and Al McLachlan 2nd V50. Ed.

Also, many thanks to Kenneth Philips of Ayrodynamic for kindly providing the photos.

Bella Power of 10 Placings for 2009

Mens Marathon 115 Scottish Athletes Ranked Rank Perf Name Venue 12 2:36:30 Colin McGill London 17 2:38:01 Matthew Williamson Belfast 23 2:41:43 Russell Whittington Inverness 28 2:43:01 Scott Kennedy Inverness44 2:49:55 Kenneth Macbeth London 71 2:55:11 Alastair Maclachlan London 83 2:56:33 Richard Wild London88 2:56:51 Alastair McLeod Edinburgh 93 2:57:19 Peter Gallanagh London105 2:58:37 Bruce Carse Edinburgh106 2:58:41 David Tamburini Fort William 107 2:58:49 Bryan Burnett Berlin Mens Half 166 Scottish Athletes Ranked Rank Perf Name Venue 32 73:23 Colin McGill Balloch-Clydebank 50 74:50 Scott Kennedy Craignure 73 76:11 Alastair McLeod Glasgow 86 76:55 Russell Whittington Glasgow 87 77:00 Nick Reid Glasgow106 77:54 Greig Glendinning Glasgow 116 78:31 David Tamburini Dumfries 150 79:30 Gerard Scullion East Kilbride 152 79:31 Brian O’Donnell Fort William 163 79:48 Liam Conway Glasgow164 79:51 Kenneth Macbeth Balloch-Clydebank Mens 10k 270 Scottish Athletes Ranked Rank Perf Name Venue 48 32:45 Kenny Richmond Clydebank 85 33:50 Scott Kennedy Stirling86 33:52 Mark Johnston Dumbarton87 33:53 Colin McGill Clydebank 93 34:01 Matthew Williamson Dumbarton 142 34:39 Alastair McLeod Troon177 35:04 Bryan Burnett Lochinch183 35:12 David Tamburini Inverness 194 35:20 Nick Reid Dumbarton 207 35:28 Greig Glendinning Stirling 235 35:43 Andy Birnie Bishopbriggs 247 35:48 Gerard Scullion Garscube Ladies Marathon 128 Scottish Athletes Ranked Rank Perf Name Venue 13 3:02:37 Rebecca Johnson London 18 3:07:42 Deborah Gray London40 3:20:06 Amanda Wilson London47 3:22:13 Natasha Cox Edinburgh 117 3:42:04 Linda Kennedy London 125 3:43:40 Karlyn Forsyth Leicester Ladies Half 107 Scottish Athletes Ranked Rank Perf Name Venue 28 85:56 Rebecca Johnson Stranraer 32 86:22 Deborah Gray Glasgow 51 88:53 Claire Thompson Blackwaterfoot 56 89:13 Jane Simpson Glasgow 59 89:21 Emma Birnie Portree Ladies 10k 200 Athletes RankedRank Perf Name Venue 15 36:36 Elke Schmidt Helensburgh (non res) 36 38:36 Claire Thompson Glasgow 37 38:43 Emma Birnie Isle of Skye 65 39:42 Rebecca Johnson Clydebank 81 40:06 Iona Robertson Lumphanan 85 40:12 Amanda Wilson Grangemouth 92 40:20 Shona Donnelly Stirling 104 40:42 Claire Wharton Dumbarton 146 41:53 Rhona Moran Helensburgh 166 42:21 Jane Simpson Clydebank 180 42:32 Emma Grant Clydebank 181 42:36 Katie Padgham Dumbarton 181 42:36 Pauline Wright Dumbarton

Power of 10 For those of you not familiar with it the Power of 10 (www.thepowerof10.info) lists the top race times over various distances by sex, region and race distance allowing clubs, coaches and athletes to monitor performances year by year. The rankings run for the full calendar year and recommenced on 1st January.

The results opposite outline each Bella member that has achieved a place on the Scottish Power of 10 listings for the major race distances, and where applicable PB’s have been highlighted in bold.

Whilst these individual results are impressive enough in themselves they also highlight another fact. Bella consistently feature, and in some areas are signifi cantly over represented, when compared to other Scottish Clubs (Within the Mens Marathon category for example over 10% of the times recorded are from Bella !).

For those currently listed lets hope 2010 is even more successful, and for those not included a ranking on the Power of 10 represents a signifi cant achievement to work towards.

Roll on 2010. ed.

Scottish Athletics Membership

Can all club members please consider joining Scottish Athletics (and can existing members please make sure their subscriptions are up to date) all of which can be done through their website.

Membership to SAL costs £15 and usually will allow some form or reduction on entry fees for SAL sanctioned events.

A number of club races are also closed to non SAL members so if you are keen to compete for the club it is vital that you have registered. (There was a recent incident when we missed out on a 1st place team prize as 1 counting runners membership had lapsed).

The Committee.

Festive 5k Festive 5k ’in a Winter Wonderland’

Just before Christmas 16 intrepid bellas, and a number of friends and family, gathered for the now traditional Bella Festive 5k. This year’s race was made all the more special as there had been the fi rst snow of the winter the night before, adding to the festive feel.

Costumes ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous as ever, although the planning, preparation and attention to detail of some was a sight to behold (Step forward and take a bow Mr Glendinning & dogs !). As ever the costumes formed their own particular form of handicap to the race with some runners clearly planning for speed rather than theatrical impact. Al McLachlan in particular initially appeared to have only turned up in a Santa hat although his true costume was to be revealed as the race progressed !

Race times guestimated and Garmins removed the race set off following the Bella 5k route, the many families in the park enjoying the snow only added to the atmosphere. Friar Andy and Sister Emma (of the not so immaculate trainer) blessing everyone as they ran passed they were clearly looking for divine intervention, as it turned out they were not to be disappointed !.

As the winner of the race is deemed to be the one who completes the course as close to their predicted time fastest is not always best, but as Al approached the line leading the race he revealed his true costume...........he had in fact come as Erica Rowe (see photo above) ! When the fi nal results were analysed Andy Birnie won the race, managing to fi nish within 1 second of his predicted time in 23:39, not a bad habit at all !!! Costume prizes were awarded to Greig (for the second year running), Jane Galt and Louise Ross with £160 collected from the race entry fees being donated to Marie Curie cancer care at Hunters hill at the request of Andy.

After the main event there was a short Childrens race dominated from start to fi nish by the Conway sisters although in true bella fashion all entrants took home a prize in the shape of a large selection box.

Many thanks to Lucy and all the other helpers for another great event. Ed.

Thanks also to Norman for use of a number of photos.

Cyprus International Challenge by Brian O’Donnell

Arriving in Paphos was a rather bizarre experience. As I wandered into the arrivals hall I had a man come towards me and greet me by my fi rst name. I asked the man “How did you know who I was?” He laughed and said “Look at you, you are a runner, here for the race!” and with that we were on our way for the Cyprus International Challenge. The challenge consists of four races in four days and 200 or so brave souls had made their way here at the end of November to take part in this crazy event. It is made up of a 6K time trial, an 11K hill run, a multi terrain half marathon and a 10K to fi nish the Challenge, and you, off!

The line up was like a gathering of the United Nations with representatives from the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Kuwait, Austria, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, South Africa, Sweden, Poland and even Switzerland. We gathered on the sea front on Nov 26th in the late afternoon sun for the fi rst event, the 6Km time trial. Each runner sets off at 10 second intervals and with numbers being allocated in alphabetical order, we didn’t know how fast those around us were. The race director’s advice was to get the pacing right but I immediately ignored this and was off like a rocket along the sea front out onto the open road having already passed the three runners who had set off in front. Three or so miles down the road via a banana plantation and a herd of goats I must have passed about 40 runners fi nishing by some spectacular sea caves. Being able to take a dip in the hotel pool after the race certainly aided recovery. Temperatures were sitting nicely in the low 20’s with the sun splitting the sky.

Into day two and the hill race starts at sea level in the Akamas nature reserve park routing through the Avakas Gorge fi nishing at Pano Arodes village, right by the beautiful village square and church. The total ascent is approximately 600m making for a tough run in really hot conditions for racing. Apparently the views were magnifi cent but I can’t say I managed to get my head up for long enough to get a look. By the start of the race the temperature was up at mid 20’s, and the sun could be felt beating down on you. Compared to some races in Scotland, the climb was quite manageable and

Race HQ for the Week

runnable all the way. Another dip in the pool, copious amounts of food and drink at dinner and we were fully recovered and all set for the next race. The wonder of a buffet dinner is surely heaven for a runner? By day three the competition was heating up quite literally and for the tacticians amongst us today was the day to excel with this race providing the best opportunity to make up or improve time against the opposition. It certainly lives up to its billing as multi terrain as the half marathon starts at 250m and climbs to over 600m by 10K, before descending 600m over the next 9K, with a fl at 3K to get you home to the beach. The overall challenge result was decided at this race with the eventual winner sitting in behind for the fi rst two days, letting the yellow jersey go elsewhere, before blitzing the opposition today, and all in the fi rst 10K climb. It was an impressive performance, and obviously one learnt from experience, this was the 4th year in a row that the agile mountain goat from Switzerland would scoop the overall prize. Today’s performance would give him and unassailable lead for the overall event. The climb is on gravel paths, and the terrain was an open expanse of land, volcanic like. This race is toughest on the downhill as the descent is on solid white concrete. Keeping the feet cool on the concrete was impossible and after a couple of miles downhill I longed for it to be over so I could put the fi re in my shoes out. That, along with my toes beginning to come out of the front of my shoes was beginning to get the better of me and I wondered if bare foot down the slopes might have been a better option. Managing to get down successfully with only a 3K run in to go, as many a hill runner will tell you, it is really hard work getting your legs moving after a long downhill. I felt like I was crawling to the fi nish, but to be fair, everyone said the same thing. You can see the fi nish from 20K, but the cruel organisers take you 400m past the fi nish and then run you back along an uneven sandy beach to the line. With legs already jelly-like, vision was starting to go at this point also. The ladies race was blown apart during this event, when the yellow jersey clad lady from day two collapsed at 20K. She was hospitalised as a result of the heat, and had by then blown any attempt at winning the fi rst prize, which is a return fully paid trip to the event next year! The fi nish is at the sea, so we could swim in the Med for immediate recovery of sore muscles, and cooling of hot feet!

With legs working again and vision having returned the last event is the 10K Paphos City run. The race starts at 8am and there were tourists heading home from their night out when we set off. This race is run as an open 10K so we were joined by another 50 runners to top up the numbers. There was a feeling of last day of term at the start. I guess most people knew what they had to do in the overall standings, having studied the daily results on the notice board at the hotel. This race is fl at following the front of Paphos for 4K before turning left and heading for a parallel road to get us back to where we started at Paphos harbour outside an ancient castle. There were sore legs ahead of this, with many declaring in the warm up that they didn’t think they could do the race. For me, I felt like we could sneak another hard effort in before the DOMS from the previous three days kicked in. I reckoned we had until 4pm ish going by previous experiences to get this race over. It’s like delaying a hangover by just keeping on drinking. As it happened I was done by 8:38am, and by 8:40am I was drinking the local brew “Keo” (highly recommended!) and eating real sausage rolls for my second breakfast of the day. After watching the rest of the runners coming home we had a feeling of graduation day with a team photo for all the runners, stewards and offi cials. We said goodnight to the 5th Cyprus International Challenge with a gala dinner and awards ceremony.

It’s a great event to fi nish off the year, having a winter break in the sun with a bit of competition thrown in was an ideal mix. The organisation was superb, with buses to transport us to and from race venues, cheery marshals (one of which gave me a shout every day!), speedy results and all chip timed as well, DVD coverage, and as much water and fruit (and beer on the last day!) as we needed at the end of each day.

Bod. Paphos City 10k Start / Finish

Partly in response to recent Forum posts on Treadmills and partly due to the weather recently the article below has been submitted to the Blether. Whilst some may think of it as slightly puerile I like to think of it more as a statement of the frailties of the male condition......

‘I used to go to the gym 3 times a week and made sure that I had a good lunch before an evening visit. I also used to eat M&S fl apjacks to give me a bit of an extra boost, the problem being that they tended to give me wind, anyway.........

To the gym I went on quite a busy night and managed to fi nd a treadmill in between two rather pretty and shapely younger women. Off I went clad in Lycra with my Ipod on trying to look as impressive as possible, probably running faster than I should have.

After about 3k it all started off with a lot of uncontrollable trumping........

I discretely glanced round and see that both my neighbours had ipods on.......

Saved or so I thought.

I kept going, head down thinking that I’d escaped then it arrived....... who’s been cooking cabbage ?

Now the worst part of this was that I found myself turning redder and running harder trying to run way from the aroma, unfortunately being on a treadmill I was going nowhere fast.....and getting faster !

I ended up resigned to the fact I’d made a bit of a Charlie of myself and made sure I didn’t make eye contact with the two young ladies for the rest of the night !

Since Joining Bella I’ve found that running outside does not have this particular problem !’

Names have been withheld to protect the guilty (Just don’t run in the middle of the pack !) (ed.)

Running with Wind Anon

At the Blether we’re always looking for articles, stories, photos, in fact anything to do with running and Bella.

If you’re keen to contribute, or would like to volunteer to prepare a write up of a race please get in touch.

tp

Member of the MonthLouise Gray

This month’s winner is Louise Gray. Louise has been nominated for her tireless hard work, endless enthusiasm, willingness to always have a go and above all her ever improving results.

Successfully winning a place for London Louise is also once again beginning her training and is a regular at the weekend long runs.

Congratulations Louise and best wishes for a successful and PB fi lled 2010.

Up and Coming Races....... The list below outlines the events that form part of the Winter Handicap, Club Championship or are social events. Don’t feel shy about coming along. 23rd JanDevils Burdens Relays, Falkland

24rd JanScottish Masters Veterans RelaysStrathclyde Country Park

31st JanScottish Athletics XC ChampionshipsBellahouston Park

7th FebRenfrewshire 5m Road Race

14th FebBella Valentines Day RaceVenue TBC

20th FebScottish Athletics National XC Champs.Callander Park, Falkirk

Postponed Until 27th FebruaryJack Crawford 10k (Club Championship and Winter Handicap)

Postponed Until 27rd MarchNigel Barge 10k (Club Championship and Winter Handicap)

Congratulations to Brian O’Donnell who recently passed his Level 1 Coaching qualifi cation through Scottish Athletics.

Scottish Athletics offer various Coaching courses throughout the year and if any club member is keen to attend the club will usually meet 50% of the cost.

Please speak to a Committee member if you’re interested.

Valentines DayValentines DayRaceRace

14th February 14th February

Meet at the Ski Centre 10:45amFood afterwards at the ‘Village Curry House’

next to the Palace of Arts

All Welcome All Welcome