Time for
a bit of a round-up I reckon. For once
I’ll spare you a blow-by-blow account, and simply focus on 10 highlights, 5
lowlights (because the good should outweigh the bad), and 3 things I’ve learned
(“that many?!” you say).
Highlights
1. Feel
The Burns – January. A cracking race in the hills above Selkirk, with a
fantastic haggis dinner afterwards. A
beautiful sunny day, with fresh crisp snow on the ground, and probably my
favourite two and a half miles of running this year (the lovely downhill
section from the far turn back to the stream crossing).
2. Borders Marathon –
March. Ordinarily, running 23.5 laps of the pock-marked gravel safety track
around the inside of Kelso Racecourse would make few people’s highlights
reel. But it was my first ever (and almost
certainly last ever) win in a marathon.
And it doesn’t matter that Stuart was the only quality athlete in the
field. Nor that he generously sacrificed
his own race to pace me round, working with me peloton-style to shelter each
other from the wind, before allowing me to push on towards the end. I won!
3. D33 Ultra – March. Another slightly unlikely one. Running from Aberdeen out to Banchory and
back again sounds like it ought to be pretty picturesque but it wasn’t – you
follow the old railway line, so for the most part it is a dead-straight path
flanked by embankments. But the company
was good (I spent much of it chatting to Porty Roly and Johnny Stornoway), my
pacing was sensible, I ran the whole way, and finished strongly enough to duck
under my target of 4 hours. And more
importantly, proved that I could cope with the mental challenge of a race of
beyond marathon distance.
4. Highland Fling –
April. The first of my two “A races” of
2015. Initially signed up for simply to take
my mind off of the then impending Amsterdam Marathon in October 2014, it then
became something I wanted to “do well”.
And it did go well. So much so
that I don’t think I’ll be back, as I don’t think there is really an aspect
that I could significantly improve upon.
Full report here.
5. The 7 Hills of
Edinburgh – June. One of my favourite races, given the element of urban
orienteering. I had a good run, winning
an individual prize (thanks to a generous/deep prize policy), and helped the
Dunbar RC team (of Rhona, Jamie and myself) take a team prize. Again, full report here.
6. Lairig Ghru – June. A long day out, but worth it. I like the sense of covering a large amount
of ground you get with a point-to-point race of this magnitude, and the feeling
of history you get from tracing a centuries old route. Tough, but rewarding. Oh, and there was the wonderful sight of an
HBT changing on the pavement on Aviemore Main Street, proudly displaying his
junk to all and sundry. Report.
7. Tour of Fife –
July/August. Almost like an extended,
sober, stag weekend. Great company from
Porties Peter, Michael, Willie and Andrew.
And my first V40 win, just days after my big birthday. The particular highlight of the 5 race series
was Day 4 at the Cambo Estate which combined warm sunshine, a scenic run, mild
peril in the form of a cattle stampede, a cooling dook in the sea, and then chips
from Crail. Report here.
8. Karlsruhe Marathon –
September. The second of my two “A
races”, but in reality the culmination of a long-held (and at times seemingly unattainable)
goal of going sub-3. Delighted to
achieve it in the context of a fab weekend away with Jo and good
clubmates. And pleased that the strategy
of stepping up to ultras this year was successful in making the marathon seem more
manageable. Full report.
9. 7 Hills and 7 Beers –
November. How to improve upon a
classic? Add beer! A large amount of laughs. Two world records.
Surprisingly little urination, vomiting, injury or death. Full report.
10. 7
Reservoirs Half Marathon – December. For
me, the best way to see the Pentlands – in them, without having to climb too
many of the buggers! A crisp, sunny,
winter’s day undoubtedly helped. Report.
Lowlights
1. Fling
Recce – March. Elements of my two day trip with Martin were excellent. But the sections along the shore of Loch
Lomond on the Sunday morning in the pouring rain were utterly miserable. Although, having encountered the worst it
could offer, I suppose I was well prepared for race day.
2. Fling “apres-ski” –
April. Elation quickly turned to misery in the aftermath of the Fling when my
body went into full-on “purge mode”. I could manage only one bite of a delicious burger prepared by Jen. I then grew very familiar with the campsite toilet block, and was left with so little
dignity that I struck up more than one conversation through the cubicle walls.
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| Lee's breakfast the next day |
3. East Lothian Summer
Series – Longniddry – July. A runaway
and severely spooked horse on the bridle path turned the race into a bit of a
farce. Although thankfully there were no
injuries.
4. Oxton Border Games Hill
Race – July. I travelled to this on the
day of my 40th birthday, hoping for a small field and a good chance
of some kind of prize. The field was
indeed small, but included Colin Donnelly (multiple winner of races such as the
Two Breweries), and Brian Marshall (multiple National Hill Racing
champion). Colin took 1st
overall, and Brian took 1st Vet.
I had no option but to take it on the chin.
5. Two
Breweries – September. Too much too soon
– only 6 days after Karlsruhe. The less
said the better really, although the free beer in Broughton Village Hall
afterwards was some consolation. Full
report.
Conclusions
1. Food/nutrition
– it turns out that chugging away on sugary crap and caffeine for 8-plus hours
will lead to a dicky tummy. Who knew?
2. Pot-hunting is a mugs’
game – best to focus on running races that you enjoy, mean something to you, or
fit into your training plan.
3. Greed
is NOT good – although I still took part in some fun events after September, my
racing performance was severely compromised by too many races, of which
a large number were long. Next year I
intend to be much more selective, with a couple of main targets, and anything
else fitting into an overall strategy of peaking for those targets. Must not sign up for absolutely everything!
Lots of great races Nick, a superb year! Hopefully 2016 will be as good.
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