Ian Goudie

I had decided to run the Isle ofArran Half Marathon as it has been a while since I visited the island known as Scotland in miniature and it coincided with a 14 mile training run tha tI had scheduled as part of my Loch Ness Marathon training.  Any Island Half Marathon is also part of the Bellahouston RR’s Championship criteria.  Whilst I have long since met the criteria, a number of other Bellas decided to run it as part of theirs.  Pauline Wright, Louise Ross, Jane Simpson,Claire Thompson, Brian O’donnell, Joe Sheriden, Robert McEwan, Lyndsey Munro,Chris McKiddie and a number of partners and friends made their way to the North Ayrshire town of Ardrossan for the ferry to Brodick.  The weather forecast had looked ideal, predicting that when the race started at noon the temperature would be 15-16c with some light rain.  However on Sunday I awoke to a scorching morning and fearing that the weather would be much hotter than predicted, thought twiceabout going to Arran.  However I did need to do 14 miles that day anyway and decided to plump for Arran.  I made up a packed lunch of rice, tuna andsweetcorn, jumped on my bike and headed for Glasgow Central Station where I met up with Chris and his friend Tom.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you could purchase a cheap day return ticket which included train and ferry travel for £14:55.  The journey was completely hassle free and a pleasant way to prepare for a race.  A slight mix up with the runners bus from Brodick to the race HQ at Blackwaterfoot didn’t dampen our spirits, although it did curtail any chance of having a long warm up.  

Fellow runners explained the course to me as we got ready at the Kinloch Hotel and at noon some 111 of us set off up hill from the seafront at Blackwaterfoot and headed north towards Shiskine, the home of the once famous Shisky Discy.  I had decided that I would run the race as a long training runand was planning in doing between 8:30 to 9:00 minute miles.  I noticed the Perth pairing of Bob Brown and David Armstrong and tucked in behind them. I’ve seen them running in a number of full and half marathons and when they have overtaken me I always thought that they must be running a good race,starting slowly and working their way up through the field.  However today they shot off at a pace which I had no intention of matching, instead I made my way past Lyndsey and TonyMunro and settled in behind Louise Ross for a while before taking my shot at leading and then running side by side.  The first mile of 7:40 was quicker than I was looking for and the second mile’s pace wasn’t much slower as we made our way along the undulating road to Torbeg.  Louise and I stopped at the first waterstation and I decided to slow my pace a little as we joined the coast road from Tormore to Auchagallon.  I noticed that Killie’s Brian Darroch had started well but seemed to be tiring as the gap between us was narrowing.  At the six mile point the route turned right and I caught up with Brian and chatted as we ascended the hills on the Machrie Moor road. However the combination of the heat and the hills was getting to me, I started to struggle and dropped off the pace. I had been warned about the peaty water station and decided not to drink it but to eat half an energy bar instead. I kept going over to The String road, through Ballymichael and Shiskine before being rewarded with a flat and downhill section.  Brian O’donnell’s support during his warmdown helped me increase the pace as did Claire’s a little further on and other Bellas and supporters as I neared the finish in Blackwaterfoot.  I targeted a runner in front of me and overtook him on the final bend…but where was the finish…..not where I thought it was going to be ….I held on until I reached it and crossed the line to the cheers of the small band of supporters and runners.  I had finished in 59th place in a time of1:48:23.  After taking a moment or two to recover I shared mutual congratulations with Brian Darroch, Louise and others as we received our medals and enjoyed our post race soft drinks and bananas.  After the race finished I made my way into the hotel and joined some of the others for a warm down in the hotel’s pool…….pure bliss!  A pint ofguiness and some freshly made sandwiches helped to replenish me before the awards ceremony.

Girvan’s Kerry Liam Wilson won the race in an impressive time of 1:13:28. Cambuslang's Stuart Gibsonfinished behind Kerry in second spot with a time of 1:16:02, followed by Corstorphine's Grant Wilkie in 1:19:11.

Robert Rogerson of Kirkintilloch Olympians claimed first M40 prize with John McLaughlan of Kilbarchan finishing second. Unattached Terence Coyle won the M50 race with Bellahouston Road Runner Robert McEwan picking up the second prize. Hamilton's David Adams collecting the M60 prize.

Local runner and sub-three hour Marathon runner Jan Roxburgh won the Women's Race in 1:25:12.  Bellah ClaireThompson was second completing the course in 1:28:53, followed by Arran's Jennifer Emsley in 1:29:32.  Moorfoot's Julia Connor won the F35 race with Bella Pauline Wright collecting the second prize. Unattached Alison White won the F45 race.

Bellahouston RR's capped asuccessful day by also winning the Team Prize with Brian O'Donnell, RobertMcEwan and Joe Sheridan accumulating the points.

Verdict

This was my 35th raceof 2009.  It was hard, very hard but it was also a great race, with fantastic scenery. The post race swim was an added bonus and just what my legs needed.  My shoulders got sun burn but I loved it. To me it was much better than the Mull HaM but also much harder, hillier and slower.