Not much needs to be said about this. Warm evening, cloud cover, run as hard as you can. It's going to hurt.
Those nice folk at Run and Become put this on and charge £1 per person. Teams of three, everyone runs a mile. Some of the fast folk do it in a little over 4 minutes, most take longer. And pull faces in the last hundred yards. It's a painful business, but pain = gain.
A few Porties have been coming along to these races and it certainly rewards you to race frequently and get the pacing right. A lot of folk starting sharpish and finishing blunt. It's an easy thing to do. I was here unexpectedly. I was signed up for the Tour of Fife but was having doubts as it clashed with a couple of other things I want to do. And then there's the time and expense of travelling. Then new PRCer Mark (we ran Edinburgh marathon mostly together,) asked if I could paint his new flat and that knocked it on the head.
I asked Duncan and Gareth if they were up for making a team and they agreed although Gareth was saying his legs were heavy from his second place at Ballater 10 miler at the weekend. Great to see him back racing. I was hoping to be faster than the 5.12 I did last time I did these relays. I felt I was in better shape but also a bit older. I reckoned I didn't have a sub 5 but hoped I wouldn't be slower than last time.
My memory of last time was PAIN. While it was maybe a tad less painful as I am in better shape I think I should do a few more of these and see if I improve with practice. Or just run faster. I set off (leg one) in a group blocked by some slower runners I was surprised to see at the front. I had to jump through the space to catch up on Johnny and Roy Buchanan (no relation.) I had made a note not to go out too fast so stayed about there till after the turn then overtook Roy and watched Johnny slowly but steadily pull away. Kevin's son Callum was around and after a bit went past. By the final turn they were both going strong and I was gasping. I believe Callum went past Johnny - the benefits of youth, and one of the fastest PRC times of the night.
As I staggered about recovering I took some photos of folk. There was spotting rain. We stood about for quite some time while the results were sorted superfast and prizegiving was held. I think just about the only PRCer winning a medal was Jim Scott who along with 2 non-Porties won the m50 team. (And Jim had done the Meadows Tuesday night session last night. No mean feat.)
Porty A team
I ran home with Richard who took us via Haymarket onto the cycle path. To add some miles in case we hadn't had enough exertion for the evening. He said he ran some of those miles faster than the one in the Meadows.
I have run this race several times but
such a long while ago I could only remember the titular Brae down to
the shore paths and the last punishing bedraggled thrash (after
ascending Donkey Brae) across the playing field. Someone said the
course has evolved a bit over the years although I couldn't remember
it well enough to confirm or deny. It was very jolly though. A romp
of 6.87miles from Aberdour to Dalgety Bay and back on trails, paths
and tarmac sections with enough undulations and turns to keep things
Andrew drove us through. Jim Heneghan
having local knowledge had suggested we park at the station which was
close by the race but further away than the usual parking, so not
advantageous to run to after the race and collect camera etc. So I
carried my bag and left stuff (as not advised) in the school. (It was
fine.) I felt so sorry for the locals who had gone to a lot of effort
to make the festival and race happen, spoiled by rain coming down in
torrents. OK to run in, pretty horrible to marshal in. It made the
underfoot conditions quite sploshy and more like a cross country on
the hard (fast becoming soft) dirt trails. As I warmed up I was
thinking I should have brought gnarlier trail shoes.
Around 20 Porties gathered for this
champs race and after an unexplained delay we set off. After the near
disaster of last year (some of the leading pack re-routing the race
before Donkey Brae itself,) you would think there would be more alert
marshals keeping the front runners on the right path. They nearly let
it happen again and only as an afterthought shouted LEFT as the
leaders went right. I had made an effort to get further up the field
than I would finish as the steep descent down Donkey Brae had a wet
sheen and if someone went down could have ended in a horrible twisted
log jam. I was just behind Johnny and Chris U. I had been talking to
Chris and was relieved to hear he had not yet turned 50 but was doing
so shortly. Mostly he finishes races just ahead, sometimes lots
ahead. I was concerned about the number of quality runners warming
up! After the descent to near waterlevel, Michael came past. He got
into a group of 3 or 4 who jockeyed for position, and while I was
able to keep them in visual contact I couldn't quite catch the back
of their pack. Johnny was just up ahead of that.
The trails were great – nothing too
arduous, but never boring long straights. And none of the hills were
too extreme or sustained. Had we had some of the recent bright
weather it would have been near perfect. I surprised myself by
overtaking Chris U and enjoyed the long descent along the paths and
trails to Dalgety Bay. A few folk overtook and I reckoned I was just
outside the top ten.
Sorry about the terrible photos - this was Michael receiving his prize for first v40
On the return leg Dougie, who had been
just behind me pulled alongside and then ahead. His breathing was
considerably more relaxed than mine and suggested he would stay
ahead. I did go past him briefly as we ran down a tree lined trail
but when it levelled off he was past again and I realised I didn't
stand a chance as the climb up Donkey Brae would sort me out. Which
it did though I ran all the way as my heart leapt out my chest.
Dougie went past the guy ahead. The 2 of them were too far ahead to
catch and I couldn't hear the next one behind. I finished, just
scraping under 41 minutes. I think they may well have shortened the
lap round the field – it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Nobody came
in for ages behind.
After standing around in the rain
watching folk finish I realised I was getting cold, so went off for a
handbasin rinse in the school. The rain was easing off by the time I
went back to the finish line and I enjoyed going round the festival
stalls with Andrew and others looking at the wares and chatting to
folk. There were plenty Speed of Lighters and many familiar faces.
The prize-giving was a bit strange with the race winners (m&f)
being called up twice to receive stuff. And I think only first and
second for most prizes and no team prize for what may well have gone
to the fine performances of Johnny (first Porty), Michael and Dougie. Michael was
first v40, I was first v50 and Aileen also won a prize. I think Yana
may have been third lady.
Festival King, his attendant, Festival Queen's attendant and Festival Queen.
The fun run prizes were also handed
out although again the audience seemed to be more certain of the
correct order and genders of the runners than the organisers. Many thanks to the course markers and
marshals who braved the weather, everyone seemed to agree it was a
Busy weekend. I realised after Friday's
run (10 hilly miles tempo round the Queen's Drive and Innocent r/w in
67mins) that I had more things to do today than time to do them.
Buying shoes would have to wait – Sunday's race will be done in old
shoes. The Airshow at East Fortune was today and I really wanted to
get along there. Trouble was Mary wanted to do 16 miles first which
would take 3 hrs and the flying started at 1pm.
I got up early-ish and we left for
Aberlady around 9.30. I took my bike in the back of the van for later
and we set off from the bridge at Aberlady to run the beaches and
trails to North Berwick then back by the road. (Enjoying the Open
countryside.) It was a glorious morning – another reason to get out
sharpish and definitely the best part of the day. Butterflies
scattered as we ran along the machair to the beach. There was a
Springwatch programme on the other night about butterflies and moths.
It's all very well employing camera-persons to chase lepidoptera
around all day to get beautiful close-ups but I had an airshow to
catch and Mary wasn't hanging around either. I would chase some
little blue maniac around for a while, then it would settle, I would
take one step towards it and it would take off again. Meanwhile Mary
is now at the other end of Aberlady beach.
No trips to the subs today. Full of the
summer joys I began to chat to Mary who was quick to remind me this
was her tempo run (if not mine) and could I please not chat through
it. I went off to chase more butterflies and I thought I got that
elusive blue shitter (I knew it would be a “Common Blue” it so is
not,) as well as a Red Admirally type though you can never really be
sure till you get home and upload them to the monitor. I lost more
than I captured. And those boring white ones – I don't even chase
them now. I don't know if maybe like the Masai chasing down an
antelope all day until it drops from exhaustion, you can run a
butterfly into the ground until it stops that infuriating dance and
just sits there gasping. They give little away. I haven't yet had the
time to explore that. Can't see how the BBC would get such good shots
otherwise. I mean you can't hear the camera dude, in the background,
breathing like an asthmatic, but they may edit that out. They did
feature 6 Spot Burnets though, did you see? Now there
is a (daylight) moth happy to pose for a portrait. Three of them on
The tide was well out. Some
unpleasantly rippled sand hiding pockets of wet but all pretty good.
I think we beat the crowds although by Gullane there were more folk
about. And an octopus – don't recall seeing such a fine specimen
along the coast. Today's best dead thing. I saw in the news recently
a person's body was found along the E Lothian coast. That is not on
my tick list.
Today's best dead thing
I try not to take too many pics of
Fidra but it is difficult to resist its aesthetic pull. The same
could not be said of a large group of dogwalkers who all had boxers
and mastiffs, I think, (breeds that have fallen out the ugly tree,)
just this side of N Berwick. Look I'm sorry if this was you but I
think there was something aesthetically askew going on there – it
was all I could do not to shout out to Mary to lower her sunglasses
and hurry past this group of unfortunates. I can report that the dogs
were well behaved (and the majority on leashes) and as such that's my
favourite kind. I didn't risk a photo.
This could be somewhere hot in Europe. (Oh, it is!)
N Berwick was busy with all sorts
including an old dude who felt the need to talk rubbish to Mary. I'm
not sure which institution he was on day release from, but the
sunshine was taking its toll. We scoffed a pecan pastry and bottle of
pop from the coop then set off up the road back to Aberlady. Again
Mary suggested I run ahead so I took the car key in order to
change into my non-running kit in plenty time for the airshow. Mary
had an appointment with some University friends so was missing the
airshow. I was tempted to sneak off to the Archerfields trails on the
return run, rather than the boring tarmac but felt it would be
selfish in case I dropped dead from something and Mary spent ages
having to scour the undergrowth for her car key. If I dropped dead on
the tarmac at least she'd come across the bloating corpse on her way
to the car.
Also there was the possibility of being
distracted by those devilish butterflies and taking longer to get
back to Aberlady than Mary. I was only about 5 minutes ahead (over
the 6 miles) as I stopped a couple of times to take photos and then
spent the rest of the time in the rest room at Aberlady
washing the sand off my lower legs and the sweat off my brow before
getting dropped off (with bike) just outside the Airshow.
"I say, isn't that Jerry in a Messerschmitt?"
I thought there may be a few hundred
there. There were fields parked up like T in the flippin Park.
I have no idea how many thousand were there but the chance of bumping
into a couple of the folk I knew might be there, was remote. I
haven't been to an airshow since I was a lad.
plenty nostalgia on show
My father was in
aeroplanes in WWII and fairly keen on planes. In my childhood
(mid to late 60s) the English Electric Lightning was the loudest
noise on the runway and made the sort of thundering that could fill a
nipper's trousers. We had Airfix kits of them and I am fairly sure
all that plane construction, from Airfix to balsa flying models, was
what led me to study sculpture at Art School years later.
various echos of those hobbies here at East Fortune – from the
Macmerry Modellers to dudes who seemed to collect and sell plastic
kits – both built and kits in their original boxes. I resisted the urge
to get my wallet out and I could see Ben was tempted also –
particularly by the balsa remote control jobs. I warned of months of
construction time followed by very brief and often devastating flying
times. But it's a romantic hobby and resonant of the 1950's long
before computers marched into our lives and insisted we shelf those
SWIP aerobatic team
STOP doing that and freaking me out.
Two of the best planes on show today –
the outstanding SWIP Aerobatic team, flying SA1100 Silence Twister Single Seaters – their planes were developed from
scale models. Details here.
Ben with long lens.
Ah yes, I forgot to say I texted Ben to
say I was at the airshow and was he? We had both expressed interest
but failed to arrange to meet there. He texted back to say he was
standing between the Ambulance and the Hog Roast. I had been standing
about 20 yards away when I texted. That was the second best thing all
day. The first was a pint of Belhaven Best from the beer tent but
that may have been due to the 3 hrs of warm thirsty running. It was
so outstanding I bought Ben one as he was busy looking after his 2
youngsters and trying out his new huge lens. Those were the 2
dominant themes of the show – long lenses and bored kids.
Everywhere you looked. I had neither and felt inadequate in the
I was also a bit gutted to have missed
the Typhoon Eurofighter which was flown first. Surely you keep your
most advanced aircraft till last – the pièce de résistance and all
that? Apparently not. Curses. Also awol was the Sea King helicopter
which was called away to a real rescue. Surely a demonstration for
THOUSANDS outweighs a capsized boat and couple of swimmers or
whatever the so-called emergency was.
Compensating for that loss was
a black Huey helicopter straight out of 'Nam. They even played the
Doors playing “the End” over the PA as it lifted off somewhat
shakily, catching crosswinds, and did a couple of circuits. It was very M*A*S*H or
The scale of the planes was
interesting. Everyone knows what size a Spitfire is but I was
surprised at how large Concorde was. It was in a hangar so maybe that
made it look larger. There was also a queue round the block to get on
board for a nosey. I didn't bother. The Fairey Swordfish also looked
quite a bit bigger in flight than expected, carrying its iconic torpedo. The static Vulcan Bomber
was maybe a bit smaller than it looks when flying. The Vulcan, that
giant triangle, wasn't airborne – in fact it looked like it wasn't
ever going to fly again, complete with peeling paint.
After a while I was getting as
fractious as the kids – there's only so many planes doing loops you
can watch before it all gets a bit samey. And every time a couple
flew right at each other I clenched parts of me until they squeaked
past without touching. If you want to alarm yourself google “airshow
disaster videos”. I was pleased there were none today and everyone
went home happy. Except I had to cycle home for 80 minutes in the
rain which isn't as much fun as it sounds. But a good day out – I
best go and get some sleep before tomorrow's race! Yikes!