Falkland Trail Race 15/12/07
Having missed all of the cross countries so far this season due to injury and various other excuses, I had set my mind on getting out at least once for a serious off-road race before Christmas. With its six miles the Falkland Trail Race seemed ideal. Richard had shown some interest and kindly gave me and Peter a lift to Fife. We arrived a little bit early in the village hall where they were still setting up the registration and carrying in a number of large boxes. Only after we had filled in the forms and paid our entry fees it became clear that the mysterious large boxes were full of Santa outfits and we were expected to run in them.
My initial reaction was one of disbelief and a vague sense of disgust (Bah Humbug). I hadn’t come all the way to Fife to perform in some fancy dress parade, I wanted to run a serious race, and why wasn’t this mentioned on the Fife AC web-site. Anyway having come all that way it seemed silly to be a party pooper and not to get into the spirit of the event. Wearing a Santa Suit doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t push yourself. So I decided to go for it wearing the coat and hat only, I really couldn’t face wearing those baggy trousers. Richard and Peter were much braver and didn’t compromise. They wore the full outfit, apart from the beard. I have to admit that the line up for the start was quite a sight. About a hundred Santa Suits had been handed out and most people, including some of the most serious runners were actually wearing at least part of it, some even wore the fake beard.
The course is an out and back, starting with a few hundred meters of tarmac with two fairly steep uphill bits, followed by a section on grass between beech hedges, after which it disappears into the woods for a few miles, gradually climbing on a forestry track along the northern flank of the Lomond Hills. At the far end is a short loop, steeply down the hill at first followed by a short flattish section and then back up to the forestry track on which you came in. After that it’s all the way back down to Falkland House and the finish.
When we set off from the start just outside Falkland House there was definitely no hanging around. I managed to get off the tarmac following right on Santa’s (Peter) heels. The cold air made me struggle a bit with my breathing having only just recovered from a chesty cold. I was also slightly worried about the pace, not quite knowing what climbing was ahead of us. Along the forestry track Santa (Peter) and I swapped places a couple of times, until on one of the short downhills he managed to gain about twenty meters on me. It was at the steep downhill section at the far end of the course where he left me behind for good (must be something to do with all those downhill miles on the Everest marathon). Until that point I hadn’t felt that bad and that I would be able to run back up to the forestry track. WRONG, about two thirds of the way back up I slowed right down and it was hand on the knees for me. Finally back on the track the running was so much easier, as it was now mostly downhill. I managed to speed up a bit more in the last mile and a half, overtaking at least another three Santa’s.
Leo where's your troosers?All in all a good run, despite the Santa costumes. I was very happy with my 20th position in 39:25, Santa (Peter) came in 17th in 38:56 and Santa (Richard) finished 84th in 47:21. A very enjoyable run in a gorgeous setting, and the soup and other refreshments afterwards were perfect. Santa hats off for Fife AC.
Report Leo Zijerveld
Photos Peter and Emma and Tom Scott
Peter says...
I was equally unhappy about the prospect of running in a santa suit until Brian Cruickshank of Fife put it to us that he was running in one and would be doing his best to go past as many non-santas as possible. Put that way I'd rather be in a santa suit than overtaken by one. It certainly made for a spectacle. Luckily Richard had got us there in plenty of time: time to try out running in a daft red outfit and work out how best to pin it in place. Not everyone had thought to figure this out beforehand and the trail was littered with discarded parts. Also the branches that reached over the trail had snagged tufts of red felt.
Just before the race started my friend Emma turned up - off the plane from America earlier the same day but along to run anyway. Now that's enthusiasm. (Didn't arrive in time for a Santa Suit though - was that strategy?)
I really enjoyed the race. Leo, as he said, was right by me and ensuring I didn't let the pace drop. About half way round I went past Tom Scott (who was gracious enough to take the photo at the top of the page) who was going "Oh, oh, oh," the reverse of what a Santa should be saying. I guessed he was having a bad race, which he later confirmed. I've been trying to catch Tom all year without success. (He is considerably older as well as faster.) So today was a bit of a hollow victory.
The course was really fine through the woods. I was over a minute down on last year which surprised me as I felt strong on the up-hills and the course was drier than last year. Maybe I can blame it on the red outfit. As usual for Fife AC, food and drink were provided as well as a long list of prizes. Excellent race.
pbmore photos here at roadrunpics
