Girvan Cross Country Race 20/11/05As I was in Glasgow for the University 5 mile event on Saturday I decided to stay over to take part in the Girvan cross country race on Sunday, reports Gerry.
First, I hadn't realised that Girvan was so far away, a 60 mile journey from Glasgow to get there and afterwards travel another 110 miles to get back to Edinburgh. It was worth the journey, as the weather was fine and clear making the excellent scenery stand out.
Being so far from my usual running ground I wasn't sure what the competition would be like, maybe I could do well in ths race. I was to be disappointed as 4 times Scottish cross country champion Bobby Quinn appeared at the starting line along with a few other class runners. Still it's good to be part of such a quality field and there were many others among the 40 or 50 starters whom I could match.
It was a tough 9.6 km course, 3 laps of a hilly route, both uphill and down, with few flat areas in which to get some recovery. My time of 41.5 mins reflects this as the previous day I had run a race of 1 mile shorter in 12 mins less. Gladly most of the course was firm, running over farm flelds. Having raced the previous day I went out steadily, in fact I had to as the first part of the course was a fairly long uphill stretch - just as well as I'd be running up this twice again.
I am pleased to say that once I got settled into the run, after the first mile, I managed to gain quite a few places. One guy though, who was close to me throughout the race, seemed to enjoy the uphill parts better than me and while I stretched away over the flatter parts and downhill areas, he forever seemed to catch up with me when it came to uphill. He also appeared to have some supporters out to cheer him as I heard them shout "go on, you're catching him" as I struggled up one of the hilly parts. Nevertheless, in the last mile I managed to 'stick in' over the hills and left the chap behind, indeed catching the next person in front before the finish.
Overall a good weekend of racing. Travelling to Girvan is pleasant, Ailsa Craig looked great, though maybe not an ideal day trip if you have something serious to do once you get there.Report Gerry Scullion