Half Marathon a Month Challenge 2014 - Q2 (April to June)

This post covers the half marathons that Chris and I ran in the second quarter of 2014. Details of Q1 can be found in my previous post!

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19th April 2014 

Chris - Angus HAM  - 01:59:14

Frank - Angus HAM - 02:03:02

The Angus Half Marathon takes place around Monikie Country Park near Carnoustie. A lovely part of the world, especially in April. Now, I have some familiarity with Carnoustie after the McLeod's took Paul Molloy and myself for wee round of golf at the Championship Course of which they are members, and I expected the route would be fairly flattish, like it is near the coast. Well, you don't have to go far inland for the terrain to become what I'd euphemistically call 'undulating'.

Clare, Scarlett and I made the trip to Monikie for the race and we met Chris in the environs of the park. Margaret-Ann would catch up with us afterwards. It was a beautiful setting for both the start and finish of the race. 

The run wasn't chip timed, so we all dashed off when the guy with the megaphone told us to. As usual, Chris disappeared into the distance! It was about halfway through I noticed that we seemingly had more downhill than uphill undulations so far. Given that we were finishing in the same place we started, there had to be payback at some point, and sure enough it arrived as expected in the last few kilometres. Just when you're least capable of dealing with it!  At this point I also spotted Chris in the distance for the first time. There was a very steep hill about 800 metres ahead and he was halfway up it, walking! "Aha!", I thought. Here's a chance to catch him up and maybe we could cross the line together. About 5 minutes later I was walking up the same brutal hill myself, and Chris was long gone. This was the first time I had ever stopped to walk during a half marathon, but I was later to learn that sometimes this is actually the most efficient approach to dealing with very steep hills in long distance races.

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4th May 2014 

Frank - Isle of Cumbrae  - 01:59:40

25th May 2014

Chris - Edinburgh EMF - 01:56:31

http://www.results.edinburgh-marathon.com/index.php?year=2014emf_half&action=search

This was the first month in which circumstances prevented Chris and I running the same race during our half marathon a month challenge. Chris was running the big Edinburgh Half Marathon, but because Clare, Antonia, Scarlett and I were going to Luxembourg for Paul and Jelena's wedding that weekend, I had to construct a home made run for May.

Obviously I'm unable go into much detail about Chris's Edinburgh run, but I do know that he ran a Personal Best that day! Perhaps Chris will take the opportunity to supplement this post using the reply section(?)

My run was really enjoyable, because running around Cumbrae always is. If you combine it with a family trip to the seaside then great fun can be had by all! Cumbrae is relatively flat and there's not too much traffic to deal with. Also, the island is almost exactly 10 miles in circumference, so you just have to run 3.1 miles of it twice in order to cover the half marathon distance. I decided to start off at Fintry Bay on the west of the island and run anti-clockwise. This meant that I finished right at the beach in Millport, the capital city of Cumbrae. After eating two Magnum Classics in quick succession I had replenished many of my lost carbs and went to join Clare, Scarlett and her friend Rosie, who were playing on the swings!

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14th June 2014 

Chris - Isle of Skye  - 02:06:00

Frank - Isle of Skye - 02:06:00

http://www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/results/Skye%20Half%20Marathon/1459

As you may have noticed from our times, this was not the fastest half marathon that we've ever run. Here is a list of potential reasons (excuses)....

1. The 7.5 hours it took to drive to Skye the day before the race.
2. The distraction of World Cup football matches and the public houses where we watched them.
3. The blistering heat on the day of the race.
4. The humongous hills that we had to negotiate during the run.
5. Dodging traffic during the last 2km on the way back into Portree.

The drive up took a wee bit longer than anticipated due to a few traffic jams (particularly around Tyndrum), and a stop at the Ben Nevis Bar in Fort William for a shandy and a fish pie. However, as you can imagine, the scenery was absolutely spectacular en route, and there was cricket to listen to on the radio, so the journey time flew in.

After we'd checked into our wee guest house we headed for the hostelries of Portree to sample some ales and watch footy. When morning arrived I for one was maybe a wee bit delicate, but a hearty breakfast sorted that out.

The event itself was very well organised, and great fun. Chris did his usual disappearing act at the start, and it soon became apparent that the conditions were going to be challenging. Hills and sunshine. My hated combination! 

This time, around 16km into the race, I did catch up with Chris during a particularly gruesome hill climb. At that point we decided to jog to the finish together, so our times could probably have been a couple of minutes better if we had upped the pace a bit. What was a bit disconcerting was the poor traffic management near the end of the race. Car drivers seemed to be able to use their own discretion regarding how much room they would give runners on the road. There were a few wing mirrors that got uncomfortably close to runners on occasion. 

What a fantastic trip though, and it was great getting back to Skye after many many years.