Borders XC - Lauder

 I haven't been able to get Peter interested in marathons or half-marathons of late, so when he expressed an interest in doing the Borders XC series this winter, I was surprised. The only thing I gave much thought to was the logistics of getting there. We still had the Berlingo at that stage but I increasingly didn't want to push it out its comfort zone. At the last MOT it had passed, but the mechanic said that he was worried about how much rust there was underneath. He was worried that if I was to hit something, like a pot-hole, then something could break. 

I took this to heart. I was worried too! So I didn't mind bimbling along the coast at 50mph or so, but I didn't want to go on longer, wintry journeys, particularly with other people on board. As a back up plan I joined Edinburgh Car Club, so I can get a car if I need one - but the process of getting a car seems far from straightforward. I did read the instructions, but I didn't retain them all.. I think it was this. You have to find the wizard hiding behind the tree and get him to tell you the secret code for the safe which contains the car-key. When you get the car-key, you have to turn around 20 times in the street singing a high F#. Then you have to climb in the car, but don't look in the mirror, or you have to start all over again. So I'll do that if necessary, but in the meantime Steve Crane had signed up too, and he has recently got a car again! And he's a very good driver. And he lives really near us. So we asked Steve for a lift.

And so it was on a very dull Sunday morning in early November, we set out with Steve for Lauder.

Driving over Soutra, I felt more like I was in a Scandi Noir than I was on my way to a light-hearted day of cross-country. I hadn't worn my XC shoes since 2019. Peter and Steve had both done some XC more recently, but none of us are in the best shape of our lives. Just how bad was it going to be???

We got there in plenty of time before all the parking spaces filled up. We parked a bit away from the start and walked there. It was a very still day, and quite warm for November, and very grey.

When we got there we started to see people we knew - which was cheering, although it's hard to ignore how old we're all getting. Willie J had signed up but wasn't running as he's injured. I was genuinely concerned that I wasn't going to be able to run in my XC shoes. I had intended to take them out running up Arthurs Seat at some point to see if they were still alright, but never got round to it.

When I put them on and first started jogging, the angle at my ankle felt ridiculous. I'm used to big comfy shoes. Thankfully the body is remarkably adaptable and pretty soon they felt okay. 

Peter and Steve and I went a walk-jog up the hill to see what we could see of the course. It had been changed since any of us had last done it. I couldn't remember any of the course except a horrific stretch near the end on stony ground that seemed like a recipe for broken ankles. We went up this the other way and it was worse than I remembered because the fist sized stones were hidden amongst fallen leaves and there was no way to see what was under your feet. I promised myself that I'd walk over this bit if need be.

Further up the hill, it was much nicer underfoot, but it was decidedly hilly. I didn't mind this but Steve was not keen. We ran up what was to be the last downhill, and I'm glad we did because it was very nice to know in the latter stages of the actual race that we were very nearly finished.

there were a huge turnout of HBTs

Enough preamble. Soon enough it was time for the race start. Steve and I were tucked at the back and the start took a few folk by surprise. Peter had warned that it would be good to get out quickish as after the run around the field there would be a bottle-neck going down a tarmac path and overtaking would be difficult. He was right but I didn't want to overcook it too soon and did get held back at the start. I got wedged in amongst a group of HBT women - all chatting. There wasn't any easy way round so I bided my time until we went up onto the hill - then there was a lot more scope for moving through. The details blur about what was there but I think it was a game of two hills. At the top of the first hill it stayed high and ran over undulating moorland on a good path. I was working too hard to truly enjoy it, but I was as near as you can come in a race. I was wearing Salomon Speedcross (so were Peter and Steve too, by sheer coincidence) and the grip was superb. On a muddy downhill where I wouldn't expect to do well I found myself overtaking others in less aggressive footwear.

There was a wide and deep river crossing and then quite a sharp uphill immediately afterwards. This was the only place I walked. My lungs were bursting so I thought I'd try walking for 50 and running for 50 to get my heart rate down. After walking for 50 the terrain was levelling out and much as I wanted to I didn't feel I could justify any more walking, so I just kept on slogging on. 

There was a nasty last climb - a sting in the tail - but because we had reccied the end section I knew it was genuinely all downhill after that and I was able to keep going.

I was still keeping in mind the path of hidden stones, but when I got there, so many people had already run over it that it was much easier to see where the stones were and although I had to slow down it wasn't as catastrophic as I'd thought it might be. Then there was a final run of the field to the finish - a lung-busting final effort and over the finish line. Hurray. Still alive!

We met up with some other Porties we'd never met before and had our picture taken.

Not a huge turn out for the club - but there were a lot of races on that day.

So that was that! I think the headline for this is "some oldies survive the cross-country!". Well I haven't seen Steve since, but hopefully he's okay! 

Jedburgh Half Marathon

It's probably not a coincidence that the Jedburgh Half is in the morning after the clocks have gone back, so although I had to get up at 6am, biologically it was only 7. I'd arranged to get a bus and meet Aileen in Portobello so she could drive us the rest of the way to the race.  I didn't love the long stretch of time between getting up and racing - it's hard to mete out your energy and figure out what to eat and when.

It was good to catch up with Aileen on the drive down though. I've not seen her for any length of time since the pre-pandemic days. What a waste of good running time - two pandemic years and then three years of injuries. Like a bad spell. This was to be my first real post-pandemic race anyway, so maybe the spell was broken. I say "real" race because everyone knows parkrun is a race; or it should be - but the official line is that it's not. Just friends holding each others' hands. Just a sympathetic walk.

I think a major theme of our chat on the way down was how old we were getting - and everyone else too, and the growing threat of all kinds of horrible illnesses. It's hard to ignore. We chatted about cars too. I finally sold the Berlingo the other day; the stress and expense of keeping it outweighing the benefits of having it. It was a little heart-wrenching though. As I took it out for its last tour of duty I noticed its wing-mirrors were sporting not one but two fine cobwebs. A nest of moss snuggled in on the window rims. At the same time I was relieved to make it all the way to the Asda carpark down at Granton without any incidents. Nobody mentioned the scrappies as the boy was assessing the Berlingo's worth, but it's hard to imagine that it's getting sold on to anyone.

This was me signing The Berlingo over. 

The 'WeBuyAnyCar' chap was nice and told me the Berlingo was a year older than he was.

In the end it was evaluated as being worth £112, but with a £50 admin fee, I walked away with £62.

It cost £3000 in 2009 so I had it for 15 years- just £200 a year. Bargain! Well that's if you don't count the other things; tax and insurance and diesel and parking and repairs.

We got to Jedburgh with plenty of time to spare so we hid in the car as long as we could. It was a bit chilly outside and the weather forecast had showed a stiffish south-westerly wind; which would mean a head-wind on the way back. We got round to talking about times and paces - what were we going to try to do today? Aileen has also been injured for much of the year, so she was being cautious. Both of us thought we could get under 2 hours. Neither of us thought we could break 1h 50. Under 1h 55 would be good. About 20 minutes before the race we got out and started warming up.

There were a smattering of other Porties. I knew who Mark Upward was, but not anyone else - except Mitchell Fraser - I know him but never saw him.

Enough preamble. We were piped to the start like haggises, and eventually we set off.

One of the things Aileen and I had talked about in the car was the importance of not overcooking it to start with. There were a lot of people but there was not very much space so I spent the first mile weaving in and out of people. The half marathon and 10k start together and so there were a variety of people with different levels of ambition and ability - by which I mean there were 5 or 6 people in matching outfits completely blocking the road ahead while running and chatting as if they had all day. Schoolboy error. I never start at the back if I can help it for just this reason, but Aileen and I had started in the last 3 lines of people. It makes sense on paper to start well back but in reality, losing time unnecessarily so early on feels intolerable.

There were a few uphills and downhills and soon enough I had some clearer space around me and I could go at my own pace. I had hoped to feel relatively comfortable in the first couple of miles. 8.40 pace would be good enough, 8.20 would be pushing my luck. The first mile went by in 8.22. At the top of a hill a bit later I sensed Aileen just behind me. As she drew even I said (gasped) to her "Aileen I think I've already over-cooked it", and just at that moment my watch beeped and showed me I'd run the 2nd mile in 8 minutes dead. The old fool contains the young fool. There's no getting away from it.

We were running around the same pace, but I was uncomfortable and although loathe to let go, just thought I needed to. I let myself drop back just a little bit, trying to focus on what was going on inside rather than get caught up in where others were in the race. Over a number of miles Aileen got maybe 200m away. There's a point at which the course doubles back on the other side of some trees - maybe around the 6 mile mark. We waved through the trees.

Later she stopped and walked at a water station, but I'd had water earlier so I ran on at that point. There was a long wide road and I was focusing on trying to find the most level bit of tarmac to run on and trying not to think anything. I've run this race twice before but I can't say I remembered any of the course at all. In the distance I saw that we were going to turn up a hill and then further along the road I could see Kathly Henly running up the road towards me. I gave her a wave and wondered just how far ahead she was.

The route turned right and up, along and then back down onto the main road, and Aileen told me later, went past a church, although I never saw a church. I don't know what I was looking at. Probably my feet. Round about the top of the downhill I think, Aileen went past me again.  Back on the main road the headwind began in earnest. It's a bleak thing running into a headwind on a wide road on a grey day in a race. I was careful not to think anything about distance or time to go or any of that. I let my mind sing songs to itself and kept on keeping on. Some miles up this road I saw that I was drawing nearer to Aileen again. I had two dextrose tablets wrapped in silver paper so I had them at the next water stop. I'd read something about them being easier to assimilate than gels. Gels had stopped doing it for me years ago, so it was worth a try. I think they likely did help although there was no miraculous boost in performance.

At some point, round about 9 miles maybe, I went past Aileen again and didn't see her until the end.

Now I knew I was doing alright. I didn't know exactly what my average pace was up to that point but I knew I was on for the low 1h 50s if I could just not drop the ball at this stage. Having said that, there were challenges. There was a head-wind, there was a long hill and I was tired. At 11 miles I remembered that Stuart Hay had said that the last 2 miles were pretty much downhill. I was near the crest of a hill so that gave me hope that relief would come soon. It wasn't easy running the downhills though. The pavement was narrow and it was on quite a fast road. The cars flying by were making me nervous because I was spaced out and my legs were a bit wobbly. I passed a couple of runners who were doggedly holding to the centre of the pavement so I had to go round them and risk pitching head-long into traffic - or so I feared. My ribs hurt, which was a new one on me. I had no idea why but they did, and I didn't want to breathe in too hard in case I set off some kind of cramp or rigor mortis that would take me out at this late stage. In the last mile, sadly, not one, but two women went past me, and I didn't have any response (although I think I actually beat the 2nd one because I had started so far back at the start of the race - chip time revenge). The finish came at last and I was glad to stop.

I got a medal and a bottle of water and a toffee crisp.

Aileen crossed the line not long after. She got a toffee crisp and a snickers bar. She said the ladies had told her to take as many as she liked. No-one said that to me!! We joked that it was because they thought I was fat enough already. There's a cruelty to this running business.

There was a winners podium so I asked a young man in an anorak if he could take a picture of me and Aileen.. I think he was maybe a bit hypothermic because it took a surprising amount of coaching to get him to take the picture, and then it was all squint and you can't see the winner's steps, which was the whole point. Aileen said I'd confused him by asking him to take a photograph with a camera and maybe she had a point

Emm, this was on some steps.

So..........then we went and had a cup of tea in the car and drove home. I am tremendously proud. We are signed up for the Edinburgh Marathon next year but Aileen is deeply unsure. I tried to tell her that the training would be good and she let me know she wasn't sure that it would be. God knows she is likely right.

Thanks to The Jedburgh Running Festival people for a well-organized race with lovely marshals.

results down the page here