National Road Relays, March 31

On Saturday 31 March, we sent two teams to the National Road Relays in Livingstone, a first for the club as far as anyone present on the day could remember. For the men, the race comprises six legs, alternating between the short (3 miles) and long (5.8 miles) legs, while the women run the same legs but only doing each one twice, instead of three times. Most of the course was on cycle paths and pedestrian routes and by Crieff standards, was pretty flat.

When I say we sent two teams, I should perhaps say that two teams managed to get to Livingstone somehow, just arriving in time, with only a wee hint of panic. Question marks were first raised in the car park at the Recreation Centre when Allan didn’t show up – it turned out he had an urgent appointment at IKEA in Edinburgh, but he did assure us he’d make his own way to the race (which he did do, in plenty of time for his leg).

The next point of confusion arose thanks to Kerry and Jeff’s satnav, which decided that a tour of the motorway network of West Lothian was what was needed, rather than simply following the signs to Livingstone. And then the convoy split three ways with the start almost in sight and we wondered if we’d ever see Angela again, or if she was doomed to a fate of Livingstone roundabouts

So there we were at the start, apart from Kerry and Doug, the Leg 1 runners, who were about 100 metres down the road, oblivious to the 1-minute whistle, having a chat and generally looking quite relaxed. I managed to put an end to that and grabbed them in time for them to get a quick warm-up/sprint to the start, getting to the line with at least 5 seconds to spare. We actually had a race underway!

Kerry was apparently leading Doug most of the way round, but Doug’s ego managed to summon up sufficient energy for a final dash over the last 100 metres to finish 3 seconds ahead of Kerry. Their times of 20.35 and 20.38 were both pretty fine efforts.

Leg 2 runners were PhilM and Angela. Despite his aversion to tarmac, Phil put in a strong run, but couldn’t hold off Angela, who passed him and ran her leg in 38.44, 13 seconds faster than Phil.

Leg 3 runners were Liz and Jeff. Jeff followed up his terrific performance at Alloa with a very creditable 21.49. Liz had a fight with some of the local vegetation because we hadn’t had enough drama for the day. Suffice to say the photos of Liz after her leg don’t show her at her best. Despite her battle wounds, Liz ran a fine leg of 24.41.

Leg 4 runners were me and Rhian. By this stage, the race was quite spread out, so I could see a couple of runners ahead of me, but it wasn’t exactly intense racing. I managed to overtake a few people, but was also passed by a few as well – it’s always so discouraging to see just how quickly faster runners disappear from view when they pass you. My time for the leg was 37.59, while Rhian finished in 40.51. The women’s team finished in a total time of 2.05.54, in 17th position.

Our Leg 5 runner was Allan, who was buoyed by the success of his trip to IKEA and stormed round in a fine time of 22.49. However, we were a wee bit off the pace of the leaders and PhilT was part of a small select group released in a mass start. Phil probably shouldn’t have been running, given the problems he’s been having with his Achilles, so he gets big brownie point for fighting his way round in a time of 38.16, and he is now allowed to put his feet up and recover. The men’s team finished in a total time of 3.00.25, in 43rd position.

The winners of the men’s race, for what it’s worth, were Central AC, in a total time of 2.14.51. Personally, I’m not sure about the ethics of having runners who can do 3 miles in 15 minutes, or 5.8 miles in under 30 minutes, but if they think they can get away with it, good luck to them. The women’s winners were also Central AC, finishing in 1.44.36.