RESULTS ARCHIVE

14/03/10 - Inverness Half Marathon

Contents:- Report, David Morrill - Report, Alison Smith - Results (NHH)

Race Report - Summary

An excellent set of results from the North Highland Harriers, special mention to John Douglas who came 2nd in his category and Joan Henry who came 3rd in her category - congratulations! Also to Andrew Douglas who is an associate member of NHH and came in 2nd overall with a time of 1:08:45.

Race Report - David Morrill - An 'Experienced' Runners Inverness Half.

It's a cold Sunday morning in March at 08:00 and I'm heading up Berridale Brae with the rain bouncing off the windscreen. Sounds about right for it to be the Inversnecky Half today! Nobody else on the road so I'm in Inverness in record time and far too early for the registration to be open. That will be the only record I'll break today.

Time to kill, so up to big Sisters house for a lecture on how I am destroying my already damaged joints with all this running nonsense. Yeah sure I am sis. She limps off to the kitchen to cook me up a couple of bacon and egg rolls. Sounds like good running fuel to me.

Arrive late but still far too early at registration. Still, it's good to catch up with all the old faces and discuss how under prepared we all are. However, we all know that there has been a lot of stealth training going on and if someone says they have been doing nothing then actually they are completing 60 miles a week.

The start time gets closer and we all start checking each other's running kit out to see what we need to wear. Hat, gloves, thermals, vest, shorts, long trousers? I look around and there is everything from a guy dressed suitable to climb Everest to another with almost nowt on. I decide on shorts, short sleeves, thermal gloves and no hat - a good choice in the end.

A long walk up to the start now and a good time to discuss with Alan Hughes the benefits of Air Source Heat Pump technology V's Ground Source and the process of vacuuming down sufficiently prior to refrigerant charge and of course the eventual connection to a domestic heating system - ummm.

BANG! Off goes the gun and we're off. It's dry, warm and calm and almost ideal for running - there will be some good times today. Everyone jostles for position although for us midfield runners it will make absolutely no difference whatsoever to our eventual finish time.

I spot Big Gary Angus up front so stupidly try to hang onto his tail for the first few miles. Alan Hughes catches me up and advises that we are running at less than 7 min / mile pace and I just know I'm going to pay for it. Alan pulls ahead and I back off down to around 07:30 but it's too late as with only 4 miles run I'm already starting to suffer.

5 and 6 miles pass and I lose concentration, start watching the scenery and chatting with other runners.

Too many people are passing me so I shut up and try to introduce some urgency into my day. I feel a sharp pain in my right calf muscle as I run. Ouch, what the hell is that? In my twenty odd years of running I have never injured anything so what's going on here.

My pace slows right down and I'm now hardly above walking pace and feeling pretty sore.

Even more pressing issues are now upon me as the fuel provided by the bacon and egg rolls has been consumed and I'm starting to get the 'Bonk'.

9 miles gone and I'm a starving broken wreck of a man and being overtaken more times than a Reliant Robin on the M6. I gulp down two energy gels in the hope they may give me a lift before the finish.

I feel some skin depart company from sole of my foot, so that's now a blister too! Why do I do this running nonsense? Still, struggle on and 10 & 11 pass by, with only the length of Dunnet Beach to go now. Mind over matter and just need to keep it going.

12 miles gone and the body decides its feeling good again and I start pulling folk in. Must be the gels or is it just the desire to finish?

Into the stadium and a real bounce off the track with everyone upping the pace. This is no place to be overtaken so keep the pace high right to the line.

Finished!! 1:40:52, a full fifteen minutes shy of my best but I can live with that. Now I remember why we do this running nonsense - just to finish and to shake hands with the guy or gal you finished with.

Three days on and the tiredness in the legs is fading and the urge to get back out there is returning. The calf muscle still nips a little but it's nothing I can't run through. The medal is in the bulging shoebox with all the others ready in anticipation for any possible future inspection by my grandchildren when for sure I will remember the pain of earning them.

Race Report - Alison Smith

I was reasonably pleased with my time, after three miles in getting into any pace at all for me I knew that the two hour barrier was not really on so I just ran to get as close to it as possible without letting cramp take hold.

I was helped by having Yvonne Pollard with me for the last two miles and that got me through my longest run of the year so far.

I found the conditions good - the wind was not strong and if anything cooling, the rain refreshing and the crowd really supportive. There were lots of North Highland Harriers in the stadium shouting us in which was special.

Results:-

Chip Position	Name	Time	Class	Class Position
35	Ewen MacKay	1:21:52	MS	24
69	Sandy Christie	1:26:34	M45	9
112	David Spencer	1:30.25	M40	16
117	David Stockan	1:31:01	MS	65
138	Gary Angus	1:32:02	M45	24
158	Kenny Patterson	1:33:21	M40	25
188	John Douglas	1:34:42	M60	2
199	Joan Henry	1.35.28	M40	3
232	Alan Hughes	1:36:57	M50	15
277	Alistair Geddes	1:39:21	M40	39
307	David Morrill	1:40:44	M45	47
334	Gary Beardsley	1:41:48	M40	48
381	Joanna Groves	1:43:45	F35	13
414	Nicola Falconer	1:45:10	FS	26
437	Martine Hughes	1:46:20	F50	5
563	Sharon McCafferty	1:51:06	F35	23
738	Carol Taylor	1:57:34	F45	23
816	Alison Smith	2:01:41	F55	4
826	Yvonne Pollard	2:02:05	F45	32
900	Jenny Harness	2:06:44	F35	50
902	Fiona Miller	2:06:52	F35	51
938	Leslie Campbell	2:09:08	M45	108
939	Karen Campbell	2:09:09	F40	52
960	Fiona Bremner	2:10:44	F45	48