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news...

dumfries marathon & Criffel hill race

Congratulations to Charlie Martin who came in 14th overall (out of 86) to finish strongly in a time of 3:14:26 in the Dumfries marathon.  Alex has been out on the hills again, this time running the Criffel hill race in a time of 1:20:58.  Well done to both runners.

Jessica Findlay

If anyone is tired of hearing of appeals for distant or remote good causes, take a moment to consider the plight of Troon girl, Jessica Findlay who suffers from a very rare life threatening blood vessel defect in her lungs.  You can hear an STV news report about Jessica here.  Her family also have a website for anyone wishing to make any donations towards her treatment in America.

inverness 1/2 marathon

Seven tortoises made it up to Inverness for the half marathon this year, six to run and one (George) to cheer us on.  The weather forecast was a bit worrying but the bad weather stayed south and apart from a light shower pre-race, the only problem we had to contend with was a bit of wind on some parts of the course. Tim was first tortoise home in 1:33:25 followed by Anne Noble in 1:45:00.  After than it was John McKinlay in 1:49:21 and Kirsty McKinlay in  1:58:02.  Kate McKean and Anita Johnson finished in 2:00:52 and 2:05:31 respectively. Photographs courtesy of http://www.northsport.com/ (Apologies to Kirsty over initial confusion with photographs)

march's 5K

Another month, another 5K.  It was perfect conditions for fast times tonight, not a breath of wind and no chance of overheating. Tim finished first in a time of 19:21 followed by Charlie in 19:48.  After that it was Alex in 21:08, then Colin Bucke in 21:33, Anne Noble 22:48, George Malone 24:34 and John McKinlay 24:46.

congratulations to our tortoise down under

A belated congratulations to Andy Kerr, our expatriate tortoise who has at last managed to realise some of his potential with an excellent 10:46:47 for the Ironman New Zealand at Taupo.  Nearly all the improvement came in his marathon time where he took over an hour off of his previous times, running an excellent 4:04:03 (after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile cycle!).  A brilliant result and one to be darned chuffed with.

ScottishPower National Cross Country Championship (23/02/08)

Two tortoises made it to Falkirk to finish off the club winter championship.  George McGregor finished in 57:36 whilst Anne Noble finished in 38:23.  George scored 40 points in the championship (22 clear of the next man!) whilst Anne also scored 40 points taking her 4 points ahead of the next lady.  Congratulations to both champions!

talk by Chris Moon on 23/02/08 (15/02/08)

masters cc

Three tortoises made it to Irvine last Saturday to take part in the Scottish Athletics National Masters CC Championships.  Charlie Martin (45) was first home in 43:05.  George McGregor (60) was second home in 45:55 and Owen Light (75) was the first V75 home in 1:08:25 making him the V75 Scottish champion! (photographs courtesy of Kenneth Philips. David Miller (Irvine) was 2nd overall and Kerry Wilson (Girvan) was 9th)

february's 5K

Near perfect conditions made for some excellent times tonight.  Bobby stormed away to knock another 15 seconds off of his January time with a 19:04.  Tim followed up with Charlie hot on his heels.  The two finished in 19:59 and 20:04 respectively.  Anne ran a PB of 22:44 and Mark Melville followed up in 23:43.  Moira put in a 23:53 whilst our chairman chased after with a 24:36, a big improvement over last month!  Robert Gray found that pancakes weren't the best pre-race meal but managed 25:31 nonetheless. John MCKinlay was close behind in 25:43 and Dave Bolton ran 26:!8.  Karen's new hairdo managed 27:21 (with Karen close behind) and Elaine Warr and Mhairi Shaw crossed the line together in 28:38.  Once again, well done to all those who took part.

wild & windy 5K

Tuesday evening was wild and wet but as is so often the case, the rain stopped in time for us to do our time trial.  It's that time of year when we have to sober up and find out how much damage the festive season has done to us.   Bobby fared best of all with an excellent 19:19.  Tim followed up in 20:51 followed by Ian McNee in 22:16.  George (McGregor) finished in 22:39.  George Malone and John McKinlay both finished in 28:08 and Elaine Warr finished her first full 5K with us in 31:03.  Not the nicest of nights so well done to all those who braved the elements!

Tom Matthews r.i.p.

Troon Tortoises were saddened to hear of the death of Tom Matthews, an early and long-time member of the club.  He is survived by his wife Meta and daughter Dawn.  His funeral is at 2:30 on Monday the 6th of January at the Old Parish Church.  Any club member who would like to pay their respects is welcome to attend.

troon 10K 08

The date for this year's race has been set for Wednesday the 7th of May. Put it in your diary now! As before, it'll be pre-entry only.  Entry isn't open yet but watch this space for announcements.

a belated "Happy New Year" to all tortoises and site visitors!

It's a new year and already folk have been racing.  Bobby and Anne made it up to Beith for the New Year road race.  Anne took first vet lady and Bobby took third supervet.  No official times yet but well done to the pair of them.  Meanwhile, not to be outdone, our very own mountain goat (well "goat" anyway) Alex Drain went for a gallop up Greenmantle on the same day.  Didn't quite go according to plan and you can read his amusing report here.

turkey trot

Boxing day was typically wild and windy and seven tortoises made it down to the seafront in time for their races.  (This is in no way a dig at a certain "SBG" who turned up too late for the cyclists V harriers race ).  A strong wind from the south made the first section of the 5 & 10 K races a real struggle.  Tim tried (unsuccessfully) to steal candy from the kids by entering just the 5K fun run but was well beaten into 5th place.  Meanwhile, Bobby (40:30). George McGregor (45:19), Anne (46:08), Bruce (46:35), Moira (48:42) & Anita (53:25) did battle with the elements (& Christmas pud) to complete their races.  Once again Kenneth Philips was there and his photographs can be seen here.

cyclists V harriers

A fine time was had in Irvine on Sunday in the annual cyclist V harriers race with some particularly close racing amongst the Troon men.  Ian took a well deserved first place ahead of Alex, closely followed by George and Tim.  Caroline and Moira did their bit too to uphold their "never miss a CC race" reputation this year.  Kenneth Phillips was there taking photographs and these can all be seen here.

a belated "well done" note to our running ladies

Last Saturday saw just three tortoises making it to the West District CC championships in Irvine, all of them women.  Well done to Anne Noble (29:51), Caroline Mutch (30:10) and Moira Connell (32:28) who braved the horrid weather last Saturday.

tw3 (That was the week that was)

It's been a busy week for the tortoises starting with the 5K time trial on Tuesday.  A strong southerly wind put paid to fast times which made Anne's PB of 22:55 all the more remarkable.  Well done to all those who turned out for the run at this time of year and in such weather.  Full results are now on the results page.

Thursday night was the night for the club's fancy dress 4K handicap.  Probably fair to say that the idea of running in fancy dress wasn't overwhelmingly supported but I live in hope that NEXT year, we'll see a few more costumes.   The overall winner who ran closest to his estimated time was Ian McNee with an estimate of 15:55 and an actual time of 15:59.  Moira scooped the ladies prize for running closest to her estimate.

Friday night was the Christmas club night out at Elliots in Prestwick.  After a short speech by our president, the club trophies we bestowed upon their recipients.  The men's winter trophy went to Alex Drain, the ladies winter trophy to Anne Noble.  The men's summer trophy went to Bobby Miller breaking an 11 year streak by George McGregor and the ladies trophy was won by Moira Connell.  Well done to all those who took part in the club championships.

london marathon places

Once again the club has a couple of London marathon entries up for grabs.  By now, hopefully all those who have applied will have heard whether they've succeeded in the lottery or not.  If you applied but didn't get a place, then one of these entries could be yours.  If more club members have applied (and failed in the lottery) than there are club entries, then traditionally priority is given to those who haven't run the London marathon before.  If you didn't apply for the London marathon and there are unclaimed entries, then these may be allocated to any club member who subsequently decides that they wish to run the London marathon. 

ayrshire Cross Country championship, Girvan

Six tortoises made it to Girvan for the CC race on Sunday, three men and three women.  For the men, George McGregor set the pace with a time of 48:03 on a new (and very muddy) course.  Alex followed him in 50:20 (no doubt stopping to ask for directions on the way round) and Gordon in 56:31.  The women excelled themselves by picking up the trophy for the first ladies team in addition to several individual prizes.  Anne finished in 34:29 (2nd lady overall & possibly 1st supervet), Caroline finished in 35:34 (3rd lady) and Moira in 37:23.  Once again, well done to all those who took part and did their bit to support local races & represent the club.

run with the wind 10K

First off, a huge congratulations to Strathaven Striders for pulling off this new event with such accomplishment.  The organisation was excellent, the atmosphere was great, the route although downhill, still had enough uphill bits to be challenging and interesting.  Even the weather was perfect!  Seven tortoises made it to  this inaugural event and I think everyone enjoyed it greatly.

More by accident than design, the tortoises ended up in pole position at the start (most of us thought we were going to be running the other way!) but fortunately survived being trampled to death by dint of running like crazy for the first kilometre.   The final finishing order was Tim (41:47), Alex (43:08), Caroline (44:05), Anne (44:39), George Malone (48:25), Gordon (49:29) and Anita (51:50).  Well done to all those who took part and well done again to Strathaven Striders for putting on such a great event.

weekend round-up

On Saturday, two Tortoises (Charlie "lean, mean, running machine" Martin & Alex "mountain goat" Drain) had a go at running up and down Tinto.  For a change, the weather wasn't too inclement but this didn't help Charlie too much who was enjoying his first ever hill race.  Alex romped home in 47:19 whilst Charlie followed him in 47:27 (160 and 163 out of 246 respectively).  You can read Alex's report here.

On Sunday, Caroline Mutch, Anne Noble, Moira Connell, George McGregor, Ian McNee and Gordon Dobbie put in an appearance for the excellent Kilmarnock XC race.  Their times were, Caroline Mutch 30:31, Anne Noble 30:49, Moira Connell 34:01, Ian McNee 40:59, George McGregor 43:56 and Gordon Dobbie 51:03.  The course was a bit longer than in previous years so times aren't really comparable.  Well done to all those who took part. Thanks again to Kenneth Phillips for all the photographs.

new menu

I've added a new link on the right of the home page to the current Scottish Athletics fixtures & results page.  I'll try and keep the link updated so that it always links to the current races rather than just the first page of races.  Hopefully it'll save a bit of clicking around to find what you want.

stranraer 10K & club 5K

Last Saturday saw four tortoises venturing down to Stranraer for the 10K on a tough hilly course.  Once again the men from the club were out-numbered 4-0!  Well  done to Caroline Mutch (46:35), Anne Noble (48:06), Anita Johnson (53:49 PB) & Kate McKean (53:51).  I do believe that Anne picked up a prize in her category too.

Last night's 5K was run in blustery conditions and most folks times suffered accordingly.

at last!  Some news!

Susan Barrie was good enough to send me some pictures she's took at the relays in Irvine last weekend (or was that the weekend before last?).  Whatever, here they are.  Some cracking shots of the ladies (who clearly were enjoying themselves too much). The webmaster is particularly pleased that he almost looks like a runner from behind.

stop press: women's team almost make the podium

Well done to the women's team yesterday who came 4th overall.  Time for the men to pull their socks up (or think about gender reassignment ).

weather almost scuppers XC races (again)...(20/10/04)

For the second week running, unseasonal weather threatened to ruin the day's racing.  Tortoises were forced to endure balmy fine weather with hardly any wind.  Despite this a number of Tortoises braved the conditions last week at the West Districts Relays (where we finished 30th out of 35) and again at today's Ayrshire Relays.  This week, thanks to Owen's efforts at badgering a couple of youngsters to run for us, Troon Tortoises came close to a win but unfortunately, the young lad fae Girvan could only give us a small 16 second lead, not the 16 minute lead we were hoping for (and would have needed to win).

Charlie, Vince, Tim & Ian made up the first team with Charles running an excellent 15:33 first leg (compared to 16:11 last week). Vince took over and ran 17:34 (41 seconds quicker than last week). Tim took 13 seconds off of his time from last week with a 16:03.  Ian charged home in a blazing 15:29 obviously stung by someone's comments about his "jogging round" last week.   The second team (lead by Kerry Wilson) started well, with Kerry flying along and giving us a clear lead over the rest of the field (12:28).  After that, George (Malone) got passed by one or two runners and we slipped down the leader table somewhat (18:54). George was followed by Brian Craig of Irvine (15:03) with Owen bringing up the rear (25:08).

In the women's team we had Caroline, Anne and Moira with Susan providing moral support.  Alas, no times available for them yet.  Despite the adverse weather, I think a good time was had by all.

munich marathon report

Anne's report (and pictures) are now available for all to see on the reports page.  Click on the photographs to view larger versions.

marathon marvels (& first xc of the season)14/10/07

October has been proved a fruitful month for marathon running tortoises.  Last weekend at Loch Ness Bobby ran a very creditable 3:19 whilst Tim struggled in his wake to record a 3:41. Meanwhile Moira, supported by her husband, smashed her old PB of 4:07 and recorded her first ever sub-4 hr time with a superb 3:49.  Excellent stuff!

Meanwhile, this weekend we had another two tortoises running marathons.  Glen Rowlands ran the Toronto marathon in 4:17:55 whilst Anne Noble has finished the Munich marathon with another superb time (and PB) of 3:47:01!

Yesterday was the West Districts Cross Country relay race at Irvine beach park.  Uncharacteristically super weather rather spoiled the "cross country experience" but 6 tortoises struggled stoically on.  Alas, lack of numbers meant that Caroline could only watch from the sidelines but her support was much appreciated.  Again no results but I'm pretty sure we didn't win.

club memberships

Memberships for existing club members are now officially overdue.  If you haven't got a renewal form you can now download and print off both renewal and new member membership froms from the CONTACTS section of the website (look for them by the membership secretary's name).

so long, and thanks for all the memories 11/10/07

Many many friends from all over the country came to say farewell to Fergie yesterday, a tribute to his outgoing personality and his ability to make friends wherever he went.  The numerous messages of condolence have been archived into a single web-page along with a few photographs.  This page can be viewed here.  The e-book of condolences will remain open for as long as anyone wishes to post messages there.

The Fergie MacDonald e-book of condolences

I've set up a guest book where anyone who wishes to may leave a message of condolence or a story or any tale relating to Fergie should they so wish.  This guest-book may be accessed here.  This is for anyone who knew Fergie, not just running club-mates. There is no need to register.

Very sad news from Villeneuve

News has come to the club of the tragic death of Fergie MacDonald following an accident in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.  As a popular and long time member of the club, Fergie will be sorely missed.  Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to his wife and family.

orkney triathlon triumph update (20/9/07)

Susan would like to make it absolutely clear that she is the one in the green cap, not the red cap.  The webmaster humbly apologises for not making this clear before.

orkney triathlon triumph (19/9/07)

Ex-tortoise Susan Gray successfully retained her Orkney middle distance triathlon title in difficult conditions last weekend.  Full results here and pictures here.  One of our Sooz here. (Not to be confused with our new Sooze. )  Congratulations Susan!

merrick hill race 17/9/07

Alex Drain proved once again that he loves the hills by competing in this year's Merrick hill race which has a very taxing course that makes it one of tougher hill races around.  You can read his account of his race in the reports section.

strathaven point to pint 10K 18th November. 15/9/07

Sadly, it's probably a misprint but Stathaven Striders new 10K promises to be a bit different by being downhill and point to pint point. There's also talk of a post race party.  Entry is limited to 200 and NO ENTRIES ON THE DAY!  You can print off an entry form here.  The Strathaven Striders have long been big supporters of our own 10K so it would be nice if we could reciprocate in similar style.

at last!  Cumbrae results now available. 15/9/07

Five tortoises crossed the wild straits twixt Largs and Cumbrae to take part in this year's Round Cumbrae 10 mile race.  Ian McNee led the pack with a 1:08:04 followed by George McGregor in 1:11:09.  After that it was Bruce Walker in 1:15:05 then Caroline Mutch in 1:17:00.  Anita Johnson completed her first ever ten miler in 1:38:38.  Anita also ran in the Gallovidian 10K Road Race on the 4th of September and set a new 10K PB of 54:32.   Full results can be found on the Scottish Athletics site here.  Well done to all participants.

club subs and Christmas party deposit now due

I'd just like to remind everybody that club subscriptions are now due. If you haven't got a membership form you can download one here .  Additionally (and more urgently) Moira needs your £5 deposits for the Christmas night out ASAP.  Don't miss out on a great Christmas night out! 

glasgow half marathon (edited 05/09/07)

Five tortoises ventured north last weekend to pit themselves against the mean streets of Glasgow.  Susan Barrie ran a brilliant first half marathon in a time of 1:41:25 (a shade faster than the webmaster's first 1/2 m time of 2:15 ).  Caroline Mutch ran a very creditable 1:45:30 as did Anne Noble who improved on her time from last year with a 1:46:05.  Geoge McGregor proved once more that older doesn't have to mean slower with an excellent 1:34:28.  Robert Gray also improved his half marathon time to 1:52:28, a PB.   Congratulations to all runners. 

visit By Stade Villeneuvois

At long last I've put Niall's report together.  You can see it here and there is a link from the reports page.  Apologies to all for the delay.

irvine 10K results

The results from last Wednesday's 10k are now available. First Tortoise was Stevie Connell (37:37). 2nd Ian McNee (41:58). 3rd Fergie MacDonald (45:27), 4th Moira Connell (47:29 - pb), 5th Elaine Auld (50:08) and 6th Owen Light (61:02).

girvan half marathon 27/08/07

Girvan's half marathon had Alex in paroxysms of ecstasy this year, for the first 10 miles at least.  After that, things went a bit pear shaped.   You can read his report here.  Well done to all those who took part.  Stevie Connell 1:28:57, Bobby Miller 1:34:43, Alex Drain 1:41:56, Moira Connell 1:48:46 (1st female > 45) & Elaine Auld 1:55:48.
 

straiton hill race 27/08/07

Only two tortoises made it to Straiton this year despite Alex's best efforts to publicise this great little race.  Both Ian & Alex put in good performances despite their previous efforts on the River Ayr Way just a week before and in Ian's case, the Irvine 10K as well.  Ian finished in 22:08 with Alex not far behind in 22:58.  Photographs courtesy of Kenneth Phillips.  Alex's report here.

it's AGM time!

Once again it's time for our AGM on Tuesday night. (Marr college gym hall, usual time).  As ever, it's an opportunity for members to get involved in the running of the club.  If you have any strong views on how the club should be run, just want to help out or even feel that you could consider one of the office bearer positions, then make sure that you don't miss it.  Despite appearances the club doesn't run all by itself and if we want to continue enjoying the benefits of club membership, we should all consider committee membership.  After the AGM there's usually time for a run as well.

Irvine 10k

Well done to all those who took part this evening (22/08/07).  Muriel managed to catch a few runners on her camera and you can see her pictures here.

beat the rush!

Get your 07-08 club membership forms here (pdf format).

great Wilderness Challenge 20/08/07

Our esteemed president, Bruce Walker, modestly let sip that he completed his 17th Great Wilderness Challenge this weekend in a time of 1:55:01 for the 13 mile event.  Lest anyone think that this is a modest pace have a look at the Wilderness Challenge website.  By all accounts, the first mile took 20 minutes due to bog and heather!

river Ayr Way reports 20/08/07

I've put a couple of reports and the photos on their own page now that can be accessed through the "Reports" link or directly from here.

troon tortoises. Ayrshire's premier ultra-running club! 18/08/07

7 intrepid Tortoises proved their mettle today by showing that it took  more than the cancellation of the River Ayr Way Challenge to stop them making history and running the full length of the River Ayr Way (44 miles).   Alex Drain, Anne Noble, Ian McNee, Bobby Miller, Caroline Mutch, Tim Downie and George McGregor and  all assembled at Glenbuck this morning and departed just before 9.00 am.

Bobby finished in 7 hours and 14 minutes and George and Anne brought up the rear in 8:31.  Caroline deserves special mention for completing the run (and beating Alex!) despite being rather unsportingly tripped up by Ian and gashing her knee producing copious quantities of gore. (The tripping bit might not actually be true).

Full marks for her pluck and performance!  More pictures and stuff to follow later.

don't forget...15/08/07

...about the Marymass 10K RR next Wednesday evening (registration at the Irvine Sports Club on the Maress Road from 6:30pm).  It's a fast course so ideal for the club championship.

it's been a long time...14/08/07

...but at last I'm doing some updating.  So much has happened over the summer it's hard to know where to start.  Away back on the 16th of July Alex Drain ran the Urie Loch Hill Race in 1:06:50. His entertaining account can be read on the Reports page.  On the 28th of July there was a very successful and enjoyable Inter-club bowling night with members from Ayr, Irvine, Girvan, Troon and Kilmarnock in attendance.  Just a shame it had to happen when the webmaster was in France!  By all accounts a good time was had by all (and a very good time by some ).

Also back in July, Susan Barrie ran two PBs, one in the Tescos Race for life 5k (20:08) where she was 2nd overall (with Anita Johnson following up in 23:10) and one in the Forth Road Bridge 10K where she ran 45:27.  Well done Susan!

Troon has had visitors from overseas from its twin town Villeneuve-sur-Lot when a number of runners came over and on the 1st of August joined in the Dundonald 10.5 mile race with at least 9 Tortoises.  Bobby Miller and Stevie Connell both put in some excellent times of 40:45 and 40:49 respectively for the hilly course.  With luck, Niall will produce a piece about their visit (with photos). 

On the 5th of August Ian McNee slipped off to run the Helensburgh half marathon in 1:34:12 after a night out on the curry.  Not sure whether that would be a help or a hinderence!  Meanwhile our lad down under in NZ (Andy Kerr) was running the Taupo half marathon in 1:38:02.

On the 8th of August 11 Tortoises enjoyed a romp through Dean park as part of Kilmarnock Harriers excellent annual trail race. For a change it wasn't raining and mud was in short supply.  Consequently some good times were run although most of us were content with not getting too much slower. Once again oor Bobby ran a great race finishing in 30:42.  Our ladies also picked up the first ladies team prize!  The trail race also marked the webmaster's return to racing after a longish layoff.  As ever the marshalling and organisation was excellent.  Well done Kilmarnock Harriers!

Picture of the month must be this one of Alex taking things a wee bit seriously at the end of the Kilmarnock Trail race. (Thanks to Kenneth Philips).

August has also seen the arrival of a potential new club member in the shape of Carol Ann and Sam Elliot's new baby boy, Taylor (5lb 1oz).  Congratulations to the pair of them!

Lastly, seven intrepid Tortoises are taking on the River Ayr Way Challenge, despite the cancellation of the event by the organisers!  Bobby Miller, George McGregor, Alex Drain, Ian McNee, Caroline Mutch, Anne Noble & Tim Downie are all planning to run the 44 miles from Glenbuck to the mouth of the River Ayr this Saturday (the date of the original Challenge event).  The plan is to leave Glenbuck at 9:00 am and meet up for post run celebrations at the Waterside Inn (previously known as the Boathouse) at 8:00 pm.

I've probably left out lot's of stuff so if there's anything you'd like to see here, drop me a line.

summer fun 03/07/07

Since our last update, Troon Tortoises have been popping up all over the place.  Firstly, Anne and Caroline joined in the fun in Calderglen's trail 10k and by all accounts enjoyed themselves.  Then Karen, Alasdair and Andy pretended to be duathletes for a day in the the CORRIEYAIRACK CHALLENGE.  No individual times yet but the team came 11th out of 25.  Well done!  Not to be outdone, Stevie Connell proved his triathlon mettle in Ironman Germany with an amazing 10hrs and 17 minutes for a full Ironman.

congratulations to an ex-tortoise! 27/06/07

Ian Beattie ran his seventh West Highland Way race this year in a personal best time of 21 hours and 11 minutes.  You can read a bit about this years race on his blog (http://whwrunner.blogspot.com/) and what it's like to be back-up on Alison's (Mrs. Beattie) blog (http://whwracebackup.blogspot.com/).  Also worth looking at is John Kynaston's blog where he's currently serialising his ultimately unsuccessful battle to beat Ian.

Anita Johnson has also been busy running a 5k on a Tuesday and the East Kilbride 10k on a Friday (25:12 & 55:04 respectively).  Susan Barrie clocked up a 46:36 in East Kilbride with Anita.

more updates (& Girvan half marathon entry form)

Since Bobby's, Alasdair's and Karen's wee jaunt, we've had Caroline picking up a 10th female senior position in the Greaves 10k at Roken Glen (46:53) and Alex has been wandering in the hills again at Cairn Table (45:07).  Well done to the pair of them.  For anyone thinking of doing the Asda Girvan half marathon on August 26th, I've blagged an entry form which you can access here (in DOC format) and here (in PDF) format.  There's also a link on the "Links" page.

toasted tortoises!

This year's Devil O' the Highlands lived up to its name by being hellishly hot. (25C on my car's thermometer).  That didn't stop Bobby, Alasdair and Karen from completing this 43 mile ultra distance race in fine style.  Bobby finished in 7:57 in 10th place overall and 1st V50.  Alasdair was 8:33 (17th overall) and Karen finished in 9:57 (38th, 53 starters).

I met Karen at Kinlochleven as she descended from the Devil's staircase looking very fresh (as you can see from the picture above taken in KLL).  Congratulations to all three of them for doing so well in such tough conditions.

belated updates

It's been far too long since I updated this page and it's been a busy time.  On Thursday the 29th there was the club 10K time trial where Owen was cruelly robbed of sub 60 minute time.  On the 2nd of June we had three representatives at the Stranraer half marathon, Stevie Connell (1:24:47), Fraser Mainland (1:46:12) and Moira Connell (1:53:40).  On the 3rd of June there was the Norwich Union City V City 10k where Susan Barrie and Anita Johnson ran (46:31 and 57.22 respectively).    Also on the 3rd of June Alex took advantage of my absence once again to walk away with a first V50 prize on Saughill with a time of 32:17.  His report is here.  All results now on the results page.

Of course we mustn't forget that on the 20th of May Colin and Sonya tied the knot.  Congratulations to both of them!  Long may they run together!

kircudbright half marathon

Five tortoises ventured to the wilds of Galloway for the half marathon. Stevie Connell (1:21:25), Jim Kerr (1:40:20), John McColean (1:41:59), Anne Noble (1:44:23) and Karen Robertson (1:49:51). Well done to the lot of them!

edinburgh marathon

Alasdair and Caroline once again went to the capital to pit themselves against the mean streets of Edinburgh and came away with very respectable times (3:31 and 3:36:38 respectively).  You can read Caroline's report below (also archived in the reports section)

Well All I can say is I am just glad I made it to the start line.

It seemed I was destined not to run this marathon. I had shin splints a few months before hand and that curtailed my training and once I got back into it ended up doing some longer runs way too close to the race. Then developed a throat infection the week before and after taking a course of antibiotics it cleared up almost just in time. (Don’t anyone else try this mad training strategy -not advisable, but it was either my stubbornness that I had to do it as missed one last year due to not checking the diary or maybe the Scottish shrewdness that well I had paid my money I was damn well going to run/walk no matter what).

A few inconveniences then followed. My hotel I had booked (back in January may I add!) phoned to say it was full and they were transferring me. However when they told me it was the Caledonian Hilton at the end of Princes Street I immediately toned down my irate voice! It was nice but as you can imagine on a Saturday night very noisy which didn’t lend to a great nights sleep. I also managed to lose my confirmation letter on route from car to Expo and left my mobile in the flat but all par for the course.

The weather didn’t seem to deter many as we gathered on Princes Street under our umbrellas, Space blankets etc. The race was very well organised and coordinated. They even had pace makers for the first time which was great. I started off behind them thinking this will be a great way to keep steady pace but quickly forgot that idea as their balloons disappeared off into the distance and I hadn’t left Princess Street!!

The first 6 miles did as we were warned feel fairly easy as there were some down hills. However for the rest of it I know they said it was a flatter course but I thought some if it was a bit undulating or perhaps that was just how my legs were feeling. Running along Portobello Promenade brought back memories of last year and the scorching heat. No worries this time. Intermittent rain and side winds were what we were headed for.

At 8 miles we passed the finishing area of Musselburgh Race Course and how tempting it was to nip in there and then. We ran right along the coastline (which on a better day could have given some great views) and into Preston pans, Port Seaton and Longniddry. The wind was in our faces all the way but at least it would be behind us on the way back. I was feeling not bad as I hit 13 miles in 1hr 44 but knew there was no way I could maintain that pace for the next half. Moving along the coast road it felt a bit disheartening as you see the first runners coming back and all you can see ahead of you is one long path of runners that never seemed to end or turn. However just after Mile 17 we turned into Gosford Mansion House (quite outstanding) and run round it. I was just desperate to get to the Lucozade station leaving the park at this point to fully appreciate it! Then back virtually the same way we came in. This I felt was hard and as legs ached more and more I realised it was going to take a lot of mental determination to keep it up at more than a snails pace.

I ran for a bit behind Wonder woman and Ewan I think his name was who was running for charity donned in his kilt! As one spectator aptly put it "Well Done – Yir Aff Yir Heid but Well Done Son!" The final mile took us into the straight in front of the Grandstand but I think a gentle trot rather than a flat out gallop was the order of the day! However the crowd support was just fantastic not just there but all the way round. A huge thanks to them without whom I imagine many would not have done as well. I could not hear a thing on my ipod as we entered the race course for the crowd shouting and cheering.

A final canter to the finishing post and I was pleased having taken 3 mins off from last year. However probably due to the cooler conditions and less hilly course than anything else. Feel not too bad as I write this (even taken the dog for a walk) but I imagine tomorrow will be a different story. Only injury I sustained was a sore on the inside of my thigh were my shorts decided to rub. I can truely sympathise now Karen! All in all a good race and Well worth doing.

baby tortoise!

Angela & Steve are proud to present the latest addition to the club (well, okay, maybe not quite yet), young Lucy Burnside.  She arrived on the 1st of May weighing in at a very respectable 7lb 7.5 oz.  All together now, awwww.....

goat fell

Ian McNee was the only tortoise to venture across the water to Arran at the weekend to test himself against the slopes of Goat Fell.  It's a great race and even easier now that they've shortened the course.   Still, even with a short course 1:42 isn't to be sneezed at.  As soon as we get the "blood'n'guts" report from Ian we'll bring it to you.

endurance training (& stupid long run report) 20/05/07

By all accounts the endurance training session organised by Alasdair and George was considered a success.  The accurately measured 400m lengths (with 50m increments) were much appreciated (hope you're listening Vince ).  These mixed club session seem a great way of generating inter-club respect and competition. Long may they continue!

I've also been nagged by some eejit about posting up an account of a stupid long run he did last year.  (Seems he's only just got around to putting it on a web page).  Anyway, to shut him up I'm posting a link to his report (which will also be in the "Reports" section).  Hopefully, this will be the last we hear of him.  You can read his tedious report here.  (Tedious though it may be, it'll at least show the other Ayrshire clubs what real runners do.)

kilmarnock results now in17/05/07

The full results of last night's 10K are now available on the Kilmarnock site here .  Our runner's results are also on the regular results page. Photos here.

ben lomond, womens' 10k, kilmarnock 10k17/05/07

Alex & Ian were once again racing each other, this time up and down the slopes of Ben Lomond last weekend.  You can read Alex's entertaining account in the reports section. 

In the Women's 10K last Sunday we has Susan, Anne, Anita & Debbie battling with the crowds.  It's never easy running a good time in such mass participation events which makes Susan's time of 45:57 (PB & her first 10K) and Anne's time of 47:05 all the more notable. Anita's just joined the club and did well to run 55:26 in her first 10K whilst Debbie oh so narrowly missed getting in under the hour at 60:14.  Well done to all the ladies

Last night saw about a hundred runners prepared to brave the elements for Kilmarnock's 10K race.  From the club we had Bobby, Jim, Steve, Ian and Moira all showing willing.  Steve ran an excellent 37:53 with Bobby just 10 seconds behind (38:03), both excellent performances for a less than flat course on a less than perfect night!  Congratulations also to Moira who scooped 1st F45.  Kenneth Phillips has sent me a bunch of photographs that can all be seen here.  Kerry Wilson (Girvan) amazed everyone by putting in a PB performance last night despite the hills and rain.

10K pictures

Once again thanks to Kenneth Phillips, we have a large number of photographs from last night's race.  They can all be viewed here.

another year, another 10k09/05/07

Firstly, congratulations to all those who took part in tonight's race.  Whether you took 31 minutes or 1:31, it was great to see you all. Shame about the weather but unfortunately that's beyond our control.  The provisional results are now up on the raceahead website here and in xls format here.

For the meantime, the first three men (18-39) were David Millar (31:19), Robert Gilroy (31:27) and David Phee (31:44)

The first three ladies (18-34) were Kerry Lang (37:02), Jill Knowles (37:16) and Alison Docherty (37:57)  All times are chip times.

vienna marathon & kaim hill reports added

Karen's trials and tribulations with her undergarments in Vienna and Alex (discomfort's) "joy of cramp" on Kaim Hill are now archived in the reports section.  In addition, the Irvine 5 mile results have now been added to the results archive.

10K stop press...

Entries have been coming in thick and fast but there are still some places left so if you want to enter, it's not too late.  We MUST however have your applications ASAP because of the need to have all the data entered for the chip timing well before the race.  There will be no entry on the night!  Don't miss the biggest mid-week 10k in Scotland!

culzean fun run29/04/07

Two tortoises made it to Culzean this year, Bobby Miller and Elaine Auld.  No official results but I'm willing to bet that Bobby was the first V50 and Elaine narrowly missed a lady's podium finish (4th lady I believe).  My daughter was there with her camera and captured a few runners.  Here's a good one of the start with Bobby at his closest ever to Kerry ;-) followed by one of Elaine and one of Bobby. Also a nice shot of Kerry Wilson of Girvan in full flow looking way too relaxed. ;-)  (Click pictures to see a bigger version).

"Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime."24/04/07

We are delighted to hear that Colin Bucke and Sonya Levene are due to be married on Sunday the 20th of May and have issued an invitation to all Tortoises to attend the evening reception at the Piersland House Hotel at 7.30pm.  Club vests are optional, but just think what a great wedding photograph it would make!  RSVP Friday 4th May to Colin Bucke & Sonya Levene. (contact details here).

marathon men & women23/04/07

On Sunday Tortoises were running in both the London and the Lochaber marathon.  In London Steve and Moira Connell were sweltering in the London heat along with John McKinlay and Haile Gebrselassie.  The heat was clearly too much for Geb but it takes more than a spot of sunshine to stop a tortoise!  Steve finished in an excellent 3:15:50 and Moira in 4:23:52 with John splitting the pair with a 4:22:32.  Given the conditions, all excellent times.

In Lochaber, Anne Noble broke through 4 hours for the first time to record a PB of 3:53:58.  Again Excellent stuff!  Charles Martin ran a 3:15:04 whilst Elaine Auld just missed sub-4 by seconds with a 4:00:32.  Well done to all runners.

committee meeting 02/05/07

7.00 pm, usual place.

10K stop press...

Entries have been coming in thick and fast but there are still some places left so if you want to enter, it's not too late.  We MUST however have your applications ASAP because of the need to have all the data entered for the chip timing well before the race.  There will be no entry on the night!  Don't miss the biggest mid-week 10k in Scotland!

culzean fun run29/04/07

Two tortoises made it to Culzean this year, Bobby Miller and Elaine Auld.  No official results but I'm willing to bet that Bobby was the first V50 and Elaine narrowly missed a lady's podium finish (4th lady I believe).  My daughter was there with her camera and captured a few runners.  Here's a good one of the start with Bobby at his closest ever to Kerry ;-) followed by one of Elaine and one of Bobby. Also a nice shot of Kerry Wilson of Girvan in full flow looking way too relaxed. ;-)  (Click pictures to see a bigger version).

free gait analysis27/04/07

Achilles Heel in Glasgow are hosting an Asics Tech Tour offering free video gait analysis at their Great Western Road shop this Saturday (28th).

"Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime."24/04/07

We are delighted to hear that Colin Bucke and Sonya Levene are due to be married on Sunday the 20th of May and have issued an invitation to all Tortoises to attend the evening reception at the Piersland House Hotel at 7.30pm.  Club vests are optional, but just think what a great wedding photograph it would make!  RSVP Friday 4th May to Colin Bucke & Sonya Levene. (contact details here).

marathon men & women23/04/07

On Sunday Tortoises were running in both the London and the Lochaber marathon.  In London Steve and Moira Connell were sweltering in the London heat along with John McKinlay and Haile Gebrselassie.  The heat was clearly too much for Geb but it takes more than a spot of sunshine to stop a tortoise!  Steve finished in an excellent 3:15:50 and Moira in 4:23:52 with John splitting the pair with a 4:22:32.  Given the conditions, all excellent times.

In Lochaber, Anne Noble broke through 4 hours for the first time to record a PB of 3:53:58.  Again Excellent stuff!  Charles Martin ran a 3:15:04 whilst Elaine Auld just missed sub-4 by seconds with a 4:00:32.  Well done to all runners.

orimdale 10K (Alasdair's report)23/04/07

There were four tortisies in Arran at the weekend - Bruce, Claire and I were joined by Ian who was not running but as he had been camping all weekend, arrived at the start of the race and was given the job of chief cone mover!

Perfect conditions for a race - overcast with very little wind and even a very slight cooling shower half way round.

Very quickly realised although my head was fresh and I was feeling goood after 22 miles on Friday night, my head had yet to convey this message to my legs, which were not responding.

Was passed by Bruce at 7KM who tried in vain to catch Finlay from Irvine and Bruce finished 44:32 with the prize of first M60.

I followed with a 44:55 - happy enough with the time considering the miles I have been putting in.

Claire had a great run with a PB of 52:32 to get 3rd W35 - well done.

Kerry Wilson, who won in 33:01 was 1:45 away from 2nd - great run. Young Roger Naughton also had a great run at 37:15 to finish 6th.

As with all the Arran races - well organised and very welcoming.
 

irvine ac 5 mile road race - report19/04/07

Bobby Miller ran an excellent 29:46 in last night's 5 miler.  A sub-30 minute 5 miler deserves respect at any age, from our newest V50, it's a terrific time.  Along with Bobby, Ian McNee put in a good 32:12 whilst Alasdair Skeoch followed up with a 35:11.  Fergie MacDonald and Caroline Mutch also ran but no times are at present available.  (All times unofficial - Alasdair's and Caroline's report here)

committee meeting14/04/07

There will be a committee meeting this Monday evening in the usual place.

feeling bored?13/04/07

Why not play "Hunt the link"?  Yep, hidden on this page somewhere is a link to a silly quiz.  To help you get started I'll tell you that it's small, black, and on a black background...  (only works with IE I'm afraid)

winter champions12/04/07

On a "better late than never" basis, the winners of the winter championship deserve their moment of glory here, if only to answer the never ending stream of questions from Alex about "who was the winter champion?".  Starting with the ladies, it was a close fought contest between Anne Noble, Karen Robertson and Moira Connell with 30, 27 & 25 points respectively. Congratulations to Anne on her success.  The mens' championship was less closely fought with Alex Drain securing a well deserved win (47 points) over Owen Light (36 points).  Full results (xls file) here.

5k-o-matic09/04/07

Get depressed at a glance!  Or alternatively, cheer yourself up by having a gander at the new graphs of your 5k times.  The web records only go back to June 2002 and not every runner is listed, but it's a start! The graphs are available as an Excel spreadsheet or as plain images.  Visit the Results page to view the graphs.

troon 10k  Watch out for increased postal charges!08/04/07

We've received quite a few entries with inadequate postage.  This means that if you're lucky, we'll pay the excess penalty charges and extract the money from you later.  If you're unlucky, we may never receive your entry!  New postal charges recently came into effect and it's now 34p first class and 24p second class.  (See Royal Mail site here for charges).

Andy goes respectable!06/04/07

After his recent attempt to cripple the New Zealand health care budget it's great to know that Andy isn't in imminent danger of being deported for lack of income.  As a software developer for an Investment Bank down under we can only hope that he earns enough to afford a decent enough house (pool, hot tub, barbie etc.) to put us all up in when we come to visit.  Not sure I can get my head around the idea of Andy behind a desk but I'm sure we all wish him all the best in his new job.  I guess it'll do until he finds out what he really wants to do with his life. ;-)  (For those who wish to keep tabs on our inverted tortoise, you can read his blog here.)

club 5k03/04/07

Fine weather tonight possibly contributed to some fine performances.  Bobby Miller posted his best time since 2002 by my reckoning (18:35) and Ian McNee and Charles Martin both showed good return to form.  Full results in the usual place.

get well soon Andy!02/04/07

Apparently Andy has has had a slightly more spirited "off" than usual whilst competing in a MTB event down under and he's messed up his hand and is awaiting surgery to sort it out.  You may be able to read a bit more about it on the Ayrodynamic forum here.  [**Update** ] Be warned, a picture of Andy's wee scratch is now on that forum.  I'm sure he'd be happy to receive any messages of condolence to his usual e-mail address or on our own forum (although it may be a while before he gets much in the way of internet access).  You can see his e-mail address here.

well done Ian!01/04/07

Ian Beattie (an ex tortoise for those who don't recognise the name) ran the Zurich marathon today and posted an excellent time of 2:59:40.  Clearly he's got over his tortoise tendencies (or perhaps his time with us laid the foundations for his success).  Whatever, it's a brilliant performance and one that I know he is rightly delighted with.  More details on his blog http://www.whwrunner.blogspot.com/

troon 10k

This year's 10 K race will take part on Wednesday the 9th of May.  As last year, there will be chip timing (provided by raceahead) and consequently, there will be no entry on the day (contrary to what is printed in Runner's World).  All entries must be received by April 30th.  We hope that this year's race will be as successful and as popular as last year's and look forward to your entry. (Entry forms available in DOC format here or PDF format here).   

NEW! Map of race route here.  Description and course profile  here.

alloa half marathon

Four tortoises braved the elements to run in Sunday's Alloa half marathon.  Charles Martin led the way with a 1:28:32 .  Caroline Mutch (running for Girvan) ran an excellent 1:41:26  and Anne Noble brought up the rear with a 1:45:31 personal best.  Kate McKean took the difficult decision to retire following problems during the race.  Here's hoping she makes a speedy recovery.  Well done to everyone who took part.  All we need now is a proper report from one of the participants. ;-)   Full results available here.  Charlie's report here.

camera shy?  moi?

Another tortoise hit the headlines in this week's Ayrshire Post, our very own Colin Bucke.  Clearly not afraid of revealing acres of flesh in the pursuit of sponsorship Colin is running to raise funds for Cancer Research.  Rumour has it that in exchange for a suitably large donation, he'll promise NOT to bare any more flesh.  Please, go here http://www.justgiving.com/colinbucke, before he reveals any more!

inverness half marathon

The club managed to get 5 runners in this year's race,  George McGregor, Tim Downie, Alasdair Skeoch, Colin Bucke and Sonia Levene.  The weather gods smiled upon us this year and we had near perfect conditions for the race.  Colin set the early pace (after we'd all recovered from the noise of the starting cannon) whilst the rest of us tagged along as best we could.  Colin gained himself a well earned PB (1:31) and Sonia completed her very first half marathon.  As ever, the organisation and atmosphere was excellent. 

Ian Beattie (ex-tortoise) also ran an excellent race finishing in 1:24  [Report here]

a tortoise down under

If we're going to have news here it would be unfair not to mention the antics of one of our more confused members.  Andy Kerr travelled halfway round to world to run a marathon but found that he had actually entered some sort of medley event involving a bit of paddling and some pushbiking.  Clearly he was unprepared for this and his marathon took him nearly 12 hours to complete. 

Of course this is all nonsense, Andy is now a true "Ironman" and we are all impressed and delighted that he was once again able to sneak in under the 12 hours for a full Ironman.  Well done that man!  We are hopeful that Andy will keep us up tp date with his athletic prowess down under.  Failing that, how he is getting on in New Zealand. ;-)

 [Full race report here]