That the 2019 race passed without significant incident shows the value of having an assistant RD in place for all of our races. Rachel and Will did a great job (perhaps too great, the pressure is on for 2020) and as I woke from my partial patellectomy it was to a social media buzz of a smooth running, exciting and well-run race. It’s strange when your baby is getting looked after by a stand-in parent. I’ll leave Rachel to overview the details but needless to say it’s not a race that can run itself, so many, many thanks to the marshals, supporters, competitors and the weather.
Mike Lynch
Download/view results as pdf
Race Director report
Playing Race Director – The other side of the coin
When I saw Mike’s plea for someone to stand in as Race Director so the SLCR could go ahead, I knew it was time to step up. I’ve run different legs the past 2 years and love the race. Will, by virtue of being my husband and agreeing to support me in my endeavors, agreed to help me.
Start – Kincardine Bridge
Armed with Mike’s wisdom and expertise and with a car full of beer, water and bananas, we set out for Kincardine Bridge late on Friday night. We had a record number of 13 teams this year. We were sure to get the first runners underway at exactly midnight, to make all the timings easier. It was very anticlimactic: 13 runners disappeared into the darkness and Will and I and the few spectators cheered.
Leg 1 – 2 transition – North Queensferry
The first runner in from Dundee Hawkhill Harriers arrived in a new record time for the leg. He handed over to a teammate who seemed nervous about the route and kept confusing Aberdour with Aberlour. We suspected he might get lost. The first few runners were in within 10 minutes of each other. As we drove to Dysart I predicted to Will that Alex Coakley would be leading the race by the next checkpoint.
Leg 2 – 3 transition – Dysart
We arrived to a heavy rain shower and sheltered in the car for as long as possible. Neil arrived to marshal his second changeover and explained on the phone to a confused Bob Johnson where he was. I can relate, I failed to find it when I ran leg 2 a few years ago! Alex Coakley charged in first, with Willie Rennie hot on his heels for PH Racing. The first 4 runners were still close together and we set off for the next transition after seeing them in.
Leg 3 – 4 transition – St Monans
The drive to St Monans was a low point as we were both very tired and it was still very dark. I didn’t see any racoons this year, but did see a black rabbit with red eyes! I had a quick power nap in the car in St Monans car park and then left Will to sleep while I went to help Alun Morton-Lloyd with numbers and timings. The car park here is tiny and crammed full of runners’ cars, much to the bemusement of some dog walkers looking for a space. Alison Macgill raced in first for PH Racing. Carnethy, Portobello and Dundee were not far behind. It was still a close race for the top 4 positions!
Leg 4 – 5 transition – St Andrews
By now it was a normal time of morning and there were lots of people around in the daylight. We were keen to see who would come in first. PH Racing were still in the lead, but Dundee were gaining fast and Carnethy were still hanging on in third, just ahead of Portobello. The incoming Portobello runner somehow missed the transition and headed off towards the dunes until we chased him back. Peter Buchanan set off at speed to make up for lost time and focussed on bringing Portobello into a podium position.
Leg 5 – 6 transition – Wormit Bay
It was still very close here between the first 2 teams! PH Racing arrived only 6 minutes ahead of Dundee. Portobello and Carnethy were now too far behind to have a shot at the overall win but it was still tight between them for 3rd place!
Finish – Newburgh
We gathered around the finishing arch with PH Racing and Dundee, all unsure which runner we would see first! There was a rumour that Dundee were ahead, but their runner had already got lost a few times! Despite this he arrived in first to bring Dundee Hawkhill Harriers home as the 2020 champions in a time of 14 hours 50 minutes. PH Racing arrived only 4 minutes later in 2nd place! Portobello were in 14 minutes after and Carnethy 9 minutes after that. Due to the earlier mass start at Wormit the rest of the runners all arrived with short gaps and all before 5pm.
It was a great day and exciting to follow such a close race. I loved being part of it and the community of supporters and runners that forms around this race. It’s such a unique event and I hope it continues to grow in the future. A special thanks to all the marshals who gave up their time to stand in the cold and dark: Neil Burnett, Nicki Dunn, Bob Johnson, Alun Morton-Lloyd, Peter Macdonald, Emma Thomson, Neil McClure, Carolyn Dyson, Jonathan Whitehead, Jim Paterson and Rebecca Shovlin. Thanks to the Freewheelin’ Brewery in Peebles who provided the beer, and finally to Mike Lynch for all his help beforehand and for compiling the results afterwards!
Unfortunately this weekend proved that it isn’t always sunny in Fife.
Peter Buchanan’s report here
Richard’s report:
They say the keys to a good team are organisation, communication and having a clear common goal.
ORGANISATION
Alex Coakley casually enquired after a Thursday Wintervals session whether I would be interested in running a relay. I have never participated in a team event before, but I had seen relays on the TV and figured I could run the equivalent of a lap round a track and hand on a baton, so agreed and volunteered for the first leg. 3 months later I am stood in a car park in Kincardine, at 11.30 PM with 16.8 miles of pitch black trail in front of me, thinking of my 5 very keen and expectant team mates and feeling extremely anxious that I have absolutely no idea of the route….. These team mates were Alex C (already waiting for me at North Queensferry), Alan Risk, Alex Dobbs, Lucy Stanfield and Luke Blackbourn who each had 15-22 miles of trail running in front of them and who were all hopefully tucked up in bed. I was well aware that my team mates’ organisation was better than my own, Alex C, a veteran of the race loves stage 2 so much that he sometimes runs across from Edinburgh just to do part of it. I was also aware that Alan, Lucy, Alex D and Luke had recc’ed all or parts of their routes and I was therefore incredibly aware that my lack of organisation could ruin this team before it even got to leg 2…
CLEAR COMMON GOAL
Participation is fun, but winning is better. We met in a pub prior to the race to bond as a team… We had been labelled Carnethy 1 and therefore felt a collective duty to clean up… Apparently 2018 had seen a team set new records for each of the 6 legs and we knew that they were back to defend their title, but that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. Neither did the fact that this wasn’t any of our preferred distances or terrain. We were in it to win it! (or at least run as fast as we could and hope that not many teams were quicker than us!).
COMMUNICATION
We were a team of millennials (or nearly millennials) and therefore technologically aware, innovative and creative… but no one had a better idea than starting a Whattsapp group and each sharing our locations when we ran… This was therefore our means of communication in the build up and throughout the race…
THE RACE
I was aware that there was a runner called Chris who won leg 1 every year. My plan was therefore to stick with him until I died and then to keep going as best I could. I met him before the race and he informed me that his plan was to run the first 5 miles at 7 – 8 min mile pace and the final 12 miles at 6 min mile pace…. I have never heard a more ridiculous pacing strategy in my life so set off with the leaders… who soon dropped me. This left me following a wiggly line on my watch which Will had kindly shown me how to do 5 mins before the start (thanks Will) and worked surprising well. Running along the Forth is surprisingly hillier than you would think, and darker. Also it appears that there some truly amazing people in the club as there were actually volunteers on the route offering encouragement and pointing out turnings that you may otherwise have missed. As it turned out, my lack of organisation didn’t impact as badly as it could, but my general fitness level may have done as I struggled with a stitch for much of it and couldn’t keep the pace I wanted to, handing over to Alex in 4th position (an embarrassing 12 minutes behind the leader). Alex then set off like a train catching and overtaking everyone in front of him (there are no suggestions that leg 2 may have been an easy leg, but this group of front runners did include an ageing MSP). Alex handed over to Alan in first place, which Alan held until an epic battle saw Alison McGill (Scottish female marathon champ) take the lead. Alan handed over to Alex in second place, at pretty much exactly the same time that I acknowledged that 5 caffeine gels was not conducive to sleep and therefore started watching the dots on the Whatsapp Group move. Alex belted through to Auchterader, where he inexplicably stopped for the next 1.5 hours…. The Whattsapp group decided that he had probably found a nice breakfast place, but it transpires that the Fife 4G network coverage was less pervasive than was ideally desired…. It turns out that Alex was on for a sub 3 leg until he swapped running down a hill for rolling down a hill and battled through the final 4 miles to hand over in third…. Lucy was now off and 4G coverage appeared to be improving, until she headed north straight out of St Andrews, treading water in River Tay (see screenshot) for a while before appearing to finish her leg running west out of Dundee… She handed over to Luke in 4th who set off chasing down a podium finish. It was nail biting stuff watching a dot move west across the south side of the Tay towards Newburgh and potential glory…. But despite a Herculean effort (see heart rate graph), we finished 4th as a team and I think we each found our respective legs harder than we had anticipated.
I think I learnt a few things from my first team running event… Firstly, Whattsapp isn’t a reliable tracking tool and secondly that the pressure of running in a team can lead you to forget all the race strategy you know in the hope of securing the best result for your team mates, as I think we would all acknowledge that we probably set off too fast. Most importantly though, I learnt that it’s not organisation, communication or a common goal which drives a good team, it’s doing something enjoyable and a bit daft with a bunch of cool people – Thanks guys, I loved it!
Finally, a huge thank you to Rachel who volunteered to run the race on the day (and Will who was volunteered by association with Rachel). A ridiculously long day being at the start and the end of every leg… A huge effort!
Richard Laucht
Results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rsSeZZNMpCLW1JePndaVlie054HfrPyIcscS0ltDSfU/edit#gid=1921076154