Caroline and I were the only Maryhill runners opting to run the whole of this brilliant little series of races. I had run it 2 years ago and really enjoyed it, and was disappointed not be able to do it last year. Fresh from our outings at the Kirky 10k and the Brian Goodwin 10k (where Caroline got a pb) we were feeling quite good about it, but that evening for some unknown reason both of us felt pretty rotten. I managed to perk up once the race was underway, but Caroline testified to finding the whole thing a struggle. For the first mile, we matched each other stride for stride, but I could tell from Caroline’s breathing that she was finding it tough. It was a cloudy night, but also really humid – I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in such a short race. The route is an out and back along the canal, which seemed to go on forever. At last I reached the turn in about 18:00, and saw Caroline about 30s behind. 2 years ago I had completed this race in 36:25 but I remember my first half being way too fast. I was feeling ok this time, and was hoping I could try and maintain the same pace on the way back. We both felt that if the way out seemed to take ages, then the return back was more of a drag than Gordon in a boob tube, high heels and stockings. I managed to muster a bit of a sprint at the end as I realised I could go under my time of 2009, crossing the line in 36:11. Caroline wasn’t far behind in a time of 38:01 (5th female, and 3rd FS) but confessed to feeling awful at the end. Unfortunately, this was to become a theme of this weeks racing for Caroline (apart from Thursday night where she was in her element running up and down hills through mud).
The winner was David Gardiner of Kirkintilloch Olympians in 30:24, with the first female, Katie White of Garscube finishing 11th overall in 34:18.