Sandhead 10 Sept 2024

1 race, 2 harriers, 2 reports, 1 tractor & oysters - what's not to like!

A Brucie bonus bumper report as we have 2 full race reports for the same race from our 2 harriers who made the trip to Stranraer. First up is James’s report then Derek’s.

James – a Glaswegian perspective

The Sandhead 10 mile race is from the town of Sandhead to Stranraer.  Derek and I had came across this race last year and this year managed to take part.  It appealed to Derek as it is held in his home town.  I decided to enter while drunk on holiday in Greece after sipping down raki and reading Maynard Keynes.

Due to the location of the race my training consisted of running and watching the movie The Wicker Man.  I set off on the epic 2 hour drive to Stranraer on a lovely Sunday morning.  Luckily the roads were quiet and I made good progress on a nice scenic route.  I knew I was near Stranraer as I reached the town of Lendalfoot.  I wondered how the town gained its name.  As I drove through the town at 30mph one of the locals told me the story.  Apparently after his defeat to Pat Cash in the 1987 WImbledon mens singles, the Czech superstar Ivan Lendl headed to the Scottish Riviera for a holiday.  In a chip shop he asked the owner what method of payment he preferred.  When the owner repled “Cash is better”  Lendl unleashed a kick to his backside.  Thus the town became known as Lendalfoot. 

I reached Stranraer where I found Derek chatting to Graham at the meeting point.  Graham was a friend of Derek’s pal Walt.  I asked if Walt was running, but Derek said that Walt disney run.  The bus then arrived.  The bus was called McCulloch.  The driver was also called McCulloch.  Derek knew him as well.  The bus set off for the start line at Sandhead.  As we went up a long road Derek pointed out his uncle Normans house.  Uncle Norman duly appeared in his garden pruning his flowers.  We met a lot of people Derek knew so I will move on to the race.

The start is along a sandy/stoney beach for almost 2 miles.  Not as bad as I feared, but once the beech section is complete there is a section of hilly sand dune up until the 4km mark.  This was a real test of stamina.  Luckily there was a water station at the 4km mark which was a godsend.  This section was quite similar to some of the sections on the John Muir Way ultra.  The race then continued along a road section.  This was a good chance to develop some pace once the strength had returned to my legs.  This section reminded me of the Kirkintilloch 12.5km race.  The next section was forest trail.  A very nice place to run.  However the trail section was split by a field for a period.  This was very tough and again sapped the stamina from the legs.  Once out of the trails I was back on my favoured road section as we entered Stranraer.  With 2 miles left I set out to catch one of the runners who had overtook me on the trails.  This helped to keep me focused and I managed to overtake with a mile left and managed a strong finish in 1 hour 27 minutes.  This was a very well organised race by Acorn Trails with a challenging multi-terrain route.  I would recommend it.  Derek and I then headed to the Stranraer Oyster Festival.  This was my first visit to Stranraer and I would also recommend a visit to the town.  The festival is top notch and the locals are very friendly.

Derek – a local boy returns to his roots…..

On Sunday 15th September, James and I ran the Sandhead10 race. A 10 mile train run that crossed multiple terrains (one runner on his Strava described it as gravel, beach, sand dunes, tarmac, farmland, mud, woodland paths, pavements, park, and pier)! I had entered this race last year, but family circumstances meant I was unable to make it. Given I’m a Stranraer boy, born and bred, I really wanted to take part in a hometown race. Although now I’m more a Maryhill man than a Rhins runner given I’ve been in Glasgow for 30 years.

The race is organised by Acorn Trails who really did put on a fantastic race. A bus picked us up at the marina in Stranraer and drove us along to Sandhead. A brief warm-up and a decision between a T-Shirt and Vest took place before opting for the latter given the nice day that it was turning out to be, actually pretty perfect conditions.

We set-off on the gravel path and very quickly moved onto a beach section which went on for around 3km. It was a difficult transition moving on to the beach as initially it’s very pebbly but moves on to sand. I had started well and there were around 6 or 7 runners ahead of me as we navigated the beach. I was conscious not to overdo it on this section thinking it may knacker my legs pretty quickly.

Moving off the beach you scramble up a couple of high sand dunes before settling into a narrow and undulating grassy section. I was able to close in on a few runners at this point, and it was here I noticed the motorbike track on my left and was taken back to childhood memories of my dad racing bikes in this area. I spent many happy days with my pals pottering about the dunes whilst he was either racing bikes or setting up the course for races.

As you approach the 4km mark you move onto road and it was here I accelerated a bit passing around 3 runners. I had probably went too hard on the road with trail shoes however, as I slowed a little and was passed by the same runners after a kilometre or so. I did stick close to the group for a while but they pulled away a little. Steph’s cousin passed me here on a tractor, he was going the opposite direction, or I may have been tempted to ask for a lift!

You move back off the road and onto trail and then uphill through a farmer’s field. I actually found this terrain harder than the beach as there was no good place to put your feet among the long grass, cowpats, and cattle pocked holes. Really horrible terrain and I was probably at my slowest here.

Thankfully the field wasn’t a long section, and you then go through a short and exciting forest trail (great steep downhill section), another field (flatter and in much better condition) and then road before you hit a really good trail path with a bit of a climb as you approach Stranraer (rather unoriginally, this trail is known locally as ‘The Approach’).

I had given up catching the group ahead back at the first field section but was conscious of a runner not far behind me as I stopped briefly at the last water section. Not wanting to lose a place, I put the burners on a bit, especially when the trail opened up and I saw the waters of Loch Ryan.

I knew we were nearly finished at this point and was happy I had good strength left in the legs accelerating to under 5-minute kilometres for the first time since about the halfway point. The last 2km is on the roads of Stranraer and then a short loop of part of Stranraer (Agnew) parkrun before finishing down the pier. It was nice to see my mum and dad at the finish and they had brought along our new puppy, Benny, to cheer me on.

After the race James and I, along with one of my best pals from Stranraer, Mark, spent time at the Oyster Festival. This was icing on the cake of a brilliant race with lots of stalls with free samples of Gins, Tequilas, Whiskeys, and Vodka, as well as traders selling cheese, chocolate, jewellery, you name it! We grabbed a bit to eat with James opting for a burger, I had Mac ‘n Cheese with Haggis and my pal Mark opting for Lobster! It was pretty funny watching him trying to get into it with a wooden fork. Some oysters were then sampled (to Kenny’s disgust) and a few beers (James driving so opting for the AF version) before James headed back up the road and I continued day drinking with my pal.

Acorn trails are looking to continue coinciding the race with the Oyster Festival and it really does make for a great day and trip. Next year’s race is on Sunday 14 September, and they are also looking to reintroduce the Mull of Galloway trail marathon the same day.

I was very pleased to finish in 10th place overall out of 70 starters, and 2nd in my age category, although mightily impressed a V60 runner ended up in 3rd place, and 9 mins ahead of me!

Derek Muirhead – 1hr 22m 15s

James Prior – 1hr 27m 37s

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