A beautifully sunny and crisp morning on the hilly fields outside of Kirkintilloch, a town circa 10 miles northeast of Glasgow. Scottish cross country is often run in the country, literally - not on the manicured golf courses of American cross country. Dunbartonshires were thus held in a local farmer's wheat stubble. The snow-dusted Campsie fells (i.e. hills) to the north completed the pastoral mis-en-scene. (Photos courtesy of fellow Scottish running blogger, Chris Upson):
A picture of what Wordsworth would call "glad animal movement" - a random Scottish youth flows with the wheat stubble, over the sheep scat, and along the thorny hedgerows:
The adult race was approximately 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles, and consisted of three loops with a non-trivial hill bisecting the course. The cruelty of the course designers had the runners cross up and down this hill 4 or 5 times per loop, making for 15 solid climbs up the muddy slope. Below is Garscube mate Rob McLennan tackling one of said hills:
Garscube Harrier, Joe McKnight:
Garscube harrier and fellow running blogger, Marco Consani:
The Garscube Harriers ran a brilliant race, taking the Dunbartonshire team championship with a mere 22 points (with Dumbarton and Helensburgh coming in a distant 2nd and 3rd with 84 points and 85 points respectively). Individually, I emerged victorious (in a time of 36:47) over 17-year-old 1500 meter specialist Sean Fontana and recent Glasgow transplant, a fellow bearded American and former University of New Mexico athlete, Mike Deason. Other Garscube scorers were Danny Price (6th), Toby Messanger (7th), and Dave Robertson (8th).
West District Cross Country:
The week after Dunbartonshire brought the highly competitive West Districts, which includes all the top club runners in the west of Scotland - undoubtedly the strongest of the three districts in Scotland (in terms of depth). My goal going into the race was a top 20 finish - ambitious considering the quality of athletes, led by the Shettleston harrier's Eritrean contingent who have recently competed at World Cross Country championships!
The 10 kilometer course was flatter, firmer, and thus much faster than the previous weekend's slop-fest. From the start of the race, I latched onto the purple vest of Bellahouston harrier Kenny Richmond, a top 20 finisher from last year. Near the end of the first lap (of three), since I was feeling comfortable at the pace, I decided to move past Kenny and very gradually worked my way up the field - not so much chasing the chaps ahead of me as holding off the other chasers, one of whom turned out to be the American running for Glasgow Uni, Mike Deason. Deason sat right on my heels for the second lap and seemed to be much more relaxed than me at that point - as witnessed by the photo below!
Mike apparently found more humor in the act of dodging an angry dog that was loose on the course, which happened just before this photo was taken I believe. On the third and final lap, Mike decided to make his move. I was determined not to let him get away, so I dug deep and let him pull me along, overtaking a few more runners in the process. Coming into the final stretch, I was a few meters back and unleashed my kick. After going by Mike fairly authoritatively, and with him seeming to concede by uttering "nice race man," I began to doubt whether we were indeed approaching the finish or whether the course had another zig-zag (and perhaps another 200 meters) remaining. Upon easing off for fear I had kicked too soon, Mike again overtook me as we came upon the finishing area. I was not able to regain momentum, and we came across the line in 32:56 - he in 14th position and me in 15th. I was very pleased with the overall effort if not with the result of my duel with Deason. Garscube, despite our missing a few runners on the day, finished a respectable 7th place in the senior mens competition.See Debbie's slideshow for more coverage of the West District race!
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