BARRY BUDDON HALF MARATHON 2014

On Sunday August 31^st I took part in the inaugural staging of the Barry Buddon Half Marathon, a race I had entered a few weeks beforehand and I felt was perfect timing before a planned Marathon in early October. The fact it was billed as flat and fast was a bonus, so I felt it was a great test to see where I was at in my build up.

A few other clubmate’s had entered the race but all had fell by the wayside to injuries and other commitments, although Lindsay still asked if she could come up a jaunt for the day out and to do her long run with a change of scenery so I was more than happy to have the company for the 2 hour drive.

Arriving at the race venue just outside Carnoustie we passed the scene of the recent Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games shooting venue which was held there. I then grabbed my race number from the Army Barracks site which was where registration and the finish area was and was surprised to find out that we were first to arrive. I had a chat with the organisers, was massively impressed with the work that had went into the event and the facilities on offer and set off on a jog round the first 2 miles of the course before checking out the last mile as I always do pre race.

Having warmed up we were then briefed about the rest of the course and informed that there were a number of tight corners which really wouldn’t suit my wee choppy strides but as there was next to no wind the main challenge would be the heat. The field also boasted just under 300 starters and this was an excellent turnout for the organisers.

From the gun I settled in with the lead pack of 5, and as I knew 4 of the guys were in and around my level, I planned to stick in with them for the first few miles and see what happened. The route was certainly flat, and by 5 miles there were still 5 of us in the pack but at that point I decided to push on a bit to see what transpired. I wasn’t checking my splits so I was running on feel and as I didn’t feel overly uncomfortable I was happy with the way things were going.

By halfway Gareth Green of Portobello and myself had opened up a slight gap on the others, and still feeling fairly good I pushed on towards the lighthouse at 7 miles. Gareth has ran faster than me in the past so as we turned I was surprised to see I had opened up about 10 meters on him and at this point I was feeling that my best policy would be a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” one.

At the 10 mile mark I asked the lead bike for an update on how far ahead I was ( NEVER look back in a race as it can give the guy behind a big boost ), and was told approx 150 metres. I then checked my watch for the first time in the race and saw I had ran for 57.20 (which would have been a 10 mile pb) so with 5k to go I was fairly confident that unless I exploded spectacularly I was looking good for the win.

Passing Lindsay – who had finished her own long run – at the 12 mile marker I was told I had a good lead. My only scare was with 400 metres to go when someone came up alongside me and I thought “blimey, Gareth has had a storming last mile and caught me on the hop”, but it turned out to be a man on a bike and we had a bit of a laugh afterwards about that!

Crossing the line for first place was a weird, but brilliant, feeling for me in a Half Marathon and I was thankful to finish when I did as temperatures were starting to rise to almost uncomfortable proportions. I had clocked 1.16.20  which is my second quickest Half Marathon to date and after having ran two 34 minute 10k’s in the previous 2 weeks I was delighted to now know that I seem to be in decent shape.

Doing a quick cool down and having my customary natter with many people I then got my prize of a cracking trophy and £75 vouchers for sports gear in a well known sports outlet.

I can’t recommend this race highly enough and not just because I was lucky enough with how I personally ran. The organisation was second to none I have experienced in a new race, the traffic free course was excellent and as mentioned the facilities were first class. Add in a cracking free buffet afterwards and the friendliness of everyone in the area and I really hope the race has a long term future as it deserves it.

Link to race results are here –

http://www.barrybuddonhalf.co.uk/PDF/Race-14.pdf

( Scott Martin – 6/9/2014 )