Please find below a race report on last weekends Auchterarder Half Marathon, courtesy of Gordon Barrie 🙂
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On Sunday the 9th of September, four Harriers plus their dedicated supporters travelled to the salubrious surroundings of Gleneagles to take part in the 2nd Auchterarder Half Marathon. This event formed part of the 'Auchterarder Running Festival', with the inaugural 10k taking place the day before. Only one Harrier, Andrew Spence, was brave (or foolish) enough to attempt "the double"!
The half starts and finishes at the Gleneagles Arena, and lessons had obviously been learnt from last year. There were no queues of traffic trying to access the car park, and registration queues were also kept to an absolute minimum. Registration takes place at the indoor tennis court hall which has plenty of room to gather before the race starts. There is an organised aerobic warm-up there for those who enjoy a bit of a stretch to music. In addition to the disco warm-up, a local brass band played right next to the start line. All of this helps create a great atmosphere and the organisers should take a lot of credit for putting effort into the pre-race entertainment.
The half marathon route is very scenic, going through Auchterarder then out into the country, close to Tullibardine before entering the Strathallan estate for a figure-o- 8 and exiting back towards Auchterarder again. Most of the run takes place on roads and pavements, except for the figure-of-8 loop which is somewhere between a road and a farm track. There is some traffic on the roads, particularly in Auchterarder itself, but it is well marshalled.
Now, the gradients!! The first 4-5 miles have a lot of downhill sections so the temptation is to go off fast. I'm never close enough to the front to see but I'd imagine it's a real 'charge of the light brigade' scenario. The next 3-4 miles starts to have more up hills but the most challenging section is the last 4 or so miles when you are running back towards Gleneagles. There are no particularly steep sections but the long, continuous inclines really sap the strength out of your legs and lungs. This stamina sapping section makes it difficult to fully appreciate the grand setting of the Gleneagles golf resort which you run through on your way to the finish.
The organisers have also put a lot of effort into the finishers goody bag. There is a technical t-shirt, a very well designed medal, a bottle of beer, and various other items including a small treat-size box of Gleneagles shortbread (that's the wife's Christmas sorted).
Now to the results. First Harrier across the line was Angela Cunningham Sandilands in 1:39:24. Angela was 7th female overall and ran a time that many of us would be delighted with. Well done Ange. Next to finish was Brian Miller in 1:43:50, a good 3 or so minutes quicker than his time last year. 3rd Harrier to finish was myself in 1:49:25, a whopping 10 minutes quicker than last year. I either wasn't trying hard enough last year or I'm better prepared this year, the former I think. Finally completing his "double" was Andrew Spence in 1:53:41 who, despite his efforts in the 10k the previous day, still managed to record a quicker half marathon time than last year.
Special mention should also go to Michelle Smart. Michelle had signed up for the half but after recent running setbacks took the tough, but sensible decision to withdraw. Michelle still came along to support the rest of us and provided us with Starbucks on the way up. Thanks for supporting us on the day Michelle.
A well organised race on a scenic but challenging route with an excellent goody bag. One for your racing diaries in 2019. ... See MoreSee Less
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