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Bang, and they're off again for the Border's XC season 09-10.

Lost count of how long I've been going out for this series. Always a good atmosphere, competition and motivator for training over the winter. I usually just feel like hibernating while the days are still drawing in.

Hadn't forgotten the usual conditions we find ourselves in on the Norham course, and it was as per usual for today's race. Mud, swamp, stream crossings a plenty! Proper XC. It didn't appear that anyone managed to get lost during the senior race this time though. Is this a first I wonder?

I posted an 11th overall, 2nd Vet40, and had what I felt to be an OK race considering having been a bit bogged down with a cold during the week and also out a-partying until wee small hours the night before. Straightforward race too, no interesting tussles to report, but I wish I'd had a bit more fight in me when a fellow triathlete went past at about a mile out, going strong. Good run Brian!  I was tiring on the run in though and dropped another couple of places in the last half mile or so which I thought I'd be able to keep in my favour considering the bit gap I'd opened up. 

Well done to WRC crew who turned out and sympathies to Bruce who cowped his ankle down in the dene and had to retire. Obviously a sickener for him especially since, from what I saw at one part of the course, he was having a strong run and was well up the field. This particular course always has some dodgy bits underfoot! 

Err... Not trying to go one better here or owt like that, but I reckon this is where the Merry Men should've been on Sunday, never mind poncing about in their own back yard, so to speak.

Come to think of it I would probably have been better off sticking to local terrain too, especially since my efforts to rope in some other fools to have a crack at The Pentland seemed to have fallen on either reluctant or deaf ears. But... after feeling I could put in a better performance at this race than at my first shot last year, off I went with my fan club of Sarah and Beki in the car to keep me company. (They'd set their sights on the challenging south face of 'Ikea' after watching the race set off.)

Careful observers of the race profile above will see that none of the peaks on this course approach the height that the Chevy Chase gets to over Cheviot and Hedgehope. Also that the distance is less than the Chevy too. These two facts seem to have deluded me for the past 2 years now into thinking that The Pentland should be easier in some way, and my tiny little mind has somehow glossed over the pertinent fact that there is one-and-a-half times as much climbing to do as with The Chevy. The only easier aspect of this course is way-finding, and I can only say that since beautifully clear weather prevailed yesterday, and when I ran it last year, so the paths were easy to follow.

I hadn't arrived with much time to spare so it was a case of registering, kitting-up and lining up to start. Bumped into sometime Wooler RC visitor Tim, of Norham,out for a first go, and another familiar face, Ian R, of Dunbar. Earlier in the year Ian had come up on my shoulder during the Coastal Run and said a few words, shortly after which I'd taken off with renewed pace, not happy at being caught. He quipped that he's never said a word to anyone that he's caught up with in a race since. When he caught me during this race, somewhere about Black Hill I think, I just felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to see him pass, finger on lip going, "Sssh!" This gave me a much needed cheery lift because things had been going pretty much WRONG for a while beforehand!

Last year's experience had tried to teach me not to go away too quickly in the first part of this course but I still made the mistake of working too hard on the longest climb stretch after the low point at Flotterstone. There's a farm just before there and an old boy was enthusiastically counting the runners through. "Forty-six, forty-seven....forty-eight...." I heard as I passed, and his words were like a red rag to a bull. I'd been coasting, deliberately taking it easy, but suddenly I had that urge to gain a few places, prompted by a desire to improve on last year's 61st position. So, right through the hardest section of the course was where I wasted my energies and worked up to 32nd place, by my reckoning, at the midway point. The only delay in my progression came when a fellow runner went over badly, right in front of me, on a steep and stony descent. It was all I could do to avoid falling too by leaping over him and then putting on the brakes, along with some others, to make sure he was ok. Remarkably he got up and carried on, despite being badly bloodied! About 10 mins later he came past me, dripping gore, and I had to congratulate his courage.

But, after that it was pretty much downhill (and uphill and downhill and uphill...!) for me. "Relentless," is the best way to describe this race. Truth be told I hadn't done anywhere near as much training as necessary and so once I'd been out for about an hour and a half I was starting to tire badly. The majority of competitors are reduced to a walk on the majority of the climbs and I was holding ground there but didnt have much other than a feeble jog for the more runnable bits in the second half. I should've packed another pair of legs for the descents. All the places I'd gained soon slipped past, and then some, and it was a case of 'plod on' as best as possible whilst being thankful for good conditions underfoot and dry weather! At about 2 miles from home though I started to pull through the exhaustion and had a fairly strong finish to come in 59th and just 45sec slower than last year in 3:19:30, from a field of 160 some. 

Despite the toughness of this event I'm sure it would be to the liking of a lot of Wooler runners. Some of the second half of the course has more rolling terrain similar to that of the Cheviots and whilst the scenery is in contrast to the largely unspoiled Cheviots backdrop, on a clear day there are some really spectacular views. Well worth the trip, although I don't think my cameraphone shots do much justice.... "Hey man! Ye havenae got time tae be takkin' photaes! This is a race ye ken!"

Another break in the surf drought brought some good stuff from the last day of Sept. until 5th Oct- with the saturday off to have a breather (strong winds blew the swell out for a day) I didn't need to venture much further than Bamburgh to get my kicks, apart from the second evening when things were a bit rough there so the shelter of Annstead Bay beckoned.

High points were Fri. 2/10 and Mon. 5/10.

An early finish from work on the friday meant ample time in the afternoon to get rinsed in the great waves that were coming in and I spent about 3hrs in the water. Quite a lot of folk out too. I think Tynemouth must've been rammed and the overspill found their way north. Swell angle wasn't quite right to get the reef going but peaks and lines all along the beach gave room for all and some long swoopy rides were taken by many. A solitary figure did limber up and paddle over to have a go on the reef for a while. "Hang on!" thought I. "I recognise that goofy-foot style splashing spray about over yonder!" It was Rob, a mate I've not seen for ages, and he paddled over to the main beach break a little later so we had a jaw and caught up on each other's news. I was suffering a bit though. Went left on a wave and got a bit churned up in the breaking lip. The board turned and slid underneath me and one of the fins went hard against the funny bone. Eye-wateringly hard. Most of my lower left arm went numb and some of it stayed that way until monday. Not good. Neither was a very stiff left knee, which materialised later in the evening. I set about treating that when the sea was flat on saturday by icing with a bag of frozen peas and wearing a compression bandage. It worked.

Monday 5th had similar sized waves, 3-4ft plus, but the swell was getting onto the reef at Bamburgh this time. Not as much premium light available once I got there (It's starting to get dark quickly!) but enough time to have a decent session and just in the good company of Dan, who was paddling off the reef as I arrived but who reversed his course and kept me company for about an hour. We traded lefts for a while, some rather good 'uns running right through to knee depth over the slab ( "Nobody surfs The Boneyard....!") where you can step off, all casual like, and hope that a big set hasn't rolled right through to the inside to swat you for being so smug. That happens to me at Howick every time. The tide dropped and the reef stopped working. Dan had had enough and I paddled over for some big peaks on the beach. Dom had arrived for a quick session in the fading light. He caught a couple and then blew out. I waited a bit longer watching a beautiful moon climb through cloud and snagged a couple more close-out waves before calling it a night.

Eyemouth hosted the last of the Borders Sport & Leisure Trust triathlon series on sunday and there was a big turn-out for the final event. Each event in the series has had a shorter 'Come & Tri' race running in parallel and it seems there are more and more people eager to have a first go. Book early if you want to participate next year!

As well as the smooth organisation and running of the series this year, for which the organisers deserve a huge 'Thank You,' another noteable feature has been the nearly always great weather. Towards the end of the Peebles and Kelso races there was rain, but any winds have only been light and the majority of the time we've cycled and run in sunshine. I've been lucky to completely avoid getting wet on course other than in the pool. Fantastic! Poor weather, being freezing cold, skidding about on the bike on wet corners etc. were all unfounded worries, this year at least. But I suspect the elements will balance things out eventually if I persist in the triathlon vein!

Mr.S and his amazing tri-mobile transported us and kit to Eyemouth and we went through the usual pre-amble of squeezing into lycra, lining up trainers and towel and the rest. I think it was Sib, at Pam's hen-run last week, who'd mentioned someone turning up for a tri only to realise bike wheels had been forgotten! Therein is the beauty of Mr.S's motor, for it be spacious enough to not have to do any silly cycle dismantling to get the stuff in. I did have to spend some time a-tinkering though 'cos my bike gears weren't shifting smoothly. Bah! The bike route was the hilliest of the series so gears would be getting good use.

Had a natter with some increasingly familiar faces as I got ready but couldn't see Big N anywhere. Eventually he rolled up seeming very relaxed and unhurried even though some of the earlier swim heats were underway and registration closed. He confessed to a heavy night before, and an early start too, and didn't seem to fancy his chances much. He had time to get ready though for he do swim like a shark and was starting in a later heat.

Mr.S was away in the swim heat before me and, from what I saw, seemed to have a similar pool experience to mine in that the lane was frequently crowding in places due to swimmers being at very similar speeds. It's a case of accepting a certain spot in the swimming order or tapping the toes in front to pass if you feel you're held up. I swam quickest in my lane, but there wasn't much in it this time and twice I mistakenly thought I'd been tapped so stopped at the lane end to let someone pass who wasn't there! When I'd eventually done the 30 laps and jumped out of the pool I ran straight into a diving-board ladder in my haste, as I was head-down with misty goggles! Bang! This was probably great comedy to see but I went into transition a bit agitated to say the least!

The dicky bike gears didn't help my frame of mind as the cycle leg progressed either. I'd sort of got the technical hitch fixed but still my feet were jolted from the pedals on two occasions on uphill stretches and all rythmn ruined. Seeing Mr.S hurtling downhill in the opposite direction (out & back bike course) gave me a boost and "what goes up, must come down" eventually brought me to the same point going at about 42mph. Quite exhilerating!

I didn't transit into the run very well in that I felt quite sluggish and not able to get into my stride. The course was uphill from the start for about 500m then along the clifftop path partway toward Coldingham before returning roughly the same way, with a finishing stretch along the beach. Only one chap had passed me on the bike leg, riding the equivalent of a Ferrari, but I reined him in quite quickly on the run. Perhaps knowing that I was leading from those in my swim heat made me ease up a bit too much on the rest of the run as I've done better than being eighth placed runner before. A finish like Big N's would've been the way to see out a season. Mr.S and I had finished and were watching at the line when Big N appeared on the sand. I did a double take. He was a man possessed, trying to catch up with his own eyeballs as he gave it full belt! Hangover? Cured! I'd predicted that he'd be able to match my time for the sprint tri eventually, but didn't think he'd catch me this season. When he turned his watch to reveal he'd knocked about 4mins from his previous 5k time I knew he was close, and the results eventually showed he'd beat me by a neck coming in 1hr 13:26, 11th place to my 12th (3rd Vet), six seconds behind!

We still await placings for the series as a whole. Best four results from 6 to count. Prior to this event I was 7th overall and third Vet. I think I'll have dropped in the overall rankings as stronger athletes who hadn't raced in as many previous events bring their Eyemouth result to the table, but I think I may have held on to the 3rd Vet placing. On the whole I'm quite happy with that for a first season and fired up for next year, keen to add an open-water swim event and, possibly, the half-ironman to the list.

Don't quite know where to start with this weekend's activity epic. Saturday morning, 5:20am was when the 'on' button was activated and already I knew there was thespian activity in the form of a Belford Players performance coming up, and a funeral service as well as the triathlon. The early start had been necessitated by the added complication of the first decent swell and waves for about a month being forecast for saturday. Would getting up at sparrow-fart and going surfing impact negatively on acting and triathlon abilities? These things can't be pondered on too long...! It's a surfers duty to cast aside all other considerations and get out there if conditions are good. Besides, a dawn patrol is proper now and again, just to make sure the sun is checking in on time.

So, some nice early morning waves at Annstead, just south of Seahouses, were good to kick off the proceedings, before shooting home again and getting props, costumes and kids loaded up to go over to Ford. The Belford Players, of which I'm a member, put on their first performance of 'The Mad Hatters Posh Party' as part of the Berwick Food Festival. This wee play adapts the tea-party scene from Alice In Wonderland as a means to showcase, in song and verse, some of the regions local food producers. There are NO prizes for guessing which of the familiar Alice in Wonderland characters I was called upon to play. This was a warm-up show of sorts. We're due to put on 2 more perfs. in Berwick this coming saturday if anyone is interested. 11:30am on Walls by Gymnasium Gallery, 1:30pm Palace Green, weather permitting.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. The afternoon was given over to a funeral service in Belford. That of a friend's mother who, sadly, died unexpectedly last week. R.I.P. Margaret. I'm not big on religion, but the bible has some very moving verses and a reading from 1 Corinthians 13 was indeed that. Alot of folk turned out to pay respects. Belford's churches also saw a wedding and a christening over the weekend. Life's full spectrum of rituals.

The sea beckoned again in the evening. Mobile phone was stacked with messages about the great condtions. I threw caution to the winds and headed down to Bamburgh for more, meeting up with Dan and Rab and 3 guys paying a visit from Scarborough. Pretty classy waves, head high or so on the reef and then the beach when the tide dropped. We pigged-out on it until the sun was slipping. Worth the wait.

Moving swiftly to sunday morning and I woke up a wee bit throbby with tiredness! Porridge and coffee and loads of water to get hydrated. A minor blur of getting kit together and then Super Chauffeur Mr.S was on the scene with the tri-taxi and off to Berwick we did go! There were some differences in the format of this triathlon compared to the ones in the Borders series- which I'd had reservations about. Paper numbers on number belts as opposed to marker-penned on arms and legs and the requirement to count your own lengths in the pool seemed odd. In the end it all went smoothly though, even the crossings of the A1 on the cycle route which must've been a headache for the organisers. Best of all about this tri was being amongst so many familiar faces (see Dolly's post and pics). I hadnt had a close enough look at the entry list to see who was all having a go. Well done to the Alnwick Tri/WRC connection competitors. You know who you are, even if I'm not readily familiar with everyone yet!

I just tried to ignore the surf-lag from the day before and get on with it. Quite hard work at the start of the bike leg with a few generally uphill miles into the wind. My thighs were complaining straight away and I was a bit worried that I'd overdone it until the turn out of the wind when there was chance to get the speed up again. Similar scenario with the run. The first of two laps I found very tough but there were lots of other runners ahead to aim to catch and into lap 2 I was feeling not-too-bad at all and giving it full steam ahead.

Everyone I spoke to seemed to have enjoyed it all but had similar difficulties with the tougher sections of the course. Mr. S seems to have come up a few places in the field in this event and I know Big N is mighty pleased with improvements in his run leg. There was a meal laid on for competitors in The Bonarstead afterwards and some results and prizes materialised quite quickly too. I came in 6th place overall and scooped a prize for  2nd Vet.

All that remained to be done was go and see the latest Harry Potter with Sarah and the kids in the evening! I managed to stay awake for the 2-and-a-half hours! Possibly the best achievement of the weekend, made easier by it being a pretty good Harry Pottering in comparison to some of the others in the series.

Buoyed up by success last weekend I hoped to stay on a roll for another event, this one hosted by Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club on sunday in Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh.

In a 'score' event you're out on the course for a certain amount of time, in this case either 45 or 60mins. During that time you have to visit as many checkpoints as you can manage and return to the finish point, not necessarily in the same place as the start point! Route choice and the order you visit CPs is totally up to you. Different checkpoints are worth different point values, in this case varying between 10 and 60 points. Generally speaking, lower value CP's won't be as far out from start/finish, or as tricky to find as higher value CP's, but there will be more of them. Points are deducted from whatever you collect for being over the alloted time limit on finishing, in this case 1 point per 6 secs. Winner is whoever bags the most points. There were a total of 30 checkpoints cunningly concealed on the course and the chance to amass 920 points in total if you were good enough.

My total of 380 points (-6 for overtime, clocking in at 60:34) was enough to put me seventh! Seventh from the bottom of a field of 49 on the 60min course that is. In other words, a pretty dire performance. As a sometime hill runner I should be used to life's ups and downs, ha-ha, but some technique honing is obviously required if I'm to move up the ranks with this orienteering thing! The winner racked up 815 points managing to visit all but 4 CPs. I got to just 13 of them. My major fault was spending too long looking for one particular CP which eluded me, even though it was only a 10 pointer! What an idiot. And occasionally overshooting, which stems from trying to go too fast and not concentrating. 'Curb your enthusiasm' would seem to be a golden rule with this game.

In my defence, I did hear some grumbles from other competitors about various pathways either not being on the map, or not being on the ground any more where they should have been. And, let me tell you, those various little bumps of hills about Arthur's Seat are bloody steep dont-you-know!

Still- at least it wasn't pissing down! The sun shone, the hill was criss-crossed with orienteers, runners, joggers, walkers....you name it. Solitiude was not the order of the day! Top of Arthur's Seat was bristling with folk and the festival atmosphere was carried right out of the town and up to this fantastic vantage point. Sarah and Fynn had come along to cheer me on, and afterward we chilled out with a walk up the Royal Mile to watch various street performers doing their thing.

Will try to be brief with this and just list my highs and lows from the 2 days. Since you're mostly out on your own, apart from criss-crossing with people on other courses you've no idea of your progression in the greater scheme of things. It was tough in parts but nothing like the terrain over Keilderhead last year. And I was getting pretty wasted toward the end of day1 with it being quite warm and sunny. But I had a much better time of it than on previous occasions and feel that I've risen from the ashes of previous performances in this event. 

Photos below show the B Course maps and CP descriptions, with the direct routes marked on, and my split time download, for each day.

(Open the photo and then click to 'view full size' for a clearer image, and to have a go at deciding which way you might have gone, if you're interested!)

The map and the little list of checkpoints you must visit (in that order) are what you get at the start. Then you mark on your route if you wish (Most people mark the straight-line route as I have done.) and away you go. Start times are staggered so competitors cant follow each other. I've not confused the maps any further by drawing on my ACTUAL (!) routes, suffice to say that I've gone considerably further than the indicated distances in order to choose, hopefully, less strenuous terrain. I estimate my total distances covered to be closer to miles than the distances given in km for the direct routes, ie: 18m day 1 and 16m day 2.

Low points: Sunburned knees/ Knee and ankle twinges (took too long a route on a road on day 1)/ Nettle stings, knees again, not good on top of previous sunburn!/ Why am I in the middle of this bracken patch!? (stupid route choice toward end of day2)/ Soaked on day2.

High points: Windy Gyle (literally!)/ Glorious weather day1/ Views FOREVER from the Border Ridge day1/ Not getting lost (major achievement)/ Running along Usway Burn day2/ Barrowburn Tea Rooms/ WINNING the B Course race. Yesss!

Not high or low: Will the real Quasimodo Crow please stand forward! After I entered this event I checked the entry list (About 21 per day on the longer courses A/B, more on the shorter) to see if there was anyone I recognised. The name Quasimodo Crow immediately jumped out at me, not because I know Quasimodo, but just for being such a brilliant name! How blind I (possibly) was. My father pointed out to me that a good orienteer might want to traverse the course, "as the crow flies" or, "in the manner of a crow," which is how the name Quasimodo Crow translates! I wanted your monicker to be the real deal Quasimodo, but have to suspect not! (Sincerest apologies if it is, by the way!)

Thanks to all from Newcastle & Tyneside Orienteers for organising such a great event.

Been out for one of my favourite longish runs this am. and feel compelled to remind/inform about some upcoming events which might be of interest to you in the next couple of months, most of which I've wittered incessantly about during training sessions.

Officially, entries for the Phoenix Long-O, based at Barrowburn next weekend, have now closed. But...unofficially they haven't because you can still enter online. www.newcastleorienteering.org.uk  Become acquainted with the term 'Get lost!' (in my experience)

I believe some WRC members are already in for the Cheviots Challenge, last Sat. of this month, 18 or 25miles, run or walk, non-competitive. Another navigating challenge. www.cheviotschallenge.org.uk

Norham RC have their annual 10k road race at the end of Sept. www.norhamrc.co.uk  Always popular.

And early Oct there is a new event organised by Borders Search & Rescue in connection with Active Berwick. This seems to be along similar lines to the Cheviots Challenge although the 2 courses on offer are marked and shorter at 16/23k. Based at Hownam. www.bordersar.org.uk

Finally, again in Oct, bit further afield, the Pentland Skyline. Also known as 'Kill Yourself For A Fiver.' Approach with caution, for this be quite tough! Not quite as long as the Chevy but with more climbing overall. LOTS of up-and-down, a bit of scope for getting lost and dramatic views of Edinburgh if it's clear. www.carnethy.com/ri_skyline.htm

Another eagerly awaited foray into the world of one-piece lycra clothing and talc in the shoes! Kelso hosted the fifth in the Borders Sport & Leisure Trust Triathlon Series yesterday and I was feeling ready for action, bitten by the Tri bug. As the Hawick event, fourth of the six, had been the day after the Chevy Chase I'd wussed out of appearing there. Not a viable option really!

The best bit of preparation for this had been following up on the invite to go and recce the course with another tri mate, who shall henceforth be known as Big N. Although I'd been quite distracted with a sore tooth (see saga in a previous post) when we'd ventured around the cycle and run routes the week before last, our recce proved to be A Very Good Idea in that we discovered: 1-That the course was a bit longer than the others have been, by about 3k on the bike and 1k on the run, 2-That there was a bit more to that hill on the bike route than at first thought, and, 3-That there was a bit more to the rising section of the run circuit than at first thought and that some of that was up a couple of flights of steps. Gr-eat!

But, to the day itself. Up rolled Mr.S, bright and early in his trusty Tri-Taxi to drive me there. What marvellous service! A true gentleman. A first class chauffeur, certainly no loafer. Especially when it comes to running I might add. And, WRC take note, this enigmatic presence may be revealed as he has hopes of more time on his hands soon, some of which to possibly spend out with the club at training. Jolly good. We batted around our varying concerns about the event on the drive across from Belford, casting an eye at the overcast sky, wondering if threatening rain showers that were forecast would hold off. Would we have time to drive by some of the route beforehand so Mr.S could get an insight? Nope. Getting parked up and ready took precedence, but we did have time to spin round the run route on the bikes before registering and setting up kit in the transition zone.

Countdown. Mr.S was off in swim heat 3, I was away in heat 4. Big N has the better developed webbed appendages, gills, fins and other things that make for faster aquatic transit and was up there with the fast 'uns in heat 6. So there was time for banter, mostly tactic-talk, before any of us were under way. Had a blather with some other familiar faces too, Ben- a strong junior contender- eager to get a new bike frame out in race conditions, and another veteran, Doug, ready to tackle the three-horned beast for the umpteenth time. There's a different vibe, pre-race, at Tri events than at straightforward run meetings. At events such as these, where the starts are staggered, but probably even in mass-start swim events where it's not clear who's who until the competitors are out of the water, the feeling is that you're up against yourself more than racing the next person. The numerous variables seem to dispel any air of rivalry and a general feeling of camararderie prevails.

Eventually I was in the pool and under way for what became a good race for me. Basically, things went according to plan except, perhaps, for a minor hiccup on my clock-watching later in the proceedings. In the water I steered away from the adrenalised urge to simply get going which can knock the swim stroke out and concentrated on keeping steady until I got into the swing of it. Bore in mind what Ben had said to me earlier and tried to coincide catching anyone I was going to pass with being at the end of a length which is where you're allowed to pass. The swim felt smooth and I think I exited the pool first from the heat, no longer worried about lack of training in that department. 

Consequently I was out on my own once I got on the bike, at least for the first circuit of the 2-lap course. But I didn't mind because that tied in with my strategy to, again, have a steady start and then try put the hammer down later on if things felt OK. I did pass a couple of backmarkers from an earlier swim heat on my first lap but basically it was down to me to concentrate on keeping spinning and find my own pace. The circuit was, in brief, from Kelso approx 2 miles on the flat out to Ednam, followed by 2 miles rising to Stichill then the final stretch mostly downhill back to Kelso. On the flat at the start of the second lap two bikers from a later swim heat just starting their first lap came past on my shoulder. This was no bad thing at all. They came just at the right time to give me the spur to pick up my pace and have a bit race. I found myself wheeling the rest of that stretch at least 5mph faster than the first lap and not feeling bad going into the hill for the second time where, even with my modest steed I felt I could reel at least one of them in, despite their more expensive machinery. That I did. And managed to stay ahead for longer than I'd expected on the descent too which was a blur at approaching 40mph. An eyewatering approach to Kelso for the second time and for the, generally speaking, final and feared run leg.

It's quite a weird feeling transiting from bike to run and I've been pleasantly surprised at how quick the pace can be without feeling so. (This could be testimony to not warming up enough for straightforward run races!) My gait feels very long and bouncy and for the first mile or so it seems to be about clipping that bounding feeling to increase the stride  rate. The run was again a 2 lap affair going from the pool around the houses and along one of Kelso's boundary roads. All tarmac! The short flights of steps were more a novel interlude than a disruption but I doubt everyone felt that way. There were more folk in sight at various stages of their race now, both passing in the opposite direction on the bike leg and ahead on the run. So, there were targets to aim to catch. I went a steady first lap again and then tried to open up a bit on the second. My slight fluff with timing was thinking that a split time of 18:something for the run was my overall time of 1hr18:something at the point toward the end of the run when I glanced at the watch. If I'd realised I was, overall at that point, actually about 2 mins faster than I thought then I might've been spurred toward a harder effort in the closing stages. It was getting quite hot and humid though and so felt good to get across the line, get a drink and flop for a minute or two until the heart stopped pinballing around! 

Mr.S had been finished a while before me and seemed content with his race. He and I delayed departing for a while to cheer Big N through his transition from bike to run. He too was going well.

Within a few yards of the sanctuary of Mr S's camper-van the heavens opened. It came down stair-rods and must've been disruptive for those still out on the course, especially if cycling. Big N said it came as a welcome coolant for his running laps and Mr S said there'd been a short downpour on one part of the route when he was biking. My only dousing came whilst loading the bikes back up, so I was happy at that!

Obviously with a protracted event it takes a while for results to be collated but they appeared on a website later in the evening. Everything was rosy. I'd posted my highest placing yet, 9th overall/4th Vet from a field of 110+. Swim time was just a shade off my best,  I'd improved my ranking in the bike times, had relatively quick transitions and (I allowed myself a pat on the back) managed (just) to clock the fastest run leg of the day. Thus far my 'result of the year!' Mr.S maintained his position within the field overall and says he is bent on letting cycling activity lay waste to his forthcoming family holiday so he might rend the field asunder at the next outing. Big N improved his position against his last event I think and shows a determination to meet his personal challenge of the run leg head, or should that be trainers, on. Very strong junior contenders took the top slots in this event though, Jack Ferguson and Greg Turner, 1 and 2, were 2mins and 1min up respectively on third placed senior, Allister Short. Two other juniors, Ben Davidson and Angus Killean also made top 8.

Next stop, bit more local, a one off Tri at Berwick early Sept.

Brief rewind to 2001, the last time I entertained the idea of doing this wee jaunt, and I remember rolling up at the show ground only to find the field deserted, the sign reading, "Cancelled due to Foot & Mouth." It should've been obvious that's what I'd find that day- every farm on my rounds at work had been off limits for a couple of months. 8 years ago though! 'Time flies,' I thought to myself when setting off from Belford to try get on the start line this year.

Weather didn't look very promising on the drive across. Only the Cheviot foothills visible, everything else blotted out under a purpley-grey smudge, smeared across with a south westerly breeze. Could be rain, could be monsoon, could be......

...Not too bad actually as things turned out. Rain stayed off, breeze dropped away to nothing really and the sun tried to make an appearance, turning conditions just to the overly-warm side of comfortable. But not unpleasant. Glen & Jack smoothly shepherded the entrants into the starting area and the 20 to 30 of us were soon ready to run, looking  ahead at the straightforward course which took us out to the nearest bump on the landscape about 2 miles away (East Hill I believe) then up it. And back again. The only fore-warning was that there was a river crossing to be negotiated in each direction! How deep? Various hands on various legs indicated various depths. So...  that'd be somewhere between ankle and crotch depth then!

I was a little apprehensive. For no other reason than Jack breezily saying, as soon as he saw me approaching to register, "Well! That's a good 1-2-3 then! Phil Sanderson, Ian Twaddle and Adam!" Nice to get such a strong vote of confidence but.....well....no pressure!

The strongmen huffed and puffed in the main ring, ewes and rams bleated in their pens as judges cast their expert eye over, a show official strode over to announce the race (Who had also very kindly donated a lot of the quite substantial prize money from his own pocket.) and then Glen shouted 'the off.'

Straight away the race set up as a two-man showdown between Phil and Ian with, after reeling in a couple of frisky Low Fell runners who took off at a belt, me pottering along in 3rd place a hundred or some yards behind. Phil didn't seem to go away at quite his usual pace and it looked as if he and Ian were weighing each other up during the first half, waiting to see if the other would make a move. As well as the river crossing (stony, about knee-deep as it was) there were numerous gates and stiles en-route too as we crossed from field to field and eventually up the hill. Varying terrain underfoot too- grass, soft and hard track and a bit of road. What the feet are landing on doesn't bother me too much but I'm a picky bugger when it comes to opening gates and jumping stiles and the like- don't get on well with getting my stride broken once I've got going, so such obstacles are always a challenge.

Approaching the top of the hill I met Phil and Ian who'd made the turn. Phil seemed to have got away a bit and that became clear once I turned and saw him opening up the gap on Ian which he continued to do during the return leg. I didn't realise it at the time but the strong fourth place runner who, whilst not breathing down my neck exactly, always seemed to be within striking distance behind, was Phil's younger brother. I dug in during the last third of the way and got myself into more space to secure third place then coasted in the last quarter mile.

The surprise of the day for me had been to discover that Ian Twaddle was wearing the Wooler vest for this outing and that he had high hopes for us to take the team prize. Like Jack with the 1-2-3 prediction, he wasn't wrong. Soon after crossing the line I trotted back a bit to see how Jack and John were fairing and how we might do on points. It turned out that Jack's 10th place (Which put him as 1st local) was enough to do it, Wooler gents first place!

The ladies that turned out to compete had a good day of it! I believe they were three in number, although could be wrong at that, and so were assured of each getting a share of the prize money. Now that's what I call organisation! I hereby propose that all runners in the area draw up a rota of just who is going to turn up at each race in the calendar, only three at a time though so that everybody gets a turn on the podium.

Well done one and all, and thanks again to Glen for another great course. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get up to Hethpool for the new College Valley course on sunday so hope everyone had a good day there.