Edinburgh Athletic Club

Report by Graeme Brown

A Christmas/ New Year run in the Pentlands starting at Carlops is becoming something of a regular fixture for folks in the EAC endurance section. The length of the run, at just over two hours, and the type of terrain make this an ideal outing for runners with varying levels of experience in the hills. Indeed it can provide a good introduction to the hills for those with little or no experience as the present author was fortunate to discover last year. This year though I was joined by five experienced companions who were well within their comfort zones on a run of this length.

The route taken this year and last is basically a big loop starting and finishing at Carlops and taking in some varied terrain in what is a less well known part of the Pentlands. From Carlops the route we follow goes towards the SW for a couple of kilometres before curving round into the drainage of the Lyne Water and heading towards Baddinsgill Farm and reservoir.

From Baddinsgill our route heads along an old drove road towards Cauldstane Slap following the course of the race with the same name. Previous trips to these parts had resulted in all concerned coming back covered in mud. Mud wasn’t the hazard today though as overnight temperatures of -5 degrees or below had frozen everything solid with the various large puddles turning into mini skating rinks. Even the boggy bit on the lower slopes of East Cairn Hill was frozen solid a factor which made for a much more pleasant start to the ascent. We stopped on the summit of East Cairn only long enough for a quick photo before heading off towards the Bore Stane. The return leg to Carlops went quite quickly with only short pauses to examine some strange frosty inscriptions written on the styles by one of our number who had gone on ahead. Although the frost on the treads was scuffed and starting to melt in the sun we could just make out the letters ‘HBT Rules’. Surely not…

All told this was a fun day out in the hills. I am also very happy to report that this trip is only one of a number of excellent hill runs that I’ve had over the past couple of months courtesy of our hill running group. Our numbers are small but growing all the time as more people get to hear about our activities. A weekly roundup of what training and longer runs are happening is provided by email list and anyone interested in getting added to the list should get in touch with Jonathan Whitehead.

For results of the Queens Drive Race on 21st December, please see the following link.

queens-drive-results2

Brussels 14^th December

 Chris O’Hare was part of the Silver Medal winning Great Britain and Northern Ireland Junior Men’s team in the European Championships held in Brussels, just missing out on Gold by 2 points.

Overall Great Britain and Northern Ireland had a record breaking haul of medals, topping the medal table with four Gold, five Silver and three Bronze  medals.
Chris was 28^th in 19:33

 For full results check out the European Athletics website.

A Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year from our Club Captains Gillian Cooke and Martin Ferguson, the Club Executive and from the web team Alex, Derek, Garry, Graeme and Martin.
Read the Christmas newsletter here:
eac-xmas-newsletter

Race report by Graeme Brown

This past Sunday saw round 3 of the 2008/2009 Borders XC series held at Peebles and organised very ably by those nice folks at Moorfoot Runners.  In terms of numbers the totals show an increase on last year and give some weight to my overall impression that this great little race series is getting more popular.  The day itself was a bit overcast with an occasional spit of rain but thankfully not very windy.  Having run this race on two previous occasions, and enjoyed the variety of the terrain very much, it was nice to see that the course hadn’t changed from last year.

For those that have never the done the race the route is a picturesque one making full use of  both sides of the River Tweed.  The race starts with a single lap of Haylodge Park before heading up along the banks of the Tweed on a narrow twisty and rocky track crossed by numerous large tree roots.  Its quite difficult to pass people in this stretch but thankfully this section falls early enough in the race for it not to be too much of a problem.  From here the course continues along a wider track beside the Tweed before turning back on itself to follow the old railway, crossing the river on the disused bridge.  A short section of forest trail immediately follows the bridge crossing and, in my experience, this has the affect of lulling the runners into a false sense of security before the next challenge begins!  As the runners emerge from the trees they view the route descending almost to the river before climbing back up to the summit of the hill in one sustained effort.  Thankfully the hill training which the author has been doing this year allowed him to make short work of a climb which had previously seemed quite difficult. (more…)

Results from Sundays Borders League Cross Country at Peebles can be found at http://www.norhamrc.co.uk/

Another great run from Sue Ridley with yet another 1st place, that’s 3 out of 3 so far  (and indeed first EAC runner home in this race).

EAC results for this race and an update to the grand prix standings can be found at

eac-seniors-cross-country-results2

Congratulations to Emily Dudgeon on her selection to the Scottish Team for the Celtic Nations Cross Country to be held in Cardiff on the 18^th January.

 

If you have a used pair of spikes (in good condition) or any other kit please hand them.
We will then sell them on to other others and all money raised will go to the Club.

Members will be able to try items on Tuesday/Thursday evenings between 7pm & 8pm)
See Yvonne or Gail (the ones with the pegs on their noses!)
EAC Parents Group

 

Congratulations to Chris O’Hare on his selection to the Great Britain and Northern Ireland under 20 team at the Spar European Cross Country Championships to be held in Belgium on December 14^th.

See below for the Young Female and Young Male selections for the Inter District Cross Country at Edinburgh on 10th January.

Edinburgh AC have 18 athletes selected
(The biggest by a long way, next biggest club has 9)

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