Edinburgh Athletic Club

Race wise, this is a weekend for catching your breath after last weeks fantastic efforts…, BUT there will be a few heading to Haddington for the 10k on Saturday, 3pm start and you can enter on the day.

For training, on Sunday there will be the usual long training run at 9am from Craiglockhart Sports Centre. Meet in the top car park and we will head out on the Canal and Water of Leith paths to Balerno and beyond, with run distances of 12-16 miles, mainly on paths and trails. A range of distances and a range of speeds, all welcome, just turn up and join in.

I’ll start by laying my cards on the table – the EMF half marathon was probably the best race I have ran in my life.  The weekend was set up in perfect style by watching an EAC 1-2-3 at the EMF 10k on Saturday morning. Knowing I had the half marathon on Sunday morning, I couldn’t help but think to myself “I want a wee bit of glory too”.  Bryan made an attempt to ruin my race by hosting a BBQ on Saturday afternoon. I won’t deny I was tempted to forget the race and join in with some serious beer drinking, but the can of weak lager that Bryan provided put me off having a second drink. Instead, Vik provided me with what I now believe to be the pre-race drink of champions – American Cream Soda. I head home early from the BBQ to do some Power of 10 stalking of my opponents.          (more…)

Although races come thick and fast at this time of year, a busy upcoming few months means that my racing opportunities will be limited for a while so I’ve instead been on the lookout for a few midweek events. I was a little hesitant about entering the Rigg Race because I’d heard that the first two miles were an all uphill affair and having recently got over a spell on the sidelines with a dodgy Achilles, the last  thing I wanted to do was upset it again. Being one of the most indecisive folk on the planet, I spent the day at work on Monday tussling with the decision. On my walk home I decided it wasn’t worth  risking the injury in a small scale race that wasn’t of huge importance, so I resolved with myself to leave it. Ten minutes later I was walking to the car with my EAC vest on.     (more…)

It was made clear to me that the winner of the EMF 10k race was likely to be either myself or Dan Clarkson.  Although still recovering from a long term foot injury I was encouraged by a really good speed session at the track on the Tuesday before, even if it did leave me with stiff leg muscles.  Dan is in the form of his life just now.  He recently won a tactical battle with Stevie Cairns to get a win and a 10k PB at Gala.  A race where he himself admitted he had more in the tank.  So was I worried about Dan?  You betcha!

Garry gave us our instructions before the race.  “Neither of you need to blow the course away to secure to a 1, 2 so once you’ve seen off any competition, sit tight till you get passed Pollock Halls and race the final 1.5k or so.”       (more…)

West Lothian Council are hosting a “closed to public leg” of the Olympic torch relay at Hopetoun House on Wednesday June 13th. They are putting on 8 *1 mile trail runs named the Eric Liddle runs for P7 Children and are looking for a lead runner for each wave. Lead runners much be able to run sub 6.30 miling and wear either their club vests or  representative vest.  

You will get a chance to see the Torch up close and will be provided with afternoon tea and some travel expenses. You have to be on site at Hopetoun House  from 13.30-17.00 for security reasons .
If interested in helping out, contact Alex  on 07770646515 or leave a comment on this post.

The main targets were the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 10k and 1/2M races and our guys didn’t let us down. In the 10k, it was an EAC 123 with the race being won by Bryan ‘Face of the EMF’ Mackie, closely followed by Dan Clarkson and Robert Turner. In the 1/2M it was a case of two podium finishes with Colin McGill and Jenny MacLean both getting 3rd place. There were lots of EAC runners taking part, but it’s difficult to compile the results as you can’t search on club name! Full results are at http://www.results.edinburgh-marathon.com/      

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“Success is a journey, not a destination.”

Inscription on the back of the 1999 Flora London Marathon Medal

My earliest running memory was watching an advert where a wee boy ran wild in a field, then his mum doing his washing and it coming out the washing machine whiter than white. When I decided to become a “dirt collector” in a local field my clothes ended up in the bin while my face was scrubbed mercilessly by a rather angry parent.       (more…)

Lynsey Sharp running in Radat, Morocco has made the Olympic B standard in the 800m. Lynsey ran 2.01.12 and was  fourth in only her second 800m outing of the season and was just inside the Olympic B standard of 2.01.30 ahead of the Olympic trials in Birmingham on June 22-24.

Freya Murray running in the BUPA 10K in London, made the standard for the European Championship 10,000m on the track.
Freya finished fifth in the women’s race in a time of 33.25 which is 11 seconds quicker than her winning time in the Glasgow 10k and she now heads for Spain next weekend to represent Britain in the 10k European Cup.

The latest Young Athletes Rankings compiled by Keith can be viewed here:
Young_Rankings_2012

Focus is on Edinburgh this weekend with the Edinburgh Marathon Festival providing a 5k, 10k, 1/2M and Marathon. Most of the EAC race squad are targetting the 10k or 1/2M, so if you are spectating at these events, give them a cheer as they fly past. 

For training this weekend, on Sunday there will be the usual long training run at 9am from Craiglockhart Sports Centre. Meet in the top car park and we will head out on the Canal and Water of Leith paths to Balerno and beyond, with run distances of 12-16 miles.