John Lucas Memorial 50 mile race 2015

My last ultra-marathon race team volunteering this year was last weekend, at this race in Strathaven. Put on by the Strathaven Striders, the race director for the last 3 years has been Dave Meldrum, and after I stepped in to help out last minute last year, I offered properly this year, and was allocated finish line timing duties. (And a clipboard! squee) - This is Dave's last year in tenure, before he hands over race directing duties, and in the 3 years he's been in charge, the event has improved year on year. He can be very proud of a great job well done.

This 50 mile road race is one that hasn't been terribly popular before, mostly on account of that 'nasty tarmac stuff' that loads of ultra runners turn their nose up at, but it has still attracted some great local runners, and some really impressive performances despite the small field. Last year Dave introduced a relay for the first time, with 5 mixed-distance legs, which is already becoming pretty popular, and will undoubtedly help take the race from strength to strength in future. It's definitely a race that the runners seems to recommend, with some very challenging hills, beautiful scenery, and a nice friendly feel throughout; join the facebook group and find out more about it if you're curious! (Obviously I've not ran it myself... 50 miles is a wee bit outside my comfort zone, haha.)

Anyway, enough preamble - my day volunteering started later than the race itself. I knew my role would involve being out til the evening, and after a fair few busy weekends of late, and no race responsibilities until around lunchtime, I opted for a lie-in and leisurely breakfast at home instead of an early drive across to the west. The race started at 8am, and I was watching TV and relaxing at home when it did! Marvellous... ;-) After a while, though, I decided I would pop over and do a little bit of spectating at some of the earlier checkpoints - so I headed over to Stonehouse, getting there a good hour early!! Haha. I had a wee drive around the countryside instead, stopping briefly at the Sandford checkpoint where Helen and John were having breakfast before starting their marshal shift, and a quick chat with Davie Gow who was in a relay team (Team Vambo) with James Stewart and some of the guys I've met at other ultra events this year. A fast team, it was clear they were going to be in hot contention this year.



Susan and I, pic by Chen Chee Kong

A bit more of a drive, and I headed back to Stonehouse, catching up with Lee and Dave there for a while, before Lee disappeared to a prior work engagement. Dave and I had a good chat while the runners started to arrive, seeing not only the first few relay teams fly through (Team Vambo leading from the Killie Harriers team) but also in the full ultra, Rob Soutar, Gerry Craig, and Grant Jeans taking the first 3 places. A bit of cheering, and catching up with a couple of other spectators (including some of the various relay teams, and a very welcome hug from the ever-enthusiastic Billy), eventually I decided I'd better head to get ready at the finish, rather than stay to watch the last few runners come through - so off I went to Strathaven, where I was met by Dave and Susan, and pointed to my very own table and chair, with clipboards and coloured marker pens, the lot! Heaven. *laughs*

A bit of sorting, and getting to grips with how many runners we had today (loads of DNS's, unfortunately), then I was able to chat to folk, and giggle at Dave's inflatable finish arch problems. ;-) Turns out petrol generators to keep inflatable arches inflated are very hungry!!! Davie and Ian were taking on some bike duties, helping the runners find their way into the new finish area, which would basically involve them cycling up and down a hill for a few hours (they both enjoyed it, the dafties...). We were all set!! The Team Vambo guys asked me to work out what time James had to bring in the last leg in order to get a course record, and we all knew it was likely to be tight - James' lovely missus and wee boys had also arrived, and I'll admit I did feel bad I hadn't picked up my cowbells before I left the flat, because it would have been fab to loan them to Euan and Caelan (though I might not have got them back...). We got the call that James was close, but as the clock ticked by, so did the course record. James crossed the line in 5:13, just two minutes outside last year's relay time, which is pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider they'd had a team change and Davie Gow was also racing into a fantastic 5th place at the Devil o' the Highlands ultra just 2 weeks earlier!! I'll admit, I pointed out to him that his whinging made him sound like a trail snob, and he laughed and admitted it immediately!!!! That said, I got the sneaking suspicion they'd be back next year...

The second place relay team, from Kilmarnock, finished very shortly afterwards. High spirits and congrats all round - they managed to beat their club's 2014 relay team time by around half an hour, which they were hugely pleased with (and quite rightly so!). More relay teams came in, then we heard that the race winners were on their way. We'd heard that Rob and Gerry were finishing the race together (neither of them have written their blog posts yet, I'll update this entry if/when they do), and it was absolutely brilliant to see these friends and training buddies come round the corner and cross the line side by side. (Craig Mackay was later to ask on facebook, while weeping sadly about the lack of competitive sprint finish, if they held hands - yes, yes they did. Ain't it luvverly? hehe.) I found it interesting later online that a few people said they thought it was wrong to finish together, rather than race for 1st place, and not in the spirit of racing - funny that nobody seemed to be voicing the same opinions about Donnie and Casey two weeks earlier at Fort William, huh?? *rolls eyes* Anyway, I'm not going to bitch on this blog, lol... From what I heard, I think Rob and Gerry pushed each other hard over the last 10+ miles of the race - they got each other through some slumps, and encouraged one another, and both fought hard to achieve PB times on the course, covering the 50 miles in 6:38 - personally I think it says as much about the spirit of the ultrarunning community as it does about Gerry and Rob, both of whom are runners I have a lot of respect for (though I'd never tell them that, don't want them getting bigheaded). Absolutely delighted for them both, and proud as hell by their achievement.



Pic by Meg Wright

The ladies race was won by the very lovely Morgan Windram-Geddes, and as the other relay teams and full race runners finished, it was great to see a lot of smiles. The weather was soooo much better than the freeze-fest that was last year, and the torrential rain there'd been at the Devil, and indeed I worried I was getting burned to a crisp! Loads of happy people, and great results - I was especially pleased when the Tollcross parkrun ladies finished their relay team in style, with Heather working hard to cross that line. :-) It's always sad to see friends not have the day they wanted - a couple of DNFs that made me feel bad despite the guys taking it well themselves, and poor Angela having a calf injury during her relay leg, for example. Always impressive to see people put themselves through the wringers, but also to see people make the decision to step out when they know it's right. Tough call.

As the 10 hour race cut-off approached (with John Sneddon finishing well despite a tough day at the 'office'!) we knew there were 3 runners still out on the course, over an hour away. Though outside the race time, Dave and I agreed to record their time, and as everyone drifted away and we packed up, it was a nice relaxed time to catch up with Lee & Dave, Noanie, David, and John, as the shadows grew and the day gently came to an end. Brilliant to cheer Greg over the line, and then a few minutes later Larry and Craig finished together, the 18th and 19th runners in another small field of epic runners. Well done to everyone who took part, and to all the volunteers and helpers. Especially well done to Dave, you should be very proud of yourself for another great year - thanks for allowing me to be part of it. x x