2018 Race Report
Results
The winning female team this year was Ellon Amateur Athletics Club in a time of 3:38, fending off next closest JSK Wifies who themselves ran a great time of 3:40.
In the men’s race we only had the two entries but no way should that detract from the solid performance of JSK RC who won in a time of 2:44, breaking the previous course record of 2:49 and who no doubt would have been contenders even in a much larger field.
For the mixed teams we had another new course record set by Barmy Bobbies Black, who managed one of the few sub 3 hour performances and came in at 2:51.
The race
We had 17 team entries in total. The entry limit is currently 40 teams and it would be great to see those kind of numbers so please spread the word to friends and clubmates. We get overwhelmingly good feedback about the event but probably need to improve the promotion so that people hear about us. This year we opened up the event to under 18s with 5 of the 9 legs okayed for juniors to run unaccompanied and all ok for them to run if accompanied by an adult.
The weather was pretty kind overall. It was quite warm and uncomfortable for running in the morning but seemed to cool slightly come noon. Runners did have to contend with a headwind but it was relatively mild. A couple of years ago the windspeed was twice as high and runners had to work very hard, especially on the south section.
There were a couple of reports of handover and navigation mishaps. It all adds to the fun and makes for good stories to tell your mates. Although there is a list of recommended legs and handover points teams are free to tackle the event how they like and it was interesting to hear of the various strategies people were using. Some teams added in extra handovers to get fresh legs into the mix, some teams did fewer handovers to get some decent continuous running in. There were also reports of people getting in some good running miles. Charlie from the broch supported friends by running the whole way with them; Brian supported mates and took the dog out for a good run before it got too hot; and Sandra got in a 17 mile run in for her marathon training.
Post-event chilling out with burgers and beer.
Thanks
A huge thanks go out to all those who supported the event. My friends Glen and Claire for helping with event setup; my mum who you have to thank for the tasty tablet; the guys from Ellon Round Table for giving their time to do the BBQ; and to all the sponsors for their donations to help offset event costs. Thanks also to George for coming along to take photos.
The Running Shop, Aberdeen
EFF Offshore Solutions Ltd
Carron’s Cake Creations
AJS Book-keeping
Ellon Grooming Services
Ellon Round Table
I also want to say a thank you to all my friends for helping me celebrate my birthday on Sunday. I generally keep quiet about such things but rest assured I really appreciated the gesture and the fact that you all wanted to wish me happy birthday. I can’t really think of any way I would have rather spent the day than doing some event organising and then having some drinks with friends. And a final thanks to The Tolbooth, Ellon, for hosting us and laying on some snacks for the post event meet up.
Proceeds
There are some bills to pay and donations to add up but before the end of the month I’ll let you know how much we’ve raised for our beneficiaries this year Ythanvale Care Home and Ellon Amateur Athletics Club.
Remember to spread the word for next year’s event for Sunday the 4th of August and see you next year!
Steven