Author Archive: Mark Bower

G3

2021 Award Nominations Needed!

OK so it might not be quite the Olympics but we do have a few trophies up for grabs all the same soon at the next upcoming AGM + Awards evening (early April, date tbc) ??????

So folks it’d be hugely appreciated if you could send your nominations in to Adi for the following :-

?DHRC Runner of the year – male and female.
?DHRC Harrier of the year – 1 award only.

The criteria for ROTY is simply for the runner/s (M & F) who you think have had the best year running wise – (Jan to Dec 2021). This can be success as in trophies, etc or success as in their own personal journey, your choice ?.

The criteria for HOTY is same as the monthly award and can be for anybody who has gone the extra mile for club and/or colleagues in 2021, basically the person who’s displayed the most Harrierness in your opinion!

So to round up it’s 1x Harrier of the year nomination, and 1x each male and female Runner of the year nominations please.

Please, please do nominate guys – even if you’re not 100% I’m sure there’s somebody who’s made you raise your eyebrows and give them a slight tip of the hat at some point in the last year ?.

Please also give a brief description for your choice as well, it’ll help us when compiling candidates and making final choices.

Let Adi know your choices as soon as you can – you can email him at chairman@danumharriers.co.uk

Watch the 2021 Review on Youtube

Well, all in all 2020 was a bit of a write off when it came to events. However when races and events started appearing back on the Calendar in 2021 we showed that we were ready to answer the call!

Therefore in time honoured fashion we have created a brief roundup of 2021 for you all. Hopefully everyone appears somewhere on a picture, but if you don’t all we can say is get your cameras out next year or pull a stupid face when you see someone with one! (Plus there’s only so much we can fit into a short video ?).

Click here to watch the video on Youtube

Latest News & Xmas/New Year arrangements

Hopefully you’re all aware that this week (27th – 31st Dec) there are no scheduled club sessions, but members are more than welcome to arrange their own individual runs and promote them in the FB group. There are already runs planned on Thursday (8.8 miles with Jo and Mark) and Kev T has 3 MAF 5kms on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Keep your eyes peeled in the group for more!

The Club Champs are all done and dusted and in both the ladies & gents competitions the leaders going into the final race were uncatchable, having been consistent throughout the season. Second and third places were still up for grabs though and it ended up being close at the end! Congratulations to Michael and Julie for coming 1st in their Gender, and well done to Lee and Stacey for finishing second and Nathaniel and Lynn for coming third. We also have to say well done to everyone else that took part in this year’s Champs and next year’s schedule is already up for you to start planning those races!
Male
1st – Michael P
2nd – Lee A
3rd – Nathaniel R
Female
1st – Julie A
2nd – Stacey Pe
3rd – Lynn H

Finally the Cross Country season was completed with Race 4 at Graves Park, and with the results in from all 4 races we were delighted to come 3rd in our League! Great running all round from everyone that attended them, hope to see you (and maybe a few more?!) at next year’s!

That’s all for now folks, see you down at the club on a Tuesday/Thursday!

Latest updates

Well we’re really back into the swing of things now at the club! Club nights are as popular as ever – last night’s was a bumper turnout and a great time was had by all members! Remember to get your name down on the booking forms in advance if you can – it helps us in several ways, the main one being for track and trace.

Tuesday’s sessions with John Beattie were a great success and everyone that attended learned some great ideas for warm ups and injury prevention. Our ‘regular’ Tuesday sessions being led by Nick at the moment are also proving popular for members wishing to improve their fitness and times, so check those out if you can.

The Club Champs are progressing well, no races have been cancelled or postponed so far. Julie looks to be pulling away in the Ladies’ event, but whilst Mick is currently leading the men’s there’s still everything to play for with 3 races left! All the info can be found on the CC page here.

Finally there’s the Cross Country season underway as well, with 2 races completed and 2 more to go. All the information can be found on this page, with details on the next race and the results for the races already completed.

That’s all for now folks, see you down at the club on a Tuesday/Thursday!

Baxter’s Loch Ness Marathon, October 2021 – Nathaniel Redcliffe

They say that the weather is unpredictable in Scotland. I wouldn’t say it was “unpredictable”, I knew exactly what it was going to be… cold, wet, and windy.

A collection of coaches, and double decker buses collected myself and four thousand other runners from Bught Park in the cold dead of night (7 a.m.!!). The back of the coach seats were each lined with plastic, and we all had to wear a mask. Despite the extra covid measures that the company had taken, we were all sat next to a complete stranger. The guy next to me was from America. He had traveled to many different continents to try different marathons, some of these included: Antarctica, Norway, Istanbul and Hawaii (I get it, he’s much more interesting than me, so I’m going to move on and stop talking about him).

Just past Fort Augustus; we all departed the coach on top of a large hill, to stand in the cold pouring rain. From the distance you can see other mountain peaks, clouds, and – more importantly – portaloos. Everybody broke the social distancing rule to huddle together, protecting each other from the bitter cold and the sharp wind. This is one of the reasons why I love the running community, everybody has an instinct to look after each other. Another guy from America (who also flew to Scotland for the first time, just for the marathon) noticed how cold I was, and offered his spare space jacket. A girl I was talking to at the start line also offered me her spare bin bag liner, which I gratefully accepted. For this race, it is essential that you bring a disposable poncho, and an old jumper to throw at the side of the road, because the last thing you want before the race is hypothermia. One of the benefits about this marathon is the bag drop is close to the start line, so you can wait till the very last minute before you abandon your layers. (Of course, the truck where your bags are stored will get transported back to the finish line).

To initiate the race; a traditional Scottish bagpipe player walked down the centre of the crowd to the start line, completely unfazed by the cold and wore his kilt. Once he had finished playing his banging tune, the race had begun. The run started with me descending downhill to the base of another hill, then I ran around the hill by the side of two forests. However, the fifth mile was a long, sharp and curvy ascent (every runner’s nightmare). At this point, people had started to walk, which was unnerving.

For the next seven miles, there was a mixture of two things: a long undulating segment or a short sharp incline. Either way, they both end with a long downward drop. Meaning, I ended up going more downhill than up. This was a perfect opportunity to let gravity do the work, which allowed my legs to recover after the ascent. From the sixth mile, I could see the River Ness from the gaps of the trees. The trees had yet to receive Autumn’s cold grasp, meaning they still held much of their green thick leaves, which made the view on the left hand side even more spectacular. It was a sight for anyone with sore eyes. The view on the right was just a slight landslide risk.

The reason why headphones were banned from the course is because of the passing emergency motorcycle first aiders. There were other runners who did not heed the warning, and decided to wear headphones anyway. Between miles 10 – 12, you wouldn’t believe the amount of times I had to shout at people “bike behind”, or “keep to
the side”, but they still never caught what I was saying. I wore my bone conductors… like the professional athlete that I am. The heavy metal music blasting on top of my ears was a blessing between miles 12.5 – 17.5, because it was a long five mile drag in the rain. If it were not for the runners beside me, I could have easily stopped. There was nothing new to see, just trees closing in on the road. Running on the hard tarmac had become very uncomfortable for my legs, I had to have a few Jelly Babies (which are always recommended for a long run) and the race’s free gels (which is at every 10k) for muscle recovery.

After mile 17.5, the village Dore was a welcomed sight. It was the first wave of supporters since mile nine. The echoes of clapping and cheering were a much needed boost. Also, as we got into Dore the paths opened up, allowing me to see more of the landscapes that Scotland had to offer. Unfortunately, the route took me up one of these landscapes. Between miles 18.5 – 20 was one long climb uphill… and that’s when the sun decided to show its face. “Not now! You big yellow warm b*stard!”. A few people I met at the hostel and at the Wetherspoons said this is where they struggled after going too fast at the beginning – so remember “it’s a marathon not a sprint”.

Once at the top, it was a fast 10k finish. About 95% of it was either downhill or flat. It reminded me very much of the last 10k at Sheffield Half Marathon. Speaking of Sheffield Half; it’s worth noting that a very steady hilly half (or any race), a week or two before a hilly marathon, will help a great deal when it comes to hills. Unless you run a lot of hills in your area.

As I approached Inverness town centre, more and more spectators came out. By mile 25, I could see the finish line… it was just on the wrong side of the river. This was very disheartening. Especially since I had nothing left in the tank. But, once I crossed the bridge onto the correct side – the atmosphere at the finish line was phenomenal (and so was the free carrot soup). The achievement of beating my estimated time (under four hours), the adventure, the good atmosphere at the finish line, the scenery, and the carrot soup – definitely made me want to sign up for another marathon soon.

Oh, I’ve forgotten – something strange happened on the 16th mile. Whilst I was running behind two people with headphones on, I noticed all the birds flew from the trees and little wooden creatures fled across in one direction out of terror… away from the river. The water’s gentle motion had turned into a vicious whirlpool, and from the dark centre of the vortex – a beast like no other had risen from the depths of the deep blue water. It gave an almighty roar that had caused the ground beneath to quiver at its mercy. Its long scaly skinned neck stretched out and devoured the two runners in front of me. They would have heard it coming… if only they weren’t wearing headphones.