McAndrew relay

I had no significant injury worries on the day of the race and had memorised all the kilometre points so I could try once again to maintain a 3:15/K pace. I tried to get a good start so I could sit at the back of the fast pack, and went through 1K in 3:15 as planned, although there was a blustery wind so I was having to work slightly harder. The mile point was right on the corner of Anniesland Road and Queen Victoria Drive, and I got there in 5:14 which was still exactly on schedule, although by the 2K mark my pace had slipped by a couple of seconds. It was between 2K and 3K that my legs started to feel tired. Up until now I had been swapping places with the same Pitreavie runner as in the previous week's race, but I wasn't able to take sufficient advantage of the hill on Westland Drive and was starting to fall behind when we reached Southbrae Drive. In the final kilometre or so I passed a couple of flagging fast starters but began to lose another battle with a runner from Inverclyde. I finished in 17:51 which was nonetheless 7 seconds up on last year and also my fastest time since 2003. I might have done better if I had set off slower, or taken it easier on Thursday night, but probably both.

I was 15th on the first leg and we finished in 10th place overall - 1st team in the Masters category. I also ran the fastest leg for Garscube by a very narrow margin.