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Pitreavie AAC Endurance
All you need to know about endurance running with Pitreavie AAC
Pitreavie AAC Endurance Section round up Dec 2020
Published on Saturday, 22 May 2021 16:31- Details
- Written by N Compston
Pitreavie AAC’s Endurance Section members (PAACE) have continued to enthusiastically take part in virtual club events. The latest activities include PAACE yourself in December and a Winter self-guided Trail Series. The PAACE Yourself event involves participants making a personal commitment to achieving a fitness goal in December, with any type of exercise permitted. This could range from daily exercise of any sort, a minimum walking or running mileage, or minimum number of steps. The key is members can choose something to challenge themselves, but also fits in with their lifestyles. The challenge has been a huge success with over 132 members participating and helping to raise vital club funds at the same time.
Devised by Mike Gudgeon, one of the club’s ultra-runners, the PAACE Winter Trail Series has proven popular with over 77 runners signing up. Mike has been keen to spread his love of the trails and developed a series of mapped trail routes in West Fife to be run anytime to the end of February 2021, to ensure there’s no overcrowding. The idea is these are run in small, Scottish Athletics COVID compliant groups to give a little of the atmosphere of a race, importantly, with the safe social contact being good for mental health. Whilst some are taking the race seriously, and aiming for fast times, many members, including the club’s Jog Scotland Group, Ready Steady Go Pitreavie, are getting involved simply to get their first taste of the trails and to have some fun.
With PAACE members fast gaining a reputation for enjoying their food, Varrie Wardrope has put together a PAACE recipe book. The book, based entirely on members contributions, is interspersed with photos and quotes, and has been a very well received positive memento of this strange year, with £450 raised for the club.
Generous PAACE members also donated £130 to excellent local charity ‘Eats Rosyth’. The money was raised through the course of an internal club event, the ‘5 mile Handicap’ race in 2020, with Christine Syme, long time member donating the money on behalf of the club.
- Pitreavie AAC Endurance Section Dalmeny Half and Edinburgh 20 mile, May 2021
Published on Saturday, 22 May 2021 16:22- Details
- Written by N Compston
Pitreavie Endurance Section runners had a good turnout at one of the first races of the season since the end of the second COVID lockdown in Scotland. 12 Pitreavie memberstook part across two races – the Edinburgh 20 (mile) race, and the Dalmeny Half Marathon. The event, put on by Blast Running and licensed by Scottish Athletics, was subject to full COVID-19 risk assessment and Scottish Athletics guidelines, giving runners the confidence to participate and fully enjoy the race.
Runners started in well organised waves from Cramond over a tough and undulating course into the Dalmeny Estate, where the route followed the coastline to South Queensferry. The 20 mile course then traversed the Forth Road Bridge, returning to join the Half Marathon runners, with both routes finishing in the beautiful Dalmeny Estate. The excellent race was throughly enjoyed by Pitreavie members.
Iain Howatt (V50M) was the first Pitreavie runner home in the 20 mile race, placing 9th with 2 hrs 28 mins and 18 secs, only 15 mins behind winner Ross Miller (V40M) from Harmeny AC. Senior Man David Henderson was first Pitreavie man in the Half Marathon, finishing in 1 hr 33 mins 37 secs, with Ben Fraser (SM) next in for Pitreavie in 1 hr 39 mins 17 secs. The winner, David McNamara (unaffiliated), completed the race in 1 hr 19 mins 24 secs.
Once again putting the word endurance into ‘Endurance Section’, Lukasz Cwiklewski ran an astonishing 100k up and down Kirkcaldy Promenade. Starting his personal challenge at 5.00am on a particularly dreich May day, Lukasz finished in 9 hrs 25 mins, well under his target time of 10 hours, and improving on his previous PB by a fantastic 1 hr 5 mins.
Pitreavie AAC Endurance Section Mike Gudgeon Fife Coastal Path Ultra Challenge
Published on Saturday, 22 May 2021 16:20- Details
- Written by N Compston
Mike Gudgeon, a Pitreavie AAC Endurance section member since 2015, is well known in the local running community for his love of long distance trail running. Not content with simply running a marathon, Mike has run longer ultra races, including the 53 mile Highland Fling, the Cateran Trail 55 (mile) race, and the classic 96 mile West Highland Way race.
After his original plan to run an ultra in Gran Canaria was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions Mike set himself a personal challenge - to run the 117 mile Fife Coastal Path in under 30 hours in April. Buddied by a relay of Pitreavie AAC Endurance members, Mike ran through the night from St. Andrews to finish at the Kincardine early on a Saturday morning. To the delight of his family and friends, Mike broke his 30 hour goal by running the length of the coastal path in an amazing 26 hours and 52 mins. An astonishing physical and mental achievement!
As well as setting himeself this tough challenge, Mike was keen to use this as an opportunity to raise money to thank the staff on the COVID wards at Queen Margaret Hospital. The staff there cared for Mike’s mother-in-law prior to her, very sadly, passing away from COVID-19 last year. As Mike says ‘the staff were amazingly supportive throughout the time she was on the ward, and at such a difficult time for the family’. Though Mike is very happy to have broken his original target of £500, and has now raised £2190, he’d be delighted if anyone would like to support him in thanking our local NHS heroes by donating to his Just Giving page below.
