20 ALONG THE FORTH

By Michael Bissett

On March 22 several WERC members took part in the 20 Along the Forth organised by Blast Running.  This event has been going on for a few years now and many people use it as a training event before a spring marathon.

This was going to be the case for me, as I will be running my first marathon in May.  This was also going to be my longest run or race I had ever done.  

There were three different start times for the race with the people who expected to be on the course the longest going off first.  Initially I was to be in the middle group but a run of good form at the start of the year convinced me to go into the final group of starters.

There were six WERC runners taking part in the race this year and there was a chance to have a quick chat with some of them before it was race time.

The aim was to run a steadily paced race and have something left at the end.  Tom (my PT/run coach and fellow WERC member) and I had decided to run the race together.  We set off from the school in Cramond, across the road, towards Cramond Brig and into Dalmeny Estate.  We saw Anna, Jan and Gareth run off into the distance.  

Conditions were good, a little cold perhaps but thankfully not much wind.  After a slightly too fast start we settled down into a steady pace as we headed through the Estate.  The terrain in the estate is mixed but is perfectly runnable in road shoes (probably newer runner shoes I would say).  As we headed past Dalmeny house the next section was predominately on trail with slight undulations as you pass along the coast towards the first of the bridge.  

The beauty of the race being in waves is that the field had spread out quickly and everyone was able to run at their own pace.  We did have a group around us who clearly liked the pace we were running at – as they told us when they decided to run on by!

On reaching Queensferry you ran through the town towards the Forth Road Bridge, a sharp climb and we were onto the bridge level.  This was the part of the race I was not looking forward to.  I am not a fan of the bridge.  To be fair it’s the height of it and the giant pool of water that lies beneath.  I was very pleased that it was not windy.  Tom was in full chat mode to take my mind off where we were.  At this point we also started to see people on their way back.  A chance to have a wave and a cheer from Peter and Jan.  Not forgetting the most amazing race photo ever taken by Anna!  Reaching the end of the bridge there was a cone to turn around and run back across.  I stayed in the middle of walkway – stared straight ahead and smiled when the official photographer was in view and it was soon over.  On the reaching the end of the bridge you were taken underneath and over the other side and back towards Queensferry.

Thanks Anna!

Another water station at the cycle path was very welcome.  Our pace had started to drop a little but I had no idea how far we had gone.  This was a deliberate ploy as I didn’t want to know.  I knew where we had to get to and that was enough for me.  We started passing a few people on the cycle path before turning off and into Dalmeny village.  It was then time to head back into the Estate for the second time.  

This time the trail did hurt a little more and I could feel myself tiring significantly but, with encouragement, was able to keep moving if a little slower than before.  By this point my ankle was hurting and I was regretting my choice of road shoe.   In hindsight I would have worn slightly newer ones with a bit more support.  We knew where we had to get to and everyone in the field was hugely encouraging.  

We reached Cramond Brig and a downhill towards the river.  That was very painful!  Then it was a short uphill towards the finish where we were even able to put on a bit of a sprint finish at the end.  We received our medals and tumbler (with cream egg) and headed back into the hall to see some of our fellow WERC runners.

Overall, it was a great race, and I really enjoyed the experience.  I barely looked at my watch and ran to how the body was feeling was extremely liberating.  I have taken a lot of useful intel about how my marathon may go in the coming months.    

Thanks to Cat and the team at Blast running for putting on a superb inclusive event.   Thanks to run coach Tom for keeping me going throughout the race, I am pleased to say we finished in exactly the same time. Well done to Anna, Jan, Gareth, Pitor and Tom for their races too.  

Would I recommend it – absolutely and hope to be running this again one day.