2011

21

Aug

The 2nd Annual ERN LP Run
(and cake competition)

Saughton Park, Edinburgh

First, The Running Bit

Well done to everyone who came along and either ran, counted laps or supported ERN’s 2nd annual LP Race. An excellent day all told. More or less double the numbers from last year, 23 superb entries into the cake-competition, good tunes and “Barry the Gun”! Oh and it stayed dry as well! Thanks to Heather, Jo-F and Val for all their hard organisational work, Stephen Macleod for the tunes, Nicola and Karen for all their efforts in making sure everything ran smoothly on the day. Tell your friends – Hope to see you all next year. Happy days!

This event was the brainchild of Heather Jones and is based on a similar annual event run in Houston Texas (2010 was their 43rd anniversary) which Heather had previously taken part in while working in the USA. The event is pretty straight forward; you try and run as far as you can in 33 1/3rd minutes round a 400metre track. The concept is based (for you young-un’s) on the revolutionary speed of a Long Player record hence the LP in the title. You count (or have someone with you that counts for you) each lap and when the finish gun goes, you stand still till the distance from the start is measured. This added to the number of laps gives your total distance.

The idea was raised at our 2010 AGM and an organising committee formed, and what a braw job they did of it as well. Somewhere along the way, the idea of having a cake competition also took root and seemed to fit in very well with the aim of having a friendly but competitive event with the added bonus that you could eat the efforts at the end! Following that success, this year it was decided to see if we could entice around 50 runners to take part so it was opened up to all via Scottish Athletics and entries were via Entrycentral which was a big bonus. An organising committee of Heather, Jo, Val and Stephen along with Murdo took the event forward for 2011.

On the day 53 runners turned up, mostly local but including an American guest, David Marsh from Midland Michigan, who was visiting and had seen the event on our website; very welcome he was too. We also had the privilege of Barry “the gun” Craighead as official starter and finisher resplendent in his red blazer and cap and complete with his starter gun- Brilliant! Stephen Macleod brought along a PA system and we were treated to an excellent sound track as we ran round the track – it really helped and the choice of accompanying music was perfect having been chosen by runners themselves.

After the mixed weather we’d been having of late, the morning dawned cloudy. There was a wee shower about 1100 but it stayed dry thereafter. The runners arrived to find a slick operation in progress; a gazebo had been erected, trestle tables with table-covers (for the food) in place, PA system up and running, changing facilities available and the lanes marked ready to go. You were allocated one of two lanes. The first being the inside three lanes section and the second being outside that. Cones were on the separating line for reference. After a short briefing by Heather to ensure we were all okay with the procedure, down to the track we went ready to go. Heather then got caught in the moment and organised a spontaneous warm-up session!

Dead on 1200, Barry set us all of with a loud pistol shot and it was head-down there after. Most set-off too fast but soon settled down into a steady pace. The fast–ones soon started lapping some of runners and there was always someone close by that you were passing or being passed by. This was all to the excellent soundtrack and the encouragement of the counters and organisers around the track. Meantime, Barry, Val and Jo sampled the cakes and made the difficult selection of prize winners. As the clock (which was at the side of the track) clicked down to zero and Barry fired once again to end the race, it was a short wait while Murdo, Heather and Euan measured each individual’s add-on distance with a trundle wheel. As you got your measurement on a post-it note, it was back to the gazebo to hand in your distance-scores and to pick-up your memento (an ERN buff) and cake!

The results were available shortly after finishing and while the runners and friends sampled the cakes submitted, the prizegiving for both the run and cake competitions took place. In line with the spirit of the event there were also some eclectic spot-prizes (LPs) along with a selection of prizes for the cake-bake.

In summary, an excellent second event. The cake-bake again added an extra dimension (and was an excellent way of ensuring there was food at the end) and was hotly contested. The Saughton venue fitted the purpose very well, being affordable, we weren’t bothered by others and parking was easy. However, the biggest factor in the success of the event and the day was all the work put in by the organisers so thanks and congratulations to them. Well done also to everyone that turned up to run or support. Happy days indeed!