Runs Writes Code

Hill of Tarvit Tarvit Mansion House and the summit of the hill! Photo: Vicki Charlton The last time I was at the Hill of Tarvit I had just started another round of intensive treatment at Ninewells for mastocytosis and had a pretty awful run. The treatment makes my mast cells much more unstable for a few weeks before building up to a massive improvement. I'm taking three days off for the Tour and hope to say goodbye to the fab team of nurses at Ninewells next week! So, I was nervous... Wasp Watch Photo: Ethan Lee I was particularly nervous about the presence of a wasp on the start line (I'm allergic to the little psychos). Unlike the beach race I didn't immediately get into a comfortable rhythm and on my shoulder Alison was running really well. Alison is a superb hill runner so I tried to get a bit of ground as the course looped through the woods around the golf course at Tarvit Mansion House. All too soon we hit the stile and headed onto the rough grass hil...

Tour of Fife: Chariots of Fire 4.2M beach race West Sands sunrise I've watched the winter sun rise over this beach more times than I can remember. I've run up it with a following wind and returned into headwinds so strong it felt like a great sandy treadmill and I've run down it on still days smiling at the Oyster Catchers dancing in the shallows on their ballerina legs. West Sands feels like home. I was happy to see the forecast was for a rare northerly wind, making the race tactical but not stressful. At the start line some of the contenders in the women's race were joking with John Mill that we were going to tuck in behind him. He runs at pretty much the lead lady pace so I think he's getting used to us! Start line. Photo: Harry Mitchell When I was warming up my breathing didn't feel right and I'd felt sluggish all day but the second the race started I felt good. I was feeling very comfortable and quickly had to make a decision about which g...