Cover photo – pirate capers at the final Nightmare race of the current series

Tuesday night training

Jog leader Allen took a group of 50 to the Energy Park in Methil for a set of variable speed drills. For an added bonus Ross organised a highly competitive relay race to end the session.

Nightmare Series Race #7 Shell Bay Skullduggery

The seventh and final Nightmare series race of 2017-18 took place at Shell Bay. There was a pirate theme for the event. The course covered woods, trail, beach and tarmac before finishing at Elie Holiday Park. Proceeds of over £1200 from the series go to Kinghorn RNLI and Fife Society for the Blind.

Race results:

• Chris – 1st 18:10
• Bryan – 5th 20:20
• Matt – 9th 20:49
• John – 13th 22:29
• Terry – 16th 23:20
• Gordon – 17th 23:25
• Dan – 21st 24:50
• Annie – 24th 28:20
• Jeff – 30th 34:41

Chris was the overall winner of the series, Bryan was 4th overall and Annie was 4th female and the leading FV50.

Parkruns

At Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy there were PBs for Matthew Miller, Jemma Guild, Lesley Turnbull and Jenni Johnstone, while at Craigtoun Park St Andrews Dawn Watson and Lynsay Bell improved on their previous best times.

Chilly Willy Trail Race

The latest Chilly Willy trail race organised by PB Timing was held on woodland paths and trails in and around Coul Den and Formonthills Community Woodland, Glenrothes. Chris Russell and Annie Gibson were representing Leven Las Vegas.

Race results:

• Chris – 4th and 1st M45 25:49
• Annie – 43rd and 2nd F55 41:09

Upcoming Events

Next Tuesday is the final week of the current training block so members will get the chance to compete for the coveted Caley Cup in the regular end-of-block pursuit race. Ian has sent the following special message about the evening …

The Caley Cup Pursuit Race, March 27th.
It’s been noted that the standard of dress in previous events has fallen well below what is considered acceptable so, for the run on March 27th, anybody turning up dressed as Elvis, a Pixy, Darth Vader, any super-hero or as an octopus (or equivalent) will be subject to an ON THE SPOT FINE of £2.
And just to balance things up, anybody wearing suitable athletic-type clothing will also be subject to the same £2 fine. It’s only fair.

The Tay Ten road race organised by Perth Road Runners is on Sunday morning. Among the 350 names on the start list are LLV members Jemma Guild, Kevin Hughes, Sara Ives, Susan Kerr, Bryan McLaren, Bex Oakenfull, Karen Britten, Lynne Hughes and Karen Richards.

On Easter weekend between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon Willie Rennie of Carnegie Harriers and MSP for North East Fife is running the whole 117 miles of the Fife Coastal Path to raise money for the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH). Willie is hoping that as many local runners as possible can join in on his epic run and run along sections of the route with him.

Willie will be running three sections of the coastal path on Friday and Sunday and two on Saturday. He will be passing through Leven on Saturday morning. His schedule is as follows:

Donations to the charity can be made online at Willie’s page on JustGiving.com.

Further ahead:

• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 6 April
• Round the Houses 10k – Sunday 8 April
• St Andrews 5k (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 11 April
• FTR Lost Trails Race – Sunday 15 April
• Angus Half Marathon – Sunday 15 April
• Livingston AC Open Graded Track Meeting – Wednesday 18 April
• Run Balmoral – Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
• London Marathon – Sunday 22 April
• Ravenscraig Park mile – Wednesday 25 April
• Highland Fling – Saturday 28 April
• Stirling Scottish Marathon and 5k – Sunday 29 April
• Scottish 5k Championships, Silverknowes – Friday 4 May
• Strathkinness to Blebocraigs (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 9 May
• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 11 May
• Loch Leven Half Marathon – Saturday 12 May
• Smokies 10 – Sunday 13 May
• Black Rock 5 – Friday 25 May
• FTR Dirty Weekend – Friday 1 June to Sunday 3 June
• Allow Half Marathon (rescheduled date) – Sunday 3 June
• Chariots of Fire Beach Race – Sunday 3 June
• Errol 10k (rescheduled date) – Sunday 10 June
• Glenrothes 10k – Sunday 17 June
• West Highland Way Race – Saturday 23 June
• Sandy Slither – Wednesday 27 June
• Balbirnie Duathlon – Thursday 28 June
• Trail Busters Series Race 1 – Sunday 1 July
• Donkey Brae Run – Sunday 29 July
• Trail Busters Series Race 2 – Sunday 5 August
• Trail Busters Series Race 3 – Sunday 2 September

Cover photo – the harsh winter weather continues to disrupt running events!

Tuesday night training

Jog leader Bex took the group along to Scoonie Golf Course area in Leven for a pyramids drill. Great to see a large turnout and lots of effort from all involved.

Weekend event roundup

On a bloody freezing Saturday morning amid snow blizzards only a few hardy LLV members attended parkruns. Full marks to Robin Pate who overcame the Arctic conditions and managed to set a new PB at the North Inch in Perth.

The Alloa Half Marathon on Sunday morning was set to be a fantastic LLV day out with 25 members on the start list of over 3000. However the weather intervened and the event was cancelled with a new date hopefully to be announced.

The Errol 10k on Sunday afternoon also fell foul of the weather.

Two LLV members did manage to get a competitive run on Sunday morning, although they had to go abroad to do so.

Ruth Cruickshank travelled to Utrecht in the Netherlands to take part in the city’s half marathon. Ruth posted a time of 2h23m.

And Carole Mowbray jetted off to Tenerife to run in the Fuentealta Vilaflor Trail Marathon on the slopes of Pico del Teide. Carole finished as first vet female and third female overall, a fantastic achievement.

Upcoming Events

This Wednesday evening sees the final event in the 2017-18 Nightmare Series, with overall placings and age category places up for grabs. The venue is Shell Bay near Elie.

On Sunday is the Chilly Willy Trail Race hosted by PB Timing at Pitcairn in Glenrothes.

Further ahead:

• John Muir Ultra – Saturday 31 March
• Tay Ten – Sunday 1 April
• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 6 April
• Round the Houses 10k – Sunday 8 April
• St Andrews 5k (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 11 April
• FTR Lost Trails Race – Sunday 15 April
• Angus Half Marathon – Sunday 15 April
• Livingston AC Open Graded Track Meeting – Wednesday 18 April
• Run Balmoral – Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
• London Marathon – Sunday 22 April
• Ravenscraig Park 2 mile race – Wednesday 25 April
• Highland Fling – Saturday 28 April
• Stirling Scottish Marathon and 5k – Sunday 29 April
• Scottish 5k Championships, Silverknowes – Friday 4 May
• Strathkinness to Blebocraigs (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 9 May
• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 11 May
• Loch Leven Half Marathon – Saturday 12 May
• Smokies 10 – Sunday 13 May
• Black Rock 5 – Friday 25 May
• FTR Dirty Weekend – Friday 1 June to Sunday 3 June
• Chariots of Fire Beach Race – Sunday 3 June
• Glenrothes 10k – Sunday 17 June
• West Highland Way Race – Saturday 23 June
• Balbirnie Duathlon – Thursday 28 June
• Trail Busters Series Race 1 – Sunday 1 July
• Trail Busters Series Race 2 – Sunday 5 August
• Trail Busters Series Race 3 – Sunday 2 September

Cover photo – Ian presents a donation cheque to Angela and Alison of the Bloodwise charity

Tuesday night training

Jog leader this week was Tricia who took the group to Harbour View adjacent to Stuarts bakery for a series of pursuit drills.

Each training block Leven Las Vegas Running Club members donate 50% of their training fees to a selected charity. Last week the club were visited by Angela MacDonald and Alison Hutchison from the charity Bloodwise which helps fund
research into blood cancer treatment. The ladies gave the group an insight into the
work of the charity and were delighted to accept a cheque for £400 from Ian Shield  (see cover photo).

Nightmare Series Race #6 “Motocross Madness”

The latest race in the Nightmare Series organised by Chris “Prince of Darkness” Russell was held on the motocross track at Milton Farm near Leuchars. This is one of the shortest events in the series at around 2.5 miles but also one of the most challenging with steep ascents and descents, hairpin bends and strength-sapping deep mud.

Race results:

• Chris – 1st 18:50
• Terry – 14th and 3rd MV50 24:50
• Annie – 22nd and 1st FV50 32:10
• Claire – 24th 34:18

Chris retains 1st place in the series with one event to come on Wednesday 21 March.

Parkruns

At Craigtoun Park in St Andrews, Bryan McLaren set an excellent new PB of exactly 18 minutes.

At Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy there were PBs for Matthew Miller, Donna Rodger and Gayle Moran.

Inverness Half Marathon

Run on a flat fast course, the half marathon starts on the riverside at Bught Park and follows the River Ness into Inverness before crossing Ness Bridge in the city centre and passing beneath Inverness Castle. The route then continues through more residential and rural areas before turning back towards the city, once more crossing the Ness bridge and running alongside River Ness to the finish on the running track at Inverness Sports Centre.

This year there was a field of just over 2000 participants, including David Reynolds of Leven Las Vegas. David had an excellent run, completing the 13.1 miles in 1:47:56 which was a new personal best for the distance.

Also running was Willie Goodfellow, formerly of LLV and now representing Moray Road Runners. Willie finished the race in a fantastic personal best time of 1:42:13.

Gartmorn 6

There was no-one wearing LLV colours in this race but Chris Russell and Annie Gibson were taking part as members of Falkland Trail Runners in one of the FTR championship events.

Race results:

• Chris – 2nd and 1st MV40 37:12
• Annie – 151st 59:55

Upcoming Events

Alloa Half Marathon – among the 3000+ runners on the start list at this event on Sunday 18 March are the following LLV members

• Robin Pate
• Tracey Millar
• Gillian Easton
• Louise Morris
• Jemma Guild
• Karen Richards
• Douglas Clews
• Lynda English
• Bex Oakenfull
• Matthew Miller
• Iain Wallace
• Teresa Guild
• Stewart English
• Claire Doak
• Terry Cullen
• Bryan McLaren
• Gordon Christie
• Davie Hogg
• Jeff Taylor
• Mark McLean
• Susan Kerr
• Alan Davie
• Kerrie Donald
• Tracey Mayes
• Karen Capewell

If anyone else should be on the list for Alloa please let Allen know.

Chris and Annie are taking part in the Errol 10k.

Further ahead:

• Nightmare Series Race #7 – Wednesday 21 March
• Chilly Willy Trail Race – Sunday 25 March
• John Muir Ultra – Saturday 31 March
• Tay Ten – Sunday 1 April
• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 6 April
• Round the Houses 10k – Sunday 8 April
• FTR Lost Trails Race – Sunday 15 April
• Angus Half Marathon – Sunday 15 April
• St Andrews 5k (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 18 April
• Livingston AC Open Graded Track Meeting – Wednesday 18 April
• Run Balmoral – Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
• Ravenscraig Park 2 mile race – Wednesday 25 April
• Highland Fling – Saturday 28 April
• Stirling Scottish Marathon and 5k – Sunday 29 April
• Scottish 5k Championships, Silverknowes – Friday 4 May
• Loch Leven Half Marathon – Saturday 12 May
• Smokies 10 – Sunday 13 May
• Black Rock 5 – Friday 25 May
• FTR Dirty Weekend – Friday 1 June to Sunday 3 June
• Chariots of Fire Beach Race – Sunday 3 June
• Glenrothes 10k – Sunday 17 June
• Balbirnie Duathlon – Thursday 28 June
• Trail Busters Series Race 1 – Sunday 1 July
• Trail Busters Series Race 2 – Sunday 5 August
• Trail Busters Series Race 3 – Sunday 2 September

The weather intervened in what was set to be a busy weekend of running for Leven Las Vegas Running Club members. Due to several days of freezing temperatures and heavy snow, Tuesday night training was cancelled, the Friday evening Nightmare race was postponed, the Cupar 5 was cancelled and the Smokies 10 was postponed. All the Fife parkruns at St Andrews, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline were cancelled.

The only LLV member to manage a timed run was Willie Goodfellow who was at Elgin parkrun.

The Nightmare race at the motocross track at Milton Farm near Leuchars will now take place on Friday 9 March.

The ladies-only Smokies 10 has been postponed until Sunday 13 May.

Upcoming Events

As mentioned above, on Friday at 7:30pm the postponed Nightmare Series Race #6 “The Nightmare Madness of ‘king Motocross” will go ahead at Milton Farm near Leuchars.

Sunday is the popular Inverness Half Marathon where David Reynolds will be running.

Further ahead:

• Alloa Half Marathon – Sunday 18 March
• Nightmare Series Race #7 – Wednesday 21 March
• Chilly Willy Trail Race – Sunday 25 March
• Tay Ten – Sunday 1 April
• Beveridge Park 5k – Friday 6 April
• Round the Houses 10k – Sunday 8 April
• FTR Lost Trails Race – Sunday 15 April
• St Andrews 5k (Fife AC Midweek Series) – Wednesday 18 April
• Livingston AC Open Graded Track Meeting – Wednesday 18 April
• Run Balmoral – Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
• Ravenscraig Park 2 mile race – Wednesday 25 April
• Stirling Scottish Marathon and 5k – Sunday 29 April
• Scottish 5k Championships, Silverknowes – Friday 4 May
• Loch Leven Half Marathon – Saturday 12 May
• Smokies 10 – Sunday 13 May
• Black Rock 5 – Friday 25 May
• FTR Dirty Weekend – Friday 1 June to Sunday 3 June
• Chariots of Fire Beach Race – Sunday 3 June
• Glenrothes 10k – Sunday 17 June
• Balbirnie Duathlon – Thursday 28 June
• Skull Mountain Summer Series Race 1 – Sunday 8 July
• Skull Mountain Summer Series Race 2 – Sunday 5 August
• Skull Mountain Summer Series Race 3 – Sunday 2 September

 

Cover photo – Leven Las Vegas coaches with Couch to 5k joggers from the 2017 course ready for their first ever 5km run at Craigtoun Park in St Andrews

 

Update Saturday 24 March

Leven Las Vegas Running Club (LLV) have had a tremendous response from the Levenmouth community to their upcoming Couch to 5k jogging course for beginners and the course is now full, with a waiting list for any cancellations. 

LLV are sorry if this causes disappointment for anyone who was hoping to join the course. However, there is a similar course starting on Wednesday 11 April in Falkland which may be of interest. The course is organised by Get Fit Falkland – further details are available at www.getfitfalkland.org.uk.

Anster All-sorts who are based at Waid Sports Centre in Anstruther are also starting a Couch to 5k course on Tuesday 17 April. The All-sorts can be contacted for more details via their Facebook page.

 

Leven Las Vegas Running Club are launching a new Couch to 5k jogging course for beginners in the first week of April 2018. This follows on from the club’s very successful course in the autumn of 2017 which saw around 40 previously inactive people take up the healthy pursuit with most going on to accomplish the objective of running 5km at the end of a 10 week training period.

Based on the NHS Couch to 5k plan, the course is used all over the UK to help improve activity levels. All you need to be able to do get started is walk for 5 minutes and jog for one minute. And it’s not just for those who want to take up jogging or running – it’s suitable as a starter for any other physical activity.

This will be an ideal opportunity for those who take little or no exercise at the moment to experience the physical and psychological benefits of jogging, to improve basic fitness and to increase self-confidence.

Organised by and done under the auspices of jogscotland and the Leven Las Vegas group, participants will have the help, support and encouragement of trained Jog Leaders.

Here are some testimonials from previous participants:

“I was blown away with the C25k course”

“I loved the C25k from start to finish”

“The support we got from Leven Las Vegas was brilliant”

“The training and support was amazing”

“The C25k course has certainly built my confidence”

“C25k is great for fitness and the socialising aspect is great too”

“It makes you realise how much you can do and how far you can push yourself”

The course runs for 10 weeks starting on Tuesday 3 April 2018. Total cost of the course is £10 per person and places are limited. Youngsters aged 11-16 can attend the course at no charge providing they are accompanied by an adult who is responsible for them.

For more information contact jogleven@gmail.com or visit Leven Las Vegas Running Club at Leven Leisure Centre on Tuesdays between 6.15 and 6.30 pm.

Some of the Leven Las Vegas Couch to 5k graduates with their certificates and medals