Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Abbathon 10k
by Russell Turner - 10:36 on 05 April 2026
Matchgirl, UltraPaul, Ex-Triathlon Cathy and I enjoyed unparalleled success at Glasgow’s Abbathon 10k on Saturday. Between us we achieved two first places, one second and one third in our respective age categories. We’ll gloss over the fact that I was second of two and Matchgirl was third of four. Cathy was first of eight and Paul first of three, although both had sub-60min times – sub-50 in Paul’s case. Both were trying far too hard. There were no 70+ male runners, which meant I was at least the second-oldest man taking part, possibly the oldest. And I didn’t finish last.
All of which might suggest not much of a turnout for the Abba-themed run around Glasgow Green; in fact, there were 488 starters in the 10k and (coincidentally) the same in the 5k, plus quite a few in both that DNS. Maybe the weather put them off. As it happened we were lucky: cool but only a light breeze and no rain until we’d finished. A good time was had by all.
Our trip began with the usual meander to Glasgow where, unusually, we were to stay at the George Square Premier Inn because of its proximity to the race. Cathy and Paul had already arrived from distant Wirral. The evening involved catch-ups, a splendid Thai meal in the palatial Chaophrya and a not-quite-so-splendid visit to the Theatre Royal to see Tom Chambers in Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts. The less said, the better.
Next morning, because the Premier couldn’t extend our check-out time, we changed for the race and left our luggage in its storage then wended our way to Glasgow Green where the Abba tribute duo (they’d left ‘the boys’ at home) was already rousing a predominantly female crowd, many in fancy dress ranging from half-hearted to full-on. Only Paul had made any effort, having donned an Abba shirt. After 45mins of Abba hits, and 10mins of Abba-themed warm-up, the race began.
To Matchgirl’s disgust, this involved loops: four for the 10k, two for the 5k. All was run on sometimes not particularly wide paths inside the Green, which meant that, with both races setting off together, the first 2k was an elbow-to-elbow scrum for those of us choosing to start near the back. This didn’t bother me or Matchgirl, who’d come for an easy run, not a race. Paul started well ahead of us and Cathy soon forged her way through the throng; I ran at my comfortable pace, as did Matchgirl, not far behind me,
The water station was just before the end of the first loop, heralded by more Abba hits, now pre-recorded. There’d also been appropriate music around the loop, thanks to marshals sited at junctions to make sure no-one took the wrong path. I ignored the station the first time around but took a brief break there at the halfway mark, then a longer one (only 1.5mins) after the third loop so Matchgirl could catch up and we could finish together.
This was a risky move; there was a good chance that she’d grumpily tell me to run ahead, not being keen on accompanied efforts. Fortunately she seemed happy to see me and even thanked me after we crossed the well spectated finish line hand-in-hand, hoping to be snapped by the event photographer. (We didn’t see any.) Our reward was a jolly medal (Wakefield 10k take note), water, banana and some Haribo-type sweets which I declined. Shirts and other race merch was for sale, also declined.
Reunited with Paul and Cathy, we walked back to the Premier past a few 10k stragglers. The wind had picked up a little and we could feel rain in the air; the forecast had had proper rain by now so we’d been lucky. A cafe snack preceded a final walk to the Duke Street car park (£6 for 24 hours – a bargain) where we bid farewell to the southerners then found our way to the motorway with the help of Mrs Google. By now the rain was hurling down.
It continued to hurl, leading to much motorway spray and a few idiot drivers who overtook then settled well inside our stopping distance. Such is life on the road. Conditions being what they were, I elected to stay on the A9, giving me the opportunity of the Taste of Perthshire all day breakfast just after Perth. Matchgirl chose mac and cheese.
The road after Drumochter, not quite so bad.
Then it was back into the rain, which turned to sleet as we climbed towards Drumochter, then enough proper snow that speed fell to 35mph and no-one risked the overtaking lane. Beyond the pass and the dual carriageway, overtaking was unavoidable when we encountered a motorcyclist who’d obviously set out without looking at the weather forecast. Poor sod.
I’d expected the snow to end after Slochd but when we arrived back at The Rural Retreat there was still sleet around, plus wind. No fun. We were welcomed by two cats who seemed unusually pleased to see us; they obviously didn’t like the conditions either.
Was it worth the trip? Definitely, if you don’t take yourself seriously. The 5:1 female to male ratio suggests that more male runners do. We all enjoyed the running day (the snow driving less so), although I won’t rush to repeat the experience when the Taylor Swift and Harry Styles themed days come around. Next weekend will be a complete contrast: a 10-mile race dominated by serious club runners. I might finish last. Time will tell.
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