Altitude: 63m/ 207ft
Temp: 4°C/ 39°F
Weather: Dull but dry
I have a 19 mile run scheduled today, so I opt to make things more interesting by visiting the football (soccer) grounds used in the city in my lifetime. Plotting online suggests that this will easily give me 19 miles, and I carry some money in case of running into problems or getting lost far from home. I set off in reasonable weather (dry, not too cold) and head towards Milton and down to the Lambhill Bridge to pick up the Forth and Clyde Canal at the point we turned in yesterday's race.
There are a few other people getting their Sunday run in as I wend my way through Maryhill on the canal, taking the southern spur to Port Dundas past stadium 1, Partick Thistle's Firhill. At Spiers Wharf I spot trail from a Glasgow hash run before crossing under the motorway to pick up Rose Street over Garnethill, past my Dental School and through the western edge of central Glasgow. At the River Clyde I take the new Tradeston footbridge and head west along the river to Govan, and Ibrox Stadium, home of Glasgow Rangers and already busy with fans and vendors before the big Rangers vs Celtic game in a couple of hours. Being a Celtic fan I turn up the volume on my Ipod and blast a couple of Celtic songs to get me through!
Crossing Paisley Road West I pick up Nithsdale Road which brings me several miles back east before turning south onto Cathcart Road and eventually to Hampden Park, home of Queens Park and more importantly the Scottish National Stadium. I run around the perimeter in the car parks as far as possible before getting back on residential streets and trying to judge how to find Cathkin Park, once home to Third Lanark (a team that went bust in 1967) and still boasting the original terracing. I aim too far east and after a few twists and turns in Toryglen I use the GPS to try and get back on the right road, eventually finding the park and doing a quick lap of the pitch and a run up the terracing, now overgrown but still completely resembling the old ground.
I now aim northeast, where I pass stadium 5, Clyde FC's old Shawfield Stadium (now a rundown greyhound racing venue) before crossing the Clyde and heading into more familiar territory around the Paradise of Celtic Park. I'm getting near my mileage so rather than loop around the stadium on the main road I cut through waste ground on the west side of the ground, only having to climb one fence en route! My first thought now is to pick up the train at Duke Street, but arriving there after 19.8 miles I find no Sunday service. Plan B involves a not unpleasant warm down walk north to the Tesco superstore at St Rollox where I purchase energy food and pick up the bus home. I've really enjoyed today's run, beats trying to find a novel long route in Inverness... but it is a pity Celtic can't win the big game.
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