Target Zero (and The Lark In The Dark)
The 2026 Target Zero took place on Thurs June 11th! Results and a brief report appear below.
Target Zero will return in 2027!
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Perth Road Runners is a club not without its quirky and bizarre elements. Target Zero – and its winter counterpart, The Lark In The Dark – are such quirks.
Target Zero is less a race than a challenge of estimation. It is far less a question of “how fast can you run?” than “do you know just how fast (or slowly) you are running?”
The contest dates back to 2002; the 2023 renewal was its 21st edition. In recent years, it has been organised by one of its afficionados: David Stokoe, Lorraine MacPherson and now Clive Bowman. Owing to COVID-19, the 2021 race was moved into the winter, but Target Zero is traditionally a summer PRR fixture.
Broadly speaking, here’s how it works:
+ The organiser selects a course in the Perth area – it can vary from 3 to 8 miles, and may involve a range of terrains and surfaces. But – and here’s the whole point – he (or she) doesn’t announce the course. That would ruin it. The course itself remains a secret.
+ Participants are told only of the start location, and of the time they should be there to start. They may, of course, freely speculate where the course may take them, but the organiser is (typically) no slouch; various routes may/should be possible from that location.
+ On arrival at the start, the organiser will detail the course to the participants. They then have (just) a few minutes to estimate their time over the course and hand this to the organiser. Their estimate is hidden from – ie not announced to – other participants.
+ Runners are not allowed to carry watches or Garmins/GPSs, or indeed, any other instrumentation that will inform time or speed. Of course, mobile phones will do this, and it’s a hard task to force anyone these days to surrender theirs. If carried, mobile phones must be switched firmly off.
+ The race is then run. Runners set off as one mass (and finish in usual speed order).
+ But the winner is not the fastest runner. That would be far too obvious. The winner is the runner who most accurately estimated their actual race time.
History shows that most Perth Road Runners are pretty good at this particular game. Wins over the last few runnings have seen winning estimates differ from actual times by just a few seconds. The ne plus ultra of Target Zero performances was finally achieved in 2021 when winner Rhona Barclay was accurate to the second in her estimation. This will be a hard feat to replicate.
Target Zero 2019
Being a task of estimation, and not one of sheer, all-out speed, Target Zero is equally winnable by males and females alike (that is, there are no separate M and F contests). It is a Club trophy event, with the cup being traditionally awarded at the event and again at PRR’s awards night in the following Spring.
Target Zero 2024
The Lark In The Dark is prety much the same thing, just with the added factors of darkness and (typically) crap weather. Ands sometimes Extra Larks (see below). No trophies change hands: the LITD is for bragging rights only.
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Target Zero 2025 was held on the evening of Wednesday 23rd July, masterminded by Club Membership svengali, Clive Bowman. It was held over a 4-mile course from the all-new Destiny Bridge, along the Tay and behind Luncarty, as here (4 miles). See here for the results. An excellent 19 PRRs took part.
Compared with 2024, there was a marked accuracy of estimation across the field. A pretty staggering 7 runners managed to predict their run to an accuracy of better than one minute. Unusually, it was also a an year when far more runners (16 of 19) underestimated their times [these days, pretty much everyone goes faster than they reckon by believing they’re not going to race … and then immediately get themselves into a race]. Paul Hammersley and Ronnie Glen can rightly feel aggrieved that they did not win: their errances* of less than 10 secs would have won them the TZ in any other year.
The Target Zero 2025 Champion is Claire Douglas (adding yet another cup to her impressive PRR palmarès), whose prediction was just 2 (yes, two) seconds from her actual performance.
* probably not a real word
Target Zero 2025 above: winner Claire Douglas (left, obvs) with trophy and organiser-in-chief, Clive Bowman
and below: the Target Zeroists amassed afterwards
Previous years:
2025: results and course map
2024: results
2023: results and course map plus comedy sketch map by organiser in LS Lowry stylee
2022: results and course map
2021: results and course map
2016: results
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Lark In the Dark
2026’s Lark In The Dark took place on 25th March. As organiser Clive Bowman reported:
“9 brave runners ran Lark in the Dark around a very cold Deuchny Hill. It was a 6.1km loop, also taking in a lap of Binn Hill. Extra Lark activities were added at marshal points including 30 star jumps, 30 squats and 30 lunges. With these extra Larks it was a challenge to estimate times accurately, so congratulations to Neil Muir who was closest at only 57 seconds out. Many thanks to Willie White, Sandy Gourlay and Alison Bowman for marshalling/timekeeping in the cold”.
Results (deviation from forecast time)
Neil Muir 0:57
Fabienne Thompson 2:48
Barry McGuire (guest) 3:10
Caroline Hogarth 4:25
Jill Garvie 4:27
Gillian McGuire 4:32
Peter Will 4:40
Rhona Younger 5:04
Ros Bryce 7:29