Happy New Year

Hi folks,

I hope that 2010 brings you and your families good health and happiness. I also hope that the club can achieve as much in the new year as we did in 2009. Look forward to seeing everyone in February.

PS can you please warm the place up.

Malcolm & Carolyn

AYR TURKEY TROT

On Boxing day 3 harriers managed to blow away the cobwebs after the previous days festivities and head down to the coast.
On an icy cold day for safety the organisers decided to change the course and run it on a partly snow covered beach and to get the distance in it was made a 2 lap course up and down the beach twice.
At the 1st turn at 2.5k Andy Buchanan had put himself into a strong 4th or 5th place and was running strong, next was his father Billy looking very easy as if he was out for a stroll but running very well then it was my turn to round the turn and head to the halfway point
At the 5k turn there was no sign of Andy unfortunately he must have picked up a strain or injury but Billy still looked easy and so we were onto our 2nd lap. At this point i found myself wishing i had entered the 5k which was run earlier as the beach starts to take its toll on the legs
Billy crossed the line in 45:11 and i finished in 54:49 but was pleased with my fastest kilometer of the race from 9 to 10.

Harriers Christmas Run

Monday night training will start at 6.30pm and will be the usual christmas format of fun and joviality as one large pack running easy with the slowest runner
remember to bring some money

Happy Feet 5 & 10K runs

The Happy Feet 5k & 10k Runs will take place on 7th March at the Blairquhan Castle estate and the surrounding area. It's a Scottish Athletics approved race which will be chiptimed. It's a great race for getting rid of winter cobwebs as well as pushing your PBs to the limits or to use as a training race. Sponsored by Nike and the Sweatshop, we offer great prizes for the winners, Nike goody bag, Happy Feet t-shirts, post-race massage to all runners as well as entertainment on the day.

All profit goes to Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland and its services in the community improving the quality of life for those suffering from chest, heart and stroke illness in Scotland.

The event website is www.happyfeetrun.com where you can find more information and register online.

Congratulations to Craig Ferguson

Following on from his 11th place at the West District Cross Country Championships Craig , an S1 pupil at Strathaven Academy, has been selected to represent the West District at the BUPA International Cross Country event at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh on 9 th January. This is a tremendous achievement for Craig who has only been with the Harriers for a few months and a just reward for the effort he has put in at training.

Well done Craig and lets show them all that West is the Best !

Christmas Greetings

Hi everyone,

Christmas greetings from down under. Can you explain the white stuff at the Christmas handicap? Looks like you had a great day. The weather here is great and the wine plentiful. We look forward to meeting up with everyone on our return.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all.

Malcolm & Carolyn

Christmas Handicap

The setting for the Christmas Handicap really was Christmas card perfect today and the Harriers young and old were out in full technicolour. After a last minute course inspection (I'm calling it a training run), the drive behind the rugby pitches was deemed too icy and a diversion onto the Torr Trail was implemented. This shorter lap meant 6 laps were required to keep the total distance near to 4 miles. A large group of the Harriers' Junior athletes set off first and revelled in the snowy conditions. Soon afterwards the first senior Harrier was off and running as Russell Couper donned his beard and Santa costume. Thereafter the pictures tell the story of the race better than I can, so on to the results.

In the handicap first across the line was a beltless Richard Lawton (30:30). Chas started off with the kids and so did an extra lap but after some arithmetic it was established that his time for the

last 6 laps would have brought him in second. In third place and fastest time of the day (23:49) was Ewan Murray, recently selected to represent West District at the forthcoming Hollyrood International Cross Country. After a moving tribute at the prize giving by Chas, the first three were presented with the prizes donated by the Duthie Family in memory of Margaret Anne.

Following on from the first 3, the finishing order was Brian Bourke (24:44), Richard Campbell (26:51), Andy Henderson (26:20), Jamie McMonagle (26:17), Alan Cullie (24:44), Stephen Phimister (29:40), Russell Couper (33:51), Jim Holmes (26:45), Stephen Reilly (26:00), Eddie Reid (26:22), Mary Goldsmith (31:22), Ian Rae (30:05), George Stewart (31:22), Frances Maxwell (32:20) and David Wardrope (31:08). Note that the times are only approximate as there was absolute chaos at the start with many Harriers missing their assigned start time.

Well done to all and thanks to all the supporters who endured the icy conditions.

Alan

Christmas Handicap and Childrens Party

The Harriers Christmas Handicap will take place on Sunday 20th December, starting at 12:30 (at least one person will start then) at the Sports Club. Arrive in plenty of time to get your make up and frocks on and to have your handicap assigned. This is an event for all the family, fancy dress preferred (and maybe favoured) which anyone could win! The race distance is 4 miles consisting of 5 laps of the drive around the country park. Please bring a small value prize and then everyone who brings a prize gets to choose a prize from the table in the order of finishing.

This year we have very special awards donated by Martin in memory of Margaret Anne for whom this event was always a hilarious occasion. The winners (3 off) of the "MAD 4 It Christmas Handicap" will be asked to each choose a charity to which the club will then donate the sums of money donated by Martin. Could you all think in advance of the charity to which you would prefer the donation to be made should you win.

Following the handicap, the Sports Club is hosting a Kids Christmas Party (with Santa and all the usual fun events) starting at 3pm. You have to let Susan Miller know (directly or via Frances Maxwell) before the end of Sunday 29th November if your children wish to attend so they can arrange the catering etc. This was a really successful event last year so here is hoping for the same this year.

Alan

Young Athletes Training

There will be no training for young athletes on December 23rd or 30th. The next training session will be on Wednesday 6th January 2010 starting at 6.30 pm prompt.

FEES FOR 2010

Harriers
The fees for 2010 are the same as 2009 and for anyone who cant remember or our newest members the fees are as follows
This also includes Sports Club Membership
Ordinary member £52
Family member £84
Junior members will be advised when i check the age catagory dates
Fees are due in January and prompt payment is required
We do appreciate this can be a financially difficult time of year so if anyone cant pay in January if you speek to me direct we can arrange a short payment period

Just a reminder if payment or alternate arrangements arent made you cannot compete as a member of Calderglen Harriers

Scottish Athletics 4K Cross Country

The National 4k cross country will take place on 31st January and entry forms are available on the Scottish Athletics website
Please fill out the entry form and return to me by 18th January and i will send them all together
Alternately if you cant get a form to me you can post it direct with your entry fee
i will also put some forms on the club notice board next week 21st Dec

Russell

LSK SUPPLIES VETERANS ROAD RELAY RACE

The above race will take place at Strathclyde Park on Sunday 17 January at 11 am. All entrants must be aged 35 or over. The race is one lap 0f 3.8 miles with teams of four for men and teams of three for women. The entry fee is £2.50 per runner. As the organisers require entries by 8 th January we really do need names as soon as possible . If you want to take part in this race please use this form or contact Russell Couper quickly.

The names we have so far are here: Entry List

Christmas Day Parkrun

At the Parkrun today they announced that as well as the Saturday 26th normal Parkrun they will also have one on Christmas morning if anyone fancies a race on Christmas day

On a personal note i ran 24:51 today which is my best for about 3 years over the distance
This also means as a new league table has started im the leading Calderglen Harrier
lets see how long that lasts

Russell

KAROAKE NIGHT AT THE DFID

John Mullen has kindly arranged with his employer the DFID that all Harriers and their families can attend a Karaoke Christmas Night 7 pm to 10 pm this Saturday 12/12/09. Children must be over 8 years old. Entry at the main door is £2 per family. Free soft drinks and crisps will be available for the children. John reliably informs the club that the bar prices are a lot cheaper than the pubs in EK and he hopes as many of you as possible will attend. The DFID is at Abercrombie House on Hairmyres Road next to the railway station and opposite the hospital.

West District Cross Country Championships

The Bogside in Irvine proved yet again to be an excellent venue for these championships with the course withstanding recent heavy rain coupled with the absence of strong winds making it a perfect day for cross country racing. Despite a disappointing turnout of the Harriers young athletes there was a ray of sunshine in the shape of Under 13 Craig Ferguson . In only his second race for the club Craig claimed eleventh place in the 3200 metre race in a time of 12 minutes and 31 seconds. Craig was the outstanding performer for the club ( seniors and vets included) at the championships and led our Under 13 Boys team to 9th placed team overall. This race also saw some fine performances from Andrew McGurk (52nd) 14 minutes and 57 seconds, Jai Lawson (59th) 15 minutes and 39 seconds and Paul McMonagle (64th) in 18 minutes exact.

Sole Under 13 girl Amie Mulholland also put in an excellent race coming 54th place in a time of 16 minutes and 13 seconds.

Well done to all the clubs young athletes for representing the club at this championship.

West District XC - Irvine

A relatively small band of Harriers headed south to Irvine Royal Academy for the West District Cross Country Championships, the last Grand Prix race of 2009. It was great to see some of our juniors in action and the most notable Harrier performance of the day came from Craig Ferguson who finished in 11th place in the U13 boys' race. Check the blog for a full report on the rest of our juniors' performances.

Frances Maxwell was once again the solo performer for the Harriers in the ladies 6.6km race and even then Frances was lucky to make the start following some slight blog induced uncertainty on the race start time . Still, the 10 minute panic warm up seemed to do the trick and Frances had a strong run, despite only realising that it was not a 4km race on reaching the 4km point! Frances finished 19th vet in 43rd position overall in a time of 29:44.

The senior men had 3 laps of the course to complete in their 10km race. Despite recent heavy rain, the sandy soil had drained well and there were only a few genuinely soft stretches to tackle. The lap was a variation on last year's course, still incorporating the two hills on each lap which were a stern test for most.

Alan Cullie maintained good form throughout the race, finishing in 71st position in a time of 38:09, extending his lead in the Club Championship. Eddie Reid wasn't quite firing on all cylinders today but managed a constant pace on all laps to bring himself home in 96th position (40:19). Ian Rae is short of regular training but started his comeback with a battling performance to finish in 42:21. Jim Holmes (43:52) had been ahead of Ian in the early stages but perhaps over committed at the start and fell back behind Ian and was unaware of a very fast finishing David Herbertson (44:04). David Wardrope (48:20) is finding the cross country races tough but is having no such problems with the Grand Prix and a further double joker declaration takes David clear in the men's Grand Prix. Chas Steven and Russell Couper had a bit of a tussle on the first half lap but Chas judged the pace better to finish in 51:26 ahead of a hard working Russell (56:54).

Well done to all. Further photos from the senior men's race are here.

Alan

Christmas Night Out

Great night out.

Good food, good company, good laugh

Photos to follow............

Christmas Night Out

The Byre, Saturday 5th December.

Meeting time for drinks, 8pm till Late.

Some people are meeting for a bar snack (dinner!) at 6.45pm, everyone welcome for this.

Merry Christmas....Ho Ho Ho