Hogmany at parkrun

Six Harriers took part in the Strathclyde parkrun on Hogmany.
First timer Mark Saez finished well up in 7th place in a time of 19.40 so well done to Mark on a good opening run. Next home was Julie Beveridge having a close race with her sister Louise finishing in a time of 20.52 just 9 secs behind Louise (20.43) taking the 1st and 2nd Ladies. David Wardrope was next in with a new best time for the run 21.34 so another well done to David and it shows the benefits from the training run on Thursday. Next in was 10 year old Emma Lawton with a new PB of 25.18 and 4th Lady followed closely by dad Richard 25.19. A bit of team running me thinks. Finally myself 26.08 and 1.32 faster than last week and no reaction from the calf so happy with that. If anyone is sober and up for it Pollock parkrun is on on New Years day at the usual time.
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Pub Run Review

Not that we are competitive, but several records were broken in last night's festive pub run:

1. most participants (somewhere between 23 and 25, counting was not our strong point last night)
2. biggest ladies team ever to turn out for a Calderglen event (8 - what does that tell you?)
3. fastest time (2:47:34 for 6 pubs and 6.25 miles - for those targeting a comfortable sub-3 hour marathon, this gives you a useful guide as to how you might feel at the finish if we assume that 6 pubs is equivalent to about 20 miles of running)
4. most Garmins ever deployed at a Calderglen event (at least 6 that I saw, making this the most accurately verified event in Calderglen history)
5. biggest kitty (follows from record (1))
6. most cups of tea and cappuccinos consumed on a pub run (around 4 or 5; a first, never happened before) 
7. first official Calderglen entry in a pub quiz away fixture (New Farm)
8. most fun had on a pub run!

Thanks to all Harriers and friends of Harriers for making this annual event so enjoyable. A big thanks to Frances and Sandra for the huge responsibility of transporting the kitty from pub to pub and for getting the drinks in.

Happy New Year!
Alan

New GPL for New Year

Finally remembered to update the GP and Club Championship following the West District XC. George Stewart  regains his position as GPL whilst Jim Holmes rises to the top of the scratch championship. Julie Beveridge maintains a tight grip on both the GP and Club Championships. Check the full results using the menu on the left (corrected on 30/12/2011 with a missing joker). The next Grand Prix race will be the National Cross Country Championships at Falkirk on 18th February.
Alan

Boxing Day Training

As the Sports Club is open on Monday, there will be a gentle training run at the usual time (7:30) on Monday evening for those that can make it. Remember that Thursday's training run is replaced by the Pub Run with a 6:30 start time. See the earlier post on this blog for details.
Alan

Christmas Eve parkrun

Four Harriers of varying ages went to Strathclyde park this morning on what was a pretty miserable day.
Strong winds didnt make for fast times which suited me as this was a test of how my calf muscle was after the disaster of the West XC. Frances Maxwell arrived at the start then realised she forgot her barcode so is in the results as an unknown. They kept us waiting in the cold at the start as we finally got away about 5 mins late. I took my usual place up the front with Frances not far behind and Richard Lawton in mid pack with the youngest Harrier taking part and making her debut over this distance Emma Lawton. Frances soon passed me as expected heading for another fine time and as for myself i went through 1k in 4.45 a controlled 1st k as planned and no problem with the calf but soon after this i felt a twinge and stopped to check it out and give it a stretch. All seemed fine so carried on but again i reduced the pace as this was only for a stretch of the legs after 2 weeks out. Turning at halfway i seen Richard and Emma relaxed and looking easy and with the calf starting to tighten slightly i knew they would eventually catch me which the did just before the 4k mark. Judgement on the test of the calf was it failed and it needs more rest so may have to take a taxi round the pub run.
Final times were Frances 21.27, Emma 26.16, Richard 26.17, Russell 27.40.
We had one runner at Pollock, John McBride clocking another consistant performance 23.34.
One other result worth mentioning was at Pollock one of our ex members Stuart Gibson was 1st in a new PB of 15.29,
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Pub Run

The Calderglen event that for some is both the most anticipated and then, subsequently the least memorable of the year will take place on Thursday 29th December, starting at 6:30pm. Please be there ready to run at that time wearing bright, reflective clothing and a head torch if you have one. We cover about 7 miles and 5 pubs at a speed of about 1.5 pubs per hour, running as a group, so everyone can manage (ps bring enough money to cover a drink per pub).
Alan

CLUB FEES 2012

Sports Club and Harriers fees are due on 1st Jan 2012
The fees are:-
Family £94.00
Ordinary £58.00
Intermediate £30.00
Junior £16.00
This is the combined fee for Family and Ordinary.
I will collect due fees at any training night from now.
It is understood that this can be a financially difficult time of year but please renew by 31st Jan 2012 at the latest. If this is still a problem for anyone then please feel free to discuss privately with me when you can renew your membership to see if we can work something out.

May i also take this opportunity to pass on Christmas wishes to all on behalf of the Committee.

Yours in Sport
Russell Couper
Treasurer

Christmas Handicap

The traditional Harriers' Christmas Handicap saw not only a new winner at his first attempt but also a first time with no Santas running! A very high standard of fancy dress was set by the 12 Harriers who could make the 11am start on Sunday. Characters from ancient history to superheroes from the future lined up to race 4 miles against TV characters and inanimate objects. Last year's winner, Russell Couper, was sidelined due to the injury sustained at the West XC on Saturday so that left the gladiatorial Hugh Spartacus Simpson to start off first, chased a minute or so later by Fred Flintstone (David Wardrope) and Billy Buchanan feeling the heat in his Tigger romper suit. Frances Maxwell branched out in the form of a Christmas Tree whilst Joanne McEvoy was dressed to help Santa (who was a no show). George Stewart looked uncomfortably comfortable made up as a chav and was so convincing that he almost pulled a boy racer in the golf club car park. Graham Ramage is clearly benefiting from some all over conditioning and rippled around the course as Captain America whilst Jim Holmes was shedding insects left, right and centre as he tried to "get out of there" as quickly as possible. Stephen Phimister called upon his extensive wardrobe of blue man outfits to appear today as Scottish Blue Man (really needs to get some matching shoes though). Alan McLellan continued the blue theme as a smurf, chased by the Glass Act, Eddie Reid, rattling his way around the park as a bottle of beer. Finally Martin Duthie gave himself the best possible chance of victory by dressing as an old runner (what's new you say) despite his moustache making a bid for freedom whilst passing the zoo on lap 2 (thankfully the moustache was later returned to captivity after Mandy organised a search party).

All the pictures are here.

Winner of the handicap was Hugh Simpson who managed to hang on despite a fast charging David Wardrope closing the gap to within a few seconds on the line. Frances Maxwell was first lady and Martin Duthie set fastest time of the day (22:51).

Thanks to all who stood in the cold to support and a big thanks to Martin for again donating the £100 for the handicap winner to donate to a charity of their choice, in memory of Margaret Anne.

Finishing times: Hugh 29:15, David 27:59, Billy 27:49, Frances 28:49, Joanne 28:35, George 33:08, Graham 27:02, Jim 26:28, Stephen 26:02, Alan 25:25, Eddie 27:05, Martin 22:51.

Alan

West District XC - Irvine

Despite the hurricane and snow of the preceding week, conditions at Irvine were just about perfect on Saturday for the West District Cross Country Championships. The sandy soil had drained well and was firm under foot except for the usual quagmire in the field around the start/finish area and the winds were thankfully light. A route identical to that used in recent years was set but this time run in the reverse direction, with the biggest hill coming towards the end of each lap.

This was race number 10 in the Grand Prix and the last of the year so there was plenty of incentive to end 2011 strongly. Calderglen were well represented in the senior ladies' race with Julie Beveridge, Frances Maxwell, Joanne McEvoy and Karen Sturgeon all lining up for the 2 lap, 6.4km race. Julie rocketed away at the start and gradually extended her lead  over Frances throughout the race. Julie finished in an excellent 34th position out of 102 in a time of 27:49. Our next three ladies all battled closely throughout with Frances leading the chase for much of the race, followed by Joanne and Karen. In the final quarter mile, Karen called upon her reserves of strength and surged past Joanne and Frances to finish in 50th position in 28:58 with Frances (29:00) and Joanne (29:04) in 51st and 52nd positions completing the formation finish! Frances was 12th veteran in a very strong field.

The senior men's race covered 3 laps of the same course, totaling 9.6km. 212 men lined up of which at least half appeared to be veterans. On the starters whistle the field charged through the mud where one runner immediately lost his shoe, stopped to go back for it and was knocked flat on his back by the masses. All the Harriers survived the start except for Russell Couper who pulled a calf muscle before the first corner but manfully carried on for the remaining 9.5km to secure his Grand Prix points! Continuing a recent trend,  I could not go with the initial pace of the other veterans around me and watched them stretch away over the first 500m before I was able to gradually start clawing back the gap and passing people. The first lap was the fastest (just) but seemed the longest. By the second lap I had managed to catch some of my regular rivals but was struggling to pull away. However on lap 3 I managed to open a gap and pull in a few more stragglers from the packs ahead and ran strongly to the line in 35:10, 48th position and 8th veteran. Andrew McCaffrey had his strongest cross country race yet, except for the muddy bits where he felt he was struggling. Andrew finished in 85th position in 37:08. Eddie Reid was not comfortable from start to finish but still ran well to finish in 40:33, somehow letting adopted Harrier Donald Kennedy (Kilbarchan AC) to get away from him (Donald finished in 39:24). Ian Rae is a specialist on this particular course and repeated his habit of beating Jim Holmes here. Ian finished in 41:35 with Jim two places behind in 41:43. Kenny Leinster loves this sort of course and most importantly remained injury free to finish in 42:30. Graham Lindsay is benefiting from regular racing nowadays and had his best ever run on this course recording 43:16. George Stewart had his second nightmare in the space of a day, following his Friday night performance in the Fife Nightmare race series with a daylight performance which saw him drop a few places lower than expected, finishing in 43:56. David Wardrope trailed Hugh Simpson for almost the whole race but managed to muster some speed on the last lap as Hugh faded to finish in 47:04 with Hugh eventually a minute behind in 48:11. Russell kept plugging on to the end to finish in 60:59.

Well done to all and thanks to the support. A special mention to Billy Buchanan who brought his new spikes along for a gradual introduction to cross country, not even taking them out the box and instead lending some much appreciated vocal support. Thanks to Joanne for the photos, all of which are here. The race created some space for the evening's Harriers' Christmas Dinner which most of those racing were able to attend.

Christmas nite out

Hi all, have a great time and remember to turn up for the Sunday morning run.

Christmas night out/ Christmas handicap run

This Saturday is our christmas night out
For those that have booked places at our night out at Di Maggios please arrive at 7.30 for 8.00pm.

Sunday sees our Christmas handicap run starting at 11am so please arrive early for Alan to give you a start time.

West District XC (IRVINE)

This Saturday sees us at Irvine Royal Academy for the West District XC
Ladies start time is 1.05pm but please be there for 12.20pm.
Men start at 2pm but be there for 1.15pm.
I will collect the numbers from registration and be at the course for distribution.
Those entered are:- F Maxwell, J McEvoy, J Beveridge, M Goldsmith and K Sturgeon.
R Couper, A Derrick, G Stewart, D Wardrope, J Holmes, A McCaffery, D Herbertson, B Rooney, H Simpson, E Reid, I Rae, G Lindsay, K Leinster and R Lawton.
If you cant make the race please let me know before i register the entrants on Saturday.
Could those that havnt paid yet please do so.
Frances will be meeting anyone needing a lift at the sports club at 11.30.
Eddie will be meeting at the sports club at 12.15.

Russell

Golf Course Tonight....... Maybe

Given the weather, please come prepared for either a road or Golf Course session tonight (Monday). For the golf course you will need whatever shoes or spikes you normally wear for cross-country.
Alan

Glasgow University Road Race

Twelve Harriers braved a classic case of sunshine and showers at the Glasgow University 5 Mile Road Race on Saturday afternoon. The Harriers all arrived at the GU Garscube Sports Complex with plenty of time to spare and I took the opportunity to do a partial lap of the course to test out my achilles tendon before deciding to enter the race. My return to the sports complex was met with a wave of disappointment as I declared myself fit to run and carefully calculated joker strategies were thrown into disarray. In the 20 minutes before the start, the weather switched from sunshine to sleety rain every 5 minutes, or so it seemed. As we gathered on the start line with the field of around 200, the rain was pelting down. Then the starter fired his gun and we were off on the uphill drive through the grounds of the vet school heading towards the (open) gate out onto the Switchback. A very fast initial pace split the field and by the time we crested the hill on the Switchback after a half mile we were descending straight into blinding sunshine, avoiding pot holes and lamp posts if you were lucky! A sharp left through the car jet wash (kept the shoes clean) lead us along the canal bank on Temple Road, climbing gently towards the Dawsholm Park incinerator and then a short sharp climb over the railway bridge before the welcome sight of the long descent down Dalsholm Road., certainly much easier to run down than it was to run up on the old course! The heavy rain meant that the course became a little bit cross-country at the bottom of the hill as several large, muddy puddles had to be negotiated before the steep climb onto Maryhill Road. A nice gentle descent along Maryhill Road towards the science park and the first of two laps was complete.

After being dropped by many of the field in the first half mile surge, I was able to work my way back up the field as the race progressed, not being passed by anyone but passing many, especially on the up-hill sections. I could see several known veterans and others who looked like they could be vets ahead throughout the race but eventually ran out of time to pull them all in, finishing 15th overall and 3rd vet in 28:44, happy with that although the achilles was immediately sore as soon as I stopped ("should have kept running then" was the most helpful suggestion I got). Meanwhile Eddie Reid had a stress free run, (at least it would have been stress free had the official results not shown Russell finishing significantly ahead of Eddie) in 32:12. Andy Henderson ran a well paced 33:09 despite two attempts by a fire engine to block his way into the sports complex on the final lap. Stuart Waugh experienced a recurrence of his knee pain, probably caused by the cold conditions, but fortunately the two lap format of the course made it easy for Stuart to drop out after one lap and hopefully not to do any lasting damage. Julie Beveridge ran an absolute stormer with a massive negative split, toying with George Stewart for the first lap before taking off on the second lap, passing a startled Jim Holmes at great speed with a half mile to go and finishing in 33:49. Jim Holmes managed to recover in the final 200m and closed in on Julie to finish in an identical time of 33:49 but just behind Julie. George Stewart again ran a good paced race to finish in 35:00, just ahead of Joanne McEvoy (35:02) who had a much better race today. Billy Buchanan made his debut in this event, recording 35:35 whilst dealing with the pressure of not wasting the two jokers he had been advised to play. David Wardrope was next to finish in 36:00, just in sight of Hugh Simpson (37:56). Russell Couper was the only man to finish the race twice and his second (real) time was recorded as 43:48. I am sure Russell will ensure that there is some extended discussion of which of the two official times he recorded is correct!

Well done to all on good performances on this blustery day. I had never run this two lap version of the course before and I was pleasantly surprised at what a nice course it was with no traffic issues and a good mix of ups and downs. The organisation by the GU Hares & Hounds was excellent (except for the microscopic entry form which was giving most of us older runners a few problems to read) and the course was well marshalled.

Grand Prix updated: Andy Henderson stretches his lead in the GP and moves to the lead of the scratch championship for the first time. Meanwhile Julie Beveridge now draws level with Frances Maxwell in the GP and increases her lead in the scratch championship.

Alan

Request for a person to marshall at the West District Cross Country Championships

A request has been made by Allison Simpson ( Scottish Athletics Regional Manager - West )
for a marshall to help on the course or at the finish.
Date of the races is Saturday 10th December at Irvine Royal Academy.
Marshalls to arrive by 11.15am.

Allison can give someone a lift from East Kilbride if needed.
Allison can be contacted at her email address : allison.simpson@scottishathletics.org.uk

British & Irish Masters Cross Country International - Bellahouston Park

Three weeks of far from ideal preparation due to an Achilles tendon injury were for me topped off with a day of truly far from ideal weather at Bellahouston Park for the annual British & Irish Masters XC International on Saturday. As the whole country was battered by hurricane force winds and lashing rain, the selected teams from Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland somewhat reluctantly completed their warm-ups and course recces before diving back into the sports centre for shelter hoping that at least the rain would go off before the scheduled race start time. For some reason all those members of the England team who I spoke to seemed to think that we Scots would love these conditions. NOOOOO we don't!

Ignoring the weather, the course set by the organising committee was a true, classic cross country course with flat, fast (on a better day) sections leading to steep, punishing ascents and even more punishing, scary descents where more than a few runners took a tumble. The ladies and M65+ men were off first on a 6km course comprising a short lap and then a big lap to finish. I didn't see much of this race as I was testing trail shoes and spikes trying to decide which gave the best achilles pain/grip compromise. The spikes were the final choice as there was no grip to be had with the rubber studs. Then it was time for the M35 to M60 8km race of two large laps.The field of 160 lined up and were soon charging in a muddy spray along the start straight. A sharp left turn and we were heading towards the hill which divides Bellahouston Park. The route threaded its way through some trees on the ascent before dropping down the other side on a mushy, leaf covered descent where there was absolutely no grip, even with spikes and the potential to really hurt yourself. At the bottom of the hill we plunged into a grassy section that was soft as a sponge which brought us back around past the Palace of Art towards the sports centre and a second ascent up the hill followed by a long treacherous traversing descent to the familiar flat area of the park. A further kilometer in the flat area and then we were off on the second lap.

After three weeks without a proper run, I struggled with my breathing from the start and was plodding by the second lap. However an unexpected benefit of the water logged course was that I was ankle deep in cold water or mud most of the time which made my feet so cold the pain in my Achilles was numbed! I rallied a little towards the end to fend off a few challenges but was really not too impressed with the way I ran given my recent good form. My finishing time was 28:44, placing me 17th out of 30 in the M45 race and second M45 Scot, both worse results than achieved last year in Dublin, despite coming into this season in much better form. That's running for you!

There were many Harriers around the course supporting and marshalling and even though I couldn't take my eyes off the ground in front of my feet to see who you were, I heard all the shouts and they made a difference. So thanks to Chas, Joanne, Russell, Frances, Barry, Stuart, Maud, Stephen, Andrew,  and anyone else who I missed.

Puggled!

Following the international races there was an open 6km race in which Harriers Andrew McCaffery, Frances Maxwell and Chas Steven lined up in a field of around 80. By this time the weather was even worse and the course was completely churned up. Andrew finished a fantastic 10th in 23:26, Frances, running as a reserve for the Scotland team, ran 27:42 and Chas found the soft ground less stressful on his hip and finished in 34:37 (note that the age group categories for the open race are not all correct, as I am sure Frances would like me to point out!) Very well done to all for turning out on a day when it would have been easier to say no way! Thanks to Stepehen for the photos which show the conditions exactly as I saw them, blurred!

The day ended with a wonderful awards presentation dinner and ceildh in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The SVHC organising committee did a fine job indeed.

Alan

WEST DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY

The West district cross country has now been confirmed for the Royal Academy (IRVINE) on Saturday 10th December 2011.
Ladies race is at 1.05pm and Men at 2.00pm.
Distance is 6K for Ladies and 10K for Men.
Cost is £4.00 per head.
Names are required by Thursday 24th Nov.
Please leave your name on this form if you wish to be entered and please pay £4 the next time your at the club. Names received so far are here.

Russell

Brampton to Carlisle 2011

No weather excuses this year for the bus load of Calderglen Harriers, their family and friends who travelled to a sunny Brampton for the 60th Brampton to Carlisle 10 Mile Road Race. For some this was their first Brampton but for others, such as club stalwarts Chas Steven (27th Brampton), Gerry Mullen (26th Brampton) and Andy Henderson (23rd Brampton), this was a familiar but still much anticipated race. Pre-race preparation started with the usual psychological warfare on the bus journey down the M74, not least through the ritual of declaring your anticipated finishing time in the sweep stake. Interestingly the finishing order based on the predicted times matched the actual finishing order down to 7th place and was actually quite accurate all the way through the field, particularly with the more experienced runners (so why can't most of the club put themselves in the correct pack on training nights?????). Notable exceptions and main protagonists in the mind games were Colin Banks (18 positions down), David Herbertson (7 places up) and George Stewart (6 places up), having already let go of his title GPL even before the race had started.

After an un-eventful tea stop at Gretna Green (except for an alleged case of home made scones being smuggled in to the tea room - you know who you are), the bus proceeded the15 miles to Brampton where the final stages of race preparation continued. Timing chips were collected (a Brampton first), face paint applied (another Brampton first with Joanne doing the honours and George the trend setter, soon followed by several other style icons), warm-ups completed and team photo captured. Meanwhile Billy Buchanan was experiencing a first of his own, finding out what effect caffeine laced energy gels would have on his endurance. Unfortunately the taste was not to his liking but they did seem to have the right effect!

The course had been re-measured for this year due to some slight road alterations, putting the start about 20m down the hill. As the coach containing the Calderglen travelling support passed the start line it seemed obvious that they would slide the timing mats off the verge and out across the width of the main road when they were ready to start. Apparently not! When the race started the field of 700 had to funnel through a 10 foot gap to cross the timing mat, taking up to a minute for some to get across the line (the outcome of this is that for the purpose of the Grand Prix the order across the finishing line is what counts as that is a head to head race.  However for the purpose of race time, pb's, performance standards, etc, the chip time is the one we will take such that those stuck at the back are not penalised for being delayed at the start).

The full results are on-line here with many fine performances achieved throughout the field. Most impressive performance was former Calderglen Harrier Stuart Gibson, finishing 2nd overall in a massive new pb of 50:42 (2 minute improvement). The race was won by UK based African Yared Hagos in the incredible time of 47:51, despite having a skint knee from a fall on the start line. First Harrier across the line was Davie Watt, recently turned 50 but not showing it with a time of 56:03 (M50 Gold standard), finishing just behind the leading M50. Martin Duthie was in a forgetful mood today, forgetting a towel for the shower and pants too apparently. He was able to borrow a towel from me after the race but nothing else. So the question is did Martin go commando for the race or for dinner in Moffat? Answers on a post card to Mandy please. Martin did not forget how to run though, posting a time of 59:38 (M45 Gold standard).

Ian Hughes was striving for another sub-60 but it was not to be this time, just missing out with a time of 60:09 (M40 Silver) but helping to wind the third vets team prize for Calderglen with Davy and Martin. Stuart Douglas, boyfriend of sister of Julie (I know, its getting difficult to follow) was next in with a time of 60:35, a minute better than he expected. Stephen Reilly was really going for a silver standard time today but things fell apart a little in the second half. He still recorded a pb of 62:25 (U23 Bronze), so progress is being made. Eddie Reid, fuelled with illicit scones, is returning to good form, setting a time of 63:50 (M45 Bronze). Ross "Son of Gerry" Mullen showed that running runs in the family, setting a great time of 64:13, a pb! Andy Henderson on his 23rd Brampton had set himself the ambitious target of running the time he ran 10 years ago (63:46). This was a big ask, so although he missed it he was delighted to achieve a Gold M55 standard time of 64:49. First lady from our bus was Louise Beveridge, Julie's sister, running for Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, setting a time of 65:41 and 12th lady. Stephen Phimister has made massive progress since recovering from his injury of last year and improved his PB by many minutes to finish in 66:42. There is definitely a lot more to come. Stuart Waugh ran very close to what he expected and seemed disappointed but he should not have been. Stuart's time of 67:02 made him first M60 in the race and achieved a comfortable Gold M60 standard.

And then David Herbertson, "The Man who Time Forgot" or more usually, the man who forgot to time, was guaranteed to record a time here as it was a chip timed race. But no, David's chip fell off near the start, so all we can say is that David finished somewhere between Stuart's 67:02 and the hard charging Jim Holmes (67:36) which means it could have been a PB (67:21) but we shall probably never know! Graham Ramage has only been to Brampton once before and that was 2009 when the course was shortened to 9.1 miles due to flooding. So this year was a very definite PB, recording 68:08, almost 3 minutes faster for 1 mile further than he achieved 2 years ago. Very well done. Brian McDougall headed Graham until the last half mile but should be happy to be returning steadily to form, recording 68:19. Scot Hill was aiming to move back towards the top of the Grand Prix and this meant staying ahead of George "GPL" Stewart. This he did with a time of 68:32. George ran a well paced race despite the running face paint and made up many places when others were fading in the second half. George's time of 69:42 was his second best time at Brampton (he has run the event more than twice by the way).

Frances Maxwell is hitting fine form now and set her second PB in a week (5k PB last Saturday) with a time of 70:30 (F45 Silver) and 5th F45. Gerry Mullen was heavily delayed crossing the start line which probably upset his composure in the first few miles but still his chip time of 70:44 was his fastest for four years. Billy "The Gel" Buchanan has not had many podium experiences in his running career and he didn't have one today either because he missed the prize giving. However Billy was an excellent third M60 in the race with a time of 71:05 (M60 Silver).  Karen Sturgeon, Brampton first timer, set a great opening time of 71:07 which surely will be bettered in years to come. Graham Lindsay has not managed to fit many long training runs in recently and was not confident beforehand but did much better than expected to finish in 71:19. Julie Beveridge had some stomach problems in the second half of the race which slowed her down somewhat. Even so, this debut time of 72:24 gives her something to easily improve on in the future. Kenny Leinster was looking comfortable and cruised through to the line in 72:24. David Wardrope improved by 3 minutes on his previous best to record a great time of 72:46. Sub 70 must be a target for David next year. Colin Banks had a rather sporadic run, getting across the start line very quickly (1 second after the gun), fading backwards through the field until inside the last half mile when, instructed to sprint, he caught a few more of the Harriers in front to finish in 72:54, a time that Colin can easily improve upon. David Gray and his wife joined us for the day out, David finishing in 72:56. John McBride always enjoys his Brampton day out and this year recorded 74:59, very similar to his previous times on this course. Benny Rooney is definitely coming back to regular running training (I know that for a fact because he told me so......again) and should see his time of 76:22 as one that he can easily take lumps out of. Hugh "Grandaddy" Simpson was experiencing his first Brampton in his usual enthusiastic style (aided by face paint). Hugh ran comfortably to the line in 78:12. Mary Goldsmith is easing her way back into running after her recent marathon and looked to me quite relaxed approaching the finish. Mary's time was 79:13 (F50 Bronze). Dawn "IronMan" Buchanan made a rare outing in a Harriers' vest, setting her 4th fastest Brampton time of 84:47. Russell Couper had a bad one today, not surprisingly given his calf injury and indeed, this gave him severe gip throughout. Russell's time was 86:50, very close to his prediction nonetheless. It was very disappointing to see that Chas Steven had to pull out early on in this his 27th successive Brampton race. Chas has a chronic hip pain which unfortunately is inhibiting his running severely at the moment. Hopefully Chas will get to the source of this and get it fixed soon.

After some post race refreshments in the conveniently located "The Turf" pub the Harriers set off for their annual occupation of the UK's narrowest hotel in Moffat for a fine dinner and more refreshments. The prize giving took place here where awards were presented for first Harrier (David Watt), sweep winner (Carol Rooney predicting Eddie Reid's time to within 2 seconds) and last seasons PB and Performance Award winners. The whole team were then transported back to EK by about 9pm for a continuation of the celebrations at the Sports Club.

Well done to all who raced and the travelling support of eleven who made it such an enjoyable day. Further pictures of almost everyone are in this album. The Grand Prix will be updated over the next few days.

Alan

Frances wins the Parkrun

Congratulations to Frances Maxwell on winning the Strathclyde Parkrun. She got herself, and Calderglen Harriers, a mention in the Sunday Herald this week.

BRAMPTON BUS DEPARTURE TIME

Just a reminder that the bus will depart at 8.30am prompt.
Dont be late as the bus will go at this time.

Stewards required for the International X/C Race at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow on Saturday 26 November 2011

A request for stewards to help out at the British & Irish Masters X/C Race event has been made.
If anyone is available and wishes to volunteer as a steward, please leave a comment on the blog or let Frances know.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are available, so that we can advise the organizers of the race.

Strathaven Striders ‘Run with the Wind’ Sunday 6th November

Ardochrig last Sunday was blessed with perfect running weather, so good that two harriers ran PBs, Graham Ramage in 40:30 and grandfather-to-be Hugh Simpson in 45-something. I covered the course in 46:32, my fastest 10k in a long time although sadly no-where near a PB. Still heavy-legged from her sub-four hour Loch Ness marathon Mary Goldsmith struggled along to record 47:01.

As for the race four kilometres downhill followed by two up makes for surprisingly sore legs.  After that it was just a question of hanging on in there until what appeared to be a gentle, slightly downhill run to the line turned into a vicious wee climb up to Kirkland Park. I lost both my impetus and a place and had nothing left to catch up over the long grass to the finishing line.

Although overall downhill (the race drops nearly 200 metres over the route) there are also a few nasty climbs which make this a tough and interesting race. A free cup of hot soup and a roll were very welcome and  went a long way towards restoring the runners morale and energy.  

The organisers appear to be having trouble with their chip timing as, at the time of writing, Hugh’s name appears among the DNS and DNF at the bottom of the results. Of course technically that makes me second harrier overall but…

 Once again there was a clean sweep for the east of the country with Richard Meade of Edinburgh AC winning in 33:51 and the leading female being Jillian Gordon from Kinross Road Runners coming home in a time of 37:57.

There are two links to photographs of the race on the Strathaven Striders website, Gillian Scott was there again and our very own Francy & Josie, otherwise known as Frances & Joanne were at the 6k mark taking pictures & cheering us on. Much appreciated ladies! Frances' photos are here.
David Searil

South Side Six Race Report

Sunday 30th October 2011

On an almost perfect day for running being mild, cloudy and not too windy 221 runners set off for the inaugural running of this unusual race.The first half of the race took care of the worst of the hills, taking us through King’s Park, Linn Park & Rouken Glen. We then proceeded to Pollok Park where the only casualty of the day, Genevieve Freeman, slipped and slithered her way through the mud injuring her right foot/knee. She bravely soldiered on until finally succumbing in Bellahouston Park, very wisely, at the foot of the steepest climb of the day.     

Leading harrier by some distance was Gen’s other half, Colin, coming home in a very impressive 1:49:51. Another three harriers crossed the line in quick succession under the two hour mark, Mark Saez in 1:55:05, Ian Rae in 1:56:07 (so speedily I believe his family missed him at Pollock Park!) and Graham Ramage in 1:59:30.

Not far behind Frances Maxwell won the battle with Julie Beveridge for the leading female harrier by less than three minutes, 2:02:36 to 2:05:08. Making everyone else look good I came home in 2:19:28, precisely on target (8 ½ minute miling) Also running were two ex-harriers, George Haining who posted 2:14:59 and Don Kennedy who chased me home with 2:23:22.  

For the record the race was won by Andrew Wright of Carnegie harriers in 1:33:00 and the first female home was Jennifer Mclean from Edinburgh AC in a time of 1:42:19 completing a clean sweep for the visitors from the east. 

A big thanks from all of us taking part goes to Alison, Russell, Geo, Gillian and the Rae family for their support at numerous points around the course. 

And finally…the most heart warming story of the day was that of Yorgo, a small dog who cheerfully joined in and ran about five miles of the race whilst avoiding various attempts at capture. For the full story go to  http://www.southsidesix.org.uk/ 

Alison’s photos are here. 
Thanks to David for the race report.
Alan

Hugh's the Grand Daddy

Congratulations to Hugh Simpson on becoming a grand daddy for the first (and second) times today when his daughter gave birth to twin boys, Jack and Dexter. We will be starting a baby buggy category in the grand prix in due course.
Alan

Who's the Daddy?

George "GPL" Stewart

All Harriers are reminded to TRAIN HARD unless you want to see more pictures like this! :-)

Alan

Grand Prix Updated after 7 Races

The Grand Prix and Scratch Championships have been updated. George Stewart and Frances Maxwell are still the current Grand Prix leaders. Julie Beveridge extends her lead in the lady's scratch championship whilst Martin Duthie makes his first appearance on top of the men's scratch championship. The full results are available using the usual menus on the left. Next up: BRAMPTON!
Alan

National 4km XC Report

Wonderful weather greeted a record field at today's National 4km Cross Country Championships at Bellahouston Park. Despite a few call-off's, the Harriers were still out in force with 4 women and 12 men all of whom were on for a course best today due to a council enforced  change to the lap (for the better according to those running). Also for the first time, the ladies were off first with all four Harriers competing closely and swapping positions several times on the first of two laps. By the second lap, Julie Beveridge had stretched away from Frances Maxwell and finished very strongly indeed in a time of 17:37. Frances was next home in a time of 18:22 but Karen Sturgeon closed in fast in the final stages (18:36). A below par Joanne McEvoy did not have her usual strength today but was still very much in the hunt with the other ladies, finishing close behind in 18:49. The first three of our ladies were 13th team.

A field of just over 200 lined up for the men's race, around double the normal, perhaps helped by the fact that the race was now in November at the end of the short relay season rather than in January when attention turns from speed to stamina and strength for the longer cross country championship races. Martin Duthie blazed a trail for the Harriers, working his way around the big puddles (despite being a strong swimmer) and clipping the hedges in the search for firm, dry ground. This tactic brought Martin home in a great time of 15:05. This was Andrew McCaffery's second cross country race ever and despite struggling to find his usual on-road pace on the soft surface, looked to be carrying good form throughout, finishing in 15:37.

Stephen Reilly had the right shoes for the job today but did find the pace on the heavy ground a shock to the system, recoding a time of 16:02. Eddie Reid maintained the relatively even spacing of the leading Harriers, finishing a further 21 seconds back in 16:23. Andy Henderson shook off the fast starting George Stewart (fresh from another race in darkest Fife on Thursday night) and pulled out a comfortable lead, crossing the line in 16:59. Meanwhile George would be happy to set a  faster time than Julie again this week (17:24). Jim Holmes is still struggling to shake off a cold and consequently was not able to challenge George, finishing in 17:39. David Wardrope continues to quietly put together a strong Grand Prix series and today finished 8th Harrier in 18:55. A somewhat out of sorts Colin Banks was struggling today, finishing in 19:21 but well clear of the tightest Harriers competition raging behind him. On this occasion Richard Lawton used his strength (19:40) to overcome the ever smooth Hugh Simpson (19:51). However Russell Couper is definitely on a charge back to form and was well within reach of Richard and Hugh, finishing in 21:00.

Well done to all the Harriers competing today. Everyone features at least once in the rest of the photos here.

Searil South Side Six Snaps

Some photos of the Harriers at last weekend's South Side Six taken by Alison Searil are here. Thanks to David for passing these on.
Alan

NATIONAL 4K XC

This Saturday is the National 4K XC.
Start times are Ladies @ 12.15 and Men @ 12.35.
I will collect the numbers before declarations close and take them to the start area but please arrive in plenty of time to get your number from me.
Remember this is a straight race not a relay.
If you cant make the run on Saturday please let me know asap or by 11am Saturday.
Entries are F Maxwell, J McEvoy, J Beveridge and K Sturgeon.
R Couper, A Derrick, R Lawton, G Stewart, J Holmes, S Hill, D Herbertson, A McCaffery, D Wardrope, G Lindsay, C Banks, M Duthie, E Reid, A Henderson, S Reilly and H Simpson.
Could those that have still to pay please do so at the club this week (£4.50)

Russell

BRAMPTON TO CARLISLE RACE

ENTRIES ARE NOW AWAY BUT THERE IS STILL 3 SPACE ON THE BUS
This years race will take place on Saturday 19th November. We have booked a 53 seater bus and places will be filled on a first come first served basis with a payment of £16. We shall be leaving the Sports Club at 8.30 am and return at approx 8.30 pm after our usual stop at moffat for dinner. Entry forms can be found at
http//borderharriers.co.uk/app/webroot/uploads/File/B2C-2011-entry-form-A.pdf Please return forms with entry fee of £14/£16 to Russell by 31st Oct at the latest. If we fill the bus we will be able to discount the dinner. Non runners and guests are also welcome to come along.

Allan Scally report

We had 14 harriers running today but for the first time this season we didnt have a complete ladies team.
Frances led the ladies off with a time of 33.43 coming in about 3rd or 4th place and handing over to Joanne running 33.19. Both ladies played jokers today so have now pushed Julie into 3rd place but she still has jokers to play. With a space free in the ladies team Don Kennedy without any of his club running today joined our ladies and can now be referred to as Donna.
Onto the men and with 3 complete teams Davie Watt came home with a great run of 26.42 in about 6th place overall handing over to Jim Holmes who is still struggling a bit with form but still managed 31.44. Next up was Charlie McDougall keeping the team in the running for the vets prize with a time of 29.50 and handing over to Eddie Reid who was going to get the heavy rain towards the end of his run but looking well over his recent injury in 30.36 and bringing our A team into 2nd place in the vets race.
Our B team was led out by David Herbertson (31.25) followed by Andy Henderson (31.19) both running very close in times again. 3rd leg was our current GP leader George Stewart who was a little off the pace of others that he's competed with recently (33.01) and again getting the heavy rain on leg 4 was Brian McDougall straight from work running 31.35 and finishing 3rd vets team.
Our C team was led off by David Wardrope putting in another consistent performance 34.47  5 secs faster than last year and the same time as 2 years ago. then came the battle of the day, Richard Lawton on leg 2 and Hugh Simpson on leg 3, both have been nip and tuck for a while now and we had some trash talk going on at registration. the times were 37.30 and 37.12 respectively so Hugh comes out on top today. On the 4th leg was Russell Couper who warned both Hugh and Richard that he was trying to upset both of them but it wasn't to be 39.07 but closing on them, watch out guys I'm coming to get you.
GP and Scratch will be updated at Alan's convenience when he returns from Sweden
Next race is the National 4k XC next week and entries are now closed. A few photos from Joanne here. Photos from Frances also included (31.10.11).
Watch the Blog for arrangements for this race

Allan Scally Road Relay Teams

The teams for Saturday's Scally Grand Prix relay are listed here. Unfortunately I am not going to be back until midnight Saturday so can't do it. The changing and declarations are at Bannerman High School, Bailieston and the start is a half a mile or so away. Please let Russell know if for some reason you cannot now make it (its a 2pm start). As this is an enter on the day event, then I am also sure we can accommodate some late entries if you let us know before 11am say on Saturday by leaving a comment on this blog or phoning/txting Russell.
Alan

Change of Date for Calderglen Harriers AGM

New date for the AGM is Monday 21 November 2011 at 8.00pm

Training will be held earlier to allow members to attend the meeting.

The committee look forward to a good attendance at meeting.

The reason for the change is that the Sports Club are holding their AGM on the 24th November
and they had forgotten to book the hall for that night.

Calderglen Harriers Annual Christmas Night Out

Yes it's that time of the year again.
Everyone is invited to join in and have a good time with the Harriers.

When : Saturday 10th December
Where : Di Maggios, East Kilbride
Event : Party Night Tribute Entertainment - with (not Eddie) but the Stewart Reid Boogie Band
Cost : only £ 22.95
Includes : 3 course meal

A deposit of £10 is required per head to enable Frances to make a booking for the club.
A minimum of 12 required for a booking. Additional numbers can be added on.

PLEASE NOTIFY Frances as soon as posible if you with to attend in order that we can secure a booking. ( It would be ideal if we could have the required numbers within a week or two at the latest, including deposit).

The menue for the 3 course meal will be posted on the Harriers notice board.

Allan Scally Road Relays

Next Saturday 29th Oct takes us to Bailliston for the last relay this year.
The race starts at 2pm near Bannerman HS and is approx 4.8mls per leg.
Dont know the cost yet but will be £3 or £4 approx each.
RACE START TIME IS 2PM
i will need those on early legs there by 1.10 at the latest as we have to  let the 1st leg runners warm up. those on later legs if you let me know by text an approx arrival time on Sat morning.
If you want entered please leave your name on this form or see me at training by Thursday night 27th Oct. See who we have so far here.

Russell

NATIONAL 4K XC (Bellahouston Park)

This years National 4K Xc has a change to its format to bring it into line with other championship races.
Entries are no longer individual but a block entry from the club.
It has also been brought forward from January and the Ladies now run first.
The race is Sat 5th Nov start times are 12.15 for ladies and 12.35 for Men.
I need names by Monday 24th Oct at training at the latest.
Entry fee is £4.50 per head and should be paid to me before race day.
Please leave your name on this FORM if you want entered. Here are the names we have so far.

Club Entries for the London Marathon 2012

The club has now received 2 entries for the 2012 London Marathon.

Please let myself or Frances know

1) If you applied for an entry to the 2012 London Marathon and had your entry rejected.

2) Let us know if you wish to be considered for a club entry.

3) Let us know before the Brampton Race on the 19th November

Depending on the number of runners who would like a club entry, a ballot will be held during our trip to Brampton.

The rules are the same as for last year's draw.
If a runner received a club entry for this years London Marathon and there are 2 or more other runners who wish to be considered for the club entry, then they will be excluded from this years draw.

Palma Half Marathon 2011

Its billed as the Most Beautiful Island Marathon in the World. Having only ever run the Glasgow (half) marathon I didn't have really anything to compare it to although for a Glasgow boy running over the Kingston Bridge or the final stretch in the Green probably means more than the admittedly stunning images of the La Seu Cathedral in Palma !  

 

As it was the start of the October school week we made it a family holiday basing ourselves in Palmanova - a short bus or taxi ride from Palma. We went through on the Saturday afternoon where you collect your number and a special kit bag for clothing. There was a marathon market and a really good atmosphere. At 5pm they had a series of fun run for kids and across all of the age groups had over 2000 kids taking part. Emma and Mark ran 1200m and 600m in their respective runs and both really enjoyed the atmosphere. Majorca was experiencing unseasonably high temperatures and the Saturday afternoon was no different.

 

It was a 9am start on the Sunday so it was just getting light when we left the hotel. It was much colder and I had 4 layers on just to keep warm. It was at that point I decided that there would be no need for sun cream or a hat during the run, thinking gloves might be the order of the day. Schoolboy error ! By the time we were in Palma and a short walk to the changing area at the Parc de Mar the sun had come up and it was pleasant enough just to wear the Calderglen vest.

 

The event is sponsored by TUI and as expected it was well organised. Plenty of marshals, changing areas and a proper 'big event' type set up. There was the normal complaint about lack of toilets and while the men made the usual use of natural surroundings I felt slightly uncomfortable to see such a long line of men using the Cathedral walls ..... oh well, if you cant beat them join them.  

 

There is a full marathon, half, 10k and Nordic walking events, all starting together and following the same route with turn offs at the various stages. The organisers claim 9000+ runners representing 59 nationalities over all events, a 15% increase on last year. Obviously a large Spanish contingent but also well attended by the Germans. They have a competition to see which City gets the most runners (Reutlingen with 89) but followed closely by Dortmund and Berlin. A couple of Scottish and a decent crowd from England.  It was getting busy near the start and I took an early position in the pen. The atmosphere built at each time warning. At 90 seconds they played Chariots of Fire, followed by a chant from the Germans and strange clapping thing and I honestly thought I was about to 'let go' !!!   Off we went and although very busy it was no worse than Glasgow. By the 1K mark everyone was into their stride. The first 9k is out and back along the sea front, passing the Cathedral and the hundreds of boats in the Marinas. Nice and flat but completely open and the sun was a blazing 23 deg with not a cloud in site. No sun cream - no hat.. remember. At 4K I had to take on water. After 9k we turned off the front and into the old town. The narrow streets offer some welcome shade but the downside was that there was more of an incline. Lots of twists and turns at least let me see the lead pack a few times but there were some long inclines. I went through 10k in 42:17 and still felt good. At 12k there was one of the dreaded inclines which cost me 10-15 seconds on that kilometre alone. You really need to make up the time on the flat or downhill and although I came back that time there was less improvement after each remaining incline. At 18k I had another bad time then the marathon people break off at 19k to head along the sea front in the opposite direction. Its one of those cruel races that take you back towards the finish line but out for another 1k loop but by this time we were back in the sunlight and I was struggling. Came home in 1:31:39 (13 secs slower than Glasgow), placed 193 and 35 in the M40 category. I was a bit disappointed in my second half performance but whether it was the heat or just the inclines that were too much I don't know.

 

There was a course record for the half in 1:08:41 (Spaniard) and another course record for the 10k in 31:51. An English guy won the full marathon in 2:34:17. Lots of other prizes for other categories including the lowest time for a 4-counting team.    

 

I don't have a lot of experience of these types of big races but I am a fan of Glasgow and this was definitely on a par. If you are just going for the run and to enjoy the experience then I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it.  Its not a slow course but not totally flat either. As I said the weather was at the top end of what they normally get. Last year it rained during the run and the afternoon of the day I ran it was cloudy. For a 10k or half its a good course. The Half seems to be the event of choice and TUI have said they will make it a bigger cultural event next year. Spoke to one guy who ran the marathon and although the first 10k and last 20k are flat they are also out in the open and so exposed to the sun if it shines. That said I had already convinced myself to go back and do it next year but then found out they have moved it back a week so its now at the end of the school week (21st Oct). If I could ditch the family it would make a great weekend trip .....

(All the photos from Phimi are here - not for those easily offended!!)

 

Hasta Luego

Phimi

National XC Relay 2011 - No Cups, Just Cakes

(More photos from Frances added to album, link at end of report 30/10/11)
A fantastic turn out from the Harriers today at Cumbernauld, fielding 1 and 1/3 women's teams and 3 and 3/4 men's teams. The course was in surprisingly good condition considering the recent rain but the sting in the tail today was the wind which was biting cold and gusting strongly, meaning that overall the conditions were a bit tougher than last year.

The ladies were off first and Julie handled her established role on the first leg well, running a time of 18:00 in 34th position in a very competitive field of 88. The experience of Frances Maxwell was called upon on leg 2, pulling us up one place in a time of 19:05, handing on to Joanne McEvoy for the last leg. Joanne has plenty of speed just now but is lacking a little strength and so found the hills a bit tough, finishing in 19:08 in 35th position. As Karen Sturgeon is relatively new to cross country racing, the first leg in the ladies second team seemed a good chance to give her a more conventional race experience with plenty of runners around her. Karen also found the going very tough but has now set a benchmark of 19:28 and is definitely in the mix for first team selection.

As this event was also the National Masters Relay Championships, we fielded 2 mens vets teams, a mixed senior/vet team and an incomplete vets team. Andrew McCaffery was on the first leg for the men's vets A team and once again, in his second race for the club, was the man with the local knowledge, having grown up in Cumbernauld and trained in this park. Andrew ran a very competitive 15:57 in 65th position out of a field of around 130 men's teams. Returning from injury, Eddie Reid was glad to be racing again and really enjoyed leg 2 finishing in 16:46 in 69th position and only 12 seconds down on last year. Martin Duthie was instructed to chase and this he did, bringing us up to 62nd in 15:44, again only slightly slower than last year. At this point we reckoned we were maybe 8th or 9th vets team and so it was going to be a tall order to get in the medals. However Alan Derrick gave chase on the last leg and had a fun run (until the last 1km when it was really painful) passing loads of people to bring us up to 41st position in a time of 14:34, a full 2 seconds quicker than last year but only 7th veteran team this time compared to last year's 4th.

The vets B team was lead off by David Herbertson (just flew in from LA, so he had no problems getting to the race on time this week) in a time of 17:51, which was just enough to pip George Stewart on leg 2 (17:55) and Andy Henderson on leg 4 (17:52). Jim Holmes was not a well man and probably should not have run. This was reflected in his time of 18:04 on leg 3 but completing a very well matched team who are driving each other on to better performances each week.

Continuing the recent Harriers' tradition of forgetting something important just before the start, Stephen Reilly on leg 1 for the C team left his trail shoes in the car and did not have time to go an get them. This meant running the course in trainers, so his time of 16:08 was particularly impressive. David Wardrope ran strongly on leg 2 to finish in 19:24, only 11 seconds down on last year. It is great to see Graham Lindsay making most of the races this season. Graham was on leg 3 completing in 18:45. Colin Banks made his first Grand Prix appearance of this year on leg 4 finishing in 20:10.

This was Hugh Simpson's fist time on this course and only his second cross country. A back twinge early on in leg 1 impeded him a bit but he completed in 20:42. The official times are the one's that count and so both Richard Lawton and Russell Couper on leg's 2 and 3 are shown as beating Hugh! However, we must admit that the official times are 1 minute out and so Richard and Russell's times are in fact 20:14 and 21:15 respectively (so Richard does in fact beat Hugh for the first time).

Shock, horror, George Stewart now leads the men's Grand Prix. Just shows what some consistent training and motivation can do.

Well done to all on great performances in difficult conditions. Thanks to Joanne for the following photos and more especially the Calderglen Harriers decorated cup cakes, the only cups we picked up today! More photos here. Photos from Kenny Phillips have now been added to the album.
Alan

National Cross Country Relay Teams

The teams for tomorrow are listed here. Please see Russell's earlier post for details and specifically could the ladies be at Cumbernauld High School for 12:30 (race starts at 1:40) and the men by 1:30 (race starts at 2:40) at the latest. If you arrive outside of these times then Russell will be out on the course with the numbers (usually by one of the large trees on top of the hill near the start/finish area).

There are course maps and, most importantly, road diversion maps on the Scottish Athletics web site here. Note that the course is about 1 mile from the school and there is no car parking at the course, so allow time for a gentle warm-up jog to the course from the school and also a further warm-up on the course.

The Grand Prix and Club Championships are updated at the usual links on the menu to the left.
Alan

Calderglen Harriers AGM 2011

This years AGM will be held on Thursday 24th November 2011 at 8.00pm.
in the main hall in the sports club.

All members welcome to attend.

Details of the AGENDA to follow.

National XC Relays (Cumbernauld)

Alan will post teams in advance on the Blog as usual but if you cant make it let us know asap.
the teams will be selected from the following and there is reserve places available so if any reserves want entered let us know by thursday night by leaving a comment on this blog.
Those entered are.
Ladies.
J Beveridge, J McEvoy, F Maxwell and K Sturgeon.
2 reserve place available and reserve list is G Freeman and M Goldsmith
Men.
R Couper, A Derrick, D Herbertson, J Holmes, E Reid, G Lindsay, S Reilly, H Simpson, G Stewart, C Banks, A Henderson, D Wardrope, M Duthie, A McCaffery and R Lawton.
5 reserve places available and list is C Freeman, N Green, I Hughes, C Jarvie, K Leinster, J McBride, B McDougall, C McDougall, I McKenzie, J McMonagle, S Phimister, G Ramage, D Searil, C Bain. C Steven, G Mullen and S Waugh.
On Saturday if the Ladies could be at the School by 12.30 and men by 1.30 after this time i will be at the course with the numbers and you will have to find me.
Again if you wont be at the school by this time send me a text to let me know your on your way so i can declare the teams.

Russell

Ladies take Silver (Official Times)

Another fine turnout from the harriers in the Lanarkshire Road relays saw our Ladies team take the Silver medals behind a very impressive Cambuslang team but well ahead of the rest of the field.
First leg was run by julie beveridge in 15.29 then Frances on the second leg with 16.16 and the glory leg went to Joanne McEvoy with 15.35. Karen Sturgeon ran a solo leg for the B team in 16.14 edging out Frances's time by 2 secs and fighting for a place in the A team.
The mens race saw a few ties and close times so Alan wont be able to update the GP and scratch championship till we get the official results. The A team ran M Saez 14.34, S Reilly 14.14, J Holmes 14.52 and M Duthie 13.26 place unknown at this time. The B team was S Hill 14.24, G Mullen 15.20, G Stewart 15.22 and A Henderson also 15.22 but when comparing watches Andy wins by 2 hundredths of a second. The C team ran G Lindsay 16.08, D Wardrope also 16.08, H Simpson 17.27 and R Lawton 17.39. Russell ran a solo leg for the D team despite a strained hamstring in 19.08 an improvement of 26 secs on last year so still making progress on the long road back. Their was a few harriers improved on last years times but too many to mention them all. George was also delighted to beat Julie but as we know Julie has the 20 second handicap to be added by the officials.

OFFICIAL RESULTS in. Those affected are:-
G Stewart 15.21, A Henderson 15.23, G Lindsay 16.10 and D Wardrope 16.08

Some more pictures from Frances and Joanne here.

Harriers lift SVHC prizes

The SVHC Run and Become Series Prize winners were presented with their trophies today and the Harriers were well represented. Congratulations to Stuart Waugh who was 2nd overall out of 107 names on the final table. Stuart also won the age category award for 1st M60.

Scot Hill won the M40 age category prize narrowly beating Jim Holmes by 0.7 of a point in the complicated scoring system.

And in another all Harriers tussle Graham Lyndsay came out top in the M45 category, pushing Russell Couper into second place.


Earlier in the day the 2011/12 Series got underway with the first race being the SVHC 10k Track Championships in Coatbridge.
With a brisk wind to be contended with on every one of the twenty-five laps it was a tough run for the Harriers involved.
Stuart Waugh, in his first race since being injured in August finished in 41:42.
Jim Holmes clocked 42:14 with Graham Lindsay completing his first track run in 44:15 and Russell Couper finishing in 54:25.

Lanarkshire Road Relay Teams

The teams for tomorrow's relay are at this link. Please be there for 12:30 at the latest such that Russell can declare the teams, distribute the numbers and do his own warm-up. If you do have to pull out, then please phone or txt Russell before 12:00. Note that I am not in the country, so don't contact me.
Alan

Speed of Light Take 2

Another chance to participate in a rehearsal for Speed of Light, this time at a weekend rather than evening. Please leave a comment on this post if you are interested.
Alan
(NOTE - that I won't be participating in this rehearsal due to the clash with the Scally road relay, so if you are going to SoL, please group together with others to work out travel arrangements)

Dear Runners,

The planning for Speed of Light is well underway and following on from our successful trial runs in August we have started planning our next rehearsal. We are looking for 150 volunteer runners to help us continue to trial routes, movements and other choreography on Arthur’s Seat before the big event next year.

Are you and any of your running enthusiast friends available and willing to take part on Saturday 29^th October 1.30pm – 5.30pm? Those aged 16 or 17 can also take part if they attend with an adult. If so, please reply by Monday 17^thOctober to speedoflight@nva.org.uk

We are also looking for 20 people to stay on after the main rehearsal to try out the new and improved prototype light suits on the hill, so if you are interested in this too, please let us know. This will take place from 6pm – 8pm.

This is your chance to be part of Speed of Light before we launch the runner opportunities nationwide at the end of the month and will mean that you get to register as a runner before anyone else and secure your place in what promises to be the best run of your life!

Please don’t bring any bags, extra clothes, etc. that you will need to leave behind when on the hill as we don’t have the capacity to look after these for you. Don’t forget to dress for the weather! There are facilities nearby to lock up bikes, but please be aware that you will be leaving your bike at your own risk.

We will be meeting on the parade ground on Queen’s Drive at the base of Arthur’s Seat (map attached).

Please feel free to pass this email onto any of your friends or colleagues who you think might be interested in this opportunity (be quick – first come, first served!)

Lanarkshire Road Relays (Drumpellier Park Coatbridge)

Sat 15th Oct is the Lanarkshire Road Relays.
Ladies and Men run together with a start time of 13.15.
Cost is £5/team. Full details here.
I need names by Thursday training or leave your name using this form before then. Here are the names we have so far.

West District Conspiracy Theory

As we all know, the official results are the ones that count. I therefore note that in the official West District XC Relay Senior Women's results, Julie ran 16:41, some 20 seconds faster than she claimed and hence faster than George in the senior men's results (16:47)! Unfortunately, Julie's 20 second gain turned into a 20 second loss for Frances and as this is clearly an error we will stick with the original times. But nice to see that Scottish Athletics are also working on George's motivation.

The missing times from race day are David Herbertson 16:37 and Hugh Simpson 18:55. The men's Grand Prix will be updated soon.

More photos added to the album, this time from Kenny Phillips.
Alan

West District XC Relay Medallists

Driech conditions seem to be suiting the Harriers' veteran men as for the second week in a row we ran in the rain into the medals. With an almost complete change in personnel from last week's team, Scot Hill, Alan Derrick, Jim Holmes and Andy Henderson, club stalwarts one and all, secured the masters bronze medal in the West District Cross Country Relay Championships at Drumpellier Park, Coatbridge. Once again we had to wait until the prize giving to find out if we had won anything as identifying vets teams in the field was difficult. Indeed most of the team were oblivious to the fact that we were even in with a shout and this probably helped the performances as Jim Holmes for one later stated if he had known he may well have bottled it! Scot Hill ran the first leg in 15:54 handing over to Alan Derrick, chasing a Scotland veteran international team qualifying performance with 14:04 in this the first of two trials for the team, a presumably totally relaxed Jim Holmes on leg 3 (16:02) and Andy Henderson on the last leg drawing on his vast experience of this course since his school days(!) bringing the team home in 16:27. I believe this is the first (masters) team medal the Harriers have won at a West District championships (and possibly the second ever team medal, see Chas' and my comments to this post) .

Scot Hill, Andy Henderson, Jim Holmes, Alan Derrick
and race convener Jim Young

Our ladies reverted to the McEvoy/Beveridge/Maxwell line up and again proved to be a very consistent and well matched team. Joanne shed her pink wellies for leg 1 (17:40) before handing on to Julie who had the added pressure of trying not to tie with George for the third week in a row. Clearly there were two ways Julie could handle this, either go for an absolute flier so far out of sight that George would not stand a chance or take a stroll in the park and capitulate. Julie's time was 17:01.......... Frances ran powerfully and pulled in several places with a time of 17:55, her fastest ever 4k cross country time on any course. Well done to the ladies on another fine team performance.

Our second team was led off by our youngest senior member, Stephen Reilly who ran strongly in his first race for a while (15:25) to remain at the top of the Hill/Reilly household. On leg 2 David Herbertson had journey of the day for the second week in a row, following last Saturday's flight in from Singapore to arrive just before the race, this time he had a car break down on the way to Coatbridge from East Kilbride, requiring a phone call to Mrs H and the kids to come and pick him up and bring him to the race just after the start! After all that, David ran without a watch and so no time yet. The logical solution is that David should fly in from Singapore next week too if he wants to get to the race on time. George Stewart was on leg three and feeling the pressure, so much so that only when he took his jacket off to run his leg did he realise he had left his number in the car with no chance of getting it before David came in! Some very understanding stewards allowed George to run without a number and this he did to complete in a great time of  16:48, so Julie's plan seems to have worked. Graham Lindsay had a rare chance to run a cross country and again performed well to finish leg 4 in 17:15.

Ian Rae led off the third team and proved the team selectors wrong running a very competitive 16:30, handing over to David Wardrope (18:02). Watchless Hugh Simpson did his first ever cross country race (what a muddy introduction) on leg 3 before handing over to Russell Couper, who despite carrying a knee injury, finished very strongly indeed in a time of 20:07. Late addition Richard Lawton ran leg 1 in the incomplete fourth team in a time of 18:57.

Well done to all, it was great to see everyone running very strongly on the finishing hill, proving that our recent strength training has not been wasted. Ladies GP and Scratch championships have been updated. The mens' results await the official times. Thanks to Joanne for providing some photos of the proceedings which are here including a couple more from Frances. Thanks to Eddie and Sandra for supporting us all in rain.
Alan