MASTERS XC CHAMPIONSHIP (KIRKALDY)

This saturday sees the Masters XC in Kirkaldy. Race start times are 1:30pm for women and 2:15pm for men.Arrangements will be made at the club this week for travel arrangements.
Those running are R COUPER, A DERRICK, D WATT, A HENDERSON, S WAUGH, M DUTHIE and F MAXWELL

Russell

Bellahouston 4k XC and parkrun

There were a few of our younger Harriers also in action over the weekend. Joanne McEvoy kept the Harriers' ever present record intact at the National 4k Cross Country Championship in Bellahouston Park this afternoon, covering the course in 17:11. Meanwhile on Saturday Julie Beveridge and John McBride (OK, maybe not one of our younger Harriers) were at the Pollok Park parkrun joining a record field of 370 on the 5k course. Julie set a time of 22:04, only 8 seconds outside her best whilst John was 24:21. Well done to all.

Alan

Masters Road Relay 2011

Updated with official times, positions and more photos added to the album courtesy of Kenny Phillips. Plenty of photos of the Harriers on the excellent www.roadrunpics.com web site.
A record field of masters runners faced a bitterly cold 3.7 mile lap  of Strathclyde Park loch and the odd unappreciative pedestrian in today's LSK Masters Road Relay Championship. The separation of the men's race into an M35 and M50 team category for the first time certainly boosted the numbers and possibly also the quality with many of the top M50 + runners in evidence this year.

We fielded a strong ladies team with Genevieve Freeman leading us out in a time of 27:06, an improvement of 5 seconds on last year, handing over to Mary Goldsmith. Mary had somehow managed to avoid running this one in previous years and so was facing somewhat unknown territory, especially on the undulating back section of the course. Mary ran a fine 27:26 before Frances Maxwell set off on the final leg. Frances covered the course in 26:04, 12 seconds faster than last year. The final team position was 10th.

This is the first time we have been able to put an M50 team into any event and each of the 4 men tasked with this performed well. M60 Stuart Waugh was first off for the M50 team and ran an excellent 23:56, only 4 seconds outside last years time. Gerry Mullen hasn't been racing much but was known to be in good form in training and did not disappoint with a time of 24:35. Kenny Leinster has been tempted off the hills onto the roads again and faced a much flatter relay than last weekend (Devil's Burden!) setting a debut time of 24:07. Andy Henderson put in another strong performance but just missed out on last year's time by 11 seconds, finishing in 23:52. The team finished 7th in a very strong M50 field.

We had three teams in the M35+ category. Colin Freeman led the first team out for the second year in a row, set off at a more conservative pace this year but still finished in a similar time of 21:55, only 8 seconds outside last year. Colin Bain made his relay debut and set a very impressive time of 21:17 on leg 2. Eddie Reid is getting back to form after going through a bad spell late last year. His time of 22:30 was only 17 seconds down on last year. Martin Duthie made it to the course this year which guaranteed that he would be faster. Unfortunately some watch stopping difficulties mean that he could only estimate his time to be an impressive 20:50 (confirmed) bringing the team up from 10th to 8th in the M35 category.

The second M35 team comprised Mark Saez, a relay first timer, on leg 1 (23:38), Graham Lindsay who felt that he misjudged the early pace on leg 2 which would have affected his time (25:38), the timeless David Herbertson (24:12) on leg 3 and the equally timeless Scot Hill (23:42) on the last leg. The third team was incomplete but nevertheless, George Stewart put everything in to the first leg with a finishing time of 25:31, 1 second faster than last year but some minutes outside his "bronze medal winning time" of a few years back. Colin Banks had a strong finish to leg 2 with a time of 25:43, giving Russell Couper some runners to compete against on leg 3. Unusually Russell failed to start his watch until some distance after the start, so his estimated time of 30 to 31 is in the same ball park as last year's time and he certainly appeared to be running well. The official time for Russell was 30:42.

Thanks to all our supporters on this very cold day; Sandra, Neil and the Herbertson clan! Photos of some of you in action here.

Alan

LSK Masters Relay Teams

We have one complete ladies team and  4 complete men's teams, including an M50 team. The teams and running order are at this link. A great turnout from the Harriers despite many of us having fallen victim to the winter bugs, injuries and the tennis. A group are leaving from the Sports Club at 10am. The race starts at 11am. Look out for me or Russell in the water sports centre at Strathclyde Park to collect your numbers and final confirmation of running order (we have one empty men's team entered, so if any of the many reserves wish a run, please leave a comment or turn up sharp tomorrow so we can put that team together).

Alan

LSK MASTERS RELAY

This Sunday sees the masters relay at Strathclyde park starting at 11:00am
The following are entered and the teams running order will be selected on Saturday from these names and posted on the Blog so if you cant make it let myself or Alan know either by phone or by comment on this Blog.
If you havnt already confirmed could you also do this by leaving a comment on this Blog remember to leave your name.
G FREEMAN confirmed (1st leg), M GOLDSMITH confirmed, F MAXWELL confirmed.
R COUPER confirmed, E REID confirmed, S WAUGH confirmed,
G STEWART confirmed, C BANKS confirmed, A HENDERSON confirmed,
C BAIN confirmed, M SAEZ confirmed, D HERBERTSON confirmed,  G LINDSAY (confirmed - early leg), M DUTHIE confirmed, S HILL confirmed, C FREEMAN confirmed (1st leg), K LEINSTER confirmed, G MULLEN confirmed.

Russell

Calderglen Young Athletes Blog Launched!

A separate blog specifically for our Young Athletes section has been launched this evening. The address to bookmark (its also in the menu on the left) is:

http://calderglenjuniors.blogspot.com/

This is intended for the coaches, helpers and office bearers to relay information to the young athletes and parents without it getting lost or hidden away amongst all of our senior Harriers ramblings.

Enjoy!
Alan

Grand Prix Update after Race 9

The Grand Prix and Club Championships have been updated following the West XC. Next Grand Prix race is the National XC, entries for which close with Russell on Monday 24th January, i.e. tomorrrow, so please leave a comment on the blog or see Russell at the club. There were many very strong runs from club members at the West XC so lets build on that for the National.

Alan

NATIONAL XC (FALKIRK)

The National XC will take place on Sat 19th Feb at Falkirk
The cost is £4.50 per head.
Distance is 8K for Ladies and 12K for Men
I need names by Monday 23rd Jan so please leave your name on this Blog or see me at the club on the 23rd as i wont be at the club this week
Names so far are:-R COUPER, D HERBERTSON, A DERRICK, E REID, S HILL, D WARDROPE, C STEVEN, I RAE, J HOLMES, A HENDERSON, G STEWART, C BAIN, S WAUGH, C FREEMAN, M DUTHIE, K LEINSTER, G MULLEN, F MAXWELL, J McEVOY, M GOLDSMITH.
entries now CLOSED the above have been entered.
If your names not on the list either leave a comment on the Blog or see me Mon 24th at training otherwise you will be too late.
When leaving a comment please leave your name as writing me too doesnt tell me who you are.

Russell

West XC

Most of the Calderglen Men's Team (note that David Herbertson was still rowing from Arran at this time)

I think everyone was desperate for a snow and ice free race today, resulting in large fields at both the ladies' and men's West District Cross Country Championship at Irvine Royal Academy. A full race report will follow when the official results are published but in the meantime enjoy these photos from Joanne and Frances. Click here for the album. Many more photos added to the album today, courtesy of Kenny Phillips and Frances. Some of the provisional results are published now here. Ladies results missing at the moment.


Perfect, firm running conditions greeted the large field of juniors through to veterans contesting the West District XC Championships. Our senior ladies were represented by Frances Maxwell and, making her first appearance at an individual cross country race, Julie Beveridge. Although Julie took an early lead, Frances came through strongly and pulled away on the second lap. Finishing times for the 6.4km course to be confirmed.

A fantastic turnout from our men in the final race of the day saw around a dozen Harriers line up in the field of 200. This race covered 3 laps of the course, totalling 9.6km. The early pace was fast as is usual for these events but the experienced heads of the Harriers were all having their own races against regular rivals and did not get carried away. Alan Derrick ran a well paced race, gradually picking off runners throughout the race to finish 48th (9th vet) in a time of 34:33. Colin Freeman hasn't raced for a while but has plenty of stamina so actually felt stronger as the race progressed, finishing in 38:30 with Eddie Reid not so far behind in 38:57. Places changed regularly amongst the next group of Harriers but in the end Ian Rae came out well on top with a time of 40:33, minutes faster than the last time he raced here. Jim Holmes (40:59) out sprinted early leader of the group Andy Henderson (41:01) resuming a regular habit of finishing close to each other. David Herbertson had allegedly rowed over from Arran that morning due to ferry cancellations and was just in the wake of Jim and Andy, finishing in 41:03. If only he had an outboard motor! Stuart Waugh completed the group and was within sight of them with a time of 41:21. George Stewart is genuinely getting back into some consistent running form and was pleased with his time of 44:17. David Wardrope (49:53) admitted to not having done much training during the snowy weather but is now on the road back with this race under his belt. Finally Russell Couper found it hard going but was again considerably faster than his previous outing on this course, finishing in 53:17.

Well done to all and thanks to our vocal supporters, Maud and Joanne. A special congratulations to former Harrier Stuart Gibson, who finished 4th overall and 3rd senior, an incredible progression in only a few years.

Alan

Young Athletes - Fees for 2011

It has been decided that for 2011 the following fees will be charged for young athletes :

1. An initial payment of £15. This will give the young athlete membership of East Kilbride Sports Club. Calderglen Harriers are a member section of the sports club whose management committee have kindly allowed us use of the club for a nominal sum for a number of years to allow us to build up a young athletes section. However it is now not financially or legally viable to do continue with this.

2. From May onwards (but excluding December) a charge of £1 per young athlete for training. This money will also be used to subsidise the purchase of club merchandise (eg t shirts, waterproof jackets and vests). The committe of Calderglen Harriers is currently pursuing other sources of income which may help us with the development of the young athletes of our club.
3. The £15 fee does not apply to those who have a family membership of the sports club as this cost is covered within that fee.
4. If you have more than one child attending you can spread the cost over January to the first week in March. Cheques should be made payable to "Calderglen Harriers" . Please put the name of the young athlete (s) on the reverse side of the cheque. Cash payment is also accepted.

I am sure that you will all agree that even with these changes the club offers excellent training in terms of health and wellbeing at a reasonable cost in comparison to other sports.

If anyone has any queries please do not hesitate to ask myself or any coach/helper on a Wednesday night.

WEST DISTRICT XC (Royal Acadamy Irvine)

This Sunday sees the rearranged West District XC Championship.
Could the Ladies be there for 12:15 at the latest for declarations and the race starts at 1:05pm
Could the men be there for 1:10 at the latest for declarations and the race starts at 2;00pm
Some are leaving as a group from the club at 12:00 if anyone needs a lift.
Those entered are R COUPER, A DERRICK, I RAE, G STEWART, C STEVEN, E REID, D WARDROPE, D HERBERTSON, J HOLMES, S WAUGH, A HENDERSON, G RAMAGE, C FREEMAN, K LEINSTER, C BANKS, F MAXWELL, J McEVOY, J BEVERIDGE and M GOLDSMITH.

I will pick up the numbers at be at the course so if you cant make it leave a comment on this Blog

Russell
P.S. Can those still to pay please bring your £4.00 with you

Callander Crags Race

Cresting the summit of the Crags.

Wonderful Winter weather on Saturday made for the most picturesque conditions I can remember in the 15 official (and dozens of unofficial) Crags races I have participated in since my school days. Last year ice on the lower paths caused the race to be cancelled  but an overnight fall of snow saved the day this year, providing some grip on top of the ice. Despite feeling my age and a lot of miles in my legs the past two weeks, I still managed to get to the top second out of the 40 starters where a nip of whisky was available to those who had time. Wearing number 13, I thought it best to take a cautious approach on the scary (for me) bit of the descent and promptly lost three places. The less scary part of the descent was snow on top of black ice on top of tarmac and on this surface I could run properly, soon overhauling one runner and closing on the next two. The course then levels and climbs on a narrow icy path through the woods and here I made up another place. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared to take any risks on the final slippery descent to the finish despite another place being within reach and so third place was where I remained. The time of 29:02 was surprisingly my slowest ever (by a couple of minutes); it didn't feel that bad! John Stevenson of Ochill Hill Runners won the race, 90 seconds or so ahead of me.

This really is a race for all the family organised by a family, the Johnston family. So a big thanks to Sheila, Alastair, Sally, Richard and all the marshals for their hard work on the day.

Alan

Next 4 Grand Prix Races

Given the weather and the high probability of road race cancellation, the next 4 races are well spread out, focussing on West and National XC's for January and February, the re-scheduled Jack Crawford 10k and, for the first time, the Alloa Half Marathon for March, leaving a few weeks to recover before the 6-stage road relays. Details of all these races are on the Scottish Athletics web site and are also listed here.

Alan

Springburn Cup POSTPONED

The Springburn cup due to be run on 15th Jan has been postponed till the 12th March due to considerable ice in the tow paths.
Anyone that was going to do this race should keep an eye on Springburn Harriers website

25 years and still running...

We have now distributed two batches of our 25th Anniversary book "25 years and still running..." to all those who had pre-ordered copies. This means a total of 30 copies have been passed on with the exceptions below who can collect their copy from David Herbertson the next time they are at training or a race.

Martin Duthie
Don Kennedy
Alan Cullie
Brian McDougall
David Dickson
Alison Crooks

A third batch will be ordered up shortly however could anyone who wishes to have a copy ordered for them please either post a note here requesting a copy, or let David Herbertson know. £10 should be paid to Russell for your copy of the book (including postage).

If you would prefer to order online yourself, please order using the URL below:

http://www.blurb.com/books/1662323

This will also allow you to preview 15 of the 60 pages.

MASTERS XC CHAMPIONSHIP (KIRKALDY)

This years masters XC championship will be held in Kirkaldy on the 5th Feb.
If anyone wishes to be entered for this you must let me know by 13th Jan.
The event is open to over 40s only (male and female).
cost is £4.50 per head.
Let me know at the club or with a comment on this Blog.

Russell

Nigel Barge 10k Postponed

An email from www.maryhillharriers.com has been sent adviseing that the above race sheduled for Saturday 8th January 2011 has been postponed due to the weather and footpath conditions.
It has been rescheduled to Saturday 5th March 2011 at the same venue.
More information is available on the Maryhill Harriers web site.

Pub Run Report

A big thanks to Russell, Eddie and Scot for organising another very enjoyable pub run and to the 17 Harriers who turned out, making this the biggest pub run yet. The traditional route was followed around 6 pubs, starting with The Stroud Inn, 1.5 miles into the run where the Harriers instantly quadrupled the customers present.

Russell was despatched early with the order for pub number two at Whitehills a further third of a mile away. However when the main pack arrived at Whitehills, Russell greeted us with the disappointing news that the pub was shut! Disaster was averted when a few of the members noted that the neighbouring Indian restaurant had a bar and an advance party was despatched to clear the way. Resisting the temptation to order food, the round was completed and the Harriers hit the road again but not before Frances had toured the premises in anticipation of a possible Harriers' social event here.

It was now snowing hard and a small herd of reindeer behind Whitehills farm completed the winter scene.  The longest leg out to Auldhouse (1.6 miles) was into driving snow the whole way and fair stung the face but as always was an enjoyable run in the country. We were greeted with good humour by the staff and customers at the Auldhouse Arms. Surprisingly, good ideas were now starting to flow and to take the pressure off Russell, the order for the next round was phoned ahead to Langlands club house. A further plan for a variation on a summer event was also hatched (watch this space).

On leaving Auldhouse the roads were covered in a few centimetres of fresh snow providing perfect running conditions. So although the in-pub pace was slowing, the running speed picked up. With wind assistance, Martin and I hit 5:35/mile pace for the 1.1 mile stretch to Langlands, towing Julie's visiting sister along with us. Not only was this an impressive pace for 3 pubs into the run but also the fact that Martin was wearing jeans (having forgotten his tracksters) meant that another pb could be claimed (fastest mile in jeans).

The plan had worked to perfection and the round was already lined up when we arrived at Langlands, a very nice club house indeed. My memory is starting to fail me from this point on for some reason but we did eventually leave Langlands and ran at a more sedate pace to New Farm about 1.3 miles away. Then it was the final, half mile downhill stretch to our club house for the 6th and final round, where, once showered and changed, a very nice evening was had by all.

Normal training resumes Thursday!

Alan

Young Athletes Training

Training recommences on Wednesday 5 January at 6.30 pm. Subscriptions for 2011 will be £15 which will give the young athletes membership of East Kilbride Sports Club who have kindly given us use the function suite for a nominal sum over the past few years. If paying by cheque please put the name of the young athlete on the reverse side. At a later date, after the schools' spring break, we will charge £1 per youg athlete for training. This money is used to help develop this section.
If you are about to take out a family membership of EK Sports Club ( please see previous blog) the £15 charge does not apply.

Festive Pub run

This years Festive pub run will be on Monday 3rd Jan
Be ready to run at 6.30pm (dont be late) and the run will take approx 2.5hrs with a few stops along the way.
the run as usual will be done at a relaxed leisurely pace as this is a social event and not a training run.
If you have a small torch or head torch bring this along.
Remember to bring money for your liquid refreshment.
Dont be put off if you dont want to drink (you wont be forced)teetotallers welcome.