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Sunday 27 November 2011

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

Tuesday 22 November 2011

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

Sunday 20 November 2011

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

Thursday 17 November 2011

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.

Tuesday 15 November 2011

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.

Friday 11 November 2011

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.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

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

Monday 7 November 2011

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

Sunday 6 November 2011

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

Saturday 5 November 2011

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