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Monday 26 November 2012

Brampton Postscript

Now that we have had time to gather breath, a few facts and figures from Brampton.

This year Gerry Mullen and Chas Steven completed their 27th Brampton to Carlisle road races, Gerry 27 in a row and Chas with just one absence last year due to injury. Incredible! Andy Henderson is not far behind with 24 Bramptons.

Karen Allen got within 8 seconds of the club women's Brampton record which has stood for 22 years, recording 67:13. Not only that, Julie Beveridge set the third fastest Calderglen women's time of all time with 68:28 and Joanne McEvoy gained her third entry into the Calderglen top ten with an 8th place spot. Well done to the ladies. Surely new records are on the cards for next year. I won't dwell on the men (no top ten records since 1998 - we need some young guns :-)).
Ladies
Rank Time Year
1 Amanda Brunjes 01:07:05  1990
2 Karen Allen01:07:13         2012
3 Julie Beveridge 01:08:28        2012
4 Joanne McEvoy 01:08:31         2007
5 Joanne McEvoy 01:08:50         2010
6 Melanie Fraser 01:09:03        2004
7 Frances Maxwell 01:10:38        2011
8 Joanne McEvoy 01:11:14        2012
9 Karen Allen 01:11:15        2011
10 Frances Maxwell 01:11:46        2008

This year, excluding those running Brampton for the first time, 6 pb's were set (previous pb in brackets): Karen Allen 67:13 (71:15), Julie Beveridge 68:28 (72:37), David Herbertson 66:13 (67:10), Kenny Leinster 69:26 (70:54), John McBride 73:52 (74:44) and Stephen Phimister 66:06 (66:49).

Four Harriers took part in Brampton for the first time: Christina Emans 92:02, Alison Lessells 78:11, Phil Marshall 78:37, Stevie McIntyre 83:30.

Multiple 10-mile performance award standards were achieved. Watch this space for an update soon.

Well done to all 28 Harriers who kept the tradition going this year.

Alan

Monday 19 November 2012

BRAMPTON RACE REPORT

We had 30 runners from the bus plus D Herbertson making his way by car taking part this year. One other did make his way to Carlisle by foot (Jamie) and im sure all the runners appreciated the vocal support from Maud, Irene, Stephanie and Scot cheering us in at the finish. Full results can be found on the sportsoft website or via the Border Harriers website as their are too many to type but congratulations to all who took part. A few that have to be mentioned are Louise Beveridge who took 4th Lady, Frances Maxwell took 3rd L45, S Waugh took 1st M60 and Billy Buchanan took 3rd M60.
Calderglen Ladies were 4th Ladies team with the men taking 8th team and 7th male Vet team.
Refreshments were enjoyed in Carlisle before heading to Moffat for a fantastic meal and you could tell we all enjoyed it as every plate was cleared. A good day out again and many thanks to Eddie for securing us a good bus deal and to everyone who came along and made it another special day in the history of Calderglen Harriers.

Russell

Saturday 17 November 2012

POSPONEMENT OF AGM

Apologies again but the Sports Club are having their AGM on the 6th Dec and therefore we shall have to have it on Monday the 10th. Again training will now be at 7pm on this date.  
Due to unforeseen work commitments the AGM has been postponed from Monday 3rd Dec and moved to Thursday 6th Dec.
Training will be at 7pm instead of 7.30pm and the AGM @ 8.30pm.
Apologies for any inconvenience.

Thursday 15 November 2012

BRAMPTON

This Sunday is Brampton day and the bus will depart at 8.00am prompt DONT BE LATE.
The bus will go direct to Brampton (no stops) so bring something to eat and drink.
The race starts at 11.30am. Those not running be on the bus at 11.20 to go to Carlisle.otherwise you will have to walk.
We will depart Carlisle at 15.30 to go to Moffat for dinner.
Depart Moffat approx 19.30 to head back to the sports club.

Monday 12 November 2012

WEST DISTRICT XC (GREENOCK ravenscraig sports centre)

This years west district xc is on 8th Dec at Greenock.
This is GP event no 9
The course is several miles from registration and no parking is available at the course.
Transport will be provided but you will need to be able to arrive in plenty of time.
Distance is 6.4k for ladies and 10k for men.
Cost is £4.50 per head.
Start times are 1pm for ladies and 2pm for men.
Please leave your names on this form. Names received so far are here.
Names required by Monday 19th Nov.

Sunday 11 November 2012

National 4k Cross Country


Another nice day greeted a large contingent of Harriers contesting race 6 in our Grand Prix series, the National 4km Cross Country Championships at Bellahouston Park. Typically the course was soft underfoot but not as soft as last year, so perfect for fast running. Our ladies were off first and once again were racing hard. Julie Beveridge made the break from the start and finished very strongly in 17:23. As the course reverted to its usual circuit this year, we cannot directly compare times with last year but the time did give Julie 31st position out of a field of 60. Joanne McEvoy chased hard and was close behind Julie for the first lap but dropped back a little on the second lap to finish in 18:31 in 41st. Frances Maxwell had tackled the somewhat hillier Tinto Hill Race the day before and began to feel the pain in the quads on the second lap but nevertheless kept the pace going to finish in 18:53. Joanne leads the Grand Prix whilst Julie leads the scratch championship.

In the men's race, the club were well represented with 13 Harriers competing. Andrew McCaffery cycled over to the race and was well warmed up for an excellent 14:56 finish, running strongly throughout. Martin Duthie is just getting his speedy legs back again after the marathon and despite a calf twinge finished the race in 15:09. Stephen Reilly extended his lead in both the Grand Prix and Scratch Championships with a competitive 15:24. Eddie Reid was clear of his club mates and looked strong, finishing in 16:09. Andy Henderson reversed recent trends to lead in Jim Holmes in 16:43 compared to Jim's 16:47. David Herbertson had just returned from altitude (I won't say training) in South Africa and was positively choking on the thick air at Bellahouston, finishing in his usual committed style in a time of 17:09. George Stewart was happy enough with his run and please to be closing in on Julie for the first time in a while, with a time of 17:42. Richard Lawton is having his best season so far and looked very comfortable, finishing in 19:07, ahead of David Wardrope in 19:14. Not far back, John McBride is quickly adapting to his first season of cross country, finishing in 19:22. Hugh Simpson was even more relaxed (to the extent that he forgot to bring his trail shoes and was running in trainers) but finished with his usual smile in 19:53. Finally Russell Couper is still struggling but got around in 22:43.

Well done to all. More photos here. Some great action shots of the men's race taken by Frances now added to the album 12/11/12.
Alan

Saturday 10 November 2012

TINTO HILL RACE

Four Harriers headed for the hills today for the Tinto hill race. For those that dont know Tinto is one of only two volcano's in Scotland but luckily enough for the runners today there was no eruptions as its been dorment for several hundred years. As they set off you could see the cairn on top of the hill but as a spit of rain started the top became shrouded in mist which came down a bit further as they reached the top. The winner from Shettleston was up and down in just over 32 mins not bad for a 4.4ml race with a 1500 ft climb. Kenny Leinster came in 46mins dead but running as a Lomond Hill Runner today so cant count as the first harrier to finish. Frances Maxwell wasnt far behind in 49.01 to claim the first harrier spot. Chas Steven doing this for the third year in a row took over 4mins off his previous best to record 54.10. David Searil wasnt far behind to clock 58.19 so all Harriers in under the hour. The course itself is very muddy on the bottom half and stoney trail on the top half so needless to say on the descent there was a few slips towards the bottom. Great event to watch as you can see the train of runners most of the way up then you dont have too long to wait till the leaders approach the finish. Well done to our four adventurers.

British & Irish Masters Cross Country - Belfast

A Titanic but not unexpected disappointment for me today in this, my 4th appearance in a Scotland vest. A change of venue from Stormont to Queens University playing fields should have suited me as it was a fast, 4 lap course totalling 8km. Each lap took in the perimeter of 3 playing fields, each on a different level with steep, very muddy banks to negotiate. Imagine Brancumhall but with 2 to 3 times higher banks but similar degrees of quagmire on the soft bits. Lovely! I was in the final international race covering the M35, M40 and M45 categories and having missed 2 weeks of training completely with injury and sporadic training since September with a lower back injury, I knew I could be in trouble. With 6 per country per age group giving a field of 90, my only option was to start off cautiously and see if I could work my way through. The cautious start went to plan as I immediately found myself second last but unfortunately that is where I stayed until with one and a half laps to go I managed to ease past a team mate and hold on to third last but still 4th counter for the team (we had a DNS due to flu). My worst ever race result and as Russell said to me on Thursday, now you know how I feel! Scotland did have successes in other age groups, particularly F50 and multiple world record holder Fiona Mathieson who won her category out the park and was 5th overall in the F35 to F60 race. Phenomenal.

As for me, it was perhaps an omen that I forgot to bring my watch, so no time to report. And the message is that at this level, any missed training, injuries or illness and you will be found out. So either shape up or ship out (but maybe not on the Titanic, the exhibition of which is well worth a visit by the way).
Alan


Friday 9 November 2012

Bella XC Travel Arrangements

Some will be meeting go leave the Sports Club at 11am on Sunday to share cars to the race. For those going direct, please try to be at Bellahouston for around 11:30 where Russell will have your numbers.
Alan.

Monday 5 November 2012

Harriers Christmas Dinner Dance

Calderglen's social event of the year takes place on the evening of Saturday 8th December at the Sports Club from 6:30pm. A two course dinner will be served followed by the entertainment, a DJ this year,  for the price of only £7.50 per person. The main course is home made steak pie. Tickets on sale on club nights from Eddie who will be glad to sell you as many tickets as you want! Harriers, families and friends welcome.
Alan

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This years AGM will be on Monday 3rd December immediately after training (training will start a half hour early at 7pm).
Please make an effort to attend as it is your club.
If anyone wants to consider taking on any of the committee posts then please let any present committee member know as we are quite happy for the committee to be freshened up.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Malcolm Buchanan - Lifetime Honorary Member

A packed East Kilbride Sports Club was the venue for an evening of fine company for the Harriers to say farewell to Malcolm before he emigrates to New Zealand this week. Malcolm has inspired many, organised gladly, competed as hard as anyone and presided proudly as past club president in his 25 years at the Harriers. To round the evening off and much to Malcolm's surprise, we ceremoniously tore up his official resignation letter and replaced it with a lifetime honorary membership of Calderglen Harriers. Malcolm is pictured receiving his membership certificate and card from club president, Frances Maxwell. We collectively wish Malcolm and Carolyn continued health and fitness in their new home. A few photos from the evening are here.
Alan

Allan Scally Road Relay 2012

Twelve Harriers plus supporters descended on Baillieston's tented village on Saturday afternoon for the annual Allan Scally Road Relay. Disappointingly, the field in this once blue ribband event on the Scottish winter racing season continued its recent decreasing trend with perhaps only around 30 teams lining up on the leafy start line. Despite the small field, there were however a relatively high percentage of Olympic athletes present, with Eilish McColgan on duty for Dundee Hawkhill. Irrespective, the Harriers continue to support this event, especially as the new course provides an interesting and safe challenge to the runners both male and female and an ideal race in terms of distance and surface 2 weeks ahead of our Brampton assault. The new club tent was resplendent in the Autumn sunshine and provided a comfortable base and good publicity for the club.

Frances Maxwell was our only lady competing today but this would help even out the already close Grand Prix and Scratch championships. With such a small field, even the first leg was a lonely place to be and Frances came in relatively isolated in a time of 34:05 for the 4.8 mile leg. A good warm-up for the South Side Six, 16 mile race the following day!

The vets A team were mostly quite evenly matched on paper and it was going to be interesting to see how the times compared on this longest race of the season so far. David Herbertson took on the first leg and ran strongly, maintaining very good form to the finish in a time of 31:23, 2 seconds faster than last year. However, Stephen Reilly was leading out the B team and arrived back first in a time of 29:38, giving Stephen the happy situation of leading both the Grand Prix and the Scratch Championships. John McBride had his first time on the first leg of a relay and the first time at this event. However, John did not get the usual first leg advantage due to the lack of teams, so it was still very much a solo effort to finish in 35:31.

Leg 2 for the Vets team was assigned to Andy Henderson, who was trying to close an almost 2 minute deficit to our B team. Andy finished in 31:52. However Stuart Waugh is an optimal road runner rather than cross country and so improved on last weeks situation by finishing only seconds down on Andy in 32:04. A not well Russell Couper had what he described as his worst run ever to finish in 43:11.

On Leg 3, Eddie Reid still had a job to do to close the still close to 2 minute gap to George Stewart. Afterwards, George commented that all the young guys were flying past him and by the finish line, it was clear that one of them was Eddie, who overturned the deficit to finish in 30:34, also 2 seconds faster than last year, compared to George's 34:10. Hugh Simpson was returning from illness and looked to be back to his usual self, finishing in a well paced 36:59.

Jim Holmes was on the last leg and felt he had a good run but was disappointed with his time of 32:22, which was around 40 seconds down on last year. David Wardrope still has a lingering, heavy cold and the resulting missed training is having some impact. David finished in 35:04, but only around 15 seconds down on last year.

In the final results, the Vets A team were 4th vets team, this being quite a competitive category in the small field.

Thanks to all our supporters for their presence on a cold afternoon and for the team effort setting up and packing away the club tent. Further photos of everyone here.

BRAMPTON TO CARLISLE 2012

UPDATED 04/11/2012
I need entry forms and payment returned by 5th November at the latest and there are still a number of names on the list that have not confirmed if they could let us know if they are still going. Places are still available so please let me know if you wish to go.
This years race will be held on a Sunday 18th Nov with an earlier start and is a Harriers Grand Prix race as usual. There will be a change to the start time too now at 11:30. The probable format will be leaving EK about 8:00 with no stop going direct to Brampton, racing then a couple of hours in Carlisle then Moffat for dinner at 5pm returning to the sports club about 8pm.
As we have had enough interest the bus has been booked and we shall be going. Could those that have indicated their interest confirm there place with a payment of £15 and if we get enough confirmations going this will include a discount against your dinner. You can still put your names on this form. to indicate your interest but it will still be payment secures place. The names received so far are listed here. If your names on the list but no longer wish to be included please let us know by leaving a comment on this Blog. I will bring entry forms to the Club for you to fill out and if you return them to me by 5th Nov we will enter a block and recieve a discount that will help with the bus cost.  Alternatly you can click on this link and print the form youself and bring it along to the club for me http://borderharriers.co.uk/app/webroot/uploads/File/B2C-2012-entry-form.pdf Cost is £14 for SAL members and £16 for non members.



Thanks
Russell

Friday 2 November 2012

Scally Teams 2012

Early November so it must be time for a trip to Baillieston! Teams for Saturday are listed here. The first legs are off at 2pm and teams need to be declared by 1:30pm at the latest. If you are on a later leg and are arriving after the start, then we will assume you are coming but if you have any delays, then please get in touch with Russell or I well in advance to reduce the panic! Similarly, if you are not listed on the team sheets but would like a run, please get in touch with Russell or I before 1pm and we will fit you in as it is entries on the day (£4/person).

Registration, changing and refreshments are at Bannerman High School, Glasgow Road, Baillieston G69 7NS as shown in the map below. The race start is about a half mile further West in the park just off Mount Vernon Avenue.
Alan


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