Christmas Handicap - Good Elf Wins

Blustery but thankfully dry conditions greeted the Harriers who made an early start to take part in the annual 4 mile Christmas Handicap around the grounds of Calderglen Country Park. A more accurate long-term forecast may well have caused a few of the Harriers to re-think their fancy dress but in the absence of that, some very non-aerodynamic Harriers battled against the strong winds.

For the second year in a row, our up and coming youngsters triumphed, with the world's tallest elf Craig Stewart finishing first (27:28), closely followed by a (football) focused Mark McQuaid (28:14) in second place and glam rocker Alison Lessells (27:56) in third (I am including Alison in the up and coming youngsters category too). Jim "Zorro" Holmes continued his tradition of being armed and dangerous on the handicap, finishing fourth in the fastest time of the day (26:37). A very close group followed, lead by Richard Lawton (29:52), taking the kilt and braces approach to ensure victory (it won't happen again) over daughter Emma (27:06). In Emma's defense, she did lose some time playing the Santa's Little Helper role to perfection, stopping to pull the mummified Kenny Leinster out of a bush after he had tripped over a loose bandage. Joanne McEvoy managed to remain glamorous throughout (28:33) despite being chased to the line by a skeleton in the shape of Andy Henderson (27:02). Rock 'n' Roll Ruth Kelly had her first experience of the Christmas handicap, finishing in 34:24, whilst Kenny "The Mummy" Leinster was somewhat unraveled when he crossed the line (31:06). Jim Mearns clearly did have a Scooby what to  Doo (31:54), impressively out-sprinting a Penguin shaped Frances Maxwell (33:16) on the line. David Herbertson was about the only harrier who would not be blown off his feet, running as a well ballasted Santa (30:29). Final finisher and chapping from start to finish was Eddie Reid in the shape of a domino. Non-finishers were Russell Couper making a very convincing appearance as an injured athlete and Billy "Indiana" Buchanan who's injured hamstring may well have survived had he swapped his whip for some of Kenny Leinster's bandages. Full results are here.

Finally, a big thanks to Martin Duthie and family for the donations to charity awarded to the first three finishers in memory of the Christmas Handicap's biggest fan, Margaret Ann.
Alan