Allan Scally Relay Teams

Teams for tomorrow are listed here. Could everyone be there by 1pm to pay your entry fee to Russell (we can't enter the teams until we have all the cash) and then to collect your number from Russell. The race starts at 2pm. Each leg is 4.8 miles. The registration is at Bannerman High School as usual:

BANNERMAN HIGH SCHOOL
BAILLIESTON
GLASGOW G69 7NS

Further details of the course at the link in the post below.
Alan

Allan Scally Relay - New Start Time

Race starts at the earlier time of 2pm. Further details of location and course here.
Alan

The Alan Scally Road Relay

The Alan Scally Road Relay will again be on the roads round Mount Vernon.
To be held on the 1st Nov starting at 2pm
This is legs of 4.8 miles each.
4 legs for men and 3 for Ladies.
cost TBC but probably about £5 each.
I need names by training on Thursday 30th Oct.
If you wish entered add your name HERE.
Those already entered are listed HERE.

BRAMPTON TO CARLISLE 10miler

This years race is on Sunday 16th Nov at 11.30am.
We will again be running a bus leaving at 8.00am and returning to the Sports Club approx. 8.30pm.
For those new to this we head to Brampton for warm up before start and on arriving at the finish in Carlisle we will be met by the bus and there is changing and showers available in the sports centre. We shall then depending how fast you run have a couple of hours in Carlisle which most people spend in a nice little hostelry over the road from the finish. We then head to The Star Hotel in Moffat for dinner before heading back to East Kilbride.
This is as usual a Grand Prix race
Cost is £15 for the bus and entry fee is £14 attached and £16 unattached.
As usual non runners and spectators are welcome on the bus.

Places on the bus will be confirmed on receipt of £15
Entry forms are on the link below and I need form to me by training on Thursday 30th Oct

Entry forms
http://borderharriers.co.uk/app/webroot/uploads/File/B2C-2014-entry-form.pdf

Russell

Wild and Windy in Cumbernauld

The weather had to break eventually and you could bet it would happen at Cumbernauld. The club tent was a necessity here despite the fact it was in danger of taking off in the blustery conditions. The club were well represented by an M50 team of 3, and M40 team of 4, a mixed team and Russell on a solo leg. The team with the strongest chance of a medal was our M50 team. Martin Duthie was our fastest runner of the day and took the team out to 6th M50 team on the first leg in a fine 16:03. Andrew McCaffery got the worst of the weather on leg 2 as the rain joined the 20 mph winds and the field became more spread out. All the same, Andrew ran a very competitive time of 16:26. Eddie Reid certainly did not have this weather on holiday in Spain the other week and, in his first short race for a while, kept the team in a fine 8th place with a time of 17:19.

Our next team was entered in the M40 category run over 4 legs. Andy Henderson was out on the first leg despite being several age categories beyond M40 and in his first race since a hamstring injury, he ran a cautious 18:23. Jim Holmes has been well raced recently and is coming into good form, finishing in 18:02. David Herbertson is just back from India, so could be excused for not being totally fresh for this one. However, David reverted to his old habit of tying with someone else in the club, finishing in exactly the same time as Andy Henderson, 18:23. Finally, Alan Derrick continued his attempted come back to form on a relatively lonely final leg in 16:24.

Andy Buchanan was on first leg for the mixed team and would have had a really competitive run in this strong field. Unfortunately, the mysteries of Cumbernauld's road network defeated him and he never quite made it to the course. Nevertheless, everyone shuffled up one place and got a run. After the race we found out that Grand Prix leader Hugh Simpson had actually been sick for 4 days and this explains why he was walking up some of the steeper hills, finishing in 21:46. Definitely not his usual self but taking the lead in the Grand Prix none the less. Richard Lawton was trialling new trail shoes which seemed to work well for him, finishing in 19:48. Jim Mearns was using this as a training run prior to a significantly tougher ultra next weekend and was a welcome addition to the team at the last minute, grabbing some useful Grand Prix points to finish in 19:42. Russell Couper had a solo first leg and admitted to really struggling having come off night shift. Russell finished in 25:03 which was considerably faster than last year.

A tough day on a great cross country course. To add another positive to the experience, the course was about 0.1 miles (40 to 60 seconds) longer than last year, there being an extra excursion down into a muddy corner compared to last year (the GPS does not lie) where we cut straight across the corner. So everyone need not be so disappointed to be down on last year.

Some more photos here (not a day for taking photos really). Our juniors were also in action and you can read a report on their performances here.
Alan

RECENT EMAILS

I recently have sent a couple of emails to members with important information. If anyone has not received either of these emails can you let me know asap as they contained important information.

Russell

National XC Relay Teams 2014

Teams for tomorrow are listed here. Note that there is an M50 (team of 3) category in the race and we have therefore entered a team. The M40 and senior teams are teams of 4. See Russell's post below for further instructions. If anyone has to pull out (or any of the many possible reserves listed are able to run), please let Russell or me know before lunchtime tomorrow. There are 3 places available for any reserves who can run.
Alan

NATIONAL XC RELAY

This Saturday is the national xc relays.
We have four mens teams entered and have the twelve names below available.
Therefore there is four spaces available so if anyone from the reserve list want to take part let myself or Alan know by Thursday night.
Also if anyone from the entered list can no longer make it let us know.

Those entered :- R Couper v40, A Derrick v40, J Mearns v40, D Herbertson v40, J Holmes v40, R Lawton v40, A Buchannan, A McCaffery v50, H Simpson v50, A Henderson v50, E Reid v50 and M Duthie v50.

Reserves are :- K Leinster, M Saez, W Buchannan, I Hughes, G Lindsay, P Marshall, J McBride, C McDougall, J McGregor, G Mullen, S Phimister, I Rae, C Steven, G Stewart, D Searil, D Watt.

Mens race is at 2.40pm and I want everyone there at the course by 1.50pm (that includes Martin).
Parking is still at the school but registration is now at the course and chips are being used in this race for the first time so I need to make sure everyone gets the right chip.

NATIONAL SHORT COURSE XC

The National short course XC will again be held in Bellahouston Park
Date is Sunday 9th Nov.
Start times are 12.10pm for Ladies and 12.35pm for Men.
Cost is £5.50 per head.
Distance is 4k and this is a straight race not a relay.
Its pre entry only and I need names by Thursday 23rd Oct.

If you wish entered leave your name HERE.
Those already entered are listed HERE.

Russell

SVHC TRACK 10K RACE

Sunday saw the start of the Masters Annual race series.
Three Harriers went along to Coatbridge to get dizzy doing 25 laps of the track.
On arriving it was clear to Frances, Stuart and Russell this was going to be testing conditions with a blustery wind and a lot of leaves on a wet track. On doing a couple of warm up laps you could feel the grip wasn't there although the more runners that went round you could see lane 1 was getting cleared up. As you hit the final bend on the lap the wind would hit you to make the final straight hard work and in this type of event you know your going to get this every 400 metres. To start time and off we went. I had to pace this right as this was my first 10k in exactly a year (same event last year).
I set a target of 1hr as I had gone over this by quite a margin last year. First lap and everyone settles in to a long string with 30 runners on the track and it wasn't long, lap 3 I think before the leaders passed me for the first of many times. Stuart passed me for the first time I think on lap 5 with Frances a lap later. Frances doing this as another training run for her upcoming marathon was coasting. As the laps count down you just have to try to ignore your going round in circles and it becomes as much a mental challenge as a running one. I did find I had a proper race at this as one of the competitors was behind me by about 100mtr by half way but in the 3rd quarter of the race had closed to 20mtr. Had to dig deep and ran the last 6 laps averaging 10 - 15secs faster per lap than the previous 6 laps.
Stuart was first Harrier in a time of 42.37 and continuing to get in to good shape. Frances ran 45.21 with Russell finishing in 59.03 over 5 mins faster than last year. Its a slow road back but its going in the right direction. We have a lot of Veterans in the Harriers and many more of you should consider joining the SVHC too as they have a lot of veteran only events throughout the year.

Brancumhall XC Training

We will start our fortnightly Monday XC training at Brancumhall on Monday 20th October. We will run from the club to Brancumhall from the club so bring your normal road shoes plus whatever you prefer to wear for XC (trail shoes, spikes or just old road shoes). It will be muddy. Your XC shoes will be transported to/from Brancumhall by car.

These sessions will carry on every second Monday until further notice unless cancelled via a notice on this blog. So please check.

Running on soft ground makes higher demands on strength than on roads and is a key part of making you a better runner.
Alan

Lanarkshire Amateur Athletics Association

Dear Members please read the below letter from the Lanarkshire Association committee.
As you will read the existence of the association is in jeopardy and as long time members of it we are looking for at least one member to step up and get involved. As you will see they are looking for a new committee as the present committee have served a long time. I think but im not 100% that they meet quarterly. If anyone is interested please let Frances, Andy, Richard or Russell know.

LANARKSHIRE AMATEUR ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

                                     TO ALL CLUBS

At the AGM on 13^th October, we failed to form a new committee, and as a result we
will be holding an EGM on Monday 3^rd November at East Kilbride. If we cannot form a
committee then, we will have to consider the future of the Association.
The duties of the committee could be shared by clubs to spread the workload.
At present, the Secretary applies for permits,  books venues, organises helpers,
notifies all clubs about arrangements. The Treasurer is responsible for collecting
money from events,annual fees from clubs, payment to venues, banking and
keeping a record of all transactions. The President chairs all meetings and represents
the Association at other meetings.
We would like to see every club represented at the EGM.

Willie Drysdale

Walter Ewing

West District XC Relay - Here we Kilmacolm

A late change in venue meant that the hundreds of runners lining up for the first cross country of the season were given an easier ride around the perimeter of a picturesque little park in the heart of Kilmacolm rather than what should have been an agricultural course on the outskirts of Port Glasgow. The reason for the change of venue? The long, dry summer made the ground hard and rutted and hence posed a health and safety risk! Only in Scotland. Anyway, I didn't hear any Harriers complaining as the two lap course around the park suited us just fine.

Our ladies are a force to be reckoned with nowadays and finished an impressive 10th overall. Julie Beveridge got the team off to a strong start, flying round in 15:52, handing over to Karen Allen who is approaching her old form, finishing in 16:23. Finally, Frances "Marathon" Maxwell built on her superb form to finish in 16:52, beating the time of many of her regular age group rivals in the process.

Andy Buchanan was the star of our men's teams, leading the senior team off in 13:16. Hugh Simpson was put under pressure for the second week in a row, being asked to hold off the Calderglen vets team. It is always difficult to pace a relay when you are starting off amongst faster runners and this is the situation Hugh found himself in, even forgetting to start his watch. The official times reveal that Hugh finished in 18:11, handing over to Richard Lawton. Richard has made good progress in the last year, despite a recent injury and finished in 17:09. Finally, Russell Couper had a good training week and this run was to be the final session in that week, The time was unimportant but for the record it was 21:12.

The Calderglen vets team comprised the ever improving Mark Saez (14:53) on leg 1. Jim Holmes had the task of hauling in Hugh Simpson, which he did comfortably in 15:54. A still fragile Martin Duthie nursed his calf around in a fine 14:14, whilst a jet lagged and flu suffering Alan Derrick did the stupid thing (running), finishing in 14:39, placing the team as 8th vets team.

Well done to all. It was a great day in the sun. If anyone has photos, please pass them on. The GP and club championships are up to date now.
Alan

NATIONAL XC RELAYS ( CUMBERNAULD )

The National XC Relays will talke place on Sat 25th Oct in Cumbernauld.
3 x 4k for Ladies and 4 x 4k for Men
Cost is £5 each
Race start times are 1.40pm for Ladies and 2.40pm for Men.
Names are required on this Blog by Wednesday 8th Oct or see me at the club before this date.
to add your name please add it HERE.
Those already entered are listed HERE.

Russell

Please make sure your Sal membership is up to date.

Glasgow Half Marathon 2014

Bling it on! In a surreal moment at the end of the Glasgow Half Marathon I was wearing two gold medals and a silver! And was photo bombed by Haile Gebrselassie! We can but dream…
Stephen Phimister had a dream run, setting a PB of 01:28:36 on the new half marathon route. Julie Beveridge also clocked a PB of 01:30:36 and must have dreamt she passed a large banana near the end which bore a remarkable resemblance to her sister Louise!
The ever improving Martin Howell put his harriers training to good use finishing in 01:33:17.
Jim Holmes took a minute off last year’s time with 01:34:57. Graham Lindsay was happy with 01:38:50 and Graham Ramage clocked a steady 01:39:19.
Jim Mearns used his 26 mile warm up last weekend to finish in 01:39:34. The ever dependable John McBride produced another solid performance with 01:42:17. Alan Bow finished in 01:43:03 and John Mullen showed the junior harriers he can run finishing in 01:43:38. No administration problems this year for Colin Banks who completed the course in 01:44:05. David Wardrope must surely be delighted with his run, battling injury all year and dramatically improving on last year’s time with 01:45:33. Mary Goldsmith finished in 01:53:36 and Ruth Kelly was another using a full marathon last week as preparation to finish on 02:00:40. David Searil had a tough run but experience brought him through in a time of 02:05:34 in his 22nd consecutive Great Scottish Run.
Thanks to Sandra, Eddie and Andy for support on the way round and to all those who shouted, “Come on Calderglen.” It really does help.

Further photos of the Harriers in action taken by Sandra and Andy are here.

Alternative Half Marathon

The first of two reports from Kirkintilloch last Sunday. Thanks to Frances and Stuart for keeping us in the picture. Fine performances all round.

If you didn’t manage to get an entry or merely did not want to do the GSR on Sunday 5th October an alternative race to the GSR was held at Kirkintilloch courtesy of Kirkintilloch Olympians.   This race was the Neil McCover Memorial Half Marathon which was extremely well organised by the Club.  This is a tough hilly course taking in great views of the Campsies.  The race is also part of the SVHC grand prix and 3 Harriers were there to take part.  It was an early start of 9.00am and the chill in the air made it feel more like November.  A short warm-up left your hands ice cold and wondering if you should have brought gloves!   Although cold at the start the conditions were just perfect during the race.  Stuart Waugh was first Harrier home in an impressive time of 1.32.37.   Frances Maxwell was next in a time of 1.36.44 and taking 5 minutes of her previous half marathon at Loch Leven earlier this year.  This time also earned her the 1st FV50 category.   Kenny Leinster who is also training for the Dublin Marathon crossed the finish line in a time of 1.44.44 and was pleased that his injury did not flare up again.  The hospitality at the end of the race was great with loads of homebaking on sale for a small donation and all the proceeds going to The Teenage Cancer Trust.  One for the diary…..

Frances

On Sunday 5/10/2014 3Harriers (Frances Maxwell, Kenny Leinster and Stuart Waugh) made their way to Kirkintilloch for the annual Neil McCover Memorial Half Marathon Road Race , which also doubles as the SVHC Champs event. Very early start at 9am - cold compared to recent weeks, but otherwise conditions fairly good.

Very tough and challenging course - for those of a certain age you may remember the old Luddon 1/2 M course - every mile has hills , very undulating with miles 2 , 5 and 10 particularly uphill and a nasty short, sharp climb 3/4 mile from the finish.

Nevertheless all 3 Harriers survived to tell the tale with times of Stuart -  1:32:37 , 47 place ; Frances -  1:36:44 , 62 place ; and Kenny -  1:44:44 , 85 place.

Good preparation for Frances and Kenny for Dublin Marathon in a few weeks time.

Stuart Waugh

West XC Relays Teams 2014

A bit of a late team posting, apologies for that. Teams for tomorrow are here. At least 3 places also available from the reserve list (see Russell's post below for the long list of possible reserves). Let either Russell or I know by text, e-mail or a comment before mid-day tomorrow if you are now unable to run or are a reserve and wish to run.
Alan

WEST DISTRICT XC RELAYS ( PORT GLASGOW )

The following are entered for the west district xc relays. there is also a list of reserves and we have one male place available and this will be filled on a first come first served basis from the reserve list.
Those entered.
A Derrick, R Couper, K Leinster, S Waugh, M Saez, J Holmes, J Mearns, M Duthie, R Lawton, A Buchanan, H Simpson.
F Maxwell, K Allen, J Beveridge.

Reserves.
C Banks, A Henderson, W Buchanan, I Hughes, D Herbertson, G Lindsay, P Marshall, J McBride, A McCaffery, C McDougall, J McGregor, G Mullen, S Phimister, I Rae, C Steven, G Stewart, D Wardrope, D Watt, D Searil, E Reid.
A Lessells, J McEvoy, R Kelly, M Goldsmith.

Ladies start at 12.40 and men at 1.40 and I need everyone there 1hr before your start time.
Alan will select the running order on Friday evening.

Event details.

Competition Information for Team Members and Athletes

Venue: Port Glasgow High School, Port Glasgow Community Campus, Kilmacolm Road, Port Glasgow, PA14 6PP
DUE TO THE COURSE NOW BEING UNSUITABLE YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED BY SHUTTLE TO THE NEW COURSE IN KILMACOLM SO ARRIVE EARLY. IF YOU DONT SEE ME AT THE SCHOOL I WILL BE AT THE COURSE
Medals
There will be team medals (plus Masters’ team medals) for each member of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd teams in each race.
Masters = 40+ (age on the day).
Important Notes
Athletes may only run once. Teams with anyone running a second time will be disqualified and removed from the results.
Entered athletes MUST NOT be substituted by non-entered athletes. Non-observance of this leaves the whole field and officials uninsured in the event of an accident, puts the competitor at a health risk as they may be wrongly identified, and makes the results invalid as an historic record.
Directions     
From the M8, join the A8 (Greenock Road) until the roundabout at Newark Castle (Ferguson Shipyard). Follow the signs for A761 (Kilmacolm Road) uphill for approximately 1½ miles.
Parking          
There is ample parking for cars and buses at the school. There is NO PARKING at the farm road next to the course (except for a First Aid vehicle and two officials’ cars). A race marshal will be positioned here to ensure compliance.

Please remove spikes and muddy shoes before entering the school.  

 PLEASE NOTE: In the Men’s race, the RED coloured number should be worn by the 3^rd leg runner.

Masters’ teams should be marked on the declaration form, and a large “V” prominently marked on each Masters’ team member’s number so the officials can identify them. 

Changing and Showers
 In the school from 10am.   Please remove spikes and muddy shoes before entering the school.

 Club Tents

There is ample space for club tents near the Start/Finish area.

 

Grand Prix Updated

By the miracle of modern technology, the Grand Prix has been updated from afar. Use the usual menu on the left of the Blog to see the latest results.

(Just in case you think I'm enjoying myself, I wish I could be out running in that rarefied, high altitude Rocky Mountain air, but I can't. Still got the flu).
Alan

McAndrew shock as B team beats A team

With its earlier start most athletes were at Scotstoun before midday but it was clear by the low turnout that the Great Scottish Run had taken away entrants from this historical event. The Harriers still managed to field two male teams. For the A team we had A Buchanan leading the way with a time of 18.15 putting us well up the field. On 1st leg duty for our B team we had D Herbertson coming home in 21.34. On 2nd leg duty were G Mullen for the A team his 1st Grand Prix race for over a year and putting in a fine performance of 22.05. for the B team we had A Henderson coming back from injury and putting in a solid 22.23. On to the 3rd leg and the A team had H Simpson setting off with a 3.37 lead against M Saez running for the B team. Unfortunately the pressure got to Hugh and Mark overhauled him with Mark clocking 20.36 to Hugh's 25.01. So the head to head final leg between M Duthie for the B team and R Couper for the A team was on but unfortunately Mark gave Martin too much of a start for me to haul back. I don't think ive seen such relief on someones face when Mark came into the changeover first. Martin had been warned if he had to pass me I was going to kick his dodgy calf. Anyway Martin ran 19.30 against my 29.57. On a positive note it was faster than last year. Alan will update the GP when he returns but in the meantime I can say the Ladies has no change and Mark extends his lead in the scratch championship and the GP.

McAndrew Road Relay 75th Anniversary Teams

Due to the various clashes with other races this weekend, a smaller than usual turnout from the Harriers with only two men's teams. However, they are good teams and those present will be looking to establish a gap in the Grand Prix. The teams and running order are here.

This is the 75th running of the McAndrew Road Relay, always held on the same 3 mile loop around Jorhanhill and Scotstoun (although the start/finish has moved around the loop several times over the years). This year the start/finish is again in the Scotstoun Stadium car park. For that reason, all competitors must park in the St Thomas Aquinas School car park, a few hundred metres from Scotstoun stadium as shown on the course map here. Reports on previous years' events are here. Calderglen has a strong tradition at this famous event, having finished 3rd overall some 25 years or so ago and having been first vets team several times in recent years. So lets go for it again.

Finally, please note the new, early start time of 1pm! Russell needs everyone there for 11:45 to hand out numbers and allow warm-ups to be done (and jokers declared).
Alan