Calderglen Trail Race Final Results

The final results for the 2017 Trail Races are available here (1k, 3k, 5k, 10k) are here along with all previous years' results.

TRAIL RACE RUNNERS

It may be possible to allow some members to run the 10k race tomorrow after you've done your volunteer roles.
If anyone wishes a run please let me know after training tonight and we will see if we can accommodate.

Russell

TRAIL RACE ROLLS

Unlike the post below this ones about food. as you probably know we provide a buffet at the end of the Trail Race for the runners so would ask that everyone bring up something along the lines of Rolls, Sandwiches, Sausage rolls, cakes or biscuits. Anything else you can think of is ok as long as its finger food. Please no trifles or ice cream and jelly.

Many Thanks

Russell

A Day in The Lakes Triathlon 25th June 2017

As some of you may know there has been a regular Harrier attendance at the above event for a number of years now in the format of a relay team for the open water swim in Ullswater of 2k, a bike ride now of 48 miles (reduced from 56mls) and a very hilly run of 13 miles.

Sandy had been enrolled for the swim early last year with Alan and Robin Derrick proposing to do the bike and run legs. However as it turned out, Alan and Robin could not manage so Sandy had to be content with myself for the bike and Kenny for the run. At this point perhaps any anticipation of Sandy’s about taking part in any prize giving at the event disappeared over the horizon. However she did call us the “Dream Team” at one point (only briefly mind you) on the Saturday evening, there is motivation for you, though I think she did have her tongue stuck firmly in her cheek as she said it.

Anyway we drove down to Pooley Bridge on the Saturday afternoon to register for the Sunday event, checking all the way on our fellow Harriers highs and lows on the West Highland Way. Despite the problems that needed to be overcome and some that could not you all need to be congratulated on your efforts, you are still “legends”. This of course includes Joanne who completed a terrific solo effort over 17.5 miles in the Midsummer Highland relay with her East Kilbride Ladies relay team.

Breaking tradition, Sandy as team captain on the Saturday evening advised that at school she was a pool champion and having spotted a pool table in the associated campsite complex she dragged Kenny and I kicking and screaming for a beer and a few games to loosen us up for the following day. A new training idea Alan maybe you could advise on it or incorporate into a training camp effort. As it turned out Kenny (the cheeky pool monkey) humiliated Sandy and destroyed me at the pool table, and mentioned that Eddie Reid was next on his hit list.

The Sunday morning briefing completed Sandy was ready for her swim, the lake was pretty choppy and Kenny and I looked at each other as she was entering the water and we both thought we were glad it was her not either one of us. Choppy water or not she competed the distance in 41 mins despite losing her swim cap and having to backtrack for it probably losing a minute or two in the process. A really good effort and 4th fastest ladies time overall. Into transition and the chip was handed over to me with Sandy trying to tell me all about her efforts and Kenny yelling at her to stop talking and to me to get going. To be honest a minute or two on my bike ride was not going to make too much difference.

Anyway off I went dry, sunny but a fairly stiff breeze and as ever it always seems to be in your face. The route was 4 miles out to a 20 mile loop of the local countryside to be completed twice, which included 2 ascents of the Shap then a final 4 mile run back to Pooley Bridge.

I pedalled into the transition at Pooley Bridge ready to fall off my bike and hand over to my runner – who was nowhere in sight !! I should have been a bit prepared for this as normally on the lead up of the path into transition some of your team are there shouting encouragement etc, this was not in evidence and it was the loneliness of the long distance (well it was to me) cyclist who rode in.

I scanned about wondering what to do as I could not leave the transition area with my chip on and thought about asking a marshall to get a tannoy announcement made for team 44 relay runner to get too the transition area ASAP. However just at that, Thank Goodness Harrier vests are distinctive I spotted him swanning about without a care in the world getting his photo taken, proof in accompanying photo link. I shouted a few times with what energy I had left and managed to attract his attention and his warm up run was completed in about 45 secs flat into transition and a somewhat belated changeover. The transition shown was 2mins 11 secs as a matter of interest, however to be honest some of this may have been my fault as Kenny had asked “Realistically what time are you expecting Billy.?  

Realistically I said “Probably somewhere between 3.30 to 4 hrs “. Actually it turned out to be 3hrs 3mins 54 secs to be precise. Not bad for me but it was despite the Shap a fast course and my time was down in the lower 25% but thankfully not last. I am sure that proper cyclists like Gordon and John would consider this a wee run before breakfast so next year guys one of you is in there because I am out.

So Kenny was let off the leash and did not disappoint still strong after his recent marathon and all that training he finished in a superb 1hr 57 mins well up in the top 10% I think.

As predicted we did not win anything , but hey it is the taking part and we all enjoyed our weekend and got some self satisfaction from having completed our individual legs. Who knows what will happen next year but it could be any one of “YOU” wanting a wee change.
Billy

Photo link - https://www.flickr.com/photos/30545490@N06/albums/72157685495792765

Chatelherault World Championships - Harriers 15 - Midges 1000

A fine turn out of Harriers for the penultimate Grand Prix race of this season competed against each other and clouds of midges for the honour of being Chatelherault World Champion on Monday evening. The undulating 7 mile trail is not easy at any speed but at race pace is particularly punishing.

After a mass start the field soon spread out into a series of solo efforts which Andrew Buchanan relished, leading from start to finish to win in a time of 47:55. Alan Derrick was a distant second in 49:11 with an encouraging return to form from Eddie Reid in third in 52:36. Stephen Phimister  is also gradually regaining form and crossed the line next in 53:44 with Jim Holmes next, consolidating his natural position at the top of the Grand Prix with a time of 55:51. First of the ladies and with a massive improvement on recent times was a delighted Karen Allen in 57:08. Despite a tough weekend supporting our competitors in the West Highland Way Race, Geo and Frances Ferguson were next in. Geo in an excellent 58:09 and Frances not so far behind in 58:36. Paul Rooney was glad to get under the hour with his time of 59:53 whilst Richard Lawton made his first race effort since Stirling Marathon and associated injury to finish in 61:37. Gordon McInally was another tired from WHW duty but maintained his 100% Grand Prix attendance this season with a time of 63:20.  Yet another far from fresh runner after the WHW was George Stewart who struggled across the line in 69:16. John Boyd was undecided whether or not to do this as he was not feeling great. Despite a few struggles, he finished in 72:30. Sandy Hayden was competing (swimming open water) in A Day in the Lakes half ironman triathlon relay on Sunday, and also must have been tired, finishing in 72:42. Finally, Russell Couper was under no illusions that this was going to be tough, having missed lots of recent training with tendonitis in the knee. The consequence was a time of 78:39 but no immediate after effect which was good news.

Well done to all for great performances and for supporting this little bit of fun. Talking of fun, the next and final GP race is the Vertical Mile next Monday evening.
Alan

Trail Race Roles

With less than 4 weeks till our Trail Races I need EVERYBODY to confirm that they will be there before 5pm. If we don't get the membership out to help the event is in jeopardy. Please leave your name with your estimated time of arrival and your preferred role on the day/evening. If we get enough volunteers we may be in a position to allow members to run the race after their volunteer role but only those volunteering would be allowed. Please leave your name for volunteering HERE. Current volunteer list is here.
Russell

Chatelherault World Championship

Remember that Monday nights training at Chatelherault is a straight race this week for the GP. As such please remember to WEAR YOUR VEST.

Men#s Health 10k

As is now becoming a bit of a fixture in a few of the Harriers diaries (except for me having an incredibly lazy spell last year!), five of us (6 as we found out at the end) headed in to Glasgow bright and early on Sunday morning for the Men’s Health 10k.

Myself, Stephen Phimister, Mark Saez, Graham Ramage, Andrew J Buchanan and Paul Rooney along with 2000 odd other runners took the starters orders at 10am and among the fanfare of Radio Clyde and all the usual gubbins of a big event we were on our way.

Individually we all had our own plan, me to stick as close to Phimi as I could manage, Phimi to aim for 41 minutes, Mark to build on his recent 5k time trial, Andy to see how good a time he could manage and similarly Graham looking for a good steady run.

This year’s route was slightly altered in that once we had set off from the Riverside Museum of Transport and along the road we ran through the car park of the SECC as we headed east. Somebody needs to tell them that some new tarmac wouldn’t go amiss, some of it resembled trail running! From there we continued East and over the Bells Bridge on to the South Side before coming back over the Clyde on the KGv bridge and on up to Argyle Street before making a left on to Buchanan Street followed by a right on to St. Vincent’s St. before heading through the Merchant City and back across the Clyde, eventually turning in to Glasgow Green. From there we headed back in to the Merchant City, weaving in and out of numerous streets before eventually making a sharp right followed by a sharp left to the finishing line on George Square.

As was the plan, Andrew and Mark set off at a pace whilst me and Phimi set a very consistent pace, actually running 4 miles at exactly the same the splits of 6.37 m/m. At about 4 miles I managed to pull a couple of yards on Stevie and felt like I was going well but as was the case 2 years ago when I got to 5 miles I began to tire and the pace started to dip – giving Stevie the chance to close up the gap.  As we ran in to the Merchant city we were shoulder to shoulder and just at the final turn I had to concede the place, just about managing a sprint to the line. In the end Stevie was two seconds over the line ahead of me – a fair result given recent training.

Once over the line and as we re-grouped it seemed everyone was satisfied with their performance, here’s the times;

Andrew Buchanan 44th         38.24
Mark Saez 49th        38.35 11th in age category
Stephen Phimister 117th 41.17 13th “ “ “
Martin Howell         120th 41.19 15th  “ “ “
Graham Ramage 484th 46.47 58th “ “ “
Paul Rooney 636th 48.24

Stuart Gibson triumphed overall completing the course in 31.41

Having collected our goodie bags and conducted all the post race backslapping with other people we met we decided to set off (on foot) for a jog back to the Transport Museum. What a great idea! However we managed it and it was made worthwhile with some tea and cakes.

Overall the consensus of opinion was that this is a well-organised event, run on a very flat and quick course but perhaps a bit pricy.

Martin

West Highland Way Race 2017

As many of you will be aware it's that time of year again when two hundred or so daft souls will attempt to run, walk and crawl all the way from Glasgow to Fort William. I have added a link below to the live race tracker which should enable you, should you so wish, to track the progress this year of no less than five Calderglen harriers.

Race numbers are;

Ruth - 97
Ian - 159
Jim -137
Me - 31

Simultaneously Joanne McEvoy will once again be running the 17.5 mile leg from Tyndrum to Glencoe as part of team number 363, East Kilbride Ladies, in the Midsummer Highland Relay. I don't think individuals can be tracked but the team can and her race starts at midday on Saturday.

We are extremely lucky to have great support teams behind us, without whom we would never get to the finish. These include harriers Hugh Simpson, Gordon McInally, Gerry and Michael Mullen, Frances and George Ferguson and, tackling distances way out of his comfort zone, George Stewart. Other halves just as heavily involved are Alison, Angela, Liz and Kevin and completing the list are Elaine, a colleague of Jim's with her other half Ramsay plus Gerry's good pal Davie Gray, twice a top-ten finisher of this race. A stellar line up of fourteen people supporting just four of us, showing that this race, perhaps above all others, is very, very much a team effort.

Apologies are due in advance to Alan for those of us who fail to make the starting line for the Chatelherault World Championship on Monday night!

West Highland Way Race live tracker

TTC 2017 - an Autumn Appointment

Finally, we are ready to start taking names for the TTC 2017. The training camp is somewhat later this year due to the venue being fully booked through September even before the end of last year. The dates for your diary are Friday 6th October to Sunday 8th October 2017. Once again we are at the Leny Estate log cabins, a venue that proved to be very popular last year.

The event is open to Harriers and non-Harriers alike on a first come first served basis with entry form completed and payment. Further details on our web site here or go straight to the on-line entry form here (on-line entry preferred).

The list of confirmed entries is here (the list is manually updated after the deposit received).

See Eddie at the club with your payments.

Download the brochure and printable entry form here.
Alan

Ladies Dig up Prizes at Dechmont Law!

After a day of heavy showers on the Saturday, the Dechmont Law 10k trail race took place in almost perfect running conditions. Only the strong wind could have caused problems but as most of the course is on trails through the woods, the wind was hardly felt.

Nine Harriers lined up for the 10k eager to emulate the performance of Lewis Moir who had won the youngsters' 2.5k earlier in the morning. After an initial, undulating 3k circuit of the hilltop woods, the course headed north and down towards the M8 motorway where a steep little pedestrian bridge lead to the Woodland Trust's North Wood and some fine trails through ancient Scots Pine.

Andrew J Buchanan was following advice this week and started off steady with a view to finishing strongly rather than vice versa. This strategy worked fine although, even with an easier pace at the start, the eventual climb from halfway back up to the finish is always difficult. Andrew finished in 16th place in 41:56.

Julie Beveridge is in great form now, following up a consistent period of marathon training with the addition of some speed work in recent weeks. Julie was competing in a very strong ladies' field in which she finished 4th in a time of 44:43. Joanne McEvoy ran a well paced race and was closing up on Julie in the final km, finishing within sight of Julie in 45:12.

Jim Holmes still has the Stirling Marathon in his legs and was lacking his usual sprint in the final downhill 100m. However Jim managed to split the Calderglen ladies, finishing in 47:25.

Kay Conneff shows no signs of slowing up despite racing virtually every weekend since the Stirling Marathon and doing another marathon (on Arran) this coming weekend. This was Kay's first time on this course so every twist and turn revealed another surprise. Kay finished in 47:46.

Although Frances Ferguson set a 5k personal best at Victoria Park parkrun last weekend, a virus has been slowing her up this week. Frances struggled more than usual but still recorded a respectable 49:09 for this tough 10k.

Gordon McInally knew exactly what to expect having done the race last year. However, the main benefit was another year of training under the belt which resulted in Gordon taking almost a minute off his time to finish in 51:02.

First timer, John Boyd, is struggling with knee problems and awaiting an operation. The run did at least temporarily ease the knee off a bit allowing John to focus on "enjoying" the course. John finished in 54:54.

Russell Couper is another one with knee tendonitis but it takes more than that to cause Russell to miss a Grand Prix race! Hopefully Russell has not done himself even more damage, finishing in 65:59.

The final surprise was that Calderglen won the ladies' team prize, a great result in a strong field. However, the surprise was not the winning but what they won, a hanging basket each! Well done ladies.

More photos in this album. Full results are here.
Alan

WHW 2017

A comprehensive set of photos recording adventures and misadventures courtesy of Gordon is now on-line here.

We had an earlier than usual start this year, not helped by road closures which delayed our bleary eyed start at Milngavie. Sandy Hayden took the brave pill and started us off on this years relay, followed by a turbo charged Michael Mullen who handed over to the day tripper Frances Maxwell who had to rush back to attend a wedding in EK. Andy Henderson had the first longer leg and while the rest of us used our combined intelligence to play" get the frisbee out of the tree" in Balmaha, Andy had the opportunity to see the sun rising on Loch Lomond from Conic Hill.

Sandy took another early leg, showing her return to form and handed over to George Stewart at Millarrochy Bay. George is in training for his support role in the WHW race in a few weeks time and this deceptively steep leg saw him finish strongly to hand over to Davie Watt, waiting like a coiled spring to run the legendary lochside leg.

The Caledonian Challenge was  on this weekend and this combined with  the holiday weekend meant that both the running route and the driving routes were busy. The drive round to Benn Glass farm became a bit of a race and we arrived just in time for Davie to hand over to Joanne McAvoy. Davie looking slightly the worse for wear after a fall while dodging the tourists ambling along  the lochside.
Joanne had a strong run in the blistering sunshine despite tending to a dazed Andy who had accompanied her on the leg and had bumped his head on one of the tunnels under the railwayline. It was an eventful day so far and the first aid kit had been well used already.

Eddie Reid turned on his marathon power to beat the bus to the road at Ewich where Kenny Leinster dragged his battered legs to Tyndrum to set Russell Couper on the path to Bridge of Orchy. Russell has had a few weeks to recover from his London Marathon exploits and his good form was evident in his strength on this leg. Jim Holmes had a fast run on the steep climb up and down  to Inveroran and handed over to a vasly improved Gordon McInally who had a  strong climb over the Rannoch Moor and finished strongly as he descended down to Blackrock Cottage for a well deserved drink.

Following Eddie's example Jim Holmes had a quick sprint to The Kingshouse handing over to Colin Banks who had a consistent run through Glencoe to the Devils Staircase where Gerry Mullen was waiting to run this leg for the 47th time. Gerry delivered as ever and while awaiting his arrival Eddie briefed Allan McLellan on his high route to the wilderness that is Lundavra. It should come as no surprise then that while we were engulfed in a cloud of midges Allan was knocking on doors, and asking strangers the way to Fort Willam. Not content with getting lost, when he appeared he was bloodied and bruised having had a tumble on the long  route to the middle of nowhere. As we all scanned our watches and worked out if we would have time for a swim Geo Ferguson had a storming run on the final leg.

This wasn't our fastest running of the WHW but we were all relieved to reach the Ben Nevis hotel and have a good meal, a refreshing drink and the chance to relive the highs and lows of a long tiring day.

The breakfast at the Ben Nevis never fails and we all did our best to ensure there was food left before heading south with a quick stop to watch the downhill mountain bike race at Glencoe.
It was a tired bus full that arrived in EK, the journey enlivened by tales of Colin's  aspirations in the property market.

Good running, good weather and good company. Another hard work and fun weekend for Calderglen Harriers.
Kenny

Auldhouse 5k Time Trial - Wet for June!

Despite the persistent drizzle, 18 Harriers lined up for the June edition of our Auldhouse 5km Time Trial. Fastest time of the night was Mark Saez in 18:33. This was a course best for Mark. Fastest lady was Julie Beveridge, second overall in 19:53. There were many fantastic times including a strong debut performance from Kirsty Wilson of 21:49. Kay Conneff also set a course best with 22:12, an improvement of almost a minute on May's TT. Gordon McInally continues to eat away at his records, setting a course best time of 00:22:54, whilst Allan McLellan set his fastest (official) time since his comeback to running with 21:40. Karen Allen is really getting back to form, taking one and a half minutes off May's time and setting her fastest time since 2014 with 21:42. Stuart Waugh ran his fastest time on this course of the year with 22:22 and is also returning to great form.

The results are here. The full Auldhouse TT results summary going back through all the events will be updated over the weekend and then available to view using the menu to the left of the blog.
Alan