SVHC XMAS HANDICAP

Kay Conneff and Russell Couper made their way to Clydebank for the SVHC 5mile race. As we all know it was very cold but as we headed down the M77 into town the fog awaited us and stayed with us as we arrived in Clydebank. Minus 3 at the start with freezing fog in the air giving the impression it was snowing. Kay had a 30 minute handicap from the first runner with Russell starting at 23 minutes. After keeping warm in the car for as long as possible we headed out for a short warm up just before my start time giving Kay a little longer. With 5 runners off in front of me I was starting at the same time as another 2 runners but got my usual quick start to establish a gap hoping they would lose sight in the fog. By the turning point at 2.5m I had caught 1 but the other 4 were still a long way in front and I also shortly noticed the runner starting 1 minute behind me was only about 15 secs down so I was going to get caught. Not long on the return and you get to see all the others that are chasing and the approximate gap you still have and this also let me see Kay running as always with a smile beaming across her face and closing at a rate that could make it close by the end. 2miles to go and as expected I was caught and couldn't keep up. Eventually out of the fog I could see Willie Drysdale the 1st starter and quickly passed and with 0.5mile to go I caught another but never seen the 3 still in front till the end. I crossed the line with a scratch time of 42.23 only 4 secs over my prediction and winning the trophy for closest to the predicted time. After a quick recovery of breathing Kay came over the line just 41 secs behind me with a scratch time of 36.04. This was Kay's first SVHC run and she thoroughly enjoyed it. We then had a laugh when we noticed I had drops of ice hanging from the hairs on my legs. Back to the Sea Scouts hall for a few hot cups of coffee and cake and the prizegiving and raffle. The winner was Gillian McGale from Springburn Harriers (you may know her husband Tony who came on the Brampton bus a few years ago) with a scratch time of 39.06 and the fastest runner of the day was Neil Robbins from Hamilton Harriers 30.36. Agood day despite the cold.