EK Sports Club AGM

Just a reminder that the EK Sports Club AGM is coming up next week on Wednesday 6th February at 7.30pm. Like me you may have received on email on Wednesday regarding this.  It will take place in the main lounge of the Sports Club. All club members welcome.

This year it is on a non Harrier club running night which might encourage fellow Harriers to attend. It will give you the opportunity to here how the club has been progressing over the last 12 months from the current committee, future plans and for you to ask any relevant questions you have or concerns about the club.

Richard

National XC - Volunteer Marshals

To ensure the smooth running of the event can Calderglen Harriers please provide 2 marshals for the National on Saturday 23rd February.

There are 2  shifts.
Early 10.30am to 1.00pm and Late 1.00pm to 3.30pm, nobody is asked to marshal the whole event.

Names with email contact by Wednesday 13th February please.

If it suits the club you can operate such that the club is allocated a marshal position which they look after for the duration of the event.

Regards

Alex Jackson
Event Convenor

Please let Frances know if you are able to assist and Frances can e-mail the names through to Alex.

SVHC Road Relays on the Baltic Shore of Strathclyde Loch

Alison runs out of the sun and into the wind!

In conditions that looked better than they felt, four Calderglen teams travelled the short distance to Strathclyde Park for the SVHC Road Relay Championships on Sunday morning. Despite the extremely strong winds the field was even bigger than usual with around 90 teams lining up for start.

The course comprised a complete lap of the loch in a clockwise direction. Unfortunately the open and exposed first mile was straight into the wind which destroyed any chance of fast times but did reward those who judged their effort to make best use of the conditions.

Julie on the back straight

Our ladies' A team was our strongest team of the day. Julie Beveridge led off the team with a strong run to 4th place behind PH Racing Club, Giffnock North and Kirkintilloch Olympians. Julie finished in 23:41 which was the 9th fastest time of the day. On her first race back after a few weeks with an injury, Joanne McEvoy ran strongly to move the club up into third position in a time of 24:49, passing Kirkintilloch Olympians in the process. Frances Ferguson was given the pressure last leg. Unfortunately, the fastest runner in the field by a long way was also on the last leg (Michelle Sandeson of Springburn) who swept through the field from 5th to 2nd which bumped Frances down to 4th as Frances battled the conditions to finish in 26:01. No matter, fourth place is a fantastic result for a small club such as Calderglen, so well done to the ladies.

Lorraine running all alone to a course best

Our ladies B team was also a very strong team. Karen Allen led the team off, finishing in 25:27 to hand over to Alison Lessells. By now the field was quite spread out, so most of our second leg and later runners were very much running solo efforts against the clock and the elements. Alison finished in 27:28. Our only big improver of the day was Lorraine Buchanan who ran leg 3 in a time of 29:20, an improvement of over a minute on last year and bringing the team home in 11th place. No other club had two teams in the top 11. A fantastic demonstration of our strength in depth. And we have even more strong ladies who were not there on the day such as Kay, Julie T and Sharon to name but three!

Martin has time for a thumbs up

We also had two men's teams. Martin Howell led off our A team and was looking for a good time. Unfortunately the conditions were against fast times today so Martin had to settle for a strong 24:11. Jim Mearns is on a transition period from ultra distance to 5k at the moment and again, was looking for a fast time today. Jim crossed the line in 25:37. Ian Hughes always give 110% in races and today was no exception. Ian worked his way through the field to finish fast in 24:03. Finally, our fastest male runner of the day, Andrew Buchanan headed off on the last leg. Despite a conscious effort to take it easy into the wind in the first mile, the strength was sapped from his legs by the turn at the top of the loch with still 3 miles to go. This did not prevent Andrew from unleashing a powerful sprint over the final 50m to finish in 23:56 (offical time says 22:56 but Andy and his Garmin confirm otherwise!). The team finished in 34th position.

Ian looking smooth into the wind

Our B team was led off by David Wardrope making a welcome return to a Calderglen team. Although he was disappointed with his time, this was entirely due to the conditions and he crossed the line in 25:16. Stuart Waugh was a bit isolated on leg 2 but is very familiar with much of this lap from previous SVHC road relays and many Strathclyde parkruns. Taking account of the conditions, Stuart ran a fine 27:23, handing over to form man, Richard Lawton. However, in these conditions, Richard was struggling to make headway against the wind and would also be a little disappointed to finish in 27:06. Finally, Russell Couper did the seemingly impossible and for the third year in a row ran exactly the same time (on his watch), finishing in 30:41. This was despite being tangled up with at least one dog lead and a child on a scooter on the way round! The team finished in 51st position.

Andrew B flying to the line

Well done to all for battling against the elements to represent the club so well. Also a big thanks to our supporters (Maud, Neil, Alan C and Mark) who had an even more unpleasant experience standing in the cold wind.

Russell times his finish to perfection

Note that some of the provisional official times are a bit off but I have only corrected Andy's as he mentioned that one to me and it was clearly a full minute out and Russell's as he always runs the same time here, so it doesn't matter what the results say! Further photos here.
Alan

Devil's Burdens Hill Relay - Another Wild One

Before

After

I think the two photos above tell you how hard today's Devil's Burdens Hill Relay was, mainly due to the weather. For the second year in a row, the conditions were atrocious, with driving rain and 30mph + winds making staying upright let alone maintaining forward progress difficult. However we had a well motivated team of 6 and full support and transportation from Frances. On leg 1 duty, Sandy Hayden flew around off of only 3 hours sleep to knock 4 minutes off her best previous time, finishing the 7km, hilly trail run from Falkland to Strathmiglo in just under 39 minutes.

Sandy running well, approaches the changeover

Chris McCarron and I were paired up for leg 2, an 11.5km twin peaks adventure into the clouds. I'm so out of practice at racing that I forgot to grab the checkpoint sheet from Sandy as she came in to the changeover point but after a few wasted seconds, we were off through the gloop of the field and heading for West Lomond. On the top I could hardly stand up the winds were so strong and when we headed down the other side into the wind, even leaning forward, the wind was overcoming gravity and we had to power downhill to make any progress. A hundred metres or so from the summit the wind died a bit and we ran, hardly in control, down the slope. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chris hurtling past on his face, having lost control and tripped on a rock. Fortunately he was unhurt and sprung to his feet. Thereafter it was a bit of a procession on the narrow, deeply rutted paths as we headed for the second big climb up Bishop's Hill. As we approached the summit, the visibility deteriorated considerably and we were glad we had done the recce a few weeks ago as we were working from memory only, navigating the network of paths.

Chris and Alan head for the hills.

I was glad when we eventually dropped off the high level paths and were below the cloud and could see where we were going. A rapid descent followed before we hit the path in to the changeover, unfortunately uphill again! We reached the handover in Kinnesswood in a time of 1:27:08 where Jim Holmes and Alan Cullie were waiting and ready to take the direct route straight up Bishop's Hill, a climb of about 250m. This was also a twin peaks leg but as it was heading back towards Falkland, was at least wind assisted! The last 5km of the 11km leg are downhill and very fast. Jim put himself under extreme pressure by telling Alan to carry on whilst he clicked the sheet at the last checkpoint before the final, steepest few km of the descent. Catching Alan on the descent was easier said than done though and Jim had to burst a gut to ensure that he and Alan finished together (on the paired legs, both runners must finish before the next leg can start).

Jim chases down Alan in the final 100m

Jim and Alan reached the changeover in the well sheltered Maspie Den in a time of 1:18:38 where Kenny Leinster was raring to go back up the same trail as Jim and Alan and then onwards to the summit of East Lomond. Kenny knows this final leg very well (where have we heard that before!) and in this case that proved to be true as Kenny flew around the 5.5km leg, making up anywhere between 3 and 7 places, most of them on the steep descent from East Lomond. So fast was Kenny that he had reached the finish line before we got there, crossing the line in 37:39.

Kenny starts the big climb!

From the finish we had only a short walk to the village hall where copious quantities of soup and rolls were available for all. No official results available yet but it felt as though we had a good run and were probably mid-field. The day proved again that rubbish weather does not stop an event being a great day out and we will certainly be back next year. Thanks again to Frances for transporting half the team to and from the event and shuttling us about between changeovers whilst still managing to take a load of action photos. All of Frances' photos and a few from me are here.

POSTSCRIPT - the official results (overall only) are now out and show that the team finished 67th out of 163 finishing teams. An excellent result. There are also loads of photos from an intrepid photographer (Pete Bracegirdle) who appeared out of the mist just below Bishops Hill and also on the leg 3 descent to Maspie Glen.

Alan

SVHC ROAD RELAY

This Sunday is the SVHC Road Relay at Strathclyde Park.
The race starts at 11.00 am and I need everyone there for 10.15 am.
This allows some time for warm ups etc.
We have 2 Ladies teams of 3 and 2 Mens teams of 4 entered and we have 1 space on the Mens team.
Those running are J Beveridge, F Ferguson, J McEvoy, A Lessells, L Buchanan and K Allen.
R Couper, M Howell, R Lawton, I Hughes, D Wardrope, S Waugh, A Buchanan and J Mearns.
If anyone cant make it let us know asap and if anyone wants the space in the mens team let me know asap. Space now filled
Teams and running order will be posted when available.
TEAM RUNNING ORDER IS HERE. Note that not everyone can have an early leg when we only have two male teams. I have picked the teams on the basis of what I think should be the fastest teams and which should place the club as high as possible in the results (this is a team event after all). Therefore, by definition, if you are in the fastest team, you should be finished early!
Alan

KILMARNOCK OPEN XC

Some Harriers and members past went to Kilmarnock today for the open xc races.
We had some juniors running today too and they're will be posted on the junior blog.
Onto the senior races and we had Frances running for the Ladies. This was a mixed race with the U17s running with the U20s, seniors and masters, the U17s cutting off to the finish with the rest doing another lap. It was a new course today that's never been used before so no rocky runs under the railway or the A77. 1 medium and 2 large laps for Frances in a field of 20 plus 4 U17s runners so it was going to be spread out very quickly and the first 6 or 7 were running on their own after the medium lap. Frances however is very experienced and knew how to pace a solo race finishing in 5th place in a time of 40.04 for the 8.5k course and gaining a trophy and cash for 1st F50.

Onto the mens race and I was joined by a couple of guest Harriers, David Herbertson flying in from Sydney just for this race (honest) and Ian McKenzie who im sure everyone would like to see back at the club and into full training ( get yer act together Ian). We lined up as the Ladies were on they're 3rd lap which was going to be a little awkward as we did the short lap first and some off the ladies were popping onto this lap from the big lap and into the middle of the men. This gave David a wee scare as he had passed me after about 300 metres or so but when the laps joined he spotted a Harriers vest a little in front of him and wondering who was in front of him till he realised it was Frances. The men ran the same course as the Ladies with with 46 plus 2 U17s lining up. Again with a small field it was going to spread out and it did as all you could see when you seen other parts of the course was individual runners. The course as most other XC courses this season was very good going with little mud but David did comment he hadn't seen grass like this for 2 years and was very happy to see it although he was feeling the cold which he didn't enjoy as much. David was the 1st Harrier home in 39.36 and 30th place.

Russell finished in 44.04 and 41st place with Ian in 46.59 and 45th place. A good event that should be better attended and it would be good for some more Harriers to take part with the National only a month away. (next year maybe). Thanks to Maud and Stuart for the shouts of encouragement.

Health TV Series Enquiry

Hello Frances,

Apologies for emailing out of the blue. I work for television company Red Sky Productions, based in Glasgow. We produce a variety of health and medical television programmes for the UK channels. I’m currently working on a new ‘health MOT’ series for BBC Scotland and I’m looking for people to participate. I was wondering if you might be able to help me reach out to runners in East Kilbride, and surrounding areas, to see if any of your members would be interested in getting involved.

The series itself will comprise three hour-long programmes for the new BBC Scotland channel. The basic premise of the programme is that you take two individual volunteers with very different lifestyles and give them a series of rigorous health tests – blood tests, urine analysis, fitness tests, etc. – in order to build up a picture of their health. A team of medics interpret the results, identify areas of health/lifestyle that could cause problems in the future for the individual, then prescribe an 8 week programme of lifestyle change to help improve their health. This doesn’t necessarily just mean eating better or exercising more – it can mean reducing caffeine intake, using calming techniques or CBT, or making sure they get enough sleep. After 8 weeks we redo the tests, and see if the intervention has helped their health. In our pilot show, one of the candidates lost half a stone, reduced his blood fats by about 80%, and cut his risk of diabetes in half, so we know it works.

The series doesn’t just focus on obvious issues – e.g. being overweight – as we’re keen to reflect a range of modern day health problems, and show to a wide audience (some of whom may be suffering with similar conditions) how small lifestyle changes can genuinely make a big difference. So that might be a runner, who despite having excellent cardiovascular fitness, is finding they’re unable to outrun their bad diet – as a runner myself, this is something I’m definitely guilty of! Ultimately, the purpose of the series is to show people how small, simple changes can have a big impact on health – and of course we want it to be entertaining to an audience too.

In order to get the right mix, we want as wide a range of volunteers as possible. I know that running clubs are inclusive of people of all abilities and that those who take part do so for a variety of different health reasons. It would therefore be fantastic if you could include this information in an email, or a post on social media, to your community of runners outlining the basic purpose of the series, and requesting any interested individuals contact me directly if they wish to take part.

If you think that this is something you could help with, please do let me know. I’ve attached the flyer (both pdf and jpg formats) that I’ve been using to generate interest, but would be happy to give you more information if you need it.

All best wishes,

Claire

Claire Tippett | Assistant Producer
T: +44 (0) 141 343 8199 | E: claire.tippett@redskyproductions.co.uk 
Address: Four Winds Pavilion, Pacific Quay, Glasgow, G51 1DZ

SVHC XMAS HANDICAP

The 3 Amigos

The rescheduled xmas handicap took place in Clydebank today in what can only be described as fairly good but windy conditions. Martin Howell and Andrew Buchanan joined me for their first run at this event as guests and put down good markers for coming years. Its a 5 mile run along the canal bank turning at 2.5 and running back to Clydebank. start times are based on your declared estimate and in my case as a previous winner I get a double whammy. The first of 19 runners was off at 1.30pm Andrew had a handicap of 28 mins and Martin 26 mins. I know what your thinking Russell must have started about 16 mins after the first runner, "WRONG" I was on 24 mins. I started with 2 Ladies both of whom are faster than me but I just had to try and hold on. I ran the first mile faster than I had planned due to recent hamstring trouble but was comfortable with the run so far and was hanging onto the Ladies. Martin then passed me just after a mile in and running strongly. During the next mile a few more came by and I hit my plann

Ada Stewart sporting a Trail Race T Shirt

ed pace for the second mile but the Ladies had stretched away. Onto mile 3 and Andrew came past with a few others then we hit the turning point and as I turned I could see the last 2 starters where only 10 and 20 metres behind me and now we're running into a headwind all the way back. The last two runners made short work of passing me despite the elbows out tactic ( that paths just too wide ) and were soon out of sight. Now sitting in last place through mile 3 on pace but nobody in sight. Despite the wind I was only 10 and 5 secs off the planned pace over the last 2 miles coming home in 41.38, 22secs ahead of my estimate. Martin had finished in 4th place I think with 33.52 and 3.38 faster than his prediction ( hes marked down as dodgy from now on ). Andrew finished in 7th place I think in 31.49 just 11secs faster than his prediction ( more like it ), Many thanks to Neil Green and Lorraine Buchanan with kids for geeing us up and holding the jackets.

Devils Burdens Recce - Almost Summer

In stark contrast to last year's recce, 6 Harriers arrived in Fife on Saturday to recce the two longest legs (2 and 3) of the forthcoming Devil's Burdens Hill Relay.

Jim Holmes, Sandy Hayden, Chris McCarron and Alan Cullie had driven through to Strathmiglo whilst I had driven to Falkland a bit earlier and had an easy, low level 2.5 mile run back to Strathmiglo to intercept the EK arrivals. Kenny would join us later after a ski lesson (a year too late though as there were no blizzards this year!).

On arriving at about 9am the temperature was about 9 degrees C; very pleasant but the headwind running from Falkland to Strathmiglo almost stopped me in my tracks. I wondered just how bad it was going to be 1000 feet higher up where we were heading! I met Jim, Sandy, Chris and Alan as planned about a mile after the start of leg 2 and was immediately met with a barrage of self doubt from Sandy who didn't believe she was fit enough to keep up or was worried she would hold us back. We carried on regardless and within a half mile had caught and passed a group of one man and three ladies also doing a DB recce. Within a matter of seconds, Sandy had befriended this group and decided she was going to join them for their recce (Sandy was clearly faster than three of the four). I am not sure that the other group had much choice in the matter (Perth Road Runners I think) but the decision was made so Alan, Chris, Jim and I carried on and left Sandy with her new club and an agreement to update by phone. This was the nearest we came to losing anyone during the recce.

The climb up West Lomond was as challenging as always but we hit all the checkpoint locations without any problems. However the wind on the summit was incredible (not as bad as the race conditions last year though). I temporarily lost my beanie hat. We didn't hang about long. A compass bearing led us off the summit to the fast and fun descent over the Devil's Burdens themselves. A largely wind assisted but mostly runnable climb took us to the next summit on Bishop's Hill and from there the long descent down and around to the end of stage 2 just above Kinneswood. In a sheltered sun trap, we stopped to eat our sandwiches whilst watching 8 gliders overhead enjoying the windy and clear conditions. At this point we received the text message from Kenny to say he had arrived in Falkland and was starting off in reverse to meet us somewhere on leg 3. So onwards and upwards back up the very steep climb towards Bishop's Hill that starts leg 3 and back down into the valley floor below the Devil's Burdens. Before we descended, Sandy had called to say that her group was now at the end of leg 2 so were not too far behind. As we continued along the valley floor we met a very jovial Kenny. I did suggest that he could continue on to run the hills we had just covered but he declined and chose to run to the finish of leg 3 with us. One more big climb to go and then it was 3 miles downhill to the finish in Falkland Estate. I am pleased to say that everyone managed it fine and we definitely have a team for the race in two weeks! Its looking like Sandy for leg 1, Chris and I for leg 2, Jim and Alan for leg 3 and Kenny for leg 4 (which we did not recce as Kenny knows it like the back of his hand; famous last words!).

Finally, there was time for a sandwich and tea in the cafe in the square where a half hour later Sandy joined us. A successful recce and a Calderglen team ready for the race.
Alan

Devil's Burdens Recce - Arrangements

Recce is on Saturday 12th January. Arrangements agreed at club on Thursday are:

Runners: Alan Cullie, Jim Holmes, Sandy Hayden, Chris McCarron and Alan D.
Meeting at The club at 8am and will be in Strathmiglo by 9.15 / 9.30. The plan is that Alan D will meet you at the village hall in Strathmiglo and he can leave his car in Falkland and drive back to Strath. You can run the recce and end up in Falkland as per usual.
The route is the same as last year. Everyone needs to bring a small rucksack with food, drink (hot) and spare clothes.

Kenny

Strathaven Striders Half Marathon

An early half for those doing a spring marathon or anybody just interested

Hello

I’d be grateful if you could circulate  to your club members.

The 5th Strathaven Striders half marathon takes place on Sunday 17th February 2019.

This is a good circular run on quiet country roads starting and finishing in KirklandPark field Strathaven and is ideal for an early challenge in 2019.

All competitors will receive a technical T shirt, hot soup/roll and other goodies at the finish.

Online entries close 10th February 2019

Full details and entry on Entry Central
https://www.entrycentral.com/StrathavenHalfMarathon

Kind regards

Dorothy 

On behalf of Strathaven Striders Half Marathon Committee

Monklands Half Marathon 2019 - Grand Prix Race

Another Harriers' favourite and a Grand Prix regular opens for entries on 7th January. Further details of the Monklands Half and on-line entry are here: https://q-buster.co.uk/monklandshalfmarathon.

This is also in the Harriers' Grand Prix.
Alan

Allan Scally Road Relay - Glasgow Green

Last year, the biggest Calderglen entry we had for any race was the Allan Scally Road Relay in its new venue at Glasgow Green. We had an amazing 28 entries (7 teams). Unfortunately the race was cancelled due to snow and ice!!!! Lets hope it is second time lucky and we get just as big an entry. The course is 4 x 5km legs and is relatively local and over a distance which we are all very familiar with. No excuses.

Please leave your details here and Russell will enter the teams through the StuWeb site. It will be £7 per head. Those entered so far are listed here.

Race is on Saturday 2nd March. Closing date is 28th February. This is a Grand Prix event.
Alan

Callander Crags Race

Sandy in full flight

A band of Harriers travelled from near and far for the annual Callander Crags Race, a blast up, along and down the craggy cliff that forms the northern backdrop to Callander. Total (horizontal) distance as measured by GPS is about 5k with a total climb of around 285m. The first third of that distance is a constant, steep and direct climb to the cairn marking the summit and the remaining two thirds is a predominantly downward mix of rough terrain, single track tarmac and trail back to the start/finish line.

The skies were overcast and the temperature around the +6 deg C mark, pretty good for this event and with a generally dry preceding week, the underfoot conditions were about as good as they get for the winter edition of this race (although that does not mean they were good!).

Gordon McInally, Marion O'Connor, Chris McCarron, Frances & Geo Ferguson, Joanne McEvoy, Sandy Hayden, Kai Wheeler and Russell Couper lined up along with myself and what looked like about 70 or 80 runners of all ages for the typically entertaining pre-race briefing from Alistair Johnstone before we all set off on the click of the starting gun (it failed to go off until a few seconds after we had all gone).

My main worry was whether to do the race or not given my recent and on-going lung issue. As a local, I've been doing this race or training up the hill literally all my running life so I knew that there was no way of just cruising around the course without stressing the lungs. Put a Calderglen vest on me and there is then no chance of me taking it easy. Sensibly or not, I decided to do it.

The first thing I found out is that the past 3 or 4 months of reduced intensity training has left my legs with no speed and I got dropped in the initial 50m sprint to the narrow path at the start of the relentless climb (18%+ gradient on average if you do the maths). Therefore I was in a little bit of a traffic jam for the first 50m or so of the climb as I picked my way around people who had dropped me on that initial sprint but who more or less stopped when they hit the hill. However, I was soon gliding (at least that what Joanne tells me) past people and onwards up the hill, lungs already burning and nobody was going past me as I gradually moved through the field. About two thirds of the way up, I made the mistake of being so focused on the backs of two non-locals right in front of me, that I followed them on the left hand fork where the path splits into a more direct and less direct route. Unfortunately, the more direct route is also much more lumpy and needed some arm strength to haul me up as I watched runners passing me on the correct path 5m to the right. Through the "kissing gate" and onwards for another 100m to the cairn at the summit and that is where the best bit of the route ends for me as I am useless at descending on rough terrain! I hit the top in 13:47 which isn't too bad and at that time I was probably in the top 10.

People started to pass me almost immediately the descent started (I think Mark Wheeler was the first to go past but my eyes were glued to the ground so I couldn't be sure). Its amazing how the surface appears to consist only of greasy rocks when descending at race pace and I had a few slides and near misses as I cursed my way down the hill. A loud shout of support from Callander resident and M75 veteran international Pete Cartwright, who was marshaling runners onto the final path off the hillside, was much appreciated. Then I hit the road. Normally I (try to) take off here but the next runner was easily 100m plus in front and much younger than me so I just cruised and didn't chase, also conscious of the hamstring strain that had troubled me since September and which I didn't need to injure again thumping down a steep hill. It was nice not to be thundering down that very steep road for a change. Unfortunately at the bottom of the tarmac road as we swept back into the woods and a gradual climb, a group of supporters including some of my former schoolmates were cheering on me wildly, so I felt obliged to put in another wee effort until I was out of sight and could relax again! Finally, there is a longish descent through the woods and there was George Stewart who had popped along on his way between work visits to support us and take some photos (and to ask me if I had got lost given how far behind the leaders I was!). Despite the easyish descent, my lungs were liquid at this point and I was beginning to think I should not have done this as I ran through the line, soon confirmed by a few hours of coughing. My finish time was 28:45 which it turns out was not my worst of recent years (my previous 2 runs had been 10 to 20 seconds slower) but then again, the times are totally dictated by the weather (and fitness). No ice today meant quite fast conditions. The race was won by Jethro Lennox of Shettleston in 23:27.

On his first ever Crags Race, Chris McCarron had a stormer of a run, particularly on the way down andhe tells me he was closing me down on the descent through the woods to the finish line, which Chris crossed in 28:55 as second junior. Unfortunately I only have times for those I am connected to on Garmin Connect, so although Joanne was next in and third lady, I don't have the time. Similarly for Geo (a big PB I remember him saying), Marion (first F60) and Kai (second U14 I think). Frances was in pre-ski holiday life and limb preservation mode (34:47 and second F50), Gordon set a big PB (35:03) as did Russell (39:21) and Sandy (39:28). Well done to all and thanks for embracing this challenging wee race so enthusiastically.

All George's photos are here (a wee bit blurry due to the darkness in the woods).
Alan

MEMBERSHIP FEES 2019

Please find below a list of the membership fees for 2019
These are the fees for the sports club and harriers together

Family            £194
Ordinary         £130
Intermediate   £80
Ret Family     £114
Ret Ordinary  £90

Please adjust your direct debits accordingly or pay me directly on training nights.

Russell

MASTERS XC CHAMPIONSHIP ( HAWICK )

This years Masters xc will be held in Hawick on Saturday 2nd February
Start times for Ladies are 13.45 and the Men 14.30
Distance is 6k for Ladies and M65. 8k for men
Cost is £7.50 per head
I need names by Monday 14th Jan
If you wish entered please leave your name HERE.
Those already registered are listed HERE.
(note that this IS to be for over 40's only, male and female).

DEVILS BURDEN RACE

This years Devils Burden will be on the 26th January.
Start time will be 9.20 am
We need teams of 6 as 2 legs are run in pairs
Cost is £7 per head.
If anyone is interested please add your name and we will look to see how many teams we can enter.
I need names by Thursday 17th Jan
Please add your name HERE.
Those interested are listed HERE.

Note that this is a very exposed hill relay requiring the most arduous legs to be run in pairs and an element of map reading and navigation between check points. Full body cover will be required (worn or carried) along with compulsory items of safety equipment (map, compass, whistle). Only one of the legs could be considered to be a fairly standard trail run but that covers only one person of the 6 in each team so not everyone can do that. Even if you have done the event before and especially if you have not done it, the recce one or two weekends before is advised. Please also indicate your availability for the recce.
Alan

SVHC MASTERS ROAD RELAY

This years Masters Road Relay will be held in Strathclyde park on Sunday 27th January at 11am
This event includes over 35s for both male and female
Cost is £7.50 per head and should be paid in advance.
I need names by Monday 14th January so don't delay
If you wish entered leave your name HERE.
Those already registered are listed HERE.

Beith Harriers new year 10k

One for the diaries for next year guys. Today was the Beith Harriers new year 10k.

Ive done this race before but it used to be 4.7 miles of laps in the industrial estate.

This year it was changed to a 10k on a brand new route. A tad cold this morning so I took a longer warm up than usual about 30 mins before the start running a mile on the course. Starting on the old course in the Industrial estate you run for 80 metres on the road before turning onto the cycle path. This gives the field a little chance to break up as the cycle path is a bit narrow for the start. After the first 1.5k you turn off the path and onto the streets and into the country roads. At this point you start to climb all the way to just after 5k with one little drop just after 4k. Through the 5k you crest the highest point on the course and have a long downhill taking you to just before 7k and back onto the cycle path and the run home to the finish, finishing on the cycle path just before where we joined it at the start. A very well organised event and very reasonably priced at £5, a good challenging route and one to set you up for the year ahead. Having had some difficulties with a hamstring injury the last couple of weeks I was a lot happier after todays run of 54.09 as its done no more harm to the injury and definitely getting better. Would be great to see some Harriers join me next year at this event.