West XC Leauge Race #3 and Lanarkshire XC Championships

Update 30/01/2023: Venue now confirmed as Bellahouston Park. The course is as flat as flat can be. Start/finish is at the high flats end of the park. Full details and map here: https://westleague.org.uk/events/bellahouston/

Race number 3 in the West XC League will also be the Lanarkshire XC Championships. The race is on 11th February and is to be hosted by Bellahouston RR. At the moment the venue is to be confirmed.

As with race 2, the more Harriers we have the better it is for us in terms of scoring, especially if we have more than the minimum required for each team (4 for a senior team, 3 for a masters team, 4 for a combined team. M and F categories in each).

Please leave your name in this form so we know who we have. Names received so far are here.

This is a free race as with all West XC League races. For Lanarkshire clubs there will be individual medals in M, F, senior and masters categories. There will be M and F team medals (not separate masters teams though). 

For the Lanarkshire XC, the Harriers will be providing one person to assist with the results.

Alan

SVHC Road Relay - Strathclyde Park

Irrespective of the time of year, the weather at this race is always similar; grey and windy. So it was no surprise to the Harriers' three complete men's teams and one and two thirds complete ladies teams who represented the club well on a cold blustery day.

Each leg of the relay comprised one complete lap of Strathclyde Loch in a clockwise direction, totalling just below 6km per lap. This year both the start and changeover were on a little spur access road just off the main path, requiring a very tricky sharp left turn onto the main path 30 or 40m after the start. However, everyone negotiated the turn safely as far as I could see.

Our ladies first team were a very strong team indeed with Julie Beveridge on the first leg, Alison Lessells on the second leg and Karen Allen on the third leg. As with many people right now, Julie was loaded with a head cold but this did not hold her back much, bringing the Harriers home in 4th position in a time of 24:17, which was 8th fastest time of the day. Alison held 4th position finishing in a strong 26:31. On the final leg, Karen Allen closed the gap considerably on the third and second placed teams to provide one of the closest team finishes of the race but just ran out of road, maintaining 4th position in a time of 24:36 and 9th fastest time of the day. As Julie and Karen are in the midst of marathon training, they then continued to do another lap or two at an easier pace to get the miles in. Well done ladies. 

Julia Whittle was the lead runner in our incomplete team, "fresh" from a hockey match yesterday but still improving considerably on the July running of this event, finishing in 31:57. Frances Ferguson still has her skiing legs on and felt as though she was lacking a bit of zip but still ran a good time of 27:53 on leg 2.

Our M50 A team was also very strong, with Davie Watt, Martin Howell, Gerry Connelly and Stephen Phimister running in that order. As always, Davie got the club off to a very strong start, finishing in 22:06 in third M50 team position on leg 1. Noting that Davie is in fact an M60, it was particularly impressive that Davie was 11th in the M50 category overall. Martin would be feeling the pressure of being landed relatively far up the field but had nothing to worry about as many of the runners passing him were in fact in the M35 category, although he wasn't to know. In fact Martin finished 4th in the M50 category in a good time of 26:02. Gerry Connelly has made a very strong contribution to the club since his return from Stornoway and regained third position for the team in an excellent time of 22:45. Stephen Phimister had been under the weather for the last few weeks but bounced back to health, maintaining third position in a time of 24:54. Stephen reminded me that this was only his second team podium ever! Well done to the M50 team.

Our second and third male teams were entered in the M35 category but contained a mixture of age groups from M35 to M70. After a hard week of training, Andrew Buchanan felt the fatigue in his legs but still managed to improve on July's time, finishing in 25:01. With this intense period of races, some races have to be considered as training sessions, so Andrew would definitely get the training benefit from today's hard run. Jim Holmes was on leg 2 duty and also ran stronger than in July as he gradually gets race form back, finishing in 26:50. Gordon McInally continued his return to fitness, finishing in 28:51 on leg 3 but knows he has much more to come as soon as he has built the training back up. Duncan McKellar had been feeling a slight twinge in his calf, so wanted leg 4 just in case he had to pull up. However, there were no signs of any problems as Duncan worked his way through the field in an excellent time of 23:14, finishing with a very strong sprint to make up one final place on the line.

Our third team was lead off by Kenny Leinster who is feeling better with every race. Kenny handed over in 28:49. Robert Gibson is starting to make progress again with some consistent training and completed leg 2 in 28:59. Russell Couper has run this race many times and knows exactly how to pace it. Russell finished strongly in 32:26. Finally, Billy Buchanan, who would be one of the few M70's in the race, maintained great form (although he says that was only on the bits of the course he knew we could see him from!) to finish in 30:08. Always the racer, Billy was disappointed not to break 30 minutes!

Well done to all for another fine turn out from the club despite various illnesses doing the rounds and reducing our numbers on the day. Some photos are in this album. Due user errors on my part, I didn't manage to catch everyone on photo.

Alan

Club Training Monday 30th January - Brancumhall

Monday's session is a post-race session at Brancumhall. The session is a continuous run around the Brancumhall lap with strides. Each lap is approximately 800m. Please do 8 laps at an easy effort (something like marathon effort) but on the last straight of each lap (back to where the lap starts) stride out to something like 5k effort. The soft ground at easy pace should be kind to the legs and the strides should help stretch out and loosen tightness following the race.

Usual warm-up to and from Brancumhall in road shoes and bringing a change of shoes for Brancumhall.

Thursday's session is going to be 400's at Langlands Place at 5k pace. As mentioned at the start of this year's first training block, the emphasis for the moment is mainly on strength (hills and XC) and threshold but every month or so, we will reintroduce a faster paced 400's session to remind the legs what pace is all about.

Alan

SVHC ROAD RELAY TEAMS

 This Sunday is the Scottish veteran Harriers Club road relays. The teams are as follows with the race starting at 11am. I will collect and distribute the numbers so please be there for 10.15 if your on a 1st leg and as soon after for others to allow for warm ups etc.

Ladies A    J Beveridge, A Lessells, K Allen

Ladies B    C McSorley, J Whittle, F Ferguson

Men 50    D Watt, M Howell, G Connelly, S Phimister

Men 35    A Buchanan, D McKellar, J Holmes, G McInally

Men 35    K Leinster, R Gibson, R Couper,  spare place

As you can see there is a place available so if anyone wants it let me know and i will check if your listed as a reserve.

Russell

Club Training Thursday 26th January

Thursday is another threshold session with slightly reduced total volume compared to recent sessions but longer rep durations. The session is at the Stewartfield loop in a clockwise direction. Take the usual route to the loop via Lidl, West Mains and Stewartfield Rd (and return to the club via the same route after the reps).

The session is then 2 x 10 mins at threshold with 3.5 minute jog recoveries.

Remember that threshold is the effort that could be maintained for 1 hour in a race. The pace will vary depending on hills and wind but the effort level as indicated by breathing and heart rates should remain the same. If you can say more than a few words, you are going too slow; if you can't speak at all, you are going too fast.

Alan

Strathclyde parkrun TakeOver

As discussed at the club AGM we have made initial contact with Strathclyde parkrun about the club volunteering to help one week. They have come back to say they would be delighted to help us showcase our club through a volunteer takeover. They will work with us and they will supply a run director to oversee the event and to process the results and also deal with the admin involved. The more people we can get to help the better as essentially we want Calderglen Harriers members to cover the roles but they will help us if we cannot get it all covered. To make this a success for us we will need members to come forward and volunteer. At this point in time we need to choose a Saturday that will suit the majority of our members. We have selected dates for April/May/June as hopefully the weather is better but it is before the summer holidays start.

The dates (all Saturdays of course) are listed in this form. Please select as many days as you could make and we will pick the most popular one. Volunteers received are here.

Note that the 13th of May is not on the list as this is the club's West Highland Way weekend.

The Committee

Club Training Monday 23rd January

Monday's session returns to Lickprivick via the usual warm-up route. The total duration of hill reps is the same as in the previous two Lickprivick sessions but the rep durations are different this time. The session is 6 x 2 minutes (at about a 5k race effort level) with a jog down recovery and finishing with 2 x 30 seconds harder with a jog down. Return to the club the reverse of the run out.

This session is intended to improve oxygen capacity and running efficiency by improving leg power and stride length. Thursday's session will be a threshold session.

Alan

West XC League Event 2 - Kilmarnock - Race Report

 

A fantastic response from the Harriers to this second race in the West XC League produced the desired result with the Harriers approaching the top of the team placings for those categories in which we were represented. The course at the back of the Ayrshire Athletic Arena was partly familiar to us having been used for various events in recent years, however, a lingering hard frost and large frozen puddles required a last minute modification to the course to avoid the solid ice. Even so, most of the course was solid just under the surface with only a few areas of the deep mud for which this venue is notorious. So it was a day for short spikes!

The Seniors/Masters combined Male/Female race was contested over 3 laps totalling about 7.75km. The men and women ran together which our ladies preferred as it meant that the field did not become completely spread out, as is often the case in ladies only races and there was always someone to aim for ahead or pushing from behind.

Our 4 ladies (Julie Beveridge, Karen Allen, Alison Lessells and Julia Pechlof) ran very strongly, holding the same order throughout the race. Julie and Karen finished close to each other in 32:45 and 32:58 respectively. Alison ran strongly and had a bit of a battle with two other ladies in the final 200m. As positions equals points in this league (least points wins), every position counted and Alison did well to hold position to finish in 35:19. Julia Pechlof was our fourth counter and gets stronger with the experience of every race. Julia finished in 37:09. 

We had 8 men running (Davie Watt, Duncan McKellar, Gerry Connelly, Jason Grant, Jim Holmes, Gordon McInally, Kenny Leinster and Russell Couper). Unfortunately, Jason had stomach problems and had to stop half way through the race but the other 7 battled on to the finish, working hard for every position. Davie Watt had resolved to do more races this year and brought the spikes out of storage to finish first Harrier in 29:21. Duncan McKellar, after feeling unwell at last week's British Cross Challenge in Scone, was back to good cross country form this week, finishing in 29:45. Gerry Connelly demonstrated consistent form, having competed in most of the XC races this year. Having just returned from Belgium, he would be glad of a relatively flat course, finishing in 30:27. Jim Holmes was happy with how he paced this one, saving enough for a fast finish over the final 300m, crossing the line in 35:42. Gordon McInally is on the way back after injury and "the lurgy" and felt he was not quite firing on all cylinders. However, this was the first hard step back and he finished in 37:33. Kenny Leinster is taking the same approach as me with his long-term knee injury (in other words, carry on regardless) and looked to be running well until the last lap when he faded a bit. Kenny crossed the line in 38:42. The bonus was his knee was OK this time. Russell Couper was a bit isolated in the latter stages but was clearly pushing hard, finishing in 42:21. Well done to all.

The way the league works is 4 to count for a senior or combined team and 3 to count for a Masters team (over 40) in both the ladies' and men's competitions. Where a team is incomplete then penalty points are assigned for each "missing" team member. The penalty points per missing runner equals the total number of runners in the race category (i.e. Senior M, Senior F, Master M, Master F) plus 10 points. Anyway, I won't explain further other than to say we achieved the following results:

Senior F (Karen, Alison, Julia) positions: 5, 11, 16, 1 x penalty gives total score 61 and 2nd position

Provisional Senior F Results

Masters F (Julie) positions: 3rd + 2 x penalties gives total score 43 and 4th position.

Provisional Masters F Results

Ladies Combined Seniors/Masters (Julie, Karen, Alison, Julia) positions: 8. 10, 18, 24, no penalties, total 60 points and 3rd team overall.

Combined F Results

Senior M (no Calderglen finishers)

Masters M (Davie, Duncan, Gerry) positions: 11, 12, 15, no penalties, total 38 points, 2nd position.

Provisional Masters M Results

Men Combined (Davie, Duncan, Gerry, Jim) positions: 39, 46, 49, 80, no penalties, total 214 points 12th position.

Provisional Combined M Results

Overall Provisional Results

The above results demonstrate the team spirit that has always been the characteristic of Calderglen Harriers; a strong team club. When we need team members to put in a shift for the club; they always do and we finish well up for a small club. So well done all. Unfortunately, we don't figure in the overall league as we couldn't participate in the first race of the league at Strathaven which clashed with the Brampton weekend (which was another huge club representation). But let's see how we do in the third and final race of the league at Bellahouston Park on a date that is yet to be confirmed. Ideally we should aim to fill all the teams and not pick up any penalty points which will give us a chance to move even higher up the race rankings.  I'll post a sheet for names when we know when it is.

Some photos from Kilmarnock are in this album.

Alan

WEST DISTRICT XC LEAGUE

 For tomorrows race in Kilmarnock the seniors race will start at approx 2pm. If everyone can be there for 13.15 for number distribution and warm ups. Some are leaving from the club at 12.30 so if you want a lift or just travel together then be at the club before then.

Everyone will wear 17M or 17F and i have these numbers (remember safety pins). Try to take care of the numbers as they should be reused as often as possible. If you wish to hand them back to me after the race then feel free to do so.

Can i ask that you all remember your finishing order and let me know after the race as i then need to declare the runners online. Only the team numbers will be recorded at the finish.

Russell

Club Training Thursday 19th January

As promised, Thursday's run is a run without reps as we take this week a little bit easier overall. The route is dependent on the underfoot conditions. If the pavements are not icy, then do a steady run around the 4-hills (by steady I mean something a bit slower/easier than half-marathon to marathon pace/effort level). It's just over 9 miles which is a fairly typical distance for a Thursday session.

If the pavements are icy, then it's the golf course also at a relatively steady pace/effort. Do 3 laps of the GC.

Alan

Tom Scot 10 Mile

Another GP race in a busy period for the Harriers is the Tom Scot 10 Mile in and around Strathclyde Park on 2nd April. Full details to enter are here:

https://www.entrycentral.com/TS23

Alan 

Club Training - Monday 16th January - Golf Course!

Change of Venue due to black ice in EK streets - use golf course. One lap to warm up then do 1 minute reps at the "trees" loop. 

Every 4 or 5 weeks our schedule has an easier week with lighter reps on the Monday and a more relaxed, farlek style run on the Thursday. This Monday we resume the fortnightly Brancumhall session for the final push towards the National XC at the end of February. The session is:

12 x 1 minute at slightly faster than 5k effort with 1 minute jog recoveries. The aim is to stay light on the feet with fast cadence, despite the heavy underfoot conditions. To maintain good form through all the reps means not going too fast at the start. Better to be able to finish the session with a faster pace than to be on your knees. Keep the 1 minute recoveries moving along at a reasonable jog; don't stop and walk.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 12th January

Continuing with this relatively demanding Threshold Thursday phase, this Thursday we return back to the "Stewartfield Loop" (usual warm-up via Lidl, West Mains Rd and the lane parallel to Stewartfield Rd). The reps are once again 4 x 6 minutes at threshold with a 2 minute jog recovery in a clockwise direction around the loop. 

As a reminder, threshold is a very controlled level of effort rather than a pace. The effort should remain constant (i.e. constant heart rate and rate of breathing) whereas the pace will vary depending on hills and wind. The effort is the effort that could be maintained for approximately 1 hour in a race, and after a few minutes into each rep, it should only be possible to say two or three words. If you can hold a conversation, you are not going fast enough!! This sort of training session gradually pushes the transition from aerobic to anaerobic to a faster pace meaning that sustainable race pace increases (over any of the distances we race over from 3k to marathon).

Alan

SVHC Road Relay 2023

The SVHC Road Relay takes place at Strathclyde Park on 29th January. This event is open to all Harriers age 35 and over. It is teams of 4 for men and 3 for ladies. Each leg is one complete lap of the loch. Russell needs names by 23rd January to enter the teams and it is £7.50 per person.

Please leave your name here to be included. Those names received so far are listed here.

Alan

West District XC League - Kilmarnock - GP Event

The Lanarkshire XC (previously held in Strathaven) had been pencilled in to our GP race list but appears not to be happening this year. Therefore, as the second race of the West District XC League is being held at more or less the right date, I have put this in the GP instead of the Lanarkshire. This gives us another longish XC a month before the National which is good timing. The race is on 21st January at Kilmarnock Although it is the same venue as the West District XC held in early December, the provisional course is different and does not cross under the bridge into the fields beside the motorway where all the zig-zags were. The race is over 2 laps, totalling 7.5km. The men and ladies run together.

Further details including the draft course map are on the West District XC League web site here:

https://westleague.org.uk/2023/01/07/event-2-details/

To make Russell's life easier in terms of assigning race numbers, could you please leave your name using this form and those entered so far are listed here.

Russell's previous post on this race stated the following:

The next XC after this will be the West District League on the 21st January at Kilmarnock. There is no pre entry for this as i will issue the numbers as we all wear the same number. For my benefit if you could let me know in the week leading up if your going so i know who to look out for. The only requisite for this event is you must be a valid member of Scottish Athletics as this will be checked when i have to submit the runners after the event.

Alan

Allan Scally Road Relay - Glasgow Green (Grand Prix event)

The very popular Allan Scally 4 x 5km Road Relay takes place on Saturday 4th March. Each leg is an officially measured 5km loop within Glasgow Green and hence is pretty flat and fast. Since the event moved to Glasgow Green, this has been one of the club's biggest entries of the year and it would be great to put it on your race plan now and put your name down to be included in the club's entry. This is a great, early road season lung opener! There is no limit to the number of teams we can enter. The first legs start at 12 noon on 4th March. There are senior, M/F40 and M/F50 team categories.

Please leave your name here to be included in the club entry. The entry fee is the rather unusual amount of £8.25 per person (£34 per team)

Those wishing to enter are listed here.

Further details on the Shettleston Harriers web site here: http://shettlestonharriers.org.uk/the-52nd-allan-scally-memorial-road-race-4-x-5k-saturday-4th-march-2023-entries-now-open/

Alan

Grangemouth Round the Houses 10k 2023 - Grand Prix Race

The Grangemouth 10k has been a regular feature in the Harriers Grand Prix series since the GP started in the early 1990's. This years race is on Sunday 16th April and once again incorporates the British Masters 10k Road Race Championships. Entries are already open and this race fills up quite quickly. There is a separate entry process for those Masters runners (35 and over) wishing to participate in the British Masters Championship. See the separate link for BMAF entries detailed on the main entry page here:

https://www.entrycentral.com/RoundTheHouses

Alan

Club Training Monday 9th January

On Monday we return to Lickprivick for further strength and running economy development via hill reps. The session is the same as done before Christmas as follows:

1 x 3 minute up hill at 5k effort, jog back down the same way you went up

3 x 2 minute up hill at 5k effort, jog back down

2 x 1 minute up hill at 5k effort, jog back down

4 x 30 seconds up hill fast, jog back down

(the video showing programming of the session onto a Garmin is here)

Focus on maintaining a powerful stride so that the muscles are being exercised through their full range.

Warm up easily to Lickprivick via the Murray Road and return the same way.

Alan

National Masters XC Championship - Tollcross Park

The National Masters XC Championship returns very much to our doorstep on Sunday 5th February. This Scottish Athletics championship event will be held at Tollcross Park, Glasgow for male and female athletes over the age of 40. The W40+ and M65+ race is over 6km, starting at 1300. The M40 to M60 race is over 8km and starts at 13:45.

Tollcross Park always provides a good cross-country test with fast flat sections and stern hills and banks to ascend and descend. The course usually comprises laps of 2km.

There are individual medals (1, 2 and 3) in each 5 year age group and copious team medals as listed below:

• Teams are Women 3 to score, Men 4 to score or 3 dependent on age
• teams of 3 in the combined W40 and W45 age group (i.e. the team can comprise W40's and W45's)
• teams of 3 in the combined W50, W55 and W60+ age group
• teams of 4 in the combined M40 and M45 age group
• teams of 3 in the combined M50, M55 and M60+ age group

It seems that the rules do not allow "rejuvenation" of older athletes into lower age group teams (i.e. an M50 could not drop down into an M40/M45 team).

All athletes who compete in the championships MUST be current members of the scottishathletics Membership.

We have plenty of Harriers within those age groups and the race is local, so let us try and flood the field. As per usual, you have to be in it to win it and even if not winning an individual medal, your presence could contribute to a team medal for you and your team mates. Calderglen have done this before and we can definitely do it again.

Russell needs the names by Tuesday 17th January. The entry fee is £8.50.

Leave your name here to be included in the club entry. Those entered are listed here.

Alan

 

Club Training Thursday 5th January

Thursday's threshold session includes some faster paced (5k pace) running to introduce some fatigue before the threshold effort. The sessions finishes with some more 5k paced reps. It is extremely important that the threshold effort is done at the correct effort level so that there is something left for the faster paced reps. The session is on the Sainsbury's loop starting at the usual place just past the main entrance.

3 x 3 mins at 5k pace with 3 min jog recovery

1 x 9 mins at threshold effort, 3 mins jog recovery

3 x 3 mins at 5k pace with 3 min jog recovery

There should be a very definite difference in pace and heart rate evident on the Garmin graphs.

Alan

Club Training Monday 2nd January

As many Harriers will have run during the day, Monday's run is a steady run down the Queensway to the Holiday Inn, along the Stewartfield bypass to Kingsgate and back up the Kingsway. Sticking to the main pavements in the hope that they are gritted but in any case watch out for icy patches and communicate within your pack.

Alan