West Highland Way Relay Pick-up Times

The pick up times are a bit earlier this year to ensure we get to Fort William in time for a quick swim and dinner.
The details are as follows:
2.45 Greenhills Rd :

Davie Searil, Russell Couper
2.55  Finger Post : 

Jim, Ruth, Davie Watt, Andy
3.00 Greenhills Rd :

Gordon
3.05 Kelvin Rd  : 

Jim Holmes
3.10  Our Lady of Lourdes Church :

Scott, Joe
3.15  Queensway :

Frances, Geo, Alan, Robert

Kenny

West Highland Way Relay - what to bring.....

Update - ever the optimist, remember to bring your swimming gear on the off chance we get to FW in time to use the hotel pool and spa (or pre breakfast for the early risers on Sunday). 

For those Harriers new to the WHW relay, here are a few pointers on the format and what to bring. We start very early on Saturday morning but even so, come dressed to run with leggings and warm tops on over your running gear as it will initially be quite chilly. Who is running which leg will be revealed on the bus. Everyone is assigned a leg and that person should wear their Calderglen Harriers vest when running their leg. Some of the more experienced runners may accompany some of the newer runners on their legs to take the pressure off on the navigation (just like Monday at Chatelherault......). However, don't be tempted to do too much before your own leg as all the legs are tough in their own way and every second counts towards us making it to Fort William before the hotel kitchens close (I'm not kidding!).

The minibus is quite tight for space, so pack a compact sports bag or rucksack for the weekend (think Ryanair cabin baggage allowance!). The forecast is for very hot weather over the weekend, so you won't need much in terms of running gear. Bring your normal running shoes that you would wear down the glen or Chatelherault. The WHW is not the place to experiment with new running shoes. A few t-shirts, your club vest, shorts and socks. Bring clothing appropriate for the evening dinner at the hotel and on the Sunday we usually go for a relaxing walk on trails somewhere on the road back, for which normal shoes or trainers will be fine. However, if you burn easily, do bring appropriate body cover, a hat and sun screen for the running and for the Sunday walk. If we are lucky, it will be too hot for the midges but if you suffer, bring your favoured repellent/net.

None of the legs are particularly long. 13 of the 18 legs are less than 10k. The more experienced Harriers are on the longer legs. Therefore you won't need massive amounts of food with you. A few sandwiches and snacks should be enough. Focus more on bringing liquids given the heat. There will be 10 litres of drinking water on the bus. There are a few locations (Inveroran, Crianlarich and Tyndrum in particular) where there are shops/cafes where you can top up with a quick coffee and snacks.

The final thing to bring is plenty of enthusiasm!

Alan

Club Training Thursday 15th May

Thursday's session starts off through the glen to Langlands junction. The reps start there at the junction. The session is 8 x 3 minutes at 10k pace with a 3 minute jog recovery. Regroup during the jog recovery. From there, head past the Langlands Club House and continue into Auldhouse. Turn left at Auldhouse cross and down the hill into the dip and back up to Leaburn Rd. Turn right and follow Leaburn Rd until it veers right down the steep hill. At the bottom of the hill turn right and come back through Auldhouse Cross back towards Langlands Club House. Return to the club via Sainsburys and the Strathaven Rd.

Alan 

Club Training Monday 12th May - Chatelherault

Monday's session is our fortnightly session at Chatelherault. This will be a lap at an easy to steady effort level. For those new to Chatelherault, we meet at one of the following two locations:

• at the venue (the car park on the right at the end of the drive when entering through the Fernigair main entrance to Chatelherault) ready to start at 19:30. Select "Training Venue" on the training registration form.
• at the Sports Club ready to leave at 19:00 and car share if possible. Select "EKSC" on the training registration form.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 8th May

It's a threshold Thursday (except for those who were racing on Wednesday, in which case it is an easy run on the same route as the reps). The session is 4 x 6 minutes at threshold effort (could only say 3 or 4 words after the initial few minutes of each rep) with a 2 minute jog recovery. The route is out the glen and up onto the Strathaven Rd at the Crutherland, cross the road and take the back road to the 90 degree left hand bend where we start reps. From there, run the first rep up towards Leaburn Rd, turn right and follow Leaburn Rd all the way until it turns right, steeply downhill towards Auldhouse road. At the bottom of the hill, turn right and then first left past the Kennels. Follow Shields Rd back to the fingerposts and Greenhills Rd. Carry on to Strathaven Rd and back to the club.

Alan

Strathclyde parkrun Calderglen Takeover - 24th May 2025 - Final Roles

Thanks to all who volunteered to assist with the Strathclyde parkrun Takeover on Saturday 24th May. Julie has assigned roles to all of the volunteers. See the link to the list at the end of this post. Could those who are doing the barcode scanning or timing roles please download the parkrun Virtual Volunteer app and install on your phone which you will need with you on the day. These links show how to use the app for scanning or timing.

The list of role assignments is here.

If you have any questions or are no longer available, please contact Julie as soon as possible.

Alan

Club Training Monday 5th May

Monday's session is out on the roads around Auldhouse as will become very familiar over the Summer. The session is 12 x 2 minutes with a 2 minute jog (regroup) recovery. The pace is 10k race pace (or effort rather than pace if going up hill) and as before, the intention is for the recovery to be slowing down to a jog without stopping completely. The faster runners should turn around and jog back to behind the slower runners such that everyone stays quite close together.

The route is out Greenhills Rd and then left into the Fingerposts at Shields Rd. The reps start here. Follow Shields Rd past the Kennels. At the junction, turn right and then left up the very steep hill. At the top of the hill, the road turns left onto Leaburn Rd. Follow Leaburn Rd along to the junction for Park Farm and turn left down past Park Farm. Return to the club via Sainsburys and Strathaven Rd as usual.

These sessions on very undulating terrain build (appropriate) speed endurance and improve the ability to judge the right level of effort to apply during races when the course is not flat.

Thursdays session will be a threshold session, also out on the back roads.

Alan