Funeral arrangements

The arrangements for Margaret Anne's funeral are as follows:

Reception and vigil at St Leonard's RC Church East Kilbride Tuesday 13th January at 7pm.
Funeral mass 14th January at 10am.
Thereafter to Bent cemetery Hamilton.
Any further information, please give me a call.

Malcolm

MASTERS XC (IRVINE)

The masters xc race is on the 7th FEB
Entry is pre entry so i need names by Monday 19th January either by comment on the blog or give your name at the club to myself or in my absence Eddie
cost is £4.50 per head
distance 6.6K for ladies, 10K for men

Russell

25th Anniversary Celebrations

A meeting of all those interested in planning a suitable celebration for our 25th anniversary will be held on Thursday 15th January after the training session. If you have any ideas and cannot attend, please let me know and I will include them in the meeting.

Malcolm

Nigel Barge Road Race

David Herbertson arrived at Maryhill yesterday thinking he would be the only Harrier until Richard Lawton arrived too, so just the two out there yesterday. It was the first run for David since the dreaded man flu hit round about the Christmas Handicap (or was that two nights out on the trot I was suffering from?). With the exception of Monday’s pub run – good preparation eh! Anyways David got round the two lapper in 42 mins and 40 secs (official gun time not allowing for a handful of seconds to get across the line) and Richard (who described it as hoping to blow away the cobwebs!) got round in 50:26. Well done to both and thanks to David for the report.

Callander Crags Race

The traditional Callander Crags hill race took place on Saturday 3rd January. Sub zero temperatures and clear blue skies greeted the 100+ competitors of all ages who huddled together on the start line for the mad sprint to the narrow path leading up The Crags. An 800 foot climb over the first mile gets the lungs and the field opened up and puts a wee bit of pain into the legs for starters. However, this can be relieved slightly with a nip of whisky (or a cup of water if you can really hold your drink) from the marshalls at the cairn at the top before starting a more gradual cross-country descent over the next half mile. A steep descent for another three quarter mile on a single track tarmac road then asks some questions of the legs and any speed that may be remaining in them before again climbing and descending on a forest path to the finish line. So quite a variety squeezed into the 3 mile course. Alan Derrick passed a late fitness test the day before (his first run for a couple of weeks) and lined up to face the oh so familiar course for the umpteenth time, having started doing this race as a schoolboy. Surprisingly it was not his slowest ever time (more to do with the very good under foot conditions than any fitness), finishing in 27:03 in 7th or 8th position. The race was won in a new course record of around 23 minutes by another local Callander runner Prasad Prasad, one of Scotland's top hill runners. A race to recommend to anyone looking for an introduction to hill running or just something different. There is a summer version of the race on the evening of Wednesday 3rd June.

Beith Harriers New Year Race

Lone Harrier Stuart Gibson made a trip to Ayrshire for the Beith Harriers' Road Race today. This event has been a fixture on the race calendar for many years but is now sanitised to 4 x 1.2 mile laps of an industrial estate (think Sainsburys circuit and you get the picture) rather than the country roads of old. However, Stuart restored the Harriers' tradition of doing well in this race with a flat out slog to finish 3rd overall in a time of 24:16, exactly one minute quicker than last year. The winner of the race and the "McLuckie Trophy" was Ross Toole of Kilbarchan (23:00) followed by Irvine's David Millar in 23:08. Stuart was presented with a bottle of red wine, some soup, biscuits and tea, so very much a traditional race! Not the biggest race around but certainly very friendly and welcoming. Well done to Stuart and thanks for e-mailing the report.

Down by the River Race - Cambuslang

Stuart Gibson and David Searil represented the Harriers at the Down by the River 10k organised by Cambuslang Harriers today. No sign of Christmas excesses in Stuart's performance, finishing 5th overall in a new 10k pb of 33:26. Stuart is now closing in on the likes of Steven Wylie (3rd in 32:00), who he had in his sights for much of the race. David is reported to have run a steady shift in just under 50 minutes although, unlike Stuart, he did not require the sustenance of the complimentary scotch pie and tea provided back at the prize giving. Thanks to Stuart for supplying the race report.