West Highland Way 2010 - The Album

The weather forecast was the only thing wrong with this year's West Highland Way relay at the weekend. Another great Harriers' weekend and a fast time to top it off (13 hours exactly). Well done to all and thanks to Malcolm for bringing it all together so smoothly. The pictures here tell (some of) the story. If anyone has further photos to fill the gaps in the action then please pass them on to me and I will add them in.

Alan

CLYDEBANK 10K

Five harriers made their way to Clydebank for the polaroid 10k on what turned out to be near perfect conditions for running. After picking up the chips (not the potato ones) we made our way to the start along with almost 700 others and off we went. A Cullie was first harrier home in 75th place 38:38 followed by J Holmes 136th place 40:54 then came G Lindsay 201st in 42:30 I McKenzie 280th 44:54 and Finally R Couper 419th 49:34 first time under 50mins for four years.
All headed home satisfied with their times.

Ayr 'Land O'Burns' 10k

Previously the Ayr Half Marathon, this race made a welcome return to the race calendar in the form of a 10k hosted by Ayr Seaforth Running Club. A great turnout of 200+ given the other big races on this week with the sun shining but a strong cold wind coming in off the coast to make running that bit harder on the unsheltered sections. A fairly flat course with a couple of short climbs made this a very scenic & highly recommended race. The only issue was the number of people entering on the day which was a slow process & meant some couldn't get a pre-race warm up. I personally need about 5 miles to get moving!
1st Harrier home was Colin F - 36.48 & 10th position overall. It felt like a PB but it alas it wasn't. Next in was Ian Hughes in 14th position in a time of 37.50. Just under a minute behind Ian was Stephen Reilly in 38.45 then Scot Hill who very narrowly missed the 40 minute mark in 40.01. Club wannabe (still) Joanne ran very close to her PB and managed to come in as 2nd Female in 40.52, picking up a very generous cash prize in the process. Genevieve was out testing a dodgy ankle injury and ran & steady 46.30. Finally in a rare special guest appearance at any running event Dawn graced us with her prescence & ended up breaking the 50 minute barrier for the first time in a decade. 49.38 was her final time. Amazing what someone will do for a black pudding supper.

Some of us headed into the town centre for a well deserved fish (& black pudding) feast to top off a great evening. Thanks to coach for the support, even if you did mysteriously disappear at the end. We suspect he went off to drive the course to verify the distance for Dawns unexpected PB.

Results Further photos are here.

West Highland Way Weekend

Hi all,
For those signed up for the WHW weekend, here are the pickup times and locations.

1st pickup (St Leonard's Church) - Alan, Graham, David, Martin & George

2nd pick up (High Common Road) - Stuart, Maude, Eddie, Jim, Gerry & Colin

3rd pick up (Calderwood Road/Yarrow Park) - Jamie & Jean

4th pick up (Queensway/Righead roundabout) - Frances

5th pick up (Waterfoot) - Mary

The 1st pickup will be at 4am. The subsequent pickups in EK will be within 10 minutes. We would hope to be at Waterfoot by 4:30 and start our run a close to 5:00am as possible.

My mobile number is 07731 487 985. Please let me know if there are any issues with the times and locations and any problems on Saturday morning.

Malcolm

Chatelherault Times #3

Another great turn out tonight with many fastest times of the season. As usual please use this form to record your time, effort and any comments.

Thanks

Alan

Scottish Vets Walter Ross Memorial 10k

Sunday 23rd May - Pollok Park

In glorious sunshine, an excellent turnout of six Calderglen Harriers took part in the SVHC Walter Ross Memorial 10 km race in Pollock Park on Sunday.

The 1.30 pm start time dove-tailed nicely with the hottest part of the day, ensuring a tough run for all on the undulating, two and a bit lap course. Even spectators Sandra, Maude and Geo were forced to have a seat and take on fluids!

The race was won by M50 Ian Stewart in a time of 36:06 and once again, the Harriers were among the prizes.

Eddie Reid, 6th overall, was first Harrier home in a time of 38:51, which also secured 1st M45.

Scot Hill made his return to competitive running in a time of 40:33 and was also 1st M40.

Stuart Waugh, in 40:53 claimed 1st M60 prize with Jim Holmes following in 41:25.

Frances Maxwell came home in 43:56 and was 1st F45, this time showing a clean pair of heels to her closest rival.

And Russell Couper made his debut as a Scottish Veteran Harrier, completing the course in 59:18.

Eddie and Frances' times equate to bronze performance standards (although not their fastest of this season).

Thanks to Jim for the above report and to Eddie for relaying his similar report. Well done to all in oppressive heat. Speaking of which the Harriers competing at the Edinburgh Marathon would not have had a fun time and we wait to see a report on the race as soon as the 4 Harriers have re-hydrated.

Alan

Loch Leven Half Marathon - An Alternative Perspective

The Loch Leven Half Marathon was held on Saturday 15th May, 2010 and three Harriers and their supporters travelled the 50 miles or so from East Kilbride to the start at Kinross.

The event starts at the east end of the town, about 1 mile from registration, parking, changing facilities and the finish line, all of which are together at the west end of the town (good warm up distance).

The 13.1 mile course uses quiet, public roads around Loch Leven (anticlockwise) and the route can be described as scenic, open countryside with little shelter from the elements (normally always windy), with a gradual climb from the start for 1.5 miles, 2 or 3 hills at around 7 - 9 miles (a time clock at 10 miles) but otherwise undulating with some good flat parts. A fairly good course overall.

Weather during the race was pleasant if you totally ignore the strong, gusty winds!

The overall winner was Mike Carroll of Perth Road Runners who clocked a time of 68:12. First Harrier home was Stuart Waugh in a time of 1:32:01 (chip time 1:31:52) in 70th place and first in age group category. Next Harrier was Graham Lindsay in 143rd place, 1:38:35 (chip time 1:38:19) and then John McBride, 227th place, 1:47:02 (chip time 1:46:38). There were 479 finishers recorded on the results list.

The event was extremely well organised, the route was well marked and marshalled and at the finish a goody bag and food/drinks were provided for all finishers. A final nice touch was the follow-up e-mail to runners (within 48 hours) thanking them for participating, giving them the results and prize list and encouraging them to return next year. Well done to the local running club and thanks to Caroline and Maud for all the vocal support. An event well worth trying.

Final note - good walks in the area for those not wishing to run.

Thanks to Stuart for the report and once again well done to all.