Should have gone to Run Ecosse!

Is your running wardrobe looking sad and tired? Do you find yourself wearing Rowan Atkinson's cast-off hats? Then I've got good news for you!

A new running shop has opened in Falkirk by the name of Run Ecosse. The shop is run by club member Karen Pass's cousin Andrew who has kindly agreed to an extend a 10% discount to all purchases made by bona fide club members.

So ditch those smelly trainers and tatty tops and get yersel' down to Run Ecosse.

Atacama Crossing

Some of you may be interested to see here what Duncan King is doing at the moment. You can follow his progress day by day. He is carrying the heaviest pack of any of them at 17kg !

Sherrifmuir 11

Another excellent turnout from Harriers at the second ever running of the Sherrifmuir Challenge road race. The 11 mile route starts at the Sherrifmuir Inn and is mostly downhill for the 5.5 miles to the A9 at Blackford and then retraces its steps back up the long tough hill for the second half. At 12 pounds for entries on the day, the price is also fairly steep, but it's for a good cause and you do get a free drink in the pub afterwards!

11 of us showed up this year including 2 debutants (Jim Bussey and Dario Melaragni) out of a field of 63. Phil Tipping ran a strong, controlled race to finish in 9th overall and 1st Harrier home. Liz Mestecky picked up the prize for 3rd woman and Shelagh Crichton was 1st female vet.

The race was won by local boy Paul Arcari in an impressive 59.26 mins ahead of 2nd place by over a mile! Harriers finished as follows:

9. Phil Tipping - 1.12.38
14. Ian Beattie - 1.15.08
17. Phil Mestecky - 1.17.12
21. Jim Bussey - 1.22.37
23. Adrian Wake - 1.23.02
34. Fred McCain - 1.25.33
35. Jim McConnell - 1.25.46
43. Liz Mestecky - 1.31.13
51. Shelagh Crichton - 1.37.22
52. Vic Johnstone - 1.38.49
61. Dario Melaragni - 2.04.00

Hebridean Harrier

Full results are now available for the Hebridean Challenge 2007 which took place in late June /early July, so we can congratulate Graham Johnston on being a member of Fox and Hounds who were the second placed team of 5.

The Heb is a tough race which involves moving from one end of the Outer Hebrides to the other, doing a series of competitive events along the way - running, on- and off-road cycling, kayaking and swimming. Not for the unfit or the faint -hearted!

Well done Graham.

Full results and info about the race are here.

Phil T at Haddington

Phil T ran the Haddington Half Marathon on Saturday August 11th, finishing well in 87 min 53 sec and 28th in a field of 200.

Phil adds "It's a well organised race starting from a pleasant town and run through rolling countryside. The course is undulating with 3 or 4 hills. The conditions were ideal being heavy drizzle and light winds."

(not sure whether the combination of "ideal" and "heavy drizzle" is meant to be ironic!)

Cross country fixtures for the diary

Dates are now available for this year's cross country season, and it would be good to see Strathearn Harriers being more active in this discipline.

As anyone who has taken part in cross country events will confirm, they are very enjoyable - well-attended, competitive and with a great atmosphere.

Sat. 13th October East Relays, Dulloch Park Dunfermline
Sat. 20th October East League at Livingston

Sat. 27th Oct. National Relays, Cumbernauld.
Sun. 25th Nov. East league at Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy.

Sat. 8th Dec. East XC Champs at Stirling Univ.
19th Jan. East league at Broxburn.

23rd February. 2008. National Champs at Falkirk

Planning ahead for Glen Clova

Phil T helpfully points out that pre-entry is required to take part in our final club championship race of the season, the Glen Clova half-marathon on Saturday November 10th.

A copy of the entry form can be downloaded from http://www.strathearnharriers.org.uk/Clova_Entry_From_2007_Draft.doc .

Entries close on November 3rd, but there is a race limit of 300 so sooner is likely to be better.

A dram fine run

Ian Beattie and Phil Tipping had a great day out on Saturday August 4th, running in the Islay half marathon.

Ian finished 11th in 1.28.25 and Phil was 14th in 1.29.54, so they both won veteran's prizes (2nd and 4th) and took home some of the island's most famous product!

Ian commented "Fantastic event - we should think about making it a club weekend next year so we can all go to the post race ceilidh…"

A Law unto himself...

Digby was the lone Harrier at the North Berwick Law Race on August 1st, a short sharp run of 4.5k and 185m up and down the hill above N Berwick.

No doubt assisted by the stylish new shoes, he did himself and the club proud by finishing as 4th Vet and in 7th place overall in a field of 189 runners.

The action pic is from the SHR website - full results and more pics there too.

Club Championship Update - Massive Turn Out at Comrie

Table after the crucial Comrie Hill run. Ian and Phil T both scored a Maximum 17 points as their times rounded up/down to the same time as the winner's. Not a good race to miss (or get DQ-ed)!

Ian and Gordon have now completed 6 races so we take out their worst performance but they keep their 3 points for participation in that race.

Men:
1. Ian Beattie (6 races) 76.5 points*
2. Gordon Morrison (6) 71.7
3. Ben Wake (4) 55.1
4. Adrian Wake (4) 51.6
5. Phil Tipping (3) 40.8
6. Peter Gaylor (4) 37.6
7. Rob Bolton (3) 32.9
8. Simon Wake (3) 31.4****
9. Doug Flint (2) 27.2
10. Allan Mooney**(2) 27.0
11. Phil Mestecky (2) 25.8
12. Digby Sym (2) 25.0
13. David Adams (1) 15.9 (is David a MV50???)
14. Jim McConnell (1) 15.1
15. Colin Glencorse (1) 13.0
16. Victor Johnstone (1) 10.1
17. Eric Sidebottom (1) 9.6
18. Adam Wake (1) 9.5****
19. Phil Pass (1) 4.3

* Includes West Highland Way Race as a Long category C Hill Race.
**Allan's total includes a "joker" race local to him (Dick Wedlock 10k).
***As Ben is U17 his points have been multiplied by 1.45.
****Includes Lairig Ghru as a Long Category C Hill Race.

Women:
1. Ali Manners (5) 50.2
2. Cathy Tilbrook (2) 23.8
3. Liz Mestecky (2) 20.9
4. Beth Fotheringham (2) 16.9
5. Angela MacKenzie (1) 13.8
6. Shelagh Crighton (1) 9.8
7. Karen Pass (1) 9.0

Only 2 races left to go (+ Marathons and Long/Medium Hill Races). Can anyone catch Ian or Ali?

Next race is the Pitlochry 10K on October 7th.

Fun at Comrie

August 2nd saw a great Harriers turnout of 15 runners and many supporters enjoying the 5 mile Comrie Fun Run - perhaps more accurately described on the finisher medals as Comrie Fortnight Hill Race - round lower Glen Lednock on a beautiful evening.

It was a little unfortunate that problems with route signage meant that a number of runners - including Digby Sym and Patrick O'Kane among the leading group - went astray, but first home in 35.42 was Richard Wheeler, a talented young Perth-based runner.

Angela picked up another prize for finishing as first woman, and there were lots of other impressive performances, not least by race organiser Colin Howat and sponsor Rob Bolton whose battling sprint finish raised a cheer from the crowd.

Extra
Full race results are now available here and Club Championship points are being calculated!

Enjoy Liz M's pics of the event: