A busy weekend for the Harriers, August 25 and 26

We had a busy weekend at the end of August, with Harriers competing in races on Saturday and Sunday, and with an Olympic Legacy open day for the Juniors on Sunday morning.

First up on Saturday was the Killin 10k. This is the second year this race has been run, and after a good start last year, it’s got better this year, with more runners and a higher quality field. Kirsty and Elaine ran last year and liked it so much they decided to come back, and they were joined this year by Fi. I would have liked to have done it if injury and other priorities hadn’t got in the way.

Elaine was first Harrier home, in a time of 49.48 – over a minute faster than last year. Fi was next in, in a fine 52.09, and Kirsty wasn’t far behind in 55.54 – again, a minute faster than last year. Top scoff in the village hall afterwards.

Also running on Saturday was Morgan Oates, in a real step up into the big league, competing in the Scottish National Track and Field Championships at Grangemouth. Morgan was running in the under-14 100 metres, and won the B final, essentially making her 9th best in Scotland! A very impressive effort for a first exposure to this standard of competition.

Sunday was the Perth 10k. This is a fast flat course, and sure enough, Angela put in a terrific effort to finish in 40.07 – tantalisingly short of her target of 40 minutes, but evidence that her training is paying off and it should only be a matter of time before she gets below the elusive 40 minute mark. This followed Angela’s great performance at the Sherriffmuir Challenge the previous weekend, where she finished 2nd woman in a very fast 1.15.36. Also running in Perth were Nicola, finishing in 48.35, and Mary O’Kane, in 57.45. Patrick was also running, but chose to wear his HBT vest, so we won’t say anything about his time (except to say that it wasn’t bad for someone who’s injured!).

Sol was also running in the Scottish Nationals at Grangemouth, in the under-16 1500 metres on Sunday. Sol is young in this age category, so he was running against boys a year older. It’s a real mark of his ability that he made it to the final, finishing in an outstanding time of 4.45. For some reason, Sol was listed in the official results as running for Stornoway Running AC – maybe someone needs to look at their handwriting!

Meanwhile, back in Crieff, there was a very busy scene at Dallerie where the Juniors open day saw a big turnout of current and prospective new members. There was a fine workout by all concerned, and it seems this part of the club is in very good shape – the coaches and organisers should be very proud of what they’ve already achieved in the short time that the junior section has been running.