Newtyle Hill race, 13 April

Strathearn Harriers were out in strength for the Newtyle Hill race, run on Wednesday 13 April, for the third of the Club Championship races, with the girls outnumbering the boys. The race is a mix of trail, hill and woodland with the finish through the Dunkeld golf course and back on the Fungarth path to Loch of the Lowes. Confusingly for Gordon and I, who had recce'd the course the previous week, it was decided to run the race in the reverse direction. This did mean the big hill came nearer the start (which may or may not be a good thing), but also meant that there was a nasty wee hill about a mile short of the finish which I really didn’t appreciate.

The first Harrier home, in 13th position overall, was Phil T in a time of 34:56. I was second Harrier to finish, in 22nd position, in a time of 36:50, and Gordon was third, 28th overall, in 38:42.

For the women, Kerry was first home in a time of 39:52. Kerry finished second in the women’s race, closely followed by Cathy, third in the women’s race, in a time of 40:16. Nicola and Liz followed in fifth and sixth positions in the women’s race, with Nicola finishing first in her age group category. For Kerry and Nicola, this race come just three days after they ran the Lochaber Marathon in Fort William – just how hardcore is that!

Somehow, the women managed to acquire numerous prizes, consisting mainly of bottles of wine.

A Busy Weekend in October

It was another busy weekend for Strathearn Harriers, with runners racing across the country.

Saturday’s action kicked off with the Ben Venue hill race. This was the sixth and final race in the Scottish Hill Racing Championship, and Will was racing for a top ten position in the championship table. Will finished tenth, in a time of 1:20:21 to cover the 12 kilometres distance and 860 metres of ascent from the bottom Ben Venue, up to the top and down again. Also running for the Harriers were Andy Gallagher (79th in 1:36:13), Doug Flint (112th in 1:43:25), Gordon Morrison (127th in 1:46:13) and Rhian Evans (16th woman, in a time of 1:48:06).

Will’s finish gave him sufficient points to finish 7th overall in the SHR Championship, and 3rd in the V40 category. Last year Will finished 10th overall, so the Ben Venue result rounded off a very successful season in great style.

Much of Sunday’s action was centred on the Loch Ness Marathon. This is the biggest marathon in Scotland and follows a scenic route from the southern end of Loch Ness to Inverness. Kerry and Nicola ran together and finished in the very impressive time of 3:39:10. This was only the second time that Kerry and Nicola have run a marathon, and they were delighted to improve their previous best times by more than 10 minutes. Karen P was next Harrier home, in a time of 3:49:51, followed closely by Allan MacInnes in 3:53:04. Susan Saunders run her first marathon and finished in 4:21:46, with Colin T flying the flag for the over-60s with a splendid time of 5:05:42.

Following her success at the Pitlochry 10k, Angela once again headed the women’s results at the Saint Andrews Hospice 10k, held at Strathclyde Park. Angela was first woman home in a time of 41:51.

Also running on Sunday was Elaine Moffat, at the Oban half marathon. Elaine ran a personal best time of 1:51:15 to finish 8th woman on a course which has a very nasty sting in the tail, with a steep climb right at the finish.

Upcoming races for Harriers’ members over the next couple of weeks include the Kirkintilloch half marathon, the Mersey marathon in Liverpool, the Meall nan Tarmachan hill race, and the first race in the Eastern District Cross Country League.

New Year's Morning run

A large group of 21 runners and 1 dog turned out for the 2011 New Year's run from Comrie village up icy paths to the Melville monument and back.

Although the start time was later (more civilised) than in the past, all the traditional ingredients were there - shouts of encouragement from onlookers in the village centre, Rob Bolton's famous "coffee" at the top of the hill, and a dip in the the Wee Cauldron for a hardy few on the way back.

Excellent start to the year!

Simon Wake Comrie Hills Relay 2010

Tom Wake, son of Simon Wake and watched by his mother Shelagh, presents the prize for fastest Leg 1 to Scottish International Andy Fallas of Carnethy.

A record 35 teams from 18 running clubs across Scotland took part in this year's Simon Wake Comrie Hills Relay, run over a reconfigured course on Sunday 12th September. It’s a tough 40k+ event with over 2,000 metres of ascent, run in four stages by teams of five runners. The highly scenic course starts and finishes at Laggan Park in Comrie and follows a route over the hills in Glen Lednock.

The race is organised by Strathearn Harriers, with support from The Famous Grouse Experience, and is dedicated to the memory of Harrier Simon Wake who died tragically in 2008 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. All proceeds from the race are donated to the fight against this terrible disease.

The men's race, which featured three Scottish International runners, was a real thriller with the lead changing hands between teams from Carnethy, Deeside and Strathearn (briefly) before Deeside’s Robbie Simpson became the first leg 3 runner ever to break the hour and in so doing looked to have put the race beyond doubt.
However, as seems inevitable in the Comrie Relay, a final twist and a couple of missed turnings by the Leg 4 Deeside runner allowed Tim Darlow to sprint across Laggan Park to the finish to snatch victory for Carnethy by just 7 seconds after 40 kilometres and 3 hours 16 minutes of running.

Strathearn Harriers Men’s team – comprising Colin Glencorse, Phil Mestecky, Digby Sym, Will Manners and Phil Tipping – finished close behind in third place in a time of 3 hours 18 minutes 14 seconds.

The women’s race was won by a team from Ochil Hill Runners, while Fife AC won both the Men’s Vet and Women’s Vet categories. Lothian Running Club won the Mixed category, but a Harriers Mixed team featuring Nicola Watson, Angela Mackenzie, Doug Flint, Tony Wayte and Andy Greaves were category runners up in a very respectable time of 3:56:53.

The third Harriers team of Cathy Tilbrook, Adrian Wake, Peter Gaylor, James Bussey and Ali Manners ran well to finish fifth in the Mixed category.

Despite the navigational questions (?!!), Deeside's strength showed in the fact that they picked up two of the fastest Leg prizes:
Leg 1: Andy Fallas (Carnethy) - 46.55
Leg 2: Drew Tivendale and Sam Burgess (Deeside) - 39.04
Leg 3: Robbie Simpson (Deeside) - 59.31
Leg 4: Bill Fairmaner (Fife) - 38.07

An enjoyable day ended with cups of tea, plenty of post-race analysis and a great barbecue sitting in the sunshine in Laggan Park.

As well as being an increasingly popular fixture on the Scottish hill running calendar, the race is very much a community event which brings together many people from Strathearn in a variety of roles. Race organisers Phil Tipping and Colin Tipping were in overall charge but thanks go to many other people who gave their time and energy to organise timekeeping, marshalling, car parking, feeding the runners, marking the course and a myriad of other tasks.

Thanks also go to The Famous Grouse Experience for providing prizes and to those local landowners on the east side of Glen Lednock who this year kindly gave permission for the race to cross their land.

Full results are on the Strathearn Harriers site here: http://www.strathearnharriers.org.uk/ComrieHillsRelay2010resultsv2.pdf
Other pics of the event are here http://picasaweb.google.com/McStecko/SimonWakeComrieHillsRelay2010#

The Famous Grouse Crieff 10k 2010

There was an excellent turnout of 249 runners for this year's Famous Grouse Crieff 10k and despite some damp conditions before the race it was once again a successful and enjoyable event. Morrison's Academy sports ground was a beautifully manicured green and there was an abundance of food for all.

Results are at www.strathearnharriers.org.uk/Crieff10kresults2010.pdf

First man home was Neil Calder of Edinburgh AC in 35.31, just ahead of Andrew Wright of Carnegie in 35.52. Chris Black of Bellahouston was 3rd in 37.05.

The womens race was won for the second year in succession by Edel Mooney of Lothian in 40.41, with second and third places going to Claire Couper in 42.05 and Strathearn Harrier Angela Mackenzie in 44.02.

Colin Glencorse was first Harrier home in a very impressive 37.54 and 6th place, closely followed by Will Manners in 38.09 and 8th place. Will and Angela collected the prizes for first local runners, including a gallon of whisky each. (So when's the party?)

Special mention for the three bananas who finished the race, in a bunch of course, in just over 65 minutes. This was race number 6 in a series of ten 10ks they are running to raise money for charity- more at http://www.justgiving.com/100kbanana

The club is very grateful to The Famous Grouse Experience for their generous sponsorship of the race, and to Highland Spring and Morrison's Academy too for their support.

Race organiser Ali Beattie did a great job, ably assisted by Colin Tipping and a team of other helpers. Thanks go also to the pipers from the Comrie Pipe Band who spurred the runners on and to Gilbert the Grouse for his performance at the finish line!

Devils Burdens 2010

Another excellent day doing the Devils Burdens relay over the Lomond Hills.

After loads of call-offs we had only one Harriers team this year, comprising Jack and James on Leg 1, Gordon on Leg 2, Phil M and Andy on Leg 3 and Kenny on Leg 4. Jack's mum and Seonaid turned out to support.

The access roads were clear and the weather on the day was cool but mostly dry. There was some snow and ice on the hill - some of the snow deep and very hard going - but there was also a lot of easier wet grass and track.

The race entry was up from 110 or so last year to 120 [corrected from first post]. For the first time the race start was split - slower teams at 09.30 and the rest at 10.00. For various reasons the Harriers team ended up starting at 0930, and discovered that this was no bad thing!

Parking was easier at all points round the race, there wasn't a bottleneck of runners going up the hill on Leg 1, and - most unusual but all the more enjoyable - Harriers were first to finish both Legs 1 and 2!!!

Inevitably the 30 minute head start didn't last and the elite runners started overtaking during Leg 3, but it was a good effort and a good run from all the Harriers involved.

The team finished in around 3hrs 30. Inividual timekeeping was a bit disorganised but we'll see the exact times and positions when the official results are published.

Update: Harriers finished 73rd in 3:31:74 - full results now available here :

http://bcruickshank.brinkster.net/DevilsBurden2010Results.htm

Simon Wake Comrie Relay Results 2009

Well done to Ochils men's and women's teams who won just about everything at this years Comrie Relay.

The men's team set a new course record of 3:17:12 and picked up all 4 leg winners prizes with Prasad Prasad and Ross Houston setting new leg records on legs 1 and 4 respectively.

Ochil Ladies held off the challenge of the home club to win the women's competition b 5 minutes.

First vets team was Carnethy with Beacon retaining their Mixed team title.

The weather was excellent and, I think, a good time had by all.

Thanks to all organizers and helpers on the day.

Here are the results in image format. When Gordon gets back I'm sure he'll tidy this up a bit and post the full excel file, but for now, I hope this is good enough!

I've added some Strathearn-centric photos here but there's also quite a few from other teams too!