Great Scottish Run weekend, October 5 and 6

We had another packed weekend of events, with a big group of runners and supporters travelling to Glasgow for the various Greats Scottish Run events on Saturday and Sunday.

First up was the Juniors fun run on Saturday morning, which saw some of the youngest youngsters running. Scott Saunders, Huw Thomas and sisters Beth and Lucy Taylor all enjoyed themselves in the first event, setting the stage for their brothers and sisters and mums and dads later in the weekend.

The next race was the Junior 2.5k race, which in the past has featured runners such as Eilish McColgan, who will, barring injury, be one of Scotland’s leading hopes on the track in next year’s Commonwealth Games. Sol, Levi, and Daniel put on a fine show, with Sol working hard to finish in fourth place overall. 

After all the excitement with the Juniors races on Saturday, it was the turn of the adults on Sunday. The first race was the 10k, and for the Harriers we had the whole range from highly experienced runners such as Patrick and Kerry, to 10k debutants, such as Derek Saunders, David Graham and Donna Stewart.

Patrick recorded a great time of 36.22 to finish in 33rd position in a very high-quality field. Zak Howie, now based in Glasgow, put in a terrific effort to finish in his best 10k time of 41.47, while Kerry also recorded a fine personal best time of 42.27. Maddy ran well for her 45.46. David , Derek and Donna ran together all the way and finished in 1.09.44.

The main event was the Great Scottish Half Marathon, which this year featured the world’s best long-distance runner, Haile Gebreselassie, and a fine collection of other international stars, some of whom we’ll be seeing in Glasgow again at the Commonwealth Games. On his first visit to Scotland, Gebreselassie was a convincing winner, breaking the Scottish all-comers record for the half-marathon, and set a new World Masters age group record. The women’s race was won by Susan Partridge from Oban, another strong medal hope for the Commonwealth Games.

In perfect conditions for a half-marathon and on a fast course, we had a great collections of Harriers performances. Will was first Harrier home in a terrific time of 1.21.13, to finish in 79th position. Other notable performances included personal bests for Wendy (1.37.03), Andy (1.48.08) and Julia (1.56.17). Also running well were Allan McInnes, preparing for the Athens Marathon, Jayne, Matt McClay, preparing for the Abingdon Marathon, Alistair Sexton, Colin T, running again just a week after the Loch Ness Marathon, and Nicola.

And if the Great Scottish Run weekend wasn’t enough, Harriers were also in action at the Chester Marathon, where Phil T recorded a very good 3.23, and at the Ben Venue hill race, where Gordon enjoyed his day out on the hill to beat the 2-hour mark for this demanding race.

Loch Ness Marathon 2013

Over the past few years we’ve had a numbers of Harriers running the Loch Ness Marathon, and this year was no exception. Unfortunately, Danny M wasn’t able to run due to illness, but the other Harriers put in very good efforts.  

Despite now running for Wee County Harriers, Kirsty still has many friends and supporters here in Strathearn, and we were all delighted to hear of her fine run, finishing in 4.28. Kirsty’s on a demanding programme of runs this autumn, having done the Aberfeldy Marathon earlier in September with a PB, and following Loch Ness with the Kirkintilloch half later in the month and the Glen Ogle 33 in November.

Dave G was next home, finishing in 4.42, beating his expected time, so well done Dave. Chris C’s wife Ariane isn’t yet a member of the club but will be press-ganged soon, following her performance of 4.29 in her first marathon, having been paced and supported by Chris all the way round. Representing the section of the club who can still remember when the Beatles were a bunch of brash up-and-coming Scousers, Colin put in a storming performance for the first 20 miles and then slowed down a wee bit. Nevertheless, his final time of 5.20 was a fine effort.

East Neuk and Pitlochry 10ks

A select group of Harriers were running in a couple of races on the weekend of 22 September.

Chris Clarke was a very good eighth place in a time of 38.23, in what sounded like a bit of a fight with the wind. Nic was in 13th woman in a time of 47.46. Julia was running with daughter Kate, in what was apparently Kate’s first 10k, not quite finishing together, with Julia sprinting away from her daughter to finish in 1.03.47, with Kate just 16 second behind.

Meanwhile, over at Pitlochry, Wendy D won the women’s race in a fine 40.36, and John D was 3rd MV50 in 41.58. Fine performances on a less-than-perfect course.

Highland Perthshire half marathon and marathon

Danny M and Allan MacI ran the Highland Perthshire half marathon on a nice looking course from Weem to Kenmore and back again on a mostly flat course. It's one I would have been keen to do if it hadn't been for this pesky leg not working. Anyway, Danny ran a storm to finish in an excellent 1.30.16, in 12th position. Allan's training this year has been more than a wee bit disrupted, but he's gunning for the Athens marathon later in the year, so his time of 1.53.47 suggests he's getting back on track.
Also running was Kirsty, who now wears a Wee County vest, but still has time to come and run with friends here in Crieff and Comrie. Kirsty's training and racing schedule this summer has been pretty awesome, and she was rewarded with a one-hour PB in the marathon, with a time of 4.18.something. In fine Harriers style, she rounded off her marathon day with a party! Inspirational stuff!

Forfar and Perth 10k races, August 2013

The club championship got back into action in August with the Forfar and Perth 10k races. Both events are new to the championship this year, and there were contrasting fortunes for our runners.

Only four Harriers went to Forfar, and according to Phil T, “we all found it quite a tough race. The course is mainly downhill for the first half and consequently mainly uphill once you turn around. We all had a stiff wind into our faces for the second half and there were some tired runners at the end.”

The winner was Stephen Connor of Forfar Road Runners in a time of 37.16. Phil was first Harrier to finish, in 39.57, in 9th position. Zak was next, getting more good race experience, finishing in 46.33, followed by Maddy in 46.43, followed by Nic in 49.28.

There was a much bigger turnout for the Perth 10k the following week. Patrick has a very good record in this race and he repeated his success, finishing in 13th position overall and first M50 in a time of 36.06. Will, on his way back to recovery after injuring an ankle in the arduous task of standing up (albeit after falling off his bike on some gnarly MTB trail) was close behind, one place behind on 36.21. Next was Charlie Grimson in a very good 37.07, with Phil T next on 37.35. Zak was running again and did well to get his time down to 42.34, and at a different point of the age spectrum, Gordon ran well for his 43.20. Al, ably supported by Murray, Harris and Kaz, was next in 44.09, with Nic behind in 45.36, just a wee bit short of her season’s target of 45 minutes. Ali M was next in 48.50, with Sav following in 54.43 and Mary in 58.51.

Sadly, it seems that the course was short, or mis-marshalled, or by some mishap not everyone ran the full 10k distance, so times for PBs might be looked on with a bit of suspicion.

In the championship, the standings are:

Men Patrick            89.3 (5J) Phil T              85.8 (7J+1W) Gordon M       67.9 (5J) Tony               67 (7) Chris               61.1(4+1W) Al                    53.7 (6J)

Women Nicola           79.5 (9J+1w) Emily            71.8  (3J+2w) Maddy          70.6 (7J+2w) Ali                 53.3(4J) Cathy           46.5 (3J)

Six go for a run in Newcastle

Never let it be said that rotten weather gets in the way of a good run. Six hardy Harriers and their trusty support team of Colin and Judith braved the wind, rain and 56,000 other runners for the Great North Run, racing against such international superstars as Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie, Priscah Jeptoo, Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba to raise money for their selected charities and, by the sound of it, have a fine weekend.

For those who don’t know, the Great North Run is one of the world’s biggest mass-participation events, with a route that starts in the centre of Newcastle running out to the coast at South Shields. Our team were Fiona Lyle, Julia Greenlees, Kerry Sweeney, Susan Saunders, Wendy Taylor and Nicola Watson, and we think Newcastle just about survived. Tastefully attired in blue tartan tutus, but disappointingly not wearing club blue socks, the team ran the whole event as a group, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves all the way.