Hill running in Clydesdale Harriers

The club has always had good – or at least enthusiastic - hill runners. It all apparently started with Bobby Boyd who ran in the Ben Nevis race early in the 1950’s and enjoyed it so much that he persuaded a bunch of club members including David Bowman, Pat Younger, Willie Howie, Frank Kielty and others to go the next year and have a go. The involvement progressed from there – after all the fishing expeditions into the Kilpatrick Hills always ended in a stampede – usually started by Pat Younger – back down to OK. The Ben Nevis has a long and honourable role in the club’s history and we even have a trophy for annual presentation to the first club runner in the race and we have the annual Kilpatricks Hill Race.

The 1960’s when Ian Donald joined the club from Shettleston Harriers was a very good period for the club with Ian winning many races such as Goat Fell and Newtonmore but the real high spot was when Bobby Shields won the Ben race with Pat winning the veterans trophy. Club runners contested races all over the country and Phil Dolan in the 1970’s set a new record for the fearsome Mamore Hill race and the broke itself himself the followin year. This was the year that I won a trophy for the Mamore when I didn’t run! We entered a team of four but I couldn’t go bercause I was ill but the other three won the race and received four trophies. So Ian Leggett awarded it to me at Whitecrook the following Tuesday. We all had a shot at hill running with Phil, myself, Doug Gemmell, Bobby Shields, Ian Donald, Pat Younger, Frank Kilety, Allan Sharp, Hughie Hoole, Jackie Girvan and so on all taking part in the events. The biggest achievement had to be when Bobby Shields led the British Fell Runner of the Year competition in its first year only to drop to second when Dave Cannon of Kendal ‘stole’ it in the last race of the series. Bobby had a superb record in the Ben race and also ran in England, Wales and Ireland before organising the Arrochar Alps race from Arrochar covering Ben Vorlich, Ben Vane, Ben Ime and Ben Narnain.
Bobby’s brother Jim led what might have been the most successful squad of club hill runners ever in the 1990’s. Scottish International Hill runners Ian Murphy and Brian Potts won races from Tinto Hill in the south to points all over Scotland. It was also the first time that the club had women hill runners and they were all very successful – Christine Menhennet is a legend as a runner for Clydesdale and Westerlands having won the Island PeaKS Race with her companion Helen Diamantides, Cathie Farrell won many races and Shelagh King was one of the many enthusiastic and talented women who supported them. Brian Potts, Ian Murphy, Pat Bonnar, Andy Dytch, Don Reid, Brian Edridge and many more wore the club colours on many a successful expedition.

At present John Kennedy is the top long hill racer with Prasad Prasad having won 12 out of 13 hill races this summer and winning two Scottish vests. The Daddy of them all in terms of longevity and quality has to be Michael Diver who has cycled to and raced in more races than most of the present crop of hill runners. Jim Shields shouldn’t be forgotten with almost 20 Ben Races to his credit as well as selections to the World Mountain Championship events in Europe.

Brian Gallagher mentioned the book “Feet in the Clouds” by Michael Askwith of Keswick AC which details a summer’s racing in as many of the great fell races in England as he could. It also includes pen portraits of many fell running greats – including the fantastic Jos Naylor – amd details of his four attempts to do the Bob Graham Round. It is still available at £16:99 from Aurum Press.

Peter Halpin recommends “Running High” by Hugh Symonds published by Hayloft Publishing at £20:00. He was Fell Runner of the Year in 1990 and the book is an account of his non stop run which covered 2000 miles in 97 days including 277 Munros, 4 English tops, 15 Welsh peaks and 7 Irish Summits. You get seriously tired just typing it!!!

So – the moral is to get up into the Kilpatricks on a Sunday, join Michael as a pillion passenger and take to the hills. You could be the next Prasad Kennedy.