I note that this years Calendar for the Hill Runners' Association has a Clydesdale Harrier on the cover! Michael Diver no less who is running in the Slioch Horseshoe, we think, and he is clearly not doing it for charity as he is fully clad and wearing a club vest. Well done, Michael, I'll take my cut of the additional sales drummed up by the blog.(click photo for enlargement)
I said that the women's team that was third in the vets championship at the weekend was the first set of team medals since the men in the 1950's. I've just been corrected and it was pointed out that the men were third at Troon in 1992 when a certain Phil Dolan was fourth to finish. That's two National Championships where Phil was fourth. He occupied the position in the National Championships in 1977 after a battle up the finishing straight with Jim Brown of Monklands with Phil just missing the third spot by the thickness of an old fashioned vest. And of course in the early 1990's the Under 15 boys were third. I'm not sure of the counting runners but the team included Alan Moore, Craig Lyle, Jamie Hood and Robert Emmanuel. Alan could possbly have been in the first three but he had an ongoing duel with Stuart Gibson and they battled it out at the front of a big field before Alan (who had been of school with a cold all week) dropped back in the finishing straight.
Roll on the National Championship - there is a clash on the 21st February with the Local Authority Sports Show being on the same day as the National. Some of us have big choices to make but there is something for everyone that day!
