Races - Last Week and This

The Scottish Schools Cross Country Championships were held at the Beach Park in Irvine last Saturday and we had several athletes taking part. Both of the Under 13 girls, Roisin McShea and Rachel Busby ran well and it was good to see Roisin doing her usual hard working run and it seems clear that as she gets older she will only get better. Rachel ran a very steady race and worked her way through well - at one point I was slow in getting to where she crossed in front of me but could watch her for a while as, away from where any of the club representatives could see her, she worked hard and had a tussle against a bigger girl which I think she won. If these girls can run together for a few more years then, as with good club runners in the past, girls from all over will be wanting to join their team. Connor Ewing had a very good day apart from a wee fall near the start but it didn't stop him from running well - he really is a good prospect for the future if he can get regular training and racing in. I missed Tony Dolan's race - I hadn't seen Phil or Tony anywhere before that but it's not surprising because you walk, jog, trot all over the trail at Irvine to keep in touch with the race and see the runners as often as possible. Peter Bowman had a good run and we can look forward to a good summer and an early breaking of the two minute barrier for the 800.
I was walking along a windy stretch near the Dragon Hill when one of the bigger girls dressed inappropriately for the weather in the tiniest of crop tops with lots of flesh on display in a very cold wind suddenly stopped and looked around for a bit and then hurled herself to the ground. Ten, maybe even five, years ago I would have gone to see what is wrong - but not any more. There were lots of girls running round and past her and teachers were only 300 yards or so away but I didn't think there was anything wrong since she had actually stopped and looked around before going to ground. I spoke to a couple of Sports Development Officers subsequently about it and they said I was right not to go to her assistance - the only explanation necessary being "It's 2010!" Mind you had I thought she was seriously hurt I would probably have done the wrong thing and gone to her assistance.
Then on Sunday the Under 20 Men were in action in the Kelvin Hall in the final of the Indoor League. They performed nobly although Peter Bowman was very tired after Saturday's exertions in Irvine. Results will be elsewhere on the blog but the timing of the two fixtures was not good for anybody. Simultaneously the Balloch - Clydebank Race was being held and officials were being sought - or rather stewards were being sought. Officials can be obtained via the governing body if you approach them early enough and you don't need to use your own for road races. Were we to write to graded officials as soon as we had the date for the Dunky Wright for instance then we would probably have more club members running in the race which does count for the Dunbartonshire Winter League.
This weekend we have the Dunky Wright on Saturday and I'll be down to see how the race goes and to shout on any CH member doing their bit for the club. I'm also available to steward or whatever if required. Then on Sunday there are the Young Athlete Road Race Championships at Rouken Glen and according to Phil we have a number of runners out there as well. I won't be there - I'm coming down to do a training session at Linwood in the morning on Saturday then going straight to the Dunky Wright in the afternoon. Having done that I'm reluctant to do the journey down from Lochearnhead the following day so good luck to all who are running - I look forward to seeing the results.