Ultras, championships and highland games!

The club was represented in a variety of events over the weekend. Peter Halpin took part in the 40 miles ClydeStride race which started at Partick Railway Station and followed the Clyde Cycle path out to the Falls of Lanark. His Achilles started to bug him after just over two miles and then he had trouble with his calf after ten and in the end just trailed in (his words) in eight hours. At the Scottish Championships at a wind blown Pitreavie (the head wind was up to 5.5 metres at times) the distance runners found turning into the finiahing straigh like battering into a brick wall. The sprinters had a bad time so Johnathan Farrell maybe had something to thank his injured knee for! Peter Bowman, who seems to have just got taller by quite a bit these days, was only two seconds behind the winner of his heat of the 800 metres when he finished in 2:01. The times are an indication of just what the weather was like for the runners. Then at Thornton Highland Games Tony Dolan was third in the 800 metres and also in the 1600 metres. Two good weekends on the circuit - once he sees the pay packets for the throwers, he'll probably start to bulk up a bit! The Games are good fun, you learn your trade in many ways there and the handicaps make for good hard races for everyone in the field. I am really surprised that more athletes don't make use of them even as preparation for other races whether track championships or, at the end of the season, as preps for the short relays in October. We used to do the 3000 metres team races + the 1600 metres handicaps in August and September to speed us up for the McAndrews and the County Relays as well. It also gets you around the country ................ but this is turning into a travelogue so I'll stop there - well done to all who competed at the weekend!