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!

Scottish Under 20's Championships

The only result that I have so far is Johnathan Farrell's third place in the Under 20 100 metres in 11.5. It was a wet and miserable morning in a deserted Grangemouth Stadium and he was drawn in lane 5 - a change from all the lane 8 and lane 1's that he'd been getting - in the Final. Side by side with the eventual winner for the first 60 metres or so he fell back slghtly and lost a place. With the winner timed at 11:3 and the fourth placed runner at 11.51 he was nearer first than fourth!

One of the topics of discussion on the day was why the Scottish Athletics U20 Championship had to be held on the same weekend as the Scottish Schools AA. The 17 years and over athletes had to choose between school and Scottish championships. Some tried to do both events - and their performances in most cases suffered.
It's not down to the schools - their champioships have been this weekend for as long as I've been in the sport - but the question is directed rather at the national governing body. All sides lost - the schools and the Scottish had diminished fields (eg Scottish Athletics U20 and Under 23 Women's 800 races were straight finals with only 4 runners and 5 runners respectively), the young athletes had to decide which meeting to support and whichever they chose they would lose out on a major championship. It is especially keenly felt by pupils in their last year at school who want to do a last schools competition where the atmosphere is a bit different.

Well done Peter - and Bobby and Pete!

In the Scottish Schools on Saturday Peter Bowman had a very good day when he broke two minutes for the 800 metres for the first time. Finishing third he was timed at 1:59.22 - a medal and a pb, who could ask for more? Tomorrow Sunday he is in the Scottish Athletics Under 20Championships and running in the 1500 metres - another pb would be good. Then on Tuesday he goes down to Manchester with Johnathan Farrell to run at the Trafford Track in another 800. I look forward to the result.

Earlier in the week Bobby Young and Pete Cartwright competed in the Corstorphine Five Miles Road race. Bobby was clocked at 32:22 and Pete was exactly 20 seconds behind in 32:42 for the hilly course.

SSAA Championships

Following the last post on this subject I went back to the entry list for the Scottish Secondary Schools Championships where they list the entrants by school.The exact numbers for local schools that have provided club members in the recent past are: Clydebank High School, Dumbarton Academy, Our Lady and St Pat's, the Hermitage and Cleveden - NO entries; St Peter the Apostle High School has entered two boys in three events; Bearsden Academy has entered three athletes; Balfron High has entered five pupils, Douglas Academy eight and Boclair eleven. Given the numbers entered for the County Schools and the number of young athletes in the club there could probably have been more pupils entered. It might be that the schools do not have the man power in terms of teachers to enter more. Derek McGinley used to offer to enter teams from local high schools and the offer was taken up. It might really be a good idea to have a schools liaison officer - a retired committee member, a parent who has the inclination to make the contacts with the school or even someone with flexible working hours would be useful. But the future of the sport is not good with numbers like those quoted above representing local schools in the SSAA Championships.

European selection race

The European Hill Running selection race took place at the week end and Prasad travelled down to the Borders to take part. It was a three lap course out of which he ran two good laps - the first and third! With four to be selected he was in fourth place until mid-way through the second lap when in the the immortal - but not original - words 'the wheels fell off!' He dropped back to ninth and then on the last lap pulled back to seventh. It's a pity - he hasn't had much luck this year and fewer competitions than he might have liked.
He'll be at Glen Tosa on the nineteenth and then it's the second round of the British Championships a week later on the twenty sixth.

Talking about Championships, the Scottish Under 20's are on this week end with Johnathan Farrell in action in the 100 metres at 10:30.

Well done, Johnathan

At the Inter Regional Championships at Wishaw at the weekend, Johnathan Farrell had a good couple of days competition. On Saturday he won the B 100 metres and then on Sunday was part of a winning relay team. Two days, two races, two wins. Doesn't get much better than that!
All being well he wil be running in Dumfries at the weekend in the Central and South of Scotland League where all age groups and both sexes compete as a team - albeit with an abbreviated programme of events. There were also good results at the weekend in the Parkrun in Glasgow with Roisin and Claire both performing well alongside several of the senior club members. Roisin and Claire will be at Dumfries and it will be a good day's sport. Seniors are reminded that they don't need to take the car - a bus has been organised and it is usually good to travel as a squad.

Good Luck

Since I'm off on holiday from Saturday morning I'd like to wish everybody and anybody competing on the road, on the track or up in the hills this weekend. The County Schools Cross Country Championships were held in the Goldenhill Park this morning and the only result that I have to hand is that Roisin McShea won her race comfortably enough. If any other results are available, I'd like to know! They tend not to be published in the AW. Several of the younger ones are going to the Nigel Barge 3000 metres fun run tomorrow before the Seniors do their bit. So get there a wee bit early Seniors and give the young ones a cheer on their way. We all like to be appreciated. It is good to see Maryhill Harriers putting this race on - it is similar to the efforts by Kirkie Olympians and Garscube Harriers to increase recruitment but doesn't take too many officials to do it. Our best, most recent opportunity to do some recruiting of course was at the Goldenhill Races where PE teachers are all there and it is possible to do some networking, do some recruiting and prepare for the future. It would be a pity if the chance was not grabbed with both hands. For the Seniors tomorrow the race counts towards the Dunbartonshire Cross Country League with the club needing six finishers at least - even if you are not in the first six, you could well be adding to the totals of other clubs. So get out there big style and all the very best.
Next Saturday is one I'll miss but one that I would like to see. It's the Six Stage relays for Men and four stage for women at Livingstone. With two men's teams entered and Mark Eudzinski, former Scottish U20 10000 metres road running champion (in 2000) in the second team it is the most promising outlook for some time. Go on chaps - give it stick (as South African Harrier John Bell Maclachlan used to say).

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.

National Championships

It was a glorious day at Falkirk for the National Cross Country Championships on Saturday. Bright, sunny, a bit cold but nothing like recent freezing weather and an eminently runnable trail all made for good racing and the biggest turn out for several years. We as a club could have done with more runners on the start line but those who came all ran well up to their ability and the club should be pleased and proud of them. In the senior men's race the runners from the club totalled seven, we could have done with more but never mind, and after Gary Dick had to pull out injured we still had a counting team. The women were represented by Marina and Kath who seem to be the only ones prepared to race in the District or National Championships but four were needed to make a team. In a field where 186 women finished the course the girls were 66th and 86th - over 100 women behind them! Peter Bowman ran well in his race but was disappointed to be out of the top 20 - never mind Peter you will improve as time passes and many of those in front are pretty well guaranteed to drop out of the sport. A sad but true reflection on the sport! Less than 10% of those competing at Under 15 level survuve to the Senior Ranks. How's that for a statistic? Claire Reid did her usual solid run and with more experience and maybe some hard parkruns she should surely improve for next year. She could also have done with a couple of team mates - where were Kirsty and Dianne? There were two Under 20's running - Ryan Savage ran well but is currently concentrating on the 400 metres (although he missed the race in the Kelvin Hall in Sunday), David Brown dropped out and Ryan Nelson was stewarding at Celtic Park. With Rachel out ill Roisin was the only runner in the Under 13 race and was 63rd out of 113 athletes who finished. David Campbell again started a bit slowly but time will improve that and he can be happy with his fitness after the cross country season satisfied that he is in good shape for the summer season. Tony Dolan and Lewis Wood each had solid enough runs but it was unfortunate that club champion Connor Ewing was away playing football on the day.
In fact fourthe club champions from last week missed the National Championships for one reason or another.
Peter Rudzinski is the example to us all - I think it is 28 National Championships and a finisher in every one of them. Several times he has been a counter and without him there have been many occasions when Clydesdale Harriers Senior Men would not have finished a team. Placings in the National to a large extent decide how a club is regarded in the wider field of Scottish Athletics and placings in the National are decided by numbers. For some years now the numbers of club representatives in these races has been low. We need to do something about it whether it means recruiting new athletes or using the current members more appropriately for next year. I should say that it is not just a CH problem - I was speaking to a guy from an Eastern club on Saturday who had a team member out shopping with is wife (on the day of the National???) and another on holiday (on National day???) That doesn'r of course alter the fact that we do have a problem. Well at least those who were there all had a good time!

Races

I enjoyed the races at the club championship on Saturday. The trails for the races while difficult for the runners are great for the spectators and the scenery is among the most spectacular I have seen at any course. The competition was good too with a lot of quality on show among the young athletes. The girls, led by Rachel, Roisin and Claire, all seemed good and only need more racing. Rachel made a wee mistake in not listening too hard to the marksman at the start (the marksman is the chap who describes the course to the runners and tells them to keep their toes behind the line) and misjudging her finish. All runners make these mistakes it is a question of limiting how many you make - she's young enough to learn and next week is after all more important than last week. I once fell out with a club official after the West District Championship in Bellahouston Park in a similar situation. It was an Under 17 Boys race and Phil Dolan ran well but John Tonner had a poor run to finish inside the first ten but out of the first five and one of the club officials went across to him while he was still dripping sweat and started an inquest on his performance. I just barged in and told him that immediately after the race wasn't the time for the post mortem - John knew he had not run well and was even more upset and annoyed than he was. I told him to leave it to tomorrow when they had both calmed down and it would be more productive. He didn't speak to me for a week or more. "You're no in your classroom the now, you know!" was one of the milder remarks!!!
In the Seniors Paul Carroll deserved his win and rarely have I seen such determination in a race: may in Scotland will run faster this year but none will run harder. Gary Dick and Ian Robertson both ran well and if Gary can get his knees back into a painfree condition he will be a real threat. Ian just needs more conditioning and racing, I think. Pamela was a worthy winner of the Ladies race from Marina and Kath who both ran steady races on a difficult course.
Roll on Saturday - Falkirk is not as difficult as our trail.

An Answer and An Apology!

In the last blog I asked why, when we were the top male senior and vets teams in the West Districts were we not even in the first three in the Dunbartonshire. There are as you might expect a whole series of possible answers and some are definite contributions to the two results. First the trail was different and much more runnable - there was I felt a wee element of chance in the Maryhill course where neither brute strength nor technique were in play but rather a big bit of luck. Second six counters were required for the Wests as opposed to only four for the DAAA. Third there was a difference in personnel - Michael, Paul and Gary were in the first three in the Wests but Gerry Montgomery and new man Kevin Farmer added a lot (but not in points terms!) and they were followed by Ryan Savage and David Brown as well as Peter Rudzinski. Five new faces. But of the three replies I got for this query the one that was to me closest to the answer was from Gary Dick, club captain. His point was that there was no Prasad, no John Kennedy and several others were missing but when the club's top men get together then there are real chances for good results. I know that in the 60's and 70's when Ian Leggett, Ian Donald, Allan Faulds, Phil Dolan and myself all ran we won more team awards than we were maybe at times entitled to. If one guy had a bad run, there were two or three others ready to take his place. Whether it was the Clydebank to Helensburgh 16 miles, the Airdrie Highland Games 3 miles or the Mamore Hill Race, there were always guys able to get a result teamwise. Lots of clubs with theoretically more really top class runners than us, didn't turn their men out so we profited. Were Gary, Paul, Gerry, Michael, etc to agree on what they were to race then who knows what we could do?
I didn't know Keven Farmer and wasn't looking for him at the weekend - at times like that you home in on the vest, but he comes well recommended by guys who train with him and he can gain a lot and give a lot to club teams over the coming months.
Finally an apology - Kath Scott took offence at what I said in the first blog on the Wests - if it caused offence I'm sorry but I was just reporting as I saw the race developing. I well remember Kath and Ann racing each other at the awful trail in Kirkintilloch for the DAA Championships two years ago and it was probably the hardest race between two club runners of either gender for the past few years. I just repeat that if she can get the work done and the races in, she could do well in the National.

Two points about the West District

There were several interesting points about the West Districts such as the mix of older and younger members in the team and Michael's excellent performance but I want to draw attention to two in particular. The first Harrier to beat an Eritrean racing for Shettleston Harriers was on Saturday. Step forward Marina! Amleset Tewelde is a class athlete who performed well for most of last winter. Now it's up to the men to follow suit.
Second the men's teams were the first local club to finish in the men's races being 63 points ahead of Garscube and with no VP team out the question has to be "what happened to us the week before?" The Men's Vets were also first County team to finish - they were fifth with 199 points while Westerlands were seventh with 267. Helensburgh ninth with 288, Garscube eleventh with 326 and again no VP team out. so how come we were so far back the week before?

Finally I have had an email from Frank McGowan in Spain where he has set up a training camp with John Graham (the Olympic and Commonwealth marathon runner) and they have started on a website of their own at www.jfpacemakers.com where you can get some of the details of the area and their abbreviated life stories. One of the stories is that John Graham wants to join the club. John was a notoriously hard trainer and at one time he took his dog with him on training runs to give it some exercise but it had a heart attack and had to be restricted to less demanding walkies! Watch this space!

West District Championship

It was a good day for the club and indeed for all competitors and supporters at Irvine for the District Championships. I was a bit late getting there partly because it was an 80 mile journey, partly because of the traffic but mainly because I only allowed two hours for the journey. The result was that I missed both Under 13 races but I did speak to the runners and their parents as well as other club members. The girls did well - Roisin McShea had a first class run to be twelfth, Rachel Busby was not far behind in distance and Kirsty Alexander had a much better run than last week at Maryhill. She said she felt better and reports were that she had a good run. David Campbell in the Under 13's race finished with a flourish but one of the club members I spoke to, and his mother agreed, said that he had started a bit too slow and had a bit too much in hand at the finish. It is probably just inexperience and it is likely that the more he races the better he will get. In the Under 15 Girls race Claire Reid ran well to be well up in the first third of the field and for a while there was a wee duel between Diane Nicholson and Kirsty Alexander before Diane moved off to finish clearly ahead of her club rival. In the Under 15 Boys race Tony Dolan ran well with David Newton having a solid enough run behind him. The Senior Ladies race had twice as many runners as any championship race this year: Marina had a first class run (she really is getting better with every outing) looking strong and aggressive right to the end. Kath Scott also ran well but the lack of cross country races this year so far showed and although at one point within catching distance of Marina fell away towards the end. The cure is more of the same! If Kath gets a run in the Hannah Cup and the club championships she will be a lot closer in the Nationals. The bad news is that the rest of the women chose not to run and the girls had no team.
The Senior Men looked better than for some time. The mix of hard racing Seniors and promising Under 20's was really encouraging. Michael Diver led the team home with the best run I have seen from him for some time - he looked like a real athlete, strong and fast and relazed all the way. Behind him was Paul Carroll working hard as usual and giving nothing away to the opposition with Gerry Montgomery chasing hard behind - had Paul eased up anywhere, Gery would have had him. Gary Dick worked hard and although he injured his leg on the last lap held on to be the club's fourth counter. Ryan Savage was the club's first Under 20 to finish with David Brown not far behind. Peter Rudzinski running his twenty sixth District Championships provided the back up in case any of the others dropped out. Phil's ambition of having four Under 20's running for the club next winter looks near fruition - the two who ran here plus Ryan Nelson plus........................
Peter Bowman who ran a very well judged race in the Under 17 Men's race to be tenth at the finish of a very competitive event. I was out in the middle of nowhere but where I could see the runners four times in every lap and Peter really worked hard out there where he thought no one could see him. At first he was running with a boy from Kilbarchan, he got away from him and caught the next group; he got away from them and headed for a VP runner and caught him too. All the way he was chasing the guy in front and not worrying about runners behind him. It was a quite excellent race and in a couple of years time he will be really hard to beat. It was a good day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here come two runners.............

On our way into Callander we stopped at Kilmahog to give the dog a 'comfort stop' and after a couple of minutes walking along the old railway line, we spotted two guys heading towards us and then they were recognised to be moving quite smartly and my wife said "Here come two runners!" Runners? It was Bobby Young and Pete Cartwright. They had come from Pete's house and gone up and round Ben Ledi in the snow. Bobby was complaining that he was going to ask Santa for a satnav - Pete had said the run was only five and a half miles but Bobby wasn't convinced that they had been doing twelve minute miles. He even showed me his watch which told me the time of day (which I knew already) but that didn't tell me when he had started. They both looked very fresh for guys who had been going at twelve minute miles! Pete reckons that he will be running at the West Districts on Saturday in Irvine - another vet, guys. Five veterans representing the club last week, where are all the Seniors? The same five plus Pete will give us six runners and with six to count we should at least have a team.
Prasad was ill all last week and he hasn't been seen since Monday this week when he was said to be looking very rough.
At the IFAC conferece at the end of October Frank Dick pointed out that the effects of training while suffering from swine 'flu are not yet known and that we should all be careful. He even recommended that we follow the habit of our 'Transatlantic Cousins' by sneezing into our armpits or into our elbow if we have no time to get any handkerchief out. We all get wee colds and chills at this time of year and we all have different ways of dealing with them. Any suggestions for general use can be put in the comments slot under the blog or even just discussed on the hoof at training nights.

Why not in Clydebank?

It is usually true that for a cross country runner, to have the race on his/her own patch is an advantage to the athlete and the club. We used to hold many, many races in Clydebank including the County Relays and Championships with great frequency. I'm not sure why it is not still the case - we had the dreadful course at Kirkintilloch to run on for a couple of years (and we mught be back there again) and at the weekend we had the trail at Maryhill which was not a good course for young runners just getting involved in the sport. Why not hold it in Clydebank again? If the response is that the changing accommodation is too far away, well it wouldn't be much further than the course at Gartconner Primary in Kirkintilloch is from the changing at Kirkintilloch High School which is particularly difficult for the young athletes after their race on a bad day! There is time to get a bid in for next year, I suspect that the DAAA would be happy for a new course to be on offer and we could maybe gain a medal or three as a result. The club committee could put it on their agenda and come up with a suitable course and then our representatives on the Dunbartonshire Committee could put it forward at the next meeting of their committee.

This is just a couple of points before I go to our annual October timeshare week at Kilmelfort south of Oban. First a quote from Athletics Weekly. There had been a ceremony to make awards to people and clubs who had done well over the year or ober their career. These included 'Services to Volunteering' which went to Stephen Jackson who had led the overhauling and restructuring of the club, the Lifetime Services to the sport went to Mike Smith who had been a coach for over 50 years and still going strong and to many others. But the one that tickled my fancy was the award for 'Club to Community Partnership' and I just quote direct without comment: "Ivanhoe Robins Junior Athletics Club has developed all aspects of the club and thrives on creative partnerships and relationships with local organisations to develop an innovative, exciting environment that encourages a "learn and grow" culture".

When Jan Shields was club assistant secretary she was keen on the club minutes being available to all club members and at times posted them on the club notice board. Cliff when President used to talk often about 'communication within the club'. If it was important then it is even more important now when the club is split as far as training venue is concerned. My suggestion here is that we maybe think about posting Committee Meeting Minutes on the blog. The blog would then have two regular features - the weekly Press Report from Marina and a monthly Committee Meetings slot - as well as the other occasional items that appear. It would keep people informed about what goes on at Committee and maybe drum up more interest in the AGM and in standing for election.

For instance, I hear that the Committee last night decided on the races for the Winter League and it shows several differences from past years. The races are the Glasgow Uni 5 Miles, the Dunbartonshire Cross Country at Maryhill, the West District CC at Irvine, the Nigel Barge Road Race, the Scottish 4K Cross Country Championships, the Club Championships, the National Cross Country, the Balloch to Clydebank half marathon and possibly the Tom Scott. It looks like a varied and interesting selection: road and country, short distance and long (4K to half marathon) as well as encouraging entry to club, county, district and national championships. It is also quite significantly different from the summer league which by it nature is almost all on the roads. The difference between the two seasons is shown in this selection.

Any comments on these three items would be welcome. I don't doubt that I will have personal emails about at least one of them. Last week I had three on the same post, one from a woman and two from men, which could well have been in replies via the Comments facility.

I'm off on holiday!

Fixtures

The main fixtures for the winter are -
McAndrew Relays at Scotstoun on Saturday, 3rd October
West District Relays at Stepps on 10th October
DAAA Relays at ? on 17th October
National Relays at Cumbernauld on 24th October
West District Championships at Irvine on 5th December,
National Veterans Championships at Forres on 6th February,
National Championships at Falkirk on 20th February

Some Information

The Local Athletics Partnership Championships are on Sunday at Linwood. They are great frun and the club always does really well. This year we have 40 athletes entered in a total of well over 100 events (like three each for some, four for others and one or two for the Seniors). Rumour has it that Gerry Montgomery is making his track debut at the meeting in the 3000 metres race. If any of the senior club members who are not competing want to go and watch then they will be welcome and if they are prepared to help Phil out with the organisation of the team (eg get an athlete to an event in time!) they will be even more welcome!

James Austin was on the phone last night: he has had an injury that has set his training back a bit but will be out at the County Relays in October. He had an unfortunate week last week with two car mishaps. On Monday he was driving his friend's car when the timing belt broke and caused all sorts of damage. there are cheap repairs and expensive repairs for cars: this was a very expensive one. Then on Friday he was coming over the Kingston Bridge in his own car when the car behind ran into him. Plenty of witnesses and the other driver admitted culpability but his car was a write off all the same.

The Scottish Athletics AGM is on tomorrow and the club mandate is being carried by Colin Shields. It is quite important that we are represented as there are several quite important items up for discussion - the Six Year Plan for a start - and we know that Colin will not give the executive an easy ride!

And finally, there will be a final collection of Harriers brief lives following the last three collections. This one will be available from October and includes people that I was told I should have included in previous books (Bobby Boyd, Jack Boyd, John Morgan, etc), some that came to my attention as maybe coming into that category - the Three Amigos get ten or eleven pages to themselves for instance and after being hassled - and I DO mean hassled - by Allan Faulds, Doug Gemmell, Ian Leggett, Cliff Brown and Phil Dolan, I have a bit about myself. Let me know if you are interested.

Sorry Gerry!

In the results of the Vets 10K at Cartha organised by Bellahouston Road Runners, Gerry Montgomery was the first club member home when he ran 38:37 for the race. Even better, it was his second race on the same day!

Amigos Back in Action!

The Three Amigos were back in action recently at the Glasgow 800 which doubled as the Scottish Veterans 10K Championship at Cartha. With four runners we had two firsts, a second and a third. Bobby Young was eleventh after a slowish start for him in 41:12, just seven seconds ahead of Pete Cartwright in thirteenth after a fast start and Brian Campbell was only one place back in 42:08. This gave them the M65 1,2,3 which was not too bad at all. With any luck they will start on the GB title trail again! Meanwhile, in fifteenth place and only 16 seconds behind Brian, Pamela McCrossan was first W45 (first woman in any category come to that) to pick up another gold medal. Four runners within 72 seconds is very good packing but the guys had better look out. If there were any other club runners in the race that I have omitted, sorry but let me know and I'll put it right.

The Glasgow Park run 5000 metres road races have been well supported by club members all through the summer and with the short relays coming up from the last week in September they provide a good chance for some faster running over approximately the correct race distances right through to the Scottish Championship Relays.