Ayrodynamic Turkey Trot 10K (Boxing Day)

Working off that extra mince pie on Boxing Day, Michelle Hetherington travelled to Ayr for the Turkey Trot 10K.  The bulk of the two-lap route was along the beach so as to avoid icy roads but it also meant having to avoid piles of sand, seaweed and football players in training and was no place for a Personal Best.  Michelle was delighted to round off an injury-strewn year with a competitive outing, despite being a full four minutes outside her time from last year.  Her 41:55 placed her third woman and first Veteran in the field of 155.

Glasgow Park Run (Christmas Day)

Making room for an extra mince pie, Julia and Andrew Henderson competed alongside 28 others in the Christmas Day edition of the Glasgow Park Run Series of 5K races in Pollok Park.  Julia’s 19:51 placed her second female and first veteran while Andrew clocked 26:08.

Christmas Handicap (20th December 2009)

Forty runners took part in the Christmas Handicap race, held in the Tortoise and Hare format where a faster runner (Hare) is paired with a slower one (Tortoise), giving everyone an equal chance to win.  Each runner ran twice – the Tortoises on a loop of over a mile and the Hares on a loop of just under two miles.

Tortoises ran the opening leg with Cheryl Clarke clocking what turned out to be the fastest time of the day, 9:58, to bring her pairing home in first place by just one second from Lee O’Leary with Karen Wallace a further ten seconds behind in third.

On the second leg, Paul Thompson took over from partner Kathy Currie in sixteenth place but proceeded to storm through the field to return in first place with a time of 11:35.  Next fastest on leg two, moving from eighteenth to fifth, was Chris Moses with 11:53.  Meanwhile Campbell Cromar, paired with Mary Connolly, had moved from eleventh to second and Debbie Savage, taking over from Lee O’Leary, lost only one place to come home third.

As expected it was all change again on leg three as Lee came home first, followed by Cheryl and Karen , with just eleven seconds separating the three.  But the real story was in how big the gaps were further down the field.  Kathy had run well to set Paul off in ninth place, 1:28 behind the leader.  Running two seconds quicker than on his earlier leg, Paul overtook everyone ahead of him and finished with a ten second advantage over Campbell in second place. Stevie Bell, paired with Mo Roy, moved through the field from tenth to take third place at the finish.

West District Cross-Country Championships (5th December 2009)

The (Not Really All That) Dirty Dozen

Irvine Bogside was “as good as it gets” for cross-country running at the weekend when it hosted the West District Championships – mild, calm, dry conditions overhead whilst underfoot was, as the location suggests, boggy, but only in bits.

After their triumph in the County Championships the previous week, our ladies cemented their standings with a solid fifth place overall against the best of the West. With four to count in the scoring team, the girls welcomed back Michelle Hetherington to augment their County Championship team.  Julia Henderson again led the Burgh home, in 16^th place in a field that was just short of a hundred.  But Julia was made to work hard to retain top spot for the team, being pressed the whole way by Claire Heasman.  At the finish only four seconds separated the two, Julia clocking 26 mins 48 seconds and Claire 26:52 for the two laps of a rolling 2 mile loop.  Michelle overhauled Jenny Fitzgerald on the second lap to finish third counter in 26^th place (27:49) with the latter completing the scoring team two places behind in 27:56.

An impressive turnout for the girls saw a “B” team of Jan Fellowes, Tina Munro, Mary-Louise MacQuarrie and Sarah Walker clock 30:53, 31:19, 31:31 and 32:37 respectively while a “C” team comprising Mary Connolly (34:38) and Liz McHard (37:02) had Ann McLachlan and Anna Wylie sandwiched in between, separated by just one place but given the same time (34:51) after a good-natured sprint finish.

A field of nearly 200 men faced three laps for a total of six miles.  Paul Thompson was again at the head of the Burgh team, finishing 48^th in a time of 36:31.  Behind him, only ten seconds separated Iain Walker (39:32) and Chris Moses (39:42) in 85^th and 88^th places.  Fourth counter for the team was Stevie Bell, 113^th in 41:29 with the scoring team of six completed by Gordon Howat, 125^th and Ken White 127^th, in 42:38 and 42:47 respectively.  Alistair Wylie (47:07) and Andrew Stafford (51:50) completed a very strong senior contingent.

In the junior races, Megan Robertson, Fin Richie and Madeline Robinson all ran strongly to finish well up their respective fields.  The Under 13s faced the large two mile loop with Fin clocking 13:17 to finish 28^th in the Boys race while Megan ran 14:55 for 30^th in the Girls race.  Madeline tackled almost three miles in a mixed Under 15 / Under 17 race, finishing 24^th Under 15 in 21:01.

La Rochelle Marathon (29th November 2009)

Ann McLachlan’s performance in the West District Cross-Country came just six days after setting a new Marathon PB in La Rochelle.  Cold wind and rain was more akin to the West of Scotland than the West of France and a two lap Marathon requires an extra degree of mental toughness but a picturesque setting and enthusiastic support made up for these.  Running in just her second Marathon, Ann passed halfway in 1:53:59 and maintained a similar pace in the second half to finish in 3:50:46, improving on her debut at Loch Ness, just 9 weeks previously, by over 3 minutes.

Florence Marathon (29th November 2009)

Karl Giarchi is another newcomer to the club, although with several Half Marathons already behind him.  Well known in town as the proprietor of Dino’s, he returned to his family’s homeland to make his debut over the full Marathon distance of 26.2 miles.  Florence was the venue, where he lined up alongside his elder brother, Dino, and some 8,000 others on a crisp, sunny morning.  A steady pace took him to half way in 1 hr 40 mins and a slightly slower second half saw him finish well within his target range with a time of 3:38:41.

DAAA Cross-Country Championships (28th November 2009)

Helensburgh AAC enjoyed a successful day at the Dunbartonshire Cross Country Championships at Maryhill Park last Saturday. The club had a record turnout with a good mix of regulars and newcomers to the cross country scene. Conditions underfoot were deceptive. What at first looked like a relatively flat grassland course turned out to be a waterlogged muddy route with tricky ascents and descents resulting in several falls.

First to race were the Under 11 Boys and Girls – on a one mile, hilly loop.  Once he’d found his footing, Lewis Serpell moved through the field to eventually finish fourth in 6 mins 31 secs, but was awarded the bronze medal as the third finisher was a guest runner.

Morag Paterson likewise took bronze, her time of 6:44 beating all but 6 of the 21 boys in the field and with 12 other girls behind her.  Just two places behind, in 7:16, came Melissa Robinson.

The Under 13 Girls had to confront the hills twice in their 2 mile race.  Megan Robertson’s steady running took her into the top 10 of the 16 girls competing with a time of 14:47.

In the Senior race, both men and women set off together with the ladies completing 2 laps of the 2 mile loop and the men running 3 laps. Julia Henderson continued her fine cross country season with second place in a time of 28.11.  Just 17 seconds adrift came Claire Heasman with an excellent run to clinch the bronze medal. With three runners to count for the team awards, all eyes were on the next finishers.  Jenny Fitzgerald duly delivered for the Burgh, finishing 5^th in 29.12 to secure the Ladies Team Gold medals.  Julia also won the veteran prize. The Helensburgh B team were placed 5th with fine runs from Jan Fellowes (32.27), Sarah Walker (33.39) and Karen Wallace (34.43). Helensburgh C team rounded off a great overall team performance with 9th place with good runs from Mary Connolly (38.00), Sharon McCauley (39.02) and Liz Bowden (44.25).

Whilst the ladies were battling for the finish line the men were completing their third lap. First home for the men was Paul Thompson in 37.47 in 5th place to clinch the vets prize from his Dumbarton rival by a few seconds. Closing fast were the other members of the scoring team comprising Damien Theaker in 19th place (40.01), Iain Walker in 24th (40.37) and Chris Moses in 26th (40.53). The B team, comprising Robin Steacy (42.27), Stephen Bell (43.33), Ken White (44.17) and Alistair Wylie (48.52), finished in 11^th place.  Brian Grant was next home with an excellent start to his cross country career with 58th place in 50.09. Brian has improved tremendously since starting the beginners group earlier in 2009. Completing the team was Andrew Stafford who put in a solid run to finish in a time of 54.01.

British and Irish Masters Cross Country Championships (14th November 2009)

Helensburgh AAC was the best represented club in the Scottish team for the British and Irish Masters Cross Country Championships at a stormy Perry Park in Birmingham on Saturday 14th November.  This proved their prowess in Masters endurance running yet again having won the Scottish National Road Relay veteran ladies title this year.

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Scottish Secondary Schools Road Relay Championships (14th November 2009)

Hermitage Academy fielded teams in three of the four races at the Scottish Secondary Schools Road Relay Championships at and around a rain-lashed Grangemouth Stadium.  S1 girls and S1 boys competed in teams of 3, each running a leg of the 1400 metre loop around the track and the adjacent red blaise pitches. The Academy’s S1 girls finished 16th in their race, with Laura Jackson running the opening leg in 6.59, Chloe Hassall clocking 7.13 on the middle leg and Rachel Mansfield timed at 7.34 on the closing leg for a combined time of 21.46.  The S1 boys produced the best showing for the Academy, finishing 12th in a total time of 18.16.  Tom Storey opened with 5.58 before handing over to Dominic Lunt who clocked 6.22.  Fin Ritchie on the last leg proved the quickest of the trio, clocking 5.56.

The girls medley relay comprised of four, two under 15′s and two over 15′s, each running an extended loop of 2237 metres.  Eilidh Carruthers (under 15) led off for the Academy, clocking 12.09.  Charlotte Jennings-Maun (under 15) ran the second leg in 11.10 and Cheryl Clarke (over 15) the third in 9.58.  Madeline Robinson (over 15) produced the team’s best performance, clocking 9.19 to bring them home in 42.36 and 18th position.

Kilmarnock Harriers Open Cross Country (8th November 2009)

Well it was in Robert Burn’s country so it should have come as no surprise that the course for Kilmarnock Harriers’ Open Cross Country Races should cover mosses, waters, slaps and stiles.

Luckily the weather bore no relation to that which confronted Tam o’Shanter with clear blue skies and not a breath of wind ……

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Deloitte Glasgow University 5 Mile Road Race (7th November 2009)

The long established Glasgow University Road Race again attracted some of the best of the West of Scotland’s top club runners.  However, they were the only ones in the 227 strong  field to get accurate times as the rest of the field were left angry again after a repeat of last year’s severe bottleneck just after the start that cost them anything up to 20 seconds.  Starting well up the field, Helensburgh Athletic Club’s Paul Thompson was largely unaffected and he proceeded to complete the hilly two lap five miles around the Garscube Estate in 28.30 minutes t0 place 30th overall.  Competition in his over 50 age group gets tougher each year as younger rivals move up and on this occasion he had to settle for second place.  Jenny Fitzgerald is proving the adage that sometimes less is more.  Her recent training has been far from consistent but the opposite is true of her racing performances.  She again impressed, finishing just outside the top 100 with a time of 33.27, which augurs well for a crack at breaking the 40 minute barrier for 10km.  Only five places and 14 seconds seperated Alistair Wylie and Jan fellowes in their personal rivalry with Alistair holding the ascendancy with this 35.37.  Anna Wylie completed the Helensburgh contingent, clocking 41.15.

Marathon Mileage Proves Successfully (1st November 2009)

With recent marathons behind them a couple of Helensburgh Athletic Club members successfully cashed on their training mileage to end their road racing season on a high.

David Spy travelled to Lochaber for the Eddie’s Half Marathon and found the weather every bit as it had been on previous visits.

The temperature was in single figures and the rain was constant.  But equally consistent was David’s new found pace judgement.  Passing halfway in exactly 48 minutes he was only 20 seconds slower in the second half to come home in 1.36.20 slicing half a minute from his previous personal best time.

Meanwhile Gordon Howat reports that the Strathaven Run with the Wind 10km should be renamed “Run with the Wind and Rain”.  Undeterred he too put recent marathon training to good use, lowering his personal best for 10km and edging closer to the 40 minute barrier with his time of 40.23 to place him 28th out of a field of 315.

Young Runner Bags Silver (16th October 2009)

The Dunbartonshire Cross Country Relay Championships at the Garscube Estate in Glasgow were blessed with unseasonably excellent weather with underfoot conditions to match.  

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Great North Run (20th September 2009)

Helensburgh Amateur Athletic Club were again well-represented in this year’s Great North Run – the world’s biggest half marathon with 37,600 finishers this year.

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Kilts Prove Eye-Catchers! (20th September 2009)

This year, a group of ladies from Helensbrugh Amateur Athletic Club drew as much recognition from their fellow runners as they did from any of the famous stars.

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Baxters Loch Ness Marathon (3rd October 2009)

With it’s numerous tough hills, the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon isn’t normally regarded as one for setting new personal bests (PB) at the classic 26.2 miles distance, nor one for making your Marathon debute. Not so for Helensburgh Athletic Club’s two represtatives who both took full advantage of the sunny but cool conditions and light tail wind on the point-to-point route along the Eastern shores of the Loch to the finish in Inverness.

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