Harriers Criss-cross the Border In Fine Style
January 1st, 2005The final race in the Borders 10K series took place at Norham on Sunday. This was the first running of a Borders 10K Road Series, which comprised four races, Peebles, Gala, Hawick and Norham. Sue Ridley from Peebles was the clear winner of the ladies trophy with two firsts and a second place finish, while Ian Duff from City of Edinburgh claimed the men's title in the absence local policeman Steve Cairns, who was the strong favourite.
Gala Harriers had a smaller than usual group of runners taking part in this unique race, where runners start in England cross the border into Scotland and finish back in England by the picturesque Norham village green.
Running back into some form was John Borthwick who finished 7th on the day in a respectable time of 35.47. John was followed home by Dianne Lauder, who was hopeful of claiming the ladies 10K title herself but she found the climb out of the Ladykirk estate a hill too far and had to be content with a modest time of 39.10 and a 4th place finish in the ladies race.
Jack Knox was next harrier to finish, a couple of minutes down on last year but his time of 39.20 would still be seen as very good for most in the 60+ bracket. Robin Murray continues to show signs of improvement finishing in a time of 39.40, with Iain Bell closing fast behind him in a time of 39.45.
Euan Lindores found the tough climb into Scotland hard going after his recent injury but he still managed to record a respectable time of 41.50, to finish 4th U20 male. William McDermott recorded a personal best time of 43.35, while Shelagh King completed the turn out of harriers and finished in an encouraging time of 53.40.
Crossing more than one border were Rosi Capper and Alastair Wright as they took on marathons in Budapest (Hungary) and Minneapolis (USA). Rosi ran a fine time of 4.42.20 to finish 375th and will hopefully have raised a few quid for her charity, Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland in the process.
Local GP Alastair Wright flew over 'the pond' to see if he could improve on his marathon time set in Stockholm earlier in the year. His time of 3.28.33 will be a bit disappointing for him, as he hoped for a sub 3.20 run but marathons are tough events and it often just depends on how you feel on the day.
Next races for the harriers are the East District XC Relays at Corstorphine on Saturday, where there are teams entered in boys, girls, men's and ladies events, for the first time ever and the Thirleston Castle Run at Lauder on Sunday, starting with the junior race at 1.00pm.
