Black Rock & Edinburgh Marathon Reports
June 15th, 2009Gala Harriers have been out in force over the past two weeks, competing on each side of the Firth of Forth in weather conditions more akin to the Mediterranean than the east coast of Scotland.
On 22 May, the Black Rock of Kinghorn in Fife beckoned as the backdrop to one of the most popular seaside routes on the race calendar and 8 harriers set forth on a beautiful evening to compete in this 5 miler. Runners had to contend with knee-deep seawater around the rock itself but it suited the new-look, lightweight Gregor McAneny who sped home in 28 minutes
14 seconds, taking 55th place in a field of 730. Martin Clarke (29.04) ran a fine race, while Derek Fraser, fast returning to form clocked 31.12. Malky Gowans and Fiona Shepherd thought it would be a great sharpener for the Edinburgh Marathon the following weekend and posted excellent times of 31.41 and 34.47, with Billy McCulloch, back to competition after injury just splitting them in 33.09. It was great to see Ruth McCann (35.41) back in a Gala vest and Anne Purves thoroughly enjoyed her coastal adventure in 45.55.
The weather forecasters got it absolutely right for Sunday 31 May, predicting a scorcher with only light breezes for the Edinburgh Marathon – perfect for the supporting crowds but testing for the 17,000 athletes who battled along the shadeless 26 miles of East Lothian coastline. Harriers were competing not only over the full marathon distance but also in the Hairy
Haggis Relay in which they have excelled since this event was introduced. Full times and results are still to be posted but the day produced some very good performances despite the heat, with some excellent personal bests thrown in as well.
Lying in first position for the harriers for well over half the distance, and very highly placed in the women’s race was Dianne Lauder, who was forced to pull out due to injury but let nobody down with her efforts against the odds. Taking over the mantle of lead Gala runner then was Gregor McAneny (3.05.23 – PB), followed by superb performances by Tony Lunn (3.12.17), Malky Gowans (3.20.22), John Cairns (3.37.02), Andrea Pogson (3.39.30 -PB), Carole Fortune (3.40.29), Fiona Shepherd (3.52.51 - PB), Dawn Grant (4.00.58 - PB) and Richard Raw (4.32.15), all of whom proved that the relentless training over the past months has paid dividends.
Two Harriers’ relay teams were also competing over the same distance but split into 8,5,8,5 mile legs. The first team home, comprising Fergus Johnston, Eileen Nicol, Magnus Inglis and Billy McCulloch broke the 3 hour mark, while team 2 – Tina Hulton, Anne Purves, Angela Foss and Carolyn O’Docherty ran well in the sizzling heat to come home in just over 4 hours.
