East District League: Dunfermline
November 23rd, 2009The cross country season continues in conditions more akin to mud wrestling than athletics – but just as Scotland’s rugby squad thrived in whatever the November weather threw at them, so too did Gala Harriers at the East District league 2nd leg in Dunfermline on Sunday.
Queen Anne’s High School sounds nice doesn’t it? – an area of elegant landscaped parkland perhaps. Sodden wasteland more like with terrible underfoot conditions over an undulating slippy course.
Not to be deterred however, the junior team fared exceptionally well and, (with the results not up on Scottish Athletics website yet) Rowan Marr took a very creditable 7th place in the under 15 boys, while Lucy Henderson-Morris, Kerry Sandilands, Hannah and Emily Jones competed strongly, with Kerry in particular marking a return to earlier form. Alice Haining followed this up with a stunning win over her usual rivals in the under 17 girls.
In deteriorating conditions, 6 senior men slithered to the line where Graeme Murdoch shook off the effects of a cold to storm home in 17th overall out of 183 runners in a time of 31 minutes 47 seconds. Not far behind was the excellent Fergus Johnston, 36th in 33:31, possibly using his long legs to leap from tussock to tussock and avoid the deeper mud pits. Next home was Alan Goodson in 80th place, almost exactly 22 years Fergus’s senior but only one minute 16 seconds behind. Martin Clarke and Magnus Inglis were even closer together in 101st and 107th place respectively, with Martin’s 38:01 beating Magnus by 22 seconds despite the latter resorting to using all fours at one point. Completing the team and with blood running from his knee following a fall, Al Lawrie was 120th in a good time of 39:21.
The senior women also equipped themselves superbly, with Dianne Lauder taking 7th position in a storming race, Rachel Fagan beating Katy Anderson, and Leanne Haining and Karen Haldane, returning to competition completing the set.
On the day before, the 10 members of the growing hill running group under Paul Morris took on the elements around Peebles, from Gypsy Glen and through Glensax, over a scenic but storm ravaged route.
After all runners had been thoroughly hosed down, the next outing for the Harriers is the 2nd race in the Borders Winter Cross country series, to be held at Lauder . 11.30 for juniors, 12 noon for seniors on Sunday 29th November.
