Dunbar 10K, Road Relay’s, Edinburgh 1/2 & 10 Miler
April 11th, 2011Two weeks of a variety of athletic action have seen good individual and team efforts from Gala Harriers in the east and west of Scotland, blessed by warm spring sunshine and light breezes.
A bright but gusty day welcomed the 269 runners to Dunbar for a testing 10k against the wind on Saturday 2 April – and only one Harrier ventured there this year as the Scottish Athletics Road Relays championships fell on the following day. Martin Clarke flew the flag bravely for the club with a most commendable 37th place in 41 minutes 43 seconds.
Sunday 3rd April saw a good turnout of male seniors at Livingston for the annual Road Relays but maybe Mothers Day had an effect on the numbers of female runners who travelled to Almondvale for this popular road relay event. Female teams need 4 to count and only Gillian Duncan (21.41) and Rachel Fagan (38.52) put their Mothers Day celebrations on hold to complete half of the distance required. Senior men need 6 in a team to count over a looped course which is divided into 3 short and 3 longer legs and the guys managed one and a half teams, the ‘A’ team finishing 23rd out of 43. Spirited runs came from Colin McCall (18.44) Graeme Murdoch (31.51) Tony Lunn (20.51) Fergus Johnston (35.21) Euan Jardine (18.39) and Paul Daly (37.50). A keen but incomplete ‘B’ team comprised Bob Marshall (19.47) Derrick Brydon (38.05) and Alastair Laurie (20.52).
The temperature rose further as the month progressed and Sunday 10 April dawned fair with the streets of Edinburgh and the east coast south of the city warm and sun kissed – perfect spectating conditions but possibly a little too warm for the thousands of athletes who gathered for the (ever-so-slightly long) Edinburgh Half Marathon. The route is gently downhill from Meadowbank Stadium and then as flat as a pancake along past Portobello, Musselburgh and Prestonpans, where it turns and finishes spectacularly at the racecourse. There were some great performances from Harriers despite the warmth and a cool breeze off the sea ensured that Bob Marshall in 1 hour 28 minutes and 28 seconds took 3rd place in the 60+ males and Fiona Shepherd in 1.44.46 also took 3rd place in her age category. In between and all running strongly were Billy McCulloch (1.29.07) Chris Tiemessen (1.42.42) Gerry Moss (1.42.53) Alan Murray (1.53.46) and Lisa Hogg (2.07.15).
Across in the West of Scotland, Strathclyde Country Park was the idyllic setting for the first race of the Scottish Grand Prix Road Race series, also on Sunday. A fairly flat and fast course was somewhat cancelled out by searing heat and the added obstacles of hundreds of non- runners also enjoying the Sunday sunshine. Over a 10 mile course, Graeme Murdoch possibly set off a bit too quickly with the leading group, but stayed strong until 7.5 miles before the heat started to take its toll. He finished in a time of 55.35 and wasn’t disappointed to finish in 11th place, a great effort.
