The 2018 Colin Shields Road Race took place in blustery conditions on Saturday. The wild conditions didn’t put the Harriers off though as a superb 54 runners took part in the race. Even more were in attendance volunteering and posing for the annual club photos.

The wind was in the runners’ faces as they set off down Dunlop Street and headed west. The first relief from the wind came at the Hospital where some runner were lucky not to be blown off of their feet! The wind was assisting on the way home, but for some it was too little too late…

This race last year saw Chris Mooney win his first of now many club races, and the defending champion was not only able to retain his title, he managed to strip almost a minute off of his time in the process. Harry McGill stepped up to this senior race for the first time and put in a great effort to secure second place in a time similar to the winning time last year (which was ran in better conditions). Alan Mollins also tackled this course for the first time and put in a good run to finish 7th overall. The time trial format always throws up tight finishes once the finishing times are calculated, and this year it saw Steven Campbell take 3rd place by 1 second from Paul Monaghan.

The tight finishes continued in the ladies race with Sue Hewitson narrowly taking the victory from Marian Monk. There was only 5 seconds in it once the maths had been done at the end! Claire Monaghan was in third place a whole 2 1/2 minutes faster than last year as she continues her great form. Marianne McKay looked pretty pleased with herself en route to taking 30 seconds off of her time from last year. There were also improvements from Donna Campbell and Silke Loehendorf.

The biggest improvement on the day was from James Campbell. His recent training at the club sessions and his participation in cross country has clearly benefited him as he took a whopping 4 minutes off of his time from last year! Daniel Doherty and Alan O’Rourke took over a minute off of their times from last year, whilst Paul Monaghan and Kenny Scott also improved their times. It was good to see some new faces out running too, with Callum Gorry making his first appearance in a club race having recently joined up.

As always a big thank you must be shared to the volunteers. The weather was not kind to those out patrolling the streets or keeping time. Thank you also to Thomas Loehndorf for taking the club photos.

There are still plenty of opportunities to don the club vest before Christmas with 3 cross countries, the Jimmy Irvine 10k and the next club race (Wilson Trophy 15th December) all on the race calendar. We also have 5 representatives down in Swansea for the upcoming British and Irish Masters cross country. The prizegiving is on for Friday 23rd November in Gourock Bowling Club. More on that soon!

Results: Chris Mooney 25.10, Harry McGill 26.18, Steven Campbell 26.27, Paul Monaghan 26.28, Andrew White 26.53, Daniel Doherty 27.35, Alan Mollins 27.48, Andrew Osborne 28.05, Robert Dolan 28.42, Sean Marshall 28.45, Chris Watson 28.47, John Stevenson 29.19, Stephen Hanley 29.48, Steven Watson 30.10, David McCorkindale 31.16, Danny McLaughlin 31.33, George McCallum 31.42, Graham McGrattan 31.53, Alan O’Rourke 32.00, David Roberts 32.30, David Ness 32.36, Stuart Austin 32.40, Malcolm McLean 33.09, Sue Hewitson 33.19, Marian Monk 33.24, Stephen Reid 33.30, Ian McKee 33.46, Claire Monaghan 33.58, Steven Smith 34.05, Callum Gorry 34.09, Sandra Campbell 34.26, Donna Campbell 34.40, Marianne McKay 35.07, Nicola Stevenson 35.42, Lorna Coyle, 35.45 Frank McMahon 36.05 Matthew Young 36.06, Kenny Scott 36.19, Jim Cuffe 36.21, Colin Campbell 36.39, Fiona MacFarlane 36.44, James Campbell 38.18, Boyd McKenzie 38.28, Debbie McKenzie 39.02, Sharon Black 39.06, Lisa Boonsanong 39.27, Silke Loehndorf 40.34, Kevin Gill 40.34, John Carruthers 40.45, Paul Hegarty 40.46, Grace Campbell 43.02, Simon Hutton 43.39, David Carruthers 45.50, David Black 51.11

The young harriers shone as bright as the Cumbernauld sun with some outstanding performances at the National relays.

In the opening race Ava Beaton surprised her coaches with her opening leg run, storming home after the hilly 2.4km run in 9^th position from the 107 starters. Just 20 seconds behind, despite lacking race practice, with a very strong performance came Katie Johnson. Ruby McGill was next away completing the course 1 minute quicker on last years’ time, with final leg runner Mhairi Moore’s benefiting from her hard work in training producing the most improved girl’s run of the day, almost two minutes faster than in 2017.

Ben Campbell got the junior boys A team under way with a much better paced run than at last week’s West district championships, with an excellent 26^th place.  Shaun Wiseman, another showing a massive improvement kept the team in contention for a top half placing held on for 42^nd. The on-form Harry McGill on the anchor leg blasted through the field bringing the boys’ home in 26^th position, a marked improvement on last year’s 55^th. Harry also recorded the 7^th overall fastest boys’ time of the day.

The Boy’s B team put in a very solid performance, with David Docherty gaining good experience in his first major championship, Alex Wiseman held on well before handing onto Ewan Ferguson who impressed on the teams final leg.

Times (2.4km) : Ava Beaton 10.23, Katie Johnson 10.43, Ruby McGill 10.49, Mhairi Moore 13.23; Ben Campbell 9.51, David Docherty 11.07, Shaun Wiseman 10.00, Alex Wiseman 12.15, Harry McGill 8.17, Ewan Ferguson 9.42

West District XC, Irvine Beach

The West District XC Relay championship was hosted at Irvine Beach this year. The traditional Scottish cross country venue turned its hand to the short 4k relay event. Situated on the Irvine Beach Park, the challenging course saw the runners facing steep hills and a variety of terrain to navigate, including some on the sandy beach path!

The ladies and mens courses were identical, both taking on the single 4k loop. The mens vets team were just outside the medal positions. Stevie Campbell returned the fastest leg of the day in 14.27, himself being just outside the top 3 v40s. Daniel Doherty had a great run to finish just behind Stevie in 14.33 and Paul Monaghan was third fastest in 14.44. It was a good sign that the vets runners were showing some form ahead of next months big masters cross country event in Swansea, where 5 of the club will be represented.

Elsewhere in the mens race, there were string runs from Paul Beaton and Ross Neilson. it was good to see Mick Dunn and Frank McMahon up there and competing in their respective age categories.

Marian Monk ran the fastest time for the ladies as she went out second leg for the ladies vets team. There was only a second between Lorna Coyle and Marianne McKay in the same team as they look to jostle for position coming into the next few relay races.

The overall feeling from the Harriers in attendance was that the course layout was excellent, a real challenging cross country test. The weather wasn’t ideal, but the hosts must be commended on a great event.

Results:
Womans A Team: Lorna Coyle 19.59, Marian Monk 18.40, Marianne McKay 20.00
Womans B: Cheryl Thomas 20.15, Nathalie Smith 26.02, Eileen Stevenson 23.08
Mens A (vets): Paul Monaghan 14.44, Steven Campbell 14.27, Andrew White 15.03, Mick McLoone 15.26
Mens B: Daniel Doherty 14.33, Robert Dolan 16.29, Paul Beaton 15.53, Stephen Hanley 17.01
Mens C (vets): John Stevenson 16.24, Ross Neilson 16.49, Malcolm McLean 18.00, Steven Smith 19.01
Mens D (vets): Robin McAuslan 19.21, Mick Dunn 18.54, Frank McMahon 19.27

Renfrewshire XC Relays, Pollock Park

The Renfrewshire cross country relays returned to Netherpollock Park last Sunday. The course was largely unchanged from last year, but shortened slightly to around the 2 mile mark. The shorter format made for a frantic start for those running the first legs.

There was a fantastic turnout from the Glenpark Harriers ladies. 16 runners made their way to Glasgow, with a few of them making their first cross country appearance. Hopefully the day was enjoyable and a few more might register for the upcoming National Relays and longer cross country events!

Chris Mooney returned the fastest time of the day with a run of just over 11 minutes. Not bad considering he just jetted back in from Ibiza. The vets looked strong again, with a few runners staking a claim for next week’s 4th spot in the vets team for Cumbernauld.

Paul Beaton continued his cross country form with a great time of just over 12 mins. There were also good runs from Stevie Campbell (first vet on the day), Ryan brown (joining the senior ranks and not looking out of place) and Stephen Hanley (who much improved on the previous week despite a shoelace malfunction). It was also great to see Alan O’Rourke back out doing the cross country!

Among the female debutants was Debbie McKenzie and Dannie Seddon who both ran well. Marian Monk was first home again for the club, but was pushed close by Claire Monaghan which bodes well for the nationals. Her role as lady captain will be tested to the max with the likes of Marianne McKay, Cheryl Thomas and Nicola Stevenson all putting in strong runs.

Results:
Mens: A Team: Steven Campbell 11.12, Chris Mooney 11.03, Daniel Doherty 11.22, Paul Monaghan 11.37
B Team: Andrew White 11.47, Michael McLoone 12.04, Ryan Brown 12.20, Paul Beaton 12.06
C Team: John Stevenson 12.42, Ross Neilson 12.57, Stephen Hanley 12.48, Malcolm McLean 13.38
D Team: Mick Dunn 14.19, Alan O’Rourke 13.48, Steven Smith 14.25, James Campbell 16.53

Womans: A Team: Marian Monk 14.25, Claire Monaghan 14.36, Lorna Coyle 15.50
B Team: Donna Clark 15.34, Nicola Stevenson 15.05, Cheryl Thomas 15.23
C Team: Marianne McKay 15.20, Lynsey Mooney 15.42, Fiona MacFarlane 16.15
D team: Viki Smith 16.14, Dannie Seddon 16.44, Susan Clark 17.19
E Team: Eileen Stevenson 17.33, Debbie McKenzie 16.39, Liz McAuslan 19.10
Nathalie Smith 18.57

This years Dunoon Ultra Marathon proved once again to be popular with Greenock Glenpark Harriers, with 6 runners tackling the full ultra and another 12 taking part in the relay. Now in it’s third year, the hilly course provides a great opportunity for Harriers to stay local and try out their first ultra marathon event.

The course starts in the idyllic Benmore Botanical Gardens and heads briefly south towards Pucks Glen where the runners head off road an onto tricky paths and stairs through the valley. The route then heads north towards the first relay changeover point at Glenbraner, passing the highest point of the course en route for the stunning views back down Loch Eck. The second stretch of the race takes the runner back down the western edge of Loch Eck and back into the relay changeover in Benmore. The final stretch climbs back up hill along the forestry roads at Glenkin before returning downhill into Dunoon. The familiar final half mile along the promenade culminates in the finish line on Dunoon Pier.

There were 4 ultra marathon virgins taking part this year, 2 of which had never even ran a marathon before. There were another 2 returning Harriers looking to enjoy the better weather on the day than the previous year! Steven Watson was the first harrier home in just over the 5 1/2 hour mark. This was a great ultra debut for Steven who had never even ran the marathon distance before. Stephen Hanley was not far behind, who similarly had never done anything like this sort of distance in the past.

George McCallum and Sue Hewitson were not far behind on their ultra marathon debuts. The group had trained under the tutelage of now ultra veteran Stuart Austin, who had taken them over to Benmore the previous month on a scouting mission, a test run that greatly benefited them on the day. Stuart was unable to beat his time from the previous year, but hasn’t been put off entering more ultra events in the near future.Terri was narrowly missed out on beating her time from last year, but still a superb effort on very little training.

The 4 relay teams faired very well on the day, with all runners enjoying the pleasant conditions. The first team back finished in 4th overall place, thanks to Robert Adams setting a good pace round the longest of the 3 legs to start. Silke Loehndorf and Eileen Stevenson made up the team of 3. Robert had the best time for the first leg out of all the Harriers, with Silke having the fastest second leg and Sandra Campbell having the fastest final leg.

A big thanks has to go to all those that attended on the day to provide support for the runners. Also to Thomas Loehendorf for his fantastic photos!

Results:
Ultra:
Steven Watson 5.30.14, Stephen Hanley 5.34.50, George McCallum 5.46.17, Sue Hewitson 5.49.58, Stuart Austin 5.53.15, Terri Wall 6.39.50

Relay:
Team 1: Robert Adams (2.18.34), Silke Loehndorf (1.27.11), Eileen Stevenson (1.47.27) – Total 5.33.02
Team 2: Kirsten Arthur (2.35.48), Fiona Cushnaghan (1.31.20), Viki Smith (1.34.09) –
Total 5.41.06
Team 3: Susie Gillies (2.41.03), Susan Clark (1.33.14), Lorna Coyle (1.30.14) –
Total 5.44.15
Team 4: Graeme Crawford (2.44.48) Wenda Crawford (1.49.12) Sandra Campbell (1.28.38)- Total 6.02.13

It was a great team performance from our junior Harriers at an exposed Irvine Beach Park in the West District cross country championships. Luckily  the worst of storm Callum had passed over the west coast of Scotland, leaving the youngsters only having to deal with a deluge of rain.

The race itself consisted of three legs over a hilly 2.4km course contested by an athlete from each of the Under 13, 15 and 17 age categories.

It was both the younger first leg runners from Glenpark who produced the standout performances of the day as  Ava Beaton and Ben Campbell ran perfectly paced races to finish 12^th in the under 13 age group.

Following them in the 2^nd stage were Jude Dolan who kept the boys in contention, while Abbie Tosh in her first cross country race delivered an outstanding debut.

On the anchor leg team captains’ Mhairi Moore and Alan Mollins rounded off an excellent day for the Orangefield club, placing their teams in higher positions than expected.

Results:

Junior Boys: 16^th: Ben Campbell 10.03, Jude Dolan 10.12,   Alan Mollins 9.14.

Junior Girls: 38^th: Ava Beaton 11.03, Abbie Tosh 12.20, Mhairi Moore 13.40.

**Harry & Ruby McGill took part in the British Cross Challenge in Cardiff whilst on holiday in Wales.

In two top quality fields; Harry finished 22^nd in the under 17 men’s 5.56km race taking 19.10 minutes and Ruby placed 20^th in the under 15 girls 3.2km race in a time of 13.27 minutes

There were 33 senior members of the club taking part in the 10k and half marathon at this year’s Great Scottish Run last Sunday. The ever popular event is on of the main gals on the seasons calendar, with many runners setting their sights on running PBs and qualifying times for other races.

19 Harriers took part in the half marathon. Stephen Trainer got himself among the elite athletes on the start line and set off with his eyes firmly on a strong race. He was first Harrier home in 13th overall and within the top 10 for the Scottish half marathon championships. His time of 68.33 was just outside of his PB, but puts him in a good position for his goal at the upcoming Frankfurt marathon.

Chris Mooney followed in 72.18, seeing him improving his half marathon pb significantly. An excellent race for Chris which sees him post a qualifying time for the London marathon next year. Andy White was 3rd back in 77.55 with Daniel Doherty next in 80.13. Mick McLoone was 2nd v55,  Robert Dolan ran a great race just over the 85 minute mark, and John Stevenson was not far behind having flown through the night from China just prior to the race!

Marianne McKay was first lady home in just under 1.48, with Terry Wall not far behind. Eileen Stevenson ran a great PB in just over the 2 hour mark, with her training paying off in recent months. Elsewhere in the half marathon there was an excellent PB for Brian McCluskey in just over 86 minutes, finishing narrowly ahead of Gordon Hepburn and Paul Beaton. Steven Watson warmed up for this weekends ultra with a solid run in just under 93mins.

Earlier in the day, 14 senior harriers took part in the 10k, but they were outstaged on the day by the one junior competitor. Harry McGill stole the show yet again as he took part in his first big 10k race. Having ran the junior race the previous day, finishing 3rd, he broke the 34 minute mark for the 10k. He even managed to sneak onto the TV finishing ahead of the first female runner!

Kirsty Ormond was first home for the ladies in a great new PB of 43.48, showing that her recent spell of training has been paying off. Claire Monaghan continued her great form running just under the 46 minute mark for a big PB! Marian Monk was not far behind in 3rd who battled through illness on the day to still run a good time.

Debbie McKenzie had her first outing in a harriers vest and ran a PB to boot, finishing in 49.09. First of many as a Harrier we hope! Malcolm McLean weaved his way to just over 43 minutes having started well back from the start line. Ian Hanley, raising a great amount for charity on the day, ran in just over 50 minutes.

There was a great turnout for the junior races on the Saturday. As mentioned, Harry McGill finished 3rd in the main junior race. There was a great chance for the juniors to meet Laura Muir at the race, as she started the race and presented the prizes.

Results:
10k: Harry McGill 33.56, Malcolm McLean 43.09, Kirsty Ormond 43.48, Claire Monaghan 45.43, Marian Monk 45.55, Debbie McKenzie 49.09, Ian Hanley 50.17, Sharon Black 50.51, Viki Smith 51.52, Lynsey Mooney 52.18, Gill Gilmour 56.48, John Carruthers 57.01, Claire Melville 62.55, Wenda Crawford 62.56, David Black 66.52
Half Marathon: Stephen Trainer 68.33, Chris Mooney 72.18, Andrew White 77.55, Daniel Doherty 80.13, Mick McLoone 82.13, Robert Dolan 85.06, John Stevenson 85.47, Brian McCluskey 86.12, Gordon Hepburn 87.18, Paul Beaton 87.56, David Roberts 90.53, Steven Watson 92.46, Stewart Anderson 98.09, Marianne McKay 1.47.51, Terry Wall 1.48.05, William Laing 1.52.53, Fiona Cushnaghan 1.54.03, Eileen Stevenson 2.02.10, Kevin Gill 2.27.33