Fees for the 2019/20 season are now due and should be with us no later than 30th November 2019. The fees structure is as follows:

Adult members £50 

Junior members £50 

2^nd member from same family £30 

Family membership £100 

Please pay by bank transfer. If you are unable to pay by bank transfer please put cash or cheque in a sealed envelope with member/s name written clearly on outside and pass to a coach or committee member.

If you don’t intend to renew your membership please contact us by email as soon as possible so we can update our records.

For enquiries please  get in touch at greenockglenparkharriers@gmail.com

Harry McGill produced a tremendous effort to take silver in the Scottish short course cross country championships just a few strides behind Kilbarchan’s Jack Patton.

On a muddy, hilly course at Kirkcaldy, which Harry described as “brutal”, he was in the pack chasing down the early leader Ben Sandilands of Fife AC.  By half-way on the 3km course he had caught him and taken the lead with Patton close on his heels. He managed to open a small gap going in to the last 200m, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a blistering kick from the impressive Kilbarchan athlete, but a silver medal was fantastic reward for Harry. In the same race was team mate Shaun Wiseman who has come on leaps and bounds this season again running well. Abbie Tosh is another who has shown a steady improvement, and just in her first year in the older age group, she competed strongly to the finish.

The under 15 girls’ quartet of Ruby McGill, Katie Johnson, Sophie Campbell and Abigael Crawford took 13^th place in the team competition, with Ruby leading the girls home in the 2km race.

The Boys’ u15’s trio managed 16^th place with Ben Campbell the leading Glenparker just ahead of Jude Dolan, with Alex Wiseman the final counter.

The Senior’s raced over 4km, and leading the way for the Harriers was under 20s Dunoon man Alan Mollins with an excellent time of 14.30 minutes for the distance. Backed up by Oliver Reilly, Robert Dolan, Daniel McLaughlin and Frank McMahon the men finished 31^st in the team competition.

There was little to separate the Glenpark women, but it was Sandra Campbell who  headed the trio of Donna Campbell and Marian Monk.

U15s 2k Race:

Ruby McGill 7.56; Katie Johnson 8.34; Sophie Campbell 8.55; Abigael Crawford 11.05 – 13^th Team

Ben Campbell 7.01; Jude Dolan 7.21; Alex Wiseman 9.31 -16^th Team

U17’s 3km Race:

Abbie Tosh 13.32; Harry McGill 9.20; Shaun Wiseman 10.55

Senior Women’s 4km Race:

Sandra Campbell 18.13; Donna Campbell 18.32; Marian Monk 18.52

Senior Men’s 4km Race:

Alan Mollins 14.30; Oliver Reilly 15.33; Robert Dolan 16.10; Daniel McLaughlin 17.51; Frank McMahon 18.53 – Team 31^st

The Harriers return to the roads this Saturday (2nd November) after  3 weeks of cross country running when they host their Colin Shields time trial Road Race.

The runners are set off randomly in pairs at 30 second intervals, with the trophy going to the athlete with the fastest time.

Please Register for race in the Orangefield clubhouse by  1.15pm.

The 4.5mile time trial race is for Seniors:  It starts at top of Dunlop street, out to the walkover at Branchton railway station. Then crossing the walkover to continue uphill past Inverclyde Hospital then down to “sherrif” shop at the cross-roads. Turn left along Larkfield road past Gourock cemetery, then continue down Cumberland road.  Back across the walkover and return to top of Dunlop street.

GGH Juniors round off a highly successful “Short Relay Season” in spectacular style when Harry McGill produced the quickest time in a field of over 300 of the country’s top young athletes as he anchored the Boys team including David Docherty and Ben Campbell to 9^th position at the National cross country championships at Cumbernauld,

It was the best performance in many years by Glenpark Juniors over all the races that make up the Short Relay season, in which teams of three compete over a 2.4km distance of  cross country running at the West District, Renfrewshire and National championships.   There was improvement throughtout all the teams which included quite a number of athletes making their debut on the national stage and was testament to the hard work put in by the athletes and coaches.

Cumbernauld has become the home of the National championships and is the extreme test of cross country running with its steep hills and muddy underfoot conditions. David Docherty set the boys off on the under 13 stage finishing strongly in 25^th, passing onto Ben Campbell, who in his first year at U15 managed to pick off another place and kept the team well in contention for their top 10 target. And U17 Harry didn’t disappoint with a storming run finishing 17 places better than the 26^th attained in 2018.

Ava Beaton got the Girls team off to a stunning start finishing 8^th after leg 1, passing onto Katie Johnson then Ruby McGill, although dropping back, both ran well to finish in 33^rd a massive improvement on last year’s 64^th.

Previously at Kilmarnock the venue for the West Districts over a heavy twisting course both boys and girls exceeded expectations as both recorded top 10 finishes. The teams consisted of Harry McGill, also recording the quickest junior time in the district, along with David Docherty and track specialist Harris Morrison for the boys and it was the same trio of Ava Beaton, Katie Johnson and Ruby McGill who guided the girls to 10^th.

The Renfrewshire championships were held in warm sunshine at Nether Pollok, and it brought bronze medals for the under 11 boys and the U13 and U17 girls.

Ruari Trainer and Cameron Beck had kept the u11 boys within 2 seconds of 3^rd place to pass on to Leo Beaton on the final leg, who left it to the last 200m to sprint past his Giffnock opponent for Bronze.

Maria McCabe was the star performer for the U13 girls pulling in four places after taking over from Summer Taggart to put Ava Beaton within reach of what was another bronze medal for the club.

The final medal of the day went to the under 17 trio of Abbie Tosh, Olivia Trainer and Anna Docherty.

National: Girls A team 33^rd, B team 61^st, C team 72^nd; Boys A Team 9^th, B Team 45^th.

Boys (A) David Docherty 10.16, Ben Campbell 9.37, Harry McGill 8.23,(B) Douglas Campbell 10.52, Harris Morrison 10.03, Shaun Wiseman 9.47 (C) TylerBryce 13.58. Girls  (A) Ava Beaton 10.34, Katie Johnson11.39, Ruby McGill 11.15 (B) Erin McEleny 12.13, Maria McCabe 12.10, Abbie Tosh 11.38 (C)Summer Taggart 12.15, Sophie Campbell 12.09, Olivia Trainer 13.45, (D) Gabby Henderson 14.32, Anna Docherty 14.12

West: Girls A team 10^th, B team 33^rd, C team 40^th; Boys A Team 10^th, B Team 20^th. (A) Ava Beaton 10.27, Katie Johnson 11.12, Ruby McGill 10.53 (B) Summer Taggart 12.17, Sophie Campbell 11.59, Abbie Tosh 11.56, (C) Maria McCabe 12.00, Sophie McGinty 12.12, Olivia Trainer 13.11 Boys (A) David Docherty 10.20, Harris Morrison 9.59 Harry McGill 8.18 (B) Euan Johnson 10.57, Jude Dolan  9.32, Shaun Wiseman 9.46 (C) Tyler Bryce 13.22, Alex Wiseman 13.43

Renfrewshire:  U11G 6^th Aimee McEleny 8.06, Beth Docherty 8.39, Islay Newsome 8.25. U11B (A) 3^rd Ruari Trainer 6.52, Cameron Beck 6.43, Leo Beaton 6.26, (B) 6^th Cameron Crawford 7.17, Grant Munro 7.16 Patrick McCabe 6.57, Josh Docherty 10.44. U13G 3^rd Summer Taggart 11.47, Maria McCabe 10.56, Ava Beaton 9.57, Erin McEleny 11.08. U13B 4^th Douglas Campbell 9.56, David Docherty 9.46, Euan Johnson 10.17 (B) Nathan Adams 10.40, Tyler Bryce 12.10. U15G 4^th Sophie Campbell 11.13, Katie Johnson 10.59, Ruby McGill 10.20, Abigael Crawford 14.15 U15B Ben Campbell 9.00, Jude Dolan 9.24. U17G 3^rd Abbie Tosh 11.06, Olivia Trainer 12.30, Anna Docherty 13.25

The annual Dunoon Ultra Marathon is now in it’s fourth year and is proving ever popular with harriers looking for a local ultra. Many from the club have used this as their first ultra marathon experience, and although it is nice and handy, it is far from an easy route to tackle. The 55km run navigates over 4,000ft of climbing and some real technical sections to keep even the most experienced ultra runner honest.

Paul Monaghan had taken on his first ultra earlier in the year and had finished first in doing so, so his second attempt had a lot to live up to. Paul ran very strong, and stormed to the top of the leaderboard for Greenock Glenpark Harriers on this course with his time of 4.10. It was good for second place on the day, even with a slight detour at the end!  In fact, Paul’s time has only ever been beaten twice, so he sits at 3rd all time for this race. Great running Paul.

Second home for the club was the returning Kevin O’Donoghue. It was Kevin’s first big race in a couple of years, and his ultra running experience was certainly tested on the day. Kevin stormed to 4th place overall with a superb time of 4.26. The long runs up the cut and around the hills of Greenock over the last few months certainly paid off for Kevin and it is great to see him back!

John Stevenson was next home in 5.12. John hammered the first section of the run, but managed to hold on for a superb time. Stephen Reid narrowly missed out on breaking 6 hours by just 2 minutes. Stephen’s training was interrupted by many an injury, so it was a superb effort by him on the day! Marianne McKay was first female harrier home in 6.40. A great run from Marianne who has been testing herself over all sorts of crazy races this year!

Eileen Stevenson was fresh off of her half marathon PB at Glasgow and completed the course in 7.15. Terri Wall returned to the race once again and finished alongside Eileen, and swore never again… but she said that last year! Graeme Crawford narrowly missed breaking the 8 hour mark, but was cheered on throughout and especially at the finish by his ever present support team! The distance is not to be sniffed at, and sadly Ian Hanley found this out to his peril as he called it a day at the last checkpoint, but that is still a 24 mile run with 2,500ft of climbing just to that point!

The Ultra relay offers an alternative to the full gruelling distance. Splitting the run into 3 segments, teams can tackle the course and still make a day of it. The first leg runs from Benmore to Glenbranter, tackling Pucks Glen, 13.5 miles and 2000+ft of climbing. The second leg is much flatter, and tackles the 10 mile lochside run from Glenbranter back to Benmore. The final leg take runners up into the hills behind Dunoon, with 1500+ft of climb in the 10 mile stretch, before returning to the towns shore to finish.

Through Glenbranter, it was Lorna Coyle’s team that held the lead after her friend Alan Callan had stormed the first leg. Stephen Hanley had his team round in about 5th place after his first leg. Lorna’s husband Bruce took over from Alan and just held onto the lead over Stuart Austin who took over from Stephen. George McCallum was given the task of hunting down Lorna in the last leg, as well as a couple of other relay runners ahead. George stormed the last leg and held off the chasing pack to bring overall victory to their team! The trio had all ran the full distance last year, and showed they are no mugs this year by taking the relay victory!

Nathalie and Steven Smith welcomed Nicola Stevenson to their team. The team ran well and Nicola stormed the last leg much to the team’s delight. Wenda Crawford had to make some last minute signings in order to get their team together on the day due to a few late injury call offs, and the stand ins ran well as Lisa Boonsanong and Helen Ridley got round before Wenda ran the last leg.

As always there was a great contingent of supporters over on the day offering help and encouragement. It proves to be a good day out for the club members, and the date is set on the first weekend in October next year once again. Thanks also to ‘Captured by GG’ and Ali McCrossan on Facebook for the photos.

Results:
55k Ultra: Paul Monaghan 4.10.14, Kevin O’Donoghue 4.26.31, John Stevenson 5.12.04, Stephen Reid 6.02.44, Marianne McKay 6.40.13, Eileen Stevenson 7.15.55, Terri Wall 7.15.55, Scot Hill 7.41.30, Graeme Crawford 8.01.33
Relay:
Stephen Hanley, Stuart Austin, George McCallum – 4.41.47
Alan Callan, Bruce Coyle, Lorna Coyle – 4.47.17
Steven Smith, Nathalie Smith, Nicola Stevenson – 5.42.29
Lisa Boonsanong, Helen Ridley, Wenda Crawford – 6.06.41

Sunday 29th September 2019

The Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run was once again well attended by Greenock Glenpark Harriers. The seniors events on the Sunday included the 10k followed by the half marathon, with 29 Harriers competing over the two races.

The day got under way with the 10k, where it was the young guns that lead the way for the club. Harry McGill comfortably cruised round in sub 35, amazingly treating the race as a hard tempo! Alan Mollins was just behind him in 37.11, picking up a late entry and running steadily. Shaun Wiseman had to fight off a few stitches but still ran well, and finished just ahead of Malcom McLean. Nicola Stevenson was the first female back with a great run in just over 47 minutes.

The highlight of the day was seeing four graduates from our new Couch to Club Runner sessions running the 10k, all of whom have now joined the club. Emma Sinclair, Lynne Fulton, Barbara Laing and Christie McAlpine have all been coming along to the Tuesday night session for the last 4 months and, along with many others, have loved their introduction to organised running. A special mention to Emma Sinclair who smashed the hour mark in her first ever 10k. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for this all inclusive club.

The half marathon is the highlight of many people’s running calendar. The Scottish championship race takes runners out to the south side of the city and through Pollock and Bellahouston Parks before returning to the city for the big finish along the Broomielaw and into Glasgow Green. Paul Monaghan was the leading harrier, and with a PB to boot. His only previous better half was at the tragically short Glasgow Half a few years ago, and his run of sub 75 now stands as his PB. Stevie Campbell was not far behind and they both finished 4th and 5th in their age category respectively.

John Stevenson lead the charge of harriers fighting to break the 90 minute mark, as he finished just ahead of Oliver Reilly and George McCallum. However, it wasn’t to be for Stewart Anderson as he fell shy in his attempt to break that elusive mark. He along with Stephen Hanley and David Roberts had to settle for slower yet still respectable times in the mid to low 90s.

Claire Monaghan was the first female harrier home to make it a family double. It was also Claire’s first ever half marathon, and the ladies club champion performed very well to run a time of just under 1.50. Marianne McKay and Terri Wall were not far behind as they put some last minute miles in before their Dunoon Ultra attempts the following week. Performance of the day from the woman came from Eileen Stevenson. Also preparing for the Dunoon Ultra, Eileen broke the 2 hour mark for the first time and secured a massive PB. Well done Eileen!

Another stand out performance was from PB king Eric Lindsay. Fed up with just breaking his PB every week at parkrun, Eric decided to quadruple the distance and tackle his first half marathon. He came in with a superb time of just over 1.42! He even had the energy to smile and wave for the camera with a mile to go!

As always it was a well attended race, with good camaraderie among the members at the end in Glasgow Green. The race has been scheduled for the first weekend in October next year, so that’s one for your diaries.

Results:
10k:
Harry McGill 34.38, Alan Mollins 37.11, Shaun Wiseman 43.21, Malcolm McLean 44.31, Nicola Stevenson 47.08, Gerry Gillespie 51.59, Angela Nelson 55.50, Elaine Medinelli 59.00, Emma Sinclair 59.38, Lynne Fulton 63.30, Christie McAlpine 68.48, Charlotte McKay 69.17, Barbara Laing 69.48,
Half Marathon:
Paul Monaghan 74.50, Stevie Campbell 75.22, John Stevenson 86.14, Oliver Reilly 87.47, George McCallum 89.53, David Roberts 93.35, Stephen Hanley 95.31, Stewart Anderson 97.40, Stephen Reid 1.41.16, Eric Lindsay 1.42.24, Claire Monaghan 1.48.25, Marianne McKay 1.51.24, Terri Wall 1.52.29, Ross Slater 1.52.34, Lisa Boonsanong 1.52.58, Debbie McKenzie 1.53.08, Boyd MacKenzie 1.56.10, Eileen Stevenson 1.57.25, Fiona Cushnaghan 1.58.16
(Don’t forget to put your club name in your entry for races. Apologies if anyone has been missed)

On Saturday 21st September 5 hardy Harriers took on the Salomon Ring of Steall Skyrace which follows in the tradition of skyrunning, which consists of uncompromising mountain running, such as scrambling along mountain ridges with steep ascents, traverses and descents on technical and challenging terrain.

This skyrunning race route incorporates two lofty ridges within the Mamores, including the Devil’s Ridge, which provides a thrilling and airy traverse with Glen Nevis visible ahead and as a yawning drop far below, and Ben Nevis beyond and towering above.

The race route is set within the Mamores, which are an east – west series of majestic Munros and in this route there are four that were summited. These were Sgurr a’ Mhàim, An Gearanach, Stob Coire a’ Chàirn and Am Bodach.

All five of them, Kevin Gill, Craig Canning, Marianne McKay, Cheryl Thomas and Fiona Macfarlane had been training hard over the months covering parts of the route. Nothing prepared them for the challenges that lay ahead. An unusually hot day meant fantastic views, however with 18 miles to cover and steep ascents there was no time for stopping.

Craig Canning pushed ahead and finished in a well respected time of 8hrs 28 with his recent injury causing no issues. The 3 girls stuck together and worked well as a team proving that their hill recces and various climbs stood them in good stead. Kevin Gill worked very hard and his grit, determination and scrambling skills got him to the end.

The world female 1st place went to Judith Wyder who described the race as “a really tough race with steep uphill and very demanding and challenging downhill sections. Not one to start trail running with but definitely one for the bucket list”

The trio of Harriers girls also have been raising great money for charity by taking part in this event. They have raised over £700 so far for The Brightest Star charity. You can find out more at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chezmazfi

Results
Craig Canning: 8hrs 28
Cheryl Thomas: 8hrs 45
Marianne McKay: 8hrs 45
Fiona Macfarlane: 8hrs 45
Kevin Gill: 9 hours 43