This year marked the third year of the now Babcock sponsored 10k event series in May that has always been popular with our Harriers over the years. The series sees runners tackle Thursday night 10ks in Helensburgh and Dumbarton, and then the final even on a Sunday in Glasgow Green (Shettleston).
Helensburgh 10k
The first event took place in Helensburgh and followed the same route from Hermitage Academy heading west and encompassing many parts of the town. The conditions on the night were ideal, very little wind and mild temperatures. The route has a few short hills, but overall it is condjusive to fast times.
The fastest of those from the Harriers was Shaun Lyon, finishing in 5th overall and dipping under the 33 minute mark. This was Shaun’s second fastest ever time for 10k and his fastest for a few years, an excellent run. Stevie Campbell was 12th overall and 1st V40. Andrew White wasn’t far behind in 14th and first V50. Wes Pattison was 4th back for the harriers in a great time of 35.21.
Andrew Osborne and Stephen Hanley ran most of the race together. With Andrew returning from injury, he was able to pace Stephen for a PB of 37.24, taking almost 2 minutes off of his PB. Andrew was also happy with his run, with pacing duties allowing him to run a bit harder than he had planned.
Malcolm McLean ran well in just over 42 minutes and John Carruthers was able to take time off of his time from last year’s race.
The overall winner was able to break the 30 minute mark! It was a high quality field but many of the elites were biding their time for the west districts at Dumbarton the following week.
Results: Shaun Lyon 32.59, Steven Campbell 33.59, Andrew White 34.04, Wes Pattison 35.21, Stephen Hanley 37.24, Andrew Osborne 37.37, Malcolm McLean 42.22, John Carruthers 52.14
Dumbarton 10k
Dumbarton AC are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and to commemorate the occasion, they hosted the west district 10k championship at their annual race. Each runner on the night also got a great free t shirt as well!
The Dumbarton 10k was traditionally the fastest of the old series of 4 races, with a mostly flat course and less twists than the others. It could be argued that Shettleston is the fastest of the new series, with Clydebank and Vale of Leven running under separate organisers now.
The route follows a part of the popular Balloch to Clydebank half as it takes the cycle path east before turning back towards the town, with a finishing with a loop of the town and a short twist into the finish. Weather conditions not quite as ideal this week with a stiff breeze swirling around and hitting the runners a number of times.
Steven Campbell continued his V40 haul with a great run of 34.08 to claim 3rd in the category in a stacked field. Andy White was first V50 again, in a 40s slower time this week reflecting the difficulties faced by the conditions. Wes Pattison was able to shave 2 seconds off of his time from the previous week!
Stephen Hanley was buoyed by his PB the previous week and went off harder this week, and was able to hold on to secure another PB of 37.07. Andrew Osborne was very similar in time to his previous week. John Stevenson ran well and broke the 39 minute mark.
Oliver Reilly smashed his 10k PB and broke the 40 minute mark for the first time. Oliver has been smashing PBs all over the place for a few months now and is a great example of what the structured running training can do for you.
It was good to see Alan O’Rourke back out racing and John Carruthers wasn’t far off his time from the previous week. Fiona Cushnaghan was the sole female harrier on the night and was happy with her time, dipping just under 53 minutes.
Results: Steven Campbell 34.08, Andrew White 34.44, Wes Pattison 35.20, Stephen Hanley 37.07, Andrew Osborne 37.41, John Stevenson 38.57, Oliver Reilly 39.17, Malcolm McLean 43.35, Alan O’Rourke 45.26, John Carruthers 52.34, Fiona Cushnaghan 52.56
Shettleston 10k
The final race if the series takes place in Glasgow Green. A predominantly flat route offers the opportunity for fast times, but two short downhill zigzags can kill momentum. The weather on the day was far from ideal, with a strong southerly wind particularly noticeable at the far end of the race as runners cross the footbridge towards Shawfield Stadium.
Shaun Lyon was back for this one and produced another great run in 33.22 to place 7th overall. Shaun was bitterly disappointed to miss the Dumbarton race as he would have had a real chance of picking up an overall prize for the series.
Stevie Campbell collected another first place V40 prize for the race, holding off Paul Sorrie of Shettleston by just 4 seconds! A very successful few weeks for Stevie. Wes Pattison was 3rd back for the club in 35.37, showing real consistency over the series.
Stephen Hanley made it 3 PBs in a row for the series but was left agonisingly close to sub 37 by just one second! Still a great run of PBs after a hard few months training.
There was a good crowd up running at Glasgow Green on a fairly miserable morning. Hopefully see more harriers out running these sort of races as the summer season continues.
Results: Shaun Lyon 33.22, Steven Campbell 34.28, Wes Pattison 35.37, Stephen Hanley 37.01, Andrew Osborne 38.02, George McCallum 40.22, Alan O’Rourke 44.11, David Carruthers 55.55
There have been a lot of other races in the month of May, so keep an eye out on the website in the coming week for a review of these races. Just a quick reminder to members to include our full club name when registering for official races, it makes it easier to find everyones result online.
