Scottish Inter District XC Championships – 12^th January 2019, Stirling.

Greenock Glenpark Harriers had a strong representation with 5 athletes competing at the prestigious Inter-district championships at Stirling for the successful West District squad.

Ben Campbell, Harris Morrison Ava Beaton and Katie Johnson were representing the West district for their first time in the under 13 category.

In the boys 3km race Ben and Harris got away steady on the first of the two 1500 metre laps around Stirling golf course. Harris managed to hold position throughout, but Ben made the most of his long stride to cut through the field in the second half of the race to finish 8^th counter for the Gold winning West team, with Harris crossing the line as 12^th counter.

Immediately following their race came Ava Beaton and Katie Johnson, they too had a controlled start up the steep hill and it paid off as they steadily moved through the field finishing 7^th and 9^th respectively for the West team who took Silver behind a strong team from the East.

The more experienced Harry McGill’s recent good form continued when he helped the West’s under 17 men’s team to Gold. On the penultimate 3^rd lap he looked to be tiring in 11^th place, with a big group gathering ominously just behind him; but he somehow managed to recover to surge through in the final kilometre to finish in an impressive 7^th overall. This will give Harry confidence going into the Celtic cross country championships in Belfast next week where he will be representing Scotland for the first time.

It was a fantastic experience for the youngsters to be mixing with senior national and international athletes, which will stand them in good stead in future competitions.

Credit to their recent success is not only down to the athletes themselves but also to their team mates who have been pushing them hard in training all season.

Results: 3km: Ben Campbell 11.22, Harris Morrison 11.58, Ava Beaton 12.21, Katie Johnson 12.30, 5km: Harry McGill 17.06

Harris Morrison

Laura Muir meets her hero

Katie Johnson

Harry McGill

Ben Campbell

Ava Beaton

National Indoor Championships.  12th January 2019, Emirates Arena

Pictures courtesy of Bobby Gavin; Mark Magee (472) leading the field to 800 best and Scott Hannaway breasts the line.

The Harriers new senior sprint team opened their account at the first National Indoor Championship of the 2019 season at the Emirates Indoor Arena, Glasgow.

Under 20 athlete ‘Flying’ Scott Hannaway joined the very select group of local athletes who have recorded sub 50 seconds for 400m.  Scott took the race on from the gun and had a clear lead going into the second 200m lap of the indoor arena, sticking to his race plan Scott gradually increased pace as he hit the home straight driving toward the line stopping the clock 49.82 seconds.  A few hours later Scott returned to the track to contest 200m and again displayed quality sprinting to record his second personal best of the day with 22.70 seconds.

Lifetime bests were the order of the day for the team in their new colours with Mark Magee taking two seconds off his previous 800m best.  Mark lead the race from the gun and as the laps went past Mark was within his personal target and despite hitting fatigue in the last lap Mark powered on to record his personal triumph.

Drew McIntyre returned to competitive action after his medical enforced lay off and did not disappoint as he displayed his class over the shortest of sprints, 60m.  With his traditional explosive start Drew was stride for stride with the fastest sprinters in the country with a photo required to differentiate the placings. In the fastest race of the day, Drew recorded one of his fastest starts to a season.

Scott McCluckie completed the sprint quartet with a competitive double over 200m and 400m just missing out on lowering his best times in both races.

The team now look forward to the coming weeks with the National Championships in February.

The first club championship race of 2019 was held last week at the Coves Reservoirs in Greenock. The conditions were perfect on the day, a little cold but no wind saw some really good times posted by a bumper field of Harriers. 46 senior runners were in attendance which continues the trend of well attended club races this season. The race is 4 big laps of the reservoirs adding up to just under 5.5 undulating miles, a stern new years test to blow away the holiday excess!

This race last year saw Andy White claim his first club championship race victory. This year, he set out to try and retain his title. He lead from the front and broke away from the chasing pack after one lap and powered round to claim his second Harriers race win. Stevie Campbell held off Alan Mollins for second place, but it was another fine showing from Alan who is now regularly competing with the top club runners at these races. New member Neil Lafferty continued to show real promise with a 5th place finish, while other new members Oliver Reilly, Callum Gorry and Owen Atkinson all ran well.

Chloe Simpson made it back to back wins in her maiden two club races of the season. It has been a strong showing so far from Chloe in her first few months as a Harrier. Sue Hewitson showed great signs that she was back to her best racing fitness with a strong second place just over 30 seconds behind Chloe. Nicola Stevenson rounded out the top 3, more on her later…

The race does have a handicap category, but all runners are set off at the same time so the handicap winner has to wait until all of the maths is done later in the evening. In this case, John Stevenson was able to reveal the runaway winner as his daughter Nicola! Her storming run on the day did have all of the other runners convinced she must have been in with a shout, but she had to wait until later that night to find out. John Stevenson himself managed to sneak second place by a nose hair over marathon training buddy Robert Dolan. Both runners seeing their high winter mileage paying dividends.

Elsewhere, there were good runs from Marianne McKay, Eileen Stevenson and Cheryl Thomas who all placed in the top 10 for the handicap race. Stephen Hanley placed high in the handicap standings for the second race in a row, which could make for some interesting reading when the championship tables are published (these will be done before the Willow Bowl…).

There was a huge army of volunteers around the coves keeping all the runners safe, encouraged and very photographed! A big thanks you has to go to all of these for their efforts, as well as some of the runners who helped out with registration, results and post race refreshments. A big thank you also to our race sponsors WB Smith Trees and Turf LTD. See you all again for the Willow Bowl on Saturday 16th February!

Results: Andrew White 32:46, Stevie Campbell 33:58, Allan Mollins (U17) 34:01, Paul Monaghan 34:13, Neil Lafferty 34:27, Daniel Doherty 34:56, Andrew Osborne 35:17, John Stevenson 35:36, Paul Beaton 35:41, Andy McCall 35:58, Robert Dolan 36:07, Stephen Hanley 36:31, Owen Atkinson 36:48, Chloe Simpson 38:25, Harry McGill (U17) 38:35, Sue Hewitson 39:08, Danny McLaughlin 39:10, Oliver Reilly 39:30, George McCallum 39:41, Graham McGrattan 39:50, David Ness 40:03, Michael Dunn 40:13, Alan O’Rouke 41:34, Ian McKee 41:43, Nicola Stevenson 41:50, Stephen Reid 42:08, Sandra Campbell 42:37, Robin McAuslan 43:13, Frank McMahon 43:14, Cheryl Thomas 43:25, Marianne McKay 43:42, Ashley Anderson 43:56, Donna Campbell 44:02, Callum Gorry 44:43, Jim Cuffe 44:54, Claire Monaghan 44:56, Colin Campbell 45:25, Jeremy Deveney 45:35, Viki Smith 47:32, Lisa Boonsanong 48:56, Boyd McKenzie 49:12, Debbie McKenzie 50:18, Eileen Stevenson 50:41, John Carruthers 53:28, Simon Hutton 54:50, Eddie Devine 61:20

National 3000m Indoor Championships – Emirates Arena,  4th January 2019

Harry McGill produced a stunning performance to win Silver at the National 3000m indoor championships at the Emirates Arena. The Greenock Glenpark Harrier’s run of 9.05minutes was a personal best by some 7 seconds, but despite his blistering final lap of 33 seconds he couldn’t quite catch Costorphine’s David Addison. Such was the quality of the race it placed the pair at number 6 & 7 in the Scottish Under 17 Men’s all-time list for the distance. A just reward to his dedication in training.

Also at the same meeting there was good performances from club mates Alan Mollins, whose 9.43 was a new PB by over a minute; and veteran Paul Monaghan setting a season’s best of 10.00.

Picture with thanks to ©Bobby Gavin www.thatonemoment.co.uk

Harris Trophy Junior Races 5/1/19

The Glenpark Juniors were again out in force for their first championship race of 2019 at Coves Reservoirs.

• The under 11s contested the small 1.2 mile loop around the top reservoir. And it was no surprise to see Douglas Campbell shoot straight to the front. It was a lead he was to hold to the finish. Just behind him there was terrific sprint to the line between Leo Beaton and Cameron Crawford, with Leo just edging ahead on the grassy incline to the finish. Erin McEleny was quickest girl; her hard work over the holidays paying off, with the improving Summer Taggart in 2^nd holding off Brooke Taylor.

• The under 13’s contested the slightly longer 1.4 mile lap around both reservoirs, and it provided keen competition in both the boys and girls races. Harris Morrison’s early lead was gradually clawed back by Ben Campbell. Ben on this occasion coming out on top as he pulled away in the last quarter mile. Behind them came David Docherty continuing to progress with a fine run for 3^rd. It was much closer between Ava Beaton and Katie Johnson.  Ava had built up what had looked like a comfortable lead, but in the steep climb up the path, Katie put in a surge to close the gap, but Ava had done enough to hold on, with Sophie McGinty in third.   These were encouraging performances by Ben, Harris, Ava and Katie as they go into their final preparations prior to next Saturdays Inter-district XC championships where they will be representing the West of Scotland Team.

• In the 2.75mile two lap race Ewan Ferguson and Sean Wiseman went stride for stride for almost the entire distance, but it was Ewan who was to prevail as he edged clear in the run in to the line. Jude Dolan held on well to keep the pair within sight for an excellent 3^rd. Ruby McGill dominated in the girls’ race, but her team mates can take encouragement from their performance, as their times continue to improve, as they gradually cut down on the gap. Abbie Tosh took the runners-up spot, followed by Emma Aitken.

1.2 miles: Douglas Campbell 8.05, Leo Beaton 8.22, Cameron Crawford 8.25, Connor McCrorey 8.36, Cameron Beck 8.41, Erin McEleny 9.05, Ruari Trainer 9.12, Summer Taggart 9.40, Brooke Taylor 9.49, Gabriel Forrest 10.07, Leah Knox 10.31, Mirren McConnell 10.40, Aimee McEleny 10.53, Stella McCabe 11.05, Charlie Pierce 12.29, Sam Cushnaghan 12.48,

1.4miles: Ben Campbell 8.24, Harris Morrison 8.36,  Ava Beaton 9.33, David Docherty 9.35, Katie Johnson 9.35, Ewan Johnson 9.45, Sophie McGinty 10.49, Maria McCabe 11.20, Holly Beck 12.53,

2.75 miles: Ewan Ferguson 18.19, Sean Wiseman 18.21, Jude Dollan 18.52, Ruby McGill 19.45, Abbie Tosh 21.57, Alex Wiseman 23.49, Emma Aitken 24.49, Olivia Trainer 24.58, Francesca McKay 26.27, Abbigael Crawford 29.06,

Under 11s on the Start Line

The 2019 running year got off to a flying start with the fantastically attended Lyle Mile race on a glorious sunny New Year’s Day in Greenock. There were 136 runners tackling the one mile uphill challenge, more than double the attendance from the previous year!

The frantic start saw the runners charge up Lyle Road from Fort Matilda, winding their way up towards to summit. After a few tight and steep turns on the pavement, the final 200m flattens out towards the finish allowing the runners a sprint finish (i they have anything left in their legs!).

It was this sprint finish that allowed Chris Mooney to retain his title from the previous year. After Michael Healy and Neil Lafferty charged ahead in the early going, Chris paced the run to perfection and surged past the competition in the final 100m to claim the victory in a cracking time of 6.36. This was 11 seconds faster than last year and just shy of John Bell’s course record of 6.26 in 2017. Neil Lafferty’s first race as a member of Greenock Glenpark Harriers was a success with his 3rd place spot in a superb 6.41. Inverclyde’s Dylan Crawford paced the run well to finish 4th in 6.49 with Glenpark’s Paul Monaghan 5th in 6.53.

Claire Thompson returned for the 3rd year in a row to claim first lady. Her hattrick of wins came alongside a PB of 8.27, beating her previous best by 15 seconds and we hope to see her again next year to continue defending her title. Second and third placed females went to Glenpark Harriers juniors Katie Johnson and Ava Beaton. Both girls are looking in great form ahead of their runs for the West District at the Inter District Cross Country later this month.

First placed junior went to Jude Dolan who smashed his PB with a great run in 7.49, taking over 30 seconds off of his time from last year. There were a number of other standout runs among the Glenpark juniors, showing that the winter training at Tower Hill has been paying off.

A big thank you must go to all of the organisers and the army of volunteers on the day. The much larger numbers than previous years saw a few more challenges on the day, but the hard work of the team meant it went smoothly. The event raised over £300 for Inverclyde Down Syndrome Support Group. Another big thank you must go to CM Autos for their sponsorship of the event. Thanks also to Ross Cameron for allowing us use of his great photos on the day. There are a few links below the results to more photo albums on Facebook.

Results: Chris Mooney 6:36, Michael Healey 6:38, Neil Lafferty 6:41, Dylan Crawford 6:49, Paul Monaghan 6:53, Sean Gaffney 6:55, Mark Nightingale 6:59, Colin Morrison 7:07, Daniel Doherty 7:15. Andrew Osborne 7:26, Paul Beaton 7:37, Martin Power 7:39, Owen Atkinson 7:40, Mark Wheeler 7:46, Jude Dolan 7:49, Andrew McCall 7:51, Stephen Hanley 7:56, Chris Jones 7:59, Richard Davidson 7:59, David Downie 8:07, James Healey 8:14, Gerard Cooke 8:17, Finn Boyd 8:17, Graham Forbes 8:19, Callum Robertson 8:19, Gordon Ritchie 8:20, Steven Watson 8:23, Gavin Morrison 8:24, Oliver Reilly 8:25, Claire Thompson 8:27, Ian Hughes 8:31, Katie Johnson 8:32, Ava Beaton 8:34, Danny McLaughlin 8:36, Euan Johnson 8:36, Leo Beaton 8:38, Graham McGrattan 8:40, David Docherty 8:42, Cameron Crawford 8:47, David Ness 8:51, Kai Wheeler 8:55, Geroge McCallum 8:57, Ian McKee 8:58, Graham Robertson 8:58, Stewart Crawford 9:00, Connor McCrory 9:01, Paul McKendry 9:03, Stephen Reid 9:04, Craig Canning 9:09, Stewart Beaton 9:11, Lucas Bezian 9:17, Frank McMahon 9:18, Marianne McKay 9:19, Douglas Nicholson 9:21, Sean McFarlane 9:22, Ashley Anderson 9:24, Lud Marthos 9:35, Claire Monaghan 9:36, Colin Campbell 9:39, Sophie McGinty 9:39, Cheryl Thomas 9:44, Lynsey Mooney 9:45, Abi Tosh 9:48, Alex Patterson 9:49, Alan Munroe 9:49, Nicola Falconer 9:50, Anne Marie Reid 9:53, Fiona MacFarlane 9:56, Oliver Jones 9:59, Raguraman Balaraman 10:01, Lorna Mitchell 10:03, Kevin Gill 10:05, Marina McCallum 10:11, Gerry Gillespie 10:19, Erin McEleney 10:19, Heather Lafferty 10:22, Joan McGilp 10:28, Alison Downie 10:31, Eddie O’Kane 10:34, Summer Target 10:35, Andrew Sutherland 10:39, James Surtherland 10:50, Colin Carnson 11:00, Kenny Scott 11:01, Stuart Brodie 11:03, Alex Boonsanong 11:04, Neil Thomson 11:05, Lisa Bonsanong 11:06, John McLaughlin 11:10, Debbie McKenzie 11:12, Susan Falconer 11:12, Ashley McLoone 11:12, Lyndsey Parker 11:15, James Prior 11:15, Sinead McLaughlin 11:16, Derek Johnson 11:23, Colin Robertson 11:42, David Murray 11:45, John Carruthers 11:47, Morag Gaffney 11:49, Lesley McLaren 11:53, Davie Peaston 11:54, Simon Hutton 11:55, Sue Hewitson 11:59, Lorna Coyle 11:59, Beth Docherty 11:59, Amiee McEleney 12:00, Caroline McKendy 12:10, Peter Davidson 12:24, Charlotte Jones 12:26, Claire Melville 12:35, Abigael Crawford 12:39, Claire Linning 12:47, Charlotte McKay 12:49, Sharon Black 12:52, Lian Nelis 12:54, Liz McAuslan 13:04, Susan Clarke 13:04, Shona McCormack 13:07, Angela Nelson 13:08, Sandra Devine 13:24, Jennifer McBain 13:27, Alex Cushnaghan 13:31, Lynne Campbell 14:28, Paula Gaffney 14:32, Claire Brands 15:06, Andrew Gilchrist 15:16. Rhuari Toole 15:47, Ross Toole 15:48, Joe Hefferman 15:55, Sam Cushanghan 16:00, Margaret Scobie 19:45, Peter Scobie 19:45, Monica Cushnaghan 19:46, Sammy Cushnaghan 19:47, Marian Monk (tail runner) 19:51

Ross Cameron Photos

GBR Photographs

Young ‘Harrier’ Harris Morrison celebrated a double at New Year with victory in the youths 200m and 800m at the famous New Year Sprint in Musselburgh; the most enduring open athletics event in the UK which is now in its 150th year.

Harris representing Greenock Glenpark Harriers contested firstly the 800m Handicap. A steady start over the first 400m had Harris following the leading group into the final 200m before gradually increasing pace to move into close contention for the top places. Entering the home straight Harris unleashed a sprint finish that saw him overhaul the leaders and open up a gap to claim a convincing victory in the first youth event of the day, in a time of 1.58minutes off a 130m handicap.

This was particularly impressive as he had to catch up 10 metres on the eventual runner-up Caleb McLeod of Pitreavie, who had beaten him in the National championships at Aberdeen in August.

Some 10 minutes later Harris again stepped onto the track in the heat of his 200m and despite the short recovery secured entry to the final with a fine run. In the final, a determined Harris accelerated to top speed hitting the home straight in the lead and despite older athletes chasing him down he showed maturity to hold technique to claim his second victory of the day. From a handicap of 44m Harris recorded a time of 21.53 seconds, finishing over ½ a second clear of Pitreavie’s Rebecca Grieve, a triple Gold medal winner at the Scottish Indoor Nationals.

Harris is only the second local athlete to claim a win in the historic competition; the other being British Internationalist sprinter Craig Fleming in 2010; giving him an excellent finish to 2018 with a springboard for an optimistic 2019.