The Wilson

This Saturday 9th December, on a mild, smirry day on the rocky road above the Waterman’s Cottage, 52 members turned out to compete in one of the toughest races of the club championship series. In total there were 35 Men and 17 Ladies competing.

Winner of the handicap, with an excellent run, especially on the uphill sections was June-Anne McKnight (54:28). Second, just 20 seconds behind June-Anne was Ian McKee (54:48). In third place was the returning-to-form Shaun Wiseman (55:08).  It was nice to see some new names in the leading handicap placings with Lewis McCrae (55:26) and Lewis Khan (55:33) finishing 4th and 5th. Owen Atkinson (55:46), Mathew Deegan (56:05) and John Green (56:10) were next in, showing great improvement as the season progresses. The top twelve finishers crossed the line within two minutes and with  all runners completing the race just ten minutes behind the June-Anne, it’s a big congratulations once again to the Handicap Committee!

The Ladies scratch race was won by Jill Cox (33:12), once again giving the men a run for their money.

And in a head-to-head all the way from start to finish, Lynne Harrison (38:51)  pipped Summer Taggart (38:52) by just 1 second.

Lynne Harrison and Summer Taggart  (2nd and 3rd)

Fourth in was Evie Harrison (39:50), followed by Nathalie Smith (41:09)  and Cheryl Thomas (41:30).

Runs worthy of mention came from Jill Aikman (42:03), Debbie McKenzie (42:15) and Helen Crawford (44:11).

Kirsten Arthur, sporting a Santa hat and starry Christmas attire also had a good run, considering she’s not been racing recently.

In the Mens race, Neil Laffery (27:44) finished 19 seconds ahead of Lewis Khan (28:03). Third in was Daniel Doherty (28:39).  Next in was Andrew Osbourne (28:45) in fourth place, just 5 seconds ahead of Dylan Crawford (28:50). Oliver Reilly, John Logan and Owen Atkinson finished within 20 seconds of each other. 

Other notable runs came from Mattew Deegan (32:35), Stephen Harrison (33:01),  Mickey Dunn (37:18), Robin McAuslin (38:43) and of course Frank McMahon (39:17).

An extra special thank you goes to our fantastic 14 volunteers who braved the weather: Kevin Craig, David Carruthers, Stevie McLoone, Eileen Stevenson, David Thomson, Heather Lafferty, Gordy Hepburn, Gerard Robertson, Alex Paterson, Simon Hutton, Chris Cameron, Claire Monaghan, Stephen Reid and Richard Newsome.

And a big hearty thank you to Danny Mclaughlin for an amazing pot of soup.

Finally, a special thank you to our Race Sponsor: Wilson’s Coaches.