Bill Elder 10k 2022

The 2021-22 Greenock Glenpark Harriers season came to a close on Tuesday night with the running of the club’s Bill Elder 10km. It was the first full uninterrupted season back from the Covid issues of previous years, with all races running as usual from September’s JG Cameron 4k right through until this race. It was another fantastic turnout of runners and volunteers to fill the streets of Greenock with our famous light blue vests.

The race starts in the Battery Park and heads east to the Esplanade, before turning down Container Way and heading for The Beacon. The runners turn the clocktower at the Custom House, and follow the route back to the Battery to finish. It is a mass start race, and we had 70 finishers on the night, including 5 local guest runners. For club members, it is a handicap race and would be crucial to the overall handicap championships.

We had 21 ladies racing on the night, with Marian Monk coming out on top for her 7th club race victory of the season, and her first win at this race since 2018 (taking 2 minutes off her time in the process!). Lorna Mitchell finished in second place, and has had a great debut season for the Harriers in pushing Marian close in a number of races. Ruby McGill rounded out the top 3 on the night, and has won the other four races this season.

There were PBs for at least Olivia Devine, Stephen Harrison, Owen Atkinson, Gary Keogh and Derek Mitchell. There may have been more, so apologies if we missed you out for a shout out! (Best Strava research there…). It was also good to see some new faces running as club members for the first time, the likes of Derek Mitchell, Paul Dillon, Campbell McFarlane and Greg Luke (although sadly injured mid race). You never know, some of the guests might have liked the look of that vest too! See you next season?

The mens race was a tight after at the sharp end. Paul Monaghan and Inverclyde AC’s Dylan Crawford were neck and neck at the turn, but Paul’s experience edged him ahead on the way home to allow him to claim victory in 34.58. Andrew Osborne took 3rd place with another strong run, just edging out his training partner Oliver Reilly once again. Andrew McCall and Andrew White followed shortly behind in what was a great night for the Andrews. Young Kyle Johnstone continues to impress, this time over his longest distance to date with a great run in 38 minutes dead, a great 10k time for the youngster!

The handicap race for this is always a nervy wait. The handicap maths are carried out after the race, leaving runners to guess who had the best race combined with a fair (or generous) handicap! Steven Watson? He ran well, good handicap…but only good for 5th. Must have been Marian Monk then? She ran a great race, but no just 4th. Debbie McKenzie or Charlotte McKay? Those Port lassies done well, but no they were just pipped to the title. The handicap winner was Gill Gilmour, who edged out Charlotte by just 24 seconds. This was the last event in the season’s handicap championships, taking in six of our club races. Graham McGrattan had a narrow lead going into the last race, but only picked up one point on the night, was it enough…. We will reveal all in our next report!

This race requires the largest number of volunteers for any of our club races, given the amount of road crossings on the rout. A big thanks must go to all of them for helping the event run smoothly. We also want to say a huge thanks to Geraldine Charleston for sponsoring the race, and for proving sports massages to our runners over the years! Also thanks to those helping sell some club kit on the night, and those buying it up and continuing to look the part when out training.

Results: Paul Monaghan 34:58, Dylan Crawford 35:19, Andrew Osborne 35:46, Oliver Reilly 35:52, Andy McCall 36:01, Andrew White 36:33, Michael Joseph McLoone 36:46, Daniel Doherty 37:10, Kyle Johnstone 38:00, Owen Atkinson 38:17, Duncan Anderson 38:53, Sean Marshall 38:56, Steven Campbell 39:09, Robert Dolan 39:45, Steven Watson 39:49, George McCallum 40:13, Stephen Harrison 40:37, William Taylor 40:53, John Stevenson 41:21, Eric Lindsay 42:08, Matthew Deegan 42:14, Campbell Cromar 42:17, Graham McGrattan 42:43, Gary Keogh 43:14, Marian Monk 43:46, David Hamill 43:59, Craig Hyslop 44:09, Matthew Young 44:39, Greig Turner 44:45, Stuart Austin 44:51, Ian McKee 44:53, Colin McKnight 45:00, Alan O’Rourke 45:20, Lorna Mitchell 45:23, David Roberts 45:28, Derek Mitchell 45:57, Stephen Reid 46:09, Danny McLaughlin 47:29, Scot Hill 47:38, Sean Macfarlane 48:00, Ruby McGill 48:04, Paul Dillon 48:04, Ricky Long 48:08, Liza Brydon 48:28, Lynne Harrison 49:06, Debbie Mckenzie 49:10, Kelly McGarvey 49:23, James Doherty 50:51, Lisa Boonsanong 51:01, Stuart Crawford 51:29, Olivia Devine 51:58, Campbell Macfarlane 52:24, Claire Monaghan 53:12, Nathalie Smith 55:00, Fiona Macfarlane 57:27, Elaine Medinelli 57:28, Yvonne Prager 57:32, Fiona Cushnaghan 58:54, Helen Crawford 59:02, Gerry Langan 61:18, Jennifer Hanley, 61:11, David Carruthers 61:25, Mary Robinson 63:52, Gill Gilmour 64:20, Willie Logan 65:11, June Anne McKnight 65:19, Charlotte McKay 66:44, Simon Hutton 68:25, Edward Devine 72:07, David Black 85:12