One of the annual races that regular Harriers look forward to with a mixture of giddy anticipation and outright terror, the Chisholm mile is a no-holds-barred mile effort along Greenock Esplanade, in whichever direction the wind is blowing on the evening.
For the second year in a row, the race started at the Boat Club end and featured over 100 runners on the night. In total, 113 runner took part – a brilliant turnout from the club, we had 92 members taking part with 21 guests joining us at the start. Weather was perfect and the slight following wind made conditions ideal for a fast race.
For a short race, as we head into the business end of the Club Championship, a lot is at stake for those at the top of the leaderboards. The two names currently fighting it out for the top spot are current Champion Dylan Crawford, and Neil Lafferty. Neil has been leading the tables this year but Dylan’s training and commitment to club racing saw him fight his way up the table and it was neck and neck going into the mile. Over the course of the mile Neil set the pace in the early stages of the race, taking the elite group away from the pack very early on as runners struggled to pick up the challenge. In the first minute we saw a distinct group break off, with Harry McGill and Kyle Johnstone close behind Neil and Dylan, shoulder to shoulder as they passed the yellow pole halfway point. The pace stayed brutal as the two men battled down to the finish, and it was Dylan who found the edge over the last hundred metres to take the finish by two seconds, in 4m30s. Only four seconds separated the first four over the line with Neil at 4m32, with Harry and Kyle in a tie at 4m34. Fantastic performances from all four men, the race for the championship heats up as we head into the final three club races!
Seven Harriers managed to beat the 5 minute milestone – Club President Andy McCall continued his fine form with 4:43, as did Lewis Khan (4:51) and a blinding run from Oliver Reilly saw him over the line in 4:57. Heartbreakingly close to 5 mins were Lewis McCrae (5:01), Stephen Hanley (5:02) and Paul Monaghan (5:07). Great runs too from Owen Atkinson and Matthew Deegan, a battle for the finish took Owen in at 5:14, one second ahead of Matthew. A phenomenal run from Colin McKnight (5:18) saw him just nick it from Stevie Campbell (5:24), a PB for Colin over the mile.
Further down the field, our first lady home was Ruby McGill with a fantastic time of 5:35, and it was great to see the next ladies home were both up and coming junior members – U17 Summer Taggart at 5:52 breaking the 6 minute mile, and U20 Evie Harrison just outside but delighted with 6:01, a PB for Evie. The ladies had a great turnout of 32 runners overall, with Lorna Mitchell (6:16) and Fiona Macfarlane (6:19) first senior ladies back in fourth and fifth respectively. It was also great to see three U13 level girls, Stella McCabe, Taguen Maloney, and Orla Trainer all in the top ten ladies.
There was also a healthy turnout from our Junior Members – in the U11 group, Mila Killeen put in a great effort to come home in 7:22. She was followed by Isabel Lafferty (7:28), Emily Paul (7:55) and Lily McCall in a great time of 8.30.
The Chisholm mile is one of our best attended races and as such many of the individual stories of running heroism will have to remain on the Esplanade, as there were too many great performances on the day to account for them all. However, the other heroics that must get a mention are the volunteers who make the race possible – this is one of the most difficult races to organise and record results for. The Chisholm Mile was brought to you by John Stevenson, Stevie McLoone, Alan O’Rourke, Alison King, Gavin Morrison, Eric Lindsay, Eileen Stevenson, Ang Austin, Mary McCabe, Gerard Robertson, Mark Sullivan, Cameron CW, Emma Sinclair, Lorna Coyle, Alison Smart, Richard Newsome, Kenny Morrison, Marianne McKay, David Thomson, Claire McDade, Lynne Harrison and Stephen Harrison.
*Note: This report doesn’t take into account guest runner finishing places.
Results can be seen here : Chisholm Mile v2
