Race Reports 2015 – 2016

British & Irish International Selection Race, Tollcross Park 17/9/16

Scotland Selection for Paul Monaghan

Well done to our Veteran athletes competing at Tollcross Park in the selection race to the Scottish teams for the annual British and Irish Masters Cross Country International. There was a lot at stake with the first 3 finishers in each category gaining automatic selection, with the remaining 3 places to be decided on current form. (For over 60s it was just 2 automatic places)

In the 8km race there was very little between Steven Campbell, Chris Mooney and Paul Monaghan who all finished closely packed, with the excellent news that Paul had secured 3rd place in the over 45’s and his first international vest. For Steven and Chris they will have an anxious wait as both placed 6th in their age categories. Daniel Doherty was our next finisher in 25th position overall. A few places behind came Andrew White, another with an outside chance of selection with his 7th place in the over 45’s. Graham McGrattan marked his return from injury with a much improved performance which saw him finish 3rd in the over 60’s, with Mick Dunn just 2 places behind. Hopefully on this showing Graham will be joining Paul in the Scotland Squad in November when the International race will be held at the same venue.

In the over 65’s competition over 6km Frank McMahon, our only representative, ran a solid race to finish 6th.

8km: Steven Campbell 28.20, Chris Mooney 28.25, Paul Monaghan 28.33, Daniel Doherty 29.10, Andrew White 29.38, Graham McGrattan 33.10, Mick Dunn 36.05,

6km: Frank McMahon 28.35

JG Cameron Road Races 3/9/16

Lyon Starts Season with Win on Esplanade

Shaun Lyon recorded an impressive win in the JG Cameron 4km road race in the start of Greenock Glenpark Harriers 2016-17 season.

The early morning rain had cleared to provide perfect conditions for the 57 athletes assembled on the Esplanade. And it was Shaun who immediately went into the lead; a lead that he was to hold on to comfortably from the challengers behind.

In the chasing pack it was a much closer contest with a group of six remaining together until the half way point at the Battery Park. Then came a number of surges to break clear, all unsuccessful, until the on-form Daniel Doherty proved to be the strongest on the day, with his long effort eventually putting daylight between himself and the third placed Chris Mooney.

In the women’s competition Marian Monk took the win with a new personal best for the course, ahead of the veteran Lorna Coyle, with Nicola Stevenson in 3rd.

In the veteran categories Steven Campbell, Mick Harrington and Graham McGrattan were top in the over 40, 50, and 60s respectively.

Five of the junior boys stepped up to compete in the longer distance against their senior club mates. All performed well, with specially good performances from Harry McGill finishing 9th overall, and the youngest competing athlete Jude Dolan.

In the earlier junior races Amelia Vance was the clear winner over 1km, with Leah Knox and Ashlin Monaghan taking the final podium places.

Over 2km it was an exciting finish as Anna Docherty and Ruby McGill broke the tape at the same time, and being too close to call, both were given equal first. The pair were quickly followed by Mia Forrest and Beth McKenna, and again the officials couldn’t decide as the youngsters lunged across the line.

The Harriers would like to thank our race sponsors James Campbell manager of the Greenock branch of Timber & Builders Merchant Travis Perkins, and to our volunteers who ensured another successful event.

Results – 4km: Shaun Lyon 12.56, Daniel Doherty 13.11, Chris Mooney 13.17, Steven Campbell 13.26, Paul Monaghan 13.33, Andrew White 13.38, Kevin O’Donoghue 13.55, Mark Vance 14.16, Harry McGill 14.31, Steven Watson 14.36, Robert Wilson 14.39, Chris Watson 14.52, Gordon Hepburn 14.57, John Stevenson 14.59, Stephen Hanley 14.59, Ryan Brown 15.03, Brian McCluskey 15.17, Robert Dolan 15.23, David Roberts 15.30, Graham McGrattan 15.32, Ross Neilson 15.47, David Ness 15.52, Stuart Austin 15.57, Scott Meechan 16.10, Mick Harrington 16.12, Duncan Anderson 16.14, Robin McAuslan 16.17, Steven Reid 16.20, Marian Monk 16.29, Jude Dolan 16.34, Mick Dunn 16.41, Danny McLaughlin 17.15, Ian Hanley 17.35, Lorna Coyle 17.51, Nicola Stevenson 18.13, Frank McMahon 18.17, Gerry Gillespie 18.29, Boyd MacKenzie 18.36, Simon Hutton 19.00, Angeline Austin 19.08, Liz McAuslan 19.23, Jack McDaid 19.32, Claire Monaghan 20.04, John Carruthers 20.10, Sam Huish 20.13, Paul Hegarty 20.54,

Juniors:

1km: Amelia Vance 4.38, Leah Knox 5.27, Ashlin Monaghan 5.34, Maria McCabe 5.35, Caitlyn Marsh 5.54, Nathan McCorquindale 6.08, Molly McKinnon 6.24,

2km: Ruby McGill 9.14, Anna Docherty 9.14, Mia Forrest 9.33, Beth McKenna 9.33,

4km: Harry McGill 14.31, Ryan Brown 15.03, Scott Meechan 16.10, Jude Dolan 16.34, Jack McDaid 19.32.

Dream Mile  28/8/16

Steven and Chris Watson competed in the dream mile race at Ravenscraig track on Sunday. An annual event organised by the Dreams come True Charity. In what was undoubtedly the pinnacle of their running careers, the pair  came first and second in very strong field of two.  It was a result that arguably eclipsed the Brownlee brothers Olympic Gold & Silver in Rio. As Steven modestly said “Nobody else turned up for it and they pretty much just let us get on with it while they packed up. I think most folk came along for the junior races. We still got medals though” . Nonetheless it was pretty quick times by the brothers, with Steven first across the line in 5.30 and Chris was 5.33.

 Gourock Duathlon  28/8/16

Andrew White secured the win at the 2nd running of the Gourock Duathlon. The Harriers dominated the head of the field with four athletes making the top six, with Chris Jones, Andrew Osborne, and Mark Vance taking places 4th  to 6th respectively. Andrew was slightly behind after the bike ride, but early into the final 5km run, he hit the front and went on to produce the quickest 2nd run of the day to cross the line a clear winner from Garscube’s Steven Currie.  In the ladies category, Lynne Lesley was first Harrier in 6th place beating team-mate Susan Clark into 7th.

Strathclyde Park 28/8/16

Lorna Coyle placed 4th overall in the Women’s Running magazine 10k race at Strathclyde Park. After her excellent time of 45.51 she said “I have never been so near the front of a race in my life!!”. Lorna has currently the 7th fastest time in her age category for 10km this season in Scotland.

Cowal 5k Hill Run 27/8/16

New club champion Steven Campbell was a clear winner at the Cowal 5k Hill race, also competing were Paul Monaghan and Micky Dunn.

Great Scottish Swim run 26/8/16

Lisa Ruddy and Marian Monk competed in the Great Scottish Swim run event at Loch Lomond on Friday evening, both putting in very good performances, and finishing well up in the rankings. – Marian’s report of the race:

The race started by running into the water from a slipway. Once in the water it was immediately quite boisterous with both of us being punched and kicked in the head a good few times 👊🏻

Saying that, the water was lovely when you found your own little space to swim.

After the 800m swim, we exited the water via the same slipway and ran into transition. It appears transition is included in overall run time.

The 5k run was around Balloch estate which is very scenic, quite a steep incline with different surface types to negotiate.

We both really enjoyed the event and will definitely enter again next year.

Pos         Name                    Swim                     Run                        Total

6              Marian Monk     16:58.30               24:40.90               41:39.20

18           Lisa Ruddy           19:29.80               29:20.55               48:50.35

August 2016 Parkrun round-up

27/8/16 Parkrun #119

There were PBs for John Stevenson (13 seconds) and Angeline Austin (20 seconds) at the weekly Park run, with the Harriers Chris Mooney and Sue Hewitson taking the top spots in the race. Chris was pushed all the way by Daniel Doherty who finished just 1 second behind. This was Chris’ 6 win at the event, but he has some way to go before he can match Sue’s 36.

20/8/16 Parkrun #118

There was just the one PB, and it came from Stephen Reid with a 4 sec improvement to 21.02.  The Harriers filled the top places in both the Men and Women categories, with Sue Hewitson and Angeline Austin, Daniel Doherty and Andrew White making it a double 1-2.

13/8/16 Parkrun #117

Andrew Osborne recorded his 3rd win on the Esplanade, as Sue Hewitson finished 2nd lady, on a day when none of the competing Harriers could set a new best.

6/8/16 Parkrun #116

Daniel Doherty was just out-sprinted by Inverclyde’s Sean Gaffney for the top spot, as Liz McAuslan finished 3rd

Cowal 5k  25th August 2016

Doherty Wins at Cowal

Daniel Doherty and Paul Monaghan broke away from the rest of the field to set up an exciting finish at the Cowal 5k at Dunoon. It wasn’t until the final 800m that the decisive move was made, and it was to come from Daniel  who stepped up a gear to put daylight between himself and Paul. There were good performances too from Robin McAuslan and Micky Dunn who was paced round by Steven Campbell. Young Nathan Robinson showed that he has been keeping fit with a fine 5th place and finishing 1st local

Results: (1)Daniel Doherty 16:37, (2) Paul Monaghan 6:47, (5) Nathan Robinson 17:24, (12) Robin McAuslan 20:25, (14) Steven Campbell 20:50, (15) Micky Dunn 20:51

Gourock Triathlon – Sunday 21st August 2016

There were some great performances from the club, with Chris Jones the first Harrier in 8th place, Andrew Osborne 4th senior, Alan O’Rourke 6th placed Vet and Marian Monk first female Vet. And in the Junior Aquathon event, youngster Anna Docherty had a fine run and swim to finish 3rd girl.

Full Inverclyde Leisure triathlon results now online:

https://www.inverclydeleisure.com/…/News_Triathlon_2016_Res…

Paisley 10k – Sunday 21^st August 2016

15 harriers made the short trip to Paisley for the 10k road race which attracts a strong field, last year’s winner being Kilbarchan’s Callum Hawkins, who was off racing elsewhere on the day……………

Chris Mooney led the way for GGH in 17th place overall in 35:28, Chris carrying a niggling injury following his outstanding performance in the Dunoon Half marathon earlier in the month. He was followed 21 seconds later by Daniel Doherty in 35:49 with Sean Marshall the 3rd harrier home in 38:17, securing a PB for his efforts.

Emma Baxter was the first GGH lady back finishing 21st in the ladies race, in an impressive 42:11, with Viki Smith 52:05 and Sarah Aitken in 57:40 putting in great efforts to respectively take the 2nd and 3rd harriers places.

There were a few PB’s around what is a testing route with the increased difficulty on the day of the Paisley sunshine to contend with. In addition to the PB of Sean Marshall, Gordy Hepburn also secured a PB by 20 seconds, in what was only his second 10k on the road. There was also a PB for the on-form John Stevenson.

(Name/Chip Time/Position): Chris Mooney 35:28 (17), Daniel Doherty 35:49 (24), Sean Marshall 38:17 (PB) (63), Robert Wilson Jr 38:54 (70), John Stevenson 39:28 (PB) (83), Gordon Hepburn 40:00 (96), Chris Watson 41:05 (117), Emma Baxter 42:11 (147), Stephen Hanley 43:40 (191), Robert Wilson Snr 44:35 (234), Steven Smith 45:51 (292), Viki Smith 52:05 (646), Sarah Aitken 57:40 (941), Angela Hill 1:04:11 (1219)

Bute Highland Games  Saturday 20th August

There were great performances from all the GGH Juniors at a wet day in Rothesay with 16 youngsters making the trip over. They took to the grass track competing in the 100m, 200m, and 800m, as well as testing themselves in the field events of Shot Putt, Scots Hammer, and Caber.

Well done Aeden, Cameron, Jude, Zak, Harry, Jack, Struan, Ewan, Ryan, Alan, Ashlin, Leah, Ruby, Caitlyn, Beth, and Mia

There were just the 4 senior men taking part in the 10k, with local man Shaun Lyon the first Harrier back in 3rd in 33.45. Not far behind and finishing best veteran runners on the day were Steven Campbell 35.04 in 6th, and Paul Monaghan 35.13 in 7th. David Ness was a bit further back with a very good performance in a time of 43.24, finishing 39th from the 175 starters – a record for the race. Junior boy Jack McDaid made last minute decision to take part, and completed the course in an excellent 55 minutes.

Singlehurst Shield Race 23^rd July 2016

Suzanne & Steven are Just Champion

Two new names were added to the long list of Greenock Glenpark Harriers Club Champions after the Singlehurst Shield race on Saturday, when Steven Campbell and Suzanne Coyle ensured they could not be caught with just one race remaining.

Steven’s wait for the title is finally over, after comprehensively winning the penultimate of this season’s 11 race series. After 12 years with the Harriers his perseverance and dedication paid off when he won the 10k trail race around the Greenock Cut.

It is richly deserved for the athlete who has completed in all 66 of the club championship races over the last 6 years, and is now among the best veteran athletes in Scotland. But it wasn’t until mid-way through the second of the 5k laps that he finally broke away from Paul Monaghan who had pushed him hard up until that point. Kevin O’Donoghue still recovering from his win in last week’s 40mile ultra race, surprisingly came through strongly on the second lap for 3rd place.

Suzanne had already had a clean sweep this season, winning all of her previous six club races, and went all out for win number 7. She began to build a substantial lead, but by the half-way point she had begun to tire, and all four women competitors were now close together. On the climb above the Cut Sue Hewitson looking extremely strong, moved to the front and opened up what was to be an unsurmountable lead for her first club win. Behind came Lorna Coyle with a well-paced race to take the runners up spot. Suzanne although not happy to fall back to 3rd, her disappointment was more than made up by her delight in winning the overall Championship. Her consistency throughout the year having secured her, her first title.

Quickest in the veteran categories were over 50 Robin McAuslan, and Mick Dunn in the over 60s.

Youngster Ryan Brown improved by 80 seconds on last year, covering the 5km lap in 21.40.  In the junior 2.5km Jude Dolan avoided any inadvertent detour to cross the line in first from Jack McDaid and Scott Meechan. While Maria McCabe and Anna Docherty gained maximum points in the under 11 and U13s respectively.

The final club race is the Bill Elder 10km, at the Battery Park on Tuesday 2nd August, with the Junior 1km and 2km races starting before at 7.15pm.

Results 10k: Steven Campbell 38.45, Paul Monaghan 39.03, Kevin O’Donoghue 39.17, Chris Mooney 39.28, Daniel Doherty 39.56, Andrew Osborne 40.27, Andrew McCall 41.05, Andrew White 41.14, Robert Wilson 42.57, Chris Watson 43.12, John Stevenson 44.38, David Roberts 45.02, Steven Watson 45.03, Robin McAuslan 47.27, Mick Harrington 47.50, Steven Reid 48.18, Mick Dunn 48.40, Sue Hewitson 48.53, David Ness 49.09, Lorna Coyle 49.28, Kevin Gill 49.45, Suzanne Coyle 50.00, Colin Campbell 50.18, Marian Monk 50.58, Frank McMahon 51.10, Ian Hanley 54.43, Lucas Bezian 59.09.

Veterans 5k road race, Clydebank 29/06/16

The mild, calm weather provided the perfect conditions for fast times at the Scottish Veterans 5k at Clydebank. And the eight competing Harriers made the most of the opportunity with five personal bests being recorded.

Chris Mooney led the men home in 5th position, with a major breakthrough cutting his best time for the distance by 21 seconds. And it was a top class performances all-round with five men finishing in the top 13. The other run of note was that of Stuart Austin going under 20 minutes for the first time.

Results: Chris Mooney 16.17, Steven Campbell 16.25, Paul Monaghan 16.26, Daniel Doherty 16.28, Andrew White 16.32, John Stevenson 19.14, Stuart Austin 19.51, Robin McAuslan.

Greenock ParkRun #110 & #111

At parkrun #110 the Harriers dominated with the men filling 7 of the top 8 places led by Chris Mooney, who equalled his PB of 16.38. Rhonda White was first woman in 22.06.

The following week in typical “Fair Saturday” weather – wet and windy – with 20 Harriers competing, saw Chris Mooney win for the 3rd time in a row. Rhonda White was the Harriers leading woman in 2nd place, but Sue Hewitson was just a few strides behind. Despite the weather there were two personal bests, a 16 second improvement from Ian Hanley, and 4 seconds for Stuart Austin.

Cornalees Hill Race 25th  June 2016

Stephen Trainer kept his club championship title hopes on target with a convincing win in Greenock Glenpark Harriers Cornalees hill race.

In the warm sunny conditions 32 runners took part in the Junior and Senior event on the hills above Greenock.

Behind Stephen in the runners-up spot was Kevin O’Donoghue, who overhauled veteran Paul Monaghan just after the half-way point. Paul tiring in the heat did well to hold off Daniel Doherty who closing him down quickly in the final stages.

Experienced hill walker Lorna Coyle made short work of the climb to Hillside hill above the Cornalees visitor centre and the veteran runner kept her lead on the return leg ahead of club mates Lynne Leslie and Marian Monk.

In the age categories Robin McAuslan was quickest over 50, whilst Mick Dunn’s dare devil descent from the Cut, saw him pass Colin Campbell and Frank McMahon to claim the top over 60 spot.

In the Junior ½ mile race from Woodstock road up the steep climb to the Cut, it was no surprise to see Harry McGill lead from the start to take the win, but he was pushed all the way by Ryan Brown, who had just returned from a long term injury. Not far behind was new boy Peter Bradshaw who had a very promising debut just holding off Scott Meechan. Anna Docherty was quickest girl, adding another win in her first season with the Harriers, closely followed by Ruby McGill and Mia Forrest.

The Harriers would like to express their thanks to Michael Dunn of C&M Coaches of Greenock for race sponsorship.

5mile race: Stephen Trainer 33.49, Kevin O’Donoghue 35.17, Paul Monaghan 35.47, Daniel Doherty 35.58, Chris Mooney 36.37, Steven Campbell 37.51, Andrew White 37.52, Mark Vance 39.28, Sean Marshall 42.10, John Stevenson 44.21, Stephen Hanley 46.08, Stuart Austin 46.20, Robin McAuslan 46.38, Mick Dunn 47.02, Colin Campbell 47.09, Frank McMahon 47.11, Steven Reid 47.30, Kevin Gill 48.12 Lorna Coyle 48.20, Lynne Leslie 49.22, Marian Monk 51.52, Simon Hutton 59.11, Lucas Bezian 74.40

½ mile race: Harry McGill 2.27, Ryan Brown 2.32, Peter Bradshaw 2.36, Scott Meechan 2.40, Cameron Patton 2.57, Jude Dolan 3.02, Anna Docherty 3.15, Ruby McGill 3.22, Mia Forrest 3.38

Glasgow Men’s 10k – 19/6/16

Daniel Doherty was just off his personal best with a time of 36.16, when finishing 12th in a massive field in Glasgow. It was no surprise that the top 2 places went to the Kilbarchan brothers Callum and Derek Hawkins who are heading to the Olympics, with both dipping under 30 minutes.

West Highland Way Relay – 18/6/16

It was hot sunny conditions in the highlands for Fiona Cushnaghan, Lorna Coyle and Liz McAuslan as they took part in the WHW relay from Tyndrum to Fort William. The trio covered the 43 mile distance in just 8 hours and 27 minutes finishing in 33^rd position.

Brian Goodwin 10k – 17/6/16

Paul Monaghan was at his best at Bellahouston Harriers 10k recording a personal best by just 1 second. The route covered 2 laps of Pollok park, saw Paul finishing well up the field in 14th overall and 4th veteran. Also gaining a PB was Andrew Osborne in 25th position.

Results: 14th Paul Monaghan 34.31, 25th Andrew Osborne 35.37, 41st Mark Vance 36.50, Steven Watson 41.22, Stuart Austin 45.20, David Carruthers 48.42, John Carruthers 50.48

Scottish Schools Inter Area – 16/6/16

Another brilliant performance in the 1500m from Harry McGill for the Ayrshire schools select at the Inter-Area match at Grangemouth. In a large field of 17, he started at the rear of the field before moving steadily through the pack. Going into final lap he was chasing down the leaders, but just failed to medal by 1 second finishing 5th in 4.36, a new PB by 4 seconds.

Pilmuir Aquathlon 11/06/16

Very good performances from Marian, Frank and Lisa at Pilmuir Quarry.

The Aquathlon was held at Pilmuir Quarry in Newton Mearns where the water quality was truly amazing! All 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed the 750m swim section, Frank conquered his fear of the mass start in an open water swim, Lisa had a very strong swim and Marian whacked her toe on exiting the water, again!

The 5k run course around the perimeter of the quarry was very stoney and undulating which proved challenging for everyone.
Marian was 3rd female to exit the water and managed to maintain that position in the run finishing 10th overall, 3rd female. Frank managed to catch quite a few in the run section to finish 18th overall, 13th male. Lisa had a good run after her strong swim finishing 23rd overall and 7th female. – Reporter – Marian Monk

Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEb7O3ouhU

Results: total time (swim/transition/run)

10th (3rd Lady) Marian Monk, 37.36 (11.09/0.56/25.21)

18th Frank McMahon 41.52 (15.19/1.09/25.23)

23rd Lisa Ruddy 43.21(12.18/1.24/29.39)

Bishopton 10k – 12/6/16

On Sunday 12th June, 5 Harriers took part in the inaugural Bishopton 10k, a double 5k loop around Bishopton, starting and finishing at the Bishopton Community Centre. The race was one of a number of events to celebrate the village as part of ‘Bishopton Week’ with a good turnout of locals for the 5k and a small handful of runners in the 10K.

In what was a hilly race in parts it was Andy McCall who was the first finisher of the race with a finishing time of 37:09, Stuart Austin in 42.48, Ian Hanley in 48:43, Angeline Austin in 49:53 and David finishing just behind Angeline. Indeed it was celebration for both Stuart, Angeline and Ian all earning PB’s with Angeline and Ian both going under 50 minutes for the first time.

Despite the successes of McCall and Austin being the first male and female runners respectively, a condition that trophies can only be won by Bishopton residents means that their trophy cabinets remain somewhat bare for the time being.

The club were also joined by several runners from the Port Glasgow Running Group who meet on a Wednesday evening with some excellent finishing times from them. Angela and Chris Curley had recently taken part in the Polaroid 10K Series, Angela earning a 2 minute PB and Nicola Gillespie ran her 10K debut in just over 60 minutes. It is hoped with a bit of gentle persuasion they will be joining us in the blue and gold hoops in due course!    Reporter – Ian Hanley

Greenock ParkRun #109 – 11/6/16

Cooler conditions replaced the recent heat wave as 24 Harriers competed at the weekly 5k on the Esplanade, and it was a double success for Chris Mooney (pictured at the Chisholm mile), not only winning the race but recording a 31 second personal best of 16.38mins.

Lorna Coyle was the Harriers leading woman finishing 3^rd in the women’s category. There were three other PB’s: Stephen Reid (12 sec), Gordon Hepburn (2 sec) and in the runners-up spot Andrew White (4 sec).

Greenock parkrun also offered pacemakers at the event for 8 times between 21 and 30 minutes all of whom were Harriers (Stewart Anderson- 21 minutes, Stephen Hanley- 22 minutes, Graham McGratten – 23 minutes, Sue Hewitson – 25 minutes, Stuart Austin- 26 minutes, Ian Hanley- 28 minutes and Simon Hutton- 30 minutes).

Full results http://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenock/results/latestresults/

Roon the Toon 10k Kilmarnock 12 June 2016

Steven Campbell put in another solid performance to finish 9th (and 4th in the veterans’ category) at the Kilmarnock “Roon the Toon” 10k.  His steady start paid off as pulled in 7 places in the later stages, and record a time of 35.15. The race was won by Shettleston’s Paul Storrie in 32.12.

Scottish School T&F Championships 10 &11 June 2016

PBs For Harry & Alan at National School Champs

Harry McGill and Alan Mollins excelled themselves at the Scottish Schools Championships at Grangemouth, with both youngsters delighted with their performances in running 4 second personal bests in their 1500 metres event.

Harry who has had a busy week of racing; winning the 1500m at the Ayrshire schools championship on Monday; then he was top junior at the Chisholm mile on Tuesday, approached his heat on Friday with confidence. But he ran a poorly judged race; going far too quickly at the start, he took just 51 seconds through the first 300m, before tailing off badly.  Fortunately there was no damage done as he had still qualified for the final in 5th place in 4.48.

The following day learning from his mistake he ran a more evenly paced race to take 6th place in the under 14s final in a best ever time of 4.40min.

Alan was also competing on the Saturday, in the under 15s age group, went into the race following a spell of good training and a quick mile on Tuesday, but like Harry he judged his start just a little too quickly. He did battle to the end and hold on for 11th, although not quite enough to make the final, it was more than compensated with a fabulous PB of 4.51 minutes.

The well-deserved results were all down to the hard work put in by the boys, and from the support from their parents and coaches.

Greenock Glenpark Harriers Chisholm mile road race – 7/6/16

It was an exciting competition on the Esplanade as 90 athletes sped along the river front in Greenock Glenpark Harriers Chisholm mile race, with the top 20 men all going under 5 minutes.

In the warm and humid conditions Cambuslang pair Craig Jardine and Alistair Campbell, led the way from the start with Inverclyde ACs Craig Ruddy following close behind. Going into the final 100metres it looked like Ruddy’s experience would prove to be the deciding factor as he moved smoothly into the lead. But the under 20 Jardine fought back and kicked hard to the line to snatch victory in the final few strides.

Kilbarchan’s Elspeth Curran making a return to racing after a layoff, put in a confident performance to win the women’s race ahead of over40 veteran Claire Thompson of City of Glasgow in the runners-up position.

First home for the host club was Stephen Trainer ahead of the consistent Steven Campbell, with Marian Monk the leading woman from over 50 veterans Nicky Walker and Lorna Coyle.

Winners of the men’s veteran categories with some outstanding times were Inverclyde’s David Tamburini (o40), Gary McKendrick (o50), and Glenpark’s Robert Wilson (o60) and Tommy Knight (o70).

Fastest girls were Inverclyde’s Clara Pollock and Glenpark’s Anna Docherty, with Harry McGill and Ben Nicol the quickest boys from the local clubs.

The Harriers would like to thank the Eldon Street Co-operative for their generosity in supplying after race refreshments, also to our race sponsors Stuart and Angeline Austin who were celebrating their anniversary, and finally to a great team effort from the time keepers and stewards and volunteers.

1Mile Results: Craig Jardine 4.13, Craig Ruddy 4.14, Alistair Campbell 4.18, Matthew McKinnon 4.23, Ross Gray 4.24, David Henderson 4.25, Jack Heathwood 4.32, Stephen Trainer 4.33, Callum Hunter 4.35, David Tamburini 4.44, Steven Campbell 4.47, Daniel Doherty 4.48, Chris Mooney 4.49, Andrew White 4.51, Matthew Thompson 4.54,  Darren McQuade 4.54, Gary McKendrick 4.55, Euan Carrick 4.56, Paul Monaghan 4.57, Brian Douglas 4.58, Peter Jardine 5.02, Andrew Osborne 5.03, Stuart Kerr 5.03, Harry McGill 5.04, Iain Littler 5.04, Mark Vance 5.05, Elspeth Curran 5.06,Duncan McFadyen 5.07, Alex Osborne 5.09, Gordon Hepburn 5.10, Ben Nicol 5.14, Ryan Waldron 5.15, Alan Mollins 5.16, Robert Wilson 5.18, David Murdoch 5.18, Robert Gray 5.19, Chris Watson 5.20, Shaun Marshall 5.21, Claire Thompson 5.22,  Stephen Watson 5.23,  Cameron Patton 5.24, Magnus Walker 5.25, Scott Meachan 5.33, Stewart Anderson 5.37,  Stuart Austin 5.38,  Robert Wilson 5.39, Jennifer Rooney 5.42, Ewan Ferguson 5.43, John Stevenson 5.44, Robin McAuslan 5.46, Jude Dolan 5.47, Clara Pollock 5.49, Mick Harrington 5.54, David Moss 5.55, Steven Reid 5.57, Colin Campbell 6.08, Marian Monk 6.11, Ian Hanley 6.12, Gerry Gallacher 6.17, Alex Wiseman 6.20, Nicky Walker 6.23, Anna Docherty 6.30, Jack McDaid 6.32, Lorna Coyle 6.37, Donna Clark 6.41, Boyd McKenzie 6.54, Angeline Austin 7.01, John Carruthers 7.01, Norman Groves 7.02, Beth McKenna 7.02, Mia Forrest 7.02, Ruby McGill 7.04, Amelia Vance 7.07, Charlie McQueen 7.09, Paul McQueen 7.09, Sarah Whalen 7.18, Clare Monaghan 7.23, Ewan Johnson 7.24, Aedan Monaghan 7.30, Katie Johnson 7.35, Donna Gaffney 7.39, Grace Campbell 7.43, Yvonne Prager 7.44, Aiden McDougal 8.04, Leah Knox 8.10, Maria McCabe 8.11, Ashlin Monaghan 8.41, Lesley Clark 9.23, Francesca Laurie 10.03, Thomas Knight 13.15.

Glasgow Women’s 10km  – 5/6/16

Great turnout for the female Harriers at the Glasgow Women’s 10km this morning making it a fabulous weekend’s racing for the club.

A new route for this year starting and finishing at Kelvingrove park and taking in some major sights from the riverside museum to the Hydro and the Finnieston crane. An interesting but undulating course which was tough as the heat crept up to 24 degrees.

First, Harrier across the line and second V55 lady was Lorna Coyle in a fantastic 45:10; running well after the Black Rock race on Friday and strong against the first placed V55 who ran it in 38:35.

Next up running a great race was Kirsty Ormond at 47:27 with Nicola Stevenson not far behind running a solid 50:50 less than a minute from her previous PB at the same distance. A debut from Lisa Trayling Boonsanong resulted in a time of 56:15

Nathalie Smith and Lesley Nelson both ran with injuries and with previous races under their belts; Lesley completing the Five Ferries cycling challenge earlier in the week; both kept under the hour with Nathalie gaining a 9 second PB and Lesley running a steady race with a strong finish on a hip injury which nearly prevented her from racing.

Eileen Stevenson assisted a friend and fellow runner who has had a long-standing injury. They both crossed the line 01:08:27

Results: Lorna Coyle 45:10, Kirsty Ormond 47:27, Nicola Stevenson 50:50 Lisa Trayling Boonsanong 56:15, Nathalie Smith 59:00, Lesley Nelson 59:53, Eileen Stevenson 68:27.

Reporter- Nathalie Smith.

Vale of Leven 10k – 5/6/16

The fourth and final 10k in the Polaroid Series took place on Sunday in Vale Of Leven. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the series and unfortunately will be the last under the Polaroid banner as the company leave West Dunbartonshire.

There were changes to the course this year with the start moving from Lomond Shores to Balloch Country Park. This change meant that the runners faced the long hill through the park at the start. Once out of the park the course took runners on to Mollanbowie Road before heading on to the banks of the River Leven, with the race finishing back in the park.

There were 12 harriers competing in the event and 10 took part in the full series. Conditions were tough due to heat. First home for the club and in 9th position overall was Andrew White closely followed by the ever improving Chris Mooney in 11th. Andrew Osborne was third home and secured the team’s third position. John Stevenson who was taking part in his first Polaroid 10k, managed to run a 5 second PB in the blistering heat. Robert Wilson Snr was 2nd V60, a great achievement just a week on from the Edinburgh Marathon. First lady home for Glenpark was Rhonda White. Liz McAuslan was next home and managing to keep under the 50 minutes earned her 6th place in her age category. Fiona Cushnaghan battled through the pain barrier as she ran the with fractured ribs to complete her Polaroid series.

The future of these great races is uncertain but organisers assured runners today that they are in talks with the clubs that help host them to keep them alive. Glenpark Harriers hope that these races continue to exist and will definitely support them.

Results: Andrew White 34.45, Chris Mooney 34.56, Andrew Osborne 36.11, Robert Wilson Jnr 40.07, John Stevenson 40.33, Robert Wilson Snr 40.48, Stephen Hanley 41.35, Stephen Reid 44.24, Rhonda White 45.42, Liz McAuslan 49.01, Yvonne Prager 53.58, Fiona Cushnaghan 56.52     Reporter- Rhonda White

Greenock ParkRun #108 – 4/6/16

As the heat wave continued, there were 13 Harriers at the weekly 5k on the Esplanade. Steven Campbell took the victory with a solid 17.34 in the men’s race, with Liz McAuslan doing likewise in the women’s race. There was just the one Personal Best and yet again it was John Stevenson, this time by 18 seconds to dip under 19 minutes for the first time. Full results http://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenock/results/latestresults/

Black Rock 4.5 mile beach race – 3/6/16

Harriers head east to Kingdom of Fife

A group of hardy Glenpark Harriers travelled east on Friday night to race the ‘Black Rock’ – a 4.5 mile beach race held on the Fife coast.

The Black Rock sits in the River Forth just off the coast of Kinghorn village and is only accessible by foot during low tide. A field of 1100 runners start at the village centre and race through local roads onto the beach at Pettycur Bay before progressing across the sand and out to the Black Rock. After turning turn round the rock, runners head back to the village where locals crowd the streets to cheer runners up the hill to the finish.

Following Stuart and Angeline Austin participation in the 2015 event a larger group of Greenock runners descended on the Fife village this year race.

Steven Watson was crowned ‘King of Fife’ as first Harrier home in a time of 31:32. Stuart Austin was next with a sold run only days after his Edinburgh Half Marathon PB. Veteran Lorna Coyle just missed out on a prize coming 2nd in the Women’s V55 category. Meanwhile Angeline Austin was delighted with a 90 second improvement on her 2015 time. She also renewed her friendly rivalry with Simon Hutton – Simon just edging it by 12 seconds over Angeline.

Lorna’s husband Bruce also made an impressive debut in his first ever race – finishing in a time of 39:29.

The Harriers stayed in the village overnight to enjoy the community festival and the next morning – nursing sore legs – took part in the Kirkcaldy parkrun. The Harriers took this event slightly less seriously than the night before however Angeline got her own back on Simon with an impressive victory over her “parkrun rival”.

Thanks to Jo McGrattan for the support on the beach and as photographer.

Black Rock 5 – Steven Watson (31:32), Stuart Austin (32:19), Lorna Coyle (35:56), Simon Hutton (39:11), Angeline Austin (39:23) and Bruce Coyle (39:29). Reporter – Simon Hutton

Weekend Round -Up

It was a busy weekend for the Harriers as they competed around the country. And despite the weather being more suited to spectating than running there were still quite a number of notable performances.

Mull of Kintyre – 29/5/16

5 Harriers travelled to Campbeltown for the annual Mull of Kintyre Running festival. First up on the Saturday were Cameron Patton and Jude Dolan running in the boys 1K race. Cameron ran a tremendous race to come home first in 3mins 23 secs, with Jude not far behind edging a photo finish for 5th place. Jude’s dad Robert made his return to action after his momentous London Marathon run, this time in the Half. Never a fast course due to the long sections on beach and the golf course, Robert ran a comfortable 1hr 29 mins and 9 secs to finish 12th overall and 5th in a highly competitive vet 40 category. Lorna Coyle returned to defend her FV50 title from last year and ran a superbly paced race in the gathering heat to win the title again, as well as placing 3rd female overall and 37th out of the 600 + runners in 44:46. Despite a disappointing performance on the day, Robin McAuslan finished in 45:39 to take 3rd place in the V50 category and 47th overall.

Edinburgh ½ & Full Marathon – 29/5/16

Greenock Glenpark Harriers were well represented at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival with 15 taking part in the half marathon and 6 in the full marathon. The day began with the half marathon and the conditions were ideal – cool and overcast with very little wind. The course took runners from the centre of Edinburgh out along the coast and finished in Musselburgh. First home for Glenpark was on form Andrew White in 20th position with a time of 76:02 which was a PB by over 2 minutes. Next home, and also running a PB, was new member Chris Mooney in a time of 81:14. Out of the other 13 taking part in the half, 4 gained new best times, these being Chris Watson, John Stevenson, Stuart Austin and Stephen Hanley.

Andrew White, Chris Mooney and Stephen Hanley have both producd two PBs in a week, with them running the Dumbarton 10k just 3 days before. There were five ladies taking part in the half marathon, three of them making their debut at the distance. First lady to finish for Glenpark was Rhonda White. Next home was one of the first timers Kirsty Ormond in a fantastic time of 1:42:36. Nathalie Smith, in training for an autumn marathon, took the chance to gain a PB in the shorter distance. Grace Campbell and Angela Hill also took on the half for the first time.

The full marathon started a couple of hours later, conditions were still good but the sun was starting to break through and the temperature was rising. The marathon course uses an extended half marathon course. The half marathoners took to the course to support their fellow club members. Out of the six running, three were making their marathon debut. Ross Neilson and Daniel Doherty were taking up the challenge and running for charities that were close to their hearts. Experienced Paul Monaghan chose to keep Ross company and they ran together. Nicola Walker has competed in Iron Man Triathlons but this would be the first time she would run a stand alone marathon. First to finish was Ross Neilson in a very respectable time of 3:17:44 with Daniel following minutes later in 3:21:17. Steven Smith has been putting in hard work in the lead up to Edinburgh and this was to pay off as he ran a consistent race and managed to knock nearly 10 minutes off his previous best.

½ Marathon: Andrew White 1:16:02, Chris Mooney 1:21:14, Chris Watson 1:22:26, Robert Wilson jnr 1:26:47, John Stevenson 1:27:07, Stuart Austin 1:34:13, Stephen Hanley 1:35:20, Rhonda White 1:39:17, Kirsty Ormond 1:42:36, David Carruthers 1:46:50, John Carruthers 1:56:17, Simon Hutton 1:56:50, Grace Campbell 2:10:35, Nathalie Smith 2:13:36, Angela Hill 2:24:54.

Marathon: Ross Neilson 3:17:44, Paul Monaghan 3:17:45, Daniel Doherty 3:21:17, Robert Wilson snr 3:24:24, Steven Smith 3:36:16, Nicola Walker 4:02:27

Greenock ParkRun #107 – 28/5/16

There were 17 Harriers at this weeks 5k on the Esplanade. There were just the 2 personal bests, with Mark Vance 1st Harrier home taking a big chunk out of his best time by 26 seconds to reduce it to 17.51. For Sue Hewitson her PB was a long time in coming, just over a year since her last, but she sliced off 23 seconds to win the women’s race.

Dumbarton 10k – 26/5/16

It was another excellent night for running in the Polaroid 10k series. The 3rd of the 4 race series was held in Dumbarton and again the times came tumbling down. Andrew White who is on a fantastic run of form, reduced his PB by 19 seconds finishing in 17th overall position, and was closely followed by the rapidly improving Chris Mooney. Other performances of note came from Robert Wilson and Lorna Coyle who were well placed, both finishing 3rd in their age group; and from Stephen Hanley with a PB by almost a minute.

10k Results: Andrew White 34.33,  Chris Mooney 34.46,  Andrew Osborne 35.52, Mark Vance 36.48, Robert Wilson 39.13, Stephen Hanley 39.21, Kevan McCartney 40.31, Stephen Reid 44.19, Lorna Coyle 44.34, Rhonda White 45.15, Liz McAuslan 48.53,  Yvonne Prager 53.39, Fiona Cushnaghan 53.44.

#8Track  Night 26/5/16

3 PBs for Junior Boys

There was a good competition in the 1500m time trial at Ravenscraig among the juniors, with 3 of the boys recording personal bests. Alan Mollins (2 secs) finishing runner-up to Harry McGill; Scott Meechan with the biggest improvement (18sec) in 3^rd; and finally Jack McDaid going 7 seconds quicker than his last time out.

All 11 runners managed to go under 7minutes, with guest runner Anne Follan crossing the line as first senior with an excellent time of 6.50, and this was not long after finishing her speed session.

A big thanks to Simon Hutton and Robert Mollins for time keeping duties.

1500m: Harry McGill 4.49, Alan Mollins 4.55, Scott Meechan 5.19, Cameron Patton 5.27, Alex Wiseman 6.25, Jack McDaid 6.36, Anne Follen 6.50, Niall Campbell 6.52, Ben Campbell 6.55, Jack Hay 6.57, David Carruthers 6.59.

Clydebank 10k – 19/5/16

There was keen competition among the Harriers men as Andrew White, Steven Campbell, Chris Mooney, and Paul Monaghan were all within 17 seconds of each other, finishing in the top 25 from over 800 runners. It was a fine performance from Andrew who broke the 35 minute mark for the first time, and also for Chris who is improving with every race. Robert Wilson closed the gap to 12 seconds on Garscubes Paul O’Brien for 2nd in the O60 category. Rhonda White was first lady home for the club ahead of Liz McAuslan.

It was good performances all-round with the cooler conditions helping everyone improve on their previous week’s times at Helensburgh.

Andrew White 34.52, Steven Campbell 35.00, Chris Mooney 35.05, Paul Monaghan 35.09, Andrew Osborne 36.13, Mark Vance 37.35, Robert Wilson 38.53, Stephen Hanley 40.18, Kevan McCartney 41.21, Stephen Reid 44.12, Rhonda White 46.09, Liz McAuslan 48.46, Simon Hutton 51.40, Fiona Cushnaghan 54.13, Lynne Lesley 61.29.

Greenock ParkRun #106 – 19/5/16

There were 28 Harriers among the 84 runners at the weekly 5k on the Esplanade.  Steven Campbell was winner of the men’s race as Harriers filled the first 6 places, with Sue Hewitson number 1 in the women’s competition. There were just a couple of PBs, Stephen Hanley with a major 28 second improvement, and 9 seconds for race runner up Chris Mooney.

West District T&F Championships 2016 – 13th &14th May 2016

PBs take Beth & Mia into Final

Glenpark Harriers Beth McKenna and Mia Forrest both running in their first ever track championship race, put in performances far outweighing the expectations of their coaches, who thought that a sub 50 seconds for the 300metres may just be out with their reach. But after a confidence boosting 4x100m on the previous Thursday evening, the pair more than delivered as they pushed themselves to their very limits to progress through their heat into the West District final, with both setting club records at Under 15 & 17.

In the first of the heats Mia was competing in the under 17 women’s event, and her 49.69seconds saw her across the line in 5^th place, enough for a surprise place in the final.

Shortly afterwards it was the turn of Beth in the under 15’s, and she took just 47.63 seconds to get around the track to earn her 4th place.

And with only a short period between the heat and the final and knowing that a podium place was beyond them, they still managed to finish the day off with a solid performance, not surprisingly slightly down on their earlier time. (51.78 & 49.44)

West District T&F Championships 2016 – 13^th &14^th May 2016

Boys produce their Best at the West

Cameron Patton was the busiest of the Harriers at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena, Kilmarnock on a warm Friday evening. He sneaked into the final of the 200m qualifying as one of the quickest losers, but aggravating a foot injury in the process.

After a quick visit to the Physio he was patched up in time to take to the track for the final of the 1500m. The final was split into 2 heats with the medals going to the quickest 3 from the 2 heats. After a cautious opening 2 laps he went to the front and led the field, then with a surge at the bell he opened up a 10metre gap on IACs Gray, only to see his lead slip in the final 200, but he still managed to take 2nd place with a fantastic 20 second Personal Best.  Unfortunately the 2nd  of the finals was quicker, pushing him back to 7th overall.

With the temperatures plummeting he was up again for the final of the 200m, but his earlier exertions took its toll as he tired in the home straight for 8th position. Nonetheless this was an excellent performance; making 2 finals and running his 2 fastest times, in his first ever official track competition, and with still another year in his age group.

Harry McGill did enough to qualify in the under 15s 1500m taking 4th place, and holding back a little for the final. Just behind him in 5th was Alan Mollins who ran a well-judged race as he moved through the field gaining 3 places in the last lap to set a 2 second PB. Unfortunately for Alan he missed out on the final by 1 place with only the top 10 going through from the 2 heats. Another who was taking part in his first major championship was Ewan Ferguson who went in the first of the 1500m heats. Ewan showed no nerves, and ran strongly finishing in 9th with a 30 sec PB.

In the Final it was always going to be a big ask for Harry being up against older and stronger boys, but with still another year in this group he rounded off a great night with a 4 second PB finishing in 6th

Results: U13boys: [200m Heat 1] 4th Cameron Patton 30.02: [200m Final] 7th Cameron Patton 31.35  [1500m Final] 6th Cameron Patton 5.13

U15Boys: [1500m Heat 1] 4th Harry McGill 4.52, 5th Alan Mollins 4.57, [Heat 2] Ewan Ferguson 6th 5.21 [1500m Final] 6th Harry McGill 4.44

 Greenock ParkRun #105 – 14/5/16

The sun brought out a good turnout from the Harriers with 24 taking part in the morning 5k run.  Leading the field of 89 runners and winning the men’s and Ladies race were Daniel Doherty from Andrew and Lorna Coyle heading Rhonda White.

There were also 5 Personal Bests in the good conditions, coming from Amelia Vance (16sec), Andrew White (13sec), Nicola Stevenson (12sec), John Stevenson (5sec), and Daniel Doherty (6sec).

Helensburgh 10k – 12/5/16

In the team competition in the first of the Polaroid 10k race series at Helensburgh, the Glenpark men took 2^nd place behind County rivals Bellahouston Harriers.  Andrew White with a top 10 place led Chris Mooney and Andrew Osborne home. Robert Wilson was also 2nd in the over 60 category just 30 seconds behind Garscube’s Paul O’Brien.

Results: (9)Andrew White 35:43, (19)Chris Mooney  36:21, (34)Andrew Osborne 37:41,  (44)Mark Vance  38:54, (75)Robert Wilson 40:14, (157) Kevan McCartney 43:16,  (226)Stephen Reid 45:39, (275)Rhonda White 47:22, (290)Stephen Hanley  47:50, (375)Liz McAuslan   50:46, (499)Kirstin Arthur 54:42, (580)Fiona Cushnaghan 57:33,

#7Track  Night 12/5/16

Club Record & Sub 60 for Junior Girls

It was the turn of the junior girls to shine as Beth McKenna, Chloe Hanlon, Mia Forrest, and Cassie O’Neil set a club record in the 4x100m relay – not once but twice in the one night.

In warm sunny conditions they got the baton around the track in 60.8seconds, but this included a fumble at changeover #2 which slowed them to a standstill.

Disappointed with not breaking the minute mark, they put in another attempt after a short 5 minute break.

This time Beth set them off, flying around the bend to pass onto Chloe, who was at her first session back after a long illness. This time there was no slip up as she passed to Mia, who scorched around the final bend, and with another slick exchange, Cassie sped down the home straight into a strong headwind to dip across the line in 59.5 seconds.

European Powerman Championships, Copenhagen – 8/5/16

Kevan McCartney was happy with his performance at the European Powerman Championships after what was a poor start to the year with injuries and chest infection the previous week. He completed the 10k/ 60k/ 10k distance in a time of 3 hours, 1 minute and 59 seconds for 15th place in his age category. After a steady paced first run, he pushed hard on the bike with an average of 24mph for 90 minutes, then he just about hung on for the last run in a very warm Copenhagen.

Veteran Harriers Snowball Run – 4/5/16

There were 4 good performances  from Glenpark at the Scottish Veteran Harriers 4.8 mile road race at Drumpelier Park, as Steven Campbell, Paul Monaghan and Andrew White took 3rd, 4th and 6th respectively and also Rhonda White 11th in the ladies race.

Steven looked like he was going to comfortably take the runners up spot, but he suffered badly in the gradual climb leading to the finish, which saw him slip back to 4th as Paul and Motherwell’s  Cameron both passed him. But a late rally saw him catch Paul on the line, with both being given the same time.

Results: Steven Campbell 26.45, Paul Monaghan 26.45, Andrew White 27.33 Rhonda White 36.07

Greenock ParkRun #104 – 7/5/16

There were just 9 Harriers at the morning run with the majority of the club travelling to Dunoon for the Willie Jukes Race.  Pride of place went to Gordy Hepburn who after 7 runners up spots, finally took the victory 40 seconds clear of team mate Stewart Anderson. And it was a 1,2,3, for the GGH ladies as Nicola Stevenson won from Grace Campbell and youngster Amelia Vance.

Willie Jukes Road Race 7th May 2016

Greenock Glenpark Harriers made their annual visit to Cowal for the Willie Jukes Road Races. And it was another superb turnout with 80 runners taking part, and many supporters making the trip across the water to Dunoon for the race run in memory of the towns former popular Harrier.

As always the day’s first event was the youngsters’ short sprint along the West bay esplanade. First home in each of the 3 very competitive heats were Eden Hegarty, Alyshia Singleton and Harry McGill.

The mile race that followed was a tactical affair with Harry McGill, Alan Mollins and Scott Meechan all still in contention at half way. But after the turn and the wind at their backs the pace stepped up and Harry put daylight between him and his rivals to take the win. Behind him it was very close as Scott closed within a metre of Alan but just couldn’t quite get back on terms. Anna Docherty was on top in the girls’ race, ahead of Ruby McGill.

In the 5mile race, as in the juniors’ before them, it was a tactical battle at the front with Steven Campbell, Paul Monaghan, Kevin O’Donoghue and Andrew White not giving much away in the early stages. After the turn at Inellan the runners were into the wind as they headed back to Dunoon, and still the quartet were grouped together. First to drop off just before the 4mile mark was Kevin, but Steven growing in confidence put in a final effort with the finish in sight, which was enough to see off his challengers to take the trophy, with Paul managing to hold off the fast finishing Andrew for 2nd.

Suzanne Coyle took the top spot in the women’s race, but she was made to work for the win as she was pushed all the way by Marian Monk and new member Sue Hewitson in what was a very promising debut in Glenpark colours.

David Roberts was a clear winner in the handicap competition with veteran categories going to Thomas Loehndorf (+50) and Robert Wilson(+60), Rhonda White(+35), Silke Loehndorf (+45) and Yvonne Prager(+55).

The Harriers would like to express their thanks to the Jukes family for all their assistance in organising the day and presenting the prizes; Sinbads bar staff for their hospitality; the Riverside pool for use of their facilities; Argyll ferries, and to Robert Wilson of C&R Coaches of Greenock for race sponsorship; and finally to all the club members who helped run another successful event.

5mile race (Handicap times in Brackets): Steven Campbell 28.12(26.12), Paul Monaghan 28.18(26.18), Andrew White 28.20(25.50), Kevin O’Donoghue 28.41(27.11), Chris Mooney 28.44(26.14), Andrew Osborne 30.12(27.12), Thomas Loehndorf 30.37(27.37), Chris Watson 31.05(26.35), Shaun Marshall 31.56(26.56), Lez Hill 32.02, David Roberts 32.06(23.36), Ross Neilson 32.52(26.22), John Stevenson 32.53(26.23), Robert Wilson 33.21(28.51), Stephen Hanley 33.29(26.59), Scott Hill 34.03, Stuart Austin 34.58(27.28), Robin McAuslin 35.02(9.30), Mick Harrington 35.29(27.59), Colin Campbell 35.48(27.18),  Stuart Crawford 36.00(29.30), Steven Reid 36.22(26.52), Suzanne Coyle 36.23(25.53), Marian Monk 37.04(25.04), Sue Hewitson 37.06(26.36), Rhonda White 37.25(25.55), Jim Cuffe 37.40(27.40), Jim Bennet 38.02, Chris Barret 38.02, Boyd MacKenzie 38.11(26.11), Ian Hanley 38.38(26.08), Frank McMahon 38.52(27.52), Kirsty Ormond 38.55(26.25), David Carruthers 39.23(25.53), Silke Loehndorf 39.55(27.25), Kenny Scott 40.34(27.34), Simon Hutton 41.49(27.19), Kirstin Arthur 43.03(25.03), Yvonne Prager 43.33(26.33), Romina Scott 43.45(25.15), Lucas Bezian 44.48(26.48), Eileen Stevenson 45.16(25.46), Lesley Nelson 46.57(27.57), Harry McGill 47.02 Cameron Patton 47.03, Alan Mollins 47.09, Fiona Cushnaghan 47.16(29.16) Ailsa Witherow 76.00, Kerry Campbell 76.00.

1 mile race: Harry McGill 5.29, Alan Mollins 5.36, Scott Meechan 5.37, Cameron Patton 6.02, Ewan Ferguson  6.09, Jude Dolan 6.10, Jack McDaid 6.43, Anna Docherty 6.44, Alex Wiseman 6.53, Ruby McGill 6.59, Beth McKenna 7.05, Mia Forrest 7.06, Ben Campbell 7.14, Shaun Hegarty 7.36, Aeden Monaghan 7.37, Alyshia Singleton 7.52, Leah Knox 8.10, Jack Singleton 8.15,

150m (Heat1): Eden Hegarty 30, Amber Gordon 31, Carly Laufer 1, Quin Hegarty 34, Logan O’Donoghue 39, Eli Barret 43, Ruby Hegarty 61. (Heat2) Alyshia Singleton 23, Anna Docherty 25, Emma Marshall 26, Skye Arthur 27, Heather Neilson 28, Ashlin Monaghan 29, Alex Wiseman 35 (Heat3) Harry McGill 21, Cameron Patton 22, Jack Singleton 24, Ewan Witherow 25, Ruby McGill 25.

GGH Thursday Night Track- Round (6) – 5/5/16

It was a hectic Heat 1 in the 800m with 19 starters, nevertheless it produced quite a number of season bests. Alan Mollins hit the front after breaking from lanes, to go into a commanding lead by 200metres. And in an impressive display of front running he held off Paul Monaghan to produce a confidence boosting performance for the upcoming District Championships.

In Heat 2, after a short recovery, Harry McGill who was pacemaker in the first race, blasted away covering the first lap in just 69 seconds, tiring in the breezy conditions he still managed to finish in a swift 2.24 minutes. Amelia Vance’s even paced running paid off as she moved through to take 2nd.

In the 200m heats the 2 outstanding runs of the night came from Beth McKenna and Scott Meechan just failing to dip under 30 seconds.

Thanks to time keepers on the night Ross Neilson, Robert Mollins, Gillian Forrest and Andy MacLean.

800m Heat1: Alan Mollins 2.26,Paul Monaghan 2.27, Scott Meechan 2.37, Robin McAuslan 2.40, Ewan Ferguson 2.41, Stephen Reid 2.41, Jude Dolan 2.43, John Stevenson 2.43,  Harry McGill 2.47, Cameron Patton 2.52, Steven Smith 2.59, Beth McKenna 3.01, Cassie O’Neill 3.01, Jack McDaid 3.01, Ben Campbell 3.06, Nicola Stevenson 3.13, Neve Morgan 3.21, Millie McCartney 3.21, Sarah Frizzell 3.21,

800m Heat 2: Harry McGill  2.24, Amelia Vance 3.12, Douglas Campbell 3.15, Molly MacKenzie 3.23,  Alyshia Singleton 3.30, Mhairi Moore 3.33, Rebecca Ross 3.37

200m Heat 1:  Alyshia Singleton 35.0, Amelia Vance 36.0 Mhairi Moore 37.0, Molly MacKenzie 39.0, Rebecca Ross 41.0.
200m Heat 2: Beth McKenna 30.7, Ewan Ferguson 34.4, Cassie O’Neill 34.7, Millie McCartney 34.9, Neve Morgan 36.2
200m Heat 3: Scott Meechan 30.6, Stephen Reid 31.3, Cameron Patton 31.9, Steven Smith 34.9, Douglas Campbell 39.6

The HOKA Highland Fling Race 30th April 2016

The Harriers were out in full force on the West Highland Way this Saturday at the HOKA Highland Fling race. The 53 mile ultra started at Milngavie at 6am, leading on to Tyndrum, with a few breaks in between for the ultras, and a change of team member for the relays. This year, 3 harriers set out to tackle the “Full Fling” and one relay team to represent the club.

Silke Loehndorf crossed the finish line at Tyndrum in a phenomenal time of 12:53, gaining a new PB. After a gruelling time on the course, Silke perked up towards the last check point at Beinglas, and pushed herself to complete an ultra under 13 hours for the first time.

Scott Forrest finished the fling in a tremendous time of 14:36:16. The tough day did not show on Scott’s face as he crossed the line at Tyndrum, with his family and fellow harriers ready to greet him.

Kevin Gill also set out to once again tackle the fling, and pushed himself towards Rowardennan. Sadly, Kevin pulled himself from the rest of the race due to a bout of food poisoning.

Glenpark’s Hopefuls (made up of Susie Gillies, Susan Clark, Nicola and Eileen Stevenson) completed the HOKA Highland Fling Relay Race in 10:45:07. Susie Gillies kicked it off, starting from Milngavie at 7am. With a great time of 02:05:03, Susie passed on to Susan at Drymen.

Despite having an aching achilles tendon, Susan did extremely well just to finish, covering leg 2 in 03:01:51 to Rowardennan. From there, Nicola pushed on towards Beinglas in 03:08:22. Eileen brought it home on the glory leg to Tyndrum in another great time of 02:29:53.

The ultra runners and relay team would not have been able to complete the race without continued support from fellow Harriers along the way. Silke’s team consisted of Glenpark’s President Yvonne Prager and Anne Anderson; Scott’s family Gillian, Mia and Tom were on hand at every checkpoint to keep him going; and Kevin had support from Susan and Ross Slater, Jonathan and the two dogs!

For the relay team, team captain Nathalie Smith successfully ferried everyone to their start positions in plenty of time and picked what was left of everyone after their leg, despite having been in Texas during the week with work. John Stevenson also aided towards the end, as Nathalie began to suffer from jet lag at Beinglas.

Greenock ParkRun #103 – 30/4/16

There were 24 Harriers at Run #103 on a cold breezy but sunny morning. Best run of the day with a 2 minute PB came from Amelia Vance, the 10 year old dipping under 27 minutes, and finishing 2nd female and only 6 seconds away from the win. It was a day when the Harriers dominated,  filling 8 of the top 9 places, with just 20 seconds separating positions 1 to 4, with Paul Monaghan winning in 16.58 from Daniel Doherty, Andrew White and Chris Mooney.

There were other PBs from John Stevenson (15sec), Chris Mooney (14sec), Boyd MacKenzie (5sec), and Andrew White (2sec).  Chris has been improving consistently with11 PBs in 6months coming from 20.39 now down to 17.18minutes.

Full Results can be found at: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenock/results/latestresults/

GGH Thursday Night Track- Round (5) – 28/4/16

Winter returned to Greenock for Round #5 of the GGH track time trials at Ravenscraig Stadium. With the cold conditions deterring most of the seniors from appearing, the starter decided in making it one straight race mixing the 4 Seniors in with the 17 young athletes.

There was no surprise from the gun as Paul Monaghan sped into an early lead in the 1500metres, which he was to hold until the finish. But his bigadvantage was pulled back by young Harry McGill in the final 2 laps as he posted a very respectable early season time.

Star of the night however was Stephen Hanley, the most improved athlete since Round(1), who despite the conditions, demolished his best times from last month by 9 seconds in the 1500m and 5seconds in the 400m. His 64 seconds in Heat 1 of the 1 lap race gave him the win and the quickest time of the night. Also improving from last month was Robin McAuslan who was 9sec & 1 sec faster.

The 400m was run in 2 heats with Stephen Hanley winning from the relay quartet, and Paul Monaghan outlasting Beth McKenna for third.

In the 2nd Heat it was the Relay quartet that came out on top with Sarah Frizzell anchoring them home ahead of Scott Meechan and Cameron Patton.

Thanks to Fiona Cushnaghan and Andy MacLean for timekeeping.

1500m: Paul Monaghan 4.50, Harry McGill 4.54, Stephen Hanley 5.15, Ryan Brown 5.24, Scott Meechan 5.28, Cameron Patton 5.41, Robin McAuslan 5.42, Stephen Reid 5.44, Jude Dolan 5.47, Ewan Ferguson 5.50, Alex Wiseman 6.19, Anna Docherty 6.41, Finn Millar 7.46, Neve Morgan 7.46, Millie McCartney 7.46, Sarah Frizzel 7.46, Amelia Vance 7.53, Rebecca Ross 8.04, Hannah Baxter 8.19, Rebecca Harkins 9.09

400m: Stephen Hanley 64.1, Paul Monaghan 69.5, Beth McKenna  70.9, Stephen Reid 71.3, Scott Meechan 72.8, Cameron Patton 73.3, Robin McAuslan 73.5, Jude Dolan 79.6, Anna Docherty 89.8, Alex Wiseman 93.1 (Relay (4×100) F.Miller/V.Morgan/M.McCartney/S.Frizzell 67.8/68.7

Gryffe Valley Rotary 10k 24/4/16

Paul Monaghan went one better than his runners-up spot in 2014 to win the very hilly Gryffe Valley 10k in 36.00 minutes. Running almost a minute quicker than 2 years ago to beat 2014 winner Ewan McKerral of Kilbarchan in to 2^nd.

London Marathon 24/4/16

Robert Dolan “was over the moon” when he finally dipped under the 3 hour mark, after 20 years of trying, at London on Sunday. And the long winter’s training runs paid off when he crossed the line with plenty to spare in a time of 2:58:35. He ran strongly for 18 miles before the inevitable tiredness kicked in, but managed not to lose much time, due to his preparation, in those final miles.

Warsaw Marathon 24/4/16

Report from Harriers Ian Hanley and Andy MacLean who travelled to the Polish Capital for the Warsaw Marathon: “We did it in just over 4.40. First 20 miles went ok, I really struggled with the next 4 and composed ourselves for the next 2.

Andy had been struggling with a hamstring injury so we did each other a favour and were running with each other anyway. Away now to lie down in a darkened room.

En Avant and thanks to our fellow Harriers for your support.”

The Home athletes dominated with Poles taking 7 of the top 10 places including 1st & 2nd beating the usual procession of Kenyans and Eritreans athletes. The race was won by Artur Kozlowski in 2:11:54.

Danny’s Duathlon – 24th April 2016

When others were doing more serious things, a few of us made our way to the front at Gourock to participate in the latest of Danny’s duathlons.

It was a tussle between Chris and Lewis for the lead. Chris led into T1 but was overtaken by Lewis on the cycle leg. Chris clawed back a bit on the second run but it wasn’t enough and Lewis was first across the line with an overall lead of over a minute.

In third position was Mick, who is now well on the way back to recovery having been plagued by injury. Good to see Alan there as he also has had injury problems.

The sole female representative was Liz who completed the cycle leg and Run 2 in respectable times.

Well done to Lewis for such a good performance and thanks to Danny for, once again, organising an enjoyable event.

Full results:

1. Lewis Beck- (Run 1) 20m 44s (T1) 36s (Cycle) 34m 03s (T2) 30s (Run 2) 21m 16s (Total) 1h 17m 09s
2. Chris Jones – (Run 1) 20m 00s (T1) 30s (Cycle) 36m 37s (T2) 31s (Run 2) 20m 45s (Total) 1h 18m 23s
3. Mick Harrington – (Run 1) 21m 07s (T1) 1m 02s (Cycle) 37m 50s (T2) 36s (Run 2) 22m 06s (Total) 1h 22m 41s
4. Greg Turner – (Run 1) 22m 03s (T1) 47s (Cycle) 38m 04s (T2) 27s (Run 2) 22m 55s (Total) 1h 24m16s
5. Colin Campbell – (Run 1) 21m 47s (T1) 34s (Cycle) 37m 27s (T2) 11s (Run 2) 24m 25s (Total) 1h 24m 24s
6. Alan O’Rourke – (Run 1) 22m 38s (T1) 50s (Cycle) 37m 29s (T2) 25s (Run 2) 24m 02s (Total) 1h 25m 24s
7. Kevin Craig – (Run 1) 21m 30s (T1) 56s (Cycle) 42m 22s (T2) 1m 12s (Run 2) 23s 32s (Total) 1h 29m 32s

Liz McAuslin – (Cycle) 43m 23s (Run 2) 24m 24s.

#102 Greenock  Parkrun 23/4/16

On a cold breezy sunny morning 14 Harriers took to the Esplanade. There was just the one Personal best as John Stevenson managed to knock a couple of seconds from his best down to 19.35. Andrew White recorded his 4th win in 17.43, Lorna Coyle took the runners-up spot in the ladies race in 22.26.

Dunren OGM – Linwood 19/4/16

Duncan Anderson’s recent speed work paid off with a 7 second improvement  in the 800m, since his last race 2 weeks ago to bring down his time for the 2 laps to 2.32 minutes.

GGH Thursday Night Track- Round (4) – 21/4/16

With the school holidays over and the kids returning to training it was the biggest turnout so far for the weekly time trials with a total of 33 taking part.  The seniors got proceedings underway in warm breezy conditions. The pack of 10 runners soon split up as Andrew White set a brisk pace moving gradually clear of the rest of the field. He just failed to break 18 minutes with Stephen Hanley taking runners-up spot, a few seconds off his personal best. Micky Dunn still sore from the previous night’s hill race had a late sprint in the final 200m but couldn’t quite catch Steven Smith. Eileen Stevenson was first Lady.

The youngsters rounded off their training session with a 100m time trial. After the warm evening the temperatures had plummeted and wind had picked up, but nonetheless there were some excellent performances from the 23 runners in the 5 heats. Heat 1 produced the tightest finishes with Beth & Cassie crossing the line together as did Millie & Sarah with Finn splitting the 4 girls. Winners of the other heats were Amelia Vance, Dhillon Boparai, Cameron Patton, and Harry McGill in the final heat with the fastest time of the night.

Thanks to Time keepers Robert Mollins & Duncan Anderson.

5000m RESULTS: Andrew White 18.04, Stephen Hanley 19.37, John Stevenson 20.11, Mick Harrington 20.45, Steven Campbell 20.45, Steven Smith 21.25, Michael Dunn 21.28, Stephen Reid 22.23, Simon Hutton 25.07, Eileen Stevenson 27.08,

100m RESULTS: Harry McGill 14.0, Beth McKenna 14.2, Cassie O’Neill 14.2, Finn Millar 15.1, Millie McCartney 15.5, Sarah Frizzel 15.5, Cameron Patton 15.8, Scott Meechan 15.9, Jude Dolan 16.2, Amelia Vance 16.7, Neve Morgan 17.2, Alan Mollins 17.4, Anna Docherty 17.5, Ben Campbell 17.9, Dhillon Boparai  18.1, Priya Boparai 18.1, Rebecca Ross 19.2, Alex Wiseman 19.6, Douglas Campbell 19.8, Hannah Baxter 20.0, Emily Nelson 20.5, Caitlin Marsh 20.8, Rebecca Harkins 23.2,

Kaim Hill Race 20/4/16

We Kaim, we saw and we conquered!

On a scorcher of a night and a record turn out with over 100 runners toeing the line three of us showed face at the annual Kaim Hill Race in Fairley.

With Boyd competing in his first ever hill race he thoroughly underestimated the challenge ahead but ran a solid race. He had a solid uphill race only to be outdone by the extremely challenging descent. Not wanting to risk an injury before the marathon he rightly took his time coming off the hill. On finishing the race he was more disappointed with how dirty his trail shoes were.

Micky Dunn had a surprisingly good race. With a few injuries, aches and pains from a recent spell of hard marathon training he was unsure how he would get on but it all came together on the night. He ran a strong uphill race with only just over 1 minute separating Micky and I at the turn. On the descent he was his usual fearless self and paid the price with no less than 3 dramatic falls through the thick heather. This didn’t stop him pulling in the numbers and completing the sprint finish of the night!

I ran as expected, slow on the uphill and struggled with the tough climb and thick heather. Thinking I could rely on my usual fast descent, was as mistake as I seemed to have lost that edge only taking 10 places on the downhill to finish well outside the top 10. My time has improved on recent years results which was an added bonus.

Overall a successful night for the runners and now for a well-earned beer and pizza … Andy McCall

Results: 14th Andy McCall 33.58, Micky Dunn (somewhere in between),  78^th Boyd MacKenzie 48.16

Great Edinburgh 10 mile road race 17/4/16

Lorna Coyle had an outstanding run in the capital finishing 47th woman, and fastest over 50, with a time of 76.44, in the Great Edinburgh run.

#101 Greenock  Parkrun 16/4/16

It was Harriers day at Esplanade Park run with a large turnout from the club with 35 taking part from the 95 participants. Daniel Doherty was the victor in 17.14, with Andrew White taking the runners-up spot 7 seconds behind. The Harriers fastest woman was Rhonda White.

Improvements on the day came from Stephen Hanley(13sec), Joshua Ruddy(28sec), Aeden Monaghan(21sec), Andrew McCall(1.34min), Stewart Anderson(5sec), and Stuart Austin(14sec), all setting personal bests.

 50th Anniversary Round the Houses 10k (Grangemouth) 11/4/16

Kevan McCartney was still trying to finding his running legs again this week, in Round the Houses 10k. Fortunately his times are going in the right direction as he ran 41 minutes and 35 seconds, an improvement of over 3 minutes from the previous week. However his lack of training miles is still evident, by the 6km mark he was starting to fade, however he managed to turned it around as he ran the last 4k almost as quickly as the first 4k which placed him 30th in the V40 age group.

GGH Thursday Night Track- Round (3) – 14/4/16

Week 3 of the Thursday night Time Trials got underway on a dry calm mild night, and produced some fine performances.

In the 200m junior race there was 2 exciting finishes, the first heat saw Anna Docherty coming from behind, with her longer stride eventually overhauling the quicker starting Katy Johnson. Run of the night however came from Emily Nelson who showed a big 5 second improvement from the previous week. In the B heat Harry McGill and Beth McKenna were level coming out of the bend, but Harry managed to draw clear in the home straight.

The numbers of seniors continue to rise with 11 competing; in the 3000metres Paul Monaghan instantly hit the front to open up a gap from Andrew White with his usual all out start. But although he maintained his lead, not surprisingly with the Manchester marathon still in his legs, his pace had dropped and he crossed the line in just over 10 minutes, 13 seconds clear of Andrew White. Lisa Ruddy was first woman ahead of Fiona Cushnaghan and Lesley Nelson.

A big thanks to our Time Keepers, Jim Brown, Robert Mollins, Duncan MacNeill, & Andy MacLean.

200metres: Harry McGill 29.5, Beth McKenna 30.3, Scott Meechan 31.6, Ryan Brown 32.8, Ewan Ferguson 36.3, Anna Docherty 38.4, Katy Johnson 38.9, Alex Wiseman 40.0, Shaun Hegarty 40.6, Ewan Johnson 43.9, Emily Nelson 44.6.

3000metres: Paul Monaghan 10.04, Andrew White 10.17, Stephen Hanley 11.10, Michael Dunn 11.57, Robin McAuslan 12.31, Steven Smith 12.36, Stephen Reid 12.37, Lisa Ruddy 14.09, Simon Hutton 14.09, Fiona Cushnaghan 15.20, Lesley Nelson 15.55,

Tom Scott 10 Mile & Manchester Marathon 10/4/16

Greenock Glenpark Harrier Stephen Trainer claimed West District bronze at the “Tom Scott” 10 mile road race at Strathclyde Park, Motherwell on Sunday, behind Shettleston’s Tewolde Mengistead and Cambuslang’s Kerry Wilson. The race also incorporated the National Championships in which Stephen finished 6^th in just under 53 minutes.

Club mates Daniel Doherty and Andrew White also ran, and as expected it was close between the pair, but it was Daniel who came out on top but by just 22 seconds. The trio’s strong performance seen them finish 5th in the team competition.

Results: Stephen Trainer 52.52, Daniel Doherty 58.16, Andrew White 58.38.

First home for the Harriers at the Manchester Marathon among the 12,000 runners was Paul Monaghan finishing in 73rd overall position, with a 3 minute personal best, and  6th in the veteran 45 age group..

Robert Wilson’s 3rd place in his category proves that he continues to be the fastest in Scotland and among the best in the UK in the over 60s age group at the marathon distance.  Robert junior started strongly before fading in the 2nd half, but Stuart Crawford got his pacing perfect with even splits throughout.

Results: Paul Monaghan 2.47.20; Robert Wilson sen 3.11.04; Robert Wilson jnr 3.24.13; Stuart Crawford 3.30.12

Greenock ParkRun #100

As the Greenock Parkrun reached its centenary, there was a large turnout of 22 Harriers for the weekly 5km run on the Esplanade; making up more than ¼ of the field of 82 runners.

In the mild conditions there was a 17 second PB for Stephen Hanley and for Stewart Anderson, who has been chipping away, bringing his times down on 3 occasions in the last month from 19.45 to 19.33.

Andrew Osborne and Thomas Loehndorf were the clubs top finishers, taking 2nd and 3rd and Lorna Coyle getting the runners up spot in the women’s race.

Full Results can be found at: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenock/results/latestresults/

100k Anglo-Celtic Plate, Perth  27/3/16

Greenock Glenpark Harriers Kevin O’Donoghue and Thomas Loehndorf gained National honours when they were selected to represent Scotland at the 100km Anglo-Celtic Plate in Perth.

Thomas became team captain after race director Adrian Stott had contacted him to help get the Scots ready for the competition, due to his ultra-distance running experience.

And it was a total surprise for Kevin who was only notified 3 weeks before the event (due to a late call off) that he would suddenly be making a double first; his first time in a Scottish vest and first time over such a long distance. More worrying for him though was his training hadn’t been geared towards this particular race and was therefore not fully prepared, then also getting a bad cold in the week before; but these small matters were never going to stop him making his international debut.

He had set an ambitious target time to break 8 hours to cover 42 laps around the North Inch Park on the banks of the river Tay. And all seemed to be going to plan as he consistently rounded each of the 2.4km circuits; and he went through half way in just 3 hours and 45 minutes.

It was around lap 26 that that it became noticeable that Kevin was suffering as his times had started to slip, although it was on lap 32 that it looked grim as he slowed badly. But it was a testament to his determination and grit that he somehow dug deep and picked it up again in the last 8 laps, with his final circuit incredibly almost as quick as his first – to cross the line exhausted with nothing left to give, finishing in 10th place in a time of 8 hours and 14 minutes.  Afterwards Kevin stated “Knowing the rest of my team had done so well and having such great support from Thomas and Silke helped me through to the end”

Thomas’ wife Silke provided the important race support for Kevin providing nutrition and encouragement throughout the 8hours to get him through what turned into a brutal ordeal.

Team captain Thomas’ role included creating and checking race plans with the runners and giving advice before the race, in particular to the new runners. Although both men and women’s teams finished runners-up to an extremely strong English squad, this was a truly stunning performance by the Scots, with 9 out of 9 finishers, and if you consider 6 were debutants over the 100k this is particular remarkable.

Harrier Thomas summed up his feelings to the team “I was just humbled by every single performance. I said before the race that supporting was harder than running it. But hey, I apologise! That is not true. The second 50k of a 100k race can be a world of pain and I could see that in the face of every single runner. So I have to thank you all for giving everything.  And for being allowed to be a part of it. Words cannot describe it.”

GGH Thursday Night Track- Round (2) – 7/4/16

Despite running an uneven race Paul Monaghan took top spot in the seniors 800m at Ravenscraig Stadium on a cool breezy night; After a quick opening lap of 69 seconds he slowed considerably to cross the line in 2.29, with Stephen Hanley closing him down with every step, and all the remaining men going comfortably under the 3 minute mark. Lesley Nelson in her first track race covered the 2 laps in 3.39.

In the 200m sprint Stephen Hanley showed a turn of speed, being the only runner to dip under 30 seconds. But the surprise package was Stephen Reid taking 2nd spot, after only finishing 5th  in the 800m.

The juniors once again went into their race after completing a tough training session. But the signs are encouraging for the youngsters with all posting very respectable times considering their previous workout, especially Beth McKenna who produced a 10 second seasons best.

Thanks to time keepers Lorna Meechan, Simon Hutton and Robert Mollins

800m/200m: Paul Monaghan 2.29/—-  Stephen Hanley 2.34/29.5, Duncan Anderson 2.39/33.9, Michael Dunn 2.45/32.1, Stephen Reid 2.47/31.4, Robin McAuslan 2.49/32.7, Michael Harrington 2.52/35.1, Steven Smith 2.53/38.2, Lesley Nelson 3.39/40.5, Emily Nelson.—   /49.5, Fraser Nelson.—   /50.6

800m: Joshua Ruddy 2.43, Harry McGill 2.45, Scott Meechan 2.47, Jude Dolan 2.48, Beth McKenna 3.01

Junior Road Race Championships 2/4/16

The Harriers Scott Meechan, Harry McGill, and Ewan Ferguson made the most of home advantage as they finished 8th in the National Road Race Championships at the Battery Park. First home for the club in the under 13 team competition was Harry who ran a well-paced race, coming through the large pack of athletes from half-way for a top 10 finish.  Scott and Ewan didn’t disappoint either, producing their best to easily beat their target times for the 2500metre distance.

In the under 15s 4200metres race, Ryan Brown and Alan Mollins ran together for the 1st of the three laps. But it was Ryan with an increase in pace, which Alan couldn’t quite match, who pulled clear, which saw him gain a 97 second improvement on last year’s competition.

Royal Appointment (British Duathlon Championships) 3/4/16

Kevan McCartney travelled to the Great Windsor Park, for the opportunity to compete at one of the Queens favourite residences with 1200 others over the Standard 10k-40k-5k distance.  Kevan raced around the grounds of Windsor palace several times only to be stopped by the HM the Queen on his second lap to allow her to make her way to church. Kevan not being at full fitness was happy enough to finish 30th in his age group amongst a very strong field, even after Royal intervention. He claimed that the combination of muddy underfoot conditions on the trails and grass areas made running difficult, and really hampered transitions for everyone. Several accidents and mechanicals on the winding bike course made cycling interesting too.

Provisional times  44.45 – 1.53 – 1.13.30 – 1.23 – 23.41 Total time : 2h 25m 12s

3K on the Green 1/4/16

On a horrible wet and windy day, Kevan McCartney and 66 others took to Glasgow Green for a 3K splash and dash in the puddles. In Kevan’s second race of 2016 he ran 11.34 for 23rd place. Which is way off his best.

Parkrun Round up for month of May 2016

Full result history can be found at:  http://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenock/results/eventhistory/ .

5 May:  15 Harriers ran, and there was a 26 second PB for Nathalie Smith. The top finishers were Andrew (2nd)  and Rhonda White (3rd).

12 May: 18 ran with PBs for John Stevenson (1sec), Stewart Anderson (1sec) and Daniel Doherty (14sec). Daniel finishing runner-up to Steven Campbell.

19 May: 16 ran with a massive PB for Ian Hanley (1minute), also Stewart Anderson (10sec), John Stevenson (12sec) Daniel Doherty (2sec). Daniel recording his 6^th victory, and Rhonda White was clubs fastest woman in 7^th.

26 May: With the Docherty cup taking place later in the day, there were only 10 Harriers running, which saw Nicola Stevenson achieving her first victory in the women’s race and Robert Wilson taking the runners-up spot. There were no PBs in the wet and windy conditions.

Track Season Off and Running – 31/3/16

The 1st of Thursday night weekly time trials of the season got under way at Ravenscraig in calm but cool conditions for the athletes. First off were the seniors competing over 1500m, for most of them it was a new experience being it their first time in a track race.

As expected Andrew White, with a solid performance, led from the start and went on for the win followed by Stephen Hanley.

The Juniors were next up over the 300m distance with 21 youngsters contesting 3 heats. In the first heat the boys had just completed their session of 10x300m so were well warmed up if not a little tired, but it didn’t seem to slow up Harry McGill as he flew around the track in 45 seconds.

In Heat 2 Mark Magee acted as the hare for the younger athletes to chase, Beth McKenna showed her class over the shorter distance recording the 3rd fastest time of the night with a time of 49 seconds with Mia Forrest close behind.

Heat 3 saw the clubs youngest runners take to their marks (plus Cassie O’Neil doing the pacing). Dhillon Boparai just failed to break the 1 minute mark as he led his club mates home.

The evening was finished off with the 4x100m relay race it was the girls (&Ewan) who maintained their unbeaten run over the boys with a sparkling run of 61.7secs, with the boys just behind in 62.8. The under 11 girls got the baton around in fine style in 79.0 seconds.

Thanks to all who took part and to the timekeepers Robert Mollins and Ross Neilson. Next week the time trial will be over 800m & 200m. We will require some help with this each week, please come along to assist if you are free.

RESULTS: (1500m/400m) Andrew White 4.55/68.7, Stephen Hanley 5.24/69.0, Robin McAuslan 5.51/74.8, Steven Smith 5.56/81.4, Marian Monk 6.06/84.63, Lisa Ruddy 6.47/87.6

(300m) Mark Magee 42.9, Harry McGill 45.2, Beth McKenna 49.4, Cameron Patton 50.4, Mia Forrest 51.1, Scott Meechan 51.1, Ryan Brown 51.5, Jude Dolan 52.4, Ewan Ferguson 53.8, Cassie O’Neill 54.0,  Alan Mollins 54.2, Finn Millar 54.9, Jack McDaid 58.2, Dhillon Boparai 61.6, Ben Campbell 62.5, Douglas Campbell 63.2, Priya Boparai 64.0, Hannah Baxter 68.2, Rebecca Ross 68.6, Sian Brown 71.7, Rebecca Harkins 72.

Greenock Glenpark Harriers – Docherty Cup 26/03/16

John Carruthers was a comfortable winner on Ashton promenade to win Greenock Glenpark Harriers Connie Gavin trophy. In the staggered start for the 10 mile race where the runners are set off from slowest to fastest, John worked his way through the earlier starters to hit the front after 7miles, and in doing so had left the faster chasing pack with too much to do to close him down, eventually crossing the line with 300metres to spare from Terri Wall.

In the contest for the Docherty Cup which goes to the fastest scratch time, Stephen Trainer showed that he has returned to his best form by covering the return trip from Gourock to Inverkip in a time of just over 53 minutes, in wet windy conditions, to retain the trophy he won last year.

It was a close contest for the runners up spot with veterans Steven Campbell and Paul Monaghan very evenly matched throughout, but it with Steven who proved to have the edge to go 10 seconds clear. In 4th was the improving Daniel Doherty who is starting to close the gap on the clubs top runners.

Winning the Wallach Trophy was Suzanne Coyle who recorded the fastest women’s time in 76 minutes, with Susan Slater producing her best run in club colours pushing her very close in 2nd place, with the final podium spot going to Lynne Lesley.

Robert Wilson continues to show that age is no barrier after producing another outstanding run to record the 7th fastest time, but the most impressive run of the day without doubt came from Ian Hanley who had finished last in the 2015 race, but after an incredible amount of hard work since then, he saw his time tumble by 11 minutes to place 28th from the 42 starters.

Fantastic Finn Campbell set a course record in the juniors 1 lap race of Ashton Promenade scorching through the line 6 seconds faster than the previous best mark. Jude Dolan claimed the runners-up spot from Ben Campbell, while Ruby McGill was quickest girl, a minute clear of the chasing trio of Ashlin Monaghan, Maria McCabe and Leah Knox all finishing within a couple of seconds of each other.

Harry McGill went so close to the under 13’s 2 lap race record, just missing out by a second after being pushed all the way by Ryan Brown, who had improved by almost a minute on last year.

In the girls race Anna Docherty was impressive as she came through strongly after trailing Megan Rodgers at half way for a convincing win. But it was an encouraging performance from Megan returning to racing after a lengthy lay off. Mia Forrest and Beth McKenna battled it out in a sprint for 3rd, but couldn’t be separated on the line

The Harriers would like to thank to Stewart McCartney and all the staff at the Spinnaker Hotel for their continued race sponsorship and excellent hospitality.

Docherty Cup 10miles (Handicap times in brackets) Stephen Trainer 53.20 (89.20), Steven Campbell 57.24 (87.24), Paul Monaghan 57.34 (87.34),  Daniel Doherty 58.09 (87.09), Andrew White 58.34 (86.34), Shaun Gaffney 60.45 (90.45), Robert Wilson 63.42 (88.42), Chris Watson 63.49 (89.19), Gordon Hepburn 65.57 (90.57), Ross Neilson 67.31 (91.31), John Stevenson 67.39 (88.39), Stewart Crawford 69.08 (93.08), Stuart Anderson 69.15  93.15), Andy MacLean 69.51 (89.51), Ross Slater 71.08 (90.08), Stuart Austin 71.08 (90.08), Stephen Hanley 71.36 (90.36), Colin Campbell 72.21 (89.21), David Ness 72.23 (92.23), Stephen Reid  74.27 (91.27), Robin McAuslan 74.50 (90.50), Suzanne Coyle 76.04 (93.04), Susan Slater 76.22 (88.22), Lynne Lesley  77.05 (90.05),  Lorna Coyle 77.58 (89.58), Marian Monk 79.07 (92.07), John Carruthers 79.25 (84.55), Ian Hanley 79.43 (88.13), Mick Dunn 79.45 (102.45), Terri Wall 80.44 (86.14), David Carruthers 81.08 (89.38), Emma O’Rourke 83.20  (91.50), Susan Clark 83.36 (92.06), Lucas Bezian 83.37 (89.07), Vikki Smith 84.08 (89.38), Simon Hutton 86.32 (95.02), Yvonne Prager 88.44 (92.44), Fiona Cushnaghan 90.37 (94.37), Grace Campbell 91.38 (94.38), Eileen Stevenson 92.27 (92.27), Nathalie Smith 93.46 (93.46), Lesley Nelson 94.25  (97.25)

Juniors 1200m: Finn Campbell 4.23, Jude Dolan 4.36, Ruby McGill 5.20, Ben Campbell 5.30, Aeden Monaghan 5.35, Ashlin Monaghan 6.19, Maria McCabe 6.20, Leah Knox 6.21.

Juniors 2500m:  Harry McGill 9.25, Ryan Brown 9.28, Cameron Patton 9.52, Scott Meechan 10.02, Ewan Ferguson 11.04, Anna Docherty 11.19, Megan Rodgers 11.36, Niall Campbell 11.46, Mia Forrest 12.15, Beth McKenna 12.15

19/3/16 Clumber Park (European Duathlon Qualifier 2017) 

Kevan McCartney headed back to Robin Hood country for his first race of the season. He had registered early in the year to race the Standard distance event however due to illness and injury in the early part of the season he had to drop the longer event in favour of the sprint event (5k/20k/2.5k).

The first run reflected his current form, where he ran a 21.05 for the 5k, onto the bike he moved quickly through the field until his seat bracket gave way and made riding uncomfortable.  However once back on the run he pushed hard and finished 9th in his age group and 6th in his qualifying set for a place one Great Britain team in 2017.

Times : 21.05 – 1:09 – 33.31 – 1.26 – 10.50 Total time 1h 8m 2s

Strathaven Run With the Wind Half Marathon – 21/01/16

A group of hardy Harriers took part in this tough half marathon, over an undulating course, and in testing conditions, with Fiona using the race as prep for her upcoming ultra, and Silke using it as a warm-up for the Barcelona marathon.

Boyd Mackenzie 1:53:00, Terry Wall 1:53:12, Silke Loehndorf 1:58:36, Fiona Cushnaghan 2:01:07, Yvonne Prager 2:06:11

National Indoor Masters Championships – 14/01/2016

Robert Wilson Sr. once again showed that he is one of the top over-60 athletes in Scotland, with a silver and bronze in the 1500m and 800m at the Emirates Arena on Sunday.

Robert Wilson V60
800m 3rd 2.28.59
1500m 2nd 5.06.37

Renfrewshire Road Race – 07/02/2016

Well done to every single Greenock Glenpark Harrier who braved the elements today and ran the Renfrewshire Road Race. What a fantastic turnout despite the challenging weather conditions, with 47 GGH runners competing.

The juniors had the worst of conditions, with heavy rain, gale force winds, and large sections of the Battery Park flooded, resulting in changes to the course. There were brave performances from all the juniors, with the highlights being individual silver in the under-11 boys race for Cameron Patton, and team bronze in the same race, with Jude Dolan and Aedan Monaghan backing up Cameron.  Amelia Vance also ran well for 5th in the under-11 girls race

With 11 ladies and 28 men competing, Harriers made up over a quarter of the field in the senior race. The highlights in the senior race were a team bronze for the men, and V40 silver and bronze for Steven Campbell and Paul Monaghan, and V60 gold for Robert Wilson Sr.

Marian Monk was the first Glenpark woman home, followed closely by Catriona Stirling, who ran a fantastic last race before she heads off to Austrailia.

2016RenfRR

Full results

Masters XC – 30/01/2016

Robert Wilson Sr. was the only Harrier to make the long trip North to Forres for the Masters XC championship, where he finished 8th V60 in a time of 36:58 over the 8k course.

Full results

Emirates Indoor Meeting 16/1/16

Glenpark Youngsters Show Early Season Form

There was good early season form on the track from Alan Mollins and Harry McGill at the open graded meeting at the Emirates stadium, it was a indication of their hard work over the winter to record quick times without any speed work behind them.

In the 1500metres Alan ran a personal best of 5.01 minutes, taking 10 seconds off his previous quickest time to finish 2nd in his heat.

Harry equalled his best over the same distance running a time of 4.48min, and in his first time over 300metres he recorded 44.47seconds.  Not content with that he rounded the day winning his pool in the long jump with his top distance of 4.52metres in a consistent series of jumps.

Harris Trophy – 09/01/2016

Stephen Trainer made his first appearance at a club race in almost 6 months out through injury, and showed he is still a class apart as he ran away from the field to comfortably win the Harris Trophy. Stevie Campbell won the battle for second place and also took another first V40 finish. Stevie McLoone was first V50 and Robert Wilson Sr. the first V60. Suzanne Coyle was the first woman, and Lorna Coyle took advantage of the handicap committee’s generousity to claim the handicap trophy.

Thanks to all the helpers and supporters today, pretty miserable conditions for standing about, and thanks to Andy Smith of W B Smith, Trees and Turf for sponsoring the race.

Results:

Pos Name M/F Cat Scratch Time Handicap Time
1 Stephen Trainer M Senior 00:32:45 00:32:45
2 Stevie Campbell M V40 00:33:24 00:30:24
3 Kevin O’Donoghue M Senior 00:33:31 00:30:31
4 David Henderson M Senior 00:33:36 00:30:36
5 Paul Monaghan M V40 00:33:41 00:30:41
6 Andrew White M V40 00:33:57 00:30:27
7 Daniel Doherty M Senior 00:34:17 00:29:47
8 Andrew Osborne M Senior 00:34:57 00:31:27
9 Mark Vance M V40 00:35:21 00:30:51
10 Stephen McLoone M V50 00:35:46 00:29:16
11 Andy Jr McCall M Senior 00:36:07 00:29:37
12 Robert Jr Wilson M Senior 00:36:36 00:30:06
13 Chris Watson M Senior 00:37:00 00:30:30
14 Robert Jr Dolan M V40 00:37:07 00:29:37
15 Gordon Hepburn M Senior 00:37:10 00:30:40
16 Sean Marshall M Senior 00:37:30 00:31:00
17 Robert Wilson snr M V60 00:37:40 00:30:10
18 John Stevenson M V40 00:40:50 00:31:50
19 Graham McGrattan M V50 00:40:57 00:33:27
20 Colin Campbell M V50 00:41:27 00:32:27
21 Stuart Austin M V40 00:41:55 00:29:55
22 Suzanne Coyle F Senior 00:42:19 00:30:19
23 Stephen Reid M V40 00:42:32 00:30:32
24 Greig Turner M Senior 00:43:32 00:43:32
25 Micky Dunn M V60 00:43:35 00:36:05
26 Lorna Coyle F V50 00:43:52 00:28:22
27 Stephen Hanley M Senior 00:44:04 00:30:34
28 Steven Watson M Senior 00:44:24 00:35:24
29 Marion Monk F V40 00:46:11 00:32:41
30 Lynne Rogers F Senior 00:46:20 00:32:50
31 Boyd MacKenzie M V50 00:46:33 00:31:03
32 Simon Hutton M Senior 00:47:47 00:32:17
33 Ian Hanley M Senior 00:48:00 00:29:30
34 Paul Hegarty M Senior 00:48:14 00:32:14
35 Kenny Scott M V50 00:49:06 00:33:06
36 Silke Loehndorf F V40 00:49:43 00:31:13
37 Angeline Austin F V40 00:50:37 00:32:07
38 Fiona Cushnaghan F V50 00:51:27 00:29:27
39 Yvonne Prager F V50 00:51:58 00:29:58

Beith New Year Road Race – 02/01/2016

Steven Campbell, Andrew White, and Danny McLaughlin made the short journey to Beith for the traditional New Year race. The race is a 4.8 mile road race of 4 laps of the Glengarnock Industrial Estate. Stevie finished 4th and won the first vet prize, Andrew was 8th and Danny 12th and first V50.

Steven Campbell 25:45, Andrew White 26:25, Danny McLaughlin 29:23

Full results

Wilson Cup – 19/12/2015

Shaun Lyon 28:44
Stevie Campbell 29:15 (1st M40)
Paul Monaghan 30:05
Andrew White 30:18
David Henderson 30:26
Kevin O’Donoghue 30:30
Andrew Osborne 31:08
Daniel Doherty 31:49
Mark Vance 32:11
Andy Jr McCall 32:47
Robert Jr Wilson 32:50
Danny McLaughlin 33:02 (1st M50)
Micky Dunn 35:05 (1st M60)
Kevin Sr Gill 37:25
Colin Campbell 37:28
John Stevenson 37:53
Brian McCluskey 38:16
Stephen Reid 38:19
Frank McMahon 38:40
Stuart Austin 39:01
Steven Smith 39:32
Marian Monk 39:44 (1st woman)
Stephen Hanley 40:35
Nicola Walker 40:40 (1st F50)
Susan Clark 41:39
Lorna Coyle 41:42
Simon Hutton 41:45
Boyd MacKenzie 41:46
John Carruthers 43:28
Paul Hegarty 44:30
Katie McAuslan 44:34
Silke Loehndorf 46:32
Kirstin Arthur 47:43
Angeline Austin 47:57
Eileen Stevenson 48:26
Fiona Cushnaghan 52:03

Wilson handicap results:
1 Colin Campbell 45:58
2 Frank McMahon 47:10
3 Mark Vance 47:41
4 Stevie Campbell 47:45
5 Andrew White 47:48
6 Danny McLaughlin 48:02
7 Katie McAuslan 48:04
8 Micky Dunn 48:05
9 Susan Clark 48:09
10 Simon Hutton 48:15
11 Daniel Doherty 48:19
12 Robert Jr Wilson 48:20
13 Kevin Sr Gill 48:25
14 Eileen Stevenson 48:26
15 Paul Monaghan 48:35
16 Andrew Osborne 48:38
17 Shaun Lyon 48:44
18 Kevin O’Donoghue 49:00
19 Boyd MacKenzie 49:16
20 Andy Jr McCall 49:17
21 Stephen Reid 49:19
22 David Henderson 49:26
23 Steven Smith 49:32
24 Marian Monk 49:44
25 Lorna Coyle 50:12
26 Stuart Austin 50:31
27 Nicola Walker 50:40
28 John Stevenson 50:53
29 John Carruthers 50:58
30 Stephen Hanley 51:35
31 Silke Loehndorf 52:02
32 Brian McCluskey 52:16
33 Paul Hegarty 53:00
34 Kirstin Arthur 53:13
35 Angeline Austin 54:27
36 Fiona Cushnaghan 55:33

Wilson Trophy Junior Handicap Race 19/12/15

Eden Holds Lead to Win Final Race of the Year

There was a change of venue for the juniors annual Christmas race. Rather than the exposed moors above the “Cut” it was changed to 2 laps of the large Dam at Murdieston Park. The runners were set off at intervals with Eden Hegarty first away and the rest of the field given the task to chase her down, but despite the pressure , the youngster held her nerve to record a deserved victory.

In the scratch race it was extremely close with Alan Mollins taking the top spot by 5 seconds from Harry McGill, and Scott Meechan just a further second behind.  Under 11 boy Jude Dolan was also in fine form finishing with the 4th fastest time. Best girl was Ruby McGill who set the quickest time and finished 2nd in the handicap.

1400m Handicap  Race: Eden Hegarty 8.52, Ruby McGill 9.43, Jack McDaid 9.49, Shaun Haggerty 9.52, Jude Dolan 9.53, Charlie McQueen 10.01, Ewan Ferguson 10.09, Scott Meechan 10.10, Maria McCabe 10.17, Alan Mollins 10.34, Mia Forrest 10.39, Anna Docherty 10.43, Harry McGill 11.09.

 1400m Scratch Times: Alan Mollins 5.04,Harry McGill 5.09, Scott Meechan 5.10, Jude Dolan 5.23, Ewan Ferguson 5.39, Ruby McGill 6.13, Jack McDaid 6.19, Mia Forrest 6.39, Anna Docherty 6.43, Shaun Haggerty 6.52, Charlie McQueen 7.01, Maria McCabe 7.47, Eden Hegarty 8.52.

Colin Shields Road Race – 31/10/2015

The Harriers had another great turnout for their Colin Shields club race, with 78 runners in total (30 juniors and 48 seniors).

The senior race is run over a 4.5 mile course from Dunlop Street, out to Branchton, up over Larkfield Road and back round Cumberland Road, before returning along Inverkip Road to the start. The race is run as a time trial, with runners set off in pairs at 30 second intervals. The race was dominated by a trio of Scottish international veterans – Andrew Harkins, David Henderson, and Steven Campbell, who will be heading to Dublin in a fortnight to compete in the British and Irish XC International. These three set off last, but soon started to work their way through the field. They were chasing Paul Monaghan, who had started in determined fashion 30 seconds ahead. Paul would eventually pass all in front of him, and hold off the closing trio, to be first back. However, with a fast closing Andrew Harkins just a few seconds behind, having just managed to out sprint David Henderson, Andrew earned his first victory for the club. Less than 30 seconds separated these first 4, and on current form Paul Monaghan must be in with a good chance of joining his international club mates when he moves into the V45 age category next year.

The ladies race resulted in a convincing victory for Suzanne Coyle, who is returning to her best form. Suzanne was over 2 minutes clear of the improving Marian Monk, with new member Catriona Stirling putting in another strong performance to finish third.

Other notable performances came from Andrew Osborne, showing a return to form after injury, to finish 6th, and new members Daniel Doherty and Mark Vance finishing 7th and 9th respectively. Super veteran Robert Wilson was not only the first V60, but also first over-50 and 10th overall. Robert Dolan knocked a minute off his time from last year to finish 11th, and Susan Clark improved by nearly 2 minutes to finish 4th woman. David Carruthers also took 2 minutes off from last year to get the better of his brother John, but the biggest improvement came from Simon Hutton who took almost 5 minutes off his time from last year.

The junior race, also starting on Dunlop Street, features either 1 or 2 laps around the Murdieston reservoirs and up Murdieston Street. This year the juniors were competing for the new Lawrence Mulaghton Memorial trophy. The under-11s raced over 1 lap, with Fin Campbell finishing just ahead of Jude Dolan, and Capri Tallachia the first girl ahead of Ruby McGill. The older juniors competed over 2 laps, with under-13 Harry McGill finishing first ahead of under-15s Alan Mollins and Ryan Brown, with Beth McKenna the first girl.

Thanks to all the volunteers and helpers, race sponsor Robert Alexander Butchers, and the Lady Alice bowling club.

Results

Seniors (4.5 miles)
A. Harkins 24:51
D. Henderson 24:56
S. Campbell 25:15
P. Monaghan 25:18
A. White 26:41
A. Osborne 26:42
D. Doherty 27:28
C. Watson 27:38
M. Vance 28:09
R. Wilson Sr. 28:22
R. Dolan 28:37
B. Harkins 29:13
D. Roberts 29:13
A. O’Rourke 29:24
S. Marshall 29:24
R. Wilson Jr. 29:24
B. McCluskey 29:55
M. Dunn 30:11
G. McGrattan 30:35
D. Anderson 30:50
S. Crawford 31:09
R. Slater 31:40
S. Coyle 31:44
K. Gill 31:44
S. Watson 31:51
S. Austin 31:55
R. McAuslan 33:10
S. Smith 33:33
M. Monk 33:54
C. Campbell 34:12
P. Hegarty 34:31
C. Stirling 34:34
D. Carruthers 34:50
J. Carruthers 35:09
B. McKenzie 35:22
S. Clark 36:11
S. Hutton 36:37
L. Ruddy 36:46
K. Scott 37:12
A. Austin 37:27
I. Hanley 37:36
C. Monaghan 39:02
K. McLaughlin 39:29
E. O’Rourke 39:49
Y. Prager 40:15
G. Campbell 40:47
J. Dolan 42:12
T. Knight 52:41

Juniors
u11 girls (1k)
C. Tallachia 4:21
R. McGill 4:35
L. Knox 5:03
R. Harkins 5:09
M. McCabe 5:10
A. Monaghan 5:23
K. Ferguson 5:29
E. Hegarty 8:23

u11 boys (1k)
F. Campbell 3:40
J. Dolan 3:48
A. Wiseman 4:10
B. Harkins 4:34
D. Boparai 4:45
A. Monaghan 4:48
Q. Hegarty 5:45

u13 girls (1k)
A. Singleton 5:44
A. Morrison 5:44

u13 boys (2k)
H. MgGill 7:23
C. Paton 7:43
S. Meechan 7:58
E. Ferguson 8:45
N. Campbell 9:22
J. McDaid 9:44
S. Hegarty 4:48 (1 lap)

u15 girls (2k)
B. McKenna 9:23
R. Mulaghton 10:03
M. McCartney 10:07
M. Forrest 4:14 (1 lap)

u15 boys (2k)
A. Mollins 7:31
R. Brown 7:37