It was a typical wet and windy day for the Renfrewshire Road Race championships despite the change of date but the weather didn’t dampen performances on the day.
Breaking tradition it was the senior athletes who got the proceedings underway. In the 5 mile road race three senior men battled it out to see who would come out on top as first counter for the GGH team. After a strong x-country season Stuart Greenway showed his strength and experience in the end and broke away from the pack as they entered the final lap of the Battery Park to finish 4th overall, just 9 seconds behind a bronze medal. Andy McCall and Andrew Osbourne continued their battle until the final 500 metres where McCall found something extra to finish 6 seconds ahead of Osbourne. Daniel Doherty continues his return to race fitness running a strong race and one of his quickest times over the distance. Both Osbourne and Doherty secured 1st and 3rd M40 respectively. It takes 6 runners to make a team with every place counting towards the overall total. Gavin Morrison was next to cross the line for the GGH men, running an incredible race to take bronze in a competitive M50 category. The final counter for the team was Michael McLoone who’s position secured a silver team medal for the GGH senior men’s team, 2 places higher than last year.
The senior women’s race was off to a flyer as Jill Cox came storming home in 2nd place, securing gold in the FV40 category. With 3 runners to count for the female team prizes the next 2 runners home was going to be crucial. The in-form Fiona MacFarlane was next home for the GGH ladies in a new PB which also secured FV40 Bronze. Making up the final team place was Liza Brydon who, like Fiona, is finding her form across at the right time. Both Fiona and Liza are deep into their marathon training and will be delighted with their progress. Every place really does count as only 7 points separated 2nd and 4th placed teams with GGH ladies securing a well-deserved Bronze medal.
GGH always turn up in big numbers at this race being on home turf. There were many notable performances on the day. Shaun Wiseman winning silver in the U20 category, Ian McKee and Robin McAuslan winning gold and silver in the MV60 category respectively and Charlotte McKay winning silver in the FV60 category. Charlotte McKay and Nathalie Smith both taking well over 2 mins off their previous years times. Special mention to ultra running specialist Lorna Mitchell who completed the 5 mile race, ran a few extra miles while cheering on her kids less than 24 hours after smashing the D33 Ultra Marathon.
Senior results
4th Stuart Greenway – 27:24
5th Andy McCall – 27:29
6th Andrew Osbourne – 27:35 (1st M40)
12th Daniel Doherty – 29:05 (3rd M40)
22nd Gavin Morrison – 30:15 (3rd M50)
24th Jill Cox – 31:05 (2nd F, 1st F40)
28th Michael McLoone – 31:24
32nd Shaun Wiseman – 31:48 (2nd U20)
38th David Holmes – 33:17
41st Greg Luke – 34:03
43rd Graeme Boyce – 34:09
52nd Ian McKee – 35:43 (1st M60)
54th Fiona MacFarlane – 35:56 (3rd F40)
56th Craig Hyslop – 35:55
61st Robin McAuslan – 36:40 (2nd M60)
63rd Sean MacFarlane – 37:05
65th Lisa Brydon – 37:21
66th Stephen Reid – 37:37
67th Jennifer Rooney – 37:54
70th Kevin Begley – 38:45
71st Lorna Mitchell – 39:37
74th Marianne McKay – 40:02
78th James Doherty – 41:12
79th Campbell McFarlane – 41:31
81st Claire Monaghan – 41:41
82nd Craig Melrose – 42:05
83rd Nathalie Smith – 42:24
91st Charlotte McKay – 48:29 (2nd F60)
94th Sharon Doherty – 55:04
With a fantastic haul of medals for the Harriers senior teams it was over to our juniors to show what they can do on the day.
The under 11 girls were in outstanding form fishing 4th team, with Stella McCabe producing the individual run of the day with her 7th place. The hard work in training is really paying off with those who ran last year all showing significant improvement. The biggest time improvement came from Jonathon Lamont improving his time by just under 2 minutes on the previous year. Stella McCabe and Orla Trainer both shaved over 1 minute off their previous times and Erin McEleny will be delighted to take a further 40 seconds off her previous time. Evie Harrison rounded off the day with a very creditable time of 18 minutes for the 4km course in her first County Championship event.
U11’s – 1 mile
7th Stella McCabe – 6:49
20th Orla Trainer – 7:45
29th Emily Paul – 8:22
30th Isabel Lafferty – 8:23
U13’s – 3km
9th Jonathon Lamont – 12:19
15th Scarlett Farrell – 13:25
U15’s – 3km
18th Lewis Scott – 12:13
9th Erin McEleny – 13:28
24th Daniel Masalskis – 14:46
U17’s – 4km
6th Evie Harrison – 18:07