Saturday 6th July saw the Harriers head over the Clyde again on our annual day trip to Kingarth, Isle of Bute for the second to last club race of the season, the Singlehurst Trophy.
This race has a bit of everything over its 5 kilometre distance, beginning with a downhill section on the road, before turning onto a light forest trail and finally a much feared hill climb, before looping back down onto the road to finish. The recent bad weather held off and the day turned out particularly warm, perfect conditions for the race.
There was a lot to play for in several categories, with Men’s defending Champion Dylan Crawford needing a strong showing to maintain his challenge on the leaderboard, with current leader Neil Lafferty not taking part today. As the runners set off it was Lewis McCrae who set the early pace on the tarmac, setting down a tough pace for the following group as they headed into the forest.
Heading into the hills, Dylan pulled back the lead and from that point there was no catching him, at the turn he established a bit of distance between him and the pack, descending the hill well ahead and going over the finish line in first place over a minute ahead of Lewis in second, with a time of 18:40. Dylan’s win today ensures the men’s championship goes down to the wire this year!
Another fascinating battle was taking place in the Men’s v50 category with Paul Monaghan, Stevie Campbell jousting for the age category. Paul and Stevie both had to put in big efforts to ensure maximum points taken, and it was Paul who had the edge today, taking third overall, with Stevie recording a very creditable 5th overall.
A notable run also came from Stephen Hanley, running the course again for the first time in years – in fourth place, Stephen put in a really strong effort and kept it up despite feeling the burn in the last half kilometre.
There were great performances all round from Chris Mooney, fighting back after a bout of Covid; Aaron McCrone and Alan McCrae were neck and neck right to the line with Aaron eventually pulling away to finish six seconds ahead.
In the ladies race, Summer Taggart and Evie Harrison had a great battle over the entire course, with Evie just in the lead coming off the hill section. Summer managed to keep the pace and pulled ahead as the two girls came up road, going over in first place two seconds ahead of Evie in 25:52. A great effort from both girls, particularly as they are running in the U17 / U20 categories respectively.
Liz Gemmell was next in for the ladies, followed by Lynne Harrison with a new pb over the course in 26:57. Cheryl Thomas was the only other lady to break the 30 minute barrier in 28:25, Helen Crawford coming agonisingly close in 30:17. There were other strong runs from Debbie McKenzie, Yvonne Prager, Doris Heron and Charlotte McKay.
Four junior racers completed the shorter 3k course which mercifully takes the hill section out of the route. Over the line first was Elijah Taylor (13:24) continuing his fine form. Next in was Orla Trainer in 15:54, and the battle of the Mooney brothers saw James sneak in ahead of Harry by one second in 17:08.
A huge thank you to Shaun Lyon and his family for continuing to host the race, and to the volunteers who came over to help out and support the runners. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!