Early Season Half Marathons From Near And Not So Near

BARCELONA HALF MARATHON

On Sunday Feb 15^th, the City of Barcelona hosted one of the biggest Half Marathons in the calendar and a number of Kilmarnock Harrier athletes took the opportunity to split the Winter up a bit by jetting off to take part alongside around 15,000 other athletes. Weather was perfect on race morning and at the 8.45am start there was next to no wind on the flat course by the Med.

Arguably the performance of the day as far as Kilmarnock contingent was concerned, came from past Men’s Captain Connell Drummond who came home with a shiny new pb for his mornings work. Connell clocked a cracking time of 1.20.30 to place him very highly in the field and his next target of sub 80 minutes surely can’t be too far away.

Defying 3 weeks of running inactivity due to Achilles issues, Paula Wilson not only completed the 13.1 miles, but also gained Bronze Standard in the Club Standards Scheme in the process which was a tremendous effort. Scott Russell geared up for his Ironman debut in July by running an excellent 90 minute Half Marathon so the likeable partners had cause to celebrate their respective races.

Scott Martin clocked a solid 1.16.18 to place 140^th overall, while the Lyden brothers Scott and Mark both had good runs with the latter well inside his pre race, sub 2 hour target.

Special mentions too, go to three others who joined the Killie Six for the trip. Stephen Allan of Kirkintilloch Olympians clocked a huge lifetime best of 1.14.11, while UK based Australians Melissah Gibson (1.24) and Katelyn Cahill (1.56) were both also within their targets with pb’s.

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STRATHAVEN HALF

At the inaugural Strathaven Half Marathon on Sunday 22nd February, Scott Lyden and Ali Neil were taking part and representing Kilmarnock Harriers .

Running his second 13.1 miler in a week, Scott shaved his Barcelona time by running 89.36 with Alistair not too far behind in a bit over the 90 minute mark. Both these runs were fantastic efforts as conditions on the day were absolutely horrific, so well done to both of them.

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BALLOCH TO CLYDEBANK HALF MARATHON

In a field of almost 400 athletes who lined up at Balloch Shores on Sunday 8th March, Connell Drummond smashed his personal best for the 13.1 miles and achieved one of his yearly targets in the process by dipping under the 80 minute barrier for the first time.

Connells time of 1.19.48 gained him 35^th place overall.

Next up was Scott Lyden in a time of 1.26.24 and not too far outside of his lifetime best, while Stewart McRoberts completed the trio by running not too far outside his own best time despite suffering badly blistered feet.

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INVERNESS HALF MARATHON

Also on March 8th but a bit further afield, Mark Lyden and Scott Martin were in a field of just under 1,900 at the popular Inverness Half Marathon.

In blustery conditions, Scott crossed the line in 1.17.37 for 26^th place overall, and with Mark continuing to chip away at his sub 1.50 target by running 1.54, both men can be happy with a couple of solid early season runs.