Senior Race Report 6th June 2023

The weather has been hot for the last few weeks, and so has the racing! It has been another couple
of busy weeks for our senior and U20 athletes, with lots going on around the country and some
really outstanding performances being reported. As the build up to Roon the Toon continues, it is
great to see so many of our athletes delivering results.

We start this week with a trip to Manchester Sportcity for the BMC Grand Prix meeting on the 27th of
May, where U20 athlete Jamie Philips posted an excellent PB of 3:52.95 in the 1500m for 5th place. It
is fantastic to see the club represented at meetings of this calibre, great running Jamie.
On Sunday the 28th of May a number of our athletes travelled through to Edinburgh for the EMF
event. We had three athletes in the half marathon, with John Speirs first Harrier home in 1:16:24 for
72nd overall and 3rd V45 athlete. Also running were Colin Anderson who completed his first HM in an
excellent 1:28:24, and Catriona Hastings who crossed the line in 2:31:42. Next up were our
marathon runners who were certainly challenged by the heat as the day went on. First Harrier
across the line was Ross Granger in an excellent marathon debut of 2:57:47. He was followed home
by Nick Carter in a huge PB of 3:32:47, Steven Robson in 4:05:41, Kirsty Mackay in 4:32:59, Vicki
Dean in 4:38:54 and Lauren Little in 5:01:56. Huge congratulations to all who completed on the day!
Also taking on the half marathon distance on the 28 th were Gordon and Jacqui Sandler who
competed in the Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon in and around Campbeltown. Gordon finished in
1:52:22 and Jacqui finished in a new PB of 1:59:19 – well done both.

A little closer to home, we celebrated legendary coach Jim Young’s 90th birthday and 75 year
anniversary with the club with the Jim Young Big Breakfast Race – a 5k road race held in and around
Craufordland Estate. We were treated to a glorious morning, and a total of 45 Harriers and friends
competed in this race which also incorporated the Rowallan Rose Bowl this year to make the event
even more special! First across the line in 16:25 was U20 athlete Jonathon Downey, followed by
Craig Ferguson in 16:51 and new member Owen Walpole in 17:06. For the ladies, Lynsey O’Connor
was first back and 7th overall in 18:50, followed by Kara McKenzie-Tait in 19:03 and Colleen Tait in
20:30. Full results will be available on the Harriers website, and as a club event this carries an extra
bonus 5 points in the summer league tables which have also been updated. There was a slight error
made with the result of the Rose Bowl team – I have had it confirmed that the winning team was
actually made up of Owen Walpole, Ellie Anderson, James Wales and Scott Russell whose names will
be engraved on this historic trophy.

On Friday the 2nd , all roads led to Glasgow with Jamie Phillips following up his successful run at the
BMC meet the previous week with a great run in the 800m at the BMC regional/GAA Miler meet at
Crownpoint to post another PB of 1:50.99 to finish 5th in the men’s A race. I believe this is one of the
fastest 800m times recorded by an U20 athlete at Kilmarnock, so huge congratulations to Jamie and
coaches.

The endurance athletes were lured to Pollok Park with the incentive of a burger and beer at the
Brian Goodwin 10k. A total of 8 athletes completed the race, with 4 of these finishing in top 10 age
group places. Kara McKenzie-Tait was first Harrier home in 38:35 (5th SW). Next back was Connell Drummond in 40:21 (9th V50) and then Alasdair Murray in 42:46 (5th V55), with Sasha I’Anson rounding up our top ten finishes as 2nd U20 lady in 46:02. Also completing the race and enjoying the hospitality afterwards were Calum Haswell (46:59), Scott Lyden (49:35), Mark Lyden (58:22) and Stuart Nibloe (59:27). Well done to all who raced – it was definitely a hot one out there!

To round up this report, we go back across to Edinburgh where 3 Harriers travelled to compete in
the Scottish Road Mile incorporating the BMAF Road Mile Championships at Silverknowes. Jamie
Nix was 11 th overall in the open race in 5 minutes dead – well done Jamie! Laura Haggarty and
Jennifer Beattie were competing in the Masters races where there were championship medals up for
grabs. Laura absolutely dominated the race for the W35/40/45 categories, blazing a trail up the
prom to finish in 5:10 to take the V35 gold a full 20s ahead of the next finisher. Jennifer was 2nd V40
in 5:41 to take the silver medal.

With another race in the league completed (remember club events carry an extra bonus 5 points!)
there have been a few changes in the tables. Ellie Anderson continues to hold the lead at the top of
the ladies table with 61 points, with Amanda Bryden 2nd on 45 and Sasha I’Anson now moving into 3rd with 41 points. In the men’s table, Jonathon Downey now takes the lead with 64 points with Neil
Todd now second with 60. Colin Anderson makes up the top 3 on 51 points. There is still all to play
for, with Roon the Toon this weekend carrying bonus points also. Following this we then have
Kilmaurs 5k, Cumbrae 10 mile race and Dundonald 10k – get your entries in! Remember that your
best Parkrun, half marathon and marathon can also gain you league points – more details on how to
submit times will follow later in the year.

We look forward to seeing a massive turnout of Harriers on Sunday at Roon The Toon, but if you are
not competing it would be great if you could consider helping – please speak to Ian Gebbie in the
first instance. Volunteering is a great way to be part of the event without actually having to run!