Senior Race Round Up 5th January 2022   

Your captains hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Year and are ready to take on 2022!  Although some of the traditional Christmas and New Year events locally (notably the Turkey Trot and Beith 10k) did not run this year, Harriers have still been making their mark around the country.

We start the roundup with the older juniors/seniors Christmas handicap held on the 16^th of December.  Conditions could not have been better for the 29 athletes who put a toe on the line for the final handicap race of the year.  First man across the line was young Calum Riddell, and first lady across the line was Lorna Stevenson; the fastest man around the 5k course was Craig Ferguson in a time of 16:19, and fastest lady was Morgan McBurnie in 20:31.  Well done to everyone who turned out and had a go, particularly Katy Orr who ran with her guide runner Josh.  It was great to see so many different training groups represented on the night!

The 19^th of December saw the traditional Cyclists vs. Harriers at Irvine Sports club.  Typically for the runners, after a spell of mild weather the day dawned frosty which always tends to give the cyclists an advantage!  And so it was to be, with cyclists dominating on the day – maybe this year it will be muddy…  Jonathon Downey was fastest Harrier home on the day in 9^th place overall and 3^rd runner in an excellent time of 27:15 around the tricky multi terrain course. Jordan Phillips followed in 30:36, Jamie Nix in 31:01, Stevie Robson in 31:33, Connell Drummond in 32:01 and Kara McKenzie-Tait in 33:55 – great running from everyone.

Kara has indeed been a busy lady over the holidays, as she put her toe on the line again at the Tillicoultry 10k on the 27^th of December alongside teammate Lorna Baird.  Both ladies had excellent races, with Lorna posting a great PB of 37:58 and Kara running 39:22 – Lorna was 7^th lady overall and 2^nd in her age category and Kara was 13^th lady overall and 6^th in her age category, fantastic running ladies as always.

Not content to let the girls have all the fun on the 27^th, Martin Brown made a very worthwhile trip to the Ribble Valley 10k.  This race is one of the fastest in the UK winter calendar despite an undulating course, and it attracts a seriously high calibre field.  Finishing in 35^th overall in an outstanding PB time of 31:17, the early start on the day and a quiet Christmas were definitely worth it – well done Martin!

Training has started back this week, and we will start to look forward to the likes of the Allan Scally road relays and National XC just shortly (restrictions permitting) – keep an eye on the club’s social media in the coming weeks for details on how to sign up.