The Valley Dash 2020 Results

What a difference a year makes! Nataliya Petkova finished last years race in last place (by a fair margin) but 12 months later she romped home in first place knocking 3 minutes off her previous time. Proof positive what  a good club, decent coaching and a dose of determination can do to your performance. Also improving substantially on his previous outing was Brian Keachie who came home in second, followed very closely by a fast finishing Ken Monaghan! Well done to you all.

Nataliya, Brian and Ken were among the 36 intrepid Harriers who took on the  individual club handicap – The Valley Dash – a challenging 7.25 kilometre  circuit, featuring a combination of road, hill and trail racing.

Despite the sodden (or should that be ‘sodding’) conditions everyone looked to be in great spirits. I think we were just happy to be back mixing with old friends and having a crack at a ‘real’ race as opposed to the vitual events that we have all become used to.

Also improving on previous performances was ‘the handicapper’. Of the 36 finishers, 33 were were within 2 minutes of their prediction, with Stephen McDowell only 3 seconds out. His big failures were the times given to Calum and Ross Haswell who were a bit detached at the back of the field. Apologies guys, obviously too much emphasis was given to past performance rather than current form 🙂

Fastest man on the night was Richard Mair and fastest woman was Laura Haggerty.

Our thanks go to the timekeepers, officials and marshals without whom these events could not take place. Special thanks are also due to Alasdair Hood who provided the runners and officials with much needed hot drinks and cake –  courtesy of the wonderful ‘Coffee Press’.

Full results are here – Results