| Harriers get taste of national action |
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| Written by Paul Ward | |
 The sun shone for the 10 Calderglen Harriers who were in action at the National Cross Country Champion-ships at Callendar Park in Falkirk on Sunday.
In the senior races, Frances Maxwell was the only representative in a field of 184 women on a firm but tough 8km course. Frances is in great form just now and was rewarded with a finishing position of 88th and a time of 36:57, beating many of her regular rivals and extending her lead in the Harriers Club Championship and Grand Prix also. Nine Harriers’ men made it to the start line to join one of the biggest national fields seen for many years. The cavalry charge of around 450 men seemed faster and more tightly grouped than usual as the frozen ground provided excellent traction for all up the first hill at the start of the 12km course. By the end of the first lap the field was relatively strung out but with many close battles throughout the field. Alan Cullie was away and clear for the Harriers from the gun and stretched out to finish strongly in 47:25 (162nd). Eddie Reid found the field so tightly packed on the first lap that he was almost pushed into the frozen pond! Had he been wearing skates that could have been a handy short cut. However, Eddie recovered from that incident to finish in 49:53 (227th). Ian Rae’s strength on the country was in evidence as he stayed in front of Jim Holmes to record a time of 52:16 with Jim slipping gradually back with each lap to finish in 52:57. Stuart Waugh made his return to the National after an absence of four years and was hot on Jim’s heels, finishing in 53:09, comprehensively beating many of his veteran rivals. David Herbertson was in close contention with Ian, Jim and Stuart after the first lap but gradually faded to finish in 53:56, a time he was however delighted with. David Wardrope is currently well into his marathon training and wanted to maintain a good, consistent pace throughout. This he seemed to do, finishing in 61:08. Chas Steven looked comfortable and strong as he powered through the course, finishing in 67:19. Russell Couper knew he was going to struggle with the distance and indeed became increasingly detached from Chas as the race progressed, but managed to cross the line in 69:52. Meanwhile in Pollok Park three Harriers started the day with the parkrun 5k. Despite the National taking a number of runners away, the field was still an impressive 257. John McBride is now doing these events regularly and on this occasion he achieved a massive course best and a 5k personal best of 22:56, an improvement of around 30 seconds. A short distance ahead of John, Genevieve Freeman and George Stewart were enjoying their first parkruns and provided the shock result of the day if not the season. George found his fast twitch fibres in uncharacteristically short supply as he was out sprinted by Genevieve in the final 200m. Genevieve finishede in 22:47 as fourth lady with George one second behind. The club would like to say well done to all who took part in the National and parkrun. The Calderglen Harriers are always keen to get more people active and involved.They train on Monday and Thursday nights at the Sports Club at Calderglen Country Park. Further details of the location and times can be found at the website www.calderglenharriers.co.uk. |
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