Tuesday 31 October 2017

DATES FOR DIARY

Here are the dates of the next few races for your diary...

Saturday 25th November is the Lanarkshire XC Championships in Coatbridge...everyone can run under 11 and upwards.

Sunday 3rd December is the clubs annual Christmas Fun run at Calderglen Country Park...everyone can run and in fancy dress if you want.  This is a relay race for the kids and there is adult straight race covering 6k.

Saturday 9th December is the West District XC Championships in Irvine...this is for runners from under 13 and upwards. 

More info for each will be on the blog hopefully by this weekend so keep an eye on the junior blog.

Thanks
Richard

BLOWN AWAY AT RELAYS IN CUMBERNAULD

Team Calderglen Harriers
The last Saturday of October before the clocks went back was Cumbernauld cross country race. To give it it's official title it was the 2017 National Cross Country Relay Championships organised brilliantly again by Scottish Athletics bringing together the whole Scottish running community descending on Cumbernauld Park and competing for those National titles.  Again this is an event the junior Harriers have experience at last competing in 2014 so another welcome return for Calderglen Harriers.  This year were able to put out a Young Male team covering all the required age groups of under 13/15/17.
 
It was a dry day with a mild and strong wind in some parts of the course.  First out on leg 1 duty to set the tone for the team was Lewis Moir. It was a crowded start and you always need to make sure you don't get spiked Lewis got caught up in the crowd and found himself slowing down on the first hill getting pushed back. However as the race progressed it stretched out as predicted giving Lewis the chance to open up to move up the field.  Lewis covered the 2.5k distance convincingly coming home in a great time of (11:30) for his first time at Cumbernauld. Patrick Saez was taking over on leg 2 with the ability to do well but was finding the hanging about before he started stressful and cold!  Patrick ran his leg in (11:44) putting a good time for a demanding course for all runners of all abilities.  The final leg went to under 17 runner Chris McCarron who was recovering from a chest infection and had missed some cross country training. Despite this drawback Chris crossed the line in (11:35).
 
Great running from all 3 boys showing they are all evenly matched on this type of terrain. All results can be seen on link below and there is video footage on Scottish Athletics website.

http://events.scottishathletics.org.uk/events/19966-17466-lindsays-scottishathletics-national-cross-country-relay-championships

Under 11 Boys storm to 4th place in Lanarkshire Road Relay's

On a wet Saturday 21st October was the Lanarkshire AAA annual road relay held in Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge.  Despite being at the start of the school October week it is a popular event with the Lanarkshire based athletic clubs and this year was a welcome return of the junior Harriers,  last competing there in 2014.  This year we had recruited 6 young athletes to form an under 11 boys team and an under 15 girls team.

First out was the boys contesting against clubs like nearest neighbour EKAC, Cambuslang Harriers, Cumbernauld and local club Airdrie Harriers. The task was to each run 1.2k distance around the park on an out and back route as quickly as you could. New to competition running Francis Santangeli ran the first leg with everyone at the start applying his best pace management amongst all the club the other runners. Frances competed strongly and crossed the line in (5:17) in 9th place.  Next up was Ben Buchanan, last competing in the Great Scottish Run, taking on leg 2 responsibility. Ben had a great run managing to claw back 2 places finishing in 7th with a time of (5:06) and last leg went to experienced runner Kai Wheeler who ran a time of (4:52, 4th fastest in his leg) and pulling in a final 3 places with the team finishing 54 seconds adrift in 4th place.

Despite being the most cruel position for any athlete missing out on a podium position in 4th place, a fine performance by all the boys who all showed good team spirit and grit to get to 4th place out of 13 complete teams.

Next up was the under 15 girls with sisters Brooke & Renee Conneff & Freya Kane flying the flag so to speak. All 3 girls were enthusiastic & excited about competing but showing a little pre-race nerves before they started asking twenty questions to Coach Richard about race protocol.  Brooke was on first leg duty for the team running the 2.4k out and back route coming in 6th place in (11:23). With no sister rivalry Renee was on the second 2nd leg and despite running a good time of (11:04) the team dropped back to 7th place leaving 3rd leg runner Freya Kane to pull back places. Freya competed while matching Renee's time of (11:04) and bringing the team back to 6th place.

Well done to all and there is was alot of pictures taken by Cameron Newall from another club.  See link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/camerons_pics/sets/72157687385868171

Friday 20 October 2017

LANARKSHIRE AAA ROAD RELAY

We have 2 teams entered this year, an under 11 Boy team and under 15 Girl team.  The teams are:

Under 11 Boys: Francis Santangeli, Ben Buchanan & Kai Wheeler
Under 15 Girls: Brooke Conneff, Renee Conneff & Freya Kane

The under 11 Boys race starts at 11:50am.

The under 15 Girls race starts at 12:45pm.

Can everyone be there for 11am to allow me to pick up numbers and declare running order. Also gives people time to get organised and warm up before race. We will meet at the Visitor Centre and the address is Townhead Road, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, ML5 1RX.

We need 2 volunteers to help support the race so we have Andrew & Lorraine Buchanan, Les Kane and myself to offer our services. When we get there tomorrow we can find out if they need more than 2 and the duties.  Myself, Andrew & Lorraine Buchanan are running in the senior event which starts at 1.30pm.

NATIONAL SHORT COURSE XC (KIRKCALDY) U15/U17/U20s

This years National short course XC will be held for the first time in Kirkcaldy on Saturday 11th November.

Start times & distance are:

under 15 Girls, 11:30am, distance 2k
under 15 boys, 11:45am, distance 2k
under 17 women, 12pm, distance 3k
under 17 men, 12:20pm, distance 3k
under 20 women, 12:40pm, distance 4k

This is the first of the straight races for cross country. Cost is covered by club.

I did send an email to parents of athletes who have eligible son or daughter on 17th October

I need names by Wednesday 25th October as this is pre entry only.

Richard

Tuesday 17 October 2017

WEST DISTRICT XC......A DAY AT THE RACES

 

Lucy in good form on Leg 3
 

Eve after turning point
The first cross country championship of 2017/18 season had a welcome return to the Hamilton Park Racecourse last being there in 2013. The weather  forecast was to be dry and thankfully the weather forecasters were right. This meant the middle part of the course was firm underfoot but the start and end of course was like a quagmire of mud as the horses don't race on these sections of the course. This year was another first for our junior endurance section returning to this event after a 2 year absence last taking part in 2014.
 
During this period the club has been developing with longer training sessions, regular drill work, Parkrun participation, increasing age group to join club, 2 regular training sessions (Wednesdays & Saturdays) which is a minimum for all other clubs, performance and development training groups and coach education.  The relays for the juniors are always hard to recruit from my point of view as you need all 3 age groups involved u13/15/17 which is a juggling act if one person decides to pull out or take part can have domino effect in organising the entry forms for teams.  Despite this we entered 2 Girls teams and 1 Boy teams.
 

Olivia after turning point
First out on the course was the under 13 girls were we had Olivia Hendry for team A and Eve Lindsay for team B. Both girls are 1st year under 13s and acquitted themselves well over the 2.5k course.  First and quickest female Harrier of the day was Olivia in 12.53 followed by Eve in 13.34. Next up for leg 2 was the Conneff sisters, Renee & Brooke, who were not phased about running the same leg. Renee was first back in 13.08 followed shortly by Brooke in 13.45 and this left the leg 3 runners to complete the relay. Normally this leg is primarily for under 17s but you can have an under 15 so you are up against experienced and strong runners. As the rest of the teams did both Freya and Lucy put in a good shift against the other clubs. Surprisingly Lucy ran a great leg and was second fastest female Harrier with a time of 12.55 with Freya, only being an under 15, completing her race in 13.06.  Team A's overall time was 39.07 and Team B 40.14. Next up the boys.
 

Patrick at start of leg 2
There was a few call offs with the boys and some persuading to encourage participation giving us 1 complete team. First up was Lewis Moir who had a plane to catch to the sun so was under orders to get round quick to get to the airport on time! This was Lewis's first cross country in this age group so he didn't know how he would fair amongst his peers. Lewis got round in 11.18 with training partner Patrick Saez taking the baton for leg 2. Patrick has had a good season and coming back to full fitness with a great time of 11.41 and taking on the last section of the relay was Louis Blake who like the girls race was up against some stiff competition. There was some confusion with Louis starting and he ended up going before Patrick returned so the officials don't have a time he left but only when returned. His official time was 8.49 but in real terms likely to be 11.49. These mistakes happen and this one of many reasons we encourage people to race to understand how the event goes on the day.
 
Overall great return for the junior endurance section to Scottish Athletics National Championships and the club goal is we continue this as the club and young athletes continue to develop.
 
Richard
 

Saturday 14 October 2017

WEST DISTRICT TEAMS AND RUNNING ORDER

The teams are list here:

  Girls AGirls B
u13Leg 1Olivia HendryEve Lindsay
u15/13Leg 2Renee ConneffBrooke Conneff
u17/u15Leg 3Freya KaneLucy Saez

    Boys A Boys B
u13 Leg 1 Lewis Moir  
u15/13 Leg 2 Patrick Saez  
u17/u15 Leg 3 Louis Blake  


I need to declare these teams and running order in advance and collect your numbers, if anyone is no longer able to run, then please let me know this evening preferably and certainly by first thing tomorrow morning. 

As I said in the earlier blog we have 2 Young Female teams and 1 Young Male team running but have capacity for another team of 3 Young Male Athletes.

So if you want a run, please let me know this evening and I will update the teams.

This is a club event with juniors and seniors running, the weather is anticipated to be like today so lets see what Calderglen Harriers can do!

Richard




TEAMS FOR WEST DISTRICT XC RELAY

Teams for the XC relay on Sunday will be selected from the following names.

The plan is to meet at the main stand for 10:15am in Hamilton Park Racecourse (ML3 0DW). The 1st race is the Girls at 11.30am then the boys at 12:05pm. Can you remember to bring Calderglen Harrier vests and spikes/trail shoes.

Young Female entrants: Olivia Hendry, Eve Lindsay, Renee Conneff, Brooke Conneff, Freya Kane, Lucy Saez and Ashleigh Moir

Young Male entrants: Lewis Moir, Patrick Saez, Louis Blake, Ewan Tracey,  Fergus Kane, Chris McCarron


Will be running 2 Young Female Teams and 1 Young Male Team and there is option for a 2nd Young Male Team.

Anyone that wants to run let me know ASAP.

Anyone listed above that cannot race let me know asap.

Teams and running order will be posted later today (Saturday)

Monday 2 October 2017

WEEKEND ROUND UP 30 SEPT / 1ST OCT (part 2-GSR)




It was a fine Saturday morning for the Great Scottish Run (2.5k) in Glasgow city centre.We met up for 9am and proceeded to go for a warm up round the course. Racers were then called into pens depending on age (9-11) and (12-15). The call went out for the more serious  runners to be at the front. The gun went off and it was a  frantic dash along George Square before heading off into the Merchant City , along Argyle Street before heading back to George Square. 
 
There was some fine performances from the Harriers and hopefully we can build on this. The results were as follows:

Patrick 10.42
Fergus 11.27
Kai  11.42
Lewis 11 43
Ben 11.53
Freya 12.34
Lucy 12.59
Sophie  13.14
Anna 14.06
Ashley  14.08
Eve 14.34
Emma 14.52

Link to results page: http://greatscottishrun.com/results/
 
Thanks Mark for the report and good performances from all with big improvements from athletes from last year.

Richard

LANARKSHIRE AAA ROAD RELAY

The Lanarkshire Road Relay Championship will take place within Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge on roads which are not open to traffic.The event takes place on Saturday 21st October. Details are as follows:

Race Start Time Age Group Distance
11.30 Under 11 Girls 3 x 1200 metres
11.50 Under 11 Boys 3 x 1200 metres
12.10 Under 13 Girls & Boys 3 X 2000 metres
12.45 Under 15 Girls & Boys 3 x 2400 metres
13.30 *Under 17 Men & Women 
13.30 Senior Men 4 x 4000 metres
13.30 Senior Ladies 3 x 4000 metres

* U17 men/women will not be allowed to run in Senior Men’s/Women’s teams.

Please note if you wish your child to be entered for this race I need names by Wednesday 11th October or make a comment on closed FB page post.

Mums & Dads, any family members:  LAAA state every club must provide a minimum of 2 officials / volunteers. Failure to do so will result in your club entries being declined. Let me know if you can.

Please see Richard at the club.

WEEKEND ROUND UP 30 SEPT / 1ST OCT (part 1)

Rouken Glen Park Junior 2k Parkrun #45 - 01/10/17

Well done to Olivia for achieving Pb.

16th, Olivia Hendry, 9:21, 2nd junior parkrun & Pb by 10 seconds

102 runners in the field

Link to results: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/roukenglen-juniors/results/latestresults/


The Great Scottish Junior run was on Saturday 30th September. Photos and report pending.....