In No Mean City, author H. Kingsley Long vividly described the brutal razor gang battles that once took place around Glasgow Green in the 1920s. Hardened street fighters clashing for territory in scenes of chaos and violence.
Fast forward a century and Glasgow Green once again witnessed conflict, though this time it involved a group of Maryhill Harriers attempting to assemble a massive gazebo. Where the razor gangs battled for turf, we battled a frame heavier than a car, mysterious poles, and several connectors that definitely weren’t there last week. Eventually, after a tense standoff between the 4 confused runners and a frame that refused to cooperate, the gazebo was successfully erected. A triumph of engineering and teamwork, and what a sight it was. Once that battle had been won, we remembered there was also a race to run.
Maryhill Harriers were well represented at the Allan Scally Road Relay, fielding five teams and a total of 19 runners across the 4 × 5km relay format.
Leg One – Experience vs Youth
The opening leg featured a mouth-watering showdown between Alex and Daniel, who have been trading blows in recent races. After Alex had the upper hand at the National XC the previous week, Daniel was out for revenge. Alongside Kev the trio ran stride for stride for much of the leg, before things got tactical in the final 400 metres. Daniel made the first move, launching his sprint slightly early. Alex, sensing an opportunity, nipped past in the closing stages. Kev kept his cool however, showing them how it’s done and holding them both off with a 19:08. Behind him Alex clocked 19:10, while Daniel finished close behind in 19:13. Both ran superb races, recording excellent PBs and continuing their fascinating battle! Elsewhere on leg one, Ben Peebles ran a solid 23:14, while Chris recorded 24:13, keeping things interesting as we went into Leg Two.
Leg Two – The Pacing Plan
I took over from Ben on leg two with a carefully considered pacing strategy: hold somewhere between 3:35 and 3:40 per kilometre, try not to explode halfway round, and ideally sneak under 18 minutes. And the plan worked…ish. Unfortunately, the chip timing system had other ideas, rounding my official result to 18:00.07. Still, it was a 10-second PB, which I was more than happy to take. Amy picked up the baton from Daniel and drove her team into the lead with an impressive 21:01. Other strong runs came from Gwen (24:39), Sorcha (25:11) and Linda (26:04).
Leg Two – Composure Restored
I handed off to Claire for leg three and, having earlier been thoroughly flummoxed by the gazebo engineering puzzle, proved that running a rapid 5km was far easier than assembling outdoor furniture. An excellent 22:21 to put us in the lead. Further strong runs came from Kenny (24:08), Hannah (25:47 and another PB!), Harrier for the day Danielle (26:36) and Caroline (29:52). Caroline marking a very welcome return to racing in blue.
Anchor Leg – The Stevenson Showdown
The final leg delivered another intriguing contest, this time featuring the Stevenson twins. Heather set off strongly, clocking 22:09, but Andrew was in pursuit and produced a determined 20:14, clawing back nearly two minutes. A sub 20 is surely on the cards soon, he has even apparently been training! Meanwhile James delivered another comfortable sub 20 with 19:44, finishing just ahead of Derek, who recorded 20:05.
All told, it was a fantastic afternoon for team Maryhill : strong performances across the board, several PBs, and plenty of competitive racing. And most importantly, another superb outing for the Maryhill Mega Gazebo, which provided shelter and a visible landmark from three postcodes away.
A great day.
A great event.
A great club.
A great gazebo.
