A bit of a race report catch-up from the last 2 Club Merit League races, the Club Cross Country Champs and the Bannerman Trail Race.
The 2021-22 Merit League has been running pretty well albeit with a few race swaps and re-schedules as the CoVID hangover was still affecting our usual events.
Prior to these races, Craig and Scott raced the Scottish National XC Champs on 26th Feb in Falkirk – after 2020’s horrendous weather and course conditions it was surprisingly nice weather and pleasantly solid underfoot for the 10k course. Just one localised swamp/ditch section where you couldn’t see how deep or uneven it was (and it wasn’t even….) – some cracking falls and face-plants in the post-race videos plus at least one shoe eaten by the swamp 😊. 30 Merit League points for Craig that day with Scott scooping 29 points.
Club Cross Country Champs 20th March 2022:
In 2021 we ran a summer (odd we know….) Club XC Champs – the E.W. Langlands Trophy has been awarded since 1890 (apart from during both wars) so a pandemic wasn’t going to stop that!
We altered the 2021 course very slightly due to the summer undergrowth but on 20th March 2022 we were back to our usual course and the glorious mud/bog section on the Kelvin walkway behind the riding school. We’re talking shoe-eating mud half-way up your wellies. There had been a path created by the locals which went round the bog – it was a slightly longer route with low hanging branches and loads of exposed tree roots but not bog. Harriers were given the option to either straight-line it through the bog or take the other longer route, runners choice. One harrier took the longer route – you can probably tell from the picture 😊.
Numbers were small due to various reasons – CoVID, injury, ultra training etc but it was great to again be racing, especially on home turf. We had our usual flour arrows marking the course but Dan took the scenic route round the path rather than up to the trig point (just once though) then was spotted heading back towards the running track after just one lap (of 2) of Maryhill Park. Sorry Dan – I can still picture your shoulders slumping after I shouted you 😊. We’ll get some GPS trackers for the June Club Trail Race as that’s normally where we lose harriers…..
Our 2022 XC Champions were declared and at least one pair of trainers ended up in the bin afterwards. Great to have Linda back racing after a long-term injury.
Thanks to Margaret for the support and timekeeping and Scott for bringing the cakes! That wraps up our 2021-22 XC season.
Results:
1st Craig 28.42 Men’s Champion
2nd Scott 33.50
3rd Kenny 37.53
4th Dan 38.16
5th Linda 40.52 Women’s Champion & Women’s Veteran Champion
6th Chris 41.45
Club Bannerman Trail Race 14th April 2022:
Another club race which has been running for ages with the Bannerman Shield dating back to 1898. Whilst the race format has changed over the years and the shield is now retired, it’s a popular club race and takes the form of a trail race within Dawsholm Park.
It’s a full-on fast race from the ‘off’ with plenty of climbs and steps to really kill the legs. The first lap generally feels OK (albeit tough) but the steps and climbs on the second lap really hit your legs hard. It was a bit muddy in the odd place but generally good running conditions.
Again numbers were small for the same reasons – CoVID, injury, ultra training plus a few people were away on holidays/visiting (that thing we used to do….).
Our 2022 XC Champions were declared and I’m pretty sure no trainers ended up in the bin this time. Margaret has been training well after coming off an injury so it was a well-deserved title for her. Our Champs were crowned and we went off to count those steps as there always seem to be more from last year 😊.
Thanks to Caroline for the support and Finn for the support and timekeeping. Great also to hear that Finn has started running again after a long lay-off.
Results:
1st Craig 22.34 Men’s Champion
2nd Scott 24.52
3rd Kenny 29.22
4th Chris 32.16
5th Margaret 33.47 Women’s Champion
