Scottish Athletics National Cross Country Relay Championships
 
The Scottish National Cross Country Relays took place in its usual site in Cumbernauld on Saturday 22nd October.  Young Males and Young Females races were over a hilly 2.5Km.

The only club medal of the day was won by the boy’s A-team of Jamie MacKinnon (9:58), Fraser Glass (10:00) and Lewis Boyle (8:53) who came 3rd, with Lewis running the 2nd fastest lap and Jamie 3rd U13.

The remaining boys teams were:
12th Aidan Johnson (10:12), Scott McKay (9:59) and Craig Young (9:57).
18th Lewis Serpell (10:47), Craig Jardine (10:17) and Liam Johnson (9:49).
24th Ewan Rae (10:38), Calum McCormack (10:53) and Liam McKeown (10:02).
41st Adam Brady (10:43), Ritchie Austin (11:10) and Paul Harper (11:01).
Simon Fraser (11:26) ran unsupported but came 41st in the first lap.
 
The girl’s A-team narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing 4th with Holly Little (10:56), Gillian Black (10:35) and Danielle Beattie (11.48).  Holly was the 3rd U13 and Gillian 2nd U15.

The remaining teams were:
11th Robyn Connolly (11.02), Melanie Chiswell (11.45), Maria Milliken (11.48).
21st Cari Kiddie (12.07), Anya Morrison (12.10), Eliza Chiswell (12.27).
Cara Thom (12.56) and Iona Robinson (12.48) formed an incomplete team but were 35th after lap2.
 
The men and women raced over a 4km course. The results in the Senior/Junior  Men’s race were:
5th David Vernon (13:03), Sean Fontana (13:30), Ethan Sloan-Dennison (13:48) and  Derek Gibb (14:20). David ran the 2nd fastest lap.
50th Jason Boyle (15:30), Gerry Craig (16:10), Crawford Little (16:08) and Derek Watson (15:54).
58th Alex Potter (16:14), Tom Ord (17:05), Allan Ramsay (14:20) and Ralph Connolly (17:20).
Peter Ramsay (17:25) ran unsupported.
 
In the Senior/Junior  Women’s race:
11th Louise Warren (17:06), Claire McCracken (17:06) and Sarah Potter (16:07).
17th Rhian Dawes (17:21), Hollie Young (16:47) and Deborah Hannah (18:20).
46th Jennifer Hannah (18:44), Amy MacLellan (20:03), Joanna Sutton (19:25).

Full results are at this Link:             Photographs are at this Link:

Lynn McGarry 

Dunbartonshire AAA Cross Country Relays

Saturday 15th October saw a return to Duchess Wood in Helesburgh for the Dunbartonshire AAA Cross Country Relays, with athletes aged 9+ competing over a tough and demanding truly cross country course.
 
For the U11 race there was a fine turn out with many young athletes competing for the first time. The girls and boys both won 1st team medals and the boys were also 2nd team. The winning girls were, Amy Bissett (8:04), Mia Kennedy (8:25) and Beth Gibbons (8:42). Amy also took individual gold and Mia won bronze. The winning boys were John Lowe (7:51), Eden Web (7:54) and Connall Whyte (8:21). The 2nd placed boys team was Thomas Connolly, Finn Johnson and Lewis Urquhart. Also competing were, Sophie Urquhart, Sophie Jordan and Caitlin Keegan who were 4th team, and Amy McTaggart.

In the young athletes race the Girl’s A-team of Holly Little (U13, 8:51) , Emma Ferrie (U15, 9:18) and Gillian Black (U15, 8:39) won gold, with Holly and Gillian both winning fastest lap in their age groups. The Girl’s B-team of Cari Kiddie (U13, 9:56), Robyn Connolly (U13, 9:26) and Anya Morrison (U15, 9:39) won silver. The C-team of Kirsty Elliot (10:54), Kenna Francis (U13, 11:09) and Iona Robinson (U15, 11:37) was 7th. Nicole Waters (U13, 11:52) ran in a composite team with Kirkintilloch Olympians (A) which came 8th. The D-team of Anna Breckenridge (U13, 10:53) and Kirsty MacDonald (U13, 13:32) who lost a shoe, was incomplete.

The boys A-team of Aidan Johnson (U13, 8:26), Euan Urquhart (U15, 8:02) and Lewis Boyle (U17, 7:26) won gold, with all three boys winning fastest lap in their age group; and the B-team of Lewis Serpell (U13, 8:44), Scott McKay (U15, 8:11) and Liam Johnson, won silver. The C-team of Ritchie Austin (U13, 9:13) and Liam McKeown (U15, 9:02) was incomplete but was in 3rd place at the end of lap 2.

In the senior’s race, the men’s A team of Sean Fontana (13:06), Ethan Sloan-Dennison (13:49), Marc Austin (14:24) and Allan Ramsay (13:51) won gold. Sean was the fastest senior and Ethan was the fastest U20. The B team of Crawford Little (15:21), Derek Watson (15:44), Duncan Thompson (15:48) and Gerry Craig (15:38) was 4th. Crawford was the fastest Vet. The C team of Ralph Connolly (16:40), Joe Doyle (17:33), Peter Ramsey (17:04) and Martin Hayes (13:46) was 9th.

Full results at this link:            Photos at this link:

Lynn McGarry

Endurance Results

Sunday 19-09-11.
Stirling 10k.
Clair   McCracken        123rd  14thLady   38:28.
Clair   Thompson        176th   25thLady   40:37.

Great North Run.
Half Marathon.
Newcastle.
Alex  Potter                 178th.   1hr 21min 23sec.

Saturday 24-9-11.
Glasgow 5k Park Run.
Ethan Sloan-Dennison   1st    16:19.
Ralph Connolly             11th  3rdV45  18:47.

Strathclyde 5k Park Run.
Tom   Ord                     21st  2ndV50  20:35.

George Cummings Road Relay.
Houston.
2nd Ladies Team.
Clair  McCracken    16:21.
Donna Fynlayson    18:18.
Rhain Dawes         16:52.

Sunday 2-10-11.
Loch Ness Marathon.
Gerry Craig             13th  7thV40  2hrs 52min 24sec.
Clair Thompson       92nd  4thLady  3hsr 11min 54sec.
Chris Sheridan        160th              3hrs 21min 26sec. (PB)
Christine Catterson  223rd  18thLady  5thLV50  3hrs 26min 45sec.

Sunday 9-10-11.
Liverpool Marathon.
Mark Ashby          49th  2ndV50  3hrs 04min 58sec.

West District Cross Country Relays
 
The Cross Country season got off to a wet and soggy start on Saturday 8th October at Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge. There was an exceptional turnout from VP-Glasgow this year, with a total of 18 teams entered into the four races, and a medal winning team in each.
 
The Senior/Junior Women’s A Team won silver and there were bronze medals for the Senior/Junior Men’s A Team, the Young Females’ A Team and the Young Males’ A Team.
 
Senior/Junior Females 3 x 4000m race:
Team A: 2nd in 47:33. Louise Warren (Sen, 15:42), Rhian Dawes (U20, 15:54) and Claire McCracken (Sen, 15:57).
Team B: 5th in 48:47. Sarah Potter (U20, 14:46), Amy MacLellan (U20, 18:05) and Holly Young (U20, 15:56).
 
Senior/Junior Males 4 x 4000m race:
Team A: 3rd in 51:47. Sean Fontana (Sen, 12:44), Derek Gibb (Sen, 12:57), Alan Ramsay (Sen, 13:24) and David Vernon (U20, 12:42).
Team B: 10th in 55:40. Ethan Sloan-Dennison (U20, 12:56), Ben Stafford (U20, 14:03), Duncan Thomson (Vet, 15:29) and Martin Hayes (Sen, 13:12).
Team C: 21st in 59:18. Jason Boyle (Vet, 13:59), Derek Watson (Vet, 15:09), Alex Potter (Vet, 15:15) and Crawford Little (Vet, 14:55).
Team D: 33rd in 64:32. Ralph Connolly (Vet, 15:50), Tom Ord (Vet, 16:34), Peter Ramsay (Vet, 17:07) and Gerry Craig (Vet, 15:01).
Team E: Incomplete team of Peter Dawes (Vet, 16:39), Kenny Mitchell (Vet, 15:06) and Kenny McVey (Vet, 17:57) were in 38th place at the end of lap 3.
 
Young Females 3 x 2500m race:
Team A: 3rd in 28:16. Holly Little (U13, 9:26), Gillian Black (U15, 9:08) and Danielle Beattie (U17, 9:42). Gillian recorded the fastest lap of the race, despite having a cold.
Team B: 7th in 29:51. Robyn Connolly (U13, 9:52), Emma Ferrie (U15, 9:45) and Maria Milliken (U17, 10:14).
Team C: 14th in 31:11. Cara Thom (U13, 10:54), Anya Morrison (U15, 10:32) and Melanie Chiswell (U15, 9:45).
Team D: Incomplete team of Cari Kiddie (U13, 10.33) and Eliza Chiswell (U15, 10:30) were in 14th place at the end of lap 2.
 
Young Males 3 x 2500m race:
Team A: 3rd in 25:00. Jamie MacKinnon (U13, 8:39), Liam Turner (U15, 8:43) and Max Aitchison (U17, 7:38). Max recorded the fastest lap of the race.
Team B: 5th in 25:21. Aidan Johnstone (U13, 8:58), Fraser Glass (U15, 8:31), Lewis Boyle (U17, 7:52).
Team C: 7th in 25:35. Andrew Moreland (U13, 9:05), Euan Urquhart (U15, 8:23), Liam McLoone (U17, 8.07).
Team G: 12th in 26:21. Lewis Serpell (U13, 9:03), Liam McKeown (U15, 8:33), Liam Johnstone (U17, 8:45).
Team D: 13th in 26:36. Ewan Rae (U13, 9:06), Calum McCormack (U15, 9:05), Craig Young (U17, 8.25).
Team E: 15th in 26:40. Adam Brady (U13, 9:17), Craig Jardine (U15, 8:41), Keiron Rafferty (U17, 8:42).
Team F: 20th in 27:33. Guy Evans-Haggerty (U13, 9:23), Paul Harper (U15, 9:10),
Andrew McCormack (U17, 9.00).
 
Full results can be found at this link:  More photographs can be found at this link:

Lynn McGarry

Commonwealth Youth Games – Isle of Man
 
Congratulations to Chloe Lambert and John McCall on their performance at the Commonwealth Youth Games last month.
 
After winning both her heat and semi-final, Chloe won the Bronze medal in the 200m behind Dina Asher-Smith, the English Schools Champion, and Canadian Caroline Mourin-Houde.  Chloe’s time was 24.49.
John finished fourth in the heats of the 110m Hurdles and went onto finish a creditable fifth in the final in a time of 14.22. 
 
Congratulations must also go to coaches Bill Parker and Colin Sinclair. 

George Cummings

The VP-Glasgow team of Claire McCracken, Donna Finlayson and Rhian Dawes were second women's team, behind the home club Kilbarchan, at the George Cummings Relays on 24 September at Houston. 

Claire led the team off handing over in fourth place just behind the second and third teams.  Donna ran a good solid leg to maintain our postion and Rhian stormed round the last leg hauling in the runners from Shettleston and Garscube to bring us home in second place with an overall time of 51.31.   Individual times were Claire 16.21, Donna 18.18, Rhian 16.52. 
 
Sandra Branney

MacAndrew Road Relay Race
 
Dear Member,
 
Our Club is once again hosting the 72nd MacAndrew Road Relay Race on Saturday the 1st of October.  The race as always is open to Senior and U20 athletes.

The race will start and finish on Helensburgh Drive, Jordanhill, with registrations being accepted on the day.

The Club as always takes on a great responsibility when organising an event like this and we have to cater for about 500 competing athletes, supply 30 officials and 30 marshals.

We now require volunteers to assist with marshalling the course.  We will have 4 Police officers controlling what is potentially the busiest Road crossings but we will require members of all ages to assist with directing athletes along the route.

Can volunteers attend at the Refectory within Jordanhill School, Chamberlain Road, for a briefing at 1330 hrs.  Fluorescent Bibs, Maps etc. will be issued to all our volunteers.

Sandwiches and refreshments will be provided within the refectory.

The race is usually finished by about 1645 hrs.  If possible, please come along and support the Club.  If you can assist, please e-mail Gordon Innes or let him know at the trackside.

Devil Of The Highlands (43mls)
Tyndrum to Fort William.
Gerry Craig 10th. 6thVet. 6hr. 51min. 04sec.

Sunday 7-8-11.
Scottish Gas 10k.
Edinburgh.
Jaqui Thomson 34th. 4thLady. 1st LVet45. 89:15.

Helensburgh Half Marathon.
Mark Ashby 28th. 1stV50. 82:18.
Clair Thompson 67th. 10thLady. 89:05.
Chris Sheridan 90th. 91:15.

Saturday 13-8-11.
Glasgow 5k Park Run.
Barry Stewart 14th. 3rdV35. 18:19.
Ralph Connolly 22nd. 2ndV45. 18:52.
Christy Bloss 274th. 6thLU14. 31:54.

Sunday 14-8-11.
SVHC. Glasgow 800. 10k.
Pollok Park.
Gerry Craig 9th. 4thV40. 37:17.
Clair McCracken 23rd. 3rdLady. 39:46
Peter Dawes 37th. 5thV55.42:04.
Kenny McVey 44th. 3rdV60. 43:37.

Thursday18-8-11.
Broadwood 5k.
Cumbernauld.
Gerry Craig 11th. 5thVet. 16:13.

Saturday 20-8-11.
Bute Highland Games 10k.
Rothesay.
Kenny McVey 40th. 18thvet. 43:42.

Saturday 20-8-11.
Glasgow 5k Park Run.
Ralph Connolly 15th. 4thV45. 18:42.
Alistair Douglas 16th. 1stV50. 18:53.
Strathclyde 5k Park Run.
Tom Ord 13th. 2ndV50. 20:37.

Sunday 21-8-11.
Bellahouston 5k.
Barry Stewart 32nd. 18:18.

Saturday 28-8-11.
Strathclyde 5k Park Run.
Tom Ord 13th. 2ndV50. 20:07.

Sainsbury’s UK School Games

The UK School Games’ athletics, took place in Sheffield over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th September. Four VP-Glasgow athletes were selected to compete for Scotland. Max Aitchison won a gold medal in the 1500m with 4:08.67, and Eilidh McEvilly returned with a silver medal for her part in the 4x100m team (48.31s). Eilidh was also 6th in the 80m Hurdles with 12.25 and Sam Adams was 4th in the Pole Vault with a (3rd equal) jump of 4.15m.

Lynn McGarry

Junior Great Scottish Run
 
Congratulations to Lewis Boyle, Gillian Black and Emma Ferrie; our podium finishers in the Junior Great Scottish Run races which took place on Saturday 3rd Sept at Glasgow Green.
 
1.5K (to 20th gender place overall):
Girls:   Emma Ferrie 2nd 4:53
            Amy Bissett 5th 5:29
            Sophie Urquhart 13th 6:09
            Jenna Little 15th 6:14
 
3K (to 10th place in age/gender group):
Age 15-16:      Lewis Boyle 1st (1st overall)
Age 13-14:      Liam Turner 3rd 10:06 (8th overall)
                        Fraser Glass 5th 10:12
                        Euan Urquhart 6th 10:13
Age 11-12       Jamie MacKinnon 2nd 10:21
                        Ewan Rae 6th 11:12
                        Adam Brady 7th 11:17
                        Andrew Moreland 10th 11:39
Age 15-16       Amy MacLellan 4th 12:12
Age 13-14       Gillian Black 2nd 10:53 (3rd Girl)
                        Millie Boyle 6th 12:27
Age 11-12       Holly Little 2nd 11:23
Age 9-10         Monica Blair 6th 14:46
                        Beth Gibbons 9th 15:07
 
Lynn McGarry

ETU Youth Triathlon European Championships
 
Congratulations to Marc Austin who, as a member of the British Youth Triathlon Relay Team, won a gold medal in Tours, France. Marc is currently in Beijing, having been selected to compete for GB (one of only two in the junior men age group) at the ITU Triathlon World Championships.
 
Lynn McGarry

Scottish Athletics Relay Championships
 
The Scottish Athletics Relay Championships took place at Grangemouth Stadium on Sunday 21st August. VP-Glasgow’s men and boys did exceptionally well.
 
There were gold medals for: the U14 3x800m team of Calum McCormack, Jamie MacKinnon and Euan Urquhart (7:00.94); the U16 3x800m team of Fraser Glass, Liam Turner and Marc Rooney (6:28.19); and, the Senior/U20 4x400m team of Stuart Ross, Danny Cairns, Andy McFarlane and David Martin (3:16.93).
 
Lynn McGarry

National Combined Events Championships
 
The National Combined Events Championships took place at Grangemouth Stadium over the weekend of 20th/21st August.
 
Eilidh McEvilly won the women’s U18 Heptathlon with 4009 points, coming first in the 100mHurdles (15.26s), Shot (9.65m), Long Jump (4.96m) and 200m (27.57s).
Jane Scott was 3rd in the Senior women’s Heptathlon with 3714 points.
 
 
Lynn McGarry

Men’s League (SAL) – Grangemouth – Sunday 14th August 2011
 
VP-Glasgow athletes were placed 5th on the day and were 4th overall in Division 1 for the season having scored 17 league points.     
 
Star performer of the day was Jax Thoirs who set a new League and Club Record of 4.85m in the Pole Vault – the previous record of 4.70m was set in 1977!  (The Scottish native record is 5.06m so Jax just narrowly missed it.)  Very well done, Jax.
 
Other excellent performances included:-
 
David Martin’s 21.87s win over Ryan Oswald’s 21.88s in the 200m.  A thrilling race!
 
Neale Kelly just lost out in the 110m Hurdles with 15.11s (1/100th outside his P.B.) to Francis Smith of Pitreavie’s 14.99s.
 
We welcomed 2 debutantes in this League.
Jamie Robinson – Long Jump of 5.87m (a P.B.), Triple Jump and 4 x 100m.
Hugh MacKenzie – P.B. achieved in the 3,000m Steeplechase.
 
Considering that we only covered 24 of the 34 individual events, those who turned out did very well and we look forward to doing even better in 2012.
 
Hugh Stevenson

UKWAL Match 3 Grangemouth  7 August
 
A magnificent effort  in the final match this year, at a very wet Grangemouth,  saw our Senior Women’s team win the match outright and along with Wigan will be promoted to Division One for next season. Surprisingly the challenge didn’t come from Harrow or Havering Mayesbrook, it came from City of Portsmouth but we managed in the end to beat them by over 20 points. Overall we had five A String wins, eight B string wins and a second and a first in the relays. There was one PB.  In the B string 800m where Erin McIlveen took over a second off her previous best when winning her race in 2: 13.57.
 
Our sprinters again contributed good points.  Diane, moving down from the 400m, along with Chloe scored good points in the 100m but went better in the 200m with Chloe taking second place in the A string and Diane winning the B string.  In the 400m, Erin L and Sarah S both won their 400m races quite comfortably.    In the Hurdles Hazel and Jane were third in their races contributing valuable points and Fiona stepped down from 2000 S/C to 400mH to get us more valuable points.
 
Hazel and Jane were in action again together in the High Jump finishing second and third.  In the long jump Jane again was in good form coming third and  Jen came in to cover the B string. Jen also covered the triple jump where she got more valuable points. Because of the bad weather, the pole vault was moved to the indoor arena.  The rules state that the points are shared amongst the competitors so although Jen and Courtney won both the A string and B string, they didn’t get the points they deserved.  However It was a welcome return to competition for Courtney after being sidelined for a year with injury.
 
Our middle distance was much stronger at this match.   Aisling and Erin L  were third and first respectively in the 800m, Hollie and Rhian fourth and second in the 1500m with Sarah P winning the 3000m.  Aisling again agreed to do the B string 3000m as her warm down and this time was third! Fiona was a good second in the Steeplechase which I think this is the best position we have ever come in this event.
Our throwers again were in good form with Rachel and Stacey winning both A and B Hammer, Michelle and Rachel winning both Shot Putt, and Stacey winning  B string Discus with Michelle in second place in the A string.   Paula and Aileen both scored well in Javelin.  In all they contributed a total of 66 points  - the maximum possible over the four events is 72.
 
Our 4x100 team of Jane, Sarah, Hazel and Chloe were a close second with Chloe just being caught on the line by Hayley Jones of Wigan.  The 4x400 team of Erin L, Sarah, Erin McI and Diane led from the start to finish well clear of the rest of the field.
 
Jane won the Points Princess tiara for her tally of 21 points and for the first time this award hasn’t gone to a thrower.  There was a lot of good performances but after much discussion it was decided to award the Athlete of the Match to Diane for her 200m victory.  The full results are available at this link.
 
Despite the weather and my stress levels, it was a great day and we are all looking forward to Division One completion next year.  Thanks must go to our officials; Pam, Magnus, Christine, Donald, Ricky, Alasdair, Joe, Kate, Gordon and Margaret (any anyone I have forgotten)  and to the Declaration/Results team;  Gordon, Linda, Julie, Agnes and Hugh.

Sandra Branney

Scottish Triathlon Championships
 
Congratulations to Scott McKay who won his age group in the Scottish Triathlon Championships on Saturday 6th Aug. Scott won the swim, dropped to 6th in the cycle and finished with an excellent run to win overall. He will now join the Scottish team for the British Triathlon Inter Regional Championships next month.
 
Lynn McGarry

Glasgow Athletics Association Metric Mile Meet

The 2nd Glasgow Milers Meet of the summer took place at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday 5th August. Highlights included PBs for the following athletes in the 1500m:
 
Gillian Black (U15) 4:51.43
Lewis Boyle (U17) 4:00.62
Max Aitchison (U17) 4:01.29
Fraser Glass (U15) 4:35.74
Euan Urquhart (U15) 4:37.21
Keiron Rafferty (U17) 4:42.60
Liam McKeown (U17) 4:47.34
Calum McCormack (U15) 4:51.96
 
Lynn McGarry