Archive News Sep 06-Feb07

Inter Counties Cross Country Championships

    A few of the North District's leading Junior's made the long trip to Nottingham to compete in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.  Under 15 Gemma Cormack (Elgin AAC) finished in 12th (16:52) and our very own Eleanor Duncan was 35th (17:27) in a field of 283 runners.  Grant Cameron finished 104th (23:52) in the Under 17 Boys race.

North District Cross Country League Race 6

    The final League race of the season was hosted by Moray Road Runners.  There were still plenty of final positions to be decided, which led to a number of competitive races in all the age groups.  Grant Cameron (Under 17 - 1st Equal) and Eleanor Duncan (Under 15 - 2nd) had already secured their final League positions prior to the race and were representing the North of Scotland at the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Nottingham.

    Kirsty Rogan took full advantage in the Under 15 Girls race, winning by a considerable margin and thus securing 3rd place overall in the League.  In the Ladies race Siobhan Evans had to battle hard throughout her race and crossed the line in 5th place, this was just enough to ensure that she claimed second place overall just one point ahead of Inverness Harrier Eleanor Reid.  The Ladies team had a very successful season finishing second behind the very powerful Inverness Harriers team.

    The best was definitely saved for last, as far as the Harriers Senior Men's squad was concerned, with their 4 scoring counters finishing in the top six (Ben Livesey - 1st, Simon Pride - 2nd, Mark Mitchell - 4th and Darren Wigmore - 6th).  This concluded an extremely successful winter season for the Seniors Men's squad having previously won the North District Cross Country Relay Championships and the North District Cross Country Championships.  Well done to everyone who has contributed to the success of the squad this year.  Individually Ben Livesey and Graeme Bartlett finished in 1st and 2nd in the Senior Men's category.

    Finally thank you to Steve Murdoch over the Season (and his able deputies yesterday Andy & Phyllis Law) for standing on the finish line at the races in their capacity as Timekeepers.

    Full Series Winners as Follows:

  RESULTS

18-Feb-2007

Inter-Services Cross Country

    Ben Livesey lead home the RAF Team when finishing third behind Hagi Chepkwony and Tom Lowe of the Army.  The Army team beat the RAF by just two points.  To see the Championship action click here.

Nairn 10K

    The organisers of the Nairn 10K have contacted me to say that contrary to rumours, the Nairn 10K still have plenty of places available for runners wishing to participate in this year's event.  If the situation changes I will let you know.

RAF Kinloss - RAF Lossiemouth Half Marathon

    The cool conditions and slight Westerly breeze once again ensured there were many fast times posted at this year's RAF Kinloss - RAF Lossiemouth.  After last year's course change due to traffic works it was business as usual in the 23rd hosting of this event.

    Forres Harrier Simon Pride made a successful defence of his title, but was made to work hard all the way after a spirited challenge by Steven Millar (Glasgow University Hares & Hounds) who finished just 17 seconds behind in 2nd place.  Keith Buchan (Fraserburgh Running Club) finished in third place with John Goodall (Keith & District AAC) the first Veteran in 4th place.  Super Veteran George Sim led Moray Road Runners to victory in the team competition when finishing 6th overall, the remaining team scorers were Brian Foreman (7th) and Marc Afford (19th)

    Shona McIntosh (Glasgow University Hares & Hounds) finished a mile ahead of her nearest rival in the Ladies race with a time of 1:20:21.  Super Veteran Marion Wood (Arbroath Footers) finished 15 seconds ahead of Fraserburgh's Elaine Whyte to claim second place.  Fraserburgh Running Club (Elaine Whyte, Maureen Mackie and Gillian Cardno Strachan) won the Ladies Team Prize.  Jackie Nicol picked up the 3rd Super Veteran's Lady Prize. Carrie Ann Ward reduced her PB for the distance by a magnificent 8 minutes and Sarah MacAuley reduced hers by 51 seconds.

Results

Photographs

Carnethy Five Hills

    Mike Milmoe made the trip South to run over the Pentland Hills in the Carnethy 5 Hills race.  This is a really popular race amongst Hill Runners and attracts many top class athletes from all over the UK.  To see how Mike got on, the results can be found here.

Under 17 Indoor Championships

    Matthew Hester made it through to the Semi-Finals of the Under 17 Boys 400 Metres.  He won his 1st round heat in a time of 54:20 Seconds but was eliminated in the Semi's when finishing 4th in 55:18 Seconds.

Speyside Leisure Cross Country League- Elgin

    The 6th and final race of this year's Speyside Leisure Cross Country League takes place at Elgin High School on Saturday 24th February.  It would be great to see a large number of Red Vests on the Start Line, please try to make the effort to come along and participate if you can.

Course Map

10-Feb-2007

The Scottish National Cross Country Championships

    Three Harriers made the journey south to Callendar Park Falkirk to participate in this year's Scottish National Cross Country Championships.  All our runners had really strong runs with Eleanor finishing in an excellent 7th place in the Under 15 Girls event.  Grant finished 16th in the Under 17 Boys and finally Ben recorded the highest ever individual placing by a Harrier in the Senior Men's event, when finishing in 9th place. 

Full Results

Photographs

Inverness Cross Country

    There were a number of fine performances from our younger athletes at the 5th race in this years North District Cross Country League Race at Inverness.  The undulating courses certainly seemed to favour our runners and Lisa McCrossan in the Under 11 Girls race finished in a fine 5th place.

    Under 15 Michael Royan had a great run to finish 3rd for the second time this season.  Under 15 Girls Eleanor Duncan and Kirsty Rogan made it a Forres Double when finishing 1st and 2nd respectively.  It was more of the same in the Senior Men's race, with Graeme Bartlett and Ben Livesey both claiming the leading two places.

  RESULTS

31-Jan-2007

End Of Season Ceilidh Bash

    The Harriers end of Season Ceilidh bash will take place on Saturday 24th February.  The cost of tickets will be £10 per head.  The bash will take place at the Junior Ranks Mess at RAF Kinloss from 19:00.  If you would like tickets or more info, contact Doug Cowie or Jackie Nicol, alternatively e-mail me and I will forward on your request.

28-Jan-2007

Buchlyvie 10K

    The Lyall family had a successful day out at this year's Buchlyvie 10K.  Young Lewis took part in the 2K Fun Run and was the first finisher in a field of 70, well done Lewis.

    Then it was the turn of Mum and Dad in the 10K, where they both recorded new PB's for the distance; Norrie finished with a time of 38:49 (13 Seconds off his previous best) and Moraig finished with a time of 45:58 ( knocking off 1 minute and 11 seconds!).

    Former Harrier Fraser Cartmell was second in the race.

Kinloss - Lossiemouth Half Marathon

    There are now no entries available in this year's Kinloss - Lossiemouth Half Marathon as there are now 300 runners now registered to take part and therefore there will be no on the day entries.

Speyside Leisure North District Cross Country League - Inverness

    The 5th race in this year's Cross Country League will take place at Inverness on Saturday 3rd February.  More details can be found Here.

20-Jan-2007

Keith Cross Country

    The first North District Cross Country race after the festive season took place in a cold and windswept Keith.  The cold snap of weather at least made part of the course fairly solid underfoot, however the cold biting wind made the running tough for all the competitors.

    All the helpers and timekeepers out on the course deserve a special vote thanks for standing out there for two hours plus, they certainly deserved their hot cup of tea afterwards.

    It was great to see a few of our youngsters making the journey through to compete especially the Under 11 Girls Lisa McCrossan, Heather Douglas and Kirsty Reid.

    Storm Fraser was our only representative in the Under 13 Girls race finishing in 8th place. 

    Michael Royan finished 5th in the Under 15 Boy's race and Eleanor Duncan once again finished in 2nd and Kirsty Rogan was 3rd in the Under 15 Girls.

    Siobhan Evans lead home the Ladies team in 4th and with the support of Carrie-Ann Ward (7th) and Jackie Nicol (13th) and once again the Ladies were second behind the all conquering Inverness Harriers.

    Ben Livesey was in commanding form and dominated the Senior Men's race from start to finish, with a  400 metre advantage, ahead of clubmate Graeme Bartlett who finished in a fine 2nd position.  Paul Rogan (7th) and Kyle Greig (8th) were the reamining scorers for the team, which gives them another 7 valuable points of an advantage over Keith & District AAC in the Championship race.

    This was Ben's 4th consecutive league race win, which now means that with two races still remaining, he is this year's North District Cross Country League Champion.

  RESULTS

Photographs

13-Jan-2007

Under 17 District Indoor Championships

    Matthew Hester was competing in the Scottish Under 17 District Indoor Championships at the weekend.  After a torrid time of injury, Matthew is gradually getting back to full fitness. 

    He had a successful weekend; winning the Bronze medal in the 200M with a time of 24:67 seconds and then went one stage better in the 400M, winning Silver in a time of 54:10 seconds.

Inter-District Cross Country Championships

    The Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships were held at Holyrood Park in Edinburgh as part of the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country.

    The Harriers had four members competing; Eleanor Duncan and Kirsty Rogan in the Under 15 Girls race where they finished 8th and 26th respectively, fellow North athlete Gemma Cormack (Elgin AAC) had the race of her young career thus far, winning the race with a 22 second advantage.

    Grant Cameron finished in 14th place in the Under 17 Boys race.  Laura Sharp (Moray Road Runners) also had a great run when winning Bronze in the Under 17 Girls event.

    Ben Livesey was mixing it with the big boys in the televised 4Km when representing the RAF, Ben finished 24th place in a frantic sprint for the line with another 4 runners.

    There are photographs of the races available on the Central AC website.

7-Jan-2007

Greig Back In Winning Form

        Kyle Greig got his 2007 racing season underway with a win at the Howes 'O' Bucksburn race.  Kyle finished with a time of 10:36, 3 seconds ahead of Junior Aberdeen AAC runner James Joy.

Full Results

Celtic International Cross Country

    Grant Cameron found the going tough at the Celtic International held within the grounds of Stormont in Belfast and was placed 41st in the race.  Gemma Cormack of Elgin AAC placed 7th in the Under 17 Girl's race helping Scotland to team victory.

Full Results

3-Jan-2007

MyRace Issue No7

    Issue 7 of MyRace running magazine is now available, with a report and photographs of the North District Cross Country Championships just one of the races covered.

2-Jan-2007

Sair Heid Run

    A few of us went for a refreshing run at the Moray Road Runner's Sair Heid Run and we would just like to thank all concerned for the hospitality and the jog (race) around Miltonduff, it certainly blew away a few cobwebs.

31-Dec-2006

Ord Hill Relays

    To see the Old Year out Paul Rogan, Dave Adam and Paul Matheson took part in the Ord Hill Relays at Inverness.  This event was organised by Highland Hill Runners and it proved to be a cracking wee event.

    The teams of two were drawn from the hat, we had an all Forres team with the two Paul's being paired up,  Dave was drawn with event organiser Russell McKechnie.

    It was then up to the teams to sort out who was going to run 1 Lap and who was doing two. As it turned out,  Paul M got his wish to run one lap {as Paul R just couldn't bear to see a grown man cry!!!}  Dave also drew the short straw for his team and had to settle for 2 laps.

    The laps were just over 2 miles in distance and the initial part of the course was run on wide gentle undulating paths, until you got to the far side of the hill, where you had to negotiate a steep climb up onto the summit of Ord Hill.

    First runner home on the single lap was Paul Matheson (16:57) very closely followed by Highland Hill Runner Mari Todd. Paul Rogan was being chased all the way by Mari's team mate Ross Bannerman as they both scorched their way around course.  At the end of Lap 2 Paul (15:42) had gained a few more metres, a fast finishing Ross sent Mari once again on her way in pursuit of the leader.  Paul ran a steady last lap in a time of 16:06 to ensure that the Harriers secured the booty of two very well earned Mars Bars.

    Dave and Russell finished in 4th place.

    Thanks to Russell for all his efforts on marking out the course and providing the runners with a pleasant morning out (it sure beats the Sunday morning long run).

26-Dec-2006

Nairn Turkey Trot

   There was a very healthy turnout of 118 runners in this years Nairn Turkey Trot.  This is a predictor race where you guess your finishing time and run the course without a watch.  There was a very good turn out from the club and first home was Club Captain Paul Rogan followed by Andrew Holder.

    The race was won by British International Andrew Lemoncello in a time of 16:31., course record holder Ross Arbuckle was second in 17:34.

    As I said this was a predictor race and there were 3 winners in the men's category who were all within a second of their predicted time: Andrew Lemoncello, Gordon Main and Graham Whyte.  Kerry Atkey won the Ladies event when she was 5 seconds within her estimated time.

    Thanks to Nairn Road Runners for another great Boxing Day run.

Full Results   

Photographs

Grant Gains Another National Vest

    Under 17 athlete Grant Cameron has been selected to run for Scotland at the Celtic Cross Country in Belfast at the beginning of January.  Grant has also represented Scottish Schools and has a Scottish Vest from representing Scotland at the British Hill Running Championships earlier in the year.  The current Under 17 North District Cross Country Champion has had a great year and we wish him all the best in the future.

Forres Harriers Ceilidh Night

    We will be hosting a Ceilidh Night on Saturday 24th February (after the last Cross Country Race of the Season).  More details to follow soon.

17-Dec-2006

The Lossiemouth 10 Mile Turkey Trot

    There was a record entry for this year's Lossiemouth 10 Mile Turkey Trot and the perfect running conditions meant there were a number of fast times posted. 

    It was Peterhead's Alan Reid who made the early running over the first couple of miles through Lossiemouth.  As they reached the outskirts of the Town, Forres Harrier Simon Pride hit the front closely followed by last year's winner John Lenehan (Metro Aberdeen). 

    As they approached the half way point Simon began to open up on the down hill section towards Gordonstoun and from there on in there was no let up in the pace being set as he crossed the finish line in a new record time of  52:42, with John two minutes further behind in second place.

    Spanish athlete Cristina Gomez certainly enjoys her racing in Moray, the Lossiemouth Half Marathon winner earlier in the year returned to this part of Scotland to win the Ladies race in a time of 61:54 finishing 300 Metres ahead of Fraserburgh Veteran runner Elaine Whyte.

    It was a successful day for the Metro Aberdeen Club as they scooped the Team Awards in both the Men's (John Lenahan, Bjoern Reiss, Andrew Reid) and Ladies (Ingrid Machell, Lynne Parkinson, Janet McRoberts) Competitions.

    There were some notable Harrier performances on the day with Darren Wigmore benefiting from all his hard training over the Summer months to finish 5th overall in an excellent time of 56:58.  Bev Childs also had a strong run to win the 3rd Lady Super Vet award when finishing in a time of 75:21.

   A big Thank you to Alistair Docherty for supplying the second batch of photographs.

Full Results

Photographs

Photographs

Inter-District Cross Country Championships - 13 Jan 07

    The following Harriers have been chosen to represent the North District at the Inter-District Cross Country Championships at Holyrood Park Edinburgh, on Saturday 13th Janauary 2007:

Remaining North District Cross Country League Dates 2006/7

7 Oct 06 Strathpeffer (Highland Hill Runners)

14 Oct 06 Relays (Ullapool)
11 Nov 06 Caithness

25 Nov 06 North District Cross Country Championships (Nairn)
9  Dec 06 Forres
20 Jan 07 Keith
3 Feb 07 Inverness
24 Feb 07 Moray Roadrunners

More detailed information about the North District Cross Country League can be found HERE

Forres Harriers X-mas Handicap

    A few hardy souls made it a double header by dragging their bodies around Cluny Hill for two days in succession.  Anne Docherty and Andy Ross were the successful duo in this year's event, both of them competed in the races yesterday, well done!

    Mike Howell recorded the fastest single lap of the day and Graeme Bartlett was fastest over the two laps.

    I see that the Handicapper has finally caught up with Jackie Nicol this year,  I hope he is a bit more lenient next year Jackie!

Full Results

9-Dec-2006

Speyside Leisure North District Cross Country League - Forres

    The competitors in this years North District Cross Country League have now reached the half way point in the competition after the third race hosted by Forres Harriers on their traditional course in and around Cluny Hill.

    There were a number of notable performances from many Forres Runners with Michael Royan proving that he has now fully recovered from a brief spell of illness to record an excellent 3rd place in the Under 15 Boys race.

    Eleanor Duncan was once again placed second in the Under 15 Girls event and Grant Cameron once again proved he is the top Cross Country runner in the North at Under 17 Boy level, (Grant was up against the Senior Men for two laps of the course and was well to the fore in their race for these two laps).

    Siobhan Evans once again lead the Harriers Ladies to a fine second place in the team competition (Just 4 points behind current Champions Inverness Harriers) when finishing 3rd overall. Jackie Nicol (7th) and Moraig Lyall (9th) were the other scoring counters for the team.

    The Harriers two leading Senior runners Ben Livesey and Simon Pride went head to head for the first time in competition and it was Ben who proved to be the man on form at this race, finishing  in first place 300 metres ahead of team-mate Simon.

    It was the older more experienced runners who were leading their younger compatriots around this undulating course, with 6 veteran runners placing in the top 10. Indeed former Forres resident Ross Arbuckle (Keith & District AAC) proved that many hours of training around Cluny Hill had not been forgotten when finishing 3rd.

    The Team competition was once again a very close run race, with Forres Harriers (Ben Livesey, Simon Pride, Graeme Bartlett and Paul Rogan) just finishing 7 points ahead of their closest rivals and current League Champions Keith & District AAC.

    At the half way point in the Senior Men's competition Forres Harriers (1140 points) have a narrow 27 point advantage ahead of Keith (1113 points).  The next three races should prove to be extremely exciting affairs.

    Finally many thanks to all who assisted in various ways throughout the day, without your help these races would not be possible.

  RESULTS

Photographs

Current League Standings

The Great Glen Relay

    Next year's Great Glen Relay is fully booked up, organiser Graham Whyte is absolutely amazed that all the places are filled 10 months in advance.  However Graham has decided to open a reserve list just in case there are a few drop outs prior to the event.  So if you would like to be at the front of the reserve list I would advise you to enter a team now.

London Marathon

    The club has received two club entries for the 2007 London Marathon.  The nominations will be decided this coming Sunday at the X-Mas Handicap.  Those club members who are in possession of rejection slips will be given first priority and if there are more than two it will be decided by ballot.  So bring along your rejection slips this coming Sunday to avoid disappointment.

North District Cross Country League Race - Forres

    This coming Saturday we are hosting the third race in this year's Speyside Leisure North District Cross Country League.  We will require a number of willing volunteers to assist on the day with Marshalling and Refreshments if you can assist in any way please let us know.

    Refreshments can be handed into the Town Hall prior to the event starting at 13:00.

Forres Harriers X-mas Handicap Relays

    Also on Sunday we are hosting our x-mas Handicap relays, this event is open to all interested runners (bring a prize to win a prize) and proceedings get underway at 13:30.  Registration will take place on the day in Forres Town Hall and it is only £1 to enter, post event refreshments will be available in the Town Hall.

26-Nov-2006

Tain Trail Race

    For some, the exertions of running along Nairn Beach the day before is just not enough.  Graeme Jervis decided that he needed another strenious work out, by taking part in the 11 mile Tain Trail Race, Gerald Box was also there flaunting the red Forres Vest.  To see how they both got on follow the link below.

Results

25-Nov-2006

North District Cross Country Championships

   There was a healthy representation of Forres Harriers at this year's North District Cross Country Championships, hosted by Nairn Road Runners over their challenging East Beach Course.  The event was extremely well supported with athletes from the Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney Isles.

    Eleanor Duncan won the first medal of the day for the club, when finishing in Silver Medal Position in the Under 15 Girls race behind Elgin AAC's Gemma Cormack.

    Grant Cameron won the most exciting race of the day, in the Under 17 Boys event, with just 4 seconds separating the first three runners across the line.

      Siobhan Evans proved that she is finally back at peak fitness picking up the Bronze medal in the Senior Ladies Race and along with Carrie-Ann Ward and Jackie Nicol also picked up the Silver Medals in the Team event.

    Ben Livesey the 2004 North District Cross Country Champion regained the Title ahead of club mate Graeme Bartlett with Keith & District's Mike Stewart in 3rd.  The Forres Harriers Team of Ben, Graeme, Paul Rogan, Andy Ross, Dave Adam and Darren Wigmore won Team Gold.

    Graeme Bartlett also won the Veterans Gold Medal and there was further success for the club, with Sam Morrison picking up Bronze in the Super Vet's Category.

    Finally I would just like to thank Nairn Road Runners and all the Officials for all their efforts today on a great day's racing.

  RESULTS

Photographs

Meall A'Bhuchaille

    Mike Milmoe opted for a run in the Hills instead of competing at the North District Cross Country Championships.  Mike was running in the Meall A'Bhucaille race at Aviemore to see how he got on follow the link below.

Results

19-Nov-2006

Fraserburgh Half Marathon

    James Ward and Sarah Louise Grigor were competing at last Sunday's Fraserburgh Half Marathon.  James finished in 14th place with a time of 1:24:15 and Sarah was 106th in 2:08:38.

Full Results

RAF Henlow 10Mile Road Race

    Carrie Ann Ward was competing in the RAF Henlow 10 Mile Road Race, which also incorporates the RAF 10 Mile Road Race Championships.  Running into a strong Headwind, in this point to point race, Carrie finished in 9th place overall in a time of 1:14:52.  She was the second RAF runner to finish thus claimed this years Silver Medal in the Championships.

Full Results

Thurso Cross Country

    The second race in this year's Speyside Leisure Cross Country League was hosted by Caithness AAC.  Conditions were far from ideal and I am assured that this years race was even more brutal than the last.  All the competitors deserve great credit for competing and I am reliably informed that one of our members could make a great dot to dot picture on their skin following the bruising from the hail stones.

    The Senior men's race was won by guest runner Andrew Wright (Cambuslang Harriers) ahead of our very own Ben Livesey.  Grant Cameron was back to his best winning the Under 17 Boy's race and Eleanor Duncan was just narrowly beaten by Gemma Cormack( Elgin AAC) into 2nd in the Under 15 Girls event.

    I do not yet have a copy of the results, but as soon as they become available I will post them on the site.

  RESULTS

    The link below will take you to the current League Standings.  These are not the official results but if there are any mistakes please let me know.

Current League Standings

Forres Harriers AGM

    The Club's AGM will be held on Tuesday the 28th of November after training in Forres Swimming Pool.  Please try to come along the more the merrier!!!

New York Marathon

    Dennis Gregson was competing in the New York Marathon, where he finished 201st in his age category with a time of 4:10:58.

    His splits were as follows:-

English National Cross Country Relays

    Ben was competing for Birchfield Harriers in the English National Cross Country Relays on Saturday.  Birchfield finished in 15th place overall.

Full Results

Eddie's Half Marathon

    Graeme Jervis was the first Harrier home in this year's Lochaber Half Marathon in 34th place, followed by Adrian Hodges and Mike Milmoe.

Full Results

The North District Cross Country Championships

    The North District Cross Country Championships are due to be held on Saturday the 25th November at Nairn.  This is a pre-entry event only and our entries must be in by the 13th November, so if you would like to participate please get in touch. 

    The Club will pay your entry fee, all that we ask, is once you have committed yourself, please make the effort to get to the start line as the entries are non-refundable.

30-Oct-2006

Dublin Marathon

    Simon Pride finished in 11th place at this years Dublin Marathon finishing in a time of 2:23:06   

MyRace

Issue 6 of MyRace will be in the shops today.  Race reports and photographs from the North include Moray Marathons, Dava Way Trail Race, Loch Ness Marathon and Aviemore Half Marathon.  Speyside Leisure stock the Magazine along with many other independent newsagents in the area.

RAF Cross Country

    Ben Livesey and Carrie Ann Ward were representing the RAF at the RAF Versus Cambridge University Versus Eastern Counties Cross Country Match at RAF Halton on Saturday.  Ben finished 4th (1st RAF Counter) in the Men's race and Carrie finished 11th (5th RAF Counter).

22-Oct-2006

Great Glen Relay

       What another fantastic day, the Great Glen Relay this year was just an awesome event and I would  like to thank Graham Whyte and Nancy for all their sterling efforts on organising the best athletics event in the North.  Also thanks to all the helpers for marshalling and making the teas, another great day out was had by all!!

     There were a record 25 teams participating in this years event and everyone appeared to be having a great day.  However the main event was in the Men's race, as three teams were battling for supremacy.  I will go into a detailed race report later in the week, however as it turned out, there was very little between reigning Champions the Six Pistols, Forres Harriers and Hunters Bog Trotters.  Right from the gun and after breaking a number of Stage records en-route the teams were still neck and neck going into the final stage.

    Forres Harrier Simon Pride led his team home in a new record time of 5:57:13 with the Six Pistols in 2nd place in a time of 5:58:10 and Hunters Bog Trotters 3rd, 5:59:34.  All these teams were under the previous record held by Inverness Harriers since 1995.  It was a real team effort by all the Forres guys Ben Livesey (who set them on their way with a new stage record on leg 1), Andy Ross, Kyle Greig, Simon Pride, Paul Rogan and Graeme Bartlett.  Well Done Guys.

    The Ladies team of Hunters Bog Trotters also had a memorable day, knocking 10 minutes from their own previous record on the way to a convincing victory.

Report

Full Results

Photographs

    Finally a big thank you to all the Team Captains for organising all the Team Admin and Logistics and to the 3 late press ganged volunteers who came along to bolster our two Mixed teams at the very last minute.

    My favourite event of the year takes place this coming Sunday and with 26 teams entered, this will be the largest field ever assembled. 

    Due to the number of teams involved there will be three start times (same as last year), there are 7 teams starting at 8 O'clock followed by another 14 an hour later and the final 4 racing snake teams at 10.

    Forres Harriers have a fantastic six teams entered for this year's event and it's great to see Nairn Road Runners finally mustering a team (Malcolm must have been press ganging them all to take part this year!).

    Last years winners The Six Pistols are back to defend their title, but will face some stiff competition from the strongest ever assembled Harrier team for this event.  However there could also be a formidable challenge from the Hunters Bog Trotters.

    If their top runners appear on the start line, I am sure there will be a great competition between the three teams and a number of the Stage Records are sure to tumble, providing the weather is favourable.

    Roll On Sunday!!!

15-Oct-2006

Aviemore Half Marathon

    OUTSTANDING!!!!!  Paul Corrigan and his team at the Badaguish Outdoor Centre deserve all the plaudits for organising the inaugural Aviemore Half Marathon.    I can not praise this race highly enough, the organisation, course and even the weather were all first class.

    Such was the popularity of the race, the 800 entry limit was reached by the middle of July and I am pretty sure that a number of local athletes missed out because they were too late in applying!

    As it was 600 runners eventually toed the line at the Badaguish Outdoor Centre on a cool pleasant morning with clear blue skies above, which meant that the views at various points out on the course were absolutely stunning.

    With a piper to get them on their way, it was Forres Harrier Simon Pride who led the way, obviously Simon had recovered well after his exertions at the Loch Ness Marathon two weeks prior and had soon built up a commanding lead by the 3 mile point and eventually finished a mile ahead of runner up Steve Reeve (Moray Road Runners) in a time of 1.09.19.

    Highland Hill Runner Mairi Todd was showing that she is currently on top of her form and was also a clear leader in the early stages of the ladies race.  Mairi who had recorded the fastest stage at the North District Cross Country Relays the day before, was showing that this was an ideal warm up for the Half Marathon.  Mairi crossed the finishing line in a time of 1.25.03 with runner up Lynne Humphries finishing in 1.29.13.

    Other Harrier finishers were Sam Morrison, Tim Pott and Sarah Louise Grigor, unfortunately I do not have their finishing times as of yet.

    The main winner on the day was the Badaguish Outdoor Centre who will have raised vital funds for their project through the efforts of every one who participated and assisted on the day. 

    So if you missed out this year and would like to participate in this great event put the 14th of October 2007 in your diaries now.  Remember to enter early to avoid disappointment.

MEN

VETERAN MEN

SUPER VETERAN MEN

LADIES

VETERAN LADIES

SUPER VETERAN LADIES

Photographs

Full Results

14-Oct-2006

North District Cross Country Relays

    This year's North District Cross Country Relays were hosted by Stornoway Running Club at Ullapool.  The decision to hold the event here was to make the travelling for the teams from the Islands that little easier.

     Forres Harriers could only muster one team to compete, this being in the Senior Men's event; Dave Adam, Andy Ross, Paul Rogan and Kyle Greig were the club's representatives. 

    Dave Adam was on the lead leg for the club and had a strong run to place the Harriers in third place at the change-over, behind Lochaber and Stornoway.  Andy Ross maintained  third place on the second stage and handed over to Club Captain Paul Rogan.  Paul ran a fine third leg to hand over a twenty second advantage to our final runner Kyle Greig.  Kyle had to fend off a spirited challenge from Mike Stewart of Keith & District to cross the line in pole position.  A great performance from the team and hopefully the momentum will be maintained in the coming weeks.

    The Ladies race was won once again by Inverness Harriers, but only just!  Going into the final leg the Inverness Ladies were minutes ahead of the chasing Highland Hill Runners team, however on the last leg a blistering performance from their latest recruit Mairi Todd saw them come extremely close to wrestling the Gold medals away from the defending Champions.

    In the Girls event, it was Caithness AAC who won Gold and it proved to be a family affair as the team consisted of the Dunnett Sisters; Emma, Oonagh and Sophie and Mum was their team manager, well done girls!

    Moray Road Runners won the junior Boys event. 

  RESULTS

British Junior Hill Running International

    Grant Cameron finished in 11th Place at the British Junior Hill Running Championships in Belfast.  Grant's training partner Robbie Cammack (Moray Road Runners) had a great run finishing 4th.  Robbie was the 3rd counter for the Scottish team along with Ross Hastings 2nd and Matthew Gillespie 3rd, this ensured victory for the Scottish Under 16 Team.

Results

07-Oct-2006

Speyside Leisure North District Cross Country League

    The first race in this year's Cross Country League was hosted by Highland Hill Runners at Strathpeffer.  The first race of the season certainly tested all the athletes on this hilly course.

There were a number of fine performances with Eleanor Duncan finishing 2nd in the Under 15 Girls race.  Ben Livesey and Graeme Bartlett got the Senior Men's team off to a flying start when finishing 1st and 3rd respectively.     The Senior Ladies; Siobhan Evans, Carrie Ann Ward and Moraig Lyall also got their campaign off to a successful beginning, when finishing second behind reigning Champions Inverness Harriers with 279 points and 1 point ahead of third placed Lochaber AC.

Results

Border Reiver Half Marathon

    Carrie-Ann Ward ran an excellent race to win the Ladies event at this years Border Reiver Half Marathon.  She completed the undulating mixed terrain course in an excellent time of 1:41:25.  Forres Harriers have a great tradition in this event, with Paul Rogan, Andy Ross and Paul Matheson all being previous winners of the race.

01-Oct-2006

Loch Ness Marathon

    Simon Pride was bang on form today at this year's Loch Ness Marathon, in the cool, drizzly conditions Simon was at the front of the race along with Kenyan athlete Zakary Kihara.  Over the closing stages it was the Kenyan who was to prove the stronger just finishing 8 seconds ahead of Simon in a time of 2:22:17.  Simon's time of 2:22:25 was the fastest he has ever recorded over this route and he had the added bonus of picking up the Scottish Marathon Championship Gold Medal.

    Sam Morrison finished 5th in the Over 50 age category with a time of 3:10:54 and Anne Docherty had an outstanding run to finish 4th in her age category in 4:19:56.  Others competing were James Hume, Jenny Stewart , Jackie Nicol, Anne Docherty and Gerald Box and Ross Nixon.

Full Harrier Marathon Results

Full Harrier 10K Results

    There were new PB times recorded by James Ward (36:35), Stefan Elertowicz (39:50) and Carrie Ann Ward (42:08) in the accompanying 10K race.

Photographs

Bennachie Hill Race

    Graeme Bartlett was once again competing on the Hills, Graeme finished in 4th place at the Beannachie Hill Race in a time of 59:47.

Full Results

24-Sep-2006

Dyke 10K

   The Course record at the Dyke 10K was broken for the sixth consecutive year and the new proud owner is the Harriers Ben Livesey.  There was further success for the Harriers with Siobhan Evans claiming second place behind Fraserburgh's Elaine Whyte.

    I would just like to thank all the people who assisted on the day with the marshalling, recording and refreshments it is really appreciated.

    There were a number of items left behind in the hall post race: Green Towel, Blue Lowe Alpine breeze top and a childs sweater.  If these items belong to you please drop me a line and we will try to get them back to you soonest.

Full Results

    Many thanks to Alastair Docherty for providing the photographs of the Start and Finish.

Photographs

Morven Hill Race

    Kyle Greig was back to defend his title at the Morven Hill race, however on this occasion he had to settle for second place behind Alastair Anthony of Ochil Hill Runners, who set a new course record on his way to victory.

Results

Great Glen Relay

    The Great Glen Relay,  my favourite event of the year takes place on Sunday the 22nd of October. This year we have a magnificent 6 teams entered for the race.  How will the Vet's team get on against the youngsters in Team 3?

17-Sep-2006

The Dava Way Multi Terrain Run

    A big thank you to all who entered this year's Dava Way Multi Terrain Run, your support is really appreciated and many Forres Rotary Club good causes are set to benefit from your participation in this event.

    The hot conditions on the day certainly added to the challenge and it was Peterhead runner Terry Christie who proved to be the strongest runner on the day finishing in pole position ahead of Paul Rogan and Robert Paterson.

    Elspeth Laird (MRR) won the Ladies race ahead of Karen MacLeod (Inverness Harriers) and Jackie Nicol.  A special mention to our Super Lady Veteran Anne Docherty who won the Super Vets Prize, a great run Anne and it is looking good for the Inverness Marathon.

Full Results

Photographs