PB Winter 2016

Issue 4

PB £2.50

2016

www.scottishathletics.org.uk

In this Issue:

#greatyear We look back at an amazing 2016

#LindsaysXC Cumbernauld and Renfrew reviews

‘I really wish I was Scottish’ - top English athlete

The official magazine for members of scottishathletics

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scottishathletics 05 Chief Executive Mark Munro 06 News 08 Athlete of the Year 10 Coach of the Year 11 Awards List 12 Rio: Paralympics 13 Para Athlete of the Year 14 Lindsays XC 16 Cumbernauld 18 Short Course Champs 19 Great Scottish Run 20 #greatyear PB 2016 Review 22 #greatyear Chris Thompson Interview 24 #greatyear Mark Munro Q&A 26 #greatyear Governing Body of the Year 28 #greatyear Macron Deal 30 Indoor Athletics form 32 Metro Aberdeen 34 Shetland AAC 35 Bella Road Runners 36 Leaders Conference 37 #peoplemakeathletics 38 Education: Emily Dudgeon 40 Education: Academy 42 Hill Running 43 Ultra Runner: Paul Giblin

The ofďŹ cial magazine for members of scottishathletics www.scottishathletics.org.uk

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Chief Executive Mark Munro Chief Executive Scottish Athletics

@SALMarkMunro

Right competition environment for each athlete is key

I

t is incredible to think that we have already waved goodbye to another year and that we are well and truly in the midst of the winter season already.

What a year 2016 has been! The positive vibes throughout include success of Scottish athletes at national and international level across all disciplines and age groups; increases once again in national event participation (particularly in off-track events which has been quite staggering); increases in club membership; several new clubs affiliating to the organisation; the buy-in from coaches in relation to their ongoing development; and a re-structure within the organisation to invest directly back into club development as well as officials.

Athletics in Scotland now has 21 role models through the successes of our Olympians and Paralympians, with an increasing media profile. It’s key that we continue to support those athletes and coaches where we can whilst utilising their profile to maintain the high interest in our sport.

While I have many highlights from this year including the high numbers in events, Andy Douglas and Robbie Simpson taking the world by storm in the mountains, there are four particular performances which really moved me – Eilidh Doyle’s Olympic Medal was richly deserved for a wonderful role model; Libby Clegg’s double-gold at the Paralympics defied all challenges she has faced since 2014; Callum Hawkins leading the Marathon and, last but not least, Andy Butchart mixing it with Mo Farah and the Africans – a sight to behold.

It is particularly pleasing to see the buzz around national events just now. Recalling the National XC at Callendar Park and the Scottish outdoor Track & Field champs in Grangemouth in August, there were some fantastic performances from our aspiring champions of tomorrow.

The National XC and our Age Groups and

Seniors have long served as a breeding ground for future success at a higher level. It’s great how visible it is that the likes of Eilidh Doyle, Lynsey Sharp, Laura Muir, Chris O’Hare, Eilish McColgan, Andy Butchart and Callum Hawkins (to name but a few) came through the age group pathway on the road to GB and worldwide success.

stress that competition is key – but it must be the right level of competition for each individual athlete.

Whilst looking back at 2016 we also have an eye on 2017 and the spring of 2018.

So, as you read this special 2016 Review edition, kindly compiled by Peter Jardine and his sources, you will appreciate the complex nature and scope of athletics in Scotland.

The qualifying period for the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in April 2018 opens soon (already open for marathon runners). Athletes and coaches have once again raised the bar, standards have increased and athletes need to aspire to new levels.

Most importantly, you should see and acknowledge the part played by the coaches, the club leaders and club volunteers, the officials and the athletes: none of this could have been achieved without those significant contributions. For that, we are extremely grateful.

Unfortunately, for the first time in around 20 years, the overall Commonwealth Games Federation have imposed a quota on national Commonwealth Games federations and Commonwealth Games Scotland subsequently will impose a quota on the number of athletes selected for 2018.

However, the autumn has already shown that our athletes are motivated and training hard for 2017.

We don’t know what this figure will be yet and are lobbying to make sure it’s as high as possible. But it is likely to be greatly reduced from the 58 places secured for Glasgow in 2014. (Note, any quota figures will not include Para selections, which will be invitations via the Commonwealth Games Federation).

I would like say a personal note of thanks to the Road Running and Cross Country Commission and supporting officials who have already provided two fantastic events with at Cumbernauld and Renfrew.

Witnessing grassroots first timers alongside world-class Olympians is something of which no other sport can lay claim, it is one of the many positives our great sport provides.

I’ve also been quoted a few times now on this but increasing general participation is important, but increasing the number of those participants competing really is essential for the long-term development of the sport.

The trick is providing the right competition environment for those new participants.

Evidence suggest this is happening but we must continue to deliver this, whether ourselves at national levels or clubs operating with those at a young age. We can

Whilst this will definitely be a challenge, athletes and coaches must continue to aim high and one thing we do know for sure is: the Scotland athletics team that travels to the Gold Coast will be one of the strongest ever assembled for a Games on foreign soil.

To finish on a positive note, the Manchester International match has been confirmed for the 16 August 2017 and Scotland will take as strong a team as possible, especially given the fact that it sits within the qualifying period for Gold Coast 2018.

Enjoy a great Christmas and we look forward to another exciting year in 2017.

scottishathletics

5

Keep up to date with all the stories @www.scottishathletics.org.uk

NEWS

No change to Membership fees for 2017

M

embership fees for next year will remain the same as they are at the moment.

That was the decision of the Annual General Meeting at the Emirates Arena in September – on a day when it was agreed to confer Honorary Life Membership on two real stalwarts of the sport in Scotland, Bill Walker and Vic Hockley.

With 23 mandated delegates in the room at the Emirates and a further seven proxy mandates received, the meeting was quorate.

Chairman Ian Beattie led the meeting from the chair and President Leslie Roy and Mark Munro, interim Chief Executive Officer, addressed the audience as they spoke to the Annual Report – which covered the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

That period does not include the Olympics and Paralympics but there’s no dispute that a Rio feel-good factor was building from early in 2016 and adding vibrancy to the sport.

Indeed, Paralympic gold medallist Jo Butterfield attended the AGM and her

appointment to the board was ratified by the meeting.

and the Officials Commission coming in means that process is completed.’

‘I want to extend my thanks to athletes, coaches volunteers and officials and also to Board members, Commissions and Committees and staff who worked hard to develop and improve the delivery and performance of our sport throughout the year,’ said Leslie Roy in the Annual Report.

It was further agreed to bestow Honorary Life Membership status on highly-regarded official Vic Hockley (Livingston AC) and longserving and respected coach, Bill Walker (Edinburgh AC).

‘It was an exciting period. How would our athletes fare the year after a very successful Commonwealth Games in Glasgow? We need not have worried: athletes raised the bar to ‘Perform When It Counts’.

‘Major championships were held in every corner of the world and Scottish athletes were present in high numbers and winning medals at the likes of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa, the World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia; and the World Championships in Beijing.’

One of the proposals at the meeting rubberstamped the integration of the Officials Commission within the scottishathletics structure – with the Officials Commission Convenor (currently Margaret Brown) now attending board meetings in a non-executive director’s role.

This brings the Officials Commission into line with the practice for the convenors of the three other Commissions: Track and Field; Road Running and Cross Country; and Hill Running.

‘I’m really pleased we have managed to achieve an integrated board with the Commissions fully involved,’ said Ian Beattie. ‘That was a goal a few years ago

Margaret Brown spoke to Vic Hockley’s nomination while Barry Craighead addressed the meeting on behalf of EAC for Bill Walker’s proposal. Both then duly received their HLM status at the Annual Awards Dinner.

The meeting also heard from Mark Munro that jogscotland faces significant financial challenges following the withdrawal of public funding for the programme. Talks to establish a charitable consortium are on-going in order to help re-position jogscotland.

Following the AGM, Membership Fees for 2017-18 will be as follows: Senior Club Member

£19

Junior Club Member (U21)

£6

Coach Member (for three years)

£25

Official Member

Free

Family Member

£40

Friend and Supporter Member

£19

Senior Member unattached

£33

Over 65 Member

£11

*********************************************************************************************************************** Eilish McColgan made a superb start to her Beth Pascall one place behind in 10.41.35. team race behind England and ahead of the Joasia Zakrzewski was Team GB’s third third-placed North of England. winter season with victory and a PB in the counter in 29th position 11.46.51. The Leeds Abbey Dash 10K. As well as those good runs by McColgan doctor from Dumfries has won individual or Wet and windy conditions didn’t prevent two and Moultrie, there were solid performances team medals at 50k, 100k and trail running

by Jenny Bannerman with 35.26 for 20th, for GB. outstanding performances from England’s Nicola Gauld with 35.42 for 22nd and Jonny Mellor as 1st Male in 29.12 and ‘I came into the race having had an Louise Mercer with 35.56 for 26th.

Scotland’s McColgan 1st woman in 32.52. interrupted build-up,’ said Joasia, who ran Robbie Simpson was 11ith in 29.43. ************************************** for Scotland in the marathon at Glasgow 2014. ‘It was a challenging course, but I so Eilish was followed home by England’s Great Britain’s women’s team claimed the badly wanted us to get on the podium.’

Katrina Wootton in 33.21 and Scotland’s bronze medals at the IAU World Ultra Trail Josephine Moultrie in 33.33 – with that Championship in Portugal – as Scotland’s ************************************** another PB for the VP-Glasgow athlete after Joasia Zakrzewski medalled once again at a only recently taking to 10K on the road.

The Scottish Champs for Wheelchair Racing global event.

Scotland took second place in the Women’s at 10K took place in Jedburgh and there

6

PB 2016 | ISSUE 4

Team GB and NI were led home by Jo Meek in 7th place in a time of 10.36.12 with

was a record-breaking performance by Paralympian, Sammi Kinghorn.

14 Scots on World Class funding programme

S

cottish athletes continue to feature prominently among the 118 announced

by British Athletics to receive support on the Olympic and Paralympic World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for 20162017

The overall tally of supported Scots remains at 14 for the forthcoming 12 months – with four additions to the programme being Olympic top ten finishers Andy Butchart and Callum Hawkins; British champion and European Championship finalist Chris Bennett; and double Paralympic gold medallist Libby Clegg.

Funded by The National Lottery through UK Sport, the British Athletics WCPP selection is based upon the potential to win medals at an Olympic or Paralympic Games (with special consideration given to the World Para Athletics Championships and the IAAF World Athletics Championships at London 2017).

It is split into two levels: Podium (for athletes with the potential to win medals at London 2017 and Tokyo 2020) and Podium Potential (for athletes developing towards Tokyo 2020 and the Olympics in 2024).

It’s really exciting for 14 Scots to have made those programmes and, as a perspective, the number for 2012 was seven.

All at scottishathletics congratulates the athletes being funded and their coaches and families on reaching this level. We also firmly acknowledge the clubs who have helped develop these athletes - at whatever stage - to be categorised in this way.

Four Scottish athletes dropped off funding for the next year, with those being high jumpers Allan Smith and David Smith;

hammer thrower Mark Dry and Bostonbased middle distance runner, Chris O’Hare.

In the countdown to the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast, scottishathletics remains firmly committed to offering as much support as possible and appropriate to all athletes and coaches at the required level.

The announcement by British Athletics means there are a number of Scottish-based coaches involved such as Andy Young, Robert Hawkins, Ron Morrison, Derek Easton, Ian Mirfin and Shona Malcolm now all working with athletes on WCPP programme.

British Athletics performance director Neil Black said: ‘Overall, 2016 was an excellent year for the British Athletics teams at both the Olympics and Paralympics, winning more medals in Rio than in London 2012.

‘But we are now at the start of a new Olympic and Paralympic cycle, so we need to build a team that is focused towards further success and improvement at Tokyo 2020, our selections reflect this. With a core group of established athletes and a large group of young and emerging talent, this is an exciting time.

Hammer thrower Chris Bennett: added to WCCP funding programme selected on this year’s WCPP to grasp that opportunity.

‘I’d like to thank the National Lottery and UK Sport for their continued investment in our World Class Performance Programme.

The support will enable our athletes to be among the best prepared in the world at London 2017 and beyond, ensuring they can perform to their highest achievable standards.’

FUNDED SCOTS ON GB PROGRAMMES: Podium: Olympic: Laura Muir (Andy Young); Lynsey Sharp (Rana Reider) Paralympic: Jo Butterfield (Phil Peat/Shona Malcolm), Libby Clegg (guide runner, Chris Clarke; Joe McDonnell), Maria Lyle (Ryan Freckleton), Stef Reid (Aston Moore) Podium Potential:

‘As ever, the athletes selected will be expected to fulfil tough performance criteria throughout the next cycle, but our immediate focus is firmly on winning medals at London 2017 next year. To have both World Championships in the UK, in the same year, is just incredible.

Olympic: Chris Bennett (Mick Jones), Andy Butchart (Derek Easton), Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins), Jake Wightman (Geoff Wightman)

‘It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for British athletes to be crowned World Champions and become World medallists on home soil, and I expect a number of those

Relay Squads:

Paralympic: Sammi Kinghorn (Ian Mirfin), Derek Rae (Ron Morrison)

Olympic: 4 x 400m Eilidh Doyle (Malcolm Arnold), Kirsten McAslan (Trevor Painter)

*********************************************************************************************************************** Performance Institute Coach for throws, to be made by post to Alex Jackson. The scottishathletics are pleased to confirm a closing date will be first post on Monday 16 David Parker and Scottish endurance coach, series of Coach Network Sessions for invited January. See the Events section on www.

Mike Johnston. coaches – geared towards sharing good scottishathletics.org.uk practice and exchanging ideas. ************************************** ************************************** scottishathletics have set-up the coach network for like-minded coaches who are There’s always a special atmosphere at the There are Hammer Development Group working, or have worked with, performance Scottish Masters XC Championships and we athletes in their event. Last month, coaches feel sure the 2017 event will be no different. winter sessions coming upin 2017 on January 15; February 5 and March 5 operating at a high level in Scotland and in And, with the Scottish Veteran Harriers the UK in their respective event were invited For this winter’s sessions, the group are Club having staged a very successful British to the coach network sessions in Glasgow. hiring a Strength & Conditioning coach from and Irish Masters XC event in Glasgow in ‘Athlete Focused’, whose coaches work with The concept around the coach networks is November which included a strong open some of Scotland’s top athletes. for coaches to discuss, share knowledge race, it’s hoped there will be large fields and their experiences around a topic that when Scottish championship medals are up One-hour physical preparation sessions will is related to their event/event group; thus for grabs. be delivered to two groups,with a maximum creating a constructive learning environment of 20 athletes in total.

Dundee is the venue this time around with for all. courses to be set up within Camperdown More details: Jim Green; Hammer The first sessions were hosted by England Country Park on Saturday 28 January.

Development Group; Athletics National Coach Mentor for speed, jim.green1@btinternet.com Masters athletes should be thinking now Tony Hadley; British Athletics Head of Field, scottishathletics Peter Stanley; British Athletics National about getting their entries in and these are

7

Athlete of the Year

Laura Muir

Diamond races prove Laura is a real gem (But WE knew that already)

L

aura Muir can look back on 2016 with a huge sense of pride after a momentous year.

And one single sentence, tucked away inside a feature on the IAAF website on the rising Scot, somehow brought into focus the scale of her achievement.

Reflecting on the new Commonwealth Record run of 3.55.22 in the Paris Diamond League which took Laura to 13th on the World all-time, writer Jon Mulkeen duly noted: Since the turn of the millennium, only world record-holder Genzebe Dibaba has ever run faster.

It is quite a staggering concept and an achievement which more than lifted the 23-year-old’s spirits after the undoubted pain and disappointment of seventh in the Olympic final in Rio. Incredibly, nor does it feel all that surprising for those within the athletics community who have tracked her progress these past few years under the guidance of coach Andy Young.

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PB 2016 | ISSUE 4

‘I don’t think you can ever make up for missing out on an Olympic medal, but the run in Paris definitely showed that going with the two leaders in Rio wasn’t a crazy move for me; it was a genuine, good response,’ said Laura, after a year which saw her become the first Scottish winner of the Diamond Race soon after Paris.

‘I guess it was good to show that I was up there with those girls and that what I did in Rio wasn’t silly. And it was good to put that time down.

‘I felt really, really good when I won in London. It was a low 3:57, so I thought I could probably do a 3:56. But to do 3:55 was quite a surprise, considering the travel back from Rio and not having had any therapy or much sleep.

‘Faith Kipyegon is a hard cookie to break, so it was quite a big thing to beat her. It’s just a shame it wasn’t a week or so earlier.

‘We looked really closely at the tactics for Rio. Andy is good in analysing all of the videos and looking at all the splits. I did think about running from the front in the final, but it’s so, so hard to do, and I knew a lot of the girls could run sub-four.

‘So we looked at the tactics and we decided on our best option, but that third lap was just too quick for me. The other two managed to keep it going while I couldn’t.

But it’s very difficult in a race situation to know what pace you’re at. I ran the race the way I wanted to. It just didn’t quite finish the way I’d hoped.’

In point of fact, it was arguably the only ‘blip’ on the radar in a series of outstanding races from Oslo to Birmingham to London to Paris and Zurich and then late-season Mile road runs in New York and Newcastle.

‘I knew training had been going really well and I’d been setting a lot of PBs in training sessions, so I knew I was physically fitin the summer,’ she added, looking back.

‘But it’s one thing doing it in training and another thing doing it on the track. A lot of the time you need the right pace, the right field, the right conditions. I knew it was there, but to actually do it is always a shock.

‘We didn’t really do anything differently this year. It was more just consistency and not picking up any injuries or illness. I haven’t been ill since February and I’ve been training six days a week every week, so everything was pretty much perfect and we were just consistently training.

Athlete of the Year ‘It gives me huge confidence for next year. There’s only one person with a faster time than that who is currently running, so I’m very excited about that.

And winning the Diamond Race has given me a wildcard entry for the World Championships, so I don’t have to worry about qualifying. I’m going!’

Rio, of course, had seen Laura commit to an attempt for gold over the final two laps before staying with Kipyegon and Dibabe proved too difficult.

‘It’s not every day you’re in an Olympic final, but I gave it everything and I’m really proud of how I ran. I know in myself there’s more to come.’

Laura had broken the British Record held

by Dame Kelly Holmes at the Anniversary Games in London on another special night.

Longer track distances, where Paula Radcliffe holds British Records, could yet come into her sights.

‘I hope I run fast enough to keep running 1500s but I think I could be pretty good at 5000m,’ she said.

‘I’ve done a pretty good time at 3000m and we’ve been doing quite a lot of 5000m sessions which I’ve been doing really well at.’

But Muir hasn’t finished yet at shorter distances.

‘I know I can run sub-2:00 for 800m but, because I haven’t done it yet, it’s difficult to get into really fast 800m races.

‘As for 2017, I think I’ll do the indoor season and the European Indoor Championships. It could be 800m, 1500m or 3000m.’

Outdoors, the focus will be the IAAF World Championships on home soil in London – more of a priority than defending that Diamond Race trophy.

For the moment, looking back on 2016 offers up a myriad of good memories, including a tearful receipt of the Athlete of the Year trophy from Derek Redmond amid a tremendous reception at the sold out Annual Dinner.

‘I think it was the quality of competition and the warmth of the ovation when I went up to receive Athlete of the year that got to me a wee bit,’ smiled Laura.

‘It’s great to know you have that kind of support back home when racing around the world and it is hugely appreciated.’

Scottish Athlete of the Year (Nominees)

Andrew Butchart: Sixth place in the Olympic final at 5000m would have been impressive in itself, but Butchart added in his third Scottish Record of the season for good measure. The first had come in Holland, in one shoe, and there was another to follow at 3000m in a Birmingham Diamond league meeting. He also won the Scottish National XC and the British 5000m Champs.

Eilish McColgan: Back at the start of 2016 even Eilish herself would have rated her chances of racing at the Olympics as odds-against. But a return in the Antrim Road Race set her up for a terrific spring which saw her start to post PBs and qualifying standards at 5000m, her new event after switching from steeplechase. She was sixth in the European Championships and then finished 13th in the Olympic final.

Andy Douglas: The Scotland XC International picked up sixth place at the World Mountain Running Champs in September 2015 at the start of the year under review (when the selection panel met). He followed that up with fourth place in the European Champs during the 2016 season when he was clearly Britain’s top Senior Men’s athlete in that strand of the sport. Andy was also second in the Scottish National XC and won the Home International Men’s race.

Eilidh Doyle: A very successful year once again for one of the most recognised figures in British athletics, Eilidh ended Scotland’s 28-year wait for an Olympic medal in track and field with bronze in the 4 x 400m in Rio. That came after eighth in a 400m Hurdles event where her Diamond League consistency saw the Scot pick up second place overall. Eilidh won the 400m Hurdles British title, too, and won a gold medal at the European Champs in the 4 x 400m relay in a season where a new PB in Monaco broke her own 400m Hurdles Scottish Record.

Callum Hawkins: From half marathon runs at the World Champs in Cardiff to the European Championships in Holland to marathons in London and Rio, it has been quite a year for Callum.

His London Marathon performance saw him finish eighth and best Brit and he followed that up with a top 10 place in Rio with a fine run in his first Olympics – even leading for a long spell mid-race.

Lynsey Sharp: Lynsey showed great consistency throughout the season with a whole string of performances under the two minute mark – including one Diamond League second place and three third places.

She competed at the World Indoors and then, in Rio, came safely through two rounds before delivering a Scottish Record performance - at 1.57.69 - in the final on her way to sixth place.

Steph Twell: After finishing sixth at the Euro Cross last December – on a day when she made a really strong bid for a medal – Steph followed on with a fine 2016. She won the British Champs in great style in Birmingham and then Amsterdam was a real highlight as she took the bronze medal and declared: ‘I feel as though the lost years are behind me.’ At the Olympics, Steph missed out on the final by one place.

remember to follow @scotathletics for all your latest news and updates.

Photos by Mark Shearman, Bobby Gavin & Jeff Holmes

scottishathletics

9

Annual Awards

Local heroes I

Two tables of Killie Harriers guests rose as one to acclaim their local hero – and the rest of those in the room were unstinting, also.

By the very nature of these such awards, the recipient is almost universally an ‘unsung hero’ and perfectly content to keep working away for the sport in the background.

‘I did enjoy the moment a wee bit, I must confess, and it was very nice for the club,’ added Hugh, with his Harriers roles also including (variously) regular coaching; setting up cross country courses; cutting the grass; setting up hurdles and sundry other tasks.

t can’t be too often that the Scottish Volunteer of the Year has had an age group World Record against their name on the CV.

So it is with Kilmarnock Harriers stalwart, Hugh Rankin, and there was absolutely no chance of this marvellous octogenarian volunteering the information on his World Masters record at M55 for 3000m off his own volition. Fortunately, scottishathletics has impeccable sources in Ayrshire.

‘I don’t really agree with Awards for top class sportsmen and women but probably it is a good idea to recognise clubs and coaches and officials or volunteers.’

So, what about that Masters World Record?

‘It was a number of years ago – when I was in the M55 age group,’ Hugh recalled. ‘I went up to Glasgow for an indoor event – it was the old Kelvin Hall – and I ran 9.37 for the 3000m age group World Record at that time.’

Another Awards winner from Ayrshire certainly comes into the local hero bracket, too.

Volunteer of the Year Hugh Rankin with Mark Munro ‘Ach, you don’t have to mention that, do you?’ asked Hugh.

Cambuslang Harrier Kerry-Liam Wilson is a world class athlete at M45 just as Rankin was at M55 and the man from Girvan is something of a legend among our Masters, the West Region and, indeed, the whole endurance community across Scotland.

‘I am just happy doing what I do for the Harriers and always have been. I’ve been with them since I finished my National Service in my early 20s so that’s about 60 years or so.

‘I’m 82 next birthday but I love athletics and the Harriers are a good club with a lot of good people involved. If I’m helping them then I’m happy. But, to be honest with you, I am sure there are many people all over Scotland who do the same for their clubs as I do.’

So what an emotional moment it was when, after several ‘near-misses’ in terms of short-listing, Kerry-Liam stepped forward as Masters Athlete of the Year for 2016 with compere Bryan Burnett and award presenter, Ian Beattie, among his running friends.

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Para Athlete: Libby Clegg Masters Athlete: Kerry-Liam Wilson U20 Athlete: Cameron Tindle U17 Athlete: Erin Wallace Eddie Campbell Medal: Euan Gillham Performance Coach: Andy Young Development Coach: Dudley Walker (Giffnock North AAC) Club Coach: Donald Pegrum and Archie McBride (Cumbernauld AAC) Impact Club: Shetland AAC

Off Track Club: Central AC Masters Athlete of the Year Kerry-Liam Wilson with Ian Beattie

And that appreciation for the contribution of volunteers was never more evident than the moment Hugh’s name was announced at the Hilton Hotel as our Volunteer of the Year and then accepted his trophy from CEO Mark Munro.

Athlete of the Year: Laura Muir

Track and Field Club: Edinburgh AC

‘I do anything required around the club – but so do plenty of other folk. I’m a jog leader, too, with the jogscotland group and take them out for runs on a Tuesday and Thursday.

Frankly, the sport wouldn’t function otherwise.

Roll of Honour

With a ‘double double’ over the 5K and 5000m distance in Scottish and British events, Wilson was a deserved winner and it was abundantly clear what it meant to him.

‘I’ve achieved the highest accolade the sport can bestow on me,’ he tweeted.

‘Was in a flood of tears before Ian Beattie had even finished saying my name then the walk through the guests. At least the carpet got a wash.’

Official of the Year: Brian Brown Raymond Hutcheson Trophy for services to officiating: Ann Carter Volunteer of the Year: Hugh Rankin (Kilmarnock Harriers) Honorary Life Membership: Vic Hockley, Bill Walker Tom Stillie Sword: Janet Nixon Dallas Trust Trophy: Andy Butchart

Annual Awards

Awards Dinner Picture Special

Raymond Hutcheson Trophy for Services to Officiating – Ann Carter receives award from Margaret Brown

Official of the Year - Brian Brown accepts award from Margaret Brown

Track and Field Club of the Year – Edinburgh AC receive the accolade from Paralympian Derek Rae and Jamie McDonald of scottishathletics

Off Track Club of the Year – Michael Wright of Central AC receives the award from Olympian Beth Potter

Club Coach of the Year winners– Cumbernauld AAC duo Donald Pegrum and Archie McBride

Dallas Trust Trophy – John McDonald of Central AC accepts the trophy on Andrew Butchart’s behalf

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Rio Paralympics

#SALsuper6

W

hen London staged the Paralympics four years ago in the late summer of 2012, only two Scottish athletes were involved with GB and NI – Libby Clegg and Stef Reid.

Fast forward to Rio this past summer and no fewer than six were on the plane to Brazil following the final selection analysis.

On scottishathletics social media we dubbed them #SALsuper6 ahead of the Paralympic Games – and the ‘super’ description proved fitting as the efforts of those six individuals saw seven medals brought back to Britan.

It was a wonderful display of ‘Para Power of Scotland’ and the track and field contingent made a huge contribution in terms of Scottish success at the Paralympics.

Here we look at each athlete in turn, with some of the comments they made out in Rio.

LIBBY CLEGG T11 100 Gold 11.96 World Record 11.91 in the semi-final T11 200m Gold 24.51 Libby Clegg claimed Paralympic gold in Rio in the T11 100m final. And what a moment for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth champion at T12 as she took the title by just two hundredths of a second in a tense and dramatic finish in a time of 11.96 seconds.

All this on a day when Libby and guide runner, Chris Clarke, had set a World Record of 11.91 in their semi-final before being first DQd from the event and then reinstated

after an appeal.

The T11 100m champion followed up her success in that event with victory and a Paralympic Record in the 200m with guide runner Chris Clarke at her side in Brazil.

Libby said: ‘I’ve massively surprised myself - obviously I’ve had a really tough year not being on funding, and through injury - it’s been a really tough year and if you’d asked me nine or ten months ago I’d probably have told you it wasn’t possible.

‘When I was reclassified as a T11, I was quite daunted by it, because being blindfolded is obviously quite different from using the sight I do have . . . but Chris has been absolutely amazing. He’s such a good guide he’s really helped me get through.

‘The 200m is actually my better event and I love it so I’m so happy that we took the gold in this one.

‘London 2017 will be exciting – we definitely know we can go faster. I obviously

didn’t get a PB today so that is something we will be working on. Same in the 100m; I had a shocker of a start. so we can go even faster in that one as well. Competing in front of a home crowd again will be great and I will thrive off that.’

STEF REID T44 Long Jump 5.64m Stef matched her performance from London 2012 in the T44 long jump and was only denied victory by a world record from longtime rival Marie Amelie le Fur, with her French athlete jumping 5.83m The 31-year-old finished with a best of 5.64m and admitted there were mixed emotions after winning her third Paralympic medal.

Stef said: ‘It feels amazing to win another Paralympic medal – I was initially disappointed but it took an amazing jump to take the gold medal today; Marie-Amelie Le-Fur came up with a very impressive series on the day.

‘Obviously the gold is what I was after but I was proud with how I jumped and to be taking the silver medal home with me. I’m still motivated and aiming to jump even further next year. London 2017 is a target for me, but I will take a break and see what I need to work on.’

JO BUTTERFIELD F51 Club Throw 22.81m F52 Discus Fifth 9.40m

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Jo Butterfield claimed Paralympic gold in Rio in the F51 Club Throw event with a World Record!

Rio Paralympics The Glasgow-based athlete, who only took up the sport just over two years ago, came up with a 22.81m throw to win the event, breaking her own World Record (22.75m) Jo said: ‘This is what you dream of. It is what I’ve prepared for; it is what me, Phil (Peat) and Shona (Malcolm) work hard for and we have done it.

‘It still hasn’t quite sunk in, we were whisked straight to a medal ceremony but I cannot stop smiling. It was hard work to get here – it’s been six years since a life-changing experience so to then be here on the biggest stage in the world; it feels amazing.

‘My first throw was just short of the world record and that felt quite easy so I knew all I had to do was put a bit more speed into it.

The second one, I held my breath because I’ve had a bit of a sore shoulder so I knew I didn’t necessarily have six big throws in me so I had to get it in straight away. I held my breath and went for speed then saw it fly.’

Jo then finished fifth in the discus, nursing a shoulder injury and only completing the first three throws.

MARIA LYLE T34 100m Bronze 14.41 T34 200m Bronze 29.35 T35-28 4 x 100m Relay Silver Maria Lyle came home from Rio with a trio of Paralympic medals to her name at the age of 16.

The Scottish sprinter took bronzes in two individual events and landed a silver in the 4 x 100m relay as the Paralympics GB quartet set a British Record.

Lyle had already a bronze to her name in the T35 100m when she landed silver in the relay and then bronze in the T35 200m.

On the final day of track and field action at the Estadio Olimpico, Maria matched her performance from the 100m, where she finished behind Australia’s Isis Holt and China’s Xia Zhou, who set a new world record of 28.22. The Dunbar teenager recorded 29.35.

The T35-28 team of Kadeena Cox, Lyle, Georgie Hermitage and Sophie Hahn set a personal best on their way to the silver medal, only beaten by a world record from the Chinese. The British team had previously run 51.63 at the IPC Athletics European Championships in June, but took a significant chunk off that mark to record 51.07.

Maria said after that race: ‘I’m buzzing – I don’t know about the other girls but when I watched the British relay (4x100m) medal at the Olympics that just made me want to race here so much. We’ll certainly be going for that gold in London next year on home ground.’

SAMMI KINGHORN T53 100m 100m Fifth 17.13 T53 400m Heat Fourth T53 800m Sixth 1.49.51 Sammi Kinghorn ended her Rio adventure with sixth place in the T53 800m final on Saturday evening – after taking four seconds off her PB in the heats to land a new European Record.

After that earlier time of 1.48 Sammi put in another solid display in the final, as she crossed the line in sixth place in a time of 1:49.51.

‘Rio has been incredible, I’ve enjoyed everything about it,’ said Sammi, who is coached by Ian Mirfin.

‘I’ve enjoyed every single race and I’ve learned so much from it. I never thought three and a half years ago I’d be competing in my first Paralympics in such a short time.

Tokyo better be ready.’

DEREK RAE

Win No 7 for Libby For a number of years, Libby Clegg dominated the Para scene in terms of Scottish athletes.

And that success by the sprinter is reflected in the honours list for the Scottish Para Athlete of the Year Award – with Libby having won it no fewer than six times prior to this year and four-in-a-row between 2011 and 2014.

Within the last couple of years, however, the competition has intensified to say the least with the emergence on the global Para scene of the likes of thrower Jo Butterfield, wheelchair racer Sammi Kinghorn and teenage sprinter Maria Lyle. Long jumper Stef Reid has had a fine career, too.

Dunbar-based Lyle duly won the Scottish Para Athlete of the Year award for 2015 and, with three medals at the Paralympics in Rio, was among the contenders again this time.

In fact, the short-list featured all six Scots who represented ParalympicsGB in Rio in September, with marathon runner Derek Rae in addition to those already aforementioned.

But it was Clegg’s double gold in the T11 100m and 200m – with a World Record and a Paralympic Record at the Games, too – which made Libby the choice of the scottishathletics adjudication panel to land her the title for the seventh time.

It has been a whirlwind of change for the Edinburgh-raised Clegg over the past 12 months or so, with a new coach and a new guide runner altering her training approach and then a change of classification.

Libby also won the British Athletics Writers Association Para Athlete of the Year title and at a ceremony in London she said: ‘Chris Clarke has been so good to work with over the past few months as my new guide runner.

‘He fitted in straight away and he is so laid back so that was amazing. The good thing is we are able to bounce off each other. There have been some hard times over the years so when you have a special year, and a great event like Rio, you have to savour the feelings.’

Unfortunately, Libby didn’t manage to attend at the Hilton Glasgow and the Scottish Athlete of the Year Award was accepted on her behalf by Shona Malcolm from Derek Redmond.

Marathon DNF Maria said: ‘I’m pleased; that is a season best for me. I’ve come away with three medals from the Paralympics so I couldn’t have asked for any more. It’s great to see the sport developing and a lot of new athletes coming through.

‘It will only help to keep pushing me to improve and hopefully I’ll be in the mix again in London (at the World ParaAthletics Championships) next year. Not everyone gets to come to a Paralympic Games, never mind win a medal so it has been amazing experience. It’s a relief to be finally done, now I can enjoy these medals.’

T46 runner Derek headed to Rio in fine form after a year in which he finished fifth in the IPC World Marathon Cup in London in April.

PB performances in advance augured well for the marathon at the Paralympics but, although he pushed himself up to fourth place at one stage, the extreme heat and humid conditions on the day had taken too much of a toll and he was forced to drop out – with the conditions afflicting a number of the field that day.

scottishathletics

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#LindsaysXC

Lindsays link helps cross country growth

T

wo years ago we announced a partnership which created the Lindsays Cross Country Season across the winter of 2014-15 - culminating in the hugelypopular National XC at Falkirk.

‘We are delighted to be continuing our involvement with the Scottish Cross Country Season,’ said Lindsays Chief Operating Officer and scottishathletics Chairman, Ian Beattie.

And now that has been improved and extended into a new four-year deal to run right through to 2020.

‘It has been really encouraging to see the levels of participation at all age groups over the last few years, a trend that reflects very positively on the hard work being carried out at athletics clubs across the whole country.

The agreement covers six events per season - three at District level and three at National level - and we’re delighted with the success of the sponsorship so far.

Sponsorship support for this authentic, grassroots sport helps us put on the best events we can; it funds the video coverage we’ve had in recent years at Cumbernauld and Falkirk and allows us to try and improve the experience on the day for athletes.

So it really is great news for the sport and, thanks to the link-up with Lindsays, scottishathletics members and clubs are offered an exclusive package of legal service generating further investment in the club network.

The Lindsays Scottish Cross Country Season covers six events each year: *The National XC Relay Championships *The National XC Short Course Championships *North District XC Championships *East District XC Championships *West District XC Championships *The National XC Championships

‘We look forward to our continuing involvement in the series over the next four years, and I am sure we will see further growth in the numbers taking part over this period.’

Mark Munro, Chief Executive at scottishathletics, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to secure a further four years of support from Lindsays for the Lindsays Cross Country Season.

‘The partnership began a couple of years ago and I think in that period we’ve already seen growth in the events they are involved with - particularly at the likes of the National Relays and the National XC itself.

‘These are key days on the club calendar and we’ve seen that with huge entry numbers, excitement in the build-up and atmosphere on the day.

‘I think I am right in saying that over the past National XC events there have been more than 80 clubs represented at Callendar Park and, of course, it is a day when anyone from U13 to V70 (or older!, ) both male and female, can take part in a National Championship. It is very inclusive in that sense.

Lindsays is an award winning law firm offering a full range of legal services for individuals, families and businesses. They are the ideal partner for scottishathletics members and clubs who have legal needs.

‘At elite level, you only have to look at how this year’s winners - Andrew Butchart and Beth Potter - progressed from Falkirk in February to Rio in August to see how cross country can act as the perfect winter base for endurance athletes.

And the partnership reinforces the firm’s interest in the sport with its backing for two-time Olympian, three-times British champion and GB international, Eilish McColgan, in an individual sponsorship deal.

‘We really do see cross country as part of the very fabric of the sport and that’s why it is so important to us that sponsorship from Lindsays can help support these events.

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‘Video coverage at Cumbernauld and Falkirk, for example, is very popular and helps us provide a window on our sport which is not

always available via the mainstream media.

We’re working on raising the profile to the wider public, too, of course.

‘The partnership with an award-winning Scottish legal firm also includes a benefits package for our members and, equally importantly, for our clubs when they use Lindsays for their legal needs. It is great to ‘pass on’ benefits to our members in this way.’

Claire McCracken, a corporate partner at Lindsays who specialises in sports law and is a former Scottish Record Holder for the women’s 3000 metre steeplechase, added: ‘We are delighted to be involved in the Lindsays Cross Country Season.

‘Lindsays has a long-standing relationship with scottishathletics and a commitment to investing and supporting sport in Scotland.

I have competed in the National Cross Country on many occasions so I recognise how important the season is to athletes and clubs throughout Scotland.’

On Twitter, we’ll be using the hashtag #LindsaysXC for all the events over the course of the next four years.

NATIONAL XC CHAMPION ANDREW BUTCHART: ‘I think it is essential for up-and-coming athletes to do cross country. It builds a lot of strength for the summer and I always believed that the hard work I did around cross country helped me develop on the track. ‘ I enjoy the different terrain. For cross country there are different courses and different elements to it. I think that, even if you have not had the best cross country season, if you have worked hard and put in the miles and done the training, then it is definitely going to show. It can benefit and improve you.

‘As for the National XC – my coach (Derek Easton) thinks of it as the Olympic Games of the sport. It is the peak of my career so far in my coach’s opinion!’

%HQH¿W \RXr club as we invest in the athletics club network

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Lindsays is an awardwinning Scottish law ¿UP WKDW FRPELQHV KLJK levels of service with legal expertise to tailor the best SRVVLEOH RXWFRPHV DQG results for you, your IDPLO\ RU \RXU EXVLQHVV

Scottishathletics Club Offer: If you use our services, we will give 15% of our final fee for any work undertaken by us back to your club.

Our offer applies to the following services: t Residential Property Sales and Purchases t Family Law and Divorce t Wills and Powers of Attorney t Executries t Employment Law Services Please quote Athletics15 when you get in touch

marketing@lindsays.co.uk Edinburgh 0131 229 1212

Glasgow 0141 221 6551

www.lindsays.co.uk Dundee 01382 224112

North Berwick 01620 893481

Cumbernauld

Why we all love Cumbernauld . . .

F

or those of a certain generation, the parklands around Cumbernauld House are synonymous as one of the key backdrops in the iconic Scottish movie ‘Gregory’s Girl’ – from the early 1980s.

Now, however, for the athletics family in Scotland that same park at Cumbernauld has become the centre of a love affair with the National XC Relays.

The special date night white jacket worn by the gawky Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) would not survive the mud and grass but, since just after the turn of the Millennium, the slopes have become a favourite location for an event which now counts as the second biggest in our calendar in terms of numbers just below the National XC itself.

The best entry fields for 24 years, since championships for men and women merged, assembled on October 25 for the traditional battles and the appearances of Olympians Andy Butchart and Callum Hawkins only added further to a vibrant atmosphere.

Yellow and green were to become the predominant colours on the podium landscape with Central AC and Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds keenly contesting the two Senior Races.

‘Every time I’ve come here in the past five years or so I’ve felt the National XC Relays event is rising in profile and stature.’ took the title thanks to the efforts of Steph Pennycook, Catriona Graves, Louise Mercer and Mhairi Maclennan.

Central AC were second after a great final leg by Morag MacLarty, with a VP-Glasgow team including GB international Josephine Moultrie and Mhairi Hendry taking the bronzes.

‘It was good to win it again – that’s five in a row for Central AC and I know

it means a lot to the coaches and the club to keep being the dominant force at cross country,’ said Butchart.

As it transpired, Central AC’s Senior Men made it five-in-a-row in that category with Butchart asked only to steer them home on the final leg after fine work from Jamie Crowe, Michael Wright and Alastair Hay had established a lead.

‘I definitely had the ‘glory leg’ this time with the fourth leg and happily the guys before me had it set up so well for me that I just had to get round safely! Michael Wright really had an excellent run in the second leg which made a big impact on the race and Jamie Crowe and Alastair Hay did well, also.

Edinburgh Uni took second, with GB international hill runners Andrew Lawler and Euan Gillham in their quartet, with Aberdeen AAC on the podium. Aberdeen’s team included Rory Muir, young brother of Olympian Laura.

‘Every time I’ve come here in the past five years or so I’ve felt the National XC Relays event is rising in profile and stature. There are many more club tents than before and many more athletes – and that competition is helping raise standards.’

Students were very much to the fore in the Senior Women’s race as Edinburgh Uni

Kilbarchan were 17th in the men’s race when Hawkins set off on his 4K lap and the Great Scottish Run winner took them through to fourth with a scorching run. His

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11.01 was the fastest leg, with Butchart at 11.22.

‘I went off pretty fast and it was a shock to the system in many ways after marathons and half marathons,’ smiled Callum.

‘But this is one of the places I started – running here at U13 level – and I have fond memories of that. I think myself and Andy just love the sport and if we can inspire

even one person to get off the couch and run, then that is pretty special.’

Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds didn’t mind admitting when they heard a fourstrong team was required for the Senior Women’s race this year they fancied their chances.

Steph Pennycook had led off Edinburgh Uni with a late burst on the first leg and she was backed up by Louise Mercer and Catriona Graves – no strangers to hills – before Mhairi Maclennan brought it home, holding off those behind.

‘We are delighted with that and we feel we have such a strong team this year,’ said Pennycook ‘When we saw that it was changing to four legs for the Senior Women’s race we were delighted - because we felt that played into our hands.

‘The likes of Catriona and Louise have great

National XC Relays

Back to the heart of our sport

BY CHRIS RAINSFORD

‘I love having a wee battle with Sarah Inglis, another training partner. We both like the first leg when possible as we tend to go off fast! She had the fastest lap at the East District but I have levelled that now.’

Edinburgh AC won both the Young Females and the Young Males titles, with that a special achievement for the Carcas family as U15 athlete Pippa took gold and then saw her brother U17 Freddie replicate that success.

‘It was a great day for Edinburgh AC in terms of the age group races and we are very proud of the athletes and coaches,’ said EAC coach, Eric Fisher.

‘H

ow refreshing to see two Olympians turning out to support their clubs at the Scottish XC Relays – not just Olympians either but two of GB’s distance running stars from Rio Their appearance drew the attention beforehand of BBC Sport – attention to a domestic championship race that would otherwise be covered only by fans and a nerdy athletics press.

What a fillip for the event that had already drawn its biggest entry in 24 years since the men’s and women’s event was combined.

‘We felt both our A teams had a good chance of the podium as both won the East Districts a couple of weeks ago and the competition is stiff there.

There were a couple of changes and if anything that made us stronger.

‘Freddie Carcas came in as our U17 athletes and he’s really strong. It was a good day for that family because his sister, Pippa, was the U15 athlete in the winning team in the Young Females race.

‘Big brother Alex and dad were running the Seniors and the mum is just taking her coaching badges, so that’s one family who make a pretty big contribution to EAC and to an event like Cumbernauld.’

Eloise Walker had led the EAC girls home.

Emma Johnson was the U13 athlete and the other gold medallist boys for EAC were Jay Stewart (U13) and Joe Ewing (U15).

New club PH-Racing won the Women’s Masters race with Cambuslang Harriers making it six-in-a-row with their Men’s Masters win. Cambuslang also won the Men’s V50 race as Springburn Harriers took the Women’s V50 golds.

certainly showing the way forward in terms of distance running in the UK – rightly points out that ‘the pathway is obvious and that’s a huge motivation for our young athletes.’

For any aspiring youngster – or seasoned club runner still churning out the miles for that matter – Butchart and Hawkins add a serious sense of legitimacy to their efforts.

And this is where the future of the sport lies.

The dislocation between what’s going on at the elite end of the sport – the one Butchart and Hawkins inhabited in Rio during a successful summer – and the reality of the daily grassroots grind juggled by triers and aspirants has never been greater.

Therapeutic use exemptions, fancy bears, doping and corruption continue to dog the headlines around the grey world at the top while the grassroots goes on ignored and alienated.

In pursuit of the wallet of the masses, the sport runs the risk of ignoring those at its heart.

It’s a world fast-becoming undesirable let alone relatable and achievable for those starting out. It isn’t a reflection of what’s happening on the ground or what people running in their national relay championships are concerned with either.

The appearance of Callum Hawkins and Andrew Butchart in Cumbernauld demonstrates recognition of where they’ve come from and how it’s contributed to their current success. There’s an endearing humility at play. It proves their ambitions lie much further than in making a quick buck off the back of recent success.

The pair proved they are neither too big time to compete in domestic competition, nor swayed too far from their goals and ambitions to be enticed by the sums now inevitably on offer in large sponsored events.

Butchart, who also turned out recently at the ERRA National 6 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park, commented afterwards: ’The bottom line is: the things we did last year worked perfectly for me ahead of Rio so it is a case of trying to do the same again – and then see if I can go even quicker on the track next summer.’

Mark Munro, chief executive of Scottish Athletics – a national governing body

But Butchart and Hawkins, who clocked the quickest time of the day, are going some way to restoring credibility.

Their outing in Cumbernauld represents much more than just a quick PR win.

Their appearance helps bridge the chasm between the elite and grassroots. It allows the grassroots to sneak out of the shadows again and showcase a part of the sport talked about on TV and in the media in otherwise exclusively murky terms.

The future lies not in the deification of a few false idols scripted to take the sport forward.

It’s in re-engaging with the grassroots and creating new stories rooted in the heart of the sport.

‘

endurance background with hill running.

We train together and it is a very strong group now - everyone is improving and motivating each other.

*This blog post first appeared on leftspikefanzine.com Photos: by Bobby Gavin

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Lindsays XC

Renfrew

Crowd-pleaser Scotland’s best athletes compete together really is helping cross country events.

Muir’s training partner, Jemma Reekie, came through to snatch the U20 Women’s title, with both coached by Andy Young.

Falkirk Victoria Harriers athlete Ben Stevenson took the Senior Men’s race in fine style to win by four seconds from Shettleston’s Tewolde Mengisteab as Aberdeen AAC’s Michael Ferguson won bronze.

‘It was fun to be racing again and I always love cross country,’ said Laura, who raced for Glasgow Uni.

Men’s gold for Ben Stevenson

T

o say the Short Course XC Champs is growing in stature might actually be classed as an under-statement.

A new venue at Renfrew marked the fourth instalment of these championships since national races at U15 and U17 were added to the Bellahouston card back in 2013.

And still the numbers rise spectacularly with 551 adults finishing the two senior races at Renfrew as compared to 220 back in 2012 and 301 in 2013.

With support from Lindsays, the profile is rising and, of course, it helps to have an Olympian or two in action.

‘Really it was about getting back in the routine because I have not raced since a road event at Newcastle at the start of September so it has been two months.

‘The course was flat but the wind was really strong today – that makes it all the harder when you are out on your own and I had to fight into it the whole way around.

‘Just after I had finished I was aware Jemma had been running well and was high up overall. It is great she is U20 champion because she has been working hard at her athletics and is improving all the time.’

Central AC took the Women’s team race from Edinburgh AC and Reekie’s Kilbarchan, who went home with the bronze medals.

It was a double for Central AC as they took the men’s team race from Cambuslang Harriers and Shettleston Harriers – to land

Laura Muir captured another Scottish title and captivated the crowds in Renfrew with her first race on home soil since the Olympics a superb solo run in very windy conditions – which left the rest of the Women’s field battling for silver and bronze after almost the first 500m.

Muir duly won it by 40 seconds in 13.20 as Rosie Smith edged ahead of Morag MacLarty to take that second place en route to the Euro Cross trials in Liverpool.

Stornoway’s Connor Maclean won U20 title from Sol Sweeney (left) and bronze medallist Logan Rees

the Scottish Cross Country Team Challenge overall prize-money.

Freya Ross, another Olympian, was a little further back in a field which also included Emily Dudgeon while their Edinburgh AC team-mate, Jake Wightman, just missed out on the top ten in the Men’s race. Seeing

Connor Maclean won the Men’s U20 race after flying in from Stornoway, with Sol Sweeney (Perth Strathtay) second and Logan Rees third (Fife AC). Reekie had been joined on the podium by Annabel Simpson (Fife AC) and Anna Tait (VP-Glasgow).

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National champion for the Short Course XC,’ said Stevenson, who has won Scotland vests in the past year in more than one discipline.

‘I wanted to race here, rather than the 10K in Leeds, and I think it looked quite an open field for the medals (with Callum Hawkins and Andy Butchart absent). You really could not predict the podium places beforehand with the likes of Andy Douglas and Jake Wightman in there.

‘I didn’t go off too fast - some of the younger one were leading it out into the wind and I felt it best to let them and wait for my chance a bit later on.

Maclean travelled from Stornoway to claim the U20 Men’s gold. ‘I came back from America six months ago and have been training away at home in the Western Isles,’ said Connor.

‘Robert Hawkins is coaching me now, sending me the sessions, and that has been working really well.’

Central AC’s Morag MacLarty took the bronze medal and led her club-mates home to the team golds and overall success in the Scottish Cross Country Team Challenge.

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Laura Muir cradles the Alan Potts President’s trophy flanked by silver medallist Rosie Smith (left) and Morag MacLarty

‘I’m really pleased to win it and be a

Scotland’s U17 Athlete of the Year, Erin Wallace, took the Women’s U17 race over 3K to follow on an earlier win over 2K by her Giffnock club-mate, Hamish Armitt, in the U15 Boys.

The U17 Men’s race saw Fife AC’s Adam Scott overhaul Edinburgh AC’s Freddie Carcas, who finished second, with a national medal for Law and District AAC’s James Gillon in bronze. The U15 Girls race featured a win for the familiar figure of Lily Jane Evans-Haggerty of VP-Glasgow, from Inverclyde AC’s Nuala McCheyne and Team East Lothian athlete, Cera Gemmell.

Masters golds went to Suzanne Gilmour of VP-Glasgow and Robert Gilroy of Cambuslang.

Road Running

Great Scottish Run

Great Scot!

O

ne seemingly quiet Friday afternoon in mid-November offered up another example of the kind of year it has been for athletics in Scotland.

A couple of hours after a high noon social media vote had closed, European Athletics announced Callum Hawkins had been named their ‘Athlete of the Month’ for October.

Within minutes, Central AC stalwart Ross Houston had set off on a three-hour run (give or take a minute) towards team silver with GB and NI at the IAU World 50K Champs in Doha.

Then, as the afternoon became evening, the Scottish Women in Sport Awards so recognition for Para dui Sammi Kinghorn and Maria as Role Model and Young Athlete of the Year respectively.

Let’s focus here on Callum’s superb Great Scottish Run performance early in October which drew that fine compliment from European Athletics.

He smashed the Scottish Half Marathon record and duly became the first men’s home winner of the Great Scottish Run for 33 years. The Olympic marathon runner clocked 60.24 to win from Glasgow 2014 10,000m champion, Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro, with a huge PB that takes him second to Mo Farah on the British all-time list.

The 24-year-old Scot was the first Scottish winner since Peter Fleming in 1983 (when it was a full marathon) and he thus successfully defended his Scottish Half Marathon title, with Beth Potter doing the same with a 72.07 PB in the Women’s race.

Callum ground out the resistance of 2015 Great Scottish Run champion Kipsiro after the halfway stage – even though the Kilbarchan AAC athlete had already been through 10K marginally quicker than his PB at that distance.

The lead was significant by the time he turned into Glasgow Green and the look on his face close to the finishing line, as he spotted the time on the clock, was priceless – his shock and awe only matched by the excitement of the crowd.

‘I was not expecting that; I thought I would be around 62 minutes or something like that,’ said Callum, who clocked 62.42 last year and had a PB of 62.36 from Paris early in 2016. Kipsiro was second in 60.54 with Kenyan athlete, Joel Kimutai, third in 61.34.

‘In terms of Moses, luckily I raced him last year so I knew what to expect. But he’s a quality athlete. Just having him trying to hang on really spurred me to put the boot in.

‘It is great to win it and follow on from Rio. Marathon training seems to agree with me.

I did take a couple of weeks off after coming back from Brazil but it has been good to pick it up again in the past few weeks and this augurs well.’

There were Scottish championship medals for Shettleston’s Tewolde Mengisteab and a bronze for Fife AC’s Andrew Lemoncello.

Potter took the Scottish gold and the silver went to Fionnuala Ross of Shettleston and third to Kilbarchan’s Gemma Rankin.

Fionnuala Ross – Shettleston athlete won Women’s Road Race Grand Prix

N

o fewer than 25 athletes will pick up cash thanks to the scottishathletics Road Race Grand Prix for 2016.

The Scottish Half Marathon Champs at the Great Scottish Run early in October concluded the five-race series – where scottishathletics members can pick-up ‘shares’ if they meet certain time standards.

Shettleston Harriers athlete Fionnuala Ross has had a great season on the roads and her performances yielded shares to ensure a pay-out of £454.54.

With 15 shares, Ross leads the table of 13 women who pick up cash – with only three women having done so back in 2015.

Fionnuala won the Tom Scott 10-Miler and the Scottish 10K Champs at Stirling as well as finishing second in the Half Champs to Beth Potter.

Callum Hawkins was the top earner on the Male side after superb performances at the Scottish Marathon Champs in London and the Half in Glasgow. Kilbarchan AAC’s Olympian will receive £384.61.

There were a dozen men in all who posted performances worthy of standards and the pay-outs run through to Andrew Lemoncello and Jack Walker for B standards in the Half Marathon Champs.

For Potter, the VP-Glasgow athlete who is now based in London, it was a thrilling day after disappointment in Rio at the 10,000m.

Again, it is encouraging that 12 men achieved shares when only eight did so in 2015 with only a couple of minor tweaks to what is being asked for each distance to earn an A or B standard.

*In the Scottish Half team champs, Shettleston Harriers took the golds in both the Men’s and Women’s races. Edinburgh AC took the silvers in both categories and there were bronzes for the men for Garscube Harriers and Bellahouston Road Runners in the women’s race.

The Road Running and Cross Country Commission firmly believes the GP is helping deliver better performances by more athletes and it is likely the same venues will be utilised for 2016 – with London already confirmed for the Scottish Marathon Champs.

CHRIS THOMPSON INTERVIEW 22-23

scottishathletics

19

PB 2016 Review

I

t has been a #greatyear for sure for athletics in Scotland – with some tremendous performances in various strands of the sport.

There are far too many highlights to mention them all on two pages and certainly given the range of events in which top Scots are involved.

But we still thought it well worth picking out a story or two from each of the first 11 months, in order to give a flavour of an annus mirabilis (that’s #greatyear in Latin).

That was the ye onal n internati odium at a p h it e w th , f o ts even n top a televised Scotland o ing d in a , il le so ls a e n hom internatio I N event, on d n a and GB Olympians t to like?

What’s no . e rg s the cha at home a up stayed C rt h a p w te te S S , ural oyek The inaug ameron B the uartet of C q Muir won d n ra a u tl a o L c d n aS a XC to n a h rg Edinbu e Wightm the Great Twell, Jak t a K 1 x ark. al 4 Holyrood P Internation th around rm a w d a spre

Four Scots made a 23-st rong British team for the World Indoors in America – matching the contingent two yea rs earlier as the largest representation at this par ticular championship.

Josephine Moultrie join ed Steph Twell, Lynsey Sharp and Chris O’Hare with the best performance being sixth place for Twell in the 3000m final.

had record m 0 0 0 e 5 cottish rs. But it cam uir ’s S t h ea y ig n 6 Nat M 3 y y Ma r fully in a fo r ded r d e o o n c sto rt re wn o a o h d c t g u n tumbli lo as Andy B e race with th ge in Hen 0 – finishing ing 3 .

3 becom 1 .

13 it was oe. h d id s a n s a e ’ n t , it only o the we e with d loose in ff and got on r had booke e m a c e t o t s e o it c P d la h e ‘The r, Bet I kick s earlie lem so a prob rely 24 hour ics.

Ba Olymp Andy. at the e c la p her

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PB 2016 | ISSUE 4

Photos: Mark Shearman , Bobby Gavin and Jeff Holmes

The National XC at Falkirk continues to draw ever-bigger fields to Calendar Park. When the mud settled, Andy Butchart had retained the Senior Men’s title and Beth Potter won for the umpteenth time across various age groups at her favourite cross country venue. Later, our two champions were asked about their ambitions to make the leap from Falkirk to Rio. Prophetic, or what?

The L on Marat don Mara thon s hon C ta h as Ca llum H amps and ged the B ritish it was Hawk awkin in a s, Tsega s took hom Tsegai Tew Scottish 1 -2 iw e e and D on autom the meda lde and D -3 ls. Ca erek atic p erek w llum a laces make as ad for nd d th only z e GB Men ed within a the Olymp ’s sele one. ic coupl ction e of d s for Ri a y s to o a Sc ottish -

in Birmingham ble weekend An unforgetta medals galore ed hletes claim at h ent tis ot Sc as Rio. Golds w ic places for oyle, D h lid Ei and automat y Butchart, nd A y, rc Pe en to Nick Chris B nett ura Muir and La l, el Tw h Step the podium to 11 athletes on with another total. make it 17 in ion rate’ from inar y ‘convers rd ao tr ex Harkins, an ‘It was ’ said Rodger t, lis al ed m contenders to Director.

Performance

#greatyear

ear that was . . .

One nig ht Annivers in London at th ar e leapt in y Games, Lau ra Muir to the B ritish sp conscio or usness as she e ting public’s Record clipsed set som a British e 12 ye Dame K ars ell mark fo y Holmes had previously. r those held the do 1 smashe d it with zen years but M 500m 3.57.49 uir Diamon d Race in a stu so nning summe r, in Pari lo run victor y.

Later in s, Laura more. the would lo wer it e ven

rts of offered all so The Olympics t it to three. ric st t we will re bu s ht lig gh hi t Scottish claimed a firs Eilidh Doyle r 28 years k and field fo medal in trac and NI G e ed in th B ur at fe e sh n whe in the 4 x took bronze quartet who raced to Lynsey Sharp 400m relay. l as she na fi the 800m sixth place in cord to re h tis own Scot bettered her t, on Andy Butchar by five 1.57.69. And 00m record 0 5 broke his t, .61. gh 8 ni .0 e 3 1 m n sa the c final to ru pi m ly O e th seconds in

again for ace to be once Rio was the pl was a it cs and, while the Paralympi to look rd ha is r Scots, it great event fo y Clegg and edals for Libb beyond gold m 1 sprint Libby won a T1 Jo Butterfield. along rd co a World Re double – with Record, ld or W a t le Jo se the way – whi e Club th landing gold in as well, while Throw.

Glasgow on a bright autumn Sunday lunch-time was the backdrop for a supe rb performance by Callu m Hawkins. The Olympian became a first home winner of the Great Scottish Run for 33 years with a Scottish Half Marathon Reco rd performance.

this lights, g high id Ross in n n u es d ltra r Two u w many mil he years en t o n H . w for GB time in do arance late, n put e o t p s p u a o H lcu rst y to ca o his fi to route t Far too man ontributing c ?

I ld N K o and earld 50 e 36-y U Wor with th er at the IA 3.01.33 for ilv h wski team s in Doha wit Zakrze ia s s p a o m J en Cha nd ce. Th onze a 7th pla dividual br U World in IA rb! landed gold at the – supe in s a r p e t S s Ma s in Champ 100K

scottishathletics

21

PB Interview

‘Scots are a breath of fr

Why Chris Thompson now wishes he’d been born nor

A

plaintive sigh slips from the lips of Chris Thompson, exasperation writ large across his familiar, expressive features.

‘You know, sometimes, I really do wish I was Scottish . . .’

It is quite a statement for a proud Englishman who has represented his country at the Commonwealth Games and worn a Team GB and NI vest with pride on many occasions, too, winning silver behind Mo Farah at the 2010 European Championships.

The distance runner is in conversation with scottishathletics on the first weekend of October as the Great Scottish Run captures attention in Glasgow. And right there, right

then in one sentence he has probably summed up quite brilliantly a remarkable year for the sport in Scotland.

As our chat draws towards a conclusion, we duly hand Chris a copy of the autumn edition of PB – with the centre pages taken up by that now well-known photo montage of #SALfab15 and our biggest Olympic representation for 108 years.

‘Wow, just look at that,’ he says, picking out individuals in the line-up.

‘Callum went to the front at one stage because he didn’t want to be pushed around and he wanted to do what was right for him at the time. I take my hat off to him and he has awesome potential to be honest.

‘Distance running is African-dominated, but I’m seeing British guys like him now who are not afraid to take them on and I love seeing that.

‘There’s a generation coming through – Butchart is another one of them – who are

‘What a cracking picture and I’m not surprised to hear you’ve had widespread coverage of it. That captures exactly what I’ve been talking about.’

To say Thomson had waxed lyrical for the previous 15 minutes on Scotland’s athletes would be something of an understatement.

He’s firmly acquainted with a number of #SALfab 15 and has raced with and against a couple of others. Those he knows best are Steph Twell, Eilish McColgan, Derek Hawkins and Callum Hawkins, while he’s recently spent time with Andrew Butchart. In due course, we will come to his unstinting admiration for Laura Muir.

Amid the praise, there is pause for thought, too, with Thomson offering advice for the next few years as well as the next generation. Let’s rewind that conversation.

‘What is it that’s in the water here?,’ is his opening gambit, when invited to talk to scottishathletics.

‘I’ve been saying that to coaches and training partners all summer! The impact being made by Scots on British athletics, and further afield, has been noticeable and I have to say – I think it has been a breath of fresh air.

‘So many of these athletes seem determined to be the best athlete they can be and don’t worry too much about the opposition.

I think we’ve seen that particularly from Callum and from Andrew Butchart.

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‘For Callum to finish ninth in Rio was terrific and he did so because he ran his own race.

There will be guys who finished further down that marathon in Rio still regretting now some of the things they did.

‘There’s a generation co are not content to be se not content to be second best. It is difficult, of course it is, but they are willing to have a go.

‘Always in athletics as you go up the levels, you have to ask yourself ‘Do I belong here?’ and you have to react and find ways to do so if you find out you do not.

‘But I am seeing Scots all over the place step up levels and prove they are where

#greatyear

resh air’

rth of the border they should be. Butchart has stepped up time and again in the past couple of years and he looks comfortable. His Olympic performances, in two races, were stunning.’

With London 2017 fast-approaching, followed by the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, a couple of big indoor events on British shores (including Glasgow 2019), there will be opportunities ahead for #SALfab15.

‘I think looking ahead my advice to many of

but it has to be right for the athlete’s development. I would like to think the enthusiasm and desire they have shown for Rio will keep on shining through.’

Thomson is an advocate of what we might call the ‘next generation inspiration’ theory.

‘You definitely feed off others around you and I think that has happened with Scots.

People in athletics say ‘If he can do it, then why can’t I?’. And once they ask that question of themselves, and the answer is ‘work harder’ then things can take off from there.

The interview finish line was approaching and suddenly it was Chris asking the questions.

‘If athletes see those from the same place, who have had the same kind of experiences, then they believe more and I think you physically have to see it happen. Butchart wasn’t at Glasgow 2014 but he was up close with some of those who were.

‘I don’t really know how your funding works.

Not huge, I wouldn’t imagine. But I do know that, how can I put it, you seem to support and care for athletes better. I know you did that for Laura Whittle – and she made the Olympics – and the likes of Steph and Callum might be other examples.

‘I am a firm believer that the current generation inspires the next one. Once momentum gathers in sport, it can a great force and I hope that’s happening for Scottish athletes. Those Olympians are athletes your youngsters can identify with.’

oming through... who econd best.’ them would be: ‘Don’t forget what took you to the Olympics’,’ said Chris.

‘There will be invitations to join different coaches or different groups, there will be sponsors, there will be chances to race in different places and there will be chances for overseas training camps.

‘I think they need to pick carefully. We all like a decent pay-cheque from a race

‘Then you hear about her doing her dogs’ home placement as a vet right after the Olympics and your admiration just grows even further. It is great because it makes you want to see her do well. What a brilliant ‘torch-bearer’ for Scottish athletics.’

Laura Muir represents a perfect role model – for committed athletes but also, hopefully, for young girls shying away from sport in any form (sadly in ever-increasing numbers in Scotland).

‘Laura Muir? What an athlete. What a person. What an example. I can’t speak too highly of her,’ said Thomson.

‘All athletes are consumed with themselves, and have to be self-centred, but as I’ve got older I’ve managed to look around a wee bit and what I am seeing there is stunning. You see Laura attack races and you know 110 percent you can believe in her. Too many other time you look at races and say ‘Sorry but I can’t believe that’.

‘What level of support can you offer as a governing body?’ he said.

‘Sport is ruthless enough as it is, with performances often dictating levels of funding and so on. But it is great if, as a governing body, you can maintain a supportive position wherever and whenever possible. If athletes can feel the love and be part of something, that’s half the battle.’

And with that, clutching his PB edition, Chris Thompson was off to prepare for the Great Scottish Run. Or, just maybe, study his bloodline and read our residency rules.

By Peter Jardine Photos by Bobby Gavin

scottishathletics

23

Mark Munro Q&A

Munro maps out his vision Q

Congratulations on your CEO appointment, Mark.

How enthused are you about being asked to lead the governing body at an exciting time for the sport?

A

It is a great opportunity and I’m delighted to have been appointed. I firmly believe the sport in Scotland is at its highest peak for over two decades – since the early 1990s in fact, so we could probably say a quarter of a century. So it is a great time to be involved at this level.

But we’re not in a position to stand still.

There’s a chance to improve across a number of areas.

How do we get more people out competing?

It has been great to see participation growth and membership growth at clubs – I want to see more athletes competing at all levels and at the appropriate levels – that is not easy.

We can make further improvements in club development support. And we, as a body and as a sport, can support our coaches more. I also think there are adjustments required in our Performance programmes which support elite athletes and deliver more transparency around that.

Q A

Tell us about your background in athletics?

I started when I was eight with Haddington and East Lothian Pace Makers (now Haddington Running Club) as I followed in behind my big brother, Chris. I was coached then by Henry Muchamore.

We then became among the founder members with Dunbar Running Club in 1986 I think it was.

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At that point I was an ‘endurance’ runner, that’s all we did locally, but I was doing crazy distances at a young age! In fact, I look back now and realise it was too high a mileage, which brought a bit of success, but it broke me at an early age.

I went to Edinburgh AC at the age of 12 and for the best part of 10 years my coach, John Lees, tried to make some corrections and focused me back to basics and speed, turns out I was a reasonable middle distance athlete!

I actually owe John a lot in terms of educating me as an athlete, there was always a reason for doing something which he always explained. During that period John worked closely with John Anderson and it was a real experience being around both Johns and a host of British athletes at that time. I was fortunate to win a number of Scotland vests at cross country and hill running and I also played rugby for South of Scotland Schools around that time.

My family’s background was very much football. My grandad on my mother’s side, Willie McFarlane, played for Scotland during a 10-year spell with Hearts. My dad was at West Brom as a youngster and then played semi-pro in England.

And, around 1992-93, I was talent spotted in Scotland and I had a trial spell with Norwich City! It was a lot of travelling, obviously, and it didn’t work out for me as a footballer.

Q

You were involved in football development with the SFA and then took on the Head of Development role here more than five years ago. How would you assess the progress in that period in the development area?

A

I think there has been transformational change within the sport.scottishathletics cannot take the credit for that. We’re looking at a cultural

change in athletics and that comes from within clubs.

Our role is to lead, support and facilitate wherever and whenever we can do so. We can help clubs share good practice and, for me, clubs sharing their ideas has been fundamental to the club development success in athletics in Scotland over the past five years.

I’ve enjoyed being involved in that and, right at the start of it, we had great contributions and buy-in from the likes of Kilbarchan, Whitemoss, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Team East Lothian – to name but five; with many others grabbing the baton.

Q

When Ian Beattie became involved as Chairman, with his own strong background in the sport, he spoke about a real need for unity of purpose from those within the sport – despite the fact of course that it could well be argued athletics is effectively a number of different sports, certainly different disciplines. Have we seen signs of that unity starting to happen?

A

At our Leaders Conference in October, we had eight clubs making presentations and speaking openly about what they do – warts and all.

That would not have happened five years ago.

That’s the cornerstone of what’s happening and a great sign that clubs are being galvanised to modernise.

I think there is a feel good factor at play and many club leaders, and coaches, want to make progress and learn more about what they do and should do.

There’s a new generation of people coming through, working with others who have vast experience, that can help shape the sport’s future.

Allied to that, I think that the atmosphere

#greatyear we’ve seen generated at many of our bigger events – like the cross country at Falkirk and Cumbernauld or the Age Group Champs at Grangemouth – definitely suggests there’s a common purpose and people are pulling in the same direction.

In our scottishathletics communications, we’ve worked very hard to try and make various different strands of the sport at least feel part of a bigger family and I think there are clear signs that’s happening – particularly on social media.

Q

There are always difficult issues bubbling away under the surface, however. Let’s ask you about two of those directly: access to facilities and the threat to road running via police costs and so on. Are these concerns for you?

A

Facility access is always tricky.

We did a lot of consultation work when producing the current Facilities Strategy document which sits on our website at the moment and I was very much involved in that. The key thing coming

Road racing is huge in Scotland and it is great to see so many selling out and at capacity. New charges for road closures by local authorities are a problem in some regions. We’re working on this at national level with Police Scotland but in many cases local solutions are required, too. We need to try and help race organisers, if and where we can.

Q A

The sport is reliant on volunteers.

Will you place an emphasis on that area through coach education and the recruitment of officials?

Absolutely. In coaching, we have clubs recruiting many parents but they must be properly skilled.

We need to ease the pathway into Level One qualifications and I am also firmly of the view that coach development has to be on-going. It is not just about getting a qualification.

We need a balancing act in terms of numbers coming in as new coaches and improving and education those who handle

MARK MUNRO ON: Elite athletes and coaches: ‘Being world class should be the aspiration for our best athletes and coaches. There’s a new confidence there and people shouldn’t be afraid.’ back from clubs was access, maintenance and management of facilities.

Notwithstanding new or improved indoor facilities at Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness, we have to try and overcome access problems to help athletes and coaches train.

The Emirates Arena is a world-class events facility – but it has become that for a range of sports events and other activities. That’s not quite what we were hoping for (as a sport) back in 2010 when the Emirates Arena was being planned.

There are issues to be addressed and we’re working with Glasgow Life on those. It is a challenge for both organisations.

The trend for 3-G artificial pitches presents a threat to the throws community – and thus our sport. We understand the appeal to facility owners and managers in a business sense, but this needs to be addressed now and I’m coming to the view that throwsspecific training facilities are required.

specific events or groups along the athlete pathway, particularly those working with the future talent. We need to help clubs with this as well as the many important individual event specialists operating at a good level.

As for officials, this is another key area in my view. And I’d ask clubs to help us on that, too. Just as we (scottishathletics) have a remit to train officials, so do clubs to recruit people to start at a lower level – like a club competition – and then progress to the likes of our Districts and beyond.

I really do think this area needs to be a priority.

Q

There’s always something to look forward to in athletics and for elite Scots the next couple of years will feature World Champs and Para Champs in London 2017; the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018; the World Indoors in Birmingham 2018; the European Champs 2018 and the European Indoors in Glasgow in 2019.

All of that long before the next Olympics.

Plenty for athletes and coaches to aim at!

A

I think the biggest change in our elite athletes in recent years has been that, in the not so distant past, Scots were aiming for the Commonwealth Games.

I’m making a sweeping generalisation there, yes, but for me Lee McConnell, Eilidh Doyle, Lynsey Sharp, Steph Twell, Eilish McColgan and Laura Muir among others have shown you can make the Olympics and the World Champs your goal.

The bar has been raised, and time and again in 2016 in particular, we’ve seen our athletes proving emphatically they can compete at global level.

It is also great to see the men moving towards world class levels with the likes of Andy Butchart, Callum Hawkins and Chris O’Hare leading the way; in the past, they were few and far between. Let’s not forget, our Para athletes are fantastic as well and

The future: ‘We’re not in a position to stand still. There are opportunities to improve in a number of areas.’

Clubs: ‘There has been a cultural change and that comes from within clubs.’

we must ensure we continue to support the talent coming through there as well.

If we can have them doing that, then the Commonwealth Games should take care of itself in terms of delivering a strong Team Scotland for athletics.

There is a new confidence there now with people not afraid to try and be world class.

That applies to coaches, as well as athletes.

We are seeing people say ‘We can do this and it can be done from a base in Scotland or elsewhere if appropriate to the athlete’.

Being world class should be the aspiration for our best athletes and coaches.

That’s one of the big things that excites me because I’m convinced that attitude at the top can have an effect on those following in behind – and make them believe they can do it, too.

scottishathletics

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Governing Body of the Year

Sum of all the parts adds up to success I

t was a night of celebration for many of Scotland’s top athletes after a midafternoon moment of raucous applause in Edinburgh for the country’s Olympians and Paralympians.

And then, deep into the Team Scotland Scottish Sports Awards at a capital venue, came the one accolade everyone had been waiting for . . .

No, not Andy Murray’s coronation as Sports Personality of the Year - but the Governing Body of the Year presentation.

Netball and boxing were short-listed, too, but really there could be only one winner: it simply had to be athletics in what we’ve

(unashamedly) labelled #greatyear for this special section of PB magazine.

In all seriousness, it truly has been annus mirabilis in our sport and the Governing Body of the Year trophy merely serves as further, deserved recognition of an outstanding year in so many areas across the sport – spanning both participation and performance.

Director of Coaching Rodger Harkins probably put it best as our social media channels caught fire that September night when he Tweeted: ‘Well done to athletes and coaches – this is what can be achieved #teamwork’.

‘It has been a bumper year for scottishathletics with a raft of medals at World, European and Commonwealth events across all disciplines and age groups.’

We can definitely add progressive clubs, committed volunteers and hardworking officials to that roll of honour in a year which has seen events attract record numbers and no fewer than 21 athletes head to Rio for the Olympics and Paralympics with Team GB and NI and Paralympics GB respectively.

Chairman Ian Beattie summed it up on Twitter thus: ‘Absolutely delighted to win this award. Reflects a huge amount of work by everyone in the sport.’

And CEO, Mark Munro, said: ‘Great for @scotathletics to win @Team_Scotland governing body award. Recognition for clubs, coaches, officials & athletes doing great work!’

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Nigel Holl, who was our CEO until his departure for UK Athletics in June, was among the first to offer his congratulations on social media.

Further adding to the feel-good factor at the Team Scotland event in Edinburgh was Maria Lyle’s victory as Young Athlete of the Year. The Dunbar teenager won the coveted Sir Peter Heatly Trophy, with the award sponsored by EDF Energy. Maria’s mum, Susan, collected the trophy on the night (pictured above) Libby Clegg and Jo Butterfield formed two of the three-strong short-list for Para Athlete

#greatyear of the Year but lost out to wheelchair tennis star, Gordon Reid, while Ian Beattie was short-listed for Sports Leader of the Year.

Laura Muir’s 3.55.22 run in Paris for a Commonwealth, British and Scottish Record made the top five in the Sporting Moment of the Year Award. Sammi Kinghorn helped Scottish Disability Sport collect a special Legacy 2014 Award.

In terms of the Governing Body of the Year Award, which was sponsored by Bluefin Sport, here’s what the Team Scotland media release said when the short-list was announced: ‘It has been a bumper year for scottishathletics with a raft of medals at World, European and Commonwealth events across all disciplines and age groups.

‘The 15 Olympians selected for Rio 2016 comprise the largest Scottish representation for a century, with a further six athletes selected for the Paralympics Games which are underway this week.

‘Underpinning this success is the new national strategy ‘Perform When It Counts’ delivering the highest competition

entry numbers since the 1970s with over 120,000 athletes participating in scottishathletics permit events over the past year.

Best Wishes to Hugh

‘The strategy has also driven significantly increased membership of clubs and the recreational jogscotland programme, as well as the launch of eight new clubs and centres, catering for Para-sport athletes, in partnership with Scottish Disability Sport.

‘Along with innovative developments in coach and club development and the creation of an industry leading physical competency programme, scottishathletics is working hard to ensure that the success of 2016 is repeated in years to come.’

We would echo that citation but certainly add: a governing body’s main role is lead, direct and facilite and represent the members.

It really is about being the sum of the parts and, in this case, that’s a huge commitment and contribution from athletes, coaches, clubs, volunteers and officials across all strands of the sport from track and field to road running to cross country to hills and ultras. Thanks very much for the support.

T

hrows coach Hugh Murray has been a significant and familiar figure on the athletics scene in Scotland for a number of years.

And we feel certain he will continue to be an influence on that strand of the sport despite stepping into (semi) retirement.

Hugh has left scottishathletics for the third time in his career this autumn after serving in various roles, most recently as Event Coach Mentor for the Throws.

It should be said he’s served in that post during a most productive period for that discipline, with six hammer throwers having competed for Scotland at Glasgow 2014 – where Mark Dry’s bronze medal was a real highlight. Mark and Chris Bennett, of course, subsequently qualified to represent GB and NI at the Olympics this year.

Director of Coaching, Rodger Harkins, said: ‘Hugh has been a great servant for both scottishathletics as an organisation and the sport itself over the years and I’d personally like to thank him for his significant contribution.

‘He’s actually had a 25-year association with us; initially as a coach and Board Member (1999-2002) then as a staff member from 2003-2006, 2007-2010 and 2014-2016. Hugh has also been a lead coach and team manager at various major championships over the years.

MY RIO MEDAL WAS FOR EVERYONE: Eilidh Doyle helped scottishathletics accept the Governing Body of the Year award alongside Chairman Ian Beattie and President Leslie Roy. Doyle’s 4 x 400m bronze medal in Rio was Scotland’s first in track and field at the Olympics for 28 years.

‘He’s not leaving completely and will be around to support the performance and development work on an ad-hoc basis and he was at the Awards Dinner.’

All at scottishathletics would like to thank Hugh for his contribution and wish him well for the future.

‘To have 15 athletes at the Olympic Games was great and there were a few of us who a potential to win a medal, so it is for them, too. And in many ways I see it as being for Scottish Athletics and all the hard work they have done, as well.’

scottishathletics

27

Kit Deal

#greatyear

We’re back in navy blue!

Macron design new kit

scottishathletics were delighted to announce a new national team partnership deal with Macron, the Italian sportswear specialists, back in September.

The agreement will see Scottish athletes wear Macron kit for all international events as part of a two-year deal with the governing body.

After a gap without a national team kit sponsor, the new arrangement will see Macron providing performance kit for all Scotland representative teams and offering the benefit of exclusive deals to Scottish affiliated clubs via the Macron Store at Murrayfield Stadium.

Macron, who are currently kit sponsors of Edinburgh Rugby, Glasgow Warriors and all Scottish national rugby teams, will produce entirely new competition kit designs for scottishathletics teams across all disciplines and age groups.

Mark Munro worked closely with Macron to establish the partnership during his period as Interim CEO. ‘We’re absolutely delighted to be working with a company such as Macron,’ said Mark.

‘Through their partnership with Scottish Rugby, they have shown a real quality in the development and supply of performance sportswear and, having seen personally some of their initial competition kit designs for scottishathletics, I’m extremely enthused.

‘There are around 350 Scotland international ‘vests’ available to Scottish athletes over the course of each year across the disciplines. Those athletes will now wear Macron kit.

‘We feel the partnership offers an exciting opportunity for both Macron and

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scottishathletics to deliver real value, both to the national team athletes and the wider athletics community in Scotland.’

Gianluca Pavanello, Macron’s CEO, said: ‘We are delighted that Macron has taken the opportunity to work in partnership with scottishathletics.

‘Athletics in Scotland is witnessing unprecedented levels of success by athletes and we are delighted that Macron will be able to support them on their international travels as well as providing services to clubs and individual athletes.’

After that announcement, we followed it up with an online poll to help scottishathletics and Macron choose a new international vest design. And the overwhelming verdict was – let’s get back to navy blue.

We had a big response to our consultation process and almost 90 percent of those who voted went for one or other of two blue options with a clear mandate to ditch the current white vests and return to a more traditional Scotland colour. White Scotland vests have been used for the past eight years.

And the option with a large Saltire cross on the front and back of the vest, landed an outright majority and it will be that design that Macron will work on.

Here’s how the vote scored:

1263 votes cast Option A – 709 votes (56.14%) Option B – 139 votes (11.00%) Option C – 415 votes (32.86%) As well as acknowledging the online vote process, we’ve taken on board many of the comments on social media on this issue and that will be part of the feedback in our discussions with Macron.

In the image here, there is a crop top for women with the Saltire on the sides. On the vests themselves, the Saltire has been moved up so it is still visible if tucked into shorts.

Macron will now start the process on producing these vests and we’re very hopeful those selected for Scotland international duty will be wearing the new kit before the end of 2016.

The same vests will be supplied for all selections across all disciplines and our initial agreement with Macron is for two years.

We want to say a huge thank-you to all those who took part in the ‘Vest Vote’ process by giving us a pick or commenting online. For the number of respondents to reach way beyond four figures is a big encouragement to us and to Macron and clearly indicated the level of interest. *Scotland athletes have worn navy blue vests many times in the past, with the likes of Yvonne Murray and Liz McColgan picking up Commonwealth medals in a kit not too dis-similar to the design now being worked on by Macron. Pictures by Mark Shearman

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The Event Frontrunners

National indoor Track & Field Championships 2017 Emirates Arena, Glasgow Events

Dates

Entry Method

Entries Open

Entry Deadline

National Indoor 3000m Championships National Indoor Open

4th January 2017

Online via BMC

SOLD OUT

SOLD OUT

14th January 2017

Online

18th October 2017

3rd January 2017

National Indoor Senior & Under 17 Championships Indoor Under 12 SUPERteams

28th January 2017

Online

18th October 2017

15th January 2017

5th February 2017

Online

18th October 2017

23rd January 2017

National Indoor U13 Championships

11th February 2017

Online

18th October 2017

29th January 2017

National Indoor U15 Championships

12th February 2017

Online

18th October 2017

29th January 2017

National Indoor U20 Championships

11th & 12th February 2017 4th & 5th March 2017

Online

18th October 2017

29th January 2017

Online

18th October 2017

19th February 2017

4th March 2017

Downloadable Form

18th October 2017

19th February 2017

5th March 2017

Online

18th October 2017

19th February 2017

National Indoor Combined Events Championships National Indoor 4x200m Relay Championships National Indoor Masters Championships

NOTES Club / Relay / SUPERteams entry forms are avaiallbe to donwload from the www.scottishathleitcs.org.uk.

Due to high entry numbers it is necessary to limit the numbers of entries into some events - these are allocated on a first come first served basis.

Championship Entry Fees Indoor Open Senior Masters Under 20 Under 17 Under 15 Under 13 U12 SUPERteams Relays

£6.50 £10.50 £10.00 £9.50 £9.00 £7.50 £7.50 £25.00 £10.00

CE Senior/Masters CE Under 20 CE Under 17 CE Under 15 CE Under 13

How to Enter ENTRY FOR SUPERteams EVENTS IS OPEN ONLINE – www.scottishathletics.org.uk Individual Entries

All individual entries will now ONLY be made online at www.scottishathletics.org.uk .

Team Events

Relays & SUPERteams will be entered using the form downloaded from www.scottishathletics.org.uk and emailed to: events@scottishathletics.org.uk

Club Entries

Club Entry forms are available to download from each fixture on www.scottishathletics.org.uk.

These forms should be completed in full and emailed to events@scottishathletics.org.uk

NO individual entries will be accepted by post or by email.

For any problems or questions please email events@scottishathletics.org.uk

£15.00 £13.50 £10.50 £9.50 £8.50

Important Information t NO LATE ENTRIES: scottishathletics accept no late entries following the closing date for each championship event. Online entries will close at midnight of the closing date.

If you experience any problems please email events@scottishathletics.org.uk BEFORE midnight of each closing date. Emails submitted after this time will not be accepted. t Where an athlete is affiliated to a Scottish Club, whether first or second claim, athletes must enter a championship event under their Scottish club and must wear the Scottish club colours. t CLUB ENTRY: Please note that club entry forms should be downloaded from the fixtures list, complete it in full and emailed to events@scottishathletics.org.uk AND post it in with payment attached. t If you are experiencing difficulties with entering online, please sure that your online membership is activated. You can check this by contacting Scottish Athletics on 0131 476 7321 or email membership@scottishathletics.org.uk t Please note: Scottish athletes must be up to date members of scottishathletics to enter Championship events.

Age Groups/Qualification From the 1st of April 2014 UKA age group qualifications are as follows: Under 12:

Born Between 1st Sept 2005 & 31st Aug 2008

Under 20:

Born Between 31st Dec 1997 & 31st Aug 2000

Under 13:

Born Between 1st Sept 2004 & 31st Aug 2006

Senior:

Born Before - 31st Dec 1997

Under 15:

Born Between 1st Sept 2002 & 31st Aug 2004

Masters:

35 and over on day of competition (5 year age groups)

Under 17:

Born Between 1st Sept 2000 & 31st Aug 2002

Entry Information t Scottish club athletes and any unattached athletes participating in these Championships must be up to date members of the scottishathletics Membership Scheme. Register online at www.scottishathletics.org.uk or email membership@scottishathletics.org.uk for more information. t Due to high entry numbers it is necessary to limit the numbers of entries into some events - these are allocated on a first come first served basis. t Club athletes from the rest of the UK are exempt from this requirement within a reciprocal arrangement with the other national associations. t A draft timetable will be made available on the website before each championship with a provisional timetable provided one week in advance of each championship event. Please note these timetables are PROVISIONAL and are therefore subject to change, please keep this in mind when booking travel/accommodation based on these times. scottishathletics are not responsible for any changes to your arrangements due to timetable changes. t When entering online you will receive one email confirmation from the payment provider. If you do not receive an email, please contact scottishathletics otherwise your entry may not be registered. t Please keep a note of any email reference number and bring this to the Championship as proof of entry. scottishathletics reserve the right to decline entry if proof of entry is not submitted on the day of competition. t Relay Team or Club Entries postmarked after the closing date or without the correct entry and administration fees will not be accepted. No individual entries will be accepted by post. t Queries regarding lost postal entries will not be investigated without proof of posting showing entry prior to the closing date.

Advice to Athletes t Where there are less than three entries to an event the championship Committee reserves the right to cancel the event or downgrade to an invitational competition opportunity.. t All competitions will be run under UK Athletics Rules t Anti-doping control may be in operation at any of the Championships t Athletes who are U13/U15/U17 may only compete in 3 events in one day plus a relay. t Shot Puts will be supplied by the stadium. t Competitors must compete in the Scottish Club vest nominated on their entry form or their national vest. t The first event at each Championships will commence as per the timetable. Athletes should declare their intention to compete 60 minutes before their event. t Where an athlete is affiliated to a Scottish Club, whether first or second claim they must enter a championship event under their Scottish Club and therefore wear those club colours. t Note: The Championship Committee reserves the right to decline any entry. In such cases the competitor will be informed prior to the event. t Cheques/postal orders should be made payable to scottishathletics Ltd in UK STERLING t Please do not send a stamped addressed envelope

Anti-doping Rules All athletes and athlete support personnel are bound by British Athletics/IAAF Anti-Doping Rules (which can be found on the British Athletics website www.britishathletics.org.uk).

In particular, athletes should ensure that they register any use of prescribed medication containing prohibited substances prior to any use or (in emergency cases) immediately after use (forms can be downloaded from the UKA website). To check the status of your medication please consult the UK Sport Drug Information Database at www.uksport.gov.uk/did.

For further information please contact the UKA Anti-doping department on 0870 998 6732 or 0870 998 6766.

Grassroots Athletics

Metro Aberdeen

Metro Aberdeen

Now Metro really are motoring Team spirit spurs growth

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he Metro Aberdeen huddle has become a highly visible and vocal feature of races up and down the country, as the north-east club has increasingly made its presence felt on the distance running scene.

While it’s not unusual to see close to 100 black and gold vests in action at races in and around the Granite City, at least half that number, and sometimes more, are now travelling on a regular basis to events further afield.

At last month’s scottishathletics cross

country relay champs at Cumbernauld, a coach load of 44 Metros turned out, including, for the first time at this level, boys and girls teams in the young athletes races.

With club membership edging closer to the 300 mark, there’s no doubt everything is looking rosy in the Metro garden.

Men’s team captain Tom Brian introduced the huddle and believes it has played a major role in building a fantastic spirit of camaraderie within the club.

‘The huddle first appeared at an East

By Fraser Clyne District cross country league match at Broxburn last January,’ he said.

‘We only had about 10 guys there and some of them were new to cross country so I felt it would be worth pulling everyone together in a group to give them a little motivational talk before we raced.

‘Then, at the national cross country champs we had a big squad out and the huddle was used again and proved really popular.

Now it is something we do at every race and we finish with a really loud chant of ‘METRO’ which certainly catches everyone’s attention.’

Metro Aberdeen was formed at the tail end of 1989 by a group of Aberdeen AAC members who believed there was a need for a specialist road and cross country running club in the city.

At the time, there was undoubted scepticism as to whether the new venture would survive, but over the years the club has flourished and is now enjoying a new surge in interest.

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Brian added: ‘We seem to have attracted a lot of people who perhaps became involved in running through the parkrun set-up but were looking to step up to the

Grassroots Athletics

Metro Aberdeen of buses to go to races and that has helped encourage more people to travel further afield. We also make good use of social media to inform people of what we are up to. All of these things have gone down well with the runners who have joined us and there’s a great team spirit with everyone motivating each other.’

were out in force for that. We’d like to see

Metro doesn’t just deal in big numbers of runners, the club is also producing some top quality performers as well, with Tom’s wife Fiona (Rudkin) earning a call-up to represent Scotland in the Home Countries cross country international last season.

combined turnout at the national relays,

Tom said: ‘We have a really strong women’s squad at the moment with Fiona, Debbie Moore, Kayleigh Jarrett, Ginie Barrand and others. Fiona’s Scotland selection will, I believe, inspire others to realise they can do the same.

‘The success of the women’s team is also motivational for the men who are keen not to be left behind. We have had success through guys like Nick Milovsorov and Jim Tole in Masters competitions and now some of the younger runners, like Hamish Battle, are coming through and doing well.

Fiona Rudkin next level. Some people joined us from that background and soon they were bringing a few friends along with them.

‘Those who came seemed to enjoy the fact that we are a very inclusive club in that our training sessions are set up to make sure no-one is left out whatever level they are at.

‘There’s now a lot of competition to get into the first team and I can see the progress being made. This was shown by the fact that our C team at the national relays actually did better than our A team managed in previous years, so we have much more strength in depth.

‘One of our future aims is to attract more major cross country events to Aberdeen.

Having had the East District championships here in December was a big boost and we

other events, perhaps the East relays or East league, coming here as well ‘Another ambition for the years ahead is be contenders for the Lindsays Trophy which goes to the club which has the biggest

the national short course and national cross country championships. Now that we have more juniors competing, that will enhance our chances.

‘We have already shown that we can turn out in big numbers as we had more people running in the National 10K road championships at Stirling in September than any other club except for the hosts, Central AC.’

Club Stats:

Metro Aberdeen

Main base:

Aberdeen

Club Colours:

Yellow / Black

Website:

metroaberdeen.co.uk facebook.com/ groups/311383096960/

@MetroAberdeenRC

‘We organise runs on a Tuesday night from Aberdeen Sports Village and we have a Thursday night speedwork session. On top of that, during the summer we have runs at various locations in and around Aberdeen and in winter we have head-torch runs. We also organised a series of handicap races this year which went down really well as everybody had a chance of winning.

‘Our junior section, which has organised sessions on a Sunday, has begun to take off as well, with coaches Jackie Stewart, Peter Jennings and Lauren Smith putting in a lot of effort.

‘We are organising an increasing number

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Grassroots Athletics

Shetland AAC

Shetland AAC Impact Club of the Year

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n February 2014 Shetland AAC embarked on a journey which has seen the club blossom in so many ways.

Following the appointment of Paul Woods as Club Together Officer, it became apparent the club was trying to manage its numbers with limited resources.

The main focus over the next 18 months was to recruit and train new coaches to ensure the many new athletes attracted to the club would receive a great coaching experience.

Fast forward to September of this year and there are now three Level 3 Event Group coaches, six Level 2 coaches and seven Coaching Assistants. A further Coaching Assistant course is planned for April.These developments have helped cope with the 145 percent increase in numbers over the period.

The club have implemented Induction sessions for new starts. These will take place twice annually, with places allocated following this introduction to the sport.

The coaching sub-group implemented a new coaching delivery structure that allowed them to provide ‘teams’ of coaches at each training session. Coaches bought into this change, which involved more time at training. Feedback has been positive, with athletes receiving more individual coaching time and developing a clearer focus.

series; host two ‘Open’ events over the season as well as the regular off island events that have been a core part of the competition calendar for many years.

The latest advance is involvement as part of an Islands Select team in the Youth Development Paul Woods accepts Shetland’s Impact Club of the Year award flanked by Julie Mollison, National Club Manager, and Olympian Derek Hawkins League. The club now uses standards for have received from the partners in the Club selection to attend Together programme. Shetland Recreational Championships and this has acted as a great motivational tool.

Trust have developed Run, Jump Throw There have been many successes during this period for club athletes, from national age group champions to international recognition at schools and senior level events.

The 2015 Nat West Island Games in Jersey saw the biggest haul of medals by Shetland athletes ever. Hopefully this will spur the club on to bigger and better things in the future!

The club is also part of the scottishathletics Club Modernisation programme and is now considering the right management structure and legal status to drive the club forward.

activities in several of the outlying, island leisure centres and it’s been great to see youngsters making long trips to compete.

Shetland Islands Council’s Sport and Leisure Departments Active Schools Team have contributed to the post and the club have been involved in several programmes over the past two years and will continue to do so as the CT post moves into the next phase.

The club regularly features in the Shetland Sports Awards and have had many winners over the past few years.

All the hard work the club has put into

Competition is the holy grail of any athletics club, of course, and while Shetland athletes have limited access to regular competition, the club are developing their own intra-club

Clearly, these are important and challenging times for the club as they work to support athletes in reaching their full potential whilst overcoming the challenges posed by the current financial climate, increased costs and loss of local authority grant.

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The club are grateful for the support they

future? Everything is rosy on the Auld Rock!

PB 2016 | ISSUE 4

development recently culminated in being nominated, and winning, the Impact Club of the Year Award. This really was a testament to the hard work done across the whole club and to the successes it has enjoyed. The

Grassroots Athletics

Bellahouston Road Runners

e l p r u P h c t a P Bellahouston Road Runners are on the march on Glasgow’s south side – as Brian O’Donnell reports following the conclusion of his five-year stint as President.

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he purple vests of the Bellahouston Road Runners are a well-established part of the Glasgow running scene.

Since 2000, we have been growing steadily in numbers and now have over 200 members. As the name suggests, the club are primarily a road running club, but are strong in all running disciplines and the members have represented both Scotland and Team GB in off road disciplines.

With a wide variety of members, we aim to create a challenging and well-structured training environment where runners of all abilities can reach their full potential. The club is proud to see strong camaraderie among our members with very active support and encouragement at training and races.

refreshments and a place for a social chat after the hard work.

Over the past year, the committee has been engaged with the Scottish Athletics Club 20:20 Modernisation programme.

This has provided access to excellent training days in leadership, governance, business planning and communication. The first priority has been to change the club’s legal status; we are now at the application stage - having passed the milestones of agreeing as a club that incorporation as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation is the right way to go. We are now putting a new constitution in place to support this.

The Club 20:20 programme enabled the committee to progress this change, whilst giving access to an expert to answer the many questions that arose.

A change in legal status has also provided opportunities to restructure how the club is run, with the formation of strong sub committees to support the Board. This will enable members to have more opportunity to get involved with the running of the club - in an area that interests them - without the time commitment and pressure of taking on a Board position.

The last few years have thrown up their challenges.

A strong group has already formed in club coaching and other sub-committees are coming together.

Moving our base from its home of 14 years in 2013 at short notice is top of the list. However, the club is now settling in well at Nethercraigs Leisure centre, where we’ve access to the facilities and have our own club room, important for providing announcements, coaching, post-run

And, on the coaching issue, in 2013 the club started to fast-track coaching development, by increasing the Level 2 coaches from three to six. In addition, there are now over 10 support coaches, with many keen to move onto the next level on the coaching ladder.

The club has used external support and will continue to do so in future; having the right governance at the club allows for further development in this area.

Other ideas coming from the programme have encouraged the committee to take a closer look at member retention in addition to attracting and enrolling new members.

As a result, member numbers for 2016 are very strong and growing steadily.

Short, quick-fire surveys are an excellent way to gauge members’ opinion with action and feedback really important. We have also started to use the Healthchecker software to generate our new business plan for 2017.

The support of the Club 20:20 programme has been invaluable in the transformation from what was a simple association to what will become a robust organisation fit for the future and the challenges that will bring - off and on the road.

In addition to regular training, racing and social events, Bella Road Runners club organises two annual races: the hugely popular Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K and the Bella Ben Venue Challenge, our hill race that takes place in aid of the Lomond Mountain Rescue team.

The future is bright for the club and we’re thrilled to be putting a structure in place that will take us to new heights over our next exciting period of growth.

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Grassroots Athletics

Leaders Conference

Sharing the load can keep clubs on right track he National Club Leaders Conference was staged for the third successive year in Glasgow in October – prior to the Annual Awards Dinner.

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clubs: Aberdeen AAC, Springburn Harriers, Garscube Harriers, Edinburgh AC, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, Shetland AAC, Orkney AC and Pitreavie AAC.

We were delighted to welcome around 100 delegates from 40 different athletics clubs in Scotland for key sessions which are geared to help those attending to grow knowledge, share practice and leave club leaders inspired and enthused.

Here’s just a taste of the reaction we’ve had since the Club Leaders Conference from a number of those who attended:

Judging by social media reaction and indeed immediate feedback received by scottishathletics following the gathering, that was definitely the case.

The Club Leaders Conference featured keynote presentations by sportscotland’s Michael Cavanagh, who looked at a case study from Commonwealth Games Scotland exploring how ‘Small Organisations Can Make a Big Impact’.

GB Sport’s Mike Lynch delivered two sessions focusing on ‘Governance, Legal Status and Management Structure – the Recipe for Success’ and ‘Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers Effectively’.

What was really pleasing was the fact that eight Scottish clubs gave presentations this year – giving ‘true stories’ on what’s happening and helping spark ideas for others.

We’d like to thank the club leaders who shared their experience from the following

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Chris Moss, Welsh Athletics: ‘Excellent Conference – Superb content and very well organised. Congratulations to all involved.

The Clubs sharing good practice and ideas was extremely thought provoking.’

Susie Benson, sportscotland: ‘Great day!

Thank you for the opportunity to attend and hear first-hand about what Scottish Athletics are doing to support their club network. It was very interesting to find out more about what’s currently being delivered on the ground in terms of club development and their issues, challenges and successes.’

Alistair Dalgleish, Livingston AC: ‘A number of clubs presented on changes to their management structures, which was very useful as we currently exploring this area as a club.’

Jill O’Neil, Garscube Harriers: ‘I enjoyed the sessions on governance and thought the presentation on volunteering (recruiting and retaining) was also very useful. The most beneficial aspect of the Conference was understanding that other clubs are in a similar position – we can now enhance what we are already doing and have picked up new ideas.

Josephine Moultrie, VP Glasgow and Glasgow Athletics Association: ‘There were an number of interesting topics of discussions from clubs including issues and challenges however also solutions in how they resolve those problems moving forward. It was also good to hear of so many clubs working together to progress together.’

Stephen Ross, Chirnside Chasers: ‘Content of the conference was excellent as was the ability to network with other people from other clubs. Great looking at positive and successful clubs – learning from them and hopefully putting into practice in our area.’

Chris Rhodes, Dunbar Running Club: ‘This was my first time at the conference. I’m very impressed as well as motivated.’

On Twitter on the day, there was plenty of engagement from those involved including the use of hashtags #motivated and #workingtogether which was another real positive.

Presentations from the Club Leaders Conference are online on www.scottishatheltics.org.uk.

And we’re already making plans for next year’s event with the intention being again to link to the same day and venue as the Awards Dinner – likely to be in Glasgow on the final weekend of October for 2017.

Grassroots Athletics

#peoplemakeathletics

#peoplemakeathletics Honorary Life Membership – Vic Hockley

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ic has been a Technical Official for nearly 40 years, and for the past 25 years here in Scotland. He has officiated all over the world, at all levels, from primary school events to the Olympics in London 2012. He can be found anywhere in Scotland, usually in photo finish, at up to 80 meetings a year.

In 2004 Vic was elected Convenor of the Officials’ Commission, a role which he held for 11 years.

performed the role of Meeting Manager for the Games.

While Vic stood down from the Officials’ Commission in May 2015 he has not taken things more easily, he is still working as a Level 4 official at as many events (possibly more), which is tantamount to his continued commitment and enthusiasm for our Sport in Scotland.

With thanks to Margaret Brown

Honorary Life Membership – Bill Walker

During this time, he safely navigated Scottish officials through the major changes in education and competition structure which were taking place throughout the UK representing Scottish Technical Officials at UKA Allocation meetings

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Vic has been instrumental in pushing for photo-finish equipment, such that Scotland is considered far more advanced than any other Region of the UK and the envy of all.

When he left the RAF, Bill worked at electrical engineering firm Ferranti before going to Heriot-Watt University as a physics lecturer. It was at Ferranti that he began coaching, setting up sessions for colleagues who had spotted him training alone and that continued when he moved to Heriot-Watt.

Not only does Vic set-up and dismantle the PF equipment at every venue but he also stores it at home and then transports it to and from events all over Scotland for all levels of meetings.

It was through his guidance, dedication, enthusiasm and negotiating skills behind the scenes that saw so many Scottish Officials successfully appointed to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, thus leaving a legacy of Scottish officials being ‘arguably’ the most qualified in the UK. As a result, Scotland was hugely applauded for the delivery of the Games with the accolade of having accomplished ‘a truly remarkable performance’ from the Director of Competition. All thanks to Vic who

ill Walker started out as a runner. As a young man, he was called up to do two years National Service in the Army.

Starting in Bath, he was transferred to Leuchars in Fife where he managed to get his 440 yards time down to 49.1.

When Braidburn merged with several other clubs to form Edinburgh Athletic Club, Bill along with his coach, Tom Drever, joined the new outfit. Bill later married Tom’s daughter Kay and he competed on a regular basis for Edinburgh AC. He continued to coach at Edinburgh AC and post 1970 he started to work with the best young talent coming into the club. Bill was recognised as one of the best coaches in Scotland at the time.

During that period the success of the ‘Bill Walker stable’ was legendary with the names including Norman Gregor, Peter Hoffman, Paul Forbes, Peter Little and Ross

Hepburn.

The Edinburgh AC club record for 4 x 400m relay is a magnificent 3:08.9 and was set by a team of Peter Hoffman, Paul Forbes, Norman Gregor and Roger Jenkins: all coached by the same coach – Bill Walker.

With his physics background he became very interested in electronic timing and photo finish and his expertise in the area is nationally recognised. With his son Clint, he worked on the photo finish/timing at stadia all over Britain.

Fast forward to 2016 and his enthusiasm and passion for the sport has not diminished. He equates coaching to painting the Forth Bridge; just as he has finished guiding one athlete to the peak of their performance, another talented youngster emerges demanding his attention and expertise.

It is the reason why, 52 years after taking his first session, he can still be found at Meadowbank Stadium six days a week, gently cajoling elite performers, kids and those with a disability alike to shave one more second or inch from their previous bests in pursuit of their own personal glory.

Within EAC Bill heads up both the Coaching and Facilities sub groups and is to the forefront of negotiations to ensure that the new Meadowbank will be an athletics facility fit for purpose.

Among his many roles with the club are the organisation of the annual athlete recognition dinner, the convening of the indoor meeting and the Lothian trials, team management of the Scottish Women’s League and he is often found operating Photo Finish at Open Graded meets around the country.

With thanks to Moira Maguire and Barry Craighead

scottishathletics

37

Education

Emily Dudgeon

Junior to Senior?

‘It can be a really tough roller-coaster’ Special Report

an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life.

By Emily Dudgeon

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ack in 2012 when I ran in the 800m at the World Juniors, I thought the athletics world was my oyster. I had clocked 2:02.32 in the semi to make the final, where I came sixth. My personal best coming into that year was 2:07 and I now realise this is something to be proud of, even if I didn’t feel that way at the time.

I had read autobiographies, articles and interviews with senior athletes who all said that the road to success was not straightforward, that it was full of ups and downs. And, although I had already faced some of my own challenges, I was so naive that I never considered I might not achieve my goals.

I was balancing my training with a fulltime degree so surely there was loads to be gained by resting more, training harder, eating better and adding a few more years of training? I set myself the goals of making the European U23 Championships teams in 2013 and 2015, and the home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

I had hopes, too, of making it to this year’s Olympics. I am honoured and proud that I made it to my home Games in 2014, it was

‘I am just one person but I’d like to start a conversation’ 38

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The thing is, it is true that progress towards success is full of peaks and troughs. You will experience trials, tribulations and turmoil.

I strongly urge you not to think you are immune to the challenges of other athletes.

Many unpredictable challenges could come your way – illness or injury because of your training, illness or injury totally independent of your sport, or tough times in other areas of your life – academic, family, friends, relationships. One or some of these things will happen. I was born an optimist, and I hate to be doom and gloom, but if I can get through to one of you, or to one parent, I might manage to help you adopt a healthy mindset.

I don’t feel I’ve made the junior to senior transition yet, and I appreciate that I certainly haven’t achieved the success that you may be dreaming of. But I’ve learned a lot, so here’s my advice:

1. If you’re happy, keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t beat yourself up about your results – it’s a sport and above all else it should be enjoyable.

2. If you are offered governing body support, take it but make the most of it – sport is fickle and it’s unlikely to last forever.

3. Surround yourself with people who care for you because you will need them.

4. Remember that athletics does not define you, and that whenever you decide to stop competing, you still have a lot of life to live.

5. Keep hold of the other things that contribute to your happiness, because there will be times that you need them more than you might think you do.

6. If you really want senior success, know that it takes years of work to get there. You cannot hurry it to fit in with a prescribed timetable, like the year-on-year goals I had set myself in 2012.

Education

Emily Dudgeon the different approaches they have taken to overcome them? After all, at a championships we are a team so surely we could adopt more of a team approach to development.

3. Along the same lines of teamwork, could funded athlete-coach pairs get involved in education – for example, visiting athletics clubs as part of their contract?

4. Every year athletes are trying to make the junior to senior transition. Do you gather information on athletes’ progress after participation in a junior team? If not, why not? There is no need to stand back and watch people make mistakes that have been made before.

Striking an optimistic note, a special mention has to go to my team-mates from Barcelona in 2012 who have completed this transition and competed at the Olympics this year: Dina Asher-Smith, Adam Gemili, Charlie Grice, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Jazmin Sawyers, Laura Muir, Desiree Henry, Nick Miller, Bianca Williams, Chijindu Ujah and, in the cycling team, former heptathlete Katy Marchant. Congratulations for reaching the pinnacle of your sport.

and national governing bodies. Sport is about being the best that you can be, about identifying areas to work on, about improving. I think that you can improve the number of athletes who represent GB juniors and go on to make a senior team.

I am just one person but I’d like to start a conversation and here are a few ideas:

5. I think previous junior team members could be used as a resource. Maybe pair each GB junior team member with someone from the previous team. Having a point of contact who is a couple of years ahead of you could be a fantastic resource, and acting as that point of contact could help the older athlete too. I have been lucky enough to receive bucketloads of help, advice and support from Alison Leonard, who went to the World Juniors in 2008.

For every Olympian there is someone who worked just as hard and didn’t make it.

Theirs aren’t the stories you want to read about in the press so you rarely hear about them. It’s this bias which creates a picture that encourages the kind of blind optimism I described earlier because it makes it all too easy to forget the broad base of the pyramid.

While all athletes must overcome difficult challenges, those at the tip of the pyramid are the ones for whom everything works out, while the rest of the base fall by the wayside somewhere along the journey.

Just after I wrote this article, I found a piece on beinghuman.org entitled “survivorship bias” which helps to illustrate my point further. Parents, be proud of your children. But be cautious. If your child is going to make it, they need to have a lot of optimism, faith and confidence.

They might not want to entertain the idea that they could be left disappointed, so disappointments can come as a shock. Be ready for those moments because you’re the ones who will always be there for us.

Finally, a word to the home country

1. One possibility is to make some of your athletes or staff available as a junior to senior mentor for each event group. Regular contact and updates, and sometimes a friendly word from somebody outwith your training environment, can be a great help.

2. How about developing a network where people can go online to share experiences about injuries, illness, challenges and

The aim of this article is to try to help so I’d very interested and keen to hear other people’s thoughts, or to answer any questions. Please get in touch at ekd93@ hotmail.co.uk. *This piece published courtesy of Emily and Athletics Weekly

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Education

Academy

scottishathletics has launched the next ‘year’ of our key development programme, the National Academy.

From November 2016, the National Academy Programme looks as follows: Multi Events (5): Howard Bell (Iain McEwan) Edinburgh AC (Year One) Scott Connal (Iain McEwan) Whitemoss AAC (Year One)

The original project was set-up and started back in 2013 with the intention being to better support and direct young athletes, their coaches and parents as they progress towards senior status.

Holly McArthur (Iain McEwan) Whitemoss AAC (Year One) Joel McFarlane (Ian McFarlane) Edinburgh AC (Year One)

Now the athlete total has settled at 39 with a new intake this year set to receive services and support via the scottishathletics National Academy programme.

Caitlin Edgar (Kenny Pearson) Central AC (Year Two) Endurance (9):

scottishathletics regard the targets of the programme to be as follows:

Adam Scott (Steve Doig) Fife AC (Year One) Lewis Brown

*Improving the retention rate of our best age group athletes into the Senior ranks *Increased representation on GB U18, U20 and U23 teams en route to CWG Gold Coast 2018 and beyond *Increased representation on GB Senior teams and GB Performance Programme

Opportunity *Physiotherapy / Functional Movement Screening Support *Subsidised Training Camp Opportunity *Physiotherapy Support

*Greater number of young athletes on CWG 2022 team and beyond *More medals at CWG Gold Coast 2022 and beyond scottishathletics regard the benefits of the programme (as appropriate) as follows: *Coach Education Opportunities *Athlete Education Opportunities *Parent Education Opportunities *Subsidised Event Specific Competition

The National Academy is a two-year education programme for developing track and field athletes which aims to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies that will be essential in helping them achieve the overall outcomes of the programme.

We feel that, when partnered with hard work and dedication, the opportunities, support and guidance offered will help prepare the athlete ‘teams’ for the challenges ahead - ultimately assisting them to fulfil their performance potential in the sport as seniors.

Jemma Reekie (no.750)

Jemma Reekie (Andy Young) Kilbarchan AAC (Year One) Annabel Simpson (Steve Doig) Fife AC (Year One) Erin Wallace (Dudley Walker) Giffnock North AAC (Year One) Joe Arthur (Eric Fisher) Edinburgh AC (Year Two) Ben Greenwood (Cat Tavendale) Perth Strathtay (Year Two) Carys McAulay (Trevor Painter) Warrington AC (Year Two) Cameron Steven (Jamie Bowie) Lasswade AC (Year Two) Shelby Watson (Ian Mirfin) Red Star AC (Year Two) Sprints and Hurdles (13): Lewis Brown (Stephen Wallace) Cumbernauld AC (Year One) Nathan Fleetwood (Pat Kelly) Law and District AC (Year One) Jade Henry (Chris Baillie) Victoria Park City of Glasgow (Year One) Jenna Wrisberg (Alan Wrisberg) Giffnock North AAC (Year One) Jill Cherry (Allan Scott) Victoria Park City of Glasgow (Year Two) Robert Green (Colin Gaynor) Herts Phoenix (Year Two)

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Finlay Marriott (Brian Hopkins) Cambridge & Coleridge (Year Two)

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Ross Paterson (John Kinder)

Education

Academy

George Evans

‘Time management lessons, movement patterns . . . and a burning blender’

Mhairi Patience (Allan Scott) Victoria Park City of Glasgow (Year Two) Sarah Pearson (John Dawson) Central AC (Year Two) Alisha Rees (Willy Russell) Banchory Stonehaven (Year Two) Cameron Tindle (Henry Gray/Bruce Scott) Edinburgh AC (Year Two) Adam Thomas (Ken Spencer) Bracknell AC (Year Two) Throws (7): Adam Boyle (Karen Costello) Victoria Park City of Glasgow (Year One) Andrew Costello (Chris Bennett) Kilbarchan AAC (Year One) Paddy Dunne (Duncan Flockhart) Inverness Harriers (Year One) Emma Rae (Colin McCulloch) Pitreavie AC (Year One) George Evans (Colin McCulloch) Inverness Harriers (Year Two) Lisa O’Neill (Clark Hayward) Pitreavie AC (Year Two) Andrew Peck (Alison Grey) Victoria Park City of Glasgow (Year Two) Jumps (5): Kara Dobbie (David Watson) Glasgow School of Sport (Year One) Calum Henderson (John Scott) Edinburgh AC (Year One) Aidan Quinn (David Watson) Glasgow School of Sport (Year One) Alessandro Schenini (David Watson/Ryan McAllister) Giffnock North AAC (Year One) Rachel Alexander (David Watson) Giffnock North AAC (Year Two)

‘

As a member of the National Academy, I was invited to attend the autumn camp at Carronvale and found this to be a very beneficial experience.

Being in an environment where it is solely focussed on athletics for a few days gave me an insight into what is involved when you get to a high level in athletics and what is expected of me.

It is also good being surrounded by other athletes as we all want the same thing and understand the commitment and dedication that it takes to achieve your goals, which is nice knowing that lots of other people have the same lifestyle as you.

I think that holding the camp near the beginning of winter training has a positive impact on people as it makes them put all of their attention into athletics for the four days without any other distractions and allows you to get into the right mind-set for a hard few months of training. It makes people think about what they want to achieve in the following year and what they need to do for this to happen.

I enjoyed the education sessions and thought that they were very informative as they allowed me to see that improvements in my performance can arise from many different aspects and not just training.

The nutrition talk was helpful as it illustrated how important it is to eat right in order to aid recovery and give me enough energy for training to enable me to perform at my optimum level.

And the practical side of the nutrition talk was good as it showed everyone that making healthy snacks and meals can be quick and easy and doesn’t require a lot of skill. My group made flapjacks and even though I managed to set the blender on fire they were still edible!

I found the physio workshop useful as it showed how important it is to have good flexibility and movement patterns which can help to reduce injuries and allow you to train consistently throughout the year and not keep missing days due to niggles.

I believe that this is an important element to focus on and educate athletes about as staying injury free helps athletes to get the most from their training so that they can keep improving and therefore keep their motivation levels high. It was especially convenient for me to have the physio there as I hurt myself while attempting to do the splits the previous day.

The performance lifestyle workshop was good because it was relevant to most of the athletes there as it consisted of learning how to balance school/university exams with training and competitions.

The key thing that I took away from this workshop was that it is essential to learn good time management skills when you are trying to perform well in both academics and athletics. By developing a daily plan and knowing what you want to achieve each day helps with your organisation and time management so that you can fit training and studying in without getting stressed.

Overall, I took away lots of positives from the camp and thought that it was well structured in terms of the timetable, which included probably an earlier than usual bed time for most people which allowed us to recover from training.

‘

Red Star AC (Year Two)

Sprinter Jill Cherry reflects on the National Academy’s residential camp in October and why she feels it can help make her a better athlete

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Hill Running

a n h d t g d n e h t e p r t S

uilding on a year which had witnessed one of the highest levels of participation and performance in hill running amongst Scottish Athletes in the last ten years, 2016 has seen continued development of the strength and depth of success.

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Championships, helping secure a Silver Team Medal for UK; Graham Gristwood (Ochils) finishing 31st in the World Uphill Championships; and Stephanie Provan (Deeside) getting Individual Bronze with her first Scottish vest at the International Snowdon Race.

Scottish athletes, at both junior and senior levels, have contributed to a raft of UK team medals in hill running in 2016 with some outstanding individual performances. The increased performance of junior athletes, both at home and abroad, has been a key feature and promises a bright future.

These performances have been matched at Junior level. Indeed, the performance of junior athletes has been an important aspect of 2016.

This year, UK teams were sent to World Long Distance Mountain running championships (Slovenia, June); European Mountain running championships (Italy, July); and the World Championships (Bulgaria, September). Scottish athletes contributed to teams at all these events.

Senior Athletes delivered top UK performances. Andrew Douglas (Inverclyde; Sophie Dunnett) has seen a sparkling 2016 finishing fourth in the European Championships (1st UK), and 11th in the World Championships (1st UK) in Bulgaria – his outstanding contribution and consistent performance and development this year, seeing him shortlisted as Scottish Athlete of Year alongside seven Olympians from Rio 2016.

Other outstanding performances in Senior Scottish athletes were: Tom Owens (Shettleston) who achieved a brilliant fourth place (1st UK) in the World Long Distance

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Laura Stark (Kilbarchan) finished 10th at the European Championships after finishing 1st at the UK trial, helping the UK team achieve a Gold Team Medal. Euan Gillham (Kilbarchan) put in his best junior performance, finishing 13th overall (1st UK) in the Junior World Championships – his success and development this year seeing Euan being awarded the Scottish Athletics Eddie Campbell Medal.

The success of Junior Hill Running athletes beat that of the senior athletes at Home International races – Team Golds secured by both the U17 women, and U20 men at the Junior Home International – with half of the teams securing individual medal positions as well.

U17 girls – 1st Grace Whelan (Moray Roadrunners); 2nd Lynn McKenna (Giffnock North); 4th Charlotte McKenna (Giffnock North); Mairi Wallace (Moorfoot Runners).

U20 boys 1st Euan Gillham (Kilbarchan); 3rd Tristan Rees (Fife AC); 4th Logan Rees (Fife AC), Alasdair Coupar (East Sutherland).

At club level, overall participation and performance in hill racing in Scotland has

s l l i h e h t n o

By Helen Bonsor

been the second highest ever since 2006.

Races such as the Pentland Skyline and Devil Burdens Relay held in the local hills of Edinburgh and Fife attracted their highest ever numbers in 2016 – topping the previous highest numbers achieved last year!

The performance of Scottish runners in the British hill running scene remains consistently high.

In the British Hill Running Relay Championships - this year held at Luss near Loch Lomond in October - Scottish clubs Shettleston and HBT finished 2nd and 3rd place in the senior mens race, Carnethy winning 1st V50 men team, and HBT winning the ladies race.

At an individual level, Scottish runner Jasmin Paris (Carnethy) has set new female records in all three UK long distance mountain running rounds (Bob Graham 15hr 24min, Ramsay Round 16hr 13min, Paddy Buckley 18hr 33min) – and now holds the fastest combined time for all three (50hr 10 mins), as well as the outright record for the Ramsay Round in Scotland.

Want to get involved? There are many ways to get involved in hill running and many hill running clubs across Scotland.

Cross country races over the winter offers an excellent opportunity to incorporate some hill training and can lead in well to hill racing.

Much more information on hill running and races in Scotland in 2017 can be found at Scottish Hill Runners: www.shr.co.uk.

Ultra Running

Giblin goes the distance

By Stewart Fisher

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hat old line about the loneliness of the long distance runner hardly does justice to what Paul Giblin puts himself through on a regular basis. The 38-year-old from Paisley is what is called an ultra runner, one of those hardy band of individuals who regard a marathon as their daily training routine if not exactly a walk in the park.

Seven years ago Giblin was quietly ensconced in an office job in digital marketing when he first dipped his toe into a couple of city 10ks. He would go on to head up a team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games but by then he had discovered that his true calling was running 100-mile races, on some of the most challenging terrain in the world.

Three times a winner of the West Highland Way race - a 14-hour scamper along some of the most scenic countryside Scotland has to offer - this year Giblin has been running in more exotic climes. Not only did he finish a superb fifth of 369 entrants in the prestigious Western States race in Squaw Valley, Tahoe, California, some eight weeks later he was dragging his weary body to a 17th place finish, the first Brit home, out of 2300 entrants in the UTMB Trail du Mount Blanc.

In case you were wondering, this last one sees competitors run 104 miles in around 25 hours in an Alpine course which climbs a combined total of 33,000 feet - a greater height than Mount Everest. Or to put it another way, eight Ben Nevis-es.

So why, you ask, is he doing it?

‘It is difficult question,’ said Giblin.

‘It is not like I am enjoying myself the whole time. There is a huge chunk of it where you are not in a good place at all and kind of punishing yourself a wee bit.

‘You find out a lot about yourself when you get to that point - where you feel you can’t go on, but you just find a way to keep moving.

‘You think ‘if I can just get myself to the next aid station, I will spend a minute there, and get myself sorted’. And I’ll feel okay after that. It almost becomes a bit addictive.’

Giblin competes for the glory, not the money, which is lucky considering the prize purses on offer even for victory are not hugely lucrative. He pays the bills by coaching a willing squad of 25-

30 ultra runners, from eager beginners to experienced runners, and attracting sponsors through his own personal training blog and website, www.paulgiblin.co.uk.

Humans appear to be pushing their bodies further than ever before and Giblin sees ultra running as a huge growth industry.

‘It is a lifestyle thing,’ said Giblin.

‘It used to be that people would say ‘I want to run a marathon’. Now, a marathon isn’t enough for a lot of people.

‘They will maybe go on and do a 50k or something, which isn’t a great stretch, only an extra 8k,’ he added.

‘But it is huge now, I see so many people coming into ultra. And when you get good at running and racing, you know you can do the distance. Then it just becomes about wanting to do the distance quicker.

‘I think it could be in the Olympics at some point, and I think they would do it on a shorter, looped course. But I think a lot of people would be against it, from the ultra or trail running community. They wouldn’t want it in the Olympics, they would feel it is a bit disconnected from the history of the sport.

‘If you look at the hill running community, it is about getting out there and running hard, rather than all the proper training, the vest and all that stuff.”

Perhaps most amazingly of all, Giblin has achieved all this without succumbing to any significant injury. He runs approximately 140 miles a week without any signs of wear and tear to his knees.

‘I’ve done a lot of work in terms of my running form so I am really efficient in my running form,’ he said. ‘To date I have never had any injuries at all. It tends to be when people do too much too quickly that they get injured. People get too excited, too keen.’

What is next on the horizon for Giblin is more of the same.

‘I am focused on the Western States again for next. Fifth place was pretty good considering the heat in the canyons gets to around 40 degrees but I think I can win that race. The top 10 get invited back so I am already looking forward to returning . . .’ *A version of this article first appeared in The Herald

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