Stornoway Running and Athletics Club
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Stornoway Running and Athletics Club |
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SRAC Claim Another "North" Title! Following the recent success of the club’s under 11’s, the boys youth relay team claimed the clubs second “North” title within a month at Strathpeffer last weekend! The convincing win made the SRAC boy’s the “North” cross country relay champions. Ironically this was won a week before the club’s first winter training session, which starts in the Castle Grounds this Saturday! The day trip by the two junior girl’s teams and the two boy’s teams by ferry on a pretty rough day for travel is a very encouraging demonstration of the young athletes’ commitment to compete (and succeed)! Island teams do very well to adjust to the early starts, bad sea conditions and rushed travel to and from events. Therefore credit is due not only to the winning boys team but to all that travelled and took part at the Strath. Within only thirty five minutes of arriving at registration, the girl’s teams had to prepare for the race and get to the start a further ten minutes walk away. But the teams remained upbeat and got to the start to give it their best effort.
The course set out by host club Highland Hill Runners was very much a hill runner’s course with very tough climbs and steep descents that required good balance and awareness to weave around the various fallen trees, twists and turns. Only three hundred metres into the race the first climb was a one in six, sixty metre incline laced with several fallen pine trees. At this point it was good to have a good placing as overtaking was just not an option and it would be some time in recovery before the thought of overtaking could possibly become a reality! At the top of the one in six climb the course continued upward to the highest point before a superb sweeping descent on a wide pine carpeted path where speed and overtaking came into play. From this point on to the farthest out point of the course the runners could close down and pass other team runners, but as Highland Hill Runners would want it, there was a final long incline of perhaps 300 metres before the final sprint to the finish line. Harris girl Peigi MacKellar coped very well with the course, something to do with running in Harris? Whatever, she produced a great run as the youngest SRAC runner taking part and did well to take the SRAC “B” team into 4th place at the change over. It wasn’t until the third and final leg run by Ailis Murray, (who ran the fastest leg of the SRAC girl’s teams) that she caught Ceit Stewart and overtook her on the final climb and took SRAC “A” into sixth place, just ahead of SRAC “B” in seventh, from eleven competing teams. The boy’s did have the advantage of some “recovery/preparation” time while the girl’s race was ongoing and Donnie “M”, who had travelled from Glasgow to run, walked the team round the course. Tactics on a tight course with little opportunity to overtake and with such a challenging incline so early in the race were to get to the front ASAP! This is just exactly what the top SRAC runner of the day Campbell MacDonald did in the first leg. Campbell came off the one in six in second position, recovered from the climb and then took to the front and although well challenged by Ross Gallan of Caithness, the Tolsta boy was not to be beaten! Josh Sinclair then took up the running and farther stretched the lead before handing to anchor leg runner Robert Jones. Robert cruised easily to a comfortable win, almost a full minute ahead of second placed Moray Road Runners, who had just pipped Caithness for the runners up slot. A fantastic win for the boys in the opening District competition of the cross-country season! SRAC also had two teams entered for the senior men’s race and there were several good efforts put in there too. Stuart Chalmers returned to cross country running and found out what strength endurance is really all about and gave a real good account of himself! Fellow 400 metre runner Donnie “M” MacLeod also found the race a toughie but also ran a pretty good time and kept the team in the middle placed part of the race. The young guns Murdo A MacKenzie and Keggs MacKenzie were missing, but with a significant club anniversary next year SRAC will look to put out the strongest team possible. RESULTS (Full Results Spreadsheet) Girls Boys Senior Men The hard work towards the rest of the cross country season will begin this Saturday (18th October) meeting at 10.30 at the Golf Club car park area. Please bring spikes and trainers. SRAC thank Lewis and Harris Sports Council for supporting the weekend’s activity. A Tupper. |
