Stornoway Running and Athletics Club

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Team Hippo – Young Athletes League
Dundee July 2009

Link to Ross's Photographs 1 and Photographs 2

SRAC had its biggest number of athletes selected by the team HIPPO selectors for the third and final march of the Young Athletes North East League during the busy months of HEB3 half marathoning! A total of sixteen of SRAC’s under 17’s were selected to travel to Dundee on the first weekend of the school holidays. There was however the problem of getting the young SRACsters to Dundee as none of the club coaches were available to supervise the trip! So for the second time this season it was parent volunteers that ensured the SRACsters would contribute team HIPPO!

So as some of the clubs roadrunners were taking on the Barrathon, Dr Angus McKellar and Donna MacKay headed off to Dundee with ten SRACsters in the ENABLE minibus. The ten were then met on the day at Caird Park track by clan Summers (Alastair and a further two generations of the family and more besides) and Eilidh MacIver also with her family. But not so many as the Summers!

Summer was of course the season and in Barra and the rest of the Hebrides it was just a “scorcher”! But as frantic phone calls were made just minutes before the first event was ready to go ….. Dundee experienced its own tropical storm! The trip was now looking like a possible wash out and a long way to come just to get a wet track suit!

Rain starts to fall – it lasts an HOUR, competition possibly cancelled!

The Sun has put his hat on hip-hip, hip hooray!

Alastair Summers wins his first race of the day as he scorches the rain water off the track into steam for a maximum eight points! He winning ways continued in the “a” string 200meters and “b” string 800meters, to amass a total 24 points to the HIPPO score! (Unfortunately the MacIvers had given up on the event taking place by this time and had started back to Edinburgh!)

Among the SRACsters with personal best performances were Peigi McKellar in the “a” string and Chloe Thomson in the “b” string 800meters. Both placed third and importantly continued to mount up the HIPPO points score total!

Having a bit of craic in trying new events out were Robert Jones and Duncan McKellar. Robert competed in the steeple chase for the first time and Duncan ran his first 3000meters on the track. Both achieved maximum points with wins in their races!

Young SRACster Connor MacLean got good points in his two events and the “in form” Jodie MacKay (sprints and long jump) and middle distance runners Ailis Murray and Rebecca Munro had a very worth while outing to Caird Park. Ailis with a first and second place while Rebecca came close to an 800meter personal best! Also experiencing the Young Athletes League were Ryan MacSween and Abbie MacKay, both ran in the relays with Ryan also taking part in the sprints.

HIPPO top’s the days competition with a total of 516.5 points ……………. and wins the League!

SRAC 112 points almost make up a quarter of the HIPPO total!

1st HIPPO - 516.5
2nd Inverness - 472.5
3rd Aberdeen - 354
4th Arbroath&Dist - 253
5th Banchory & Stonehaven- 254
6th Fife – 170
7th Montrose – 162
8th Dundee- 84

Link to full results spreadsheet - u11 Results

SRAC Individual athletes’ performances, places and scores for the HIPPO!

www.gohippo.co.uk