Garioch Road Runners Newsletter
18/05/09
Hello fellow GRRs!
After many years of dedicated correspondence, Bruce
Taylor has finally passed on the newsletter baton (to employ a
running metaphor!). Our thanks to Bruce for his hard work
over the years – keeping us updated by sifting through
countless race results and sniffing out the latest 2-for-1
offers on bagels to ensure that we all get our carbs at a
bargain price!
Since the last newsletter, we’ve had a number of new
additions to the club, taking our membership to 37
runners. I’m sure you’ll join me in welcoming Christine
Drysdale, Marianne MacWilliam, Grace Chau, Gavin Henry, Mike
Arundel, Martin Kirk, Jeff Oliver, Victor Johnstone – all
of whom I’m sure will become well-known faces on the club
runs.
GRR in Action: Race Results Round-Up
As it’s been a while since the last newsletter, here’s a
round-up of some of the GRR’s who've been racing earlier this
year:
A number of people started the year with great
intentions at the Lumphanan detox on 2nd
January:
Grahame Thomson: 43:21
Steve Ord:
43:41
Ian Cran: 46:34
Tamsin Morris: 47:18
Richard
Ingram: 49:13
Neil Skene: 61:08
Rab “the nite runner” Murray ventured out in broad
daylight to take part in the Peterhead to Fraserburgh beach
run, finishing 4th in 2:15.
In the scenic grounds of Castle Fraser, the club was well
represented by the following runners:
Rab Murray - 18:23
Cameron Leel: 18:38
Duncan Leel: 21:22
Steve Waites: 23:29
Nairn 10k saw Neil Skene representing Garioch, finishing
in 55:12
In the final Winter Proms 3k, our very own David Blane
blazed round in 10:46, and finished as 2nd male vet
in the series overall. Tamsin Morris represented the
Garioch ladies, finishing in 12:18.
Braving the worst of the weather at a cold, wet and
miserable Inverness half marathon were:
Graham Donaldson 1:19:48
Craig Kelly 1:29:31
Mike Arundel 1:33:57 (PB)
Phil Owens 1:40:10
Steve Waites 1:55:17
Sheryl Donaldson
Our resident Canuck put in an excellent performance at
the Alloa Half Marathon with her first attempt at 13.1
miles:
Christine Drysdale 1:53:06 (PB)
As always, we were well represented at the Garioch 10k,
with a total of 8 runners and a podium finish!
Graham Donaldson: 35:50 (2nd Male)
Rab Murray: 39:10
Cameron Leel: 40:22
Jim McGregor: 40:23
Grahame Thomson: 43:23
Duncan Leel: 44:05
Tamsin Morris: 44:56
Ian Cran: 46:18
Richard Ingram: 50:04
There was an excellent club turnout at the first Scottish
marathon of the season in scenic Lochaber. Having been
talked into taking part in his first ever marathon only three
weeks before the event, and with a condensed training plan
that could be called ‘unconventional’, Rab Murray was first
Garioch home in a superb 3:08:08. Other runners taking
part were:
Craig Kelly 3:21:37 (PB)
Bruce Taylor 3:47:36
Steve Ord 3:47:50 (PB)
Sandra Ross 4:02:55
By virtue of having at least 3 runners taking part, the
club was also eligible for the team competition, finishing in
a creditable 6th place. Well done to all taking
part!
Following long training sessions throughout the bleak
winter months, the London marathon was the destination for two
of our own determined runners. Graham Donaldson was
heading back to London in seach of a sub 3-hour run, while
Rachel Paterson was taking part in her second
marathon, running for her chosen charity
(Mind). Conditions were excellent on the day, with a
course record for Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya and
PBs for both our runners. Graham finished in the top 2%
of runners, bagging himself an automatic qualifying time for
the New York marathon in the process. Rachel
managed to raise a superb £1,340 for
Mind and came within a minute of achieving another of her
long-held ambitions - to beat Gordon Ramsay to the
finish line...don't worry Rachel, you'll get him next
year!
Graham Donaldson 2:52:07 (PB)
Rachel Paterson 4:06:59 (PB)
On 25th April, the Queen threw open the doors
of her holiday home to all and sundry. A few club
members turned up for a nosey and took part in the Balmoral
Tartan 10k while they were there!
Cameron Leel 43:10
Jim McGregor 43:19
Duncan Leel 45:33
Steve Waites 53:26
Christine Drysdale 54:30
David Clark 56:25
Manfred Nelson 56:43
Clachnaben Hill Race
Steve Waites turned out on the hills at the tough
Clachanben Hill Race, unfazed by the promise of 3,500 ft of
gruelling ascent. I’m sure Steve won’t mind us sharing
the fact that he finished the race in last place, but did have
the slight consolation of securing the biggest cash prize of
his long running career for the privilege!
The promise of Speyside malt whisky was enough
to tempt our club chairman to take part in the Benromach
Distillery 10K.
Ian Cran 47:15
Race
Reports / Photos
Just ran the race of your life and want to tell everyone
about it? We’d be keen to hear your race stories or
receive any photos of GRRs in action and will try to publish a
couple each issue.
Club
Member Spotlight
A new feature where we get to find out a bit more about
the runners at the club and what makes them tick. Look
out for more details in future issues.
Club
Runs
Details of all the club runs are on the Garioch
RR web site on the training page Here's the list of
club runs coming up in the next fortnight:-
Upcoming
Races
24th May
The Baker Hughes 10k,
Aberdeen's largest road race, takes place this
Sunday. Not the most scenic of courses but it's fairly
flat and has PB potential if the wind stays
away!
31st May
Moray College
10k (Forres)
2nd June
Krunce series.
Organised by the Cosmics, this is a fairly short
off-road race around Countesswells forest which
(weather dependent) can get very muddy!
Social
Welcome
to our newly appointed club social secretary, Nicola
Redgwell. Nicola has a natural talent and lots of
enthusiasm for organising social events, so keep your diaries
free and watch this space for events to
come!
Have a great couple of weeks!
Run long
and taper
The GRR
Team |
