The ‘running boom’ of the 1980’s introduced many who had never raced any distance at all and who did not consider themselves ‘runners’  to the sport.   Many excellent talents appeared apparently from nowhere and many new practices were developed to help officials deal with big numbers and the value of almost blanket local coverage was emphasised.   One thing that pleased the runners was a development which took the former certificate of performance awarded to all finishers of some races and produced a certificate with a photograph of the athlete crossing the mine with his/her time displayed on a banner above the finish line.   You had your certificate whether you were outside 6 hours or inside 2 hours 15 minutes.   You had to pay for it, but it was a genuine souvenir and memento of performance.   We have some of these certificates below, they come from the Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Dundee and Moray marathons.   

What they show us is how fresh many of the runners were after completing their first or second run over 26+ miles – not one of them is struggling or needing assistance, we see the friendship and companionship of novice runners as well as how some of the very best marathon runners we have had were maintaining their form as they crossed the finish line and we see how much interest the general public had in watching these feats of endurance.  We wouldn’t have seen these things without these certificates.   The athletes were of all standards from outside 6 hours from total neophytes to inside 2:15 for the top runners.   The small selection of runners includes Olympians, Scottish, English and Irish internationals as well as club runners.    At its peak, the mass city marathons in Scotland saw 14 held in one year.

There are still some races that provide the service – eg London Marathon – but they were a feature of all the mass marathons of the 80’s and 90’s,  The reproductions below are of a variable quality because of their age but all have a part to play in the history of the certificates, and include quite a few excellent black and white photographs by Graham MacIndoe, most of which he forwarded.   Thanks to Graham and to all who sent in the pictures  The pictures are in chronological order.

1982

Tommy Wiseman (Garscube, Victoria Park, Clydebank AC, Clydesdale Harriers) finishing in VPAAC colours.  The photo is a wee bit blurred but it is the earliest that we received and Tommy was a well known and talented runner.

1983

Phil Cunningham finishing in 1983 after only 14 months training.  Unattached in ’83, he joined Edinburgh AC

Allan Faulds (St Modans, Stirling, Glasgow University, Exeter, Clydesdale and Fife) running in the first Dundee Marathon in 1983 at the end of his career.   He ran 3 hours 20 minutes.   He had already run 2 hours 41 minutes 28 seconds in the Shettleston Marathon of 1971  Allan was a Scottish Universities and SCCU international representative.

1984

Eddie Devlin (Monklands, Strathclyde U, Clyde Valley)   

Graham Getty (Bellahouston, Strathclyde U, Cambuslang and Shaftesbury).   Graham was another Scottish Universities internationalist as well as a talented runner over all endurance events.

Graham Getty ran in two sub 2:20’s that year.

Many runners kept the proof of their finishing photograph: this one is Tom Ulliott doing his best time to that point

Denis Bell (HELP) and team mate Phil Beeson 

Lindsay Robertson: Lindsey ran 17 sub 2:20 marathon races with a best time of 2:13:30 in Frankfurt in 1987

Evan Cameron (Edinburgh Southern Harriers) was a Scottish international runner and national champion.

Proof photograph of the end of the Ian Skelly Motherwell Marathon which shows how closely the runners packed and the interest of the crowd in a marathon well outside Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Dundee.    Runners include Alex Jackson (Ferranti AC) 2hrs 53mins 46secs PB (3rd from the left) ; Eric Stevenson of (Edinburgh AC) also 2hrs 53mins 46secs also PB (4th from the left)

John Sneddon finishing the Moray Marathon

1985

Tommy Hughes: Tommy was an Irish international marathon runner who ran 2:30:02 at the age of 60 in 2020 to break the age group world record by 6 minutes.   He had earlier won the Marrakesh Marathon in 1988 in 2:15:48 and ran in the 1992 Olympics.  

Shelagh King (17589): first marathon after not too much training but just look at the delight on the women’s faces.    Shelagh ran four marathons before joining Clydesdale Harriers in 1988.

Jim Wright who had just come into the sport after being a good football player since boyhood and winning a gold medal as a Scottish boxing champion.

Phil Cunningham who ran four marathons, every one faster than the one before!

Phil Cunningham

Ron Hill: no comment needed

Lorna Irving finishing second to Angie Pain who ran 2:37

David Lowes: GB and England international runner from 3000m to half marathon and cross country.   This was his marathon pb.

Mike Carroll: Scottish international runner who ran and was highy ranked at distances from 3000m to marathon.

Ron Hill

1986

Marjorie Small (checking her watch !) and Josephine Giblin.   Marjorie was a very good hill runner and ran in all the big Scottish mountain events – Isle of Jura, Ben Nevis, and the Lairig Ghru.   This came before the hills and was her first marathon

Tom Ulliott recording his best ever time for the event.

Brian Carty, Edinburgh

 

Shelagh King

John Donnelly

Billy Robertson

 

1987

Shelagh King

1990

 

1995

Scott Cohen

1996

Now for one a bit different – this from Dougie McDonald (below) shows him finishing in Dallas Texas.    And that’s a Maryhill Harriers vest!

The photographs above have come from many different races and from runners themselves, from friends or relatives of runners and from Graham MacIndoe.  I’d like to thank them all and say that we will be posting some more soon.    Thanks to all for their help.