Author: The Author

Start of DAAA organised Balloch – Clydebank, 1952:  a confined race to member clubs.

The 1951/52 cross-country season ended and the summer season then went on until the end of June (25th) with the Inter-Counties at Westhorn Recreation Grounds in Glasgow when Lanarkshire with 63 points defeated Renfrewshire on 49 points and Dunbartonshire with 43.

The individual clubs held their own open meetings of course with the Helensburgh Meeting being on 26th July and the Milngavie open meeting at Auchenhowie on 16th August.   The latter had top class athletes all the way through the programme with Bill Jack in the sprints, Donnie McDonald the middle distance specialist, Ian Binnie in the long distance events and David Gracie in the hurdles.    The Inter-Counties medley relay was won by Dunbartonshire from Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire.   

In October, on the third Saturday, all the county relays took place on the 18th of the month.   The Dunbartonshire team race was won fairly comfortably by Garscube Harriers from the Brock Baths in Dumbarton from Vale of Leven and Garscube Harriers B Team – details below.    

Finally for 1952, the county took on Lanarkshire in the annual cross-country race sponsored and organised by the Counties themselves, via a Committee representative of these county associations.   What happened to Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Stirlingshire or City of Glasgow is not noted, what is noted is the mammoth defeat suffered by Dunbartonshire. for whom several top men did not turn out.   The ‘Herald’report on the race said that”Eddie Bannon outstripped his rivals yesterday in the Lanarkshire/Dunbartonshire six and a half mile cross country race, held over a course planned by the Shettleston Harriers in the vicinity of their pavilion in Gartocher Road.   It was a three lap trail, almost entirely on grassland, with very little road running.    At the end of the first lap, he held a 70 yard lead, and striding out comfortably continued to widen the gap.   J Finlayson, a team mate was his closest challenger for a time, but over the last lap, a “dark horse” , W Green (Cambuslang) over took Finlayson and finished second, a quarter of a mile behind Bannon.”    

Details from the ‘Scots Athlete’ below.

The actual county championships organised by the DAAA took place on 10th January at the same Dumbarton venue as the relays.   The report and results from The ‘Glasgow Herald’ are below.

On Saturday 18th April the confined Dunbartonshire AAA Road Running Championship over the 12 mile course from Balloch to Clydebank was won by John Duffy of Clydesdale Harriers in 1:10:31 from Joe Walker of Dumbarton AAC.   The quality of the field can be seen from the photograph below with two excellent runners from Garscube Harriers trailing him out of Dumbarton just after halfway.

We know that the County was very active: championship relays in two age groups, championships in two age groups, Track & Field Championships, two road races – the confined Balloch to Clydebank 12 miles and the open Clydebank to Helensburgh 16 miles – teams in inter-counties on the track and over the country when they were held as well as helping individual clubs and organisations within the area.   Unfortunately for reasons unknown, the championships, other than the road races, were not advertised in ‘The Scots Athlete’ as those of other counties were.   There were whole pages of fixtures most years which included Lanarkshire AAA, Renfrewshire AAA and AHCA championships but seldom if ever dates for Dunbarton Championships.    Perhaps related to that, there was a hierarchy of coverage of county events in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ with Lanarkshire getting the lion’s share of the coverage and Renfrewshire next and then Ayrshire.   There are gaps, at times big gaps, in the reports on Dunbartonshire championships.

David Bowman of Clydesdale Harriers at Greenhead Road – halfway – in the Balloch to Clydebank Race

 The Milngavie Highland Games on 15th August 1953 were again a great success with Ian Binnie beating a field of 42 runners in the 10 mile road race in a record time and Eddie Bannon winning the Two Miles as he pleased; Bill Piper had the best performance in the high jump and won the pole vault and Molly Ferguson (later Wilmoth) won the 100 yards but there was no Inter-County Relay race as in previous years. 

Winter 1953/54 started in the traditional fashion with the short relays.   The McAndrew promised a good season to come when Victoria Park won their own McAndrew Relay with Ian Binnie setting a new course record, taking 5 seconds from the existing one.   Their B team was third with Shetleston separating the two.   The first Dunbartonshire team was Garscube in fourth place.    The Dunbartonshire championship relay took place on 17th October at the Garscube Harriers HQ at Westerton.   They turned out the same quartet that had run so well in the McAndrew but not in the same order – Robertson had been on the last leg in the Scotstoun race with Kidd running first.   They all ran again in the Midland District where the team finished sixth – Robertson, Dunn, Coupland, Kidd was the order this time round.  They were a very good team, of that there is no doubt at all, but what is surprising is that not one of the four was in the list of season’s best times for any endurance event on the track as published in the ‘Scots Athlete’.   Alex Kidd had taken up marathon running and performed well in several 20+ mile races.    He had been fourth of the fifteen finishers behind two experienced English runners and Joe McGhee in the Perth to Dundee race and fourth in the SAAA Marathon Championship in a time of 2:43:15 behind J Duffy (Hadleigh), A McLean (Glenpark Harriers) and J McGhee (St Modan’s).   The Dunbartonshire result was printed in that magazine as follows:-

The Championship results are not available at present  so it is on to the following spring and . . . .

The Dunbartonshire Balloch to Clydebank 12 Mile Road Race in 1954 took place on 17th April and was won, as per expectations, by Alex Kidd by fully 600 yards in 68:30.   Fellow Garscube Harrier Stan Horn was the man in second and J Timmins of Dumbarton AAC third in times respectively of 70:23 and 70:52.   FJ Lacey of Vale of Leven was fourth in 71:32, J Duffy, Clydesdale Harriers was fifth in 72:06 and DM Bowman, also Clydesdale, sixth in 72: 09.   Pictured below are Willie Howie, David Bowman and John Duffy of Clydesdale Harriers after the Balloch to Clydebank.

The winter relays were held on Vale of Leven’s territory on 16th October 1954 and the home team won from reigning champions, Garscube Harriers.   The two men whose names stand out over 60 years later were the two men who had the fastest times – Pat Moy and Alex McDougall of the Vale.   Moy was an Irish international runner and a performer of the highest class who won events on the track, over the country and on the roads, while McDougall was a Scottish internationalist, a medal winner at SAAA level and an Empire Games competitor.   They would both be big names for some time to come.    

The Championships were held early in the New Year – 8th January 19545- and were won by Clydesdale’s Cyril O’Boyle, picture below, in 38:16.   Results:

George White to John Wright for Clydesdale Harriers in the DAAA Cross-Country Relay

The Balloch to Clydebank race was on 16th April in 1955 and featured a hard race between Cyril O’Boyle of Clydesdale Harriers and the tough Alex McDougall of Vale of Leven.   O’Boyle won by 700 yards in 64:15 from McDougall (65:49) and Stan Horne of Garscube, the winner in 1953, was third .   Remaining placings:-  4.  G Dickson, Garscube, 71:20;  5.  J Timmins, Dumbarton, 73:54;  6.  W Ross, Garscube,  76:36;  7.  M Stewart, Clydesdale, 76:42.   Alex Kidd, the winner the previous year, did not run.   The report from “Athletic Review” (1/3d) of June 1955 by CS Barber is below the photograph.

Cyril O’Boyle leading Alex McDougall in the Balloch to Clydebank Road Race, 1955

The cross-country relays in October 1955 were held on 15th October and the winners were Garscube Harriers with Clydesdale second and Vale of Leven, the holders were third.   The report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ covered all three county events that weekend and the report – minus the results for Renfrew and Lanark – is below.

So much for the Relays, the championships were held at Dumbarton with the senior title being retained by Clydesdale’s O’Boyle from Pat Moy of the Vale Harriers.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ report is below.

The first significant road race of the following summer season (1956) was on 7th April and was the Clydebank to Helensburgh 16 miler.   Another good report on the race from the ‘Glasgow Herald’ 

The Balloch – Clydebank was held on 14th April, 1956, and was won by McDougall after a hard race with Garscube’s Kidd, O’Boyle having dropped out with foot trouble, report below. 

McDougall would run for Scotland in the Empire Games Marathon in Cardiff and have a very good career as a marathon runner domestically.   A hard, tough man he had some very good races with O’Boyle a runner of real class from Ireland.    Along with the immensely talented Pat Moy, McDougall gave the Vale of Leven AAC the foundations for a very good team.    The club had several top class men – Walter Lennie who won the Midland District championship was one and Willie Gallacher was another.   Gallacher, younger brother of the boxer Skeets Gallacher (Scottish and British flyweight champion and unofficial champion of the world) , left the Vale for just over a year and ran for Shettleston Harriers before returning to the club.   

The County Associations were, and continue to be, important to the development of athletics in the West of Scotland.   For some reason they do not seem to feature in the East which has its East District League.    The Counties all sprang up separately, they were local groups which concentrated on developing the sport locally and providing a bridge between club and District Competition.   eg the start of the winter season has always been the short relays and the format in the west in October was McAndrew Road Relays at Scotstoun on the first Saturday, then the County Relays the following week and then the Districts and, from 1974, National Relays,   It was a natural progression with distances varying between two and a half and three miles.    

It was a minor bone of contention when the governing body decided that it was asking fit athletes to run two hard relays in consecutive weeks and brought the District Relays back a week to the slot filled by the County Championships.   The ‘progression’ aspect was defeated.   However the county associations provided county relay championships and championships over the country and track & field championships in the summer; many also provided road races (eg DAAA organised the Balloch to Clydebank and Clydebank to Helensburgh races, Renfrewsire also provided an annual road racing championship as did Lanarkshire).   

These associations are all detailed separately but on this page we have the constitutions of two such organisation – similar but differing in the amount and type of detail.   Compare and contrast!

Ayrshire Harrier Clubs Association     Dunbartonshire Amateur Athletics Association

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Name

The Association shall be called the Ayrshire Harrier Clubs’ Association and shall have the short title “AHCA”.

Membership

1. *Membership of the Association shall be confined to athletics clubs affiliated to Scottish Athletics Limited based in Ayrshire and Arran, member groups of Jog Scotland based in Ayrshire and Arran, sports promoting bodies, schools, colleges and youth clubs based in Ayrshire and Arran.                                                                                                 
2. All applications for membership must be made in writing to the Secretary and shall be submitted to the Committee at its first meeting after the application is lodged. The membership fee must accompany the application.
3. Any organisation wishing to resign must give notice to the Secretary prior to the Annual General Meeting. If this is not done, liability for a further year’s subscription will be incurred and if this is not paid then the organisation will be liable for this subscription before it can rejoin.

Objects

The objects of the Association shall be:

1. To further the interests of athletics by endeavouring to secure the formation of new clubs eligible for membership.
2. To encourage clubs by promoting individual and team competitions, county championships, inter-county contests and international matches.
3. To assist schools by encouraging the promotion of athletic competitions.
4. To assist youth clubs by offering advice to members and encouraging the promotion of area and inter district youth panel sports meetings.

Government

1. Each year at the Annual General Meeting a roll of patrons shall be drawn up.
2. The office bearers of the Association shall be appointed annually and shall consist of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be invested in one person. Each member organisation shall be obliged to supply a Secretary if this is necessary and shall do so in alphabetical rotation. All office bearers other than  Secretary and Treasurer must be appointed from Delegates duly authorised by member organisations. In addition the AGM may appoint an Honorary President. The Delegates will be elected by the member organisations with each organisation electing two Delegates.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
3. The management of the Association shall be vested in a general committee consisting of Delegates elected as described above and the office bearers. This committee will meet periodically whenever business demands it with a minimum of four meetings each year over and above an Annual General Meeting. A quorum for all committee meetings shall be fixed annually at the Annual General Meeting. The two Delegates from each member organisation shall have one vote each. Office bearers who are not Delegates shall also have one vote each. The Chairman shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote. Ex-officio office bearers shall have one vote but only when the proposal comes within their area of responsibility and at no other times. Four Delegates/office bearers shall form a quorum at the AGM.

Meetings

The Chairman and Secretary shall decide the times and places of all meetings. At least fourteen days notice of a normal committee meeting shall be given to secretaries of affiliated organisations.      The  Annual General Meeting  shall be held no later than the end of November each year. This meeting will receive the Secretary’s and Treasurer’s annual reports and office bearers will be elected by a show of hands.  At least twenty eight days notice of the AGM shall be given to the secretaries of each affiliated organisation. This notice shall be accompanied by a provisional agenda. Notice of any business which an affiliated organisation wishes to be placed on the agenda of the AGM must be in the hands of the Secretary fourteen days before the date of the meeting.

Special General Meetings

A Special General Meeting may be convened provided the request is signed by the secretaries of three affiliated organisations and is placed in the hands of the Secretary at least fourteen days before the date of the proposed meeting. The business to be discussed must be specified. The Secretary will then give all affiliated organisations seven days notice of the meeting and specify the business to be transacted. A majority of the Delegates/office bearers present shall decide such business as submitted except that in the case of an alteration to the rules, a majority of two thirds of Delegates/office bearers present shall be required.

Annual Subscription

The annual subscription shall be fixed at the AGM and shall be paid not later than the end of the calendar year.

Discipline

The general committee shall have the power to suspend temporarily or permanently from AHCA organised or supported events, any person or affiliated organisation considered by the general committee to have brought the sport of athletics into disrepute. The decision shall be based on a simple majority of Delegates/office bearers present at the meeting. Misbehaviour might include betting or unfair practices connected with athletics such as failing to observe the rules. A person or organisation so disciplined shall have the right to appeal to a Special General Meeting. A two thirds majority shall be necessary before any decision shall be implemented at such a meeting. The decision of the Association shall be conveyed to the governing body.

Alteration to the Rules

These rules shall not be varied or amended except by the votes of not less than two thirds of those present at an Annual General Meeting or at a properly convened Special General Meeting called for the purpose.

Executive Committee

An executive committee consisting of the Chairman, Secretary and one other Delegate or Office bearer shall be appointed at the AGM to deal with any matter which may arise when there is insufficient time to call a committee meeting. It may also deal with any business which the general committee may remit to it.

Standing Orders

1. A suitable account shall be opened at a branch of a bank approved by the AGM. This account shall be operated by the Treasurer.
2. Sundry receipts of cash shall be banked whenever the amount exceeds £50.
3. A cashbook shall be kept by the Treasurer in which shall be shown all intromissions supported by relative vouchers for either income or expenditure.
4. The financial year shall end on the 30^th September and a statement of income and expenditure prepared for the approval of the AGM.
5. An auditor shall be appointed by the AGM. He will conduct a complete audit for the year and submit a report to the AGM.
6. The four statutory meetings of the general committee shall be held in the months of November, February, May and August with the November meeting coinciding with the AGM.

Rules For Championship Events

1. Eligibility of competitors shall be as defined by Scottish Athletics Limited.
2. The rules for all events shall be as laid down by Scottish Athletics but in addition the following local rules shall apply:

Individual and team Championships promoted by AHCA or authorised sports promoting bodies shall be open only to (a) all members of our affiliated athletics clubs whether first or second claim, (b) people who reside in Ayrshire or Arran (c) all members of schools and youth organisations in Ayrshire and Arran. However anyone whose eligibility stems from (b) or (c) shall not be eligible if they are a member of an athletics club affiliated to Scottish Athletics which is based outwith Ayrshire and Arran.

1. The venue of Championships shall be the headquarters of (or other premises arranged by) the host club. Each club shall have the honour of promoting the competitions in turn with the host club being decided by the AGM.
2. (a)The trail for all championship races shall be chosen by the host club. (b) The office bearers of the Association shall have the power to change the trail if they consider it unsuitable. (c) The promoting club shall give the Secretary a description of the trail including distances so that member organisations can be informed as soon as possible. (d) A plan of the courses shall be prominently displayed on the day of the races.
3. The distances for all competitors shall be in accordance with Scottish Athletics rules for the various age groups.
4. All entries must show the competitors name, date of birth and organisation. Declarations will close 30 minutes before the start of the event. The Chairman and Secretary may scrutinise entries.
5. The entry fee will be decided at the AGM.
6. The Association shall appoint a referee and not less than two judges, two timekeepers, a starter and such stewards as may be thought necessary. These officials will be responsible for the conduct of the races and/or meeting. Each affiliated athletics club will be expected to nominate at least two officials.
7. The general committee shall decide the number of competitors to count in team events and the number and value of awards for different events.

Winding Up

The winding up of Ayrshire Harrier Clubs’ Association shall require a vote to be taken at an AGM or a properly convened Special General Meeting. At this meeting the Delegates from all the affiliated organisations present at the meeting shall have to vote in favour of the proposed dissolution before it can take place.

Disposal of Assets

In the event of Ayrshire Harrier Clubs’ Association being wound up, any surplus funds left over after all our financial obligations have been met shall be dispersed equally amongst our affiliated athletics clubs.

First things first, the Handbook introduced us to the Committee Office Bearers, preceded only by the Patrons.   Sir Iain Colquhoun was Lord Lieutenant of the County and kept himself informed of what was happening there.   Popular and active, he was first on the list.   Of the office bearers, David Brooke was a well known official who was active right up to and past the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh when he was an official time keeper, and Willie Stevenson was the man who sent round the first letter suggesting that the organisation be formed.    James Gray was a qualified CA who had been a long time member and office bearer in Clydesdale Harriers.

Although it was the Dunbartonshire AAA para 3 (a) indicates that its interests, while mainly in Dunbartonshire, were with athletics generally.   Wider than most similar county organisations which were more restricted.   Para 3 (b) includes Muster runs, again rather unusual, which were joint club runs with all clubs within it taking part in what was basically a pack run. 

As with all organisations, the results of all championships were listed up to date.    These were both cross-country and track and field.

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Why pick on one year and not another?   Because not all events organised and carried through successfully by any organisation are reported faithfully in the Press, many of them are not reported at all.   This can be for many reasons – some events are of a purely local interest, some are so low key that they are not known of at all, there may be too much sport for any paper to write up in its entirety on any given Monday.    Mind you, there might well be a case for a purely multi-sport results sheet to be produced on Mondays.   Remember that ‘The Scottish Referee’ was only published on a Monday to start with before it became a twice-weekly production.   It covered all sports and even reported on most of them.   Perhaps a simple results supplement on a Monday would help sell more papers?   

Renfrewshire, as a member of the SAAA, had to have a permit to hold any real meeting and so we could check out the official roster of events for any year.   The SAAA produced a Handbook every year which covered every aspect of the sport in Scotland for that year as well as having the Constitution in its entirety, the Rules for Competition, lists of coaches, of officials, etc, etc.   The etc, etc includes the fixture list for the year.    Why choose 1979?    It was a time when the various county associations were doing really well – the ‘running boom’ was in full swing, Scottish athletes were performing well and so the grass-roots aspect of the sport involving clubs and schools were also very involved in the sport.   Any year around the end of the 70’s and the 80’s would have done.   

The complete list of Renfrewshire AAA activities that year was listed as follows.

And you can probably add in the County Cross-Country Championships in December.   There were other events held in the county throughout the year by member clubs and usually assisted by the RAAA as well as events not needing a permit from the SAAA such as schools championships and inter-county youth services sports.    

Be that as it may, the coverage of the above events was all but non-existant.   Of course, that may have been down to the local organiser not sending in the results of the track events but road race results are usually sent in immediately after the race.

Graham Getty helped in the quest for results with the “Athletics Weekly” report on the road championships and detailed results.   Note that the date has been altered.

The County Relay result was published in the “Glasgow Herald” and was rather short.   Run on 13th October it clashed with the Glasgow Marathon but the only result given was the Senior race, no age groups results and only the bare bones of the senior event.

The obvious conclusion is that the county association was doing its job well, the number of clubs was growing – note who won the team race in the relay, note too the name Pentastar – and clubs such as Kilbarchan were getting stronger.   The coverage in 1979 was not what it had been but fortunately it would pick up and Doug Gillon’s name would be welcome by all club and international athletes in the country.   Pentastar, by the way, was a club connected with the car manufacturers at Linwood whose symbol was a five pointed star.    

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Running is British women’s favourite sport. Around 3 million women in the UK run regularly and every weekend tens of thousands of women take part in parkrun or in races over distances from 5km to ultramarathon.

Things were very different fifty years ago. Women in the UK were limited to racing a maximum of 6000 metres (about 4 miles). There were very few road races for women, whereas men were able to race all distances including ultras. That situation did not change until 1975 when the English governing body, the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association, changed its competition rules and allowed women to run distances up to the marathon. The new rules were introduced on an experimental basis for a year, but once they had been changed there was no going back.

Change only came about because women believed they could do more, knew they could do more and took action to prove it. Two Scottish women, Dale Greig and Leslie Watson, were among the women who broke the rules in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, challenged race officials and public opinion and showed what women could do.

Dale Greig – a world best

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in May 1964, a young Scottish woman lined up to run a marathon at Ryde on the Isle of Wight, the sole woman in a field of 67 men. Dale Greig was to become the first woman to run a marathon in under 3 hours and 30 minutes.

The club that organised the race, Ryde Harriers, knew that they were breaking the Amateur Athletic Association’s rules by letting a woman run in their race. They tried to get around this by making Dale start four minutes ahead of the men.

She was followed by an ambulance in case she collapsed. Nineteen of the men failed to finish the notoriously hilly course but Dale crossed the line in 3 hours 27 minutes 25 seconds in 35th place. Her time was later recognised as a world best by the IAAF (now World Athletics). It was to be 36 years until another British woman, Paula Radcliffe, would set the world record.

Not exhausted

A local paper reported Dale as saying:

“I felt sorry for the men I kept passing in the closing stages – they looked embarrassed. A couple who had given up and were sitting at the roadside, struggled to their feet when they saw me pass.”

The paper also reported that she went to the athletes’ dance that evening staying until midnight. Dale clearly wasn’t exhausted from running a marathon. The story was picked up by the national press as a novelty item, but not everyone approved. Two days after the race, the Daily Express quoted Marea Hartman, Honorary Secretary of the Women’s AAA:

“We have no races over four-and-a-half miles. It’s felt these distances are too much for women. … As for women running against men – No. The discrepancy in ability is too great.”

Dale’s early years as a runner

Dale Greig was born in Paisley in 1937. At school, running was limited to sprints and relays. After leaving school Dale ran for Glasgow-based club Bellahouston Harriers before setting up her own women’s club, Tannahill Harriers, in 1959, as there was no women’s club in Paisley.

Dale competed at the longest distances women were allowed to run on the track at the time, winning bronze and silver medals at 880 yards (half-mile) and the mile at the Scottish National Championships between 1956 and 1959.

She had a passion for cross country and finished in the top three in the Scottish National Cross Country Championships for 11 consecutive years (1958-1968). She won the title four times and represented Scotland at International Cross Country Championships. In 1960, Dale helped found the Scottish Women’s Cross Country Union which revived cross country racing.

At a time when few people, men or women, were seen out running, Dale would go for long runs of 20 miles or more, sometimes accompanied by a friend, but often on her own.

Road racing was a niche sport. Marathons were not the mass events they are today and in 1964 there were perhaps 1,000 marathon finishers in the UK.

More road races

Dale ran the Isle of Wight Marathon unofficially again in 1971. In 1974, aged 37, she won the inaugural International Masters Marathon in Paris and in 1976, she finished tenth in the World Veterans Marathon in Coventry.

She competed unofficially in three more races that did not admit women. She was the first woman to run two ultramarathons: the Isle of Man 40 in 1971 and the London to Brighton ultramarathon in 1972. She also completed the Ben Nevis Fell Race in 1971.

Sports historian Professor Fiona Skillen of Glasgow Caledonian University sums up Dale’s impact:

“Dale was a trail blazer in British women’s distance running. She was also fundamental to the development of women’s running in Scotland, she was a role model to many women and through her various roles in the Scottish Women’s Cross Country Union and other athletics organisations she helped to shape access, training and support for future generations of female athletes.”

Leslie Watson – challenging male traditions

After the rules changed in 1975, race organisers did not automatically open their races to women. In fact, most races continued to be men-only for a few years. One very well-known race which was slow to admit women was the London to Brighton ultra. The race had been organised since 1952 by the Road Runners Club, an organisation founded to promote men’s distance running in the UK.

Dale Greig had run London to Brighton unofficially in 1972, starting an hour before the men. But by 1979, the RRC still hadn’t allowed women to enter their flagship race. Five women decided to enter unofficially to show that women were able to complete the 54-mile distance within the 8 hour 23 minutes time limit. They were Ruth Anderson of the USA, three British women, Leslie Watson, Lydia Kirk and Lynn Billington and another unnamed woman. Leslie, Lydia and Ruth all finished well within the time limit, Leslie finishing first in 6 hours 55 minutes and 11 seconds, faster than most of the men. Lynn and the other woman dropped out.

In 1980, the RRC put on the first official women’s London to Brighton race with a trophy for the female winner. Leslie returned to the race, winning again, this time in 6 hours 56 minutes and 10 seconds.

206 marathons

One thing that takes your breath away about Leslie Watson’s running career is how many marathons she ran and how many of them she won. These days elite runners may target one or two marathons a year. Leslie often ran them on consecutive weekends and sometimes even on consecutive days. The 1979 London to Brighton race took place on Sunday 30^th September. Astonishingly, Leslie had run five marathons that month, winning three of them, including what was probably her first Scottish marathon, Aberdeen on 16^th September. The weekend before London to Brighton she had won the Milton Keynes Marathon on the Saturday and then run the Rotherham Marathon on the Sunday. The day before the race she took it easy with a cross country race. In her twenty-year marathon career, Leslie ran 206 marathons and won more than 60 of them.

Starting running

Leslie Watson was born in Glasgow in 1948. When she was ten, she joined Maryhill Harriers with a friend. She described herself as a “no-hoper” who trained hard with her coach, John Anderson, making it into the Scottish cross-country team and becoming the Scottish mile champion at 18. In the 1960s and early 1970s, she competed against Dale Greig many times in cross country races, including both the Scottish and English National Championships, and occasionally in track races.

A young Leslie Watson (left) before a mile race at Westerlands

Leslie trained as a physiotherapist and in 1970 moved down to London for her work. She joined one of the top women’s clubs, London Olympiades AC, and competed for them in cross country and road relays.

In an interview with the Newcastle Journal, published on 13^th December 1982, Leslie acknowledged that she had been inspired by Dale Greig and by Bridget Cushen, who had run the Harlow Marathon in 1973.  The interviewer asked her what had happened to turn her from a “no-hoper” into a marathon runner.

“Ah well, she says, I discovered the marathon. It happened when she saw Bridget Cushing (sic) and Dale Gregg (sic) competing and began to think about the possibility that the marathon might just be her own distance.”

She took the first opportunity there was for women to run the marathon distance, the Masters and Maidens Marathon in Guildford in October 1975.

“I saw the Guildford marathon advertised. I did very little training just one 20 mile run from Kent into London. I went out the night before the race and had lots of bad red wine and then on the way down I was eating chocolate and popcorn. I felt sick by the time we started and I was exhausted after 3 miles.”

Despite her poor preparation, Leslie finished third in just over three and a half hours. Her marathon career was well and truly under way. In 1978 she ran under three hours for the first time and after that she had many sub-3 results. She topped the Scottish marathon rankings in 1976, 1977 and 1978, was second in 1979 and first again in 1980. In May 1981, she set a 50 mile world best at the Lake Waramaug 50 mile road race in Connecticut, USA. In 1983, she was selected for the Evian Marathon Squad. The squad was an initiative of the British Amateur Athletics Board and the WAAA designed to secure more funding and sponsorship for female marathoners.

The queen of the roads

Described as the “queen of the roads” in the programme for the first London Marathon, Leslie was the public face of the women’s marathon in the 1980s. She was involved in setting up a chain of running stores, The London Runner, and appeared in advertisements for them. She wrote articles for magazines and gave lots of talks. When a new magazine called “Jogging” appeared in 1979 they chose Leslie for the front cover.

Her last marathon was the Isle of Wight Marathon in 1994 which she won for the seventh time. After that she developed a knee problem which prevented her from running and, never one to sit still, she took up powerlifting.

From rulebreakers to pioneers

Dale Greig and Leslie Watson are just two of the women who broke the rules and ran in men’s races. There are many whose stories will never be known because when women “crashed” men’s races, their times didn’t usually get recorded.  These women have been written out of history, as if their races never happened.

There is no doubt that the huge uptake in women running today would never have occurred without these pioneering women distance runners who broke the mould in the 1960s and 1970s.  Many of them did not get the opportunities to compete that they deserved, but they encouraged and inspired other women and paved the way for all of us who run today.

by Katie Holmes

Independent Sports Historian

www.RunYoung50.co.uk

April 2023

Sources

This article is an edited version of an article called “Rulebreakers” which appeared in Women’s Running magazine in December 2022.

Milestones in Women’s Marathon History – 1975 – Permission for women to run the marathon in the UK, Katie Holmes, Playing Pasts website, July 2022

Scotland’s People Register of Births

Profile of Dale Greig, Scottish Distance Running History website, September 2015

“There’ll be no prizes for women”, Like the Wind magazine #25 (an article about Dale Greig), Katie Holmes, September 2020

Profile of Leslie Watson, Scottish Distance Running History website, September 2015

Leslie Watson – Queen of the Roads, Katie Holmes, RunYoung50 website, December 2022

Scottish Track and Field Rankings 1959-2000 and SWAAA Championship results, the Scottish Association of Track Statisticians (SATS)

The Dunbartonshire Amateur Athletic Association was constituted almost immediately after the War.   It was an interesting group of clubs which are worth a fairly close look.

• By far the strongest club in the DAAA at the time was Garscube Harriers.   They would be third in the National Cross-Country in 1947/48 and fourth in 1948/49, third in the Midland Cross-Country in 1945/46, second (one place up on Maryhill H) in 1946/47 and  third in the Midland District Relays in 1947/48.    
• The newest club in the group at the times was Vale of Leven AAC, a club which had been formed in 1945 and with the help of two well known Harriers from the  Bellahouston and Maryhill clubs had come to the fore very quickly producing runners like Walter Lennie and Willie Gallacher.   See the note below from the “Scots Athlete” of December 1946.

• Clydesdale Harriers was Scotland’s first open athletics club with many honours to its name, a strong club membership and several very talented athletes.
• Cumbernauld AAC was a club which would eventually switch to the Lanarkshire AAA because of its geographical location.   At the time in question, the County of Dunbarton was divided with what was called the “detached portion” of Cumbernauld, Kirkintilloch, Lenzie and Kilsyth also being included despite being on the other side of Glasgow.   This led to county championships at times being held in Kirkintilloch.
• Dumbarton AAC had been formed just after the First World War in 1919.   There had been several clubs in the town before the War – Boghead Harriers, Dumbarton YMCA and others – but afterwards there was only the new one.
• Helensburgh AAC
• Milngavie AAC

It was a fine mix and the biggest surprise right at the beginning was Vale of Leven winning the National Novice Championships on November 23rd, 1946.    It was not an easy win either, have a look at the team result.

Note the name of the fourth finisher for the team – Willie Gallagher, brother of the famous boxer Skeets Gallagher, and a runner about whom we will hear more later.    The formation of the DAAA was an idea whose time had come and the first step towards it was taken by the Secretary of the Vale of Leven, Willie Stevenson.   Other clubs were quick to get on board and the organisation took off.   

Dunbartonshire AAA Youths Championships was the first promotion by them and took place in March and it was noted in ‘The Scots Athlete’ as follows:

Have a look at these names.   JJ Duffy of Garscube Harriers who would win the National Novice title – see the photograph above, Robin Smith of the same club who would become an excellent runner, Alex McDougall of the Vale who would become one of the nation’s best marathon runners and compete in the 1956 Commonwealth Games at that event.   Less well known is Alex Hylan of Clydesdale Harriers who was a good runner but emigrated to Canada where he was in charge of the Canadian Junior Football team for some years.   

We know from the “Scots Athlete” fixtures list that there were DAAA Track and Field Championships on Thursday, 5th June, 1947 but no results could be found for it but it does tell us that the Association was never ‘just’ a cross-country grouping.   Later in the year, on 16th August, at the Milngavie Highland Games, there was an Inter-County relay race.    The race was won by the Dunbartonshire team of A Warton, A Cameron, DY Clark and R Sharp.   The strength of  Garscube Harriers was further indicated by the Hugh Hatrick winning the 880 yards and Alex Kidd the Mile. 

The Dunbartonshire AAA first ever AGM, was held on 26th September,1947, in Glasgow when the new committee was elected and arrangements for the upcoming year’s events were made.

The first race mentioned above – the cross-country relays – was held in Dumbarton on 29th November and won by Garscube Harriers team of Alex Kidd, Arthur Warton, D Murray and T Dailly in a time of 55 minutes 59 seconds with Vale of Leven second, half a mile further back.   Garscube B team was third.   Alex Kidd (Garscube) and H Cole (Vale of Leven) were fastest and second fastest with times of 14:13 and 14:53.

Alex Kidd (left) and Arthur Warton (both Garscube) in the McAndrew Relay.

The result of the championship races on 10th January are unfortunately not available but the clubs were running well as was shown by the result of the Midland District Championships where the winner was Bobby Boyd of Clydesdale Harriers with Walter Lennie from the Vale second.   The team race was won by Garscube Harriers with a team of A Kidd 4, A Warton 5, RJ Mulgrew 10, T McGinley 11, J Gunn 15, and D Murray 29.   They defeated the powerful Maryhill Harriers by 74 points to 110.    Clydesdale was fifth and Vale of Leven eighth.   

17th April 1948  saw the Balloch to Clydebank road race, started by Clydesdale Harriers before the War but now being organised and run under the auspices of the DAAA, was won by G White.  The brief report read:

George White had been a cyclist before taking up running.   Regarding himself as a track and cross-country runner he had to be specially persuaded to enter the Balloch 12 mile road race.   The County Track Championships were to be held at Mountblow Recreation Ground on 20th May.  

Like all such organisations, there was a constitution which was contained in an annual handbook with other details such as membership and championship winners.    The Dunbartonshire AAA Handbook for 1948/49 with all these details can be seen by clicking on the link.

Walter Lennie, Vale of Leven AAC

The cross-country relay championship of the county for 1948/49 was held on 16th October and was won by Vale of Leven who led all the way to win comfortably in 40:30.   Clydesdale Harriers were second 200 yards back with Garscube third another 200 yards back.   Walter Lennie of the Vale ran the fastest time of the day.   Result:  1.  Vale of Leven (F Lacey 12:54, A Campbell 12:40, W Gallacher 12:09, W Lennie 11:47);  2.  Clydesdale Harriers (W Andrew 13:06, D Scott 12:58,  G White 12:06, R Boyd 12:01);  3.  Garscube Harriers (D Murray 12:57, A Warton 12:44, A Kidd  12:04, R Smith 12:53).

In the Seven Mile Individual and Team Championships, Alex Kidd won comfortably to beat Boyd who was the reigning Midland District champion.   The Senior Race Results:

1.   A Kidd (Garscube) 41:04;  2.  R Boyd (Clydesdale); 3.  G White (Clydesdale).   Team Race:  1.   Garscube (A Kidd 1, R Mulgrew 4, T McGinlay 5, D Murray 6);  2.  Clydesdale 22 pts;  3.  Vale of Leven 46 pts.   Three Miles Junior:  1.  F Robertson (Garscube) 16:16; 2. W McCallum (Clydesdale);  3.  R Steel (Vale of Leven).   Team race:  1.  Garscube (F Robertson, E Murray 4, M How 5)  10 pts.

Another interesting field with Garscube minus Arthur Warton still being good enough to win the team race as well as the Junior event where their second counter was Ewan Murray who would become one of Scotland’s most experienced officials and long-time secretary of the SAAA.   Later in the year – 30th April – the county road running championship from Balloch to Clydebank was won by Willie Gallacher of Vale of Leven in 70:03 from T McGinlay of Garscube 200 yards back and Alex Gold (Garscube) third.   

Willie Gallacher, Vale of Leven AAC

Into October and the third Saturday of the month was the appointed day for the County cross-country championship.   The report from the “Scots Athlete” reads:

The Track and Field Championships were held at Scotstoun on 24th May and again it was Garscube Harriers that made the headlines:

John Hume’s Victory in the 440 yards in the match against Ireland at Milngavie

The Milngavie Highland Games on 19th August again held an Inter-County Relay but this time the winners were a Glasgow Select.

The Scottish Marathon Club had been founded in 1944 – before the English Road Runners Club – and there were many members of Dunbarton clubs as members.   That maybe had some influence in the organising of a road race between Clydebank and Helensburgh.   To start with it was run from Helensburgh to Clydebank although it would became a classic event that was run annually in the opposite direction.   Lots of interesting names to look at – and note how far down the field was Emmet Farrell.

The next county promotion was the cross-country relay championship, held this year in the Vale of Leven with results printed in the “Scots Athlete”.    Four clubs took part with 9 teams in competition.   Three teams each from Garscube (winners) and Vale of Leven made up the first six.

The Inter Counties Cross-Country Championship would become a serious fixture but this one had four counties turning out teams – Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire. Stirlingshire and Renfrewshire  They met head-to-head at Stirling over 6 miles and Lanarkshire ran out winners     Dunbartonshire were second, Stirling third and Renfrew fourth.   Result:

Less than a month later the county championships took place from the Brock Baths Dumbarton and the four clubs which would form the base of the DAAA for years to come were all in evidence.   Garscube, the Vale, Clydesdale and Dumbarton would be the sole protagonists until the dissolution of the Glasgow AAA when Victoria Park, Maryhill Harriers and Glasgow University would be accepted into membership.   Numbers in membership at one point were approximately a dozen and included Stirling University.   However, the results of the championships in 1951:

Before that race however, the Dunbartonshire AAA had organised the Clydebank to Helensburgh on 1st January.   Despite: Chick  the date of 1st January for the race there was a goodly number of runners, and runners of high quality at that.   Just look at the number of International athletes out there: Chick Robertson, Jack Paterson, Emmet Farrell, Alex McLean.   Four top men head-to-head.   

There was no note of the DAAA Track & Field Championships for 1951 in any of the fixture lists published by “The Scots Athlete” (which does not mean that none were held) but the clubs continued to hold  their own (eg Vale of Leven AC) and support local sports meetings (eg Singers Sports in Clydebank were largely organised by Clydesdale Harriers members).  

When the new (1951/52) season started the cross-country relay championships took place on 20th October from the Garscube headquarters at Westerton and Clydesdale won from the home team by 9 seconds.   George White had the fastest time of the afternoon.   

The Seven Miles Individual and Team Championship was held on 5th January and won by Willie Gallagher of Vale of Leven from Alex Kidd of Garscube Harriers with JJ Duffy of Garscube third.   There was 100 yards between first and second and over 200 yards between Kidd and Duffy.   Garscube won the team race with 16 points, Vale was second with 28 and Clydesdale third with 51.   There was a Youths championship which was won by K Campbell of the Vale in 20:40 from club mate G Crawford with H Carson of Garscube third.   Vale of Leven won the team race with 7 points, Dumbarton and Garscube were second and third with 19 and 20 points.

January was a busy month for the County Association – The Clydebank to Helensburgh on 1st January, and the County Championships on  the fifth , then there was a team to select and get to the Inter-Counties which was held at Westerton on 12th of the month.  Not a good result for the DAAA – defeat by 113 points by Lanarkshire but at least there was a team out – where were Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and the rest?

On 16th August, 1952, the Milngavie Games were a great success with Invitation events included as well as the now-traditional Inter Counties Medley Relay.   The Dunbartonshire team won and was made up of J Hume, J Weir and , W McDonald and D McDonald – the first and third were from Clydesdale Harriers, second and fourth from Garscube.   Renfrewshire was second and Lanarkshire third.   The relay was run with a first leg of 880 yards followed by 2 of 220 yards and finishing with 440 yards.   With international runners on the two long stages of 880 and 440, it was always going to be a hard team to beat.   

The Association had now been in existence for six years – it had held championships on the track, on the road (in the Balloch – Clydebank) and over the country; it had promoted its own events such as the Clydebank to Helensburgh Road Race and entered teams in the inter county events on the track and over the country.   It had more than justified its existence.    Where would it go next?

Dunbartonshire AAA 1952 – 56        Dunbartonshire 1956/57 – 1959/60   Dunbartonshire AAA 1960 – 1966   Dunbartonshire AAA 1966 – 1970   .Dunbartonshire AAA 1970 – 1975

Some DAAA competitors in pictures

Dunbartonshire Constitution & Handbook   Dunbartonshire AAA Track & Field Championship Programme, 1973   .

Ben Bickerton was a remarkably good runner who ran for Scotland in the 1950 International cross-country race and who won many medals both individually and as a member of the very good Shettleston Harriers team in the post-war years.   He was also a photographer and the club centenary history remarks that he was feeling that he was becoming “stale” and so he gave up running to concentrate on his career as a photographer.    Of his ability there is no doubt – the reproductive technology was nowhere near as good as it is at present but just looking at the photographs, you see the quality.   He did a lot of work for the ‘Scots Athlete’  in the 50’s and when George Sutherland in Edinburgh started the ‘Athletics in Scotland’  in the 1970’s, he worked for him too producing many excellent front covers among the race pictures inside the magazine.    Walter Ross had several photographers already providing the illustrations for the magazine, mainly George Barber who was a member of Maryhill Harriers, and HW Neale, of whom I know nothing,   Barber may be the subject of a separate page.

 We start with some of Bickerton’s work for the ‘Athletics in Scotland’ and then reproduce some from ‘The Scots Athlete’.

Allister Hutton and Lawrie Reilly in the 1975 Junior National

Coatbridge 5, 1975

National 1976

National 1976

Adrian Weatherhead and Andy McKean, National 1976

The above are some examples of his later work for George Sutherland, the images below are from Walter’s ‘Scots Athlete’.   The first one is from 1955.

From 1954

Above and below are both from 1954

… 

Ian Leggett, Brian Goodwin and Jim Irvine (latter two both Bellahouston stalwarts):  Taken at the Scottish Civil Championships at Irvine in March 1970.   The team won the team race with Goodwin 1st, Leggett 2nd and Irvine 5th

The reports on athletics in Scotland in the two papers of record in Scotland – the “Glasgow Herald” and “The Scotsman” – were getting shorter as the months went by and this will be seen in the extracts reproduced below.   The Sports Editors frequently printed long articles on the running of Brendan Foster or Ian Stewart on a Monday at the expense of domestic results.   It is a value judgement that they were entitled to take but it often left gaps in the coverage of long standing events on the Scottish calendar.   

The cross-country relays that marked the start of the Renfrewshire Association’s winter 1965/66 season season took place on 9th October, 1965, and the short report read as follows.   “Sixteen teams took part in the unofficial Renfrewshire 12-mile relay championship at Paisley where Bellahouston Harriers retained the title, beating Wellpark Harriers by over one minute in 69 minutes 10 seconds.   Details:- 1.   Bellahouston Harriers (MJ McLean 17:39, J Irvine 17:10, B Goodwin 16:28, J Wood 17:53) 69:10;   2.  Wellpark Harriers (J Bottomley 17:40, W Stoddart 17:15, K Shepherd 18:03, M Pollard 17:15) 70:13;   3.   Glenpark Harriers (I Hopkins 18:13, T Dobbin 17:33, J Spence 17:27, R Hodelet 17:17) 70:30;  4.   Paisley Harriers (E Bradley 17:30, M Bradley 16:48, R Price 18:39, P McAtier 17:50) 70:38.”

Unfortunately there are no results for the younger age groups but we can note that Mike McLean of Bellahouston who ran the opening leg for the club was to be a Scottish 880 yards champion and internationalist who went on to be a senior administrator in Scottish athletics.   One of his fiercest opponents was of course Dick Hodelet of Glenpark who ran the last stage for his club – 22 seconds quicker than McLean.   

Mike McLean wins a half mile at Hampden from Dick Hodelet (2), Hugh Barrow (5) and Graeme Grant

The championships for the 1965/66 season were held at Greenock in December 1965 and Brian Goodwin (Bellahouston) defeated the two local runners Hodelet and Pollard.   The brief report reads: B Goodwin (Bellahouston) beat RT Hodelet, a former Scottish half-mile champion, by 70 yards in the unofficial Renfrewshire six-mile championship at Greenock.   M Pollard (Wellpark H) was third, more than 200 yards behind Hodelet.   The team race was won by Glenpark Harriers with 61 points, and Wellpark and Paisley Harriers filled second and third positions with 77 and 105 points respectively.   Bellahouston, the holders, had the unusual experience of not being in the first three, but they had a weakened team.”

There is not a lot to be learned from that particular report – no team members others than those who finished first, second and third – but the Association continued to put on the events and the clubs and runners continued to support them, and they filled their necessary part in the athletics programme.

*

There were no reports on the Renfrewshire Track and Field Championships in June but they were held and, as ever, the athletes continued to compete well in events all over Scotland.   In the SAAA Championships for instance, Hugh Baillie of Bellahouston was third in the 220 yards and first in the 440, Dick Hodelet was second in the 880, Mike McLean was third in that event, Charlie McAlinden of Babcock’s won the marathon and Bellahouston won the 4 x 440 yards Relay plus the Medley Relay.   

The Cross-Country Relay for 1966/67 was held on 10th October 1966 at Paisley.   “Bellahouston Harriers, as was expected, won the Renfrewshire relay championship ove a course from the headquarters of Paisley Harriers at Paisley beating Glenpark Harriers, Greenock, by more than 200 yards in 57 min 03 sec with Wellpark Harriers, Greenock, third, a similar distance behind Glenpark.   B Goodwin had a lead of more than 120 yards at the half-way stage and thereafter there was no doubt as to who would be the ultimate winners.   Details:- 1. Bellahouston (J Wood 14:14, B Goodwin 13:51, M McLean 14:20, J Irvine 14:38) 57:03;   2. Glenpark (R Hodelet 13:47, R Love 14:25, J Spence 14:33, T Dobbin 14:53) 57:38; Wellpark (M Pollard 14:15, J Bottomley 14:53, K Shepherd 14:50, W Stoddart 14:15) 58:13.   Fastest Individuals: 1.  R Hodelet 13:47, 2.  B Goodwin 13:51; 3. M Bradley (Paisley Harriers) 13:55.”

The individual and team championships for 1966/67 were back in Greenock on the first Saturday of December and the first two home were the very same runners who had fastest times in the Relays back in October.   The brief report read –

The County Championships were held on Monday, 20th June, 1967, and as usual at Moorcroft Park in Renfrew.   The report is reproduced below.

It was back to the country again on the second Saturday in October for the 1967/68 season.   Again it was edited down to the bare essentials of the senior men’s race.  “Bellahouston Harriers retained the Renfrewshire 12-mile championship, beating Paisley Harriers by 70 yards in 1 hr 12 min 41 sec.   The fastest individual over the three-mile course was M Bradley (Paisley Harriers) in 17 min 14 s.   Results:- 1.  Bellahouston (B Goodwin 17:37, I Kerr 17:17, J Adair 18:29, M McLean 18:18) 1-12-41;  2. Paisley Harriers ( P McAtier 19:20, M Bradley 17:14, J Simpson 18:19, G McEwan 17:59) 1-12-52;  3. Glenpark 1-13-25;  4. Wellpark 1-13-37; 5. Bellahouston B 1-15-20;  6. Paisley B 1-15-33.

Mike Bradley (4), Lachie Stewart (3) leading Mike Tagg and his team mate in the AAA’s Inter-Counties 1969

The 1967/68 County Championships in December was one of a series of County titles, all with their own tale to tell which was printed below coverage of the Lanarkshire championship taking more space than all the others put together.    Renfrewshire is fourth below but we do have results from all age groups.   The winner of the Senior Boys race was the youngest of the Spence brothers from Greenock – Lawrie – who was being coached by big brother Jim and would go on to be arguably the best ever all-round endurance runner Scotland ever produced with marks raning from sub-4 minutes for the mile to 2:16 for the marathon.

Duncan Middleton (149)

The counties all did their own thing and were independently organised but there was another tier to Scottish athletics that appeared from time to time and that was the Inter-Counties championship.   held more often over the country, there was from time to time a track meeting too.    There was one held in 1968, June 10th to be exact.   There were ten teams forward for the event – the well organised and traditional counties like Ayr, Dunbarton, Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Renfrew with some less familiar ones, namely Angus, Perth, Stirling, Moray and Midlothian.   Midlothian did turn out teams for the cross-country races but did not have a standing organisation that anyone we approached knew about.   The quality of athlete taking part was high with many Scottish internationals in action.   Names like Ricky Taylor, Duncan Middleton, Colin Martin, Dick Wedlock, Adrian Weatherhead, Alex Wight, Alex Brown, Norrie Foster, Crawford Fairbrother, David Stevenson, Dave Birkmyre, Doug Edmonds and Lawrie Bryce were all there competing for their county.    Report:

Dick Wedlock, between Lachie Stewart (317) and number 386

The winter 1968/69 season’s relays were held at Greenock and the winning team was Greenock Glenpark Harriers.   Again coverage was scanty with editorial judgment deciding that the Lanarkshire relay championship merited more than twice the coverage of the other three counties.

Two months later the Renfrewshire County Championships on 7th December were reported on as follows.

Unfortunately the report does not say who the second and third teams in the senior race were but it does tell us that Paisley Harriers provided the winner with Mike Bradley defeating Brian Goodwin for the title and that Bellahouston won the team race.   Lawrie Spence again won the Senior Boys race this time by 15 seconds although the Paisley team took the title.   Paisley were staring to appear more and more in the list of prize winners and the Johnstone High School was also becoming a regular feature of the county results sheets, both individual and team.

Lawrie Spence  (78) leading Lachie Stewart and Alistair Blamire

The 1969/70 relays were held on 13th October at Paisley and were won by Bellahouston with a remarkable display of packing with only 10 seconds between fastest and slowest club members, defeating Glasgow Police by a minute with Wellpark third.

The championships were held on 6th December, 1969 and the report reads: “Willie Stoddart, the Scottish marathon champion, scored a convincing victory over Brian Goodwin (Bellahouston) in the Renfrewshire six and a half mile championship.   Stoddart completed the Lochinch course well clear of the holder but Bellahouston had the supporting runners and won the team championship comfortably.   Results:-

1.   W Stoddart (Wellpark Harriers) 39:10;  2. B Good win (Bellahouston) 41:17; 3. D Lang (Glasgow Police) 41:26.   Team Race:  1.  Bellahouston (B Goodwin, W McLean, J Irvine, J Adair, A Yates, M McNaught)  54 pts;  2.  Wellpark 67; 3. Glasgow Police 107.   Youths Three-Mile Race:  1.  L Spence (Glenpark) 14:55.  

Below: Bill Stoddart winning the Scottish Marathon in 1969 in the Meadowbank Stadium under comstruction for the 1970 Empire and Commonwealth Games.

The tenth collection of photographs, cuttings, etc from Hugh contains some real gems.   

Alex Breckenridge, ex-VPAAC, American Olympic marathon runner, now aged 91 years of age.   This one was sent to Hugh by Ian Binnie’s daughter who now lives in Canada.

The next three were taken at the unveiling of the World Heritage Percy Cerutty Plaque with Herb Elliott and Seb Coe present along with other contemporaries and such as Derek Clayton, marathon runner.

The wonderful Herb Elliott and Aussie Rules football

New Year’s Day, 1965

Back to the days when football and running mixed and had a good relationship.

Some Historical Documents

Hugh, like many of us, is interested in the history of our sport and the back ground to events and meetings.   There are several fascination documents below.   

In the beginning of amateur athletics in Scotland many football clubs had their own sports, and their players  competed regularly in the meetings.   When the SAAA was established, the two disciplines mixed easily and amicably.   One of the earliest teams to do so was St Mirren FC.

The AP Findlay of Ayr mentioned above was the first winner of the Scottish Cross-Country Championships in 1886 and again in 1888 as a member of Clydesdale Harriers.

The pretty comprehensive programme for the Sports at the new Westmarch Stadium

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We all need a wee smile now and again: Hugh is also a rugby aficionado and this is a comment on the number of ex-South African players in the Scottish team.

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