The Author – Page 49 – SCOTTISH DISTANCE RUNNING HISTORY

Pitreavie Best Performances: Men – Track

Posted on February 25, 2021 by The Author

Olympic Champion Allan Wells winning at Pitreavie in the British Airways Games, 1979

PITREAVIE STADIUM

BEST PERFORMANCES

TRACK EVENTS – MEN

100 Metres

Sen 10.4 Alan Wells (ESH) 27 May 1979

Brit Airways Games Olympic Gold Medalist 1980

10.41 Nick Smith ( Shaftsbury B’nett ) 30 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

10.49 Stuart Benson(TVH/RAF) 30 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

10.6y Ian Turnbull (Bellahouston H) 28 May 1968

East Dist Champs

10.6 Ian Mackie (Pit AAC) 25 May 1995

10.61 Richard Kilty (Gatshead H) 30 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs Euro Ind 60m Gold Medalist 2015/2017

U20 10.66 Ryan Oswald(Pit AAC) 30 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

10.7 Mark Learmouth(Edin AC) 14 June 1980

Scot Schls Champs

10.7 Chris Carson (Shaftsbury B’nett) 01 Jun 1997

Fife Schls Champs

Note W/A

10.78mw Ross Ballie (VP) 08 June 1995

Scot U20 Champs

U17 11.0y Alan Crorie ( Bella H/ Hutch GS) 17 June 1967

Scot School Boys Champs

Note W/A

10.7w Ian Mackie (Pit AAC ) 16 June 1992

10.8w Kris Stewart (Sc Borders) 15 June 1996

10.8w Chris Carson ( Lochgelly & Dist) 15 June 1996

Scot Schls Champs

10.88w Tom Began ( Shett H ) 08 July 1995

Scot U17 Champs

U15 11.27 Kieran Kevlin (EAC) 13 Sept 2009

Pit Trophy Meet

U13 12.47 Ben Robbins(EAC) 13 Sept 2009

Pit Trophy Meet

200 Metres

Sen 20.9 Alan Wells (ESH) 27 May 1979

Brit Airways Games

21.3 Grant Plenderleith(FVH) 23 May 2014

East Dist Champs

21.3 Ryan Oswald (Sale H) 23 May 2014

East Dist Champs

21.39 Nick Smith (Shaftsbury B’nett) 18 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

21.4y Menzies Campbell ( Garscube H) 03 June 1965

East v West

21.40 Stuart Benson (Thames Valley/RAF) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

U20 21.3 David Jenkins (Edin Univ) 15 May 1971

Scot Univ Champs

21.6 Peter Little (EAC) 27 May 1979

Brit Airways Games

21.81 Ross Ballie(VP) 08 June 1995

Scot U20 Champs

U17 22.12 Dean Patterson ( Larkhall /GSOS) 25 June 2021

Pit Open

Note W/A

22.0w Chris Carson (Lochgelly & Dist) 15 June 1996

Scot Schls Champs

U15 23.06 Kieran Kivlin (EAC) 13 Sept 2009

Pit Trophy Meet

U13 26.30 Ben Robbins (EAC) 13 Sept 2009

Pit Trophy Meet

400m

Sen 46.79 Kris Robertson (Kirk Olys) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

46.82 Alan Stuart (Shett H) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

47.35 Brian Doyle (Harrow AC) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

47.45 Patrick Swan(Gatesh’d H) 18 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

47.62 Jamie Bowie ( Inv H) 20 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

47.87 Sean Watson ( Shett H) 20 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

U20 48.36 Kris Stewart (Sc Borders) 08 May 1999

East Dist Camps

48.7 Alasdair Donaldson (Pit AAC) 25 June 1995

48.86 Nick Petrou (Leeds City ) 27 April 2014

YDL(H)NP2

U17 48.17 Greg Loudon (Lass AC) 20 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

U15 52.4 George Gray (Vale of Leven) 14 June 1980

Scot Schls Champs

U13 59.1 Craig Robinson (Pitreavie AAC) 21 June 2005

FVLge

800m

Sen 1:49.00 Mark Mitchell (Forres H) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

1:49.27 Neil Burnside (SBH) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

1:49.9 Graham Williamson (Spr’burn H) 27 May 1979

1:50.4 Dick Hodelet( Greenock GlPk) 08 June 1966

East v West

1:50.61 Stewart Reid (Pit AAC) 09 May 1999

East Dist Champs

1:50.99 Tom Nimmo ( City of Edin) 20 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

U20 1:52.0 Graham Grant (Dumb’ton AAC) 30 June 1965

1:53.79 Guy Learmouth (Lasswade AC) 18 June 2010

Scot Sen Champs

1:54.6 David Henry (Gala Ac) 04 July 1964

SAAA v Atalanta

U17 1:57.1 John Scott (Edin AC ) 21 April 1974

Sc Young Athletes Lge East

U15 2:01.41 Ben Greenwood(PSH) 09 Sept 2012

Pit YA Trophy Meet

U13 2:11.6 Calum Dick ( Giffnock N) 03 Jul 2021

Dunf T&F Open

1500m

Sen 3:42.56 Colin Birmingham(Australia) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

3:44.3y Ian McCafferty ( Law & Dist) 07 June 1967

East v West Commonwealth Silver Medalist 1970

3:46.6y Lachie Stewart( Vale of Leven) 07 June 1967

East v West Commonwealth Gold Medalist 1970

3:46.60 Chris MacKay (N’ham& Essex B) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

3:48.13 Ian Williamson (Cambridge & Co) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

3:48.29 Alastair Hay (Central AC) 20 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

( y – 1m time minus 18 secs)

U20 3:56.06 Andrew Thomson (Fife AC) 12 Sept 2021

(Pitreavie Club Champs)

4:00.31 Alasdair McMonagle ( C’nauld) 25 June 2021

Pit Open

4:03.18 Stuart Gibson ( Motherwell AAC) 08 June 1995

Scot U20 Champs

U17 4:03.2 Josh Kerr ( EAC) 23 May 2014

East Dist Champs Olympic Bronze 2021 [2020]

U15 4:06.4 Alistair Currie (Dumbarton AAC} 14 June 1980

Scot Schls Champs

U13 4:34.68 Ryan Gray (Inverclyde AC) 09 Sep 2012

Pit YA Trophy Meet

1 Mile

Sen 4:02.3 Ian McCafferty ( Law & Dist) 07 June 1967

East v West

4:04.6 Lachie Stewart( Vale of Leven) 07 June 1967

East v West

4:07.6 Bill Ewing ( A’deen Uni/AAC) 29 June 1966

SAAA v Atalanta

4:07.8 Ian McPherson (VP AAC) 30 June 1965

SAAA v Atalanta

4:09.5 John Linaker (Pit AAC ) 08 June 1966

East v West

4:10.8 Roddy Wilson (Teviotdale H) 04 July 1964

U20 4:22.2 Alistair Riddell (Loretta Sch) 17 June 1967

Scot Schls Champs

4:24.3 James Cook (Garscube H ) 17 June 1967

Scot Schls Champs

4:29.99 Ben Potrykus (Pit AAC) 08 Sept 2014

Pit Trophy Meet

U17 4:24.13 Aiden Thomson (Pit AAC) 08 Sept 2014

Pit Trophy Meet

U15 4:27.74 Ben Greenwood Perth SH) 08 Sept 2014

Pit Trophy Meet

3000m

Sen 8:31.0 Jim Brown ( Clyde Valley) 13 Apr 1975

Fergus Murray in the Hawkhill Harriers vest

5000m

Sen 13:56.8y Fergus Murray ( Edin Univ) 08 June 1966

East v West

14:10.0 Chris Robinson (Spango Valley) 28 May 1995

14:11.04 Andrew Lemoncello (Fife AC) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

14:12.6 Robert Quinn (Kilbarchan AC) 28 May 1995

14:13.6y James Johnston (Monkland H) 08 June 1966

East v West

14:15.70 Woldemichael Tsege (Shett H) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

U20 15:08.8y James Burns ( Shett H ) 15 June 1974

Scot Schls Champs

15:10.4y Tom Paterson ( Springburn H) 15 June 1974

Scot Schls Champs

15:16.65 Alex Hendry (Central AC) 17 Jul 2010

Scot Sen Champs

( y – 3mile time plus 30secs}

10,000m

Sen 30:26.2 Frank Harper (Pit AAC) 14 May 1988

GRE Cup 1^st Rd

30:52.10 Neil Renault ( EAC) 24 June 2012

Scot Sen Champs

31:04.4y John Linaker (Pit AAC) 06 Oct 1962

31:32.77 John Newsom (Cent AC ) 24 June 2012

Scot Sen Champs

31:36.77 Ben Hukins (Unatt) 24 June 2012

Scot Sen Champs

32.44.7 D.Cameron ( Shett H ) 13 May 1989

GRE Cup 1^st Rd

(y – 6mile time plus 60secs)

Tony Hogarth and Fraser Proven

110m/120yds Hurdles

Sen 14.4y Tony Hogarth (Octavians , H) 25 May 1968

East Dist Champs

14.48 Chris Ballie (VPCoG) 18 June 2010

Scot Sen Champs

14.7y Alan Murray (ESH) 25 May 1968

East Dist Champs

14.7 Francis Smith (WG&EL) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

14.8y Fraser Provan ( Octavians ) 06 July 1963

15.0y Alf Bellah (HMS Caledonia/Nigeria) 08 July 1961

SAAA v Atlanta

15.0 Robert Davidson (Edin Univ) 29 May 1971

East Dist Champs

U20 14.90 S Bowden (USA) 08 June 1995

Scot U20 Champs

15.0 George McCallum (Central Reg ) 14 June 1980

Scot Schls Champs

15.0 Kevin McLennan (Black Isle AC) 15 June 1996

Scot U20 Champs

15.0 Taylor Roy (Pit AAC) 07 June 2016

Fife Schls Champs

Note W/A

14.5w(2.2) Jack Lawrie 27 Apr 2014

YDL(H)

100m/110yds Hurdles

U17 13.60 Gordon Menzies ( Kilbarchan AAC) 08 June 1995

Scot U17 Champs

80m Hurdles

U15 11.5 Kenneth McKeown (Ayr S’forth) 19 June 1996

Scot Schls Inter Area

11.5 Callum Newton ( Dunf T&F ) 03 July 2021

Dunf T&F Open

Note W/A

11.44w(4.7) Chris Ballie (VP) 09 July 1995

75m Hurdles

U13 11.8 Cameron Goodhall( Lasswade) 10 Sept 2006

Pit Trophy Meet

Francis Smith

400m/440ys Hurdles

Sen 52.25 Francis Smith (WG & EL} 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

52.56 Martin Lipton (Kilbarchan AC) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

53.32 David Martin (VPCoG) 10 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

53.91 Derek Paisley (Blackheath & B H) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

54.15 Andrew Faulkner (Yeovil Olym’ds) 06 June 2009

BAL D 4

54.2 Alan Murray( Edin SH ) 29 May 1971

East Dist Champs

U20 52.73 Neil Flannery (Gateshead H ) 31 Aug 2008

Scot Sen Champs

54.19 Jack Lawrie (Pit AAC) 27 Apr 2014

YDL(H)

55.34 Ewan Dyer (Pit AAC) 28 Apr 2015

YDL(H)

U17 52.81 (Scot Rec) Richard McDonald (Perth SH) 10 Aug 1996

Celtic International

U15 61.0 G.Nugent ( Lenzie Ac) 14 Jun 1980

Scot Schls Champs

61.0 Graeme Lammie (Perth SH/PHS) 15 Jun 1996

Scot Schls Champs

3000mS/C

Sen 8:59.2 Gareth Bryan Jones (ESH) 29 May 1971

East Dist Champs AAA 3k SC Champion 1968

9:12.2 James Austin (Clydesdale H) 25 June 1995

9:18.0 John Linaker (Pit AAC) 07 Aug 1965

Scot v Army

9:23.0 Bill Ewing (Aberdeen AAC) 25 May 1968

East Dist Champs

9:23.0 Hugh Elder ( Dumbarton AAC) 13 June 1971

Inter Counties

9:30.1 Cameron Watson (Pit AAC) 20 June 1995

U20 9:34.2 David Lorimer (St Andrew’s Univ) 15 May 1971

Scot Univ Champs

9:34.86 Lachlan Oates ( Shett H ) 18 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

9:48.96 Mathew Graham (Kirk’tilloch Oly) 21 June 2009

Scot Sen Champs

2000mS/C

U20 6:04.9 Andrew McKay (EAC) 14 June 1980

Scot Schls Champs

6:11.88 Bertie Houghton (Doncaster AC) 27 Apr 2014

YDL (H)

6:14.91 Aidan Thompson (Pitreavie AAC) 27 Apr 2014

YDL (H)

1500mS/C

U17 4:25.6 Iain Murdoch ( Avonside TC) 15 Jun 1996

Scot Schls Champs

4:34.9 Derek Easton ( Shett H) 15 Jun 1974

Scot Schls Champs

4x 100m Relay

Sen 42.1 West of Scotland Team 09 June 1965

East v West

42.5 SAAA Team 08 July 1961

SAAA v Atalanta

42.65 Coventry Godiva 06 July 2009

BAL D4

U20 44.1 Motherwell AC 08 Aug 1998

Scot U20 Champs

U17 42.77 Scotland U17 10 Aug 1996

Club

42.89 Edinburgh AC 15 June 2014

Scot U17 Champs

U15 45.51 Edinburgh AC 31 Aug 2008

Scot U15 Champs

U13 51.76 Edinburgh AC 18 July 2010

Scot U13 Champs

4x 400m Relay

Sen 3:23.3 Kilbarchan AC 24 June 2012

Scot Sen Champs

U20 3:27.2 Motherwell AC 08 Aug 1998 Scot Sen Champs

U17 3:30.19 Kilbarchan AC 30 May 2004

Scot Sen Champs

3x 800m Relay

Sen/ 5:47.21 Giffnock North AC 24 June 2012

U20 Scot Sen Champs

U17 6:06.47 Edinburgh AC 15 June 2014

Scot U17 Champs

U15 6:33.99 Edinburgh AC 15 June 2014

Scot U15 Champs

U13 7:15.03 Giffnock North AC 15 Sept 2019

Scot U13 Champs

Decathlon

Sen 5765 pts Robert Miller (Aberdeen AC) 29/30 May 2004

Scot Sen Champs

5615 pts David Agnew ( Pit AAC) 10/11 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

4823 pts Ian C McEwan (Whitemoss AC) 10/11 July 2010

Scot Sen Champs

U20 6447 pts Michael Downie ( Arbroath & Dist) 10/11 July 2010

Scot U20 Champs

U17 5222 pts Andrew Murphy ( Ayr Seaforth AC) 10/11 July 2010

Scot U17 Champs

Pentathlon

U15 2765 pts Andrew Smith (Dundee HH) 29 May 2004

Scot U15 Champs HJ / 80mH / LJ / SP / 800

2709 pts Kenneth McKeown(Ayr ) 8 June 1996

Scot Schls CEs 80mH / SP / 200m / LJ / 1500m

U13 1891 pts Connel McDonald ( In’ness H) 18 July 2009

Scot U13 Champs HJ / 75mH / LJ / SP / 800

Track – Ultra

25,000m(15.53miles)

1hr 19m 16.6secs Don McGregor ( Edin SH) 12 Dec 1970

1hr 19m 16.6secs Alistair Wood ( A’deen AAC) 12 Dec 1970

30,000m(18.64miles)

1hr 35m.13.8secs Don McGregor ( Edin SH) 12 Dec 1970

35,000m(21.75miles)

1hr 50m.59.8secs Don McGregor ( Edin SH) 12 Dec 1970

World best )at the time_

40 mile

3hr 49m 49secs Alistair Wood ( A’deen AAC ) 13 Dec 1969

World Best (at the time)

2 Hours

33.82Km(21m21y) Alistair Wood ( A’deen AAC ) 13 Dec 1969

33.82Km(21m21y) Steve Taylor ( A’deen AAC) 13 Dec 1969

34.91Km(21m337y) Willie Russell (Shett H ) 13 Dec 1969

Compiled by Graham McDonald updated July 2021

World Best 40 Miles at Pitreavie Track, 1969

Phil Hampton (3), Steve Taylor (6), Alastair Wood (2) and Willie Russell (5)

John Hepburn Photographs: 3

Posted on February 20, 2021 by The Author

The photographs on this page were taken on Sunday, 29th September, 2012 on the Aonach Eagach on what would seem to be a not very nice day. Accompanying John are Stewart Walker, Natalie Christie and Denis Bell.

John Hepburn Photographs: 2

Posted on February 20, 2021 by The Author

These were taken during a trip to the Dolomites. The scenery is magnificent and the photographs are all good ones and they are all hill runners and mountain climbers! And did anyone mention altitude training? Have a look at these.

John Hepburn Photographs: 1

Posted on February 20, 2021 by The Author

We are told that John is a very unassuming, ultra-helpful gentleman. A very skilled mountaineer, he is always sure and steadfast. He’s one of the guys you’d always want to be near you, in his company. A thoroughly superb guy and a ‘make-happen’ his word is his bond. Rarely has anything ever been too much of a bother. John might not be ‘high profile’, but an absolute stalwart all his long and successful career. A true Friend, a gentle man, an upstanding citizen, a real achiever!

He is however a very good hill runner indeed with many good races in his diaries. He has run all over Scotland – the Isle of Jura seems to be a favourite with several appearances, he’s run in Strathyre at the fearsome Stuc a Chroin race and travelled to the south of the country for the Two Breweries race, run in the Birnam Hill Classic and many more but as a Lochaber AC runner, he has to run in the Ben Nevis race and in 2018 he received the McConachie Plaque for having run in twenty one Ben Nevis races.

We start with some photographs of John running in the Ben Nevis race.

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After the Ben race, John and some friends went to Mull; for two days, and all the cycling photos are from that trip. As Denis said, I don’t know how he managed it! The photograph above is one taken after the prize giving and social after the Ben race. In the photograph are Alwynne Shannon, Des Crowe, John H and his son Andrew , a super piper.

The thing that impresses me about most hill runners is their whole healthy lifestyle – I have known hill runners to finish a race, shower (optional), dress, eat and head off on a hike arguing about whose pack is the heavier. I know hill runners who walk, climb, canoe and sail. Some even drive. That is the justification for putting up so many of them just acting ‘normally’. Well, it is for them.

The above are just some of those available. The next selection is of pictures from a a trip to the Dolomites, What we said above of the lifestyle and attitude to the world around us applies. John’s way was always calm and trusted leadership with Mike Lindsay (another brilliant hill-runner).

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Finlay Wild: Running Career Overview

Posted on February 13, 2021 by The Author

Finlay Wild is a name known almost exclusively to the hill running fraternity although it should be well known to all endurance runners in Scotland at the very least. After this look at some of his running achievements, we will have a page done following an extended conversation that Denis Bell had with Finlay.

He was born on 8 September 1984 in Thurso. It was maybe inevitable that he would be an enthusiast for the great outdoors right from the start: his father Roger Wild, was a mountain guide, and his mother Fiona (née Hinde) was an accomplished hill runner who won the Three Peaks Race in 1981 and the Carnethy 5 in both 1981 and 1982. Finlay was educated at Fort William primary and Lochaber High School before heading to the University of Aberdeen where he graduated with a medical degree and he now works as a GP in Lochaber. So much for his background which all (where he has always lived, parents occupation and involvement) point to a love of the hills. We can go on from there to have a look at his career as a hill runner.

His first hill race is said to be at Ben Rinnes at the age of 21. Held in conjunction with the Dufftown Highland Games, it is really three hills – there are the two tops of Little and Meikle Conval before the Ben Rinnes summit with the return via the same trail making it a total of 22 kilometres with 1500m of ascent. It is however through his superb running on Ben Nevis that his hill running talents have been shown to best advantage. Winning the race once is an achievement, to win it as often has he has is however a wonderful almost incomparable achievement. He first won it in 2010 and every year since! The ‘Press & Journal began its report in 2019 as follows:

“A doctor made it 10 in a row when he won a gruelling race up and down the UK’s highest mountain. Fort William GP Finlay Wild fought off competition from 450 other athletes to win the Ben Nevis race for the 10th time on Saturday. He conquered the 4,411ft mountain in 1 hour, 32 minutes and five seconds.

Despite falling on part of the route, Dr Wild was 17 minutes and 47 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, fellow Lochaber Athletic Club member John Yells. The 35-year-old said: “When I won it the first time I was absolutely shocked so I never thought this would happen and I would be here with 10. I feel quite shocked really as it was very unexpected.

“It is a great local event that attracts people from all over and it is great to see so many people. “I am sure I will be back next year.”

Unfortunately he was not able to go back in 2020 because there was no race due to the Covid crisis – and as a GP he was probably working flat out at the time anyway.

There are some, many, runners who favour a particular event and run better there than anywhere else but that does not apply to Finlay Wild. He has the same high standards and displays them on short hill races, long hill races, the various ’rounds and, in short, in any event in which he takes part. Note the following:

In 2012, he set a new course record for the Glamaig Hill Race, breaking the previous best set by top class internationalist Mark Rigby in 1997. He improved his own record by a further five seconds in 2018.
Wild’s other wins include the Carnethy 5, Goatfell races 2013–2015, the Isle of Jura 2015-2017, Stuc a Chroin, the Ennerdale Horseshoe and the Langdale Horseshoe. He won the British Fell Running Championship in 2015. The heights and distances tend to be on the long side – Langdale is 21 km in distance and 4760 ft of ascent, Stuc a Chroin is 24 km and 5000 feet of ascent, Isle of Jura is 28 km and 2370 m of ascent and Ennerdale is 36.8 km and 2290 feet. As an indication 21 km is 13 miles and 36.8 km is over 22 miles.
He also has the fastest known time for the Cuillin Ridge traverse on Skye, completing the crossing in 2:59:22 in 2013. In February 2016, Wild and Tim Gomersall made a winter crossing of the Cuillin Ridge in a time of 6:14. There is an excellent report on his record in the UK Climbing website which sums the feat up in this quote: “On Saturday 12th October Finlay Wild broke the speed record for the Cuillin Ridge traverse for the second time in a year, knocking a hefty 15 minutes from his previous record to log the first sub-three-hour completion of Britain’s greatest mountaineering route. So how on earth did he manage to get from the summit of Gars-bheinn at the south end of the ridge to the top of Sgurr nan Gillean in the north, in just 2hrs 59mins 22secs”?
In 2016, Wild’s results in the Tromso Sky Race (Norway: 33 km and 2000m of ascent) and the Glen Coe Skyline gave him third place in the Extreme section of the Skyrunner World Series.
In October 2016, he set a record time of 10:15:30 for Tranter’s Round in the mountains around Glen Nevis. He further reduced the record to 9:00:05 in July 2020. Note that the second record was 75 minutes faster than the first – a huge lump off the time. Often, almost always, a runner going for a record round has pacers, guides or companions assisting but not this time for Finlay Wild. This quote about the run from the following link Finlay Wild breaks his own Tranter’s Round record – FionaOutdoors says “Finlay ran the Tranter’s Round solo and unsupported. He said: “Only a few people knew I was out for a record attempt against myself, so there didn’t feel like there was much pressure. This keeps stress levels low and makes it just an enjoyable big day out in the hills.” Finlay thoroughly enjoyed the run, He said: “It was a high watching the weather improve into the afternoon, just as I had hoped it would from an optimistic interpretation of the forecast. “It was great to take an hour and 15 minutes off my previous record, too. Even missing a sub-nine-hours wasn’t disappointing because I feel I made a concerted push to try for it over many hours, so I ran as well as I could have hoped.”
In May 2019, Wild ran the Welsh 3000s in a time of 4:10:48 which broke the long-standing record of 4:19 held by fellow Scot Colin Donnelly since 1988.
Wild set a record for the Ramsay Round in August 2020, completing the route solo and unsupported in a time of 14:42:40. Note that like the Tranter Round a month earlier it was a solo and unsupported run over some of the most difficult terrain the United Kingdom. It was also a huge chunk off the previous record – a massive 90 minutes. And it was done as a solo attempt with scarcely one month between the two. We should maybe look at the two Rounds. The photograph below is of Finlay after setting the Ramsay Round record and you can read about it at Finlay Wild sets new Ramsay Round record – FionaOutdoors

Hill Runners from all countries and of all standards seem to collect ’rounds’ with every country having its own tough round of hill, tops, peaks to be completed against the clock. And the various countries have other rounds. The two Scottish ones mentioned above are worth a look. The Tranter Round first. Described by the Gofar website as follows – “Named after Philip Tranter, who first completed it in 1964, this is considered to be Scotland’s original 24 hour challenge, before being extended by Charlie Ramsay in 1978. It is a round of some 36 miles and over 20,000′ taking in 19 Munros in the Mamores, Grey Corries and Aonachs together with Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis. It still remains a creditable and rewarding challenge in its own right. ” Note the reference to the Ramsay Round which is the big challenge for Scottish Hill Runners. For a description of the Ramsay Round we go to the appropriate website of https://www.ramsaysround.co.uk/tranters-round which reads

Ramsay’s Round is an extension of Tranter’s round which started in Glen Nevis. Travelling anticlockwise he completed all of the Mamores, (10 munros) thereafter he crossed the valley and onto the Grey corries (4 munros) before ascending onto the Aonachs (2 munros) and onwards towards Carn Mor Dearg, culminating on Ben Nevis, (2 munros) Great Britain’s highest mountain, finishing back at Glen Nevis. Following the completion of the Mamores at Sgurr Eilde Mor continue eastwards towards the South end of Loch Treig, continue onto the summit of Beinn na Lap, thereafter head for Chno Dearg then onto the summit of Stob Coire Sgriodain, before descending to the north end of Loch Treig, thereafter start the steady climb onto the Easains, before descending down to the Lairig Leacach, finally start the ascent onto the summit of Stob Ban joining up and continuing onto Tranter’s Round.”

To set records for both within a month and break the previous best time by so much indicates a runner of tremendous talent and determination.

And the hill and fell running is not quite enough for the full display of Wild’s talents. He has also competed in ski mountaineering and was the British champion in that sport in 2016 as well as the Scottish Skimo series winner in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons.

We have a record of his running career from 2006 to 2020 at this link – Finlay’s Racing Record

Glasgow Police Sports, 1956

Posted on February 12, 2021 by The Author

The Police Sports were one of the country’s top meetings with quality athletes from all over the world competing at Ibrox. Were the quality measured by the size of the programme, it would have beaten many an international fixture: this one runs to 66 pages including the covers.

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Some Post 1945 Track Programmes

Posted on February 8, 2021 by The Author

Programmes loom large in the life of athletes – in championships they are scrutinised to find out who the opposition is and who is in their heat, in Highland |Gatherings it is to see who is in their heat but maybe more importantly to see what the handicaps are – the opposition’s as well as your own. During the cross country season the map of the trail is the thing as well as the timing of the other age group races scheduled. Looking back at old programmes is informative on all these fronts and are also a font of information on social and sporting history. At a personal level, athletes often keep the main programmes in which they themselves feature. We have a small number available here – just click on the name of the meeting that you you are interested in. The Bute programme is part of the profile of the Games. We can add to these programmes, depending on the interest shown.

SAAA Championships 1956 Glasgow Police Sports, 1956 SAAA Championships 1958

Scottish Universities Championships 1959 Scottish Universities Championships 1961

Bute Highland Games Cowal Highland Games, 1971

We also have some very old programmes –

Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Celtic Park 1905 Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Celtic Park 1906 Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Ibrox Park, 1909 Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Kilbowie Park, 1914 . Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Dunoon 1905 Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Dunoon 1907

Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Ibrox Park, 1921 Clydesdale Harriers Sports at Clydeholm Park, 1927

Clydesdale Harriers Championships at Ibrox Park 1914: May and August

John Brown’s Welfare Sports, 1949 Motherwell YMCA Sports, 1949

SAAA Programme 1956

Posted on February 8, 2021 by The Author

Scottish Marathon Miscellany

Posted on February 2, 2021 by The Author

The Scottish Marathon Championship was first run in 1946 and in the almost 75 years since then it has seen small fields, large fields, it has been contested by runners of all sizes and had its share of incidents many of which were dramatic, some of which were funny but the event has never been colourless. Scotsmen were running, racing and winning British and Commonwealth Games marathons for two decades before the first national championship was held. The champions and championships receive coverage and homage elsewhere on the website: this page notes some of the lesser known facts and points out some of the personages who have taken part

There were marathons run in Scotland for the first part of the 20th century but the distances were often of various distance with the word marathon meaning simply a long road race.
The proper marathon distance was covered at Powderhall in 1909 after the London Olympics of 1908
Before the Second World War there were no Scottish marathon championships but the AAA’s Championships were held from 1925 when Dunky Wright was third and second in 1928. The 1930’s were the best decade for Scots in terms of success at British level. Dunky Wright won in 1930 and 1931 and his Maryhill Harriers team mate Donald McNab Robertson won in 1932, ’33, ’34, 36, ’37 and ’39. Wright also had a second place in 1932 and Robertson was second in ’46 and third in ’47. They won 8 out of 10 AAA’s championships between 1930 and 1939.
In the period from 1925 to 2019 McNab Robertson won the British event more than any other runner and Wright was the fourth most prolific winner.
Scottish winners since McNab Robertson in’39 were Jim Alder in 1967, Allister Hutton in 1990, Andrew Lemoncello in 2010, Derek Hawkins in 2013 and Calum Hawkins in 2016.
Scots filled the first three places in the AAA’s in 1967 – Alder (2:16:08), A Wood (2:16:21 and D Macgregor (2:17:19), and again in 2016 – C Hawkins (2:10:52), T Tewelde (2:12:23) and D Hawkins (2:12:51).
The most prolific winner of the SAAA Championship was Alastair Wood (Aberdeen AAC) with 6 wins between 1962 and 1972, followed by Fraser Clyne (Aberdeen) with 5 victories between 1992 and 1997.
The Aberdeen record in the event has been remarkable with Wood and Clyne followed by Colin Youngson with 3, and Peter Wilson, Graham Laing and George Reynolds all with a victory apiece. Club total: 17 gold medals.
Colin Youngson won 10 medals in 13 starts in the event between 1972 and 1985 – 3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze and Don Macgregor won 3 golds and 6 silvers over 21 years between 1965 and 1986. Don Ritchie (Aberdeen AAC/Forres Harriers) also won Scottish Marathon silver medals 21 years apart: between 1967 and 1988.
Next best club performance was that of Shettleston for whom Joe McGhee ( won 3 golds in a row between 1954 and 1956); and Hugo Fox (2), Harry Howard (1), Brian Carty, John Duffy and Brian Scally all won once. Club total: 9 titles.
Two runners have won three-in-a-row. Joe McGhee in 1954, 55 and 56 and Fraser Clyne who performed the feat in 1992, 93 and 94 and then ‘did the double’ in 1996 and 97.
Only one club has produced the first three in the race in the same year. Maryhill Harriers had McNab Robertson first, Dunky Wright second and Andy Burnside third in 1946.
First runner inside 2:30 was Joe McGhee in 2:25:50 in 1955. First inside 2:20 was Jim Alder in 1970 in 2:17:11 and the only runner inside 2:15 was the Mexican Espinosa in 1999 in 2:14:31.
Although it was the official Scottish Scottish championship, it has often been won by ‘foreigners’ : in 1989 Ian Bloomfield from England won from Terry Mitchell (Fife) who himself won in 1987 and 1991..
The first three all came from outwith Scotland twice: in 1990, Chris Tall won from Stan Markley and Brian McEvoy and in 1999 the first three came from outwith Britain: Mexico (Espinosa), Poland (Mokaya) and Kenya (Chelanga).
The most unlucky (?) runner to run in the SAAA Championship was probably Tommy Rewcastle of Plebeian Harriers on 25th June, 1956. The standard award was for all runners inside 3 hours for the distance that year. 15 men had been inside the time and won the award when Tommy came into the stadium and as he approached the tape, the standard gun, which indicated that time limit for standards had been reached, was fired almost in his face as he crossed the line in 3:00:01 He was denied the standard for the sake of one single second after running for three hours. The feeling among runners on the day was that it was a deliberate attempt to deny him the award because so many had been inside the three hour limit. Incidentally among those unplaced ahead of him were Eddie Campbell of Fort William St Mary’s AC, Harry Haughie and Adam Reid of Springburn, David Anderson of Greenock Wellpark and David Bowman of Clydesdale Harriers.
For a race that lasts for at least two hours there have been some very dramatic finishes. In 1958 Hugo Fox of Shettleston arrived at Meadowbank to find that the groundsman had not yet opened the entrance. Didn’t faze Hugo though – he climbed the gates, which had spikes on top, and won the race in 2:31:22.
One of the closest finishes ever anywhere was at the AAA’s championships in 1932 when Dunky Wright led Donald McNab Robertson on to the track at the White City and after a torrid battle between the two Maryhill Harriers, Robertson won by 1.4 seconds.
Another close finish was in the 1966 British Empire Games when Jim Alder, who had been leading by 15 seconds in the approach to the stadium, was misdirected and the lead went to Bill Adcocks of England. Redirected by Dunky Wright, Jim chased and caught Adcocks on the track to win comfortably in 2:22:07.
And although they were not Scottish, remember these finishes? Dorando Pietri? The original – Pheidippides? Remember Joe McGhee defeating Jim Peters in Canada? which brings us to
The Scots runners who have won the British Empire and Commonwealth Games three times. The first games were held in Canada in 1930 and Dunky Wright won that race, Joe McGhee in 1954 and Jim Alder in 1966. There were also two Scots who won medals in the marathon in major Games for other countries – Mike Ryan in Mexico Olympics and Paul Bannon for Canada. Click on their name for the story. Alex Breckenridge formerly of VPAAC, ran for the USA in the Olympics as did Jimmy Duffy for Canada in the 1912 Olympic Marathon.
There have been many families where two members have run good times for the distance. Just a few: Father and Son: Allan Adams snr (2:23:03) and Allan jnr (2:22:12); Bill Scally (2:24:05) and Brian (2:27:32); Father and Daughter: Alan Partridge (2:22:30) and Susan (2:30:46); Mother and Daughter: Deborah Macdonald and her daughter Katie Husband and Wife/Partner: Allan Adams (2:22:12) and Lynne (2:36:19; Brother and Sister: Doug Gunstone (2:19:07) and Penny Rother (2:53:00); Brothers: Callum Hawkins (2:08:14) and Derek (2:12:49) so far in their marathon running careers; Stuart Easton (2:23:33) and Derek (2:26:53); Jim Spence (2:39:42) and Lawrie (2:16:01). Sisters: Karen Macleod (2:33) and her sister Deborah MacDonald (3:20). Cousins Charlie Haskett (2:18:29) and Gordy (2:23:57).
Not content with mother/daughter marathons one mother and daughter combination (both Garscube Harriers) has enjoyed considerable success in events including an ultra. Anne White has twice won the W65 category of the prestigious annual British and Irish International Masters Cross-Country, as well as leading her Scottish Masters W65 team to victory. In addition, Anne has completed the Manchester Marathon and is particularly pleased to have finished first W60 in the 2017 Kintyre Way Ultra-Marathon. Her daughter Katie won the W35 category of the 2017 British and Irish Masters XC; and, also in 2017 set a marathon personal best of 2.40.31 in Frankfurt. Then, on the sixth of October 2019, she finished First Woman in the Loch Ness Marathon, recording 2.42.03. Both mother and daughter won Half-Marathon silver medals in the 2018 World Masters Championships in Malaga, Spain
The numbers in the early days were low but the numbers in the 1970’s and 80’s were huge with tens of thousands of Scots running marathons the length and breadth of Scotland in times ranging from under 2:15 to outside 6 hours. There were also huge numbers of runners inside 2:30, 2:40 and 2:50 with many women running times that a decade or so earlier were beyond all but the fastest men.
A Scottish marathon runner set a British record time for the marathon but was not credited with a Scottish best time. The man in question is Alastair Wood who set a British and European best marathon tine in 1966 of 2:13:45 on the Forres course. The time was however not ratified by the SAAA although it was ratified by the GB Board and by the internationally recognised ARRS website. Read about it here.
Many of the runners raised money for charity and one of the most prolific was Gus Campbell of Clydesdale Harriers who raised tens of thousands of pound for charity. There are many stories about Gus but one of the best which shows the spirit of the time was this one. Running in the Glasgow Marathon he would push a pram and encourage spectators to throw money in to it. It was also where he kept his rolls, sandwiches and drinks. The night before the race he told his workmates that if any of them gave him money on his way round he’d give them a drink of champagne. On the day he was making his way sedately round Bellahouston Park pushing his pram when he met a young lady walking along and crying. He asked what was wrong and she said that she had promises of money but she would never make it to the finish. She was so disappointed. Gus told her that she was like him, just aiming to get to the finish, if she came with him she’d make it. She agreed and he asked if she’d like something to eat. He then asked her what she would like on her roll – cheese or ham? And of course it was washed down with champagne. They made their way to Glasgow Green where her husband was patiently waiting for her. She’d done it! Gus was introduced to her husband as the man who gave her a roll in Bellahouston Park.
Tommy the Clown from Inverclyde ran many road races including marathons dressed up as a clown and carrying a bucket for spectators to make their donation. And these two men were not alone in using the distance to raise money.
Now, in the 21st century, marathons are being organised which would have been unrecognisable as such just a few years ago. For instance the RunMhor marathon from Callander to Balquhidder is run mainly on the road but also incorporates some trail running but the finish is what really makes it different: the runners come over a couple of paths through fields and down to a river which is usually 30+ metres wide. There they have to get into a boat to be transported across before running the last half mile to the finish. At the finish they receive a voucher for a free pint of beer. When they get into the boat they are offered a glass of Pimm’s. During the race the seven feeding stations offer peanuts and raisins as well as the usual drinks. The boat has on occasions been held back a minute so that someone else can get in. To be fair, it is described as a Fitness Event and not a race.
During the period of the ‘running boom’ there were marathons held all over Scotland. In the big cities of Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh there were marathons, in other towns such as Motherwell and Forres, in areas such as Inverclyde, the Black Isle, Loch Rannock, Lochaber, Caithness, Benbecula, Galloway, Shettleston and Dumfries. In one year there were no fewer than 14 marathons held in Scotland from the Borders to Caithness, from Benbecula to the Black Isle.
The Glasgow Marathon was the biggest and the biggest number to enter the Glasgow Marathon was for the race on 22nd September, 1985 – 11,492. It was won by David Lowes in 2:15:31 with first Scot being Mike Carroll in 2:18:24. First woman was Angie Pain in 2:37:06 while Sandra Branney was first Scotswoman in 2:45:06. There were 55 runners inside 2:30 and 877 inside 3 hours.
It was also a time when Scottish marathon runners of all standards travelled to Europe, the USA and even further afield to race. Note the following venues visited by some of the top men: Jim Dingwall ran in Enschede, Edmonton, Boston, Bermuda (twice), Israel, China, Spain, Hong Kong, New York and all over the British Isles. Dave Clark: Finland, New York, Essonne, Boston (twice), Tullamore, Chemnitz, Berlin (twice), St Hilaire de Riez (France), Rome, Beijing, Marseilles, Barcelona, Geneva, Montreal, New York, Florence, Rio de Janiero, Tel Aviv and Honolulu as well as all over the British Isles. Note that these were in addition to running in many domestic races. The full list for all the Scos can be seen at http://www.scottishdistancerunninghistory.scot/career-lists-for-some-scottish-marathoners/ . The list includes such as Don Macgregor, Jim Alder, Fergus Murray, Colin Youngson, Fraser Clyne, Andy Daly, Lindsay Robertson, Allister Hutton and others.

Airdrie Highland Games

Posted on January 15, 2021 by The Author

Coatbridge and Airdrie hosted many very attractive meetings in the 1970’s and 1980’s – many were cross-country championships in Coatbridge and there was the excellently organised Highland Games at Rawyards cinder track in Airdrie. All were well sponsored which helped but the events were what the athletes wanted and very good competitors were always to be seen across the programme. Joe Small has provided the following information about the meetings. He comments that the road race, billed as 13 miles, was possibly under distance: all that can be said on that front is that the trail used for it included 4 mammoth hills which made it 13 miles worth of effort!

Airdrie Highland Games

The town of Airdrie in central Scotland might seem an odd place to hold a `highland games’, but it followed in a tradition of other similarly located places hosting such events, e.g. Shotts, Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth, Bathgate etc. The forerunner of the games was an Airdrie Town Council open sports day held on the 3^rd June 1967 at the newly opened Rawyards track. The principal organiser for the games was Neil Taylor, secretary of Airdrie Harriers who almost single handedly made sure that the event carried on. The new 440 yard cinder track was constructed at Rawyards on the outskirts of the town, previously a brickworks and area of waste ground, although it did have some sporting history as a site of a race course in the mid 1850’s. The horse racing only lasted for some 25 years before disappearing, seemingly due to lack of local interest.

The first sports meeting in 1967 included the usual mixture of mens and womens scratch and handicap races, heavy events and schools relay races. The best performance noted at that meeting was a 2 mile win by Bert MacKay of Motherwell YMCA in 9min. 23sec., 15 yards ahead of of clubmate Alex Brown. For the record, the Glasgow Herald report and results are below.

1968 saw another open sports meeting on the 1^st June. The star of the meeting being Ian McCafferty, competing for Law & District, who won both the handicap mile (off scratch) in 4min. 11sec. together with the 2 miles in 8min 42.4sec, this time was only 0.2sec outside of his own National record. Hugh Barrow of Victoria Park won the invitation 3/4mile race in 3min 0.5sec. This equalled his own Scottish record. The complete results were

Among the notable athletes other than the two already mentioned above are sprinter Derek Parker of Paisley who went on to become a level 4 middle distance coach with Kilbarcham AAC and Jack Brown of Dumbarton AAC but the women’s winners included internationalists, SWAAA champions and record holders and Commonwealth Games athletes Moira Walls, Pat Pennycook and Christine Sprigg.

Start of the invitation three quarter mile in 1968: K Ballantyne, H Barrow, R McDonald, R Knox, H Gorman

Putting on rarely run events appears to have been something of an Airdrie speciality. Invitation races over distances such as 3/4 mile, 1000 and 2000m, with the intention of producing fast times and possibly records were always part of the days programme. The organisers were quite successful with this strategy, the 2000m time of 5min. 12.8sec. by Lawrie Spence in 1976 still stands as a Scottish native record for the distance. Other records set were a Scottish All Comers and Native record of 2min. 23.3sec. for the 1000m by Graeme Grant in 1971 and an earlier 2000m record of 5min. 20.8sec. again by Lawrie Spence in 1975.

In 1968 Local lad Ian Scales (Airdrie Academy) won the youths 880 yards from scratch in 2min 2.2 seconds. Ian went on to be a good class 800m runner, finishing 3^rd in the S.A.A.A. championships over that distance in both 1971 & 1972. He was one of the few top runners Airdrie Harriers managed to produce.

The road race was also a feature. Billed as a 13 mile event, I don’t think it measured much more than 12 miles, so the times always looked much faster than they actually were. The trophy presented to the winner was named in honour of J.M. Kerr, a former Scottish marathon champion & member of Airdrie Harriers. The race always attracted a good field, with winners such as Jim Dingwall, Willie Day, Colin Martin, Sandy Keith, Alex Wight (and myself!) There was only one mishap in all the runnings of the race on what could be in places quite busy and that was in 1969 when Peter Duffy was involved.

The Games were a very good advert for the new Law & District AAC when they were held on 7^th June in 1969 The report from the Wishaw Press the following Friday read as follows.

If the 1969 meeting was a triumph for one club, the results on 30th May, 1970 showed a wider share of the spoils with the calibre of athlete on show very high indeed. The headlines were grabbed by Lachie Stewart who won not only the 3000 metres race but also the Invitation Mile. In the former he defeated Shettleston clubmate Dick Wedlock when he won in 8:26.2 with Monklands Harrier Jim Brown third (8:40.0). He led from start to finish in the Mile, coming through the half in 2:13.5 and again defeated Wedlock in a winning time of 4:18.4. Ian McCafferty conceded 120 yards to John Graham (Airdrie Harriers) – it was a bit too much and he had to finish second (3:53.4) to Graham’s 3:44.0. Results:

Among the other results, Les Piggott won the 100 yards and the 13 miles road race, which had almost 60 starters, was won by Edinburgh AC’s Alex Wight in 60:20 from his brother Jim Wight (60:59) with Ian Leggett of Clydesdale third 63:24

5th June 1971: was the date for the next meeting which had two invitation events on the programme. Both were middle distance races and both had really top class athletes contesting them. All of the prize winners were Scottish and British international athletes. In the 1000m, Graeme Grant of Dumbarton running for Heriot Watt University was a late entry but won the race in 2:23.3 which equalled the national record for the distance with Frank Clement second (2:24.4) and Dave McMeekin third (2:25.3). In the Mile local runner Ron McDonald of Monkland Harriers won in 4:04 from Adrian Weatherhead of Octavians (4:04.6) and Hugh Barrow of Victoria Park (4:11.7).

In the other events, Shettleston won the 5000m team race with Wedlock 2nd, Bannon 3rd and Summerhill 6th from Clydesdale (Dolan 5th, Gemmell 7th and McAusland 15th, with Bellahouston 3rd. A high quality race with 10 teams of four taking part. In addition, Willie Day of Falkirk Victoria won his third road race of the season in 61:49. The results below indicate that this was a well supported meeting with top class athletes all the way through the programme.

The first Saturday in June in 1972 was the 2nd of the month and the report in the local paper was brief.

1973 Invitation Events:

There were three invitation events and all attracted good fields with current internationals winning each of them. 1000m: 1. David McMeekin 2:26; 2. Ian Scales. 2000m: RL Spence 5:20; 3000m: P Dolan 8:39.4

The 1973 Games were held on 2nd June and Les Piggot of Garscube won both 100 and 200m quite comfortably having overhauled the field from scratch by halfway in both races. Given that it was a fast track if we go by the times recorded in all the races, it is maybe a pity that there were not as many invitation sprints as there were invitation middle distance races.

The road race was of the by-now usual high quality. The first six were Colin Martin of Dumbarton, Colin Youngson of Victoria Park, Willie Sharp of Falkirk Victoria, Ron Paton of Clydesdale Harriers, George Brown of Edinburgh Southern and David Simpson of Law. Willie Sharp was always a an astute pacer of a race and this course with its long uphill drags and sharp descents had many ‘graveyards’ that could spell the end of a runner’s hopes: Willie not only placed third but was also winner of the handicap. Willie McBrinn of Monkland won the veterans race. The results as published by the Glasgow |Herald were as follows.

Invitation 1000: D McMeekin (VPAAC) 2:26; Invitation 2000m: RL Spence (GGH) 5:26; 3000m: P Dolan (Clydesdale) 8:39.4.

Open Handicap events: 100m: L Piggot (Garscube scr) 10.5; 200m: Piggot (scr) 22.2; 800m: A Law (GGH 56m) 1:52.8; 1500m: W Parker (Beith 140m) 3:56; 13 mile Road Race: 1 C Martin 1:02.4; 2. C Youngson 1:02.34; 3. W Sharp. Long jump: C Watson (VP 0.78) 7.26m; Shot putt: W Weir (Falkirk 1.15) 14.56m); Hammer: R Ferguson (Coatbridge 4.80) 36.42; Caber: R Ferguson. Junior 200m: A Laird (Ayr Seaforth ; 800: W Sheridan (VP) 1:57.3 Youths: 200m: D McPhail (Clydesdale H 4.0) 11.1; 800m: M Watt (Shettleston H 2.0) 1:58; Women: 100: M Munro (ESH 4.5) 12.2; 200:scratch: AK Robertson (Grangemouth) 25.6; 800: J Kane (ESH 26.0)2:12.7. Intermediate 100: AK Robertson (Grangemouth) 12.7

In 1974 Airdrie Highland Games were held on 1st June and the short report in the Wishaw Press of Friday 7th June, indicated the successes of the local athletes in the article below but there was no long report on the event at either the local or national press. .

The meeting may have been slightly upstaged by a meeting held exactly one week later – the Coatbridge Highland Games were held just a few miles down the road in Dunbeth Park with a promise of a grant meeting a year later at a new all-weather track at Langloan, just a short jog away. See the extract from the Herald report below.

7th June 1975: was the date for the next Airdie meeting and the invitation 2000m was the event of the day. Les Piggot missed the meeting because of illness but the presence of the Stuart Hogg trained Drew Harley meant that the sprints again had some real class. The Glasgow Herald repost is below.

The Games were again held on the first Saturday in 1978 and the short report in the Wishaw Press covered only the Law & District AAC runners.

The 1979 meeting was reported at some length as follows..

The Games were held again from time to time in the 1980’s but their heyday had been in the 1960’s and 1970’s – like the other athletics events held in the area at the time it had been well organised an popular and its demise was a loss to the Scottish athletics scene.