Category: The Milers

No list of the all-time greatest Scottish half-milers would be complete without the name of Hamish Stothard. The lanky Edinburgh runner was a stylish and gutsy performer with a good tactical brain and a consistent record for rising to the big occasion. During his career he set Scottish records and garnered honours ranging from Scottish, A.A.A., Intervarsity and British U.A.U. titles and a pair of British Empire Games bronze medals to three golds and a silver in the International University Games (known today as the Universiade). The only piece missing from this collection of hardware is, of course, an Olympic medal. In the run-up to the 1936 Olympics he had been discussed as a potential successor to Tom Hampson, gold medallist in the 800 metres at Los Angeles, but that’s another story. Hamish Stothard was not only a great all-round athlete, but also, like his illustrious compatriot and predecessor Eric Liddell, an accomplished rugby player. Versatility was the name of the game with Stothard, for he was also an avid golfer with a handicap to die for!

James Charles Stothard was born in Edinburgh on May 6, 1913. Like Charlie Mein and Hugh Maingay, Scotland’s leading half-milers of the 1920’s, he enjoyed a privileged upbringing. His wealthy father George Stothard was a rubber planter and the director of a major rubber company in Penang, Malaysia. Latex rubber was a lucrative business in early 20th century when the demand for rubber skyrocketed due, among other things, to the rapid growth of the tyre industry. The business instinct evidently ran strong in the Stothard family.

Stothard was educated at Merchiston Castle School, the private boarding school for boys which has always been synonymous with academic excellence and sporting tradition. When Stothard entered Merchiston, the school had already nurtured a string of well-known athletes over the years, the most notable of these being Hugh Welsh, the former A.A.A. champion and Scottish mile record holder.

Stothard’s athletic talent first shone through in 1928, when, aged 14, he won no fewer than four events at the annual school sports, the “Merchiston Castle School Games”. Also attending Merchiston Castle School at this time was Stothard’s younger brother George, who likewise was a talented athlete, albeit more the sprinter/jumper type. Between them, the Stothard bros. fairly raked in the school titles during their time at Merchiston.

In 1929 Stothard annexed another three events and claimed the Junior Games Cup, smashing the junior record in the cross-country race and improving to 2:09.0 in the half-mile. This was some going for a 15-year-old as the quarter-mile grass track at Merchiston was often heavy and slow and the weather was seldom propitious at this time of year. Then, in early 1930, a team of well-known Achilles athletes on a promotional and coaching tour of Scottish public schools visited Merchiston and had a match against the schooboys, who, in the interests of fair competition, received handicaps. After taking fourth in the long jump, where his 5.51 metres clearance and 1 ft. 9 ins. concession were still not enough to match the 6.87 metres returned by the Olympian R.W Revans, Stothard toed the line for the half-mile. The Achilles men ran 4 yards wide as a handicap and the Merchiston boy took full advantage, romping home 20 yards ahead of the Australian W.C. Wentworth in 2:07.6. That year, Stothard added another four school events to his collection and won the Senior Games Cup by some margin. After finishing quarter a mile ahead of the nearest opposition in the senior cross-country race, the Scotsman commented: “The senior race winner J.C. Stothard is a very promising 16-year-old runner, who is expected to do well in the Games Cup this year.” Again, he won four events in total. Moreover, he defied near gale-force winds to set school records of 54.4 for the quarter-mile and 2:04.4 for the half-mile, and then, for good measure, he equalled the mile record with 4:44.6. The previous quarter-mile figures of 55.2 had, it will be noted, jointly been held by G.O. Turnbull and W.H. Welsh and had stood since 1893.

In 1931 Stothard finally erased the name of L.W. Weatherill from the school’s record books, when he clocked 4:43.2 for the mile in blustery conditions. Lawrie Weatherill was another well-known Merchiston alumnus. He competed for England in the 1934 and 1938 Empire Games. In the annual contest between Merchiston Castle School and Edinburgh Academy Stothard won both the mile and the half-mile by a sizable margin under the watchful eye of a team of officials which included the well-known S.A.A.A. official George Hume as time keeper and George McCrae as starter. No doubt, the seven-time Powderhall Marathon winner McCrae had some words of encouragement and advice for the youngster. Little did they know that their paths would cross again in the future, but more on that later. In 1932, his final year at Merchiston, Stothard was once again the school athletic champion, winning three events. Despite heavy underfoot conditions and a strong wind, he improved his school records to 53.6 for the quarter, 2:03.8 for the half and 4:39.0 for the mile, “a feat,” wrote the Scotsman, “so far unparalleled in school performance in Scotland.“

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Hamish Stothard, 1932 Merchiston Castle School athletic champion, with his trophies

Then, for Stothard, it was off to Cambridge University, where he matriculated at Caius College and settled into student life for the next four years. He began to train regularly on the university training ground at Fenner’s, where the cinder oval was a world removed from the grass tracks he had been accustomed to in Edinburgh. Of course, the chance to train with other top-calibre athletes provided an added spur for this budding middle-distance novice. He made rapid strides, and by December was a member of the Light Blues quartette which won the Intervarsity 4 x 880 relay championship at Fenner’s in a record-equalling in 7:58.4.

December might sound rather late or early for track racing, depending on your perspective, but in those days the athletics season at British public schools and universities typically ran from the winter until the spring, as cricket was played during the summer term. The 1933 season typically began in February for the Cantabrians, pick of the early season outings being a 53.3 quarter-mile at Fenner’s to blow off the cobwebs. Then, in the Cambridge University sports at the Fenner’s Ground on March 4, Stothard lost by inches to Forbes Horan in the half-mile, but in clocking 1:59.4 he had, of course, finally gained admission to the exclusive sub two minute club. Two weeks later at the Intervarsity meeting he ran a similar time to finish third behind Pen Hallowell (Harvard) and Horan. The first title of any note came his way only two months later, on May 20, when he won the half-mile in the British Universities Athletic Union championships at the White City in 1:58.2. Then, after a 1:58.4 win over the highly rated Tommy Scrimshaw, Belgrave Harriers, in the A.A.A. vs. Cambridge University match at Fenner’s on June 6, Stothard was selected for the combined Oxford and Cambridge team due to compete against their Ivy League rivals in the USA in July of 1933. That year Stothard did not contest the Scottish championships as it clashed with the Varsity tour. In his absence, the half-mile title went the way of A.L. Cram, Edinburgh University AC, who won by three yards from T.J. McAllister, Beith Harriers, in a modest 2:00.8.

Stothard, competing for Atalanta AC at Glenalmond College, 1933

Arriving in the USA in early July, the combined British team trained at Yale ahead of their match against Harvard and Yale at Cambridge, Mass., on July 8, where Stothard came third in the half-mile. The following week in the match against Princeton and Cornell at Princeton, New Jersey, he finished fourth in the half-mile, won by Princeton’s Bill Bonthon in 1:53.0. The highlight of the meeting was the show-down between Bill Bonthron and the New Zealander Jack Lovelock in the mile, the latter winning by six yards in a world record of 4:07.6.

The experience of competing in the USA and seeing at first hand how the créme de la créme of America’s athletes lived and trained had evidently done Stothard the world of good. Being on the same team as the great Jack Lovelock could not have done him any harm either and Stothard would have worked out with the affable Kiwi. And so it was that he emerged the next season as an altogether more formidable athlete as evidence by a 3:09.2 from scratch in a three-quarter mile handicap at the Fenner’s Ground on February 22. This was a week or so before his first major competitive outing of 1934, when he scored an impressive double in Cambridge University sports, winning the half-mile in 1:56.6 and the mile in 4:23.2. Both performances were significant improvements on anything he had achieved before and made him something of an overnight sensation in his native Scotland where the standard in the half-mile in particular had slipped somewhat since 1932.

The following week Stothard took yet another giant leap forward in the Varsity Match at the White City where he helped rewrite the history books by pushing Pen Hallowell (USA & Baliol) to a new Varsity record of 1:54.2, eclipsing the 1:54.8 which had stood to Kenahan Cornwallis since 1904. Stothard, runner-up 3 yards behind the American, also bettered the old record with a time of 1:54.6. It was also more than a second inside the Scottish record that had stood to the credit of Bobby Graham since 1932. Clearly, Scotland had a new middle-distance star!

A 1:59.8 win over Michael Gutteridge, a 1:54.8 performer, at the Cambridge University vs. A.A.A. match at Cambridge on June 5 set Stothard up nicely for his debut at the Scottish championships at Hampden Park on June 23, where he was competing for the Edinburgh Atalanta Club, the Scottish equivalent of the Achilles Club catering to university students. The race, it could be said, went by the form book, because Stothard was untroubled by the domestic opposition and won by 10 yards from Bobby Graham in 1:58.8. Stothard then, to the surprise of many, elected to forego the A.A.A. championships and chose instead to ready himself for the prestigious International Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge and Princeton & Cornell at the White City a week after the A.A.A.’s, where, in his absence, Jack Cooper easily won the half-mile from Jack Powell and Michael Gutteridge in 1:56.4. In the Intervarsity half-mile Stothard faced strong opposition including Princeton’s Bill Bonthron, who three weeks earlier had set a 1500 metres world record of 3:48.8 at Milwaukee. However, the Scot was in unbeatable form and sprinted to victory by 2 ½ yards from Bonthron in 1:58.6. Even if the American crack perhaps wasn’t at his best, it was proof that, internationally, Stothard was fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The final fixture for Stothard in 1934 was the British British Empire Games, which were held at the White City in early August 1934. Stothard had been selected to represent Scotland in the half-mile and in the mile relay. The half-mile qualifying rounds, decided on August 4, were very competitive and proved a stumbling block for Scotland’s other representative, Bobby Graham. Stothard, on the other hand, was impressive in the third heat, which he won comfortably from Canada’s Jerry Sampson in 1:56.0; Cliff Whitehead, 1933 A.A.A. champion, was third and failed to progress. The final was decided two days later, the six finalists being Phil Edwards (GUY), Jack Cooper (ENG), Jack Powell (ENG), Willie Botha (RSA), Hamish Stothard (SCO) and Jerry Sampson (CAN). It was the spectacular of the meeting. The coloured runner Phil Edwards, of British Guyana, a bronze medallist for Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics, stormed off in characteristic style, but for some unknown reason Cooper, who was fancied for his event, ran outside Edwards on the first lap and pushed him to a 53.2 first quarter-mile. At the bell the British Guyana representative was leading by a few yards from Cooper and Botha, followed by Stothard, Powell and Samspon, together at the back of the field in a shade under 55 sec. Edwards kept piling on the pace down the back straight, his long strides carrying him clear of Cooper, who ultimately cracked and trailed home last. Only Botha, Powell and Stothard were able to take up the chase, but all their efforts to overhaul the popular Guyanan proved to no avail. Edwards held his form to win his first major title by 8 yards in 1:54.2. Behind Edwards, there was an almighty three-way battle for the minor places, Botha (1:55.5) gaining the silver and Stothard (1:55.6) wresting bronze from the unlucky Powell in a near-blanket finish. The following day Stothard ran the third leg for Scotland in the 4 x 440 yards relay. Unfortunately, the blue shirts were out of sorts on this day. Though they finished more than the length of the straight behind the English and Canadian teams, they were nevertheless assured a medal as only three countries were able to field a team.

To view the British Pathe film featuring the dramatic Empire Games half-mile of 1934 click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8nd9tqaXR8.

Stothard, as a mark of the esteem in which he was held by his fellow students at Cambridge, was elected President of Cambridge University Athletic Club for the 1935 season, having served as the C.U.A.C. secretary in 1934.

With a view to increasing his stamina, Stothard now stepped up the volume and began mixing with his half miles in 1935. Despite having done no track work. Stothard opened his season by running a personal best of 51.5 in the quarter-mile at Fenner’s on February 8. The following week, in the annual Inter-college Competition, the Cambridge University President turned out for his college in no fewer than three individual events. In addition to winning the half-mile, he tied with M.F. Dutton in the 3 miles in 16:27.2 and placed third in the long jump with a leap of just a shade under six metres. Sadly, his Herculean efforts were not enough to propel Caius to victory. At the Cambridge University sports on March 7, 1935 he focused on the mile, which he won by 50 yards from Peter Ward in 4:18.8 – a time which catapulted him into the British miling elite. His improved stamina also stood him in good stead at Varsity Match at the White City on March 23, when he scored one of the – if not the – quickest Varsity half/mile doubles on record. The half-mile saw him tie for first with fellow Cantabrian Michael Sullivan in 1:55.4, but the mile was much tougher and it was only by the narowest of margins that he outdipped W.T. Squires (Oxford) in 4:23.2. Then, on May 18, Stothard won the U.A.U. half-mile title for a second time at the White City, beating Michael Sullivan by 5 yards in a championship record of 1:56.6. This was the weekend before the annual Kinnaird Trophy meeting featuring the Polytechnic Marathon at the White City. The prestigious competition, which was instituted in 1909, was an inter-club contest open to clubs affiliated to the A.A.A. In many ways, it was a precursor to the modern-day B.A.L. Clubs were allowed to entered two athletes per event and the club scoring the highest aggregate points was adjudged to have won the trophy. Stothard was competing alongside Jack Lovelock for Achilles AC, the exclusive club open to O.U.A.C and C.U.A.C. members who had competed in the annual Varsity Match. Achilles had had a virtual strangehold on the Kinnaird Trophy, having won it 11 times since its formation in 1920, but had lost it to Polytechnic Harriers in 1934. The Cambridge president was a firm favourite for the half-mile, and lived up to all expectations by seeing off Tommy Scrimshaw in the last furlong in front of 6,000 spectators. His time of 1:57.2 was six-tenths outside the best for the meeting. Relatively speaking, it was better than anything done before, having regard to the windy conditions. It would have been the highlight of the meeting but for Lovelock’s stunning front-running performance in the mile, which he won by 50 yards from Aubrey Reeve in 4:13.8. Achilles, thanks mainly to their middle-distance runners, were successful in regaining the coveted trophy.

Stothard’s precision-engineered half/mile double at the 1935 Varsity Sports Meeting (courtesy of Kevin Kelly)

A 4:30.2 mile victory at the British Games on June 10 saw Stothard in blistering form, which he would capitalise upon five days later in match between the Varsity and the A.A.A. at Fenner’s. Defeating Aubrey Reeve by 18 yards he won the mile in a ground record of 4:15.8, which took him to within eight-tenths of Tom Riddell’s Scottish record.   Academically, except for taking some examinations, Stothard was now finished at Cambridge. Having enrolled in the Officer Training Corps whilst an undergraduate, he was hoping to make a career as a C.O. in the Royal Air Force.

Next on the sporting agenda, however, was the defence of his Scottish half-mile crown at Hampden Park on June 22. This year he faced a stronger opposition including, notably, the South African Empire Games silver medallist Willie Botha, an undergraduate at Edinburgh University. Running his first quarter in 56.7, he was lying fourth at the bell to T.J. McAllister, T.C. Ewing and Botha. Botha shortly after took the lead, but Stothard went after him and, easing to the front at the end of the back straight, sprinted to victory by nearly 20 yards over the South African in a Scottish native and all-comers’ record of 1:53.6. “There can be little doubt,” wrote the Scotsman, “that if Stothard cares to concentrate on half-miling, he can attain world championship standard.“

Breaking the Scottish record in the 1935 S.A.A.A. half-mile championship at Hampden Park

Stothard, on the strength of this performance, was now a firm favourite for the A.A.A. half-mile title – a title which no Scot had ever won since the inception of the championship in 1880. In the meantime however he had a strength-sapping schedule of races lined up. The weekend after the S.A.A.A. championships he was back at Hampden representing Great Britain for the first time in an international match against Finland. Fired up to perform before a home crowd, he won the half mile by 5 yards from Jack Powell in 1:57.4 and anchored the 4 x 880 yard relay to victory in 7:52.0. Then it was off to the Belgian city of Antwerp where he turned out the following day (!) in a match between Achilles AC and Belgian clubs. Despite having travelled overnight from Glasgow, he showed little sign of tiredness and duly scored maximum points in the 800 metres with 1:57.4. Then it was back to Scotland, where three days later he turned out for Atalanta in a match against the Scottish Eastern District at Craiglockhart, winning the quarter-mile in 52.4 and the half-mile in 2:00.6.

In the A.A.A. championships at the White City on Friday July 12, Stothard, representing Cambridge U.A.C, won the first of four heats in 1:56.1. The “dark horse” was the meteoric 18-year-old Ralph Scott, the English public schools champion, who was the fastest of the qualifiers. Overall, the standard was the highest since the legendary final of 1926, when the German Otto Peltzer defeated Douglas Lowe in a world record time of 1:51.6. The final was a great contest and a fast one, too, thanks mainly to Scott. The Leicester public school boy set a cracking pace and led at the bell in 56.2, with Stothard holding on grimly in second. Down the back stretch the pair piled on the pace, then with a furlong from to go Stothard moved up on to the youngster’s shoulder and struck for home, gaining a couple of yards. Down the home straight, Stothard called on every ounce of energy and, holding off a late run from Jack Powell, raced to victory by a couple of yards in 1:53.3 – a Scottish record and the third best championship time in the long series. Powell was officially given 1:53.8 and Scott 1:54.0. The finishing photo would however suggest the times and placings of the minor medallists were incorrect, as Stothard won by no more than 2 yards and Scott, no. 21, clearly crossed the finishing line ahead of Powell (no. 14).
Stothard’s major goal for 1935 was the International University Games in Hungary in August. Until then, however, he had several races lined up. The first was the annual International Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge and Harvard and Yale at the White City on July 20, and, opting to run the mile, he made short shrift of the opposition, winning by 15 yards from Harvard’s John Scheu in 4:26.8. The following weekend he was back at the White City where he donned his British vest again for a match against France, winning the half-mile by 7 yards from Jack Powell in 1:57.4.

On the journey out to Hungary the British team stopped over in Munich and contested a match against Germany at the Dante Stadium on August 11. The Germans won the match 75-61 before 15,000 partisan spectators, but Stothard maintained his perfect record for the season in the half-mile with a well-timed run which carried him to victory by a metre over Wolfgang Dessecker in the 800 metres in 1:54.4. The German was the reigning International University Game champion at this distance, so defeating him might have been considered a good omen.

The 1935 International University Games were held in the Hungarian capital of Budapest from 10-18 August with a total of 774 athletes from 62 nations competing in a programme featuring ten events.

Hamish Stothard – Part Two

John Robson, 1985

By my calculation, John accumulated 5 individual SAAA gold medals and 28 SCCU team golds! John Paton Robson was born in Kelso on 31^st January, 1957. Like Frank Clement and Graham Williamson, he was a middle distance runner of true world class, but unlike the others, he could also be world class at cross-country and enjoyed a long running career.   In his centenary history of the SAAA, John Keddie writes in considerable detail about some of John Robson’s finest track races and it seems appropriate to quote at length.

“In a heat of the 1977 AAA 1500m, Robson carved a full four seconds off his previous best with 3.41.1 and finally finished third (3.43.8) with Clement fourth (3.44.1).    In 1978 he had a brilliant run in the SAAA Championships in a memorable race. After a terrific duel with Frank Clement, Robson just came out on top – 3.40.1 (a native record) to 3.40.5. Not far behind those was the outstanding junior Graham Williamson. Six weeks later these positions were exactly repeated in the UK Championships at Meadowbank, with John Robson winning the title in 3.43.9. But in between times, at the Bislett Stadium. Oslo, scene of many record performances over the years, Clement had improved Steve Ovett’s 1977 UK mile record by 0.5 to 3.54.2, a mere tenth ahead of John Robson, whose 3.39.0 at 1500m was a personal best.    These performances augured well for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at Edmonton, Canada, where Robson and Clement ran brilliantly. After comfortably qualifying (Robson with a personal best of 3.38.8), the Scots lined up for what promised to be a cracking final. Among the competitors were such outstanding runners as World Record Holder Filbert Bayi (Tanzania), Dave Moorcroft (England), Wilson Waigwa (Kenya) and Rod Dixon (NZ). With Bayi in the field a fast pace was assured. And so it proved to be as the Tanzanian pulled the field through 400m (57.7), 800m (1.55.2) and 1200m (2.53.9).He had not, however, shaken off Robson, Moorcroft or Clement. As the runners turned into the final straight – Bayi still leading – the excitement grew to fever pitch among the capacity 43,000 crowd. First Robson strained to pass Bayi, but it was Moorcroft who proved the strongest, just edging past in the last few strides to win in 3.35.48, with Bayi (3.35.59) just holding off Robson (3.35.60) and Clement (3.35.66) coming through like an express train, only to find that the finishing line came just too soon, as he swept past them all a few metres over the line. Ironically, the next day, the ‘missing’ Scot, Graham Williamson, set a European Junior record of 3.57.7. Three weeks later at Prague in the European Championships, Moorcroft finished third and Robson 8^th (3.39.6) behind Steve Ovett (3.35.6).   Clement was injured in 1979 but Robson and Williamson again showed brilliant form. In February, Robson won a bronze medal at the European Indoor Championships at Vienna (3.42.8); and in July he (3^rd) and Williamson (2^nd) pushed Ovett all the way in the AAA 1500m. But three days later (July 17^th) at Bislett Stadium, Oslo, both Scots were involved in the scintillating ‘Golden Mile’ won in World Record time (3.49.0) by Sebastian Coe. In his wake there were many fast times, including those of Robson in 5^th place (3.52.8, a Scottish National record) and 19-year old Williamson in 7^th place (3.53.2). On September 4^th at Brussels, Steve Ovett made a determined bid to wrest the World 1500m record from Coe, but finished a tenth off with 3.32.2. Behind him in second place, John Robson recorded his fastest-ever time of 3.33.9 – a magnificent achievement.   Unfortunately, John Robson missed the entire 1980 season through an Achilles tendon injury.”

(One significant race omitted above took place at Crystal Palace on 2nd July 1978, when John Robson ran brilliantly to win the important Emsley Carr Mile in a time of 3.55.82, in front of fellow Scot Graham Williamson, Brendan Foster and Steve Cram.)

John Keddie succeeded in covering John Robson’s main track successes, although inevitably the summary excluded other notable achievements, such as his other gold medals in the SAAA 1500m in 1977 and 1984. But how did his career begin? I ran for Edinburgh Southern Harriers from 1974 to 1981 and was lucky to have John as a team-mate during that period. He and Allister Hutton were absolutely outstanding, despite the fact that, by Scottish standards, we had a very good cross-country and road running team. The rumour was that John had been discovered as a promising young competitor in Borders professional races. Kenny Ballantyne (SAAA mile champion in 1964, and a 4.01.1 miler in 1965) is meant to have persuaded John to try amateur athletics and join ESH. The Borders had a strong athletic tradition and Craig Douglas was another prominent ESH man, who won the SAAA 880 yards in 1963 and the 1500 metres in 1969 and 1971.

John Robson first appears in the yearbook as a Junior, in 1974. He was third in the SAAA Junior 800m and had a season’s best of 1.57.1. However in 1500m he improved with every outing and topped the list with 3.55.0. In 1975, still a Junior, he reduced his 800m time to 1.51.7; won the Senior East District 1500m; and the SAAA Junior event; as well as recording an excellent 3.47.8. The time was set shortly after my first encounter with this quiet, dignified young athlete, on April 26^th 1975 when, at the tender age of 18, John ran the second (shorter) stage of the AAA National 12-Stage Road Relay at Sutton Coldfield for Edinburgh Southern Harriers. He moved his club from 23^rd to 12^th, recording 14.23 for slightly less than a hilly 5000m! More than 9 years older, I took our club from 8^th to 4^th on stage six. My 14.16 was third fastest short stage of the day, behind Brendan Foster’s record-breaking 13.58 and ESH club-mate Ian Elliot’s excellent 14.04. John’s time was 8^th fastest; ESH finished the race second, only 21 seconds down on Gateshead, and ahead of Coventry Godiva, Tipton Harriers and all the other English clubs. That was the one and only time I could be worthy of a mention in comparison to this elegant, classy runner!   I do not have a yearbook for the 1976 track season.

In 1977, John Robson ran his first sub-four-minute mile, in 3.58.8 on the 29^th of August. He also topped this season’s Scottish 800m list with 1.47.8 on the 30^th of July.    There was an International Match at Athens on 14^th May 1978, with Scotland competing with Greece, Wales and Luxembourg. John Robson was a close second in the 1500m (3.40.7). He topped the Scottish 1500m list with his Commonwealth bronze medal time (3.35.60). In fact he had six of the top nine performances and ten of the top 20 (all below 3.44), with Frank Clement and Graham Williamson claiming five each. In addition, John ran four sub-4 miles, with the best being 3.54.3 just behind Frank Clement’s 3.54.2 on the 27^th of June.

An unusual result in 1979 was in early July at Tullamore, Eire, when John Robson won both the 800m and the 1500m for Scotland during an International Match versus Denmark and Ireland. Once more, John finished top of the Scottish 1500m list, after a close battle with Graham Williamson. John had 11 of the top 20 times. Apart from UK fixtures, he raced in Brussels, Oslo, Bremen, Turin, Vienna, New Zealand and Australia.

1981 saw John Robson return to form on the track. He recorded 1.48.91 for 800m; and dominated the Scottish 1500m list with the three fastest times and six of the first eight. Single performances by Nat Muir and Frank Clement were the other two. John Robson’s best 1500m times were recorded within a ten-day span: 3.36.18 when finishing fourth in Budapest on the 29^th of July; 3.37.42 for third at Crystal Palace two days later; and, on the 8^th of August at Crystal Palace once again, second in 3.39.41. In Athens near the end of August 1981, John Robson easily won the 1500m for Scotland, during an International Match versus Greece, Wales, Israel and Luxembourg.  In addition he ran four sub-four-minute miles: two at Crystal Palace; one in Brussels (3.53.13); and the fastest in Oslo (3.52.44). Furthermore, he was top of the 3000m list with 7.51.08 at Gateshead; and second only to Nat Muir in the 5000m rankings with 13.34.02 in Oslo.   1982 was Graham Williamson’s year, with John only managing one good 1500m time (3.37.72), which so nearly equalled Graham’s list-topping 3.37.7) when fourth at Saughton Enclosure, Edinburgh, at the beginning of July. Before that, he had won silver, behind England’s Geoff Turnbull, in the SAAA 1500m. Then, in October 1982, John was narrowly squeezed out of qualifying for the 1500m final in the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.

In 1984, one outstanding run by John Robson was his 3000m (7.45.81) at Crystal Palace on the 13^th of July.    In 1988, John won the SAAA Indoor 3000m title.

John Robson won Scottish vests for 800m, 1500m and 3000m, in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984 and 1986. He represented Great Britain over 1500m and 300m, in 1977, 1978, 1979 (indoors and outdoors), 1981 and 1984.

John also had an excellent cross-country career. In 1977 he was third in the National Junior CC, behind the precocious Nat Muir and John Graham. In the IAAF World CC Championships in Dusseldorf, Robson ran for the Senior team and finished 94^th. He was back in the team in 1979 at Limerick, and improved to second Scot in 52^nd place.

In 1980, John Robson made a major impact on the cross-country scene. Only two weeks after winning an indoor mile in San Francisco, on the 21^st of January at Callendar Park, Falkirk, John won the East District CC title over a frost-bound course, with team-mate Ian Elliot second and Aberdeen’s Graham Laing third. ESH won the team award. Then John finished second to Nat Muir in the Senior National CC at Beach Park, Irvine and once more led his club to gold. Colin Shield, in his centenary history of the SCCU, takes up the story: “The 1980 World Championships attracted 35,000 spectators to Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, where John Robson emerged as a world class cross country runner. Better known for his success over 1500m and 1 mile on both indoor and outdoor tracks, Robson ran a courageous race. The Kelso runner suffered a spiked left knee but bravely raced home in fifth position, for what was to be the highest Scottish placing in the World Championships in the 12 year period between Ian Stewart winning at Rabat in 1975, and the final team appearance at Warsaw in 1987. John was second Briton to finish, just 19.5 seconds behind the winner Craig Virgin (USA), and over 37 seconds in front of Allister Hutton (29^th) and Jim Brown (31^st). Unfortunately, Nat Muir injured his Achilles tendon and had to drop out. In a team contest won by England from USA, Scotland finished seventh – much better than the fourteenth place gained in Ireland the previous year – and this team position was to prove their best achievement in the World Championship.”

Although he never ran as fantastically well again, John Robson had a distinguished cross-country record, since he represented Scotland in the World Cross eight times. Apart from 1977, 1979 and 1980, he took part in 1981 (Madrid), 1982 (Rome), 1985 (Lisbon, when he was first Scot in 42^nd place), 1986 (Neuchatel, Switzerland) and 1987 (Warsaw). He was the leading Scot three times.

In the National Senior, John Robson’s best placing was second (1980, 1982 and 1985). However he was in the top six on no less than seven occasions; won team golds with ESH five times, plus one silver; and also won team silver with Racing Club/Leslie Deans/Mizuno three times plus one bronze (in 1999). In 1986 John won the East District CC again.

John Robson was in the winning team in the National CC Relay SEVEN times! Three golds with ESH; four with the ‘superclub’, plus one bronze. His final gold was in 1996.

Frank Clement, John Robson and Graham Williamson: internationals on the track and over the country

Finally, what about John Robson the Road Runner? The National Six-Stage Relay at Strathclyde Park started in 1979, but John did not take part in ESH’s winning teams until 1987. However he won five further golds with Racing Club, with his last one in 1999. In 1996 he and his brother Alan were part of the Leslie Deans RC ‘B’ team that won bronze medals!

The Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay, of course, was considered the Blue Riband of the Scottish Winter season by so many Scottish distance runners. It is fair to say that John Robson’s E to G career did not start well, but he certainly made up for it afterwards!   I have mentioned how fast he ran in the 1975 AAA 12-stage relay – but that was in good weather with cheering crowds. The Third Stage of the E to G can be hilly, cold, windswept and lonely.  In 1976, young John ran well for a start and had just passed Paul Forbes to move ESH into the lead, when, legend has it, he began to feel strangely  fatigued, then mildly despondent, and then he is supposed to have cursed loudly and thrown the baton over a fence into someone’s garden!   No amount of pleading or threatening by ESH supporters had any effect, until his old mentor Ken Ballantyne persuaded John to pick the thing up and jog to the end of the stage, by which time his club was 19^th. ESH finished 8^th, instead of picking up silver at least.

 However John made amends the very next year. Into a freezing headwind in blizzard conditions, Robson ran the fastest time on the exposed Fifth Stage, handing over in second place. Eventually, ESH won gold, without Allister Hutton, and all was well!

In 1978, John was best on Stage Four (almost a minute faster than his nearest challenger, John McGarva of Falkirk). Another team gold for ESH. 1981 saw John fastest on Stage Five again, with his team victorious. They were second to the USA guest ‘The Kangaroos’ in 1985, with John fastest on Stage Seven. In 1987, John was swiftest on the long leg Six but his club could only finish sixth. A year later, he was fastest on Six again, with ESH second.

By 1991, Racing Club were dominating. Between 1991 and 1997, John was fastest on Stage Six twice and Stage Three once, and won seven more team golds.   In my personal history of the race, I expressed the firm opinion that, of all Racing Club’s stars in the E to G, the greatest was the once-maligned John Robson, with ten golds, two silvers, a bronze and nine times fastest on a stage, often the long leg!

By my calculation, John accumulated 5 individual SAAA gold medals and 28 SCCU team golds! I cannot imagine anyone else, in the history of Scottish running, getting near that total. Remember that, in his peak years, he was concentrating on International indoor and outdoor track racing! Although there was talk of him going to the USA to compete on the ‘Masters’ circuit, he does not seem to have done so, and certainly never raced for Scottish veteran titles. Surely he would have done very well in World Masters championships.

 John Robson was a very good team man, who ran brilliantly on countless occasions. He should be remembered as one of Scotland’s greatest-ever athletes: talented, fast, dedicated, graceful and versatile.

James Veitch Paterson (29th March 1934) won SAAA championship titles at 440 yards (1957 and 1958), 880 yards (1956 and 1957) and in the Two Miles Steeplechase (1953), ran a wonderful 1:47.5 for 800 metres and won the Crabbie Cup twice (1956 and 1957) and the Coronation Cup in 1956.   He had a quite outstanding athletics career which was relatively short, ending when he graduated from Edinburgh University in 1958 and emigrated to Rhodesia.   His small size relative to other half milers was almost always remarked on by by reporters and the phrase ‘deceptively frail’ was coined and used more than once.   I’m not sure what it meant but probably just that he was not as big as the others!   However even a quick look at his cross-country and road running performances show that there was nothing ‘frail’ about Jim Paterson.

Although he was always a good runner and ran in several Edinburgh Southern Harriers squads that picked up medals in District relays and championships, and ran well in national cross-country championships, his career as an athlete really took off after he went up to Edinburgh University in 1953.  We should certainly look at his running between 1951 and 1953 to start with.  In winter  1950/51 Paterson ran in the Youths National Cross-Country Championships and finished fourth.   As a Youth there were no early season relays for which he was eligible and the club did not have any representation in the District Cross-Country Championships.   The following winter,    1951/52, as a first year Junior, he was eligible to run in the prestigious Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage relay where he made his debut with the fastest time on the third stage of the team that finished fifth.   He also moved the team from fourteenth to ninth – it was never easy to catch five teams in he E-G and to do it on your first ever run out, was quite a performance.   In the East District Relay Championships in November 1952, , he ran for Edinburgh Southern Harriers on the third lap, handing over a lead of 21 seconds but his runner was caught by Dundee Hawkhill and ESH could only finish second. In the Edinburgh to Glasgow,   Paterson ran the third stage again, and again had the fastest time when he brought the club from tenth to fourth.   In the Championships, he finished ninth in the Edinburgh Southern team that took first place.    He closed his season with a twenty third place for ESH in the Junior National.

Distance runners typically start at the shorter end of their range, be it 220 yards, 440 yards or even 880 yards, and work up through the distances.   Paterson, like Seb Coe, went in reverse.   In 1953, as a student at Edinburgh University, he competed in the University track championships winning 440, 880 and Mile and being second in the 100 and 220 yards events in an afternoon and then a few days later he won the SAAA Two Miles Steeplechase Championship in in 10:37.6 which was a record time for the distance.   His versatility was obvious to the wider athletics public at that point but he was to settle to the 440 and 880 yards events and it was in them that he was to find greatest success.

At the start of winter 1953/54, in the East District Relays in November, Paterson ran on the final leg for the winning ESH team.  Later in the month, in the Edinburgh to Glasgow, he set the fastest time on the first stage, beating Paisley Harriers home by three seconds.   In the District Championships, he finished third – 65 seconds behind second placed, future team mate, Adrian Jackson with ESH also second team, behind the University squad, and he completed this winter with a fourth place in the Junior National.

We might have expected a good track season after that build up, but in summer 1954 Paterson barely competed at all, missing from the programme for the Scottish Universities, inter-universities, inter-clubs, and SAAA championships.   This was also the case in the cross-country season.   Winter 1954/55 was a bit quieter than usual:  he did not run in the relays or in the Edinburgh to Glasgow relay, but did run in the championship proper finishing eleventh and being third scoring runner for the University team that he would represent for the remainder of his career.  He was not a runner in the national championships at the end of the winter.   The situation changed right from the beginning of the 1955 season.

On 21st May, 1955, at the White City in Manchester, Paterson was third in the 440 yards at the Universities Athletic Union Championships where the event was won in 49.4  The following week at the Edinburgh University championships at Craiglocklhart he set a new record of 1:57.8 for the 880 yards and also won the 440 in 50.3.  On 4th June in the Scottish Universities Championships at at Westerlands he won the 440 yards comfortably in 51.4 seconds. The Atalanta Club, representing Scotland’s four Universities took on the Christie Club (Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester Universities at Westerlands on 11th June and Paterson won the 440 yards in a new ground record of 50.1 seconds, taking three seconds from the old figures.     In the SAAA championships on 23rd June, Paterson, who started as a favourite, was second in the 440 yards to Bobby Quinn of Victoria Park AAC.   “The most thrilling race of the afternoon was the quarter-mile.   The favourite, JV Paterson (Edinburgh University), who had a distinct advantage entering the home straight found R Quinn (VPAAC) alongside him on the finishing line and the latter’s determined finish succeeded by inches in the good time of 49.6 sec.”   The race was reported in more detail by James Christie in the ‘Scots Athlete, as follows:

“Three heats were held on Friday evening.   Many enthusiasts considered JV Paterson a certainty and even more so after the way in which he covered the distance smoothly in 50.2 seconds in his heat.   However it was to be no easy title for Paterson but the toughest, closest and most exciting event of the championships.   At the gun it was Quinn off for a very fast 300 yards closely followed by Paterson.   D McDonald who had been runner-up in the three previous years, was sluggish on the outside, while Sanderson, Steele and Taylor were completely left at this stage.   Round the bend Quinn’s very fast early pace showed itself and he began slowing.   It was then Paterson began to move away and he entered the straight in the lead.   Fifty yards to go it looked Paterson, but slowly and perceptibly Quinn closed the gap and at the tape although both dipped, Quinn’s burly chest got there.”

There were mixed fortunes for him when he ran in Aberdeen at the Links Stadium on 23rd July in the Aberdeen Corporation meeting.    He won the 880 yards in 1:553.6 which equalled the Scottish record and set a new ground record but that was balanced by finishing third in the 440 yards in which he and Bobby Quinn both started from scratch with D Martineau of Aberdeen (off 35 yards) splitting the rivals. He also gained a British Universities vest and a trip to San Sebastian for the World Student Games in which he was part of the winning 4 x 400 metres team and returned with a gold medal.

Although not including him in the top five at the end of 1955, Emmet Farrell was fulsome in his praise of the Edinburgh athlete.   Yet somehow the runner who intrigued me most was one who did win a championship, namely gritty, versatile little runner from Edinburgh varsity and Southern, Jack Paterson.   Ex-steeplechase champion beaten in the 440 this season in a blanket finish by Victoria Park’s Bob Quinn, with a 1:53.6 half to his credit, Paterson has run three miles track and seven miles cross-country creditably but surely he was stretching his versatility by running out in the 14 miles at Dunblane at the end of the season.   Alas he did not cut much ice here.   A report says he finished well back in 24th place out of the 30-odd runners.   The important thing to me is that he finished.   That to me shows character.”

In Winter 1955/56, Paterson made his first appearance in November at the East District Cross-Country Relays for Edinburgh University Hare & Hounds and was in the winning team with AS Jackson, AC Ross, and N Allsopp – not only that but he was second fastest man in the team (14:31) behind Adrian Jackson’s 14:07.  In the Edinburgh to Glasgow in November 1955, he ran on the second stage for the University but it was not his best run and he dropped from seven to eleven. On 28th January 1956, on a foggy afternoon with difficult underfoot conditions, he finished third in the Championships at Dundee assisting his team to another victory.   A 34th place in the national championships in 1956 closed the cross-country season and led into summer 1956.   It was trhen into the next track season.

At the Edinburgh to Glasgow University match at Westerlands on 5th May, 1956, Paterson had two first places: the first was when he won the 880 yards in a slow time of  1:03.7 and the second was as part of the winning 4 x 440 yards relay team.  On 19th May in the Edinburgh University championships, he won the Donovan Cup after winning the 440 yards (49.6) and the 880 yards (1::57.5) which were both records.   Into June and at the Scottish Universities championships at St Andrews Paterson again ‘did the double’ in 51.1 seconds and 1:58.7.

The SAAA championships were held on 23rd June, 1956, at New Meadowbank and in brief Paterson won the 880 yards title.   There is a bit more to it than that – he was also second, again to Bobby Quinn of Victoria Park, in the 440 yards.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’, reporting on the 880 yards said, “There is little doubt that the performance of the meeting was achieved by JV Paterson (Edinburgh University) who ran the half mile in the excellent time of 1 min 54.8 sec, ot only 0.6 slower than the time returned last year by DCE Gorrie, the Scottish native record holder for the distance who did not defend the title.   Paterson beat a former champion, R Stoddart (Bellahouston Harriers) by as much as 18 yards in a particularly strong finish down the home straight.”    

But as you might expect, the ‘Scots Athlete’ had a lot more to say.   This piece is from an article by James Logan in the issue of August ’56.  

“When he lined up for the quarter-mile final, Jim Paterson already had two fast ‘quarters’ and two fast ‘halfs’ in his legs, although in these days of high recovery rates, perhaps we shouldn’t count his Friday efforts!   Title holder Quinn frustrated the ‘double’ bid by a superbly judged effort, especially commendable as he had to run ‘blind’ throughout the race.

 Paterson, however, emphasised what we already know, that he is one of the most remarkable athletes in Scottish track history.   Small and slim, with a low quick-striding style he suggests the type of athlete who must bow to nature and confine himself to  long distance.   Yet on New Meadowbank’s present poor surface, he pattered round the two laps in 1:54.8 seconds, a tremendous performance, which shook off unmistakably FG Cowan’s spirited challenge and left powerful, long striding, former champion Bob Stoddart who came through to second place well in the rear.”

On 30th June, 1956, there was a special half-mile held in conjunction with the Braw Lads Gathering in Galashiels and Paterson was entered in the race.   Running from scratch he won in 1:53.5, which the reporter noted was a second and a half quicker than his SAAA winning time.   The AAA’s Championships were held at the White City on 14th July and Paterson was entered in the 880 yards.   ‘“had he not suffered considerable buffeting, his time and position would have been more impressive.   Paterson had the annoying experience of having to jump clear of trouble after the half mile race was 20 yards in progress, and a runner suddenly side-tracked him off his route – indeed he was nearly brought down.   He was left last but with fine determination closed down with the leaders 250 yards from the finish.   That he ran fourth in 1:53.1 was was a grand achievement in the circumstances.   DCE Gorrie, holder of the Scottish native record for the distance, was 1.3 seconds behind Paterson in sixth place.”

The headline on the 21st July read “Paterson’s Fast Times.”   He was back at the Links Stadium in Aberdeen again and won his two events there again.   JV Paterson (Edinburgh University) the Scottish half-mile champion, running from scratch, returned a time of 1:52.3 – 0.4 seconds inside the Scottish native record  for the half-mile at the Aberdeen Corporation Sports.   Because the event was a handicap event however, the time cannot be considered as a new Scottish record.   Paterson’s time was also 1.3 inside the ground record which was set up last year.   Paterson also created a new ground record in the 440 yards with a time of 49.3 which was 0.2 seconds inside the previous record.”

On 4th August 1956 at the Rangers Sports, he faced England’s Mike Rawson in the 880 yards and was placed second, setting a new Scottish record in the process.   The report in ‘Glasgow Herald’ read: The slim Paterson, whose build is unlike that of the normal first-class half-miler, ran second in the 880 yards to MA Farrell (AAA), the runner-up in the AAA’s championship, who won in the fast time of 1 min 51 sec.   Paterson was credited with 0.1 slower and went on to the half-mile mark, which he reached in 1 min 51.9 sec breaking by 0.8 sec the Scottish native record set by DCE Gorrie who was third.   As expected Paterson took the lead at the start.   He covered the first lap well inside 60 sec and, apart from a short period in the second lap, was not headed until near the end, when Farrell’s slightly stronger finish  enabled him to win by a couple of yards.”  

That brought his summer, 1956, to a close.   It had been a pretty successful season which might have included a AAA’s medal had it not been for the incidents during the race which just cannot be prepared for.

Into the competition year 1957/58 season and in November 1957, he ran the first stage for the winning team in the East District Relays with Adrian Jackson, Hunter Watson and Adrian Horne following on.  In the E-G, he ran on the third stage, taking over from Adrian Jackson, and held on to third place for the team which eventually finished seventh.   In the District Championships, he finished fifth and despite Adrian Jackson winning the race, ESH took the team title with four in the first ten and their last scorer 17th against the student team’s two in ten but three in the thirties.    He did not run in the National in 1958.

4th May, 1957, was the date of the Glasgow University v Edinburgh University fixture and Paterson won the 440 in 50.4, the 880 in 1:55.8 and was a member of the successful relay team.   A good start to the season.   On 14th May in the Universities Championships at Reading, Donald Gorrie won the half-mile 1:54.2 with Paterson third in the 440 yards.   On 1st June, championship month, Paterson won both 440 and 880 at the Scottish Universities championships in Aberdeen setting anew record din the 880 by over 3 seconds.   His winning times were 49.8 seconds and 1:52.9.   With regard to his range of talent, Emmet Farrell said in the May, 1957 issue of the Scots Athlete: “Most title holders and aspirants are quietly busy tuning up for the Scottish championships at Meadowbank in June and their form is not yet crystallised.   One champion who is early in form is half mile holder Jim Paterson of Edinburgh University who has already set up marks of 1:52 for the half and 49.6 for the 440.   Later he ran the half in 1:55.7, the 440 in 49.6 and the 220 in 22.9 seconds in one day.   This isan amazing standard of versatility.   One wonders what he might do if he did not dissipate his energies and concentrated on one event for a while.   Perhaps the 4 minute mile might attract him and he could offer stern opposition to champion Everett.   But after his great effort in last year’s AAA half mile championship, he would do well to concentrate on this distance.”   A fortnight later in the Glasgow Police Sports he set the University relay team off to a winning start with a first stage timed at 1:52..4 for the half-mile.

In the 1957 SAAA Championships on 22nd June he won the quarter and half mile races in times of 48.6 seconds and 1:53.1 which were both championship records – indeed the former was only two tenths of a second outside Halswell’s 49 year old native record and the first time that 49 seconds had been bettered in the history of the championships.    The report on the race was under a headline of “PATERSON’S DOUBLE”  and read “JV Paterson (Edinburgh University), favourite for both the 440 yards and the half-mile, was only a fifth of a second short of equalling the native record of 48.4 for the  quarter-mile standing in the name of the late Captain Hallswell.   Probably if Paterson had not had to compete in the final of the half-mile he would have broken the record.   He completed  an afternoon of excessive competition by winning the half-mile in the new best championship time of 1 min 53.1 sec, beating by half a second the previous championship record made by JC Stothard at Hampden Park 22 years ago.” 

But again the ‘Scots Athlete’ covers the events and the man best – possibly because the writers did not have to meet a deadline to get copy from Friday and Saturday into the Monday paper, but nevertheless it provides detail and context to the performances.   First of all Emmet Farrell in his ‘Running Commentary’.   “Paterson has been one of our chief personalities because of his amazing versatility.  Ex-steeplechase champion, once a competitor in a 15 mile road race, a competitor in five finals in the recent Edinburgh  Varsity championship, 2nd in both sprints, a winner in 440, 880 and three miles.   I doubt if anything like this has ever been seen in athletics, certainly not in Scottish athletics.   His great double in quarter and half in Scottish championship best performances underline his class and must put him in the running for the Crabbie Cup (best competitor at the Scottish Championships.”   The actual 1-2-3 in the events is interesting.

440 yards:   1.   JV Paterson  48.6 sec;     2.   J McIsaac (VPAAC)  49.1 sec;    3.   D McDonald (Garscube)  50.6.

880 yards:    1.   JV Paterson   1:53,1;      2.   JR Boyd (Glasgow University)   1:54.1;   3.   A McNally (Doon Harriers)   1:55.0

Seven days later, 29th June, he travelled to Bordeaux as part of a small British squad and finished second to the American Arnie Sowell in the 800 metres in 1:47.5.   This ranked him ninth in the world that year and took a massive 3.4 seconds from his previous Scottish record, set behind Mike Farrell at the Rangers Sports the previous year.   Arnold Black and Colin Shields in their book “The Past Is a Foreign Country” point out that the Bordeaux time was was still in the top 20 Scottish all-time list in 2013, and that it stood until 1973 when David McMeekin ran only 0.1 seconds faster in a race at Leipzig.  The next day, in the 400 metres, Paterson ran 47.9 which was the second fastest ever run by a Scot, the best being Liddell’s 47.6 in the Paris Olympics 33 years before.

Paterson then went on to the World Student Games in Paris where, running for Great Britain, he won the 400 metres in 48.4 seconds and was a member of the 4 x 400 metres relay squad that finished second.   He finished first in the 800 metres at Imatranskoski in Finland in 1:49.9 to end on a high note.   The successful season was recognised by the SAAA who awarded him the Coronation Cup as the outstanding athlete of the year.

In Winter 1957-58  the Edinburgh University team was without either Adrian Jackson or Jim Paterson in the relays and could only finish third.   Hunter Watson ran the fourth and final leg in that relay. According to his diary, this event was held at Fernieside on 2 October 1957 and hge brought Edinburgh University from 4th to 3rd position by doing the sixth fastest time of 14:31, the fastest being 14:23 by Charlie Fraser of Edinburgh Eastern Harriers.   He says, “My recollection is that when I took over for Edin. Univ. the team was so far behind that those ahead were out of sight. The change over was on the Fernieside track.”    And there was no Jim Paterson in the Edinburgh to Glasgow in 1957 either.  In the District Championships he was thirteenth for the team that finished second behind his old team, Edinburgh Southern.

In 1958, he retained the 400 metres title in 49.0 seconds and finished second to Donnie McDonald of Garscube in the 880, the winning time being 1:54.5.   The team for the British Empire Games was picked after the meeting and the quartet for the 440 was John McIsaac (VPAAC), Paterson, RL Hay (Edinburgh) and RH Thomson (Cambridge University), and for the 880 yards, Paterson, McDonald and Les Locke (London University).   Unable to run in the championship, McIsaac had set a new Scottish record of 48 sec the previous week. Just looking through the team the quality all through is still evident with names like Everett, Binnie, Alastair Wood, Alan Gordon, and Hugo Fox.   The squad named for the 4 x 440 consisted of the four for the 440 and the three for the 880 allowing the team management plenty of scope in selection once they saw how the men were running.

In case there are any who have read this far and come to the conclusion that we are talking about a dour Scot, then  the following article in the ‘Scots Athlete’ of March 1958 should disabuse them of the notion.

The Scots in the 440 yards at British Empire Games, held in Cardiff between 15th and 28th July, had mixed fortunes.   Only one made the final – John McIsaac was sixth with a time of 48.9 against the winner’s (Milka Singh, India) 46.6, while Paterson was sixth in his heat in a time of 48.6, Thomson was fourth in his in 48.8 and Hay was fifth in his heat in 49.9.   In the 880 Les Locke was 7th in 1:54.7 against Herb Elliott’s 1:49.3, while the remaining Scots failed to make the final – Paterson was fourth in heat 2 in 1:54.4, Donnie McDonald was fourth in heat 1 in 1:54.6 and Graham Everett was third in heat 3 in 1:55.1.   Maybe with some luck Paterson and his team mates could each have made the final but they would not have done anything as far as winning medals was concerned – guys like Elliott and Milka Singh were just too good.   The result was not good enough to see him selected for the European Games.   With only two per event being picked, the 400m places went to John Salisbury and John Wrighton, and the 800m to Derek Johnston and Mike Rawson.   Only two Scots were selected – John McIsaac for the 4 x 400 relay and Crawford Fairbrother for the high jump.   There was no appearance at the Rangers Sports on 2nd August either and Jim Paterson’s athletics career in Scotland was pretty well over.

Graduating in 1958, he emigrated to Rhodesia where there was a lot of trouble with anti-colonial protests with white farmers and settlers being assaulted and murdered in their beds while they slept.  “The Past Is A Foreign Country”  tells us that Paterson protected his farmhouse with a machine gun from behind barbed wire emplacements using searchlights to illuminate his attackers.

A remarkable athlete in a decade of remarkable Scottish athletes, a contemporary of such as Ian Binnie, Crawford Fairbrother, Joe McGhee, a record setter, a championship winner who never managed to perform outside Scotland except on the day in Bordeaux in 1957 when he set the remarkable time of 1:47.5.    Like many other athletes he has left the ‘what if …’ question in the minds of Scottish athletics supporters: in his case it is, “what if he had run the 1500/Mile seriously?”

 Ann (4) with Christine Boxer (7) at Meadowbank, 1986

Anne Purvis was one of Scotland’s very best ever middle distance runners specialising in the 400 and 800m events but with quite outstanding times at 1000m and 1500m too.   She is however almost unknown in Scotland today but to get an idea of her ability, have a look at these figures.

*   Commonwealth Games silver medallist in a finish where the first four were timed between 2:01.3 and 2:01.9

*   Two firsts, three seconds and a third in eight years at the AAA’s of England 800m championships

*   Topped Scottish rankings six times in seven years

*   13 of the top 18 times by a Scotswoman in 1982 of which

*   Three were sub-2:01 and a further three were sub- 2:02

*   First Scottish Senior vest at 15 years of age

Anne Purvis (Scotland) tracking Kirsty McDermott (Wales)

There’s more but even these few statistics indicate how good she was.   At the 1986 Commonwealth Games at Meadowbank in Edinburgh, she took the oath on behalf of all the athletes taking part in the Games.   A wonderful honour.  There were no real rivals in Scotland when she was at her best, the McMeekin twins were mainly running before she came along and Lynne McDougall hadn’t really started he good run of form as a Senior.   Her main British rivals (Shireen Bailey, Kirsty McDermott, Lorraine Baker, et al will be mentioned in the course of the profile.  She stopped competing in 1987 and moved south of the border where her daughter Diane is a member of Shaftesbury Barnet AAC (look her up on the Power of 10 website) and it is amazing to me that she has never been invited back to Scotland for any of the coaching get-togethers that are so much on the agenda just now.    It is appropriate to look at her athletics in detail, but first we should maybe see her answers to the questionnaire.

Name:   Anne Purvis

Club:   Edinburgh Southern Harriers/Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Date of Birth: 5th March 1959

Occupation:  Laboratory Research Assistant

How did you get involved in the sport?   Primary School teacher (Mrs Elder).   He5r daughter had started training for the long jump with Edinburgh Southern and she thought I might enjoy it as I had competed for my Primary School.   I wanted to be a long jumper and initially trained with the long jump coach.

Has any individual or group had a marked influence on either your attitude to the sport or individual performances?   My coach, George Sinclair who devised all my sessions and was prepared to constantly learn and try diferent approaches to enable me to progress.   He also instilled in me the importance of being part of a team.   The willingness of so many people in the sport to give their time to help athletes fulfil their ambitions.

What exactly did you get out of the sport?    The honour of competing for Scotland and Great Britain and some great memories.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?    Superstitious, underlying lack of confidence particularly with the endurance side of 800m running.   Generally competitive in a non-competitive manner.   Often I seemed to enoy training over competition.

What do you consider to be your best performance?   When I ran 2:00.2 at Bislett Games in Oslo.

What ambitions did you have that remain unfulfilled?   To break 2 minutes for the 800 metres and to compete at the Olympic Games

What did you do apart from running to relax?   Enjoyed reading and spending time with friends.

What has running brought you that you would not have wanted to miss?   I always loved being a member of the 4 x 400m relay teams whether it was a club or an international competition.   Enjoyed travelling and the warm-weather training trips, especially my friends were there too.

Can you give some details of your training?   

Winter:   Weight training, Hopping and Bounding, Steps

Summer:   Speed Drills; Split runs 3 x 400m – 30 sec – 200m, 4 x 300m, 3 x 600m, 1 x 600/1 x 500/1 x 400/1 x 200 [15 min recovery]

Anne is regarded as a speed based 400m/800m runner as opposed to those who race the event from a strength base and specialising in 800m/1500m.    Nevertheless in her early years she did run cross-country.   In the 1974 Scottish Junior cross-country championships she was fifteenth and the ESH team was third.   In 1975, as an Intermediate, she finished fifth with her club in second position.   In February 1976, as a second year Intermediate, she was sixth and again picked up a team medal – another bronze.   As a senior in 1977 she finished eleventh but that was the last year for which there is any record of her competing in the event.

Anne Clarkson was born on 3rd March 1959 and joined Edinburgh Southern Harriers at the age of 13.   She made good progress and in 1974 she was ranked in the Intermediate (Under 17) 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.  Her 100m best of 12.5 at Pitreavie in the East Championships placed her eighth in the rankings and she was third in the SWAAA Championships 100m with 12.8 seconds.   In the 200m, she was second in the East Championships (25.6) and second in the SWAAA in 26.1.   Her best for the season was 25.3 which saw her ranked fifth.   Anne however topped the 400m rankings with a time of 55.4 run in August at Grangemouth and she also topped the 800m rankings with her second ever 800m time of 2:08.8.   Not bad for a 15 year old.   The annual rankings yearbook had this to say of her 400m season: “The close, keen rivalry between Anne Clarkson and Ann Robertson over the one-lap event was one of the highlights of the 1974 track season.   While the young Southern Harrier (Clarkson), she has  still another season as an Intermediate, produced the finest effort of the year (UK best for a 15-year-old:55.4 at the Scotland v NI match), as well as winning the Schools International at Meadowbank with Ann second, the Grangemouth girl narrowly turned the tables to take second place from Anne in the WAAA Championship (55.6 to 55.7)”    Anne also gained her first Scottish senior vest in 1974 running in the 4 x 400m relay against Canada and Wales and ran for the the GB Junior team .

They were no less effusive about her 800m time:  “Throughout the ’74 season Ann Clarkson had demonstrated her talent in recording some outstanding times over 400 metres but, until the Pye Gold Cup Final in September, she had only dabbled at 800 metres, with a respectable but unremarkable 2:26.5.   Anne’s performance then, not only brought her up to second place on the UK Intermediate time lists, but equalled the British best by a 15 year old girl.”

Fiona McAuley, writing in ‘Scotland’s Runner’ of May 1987 said that the following year she won a bronze medal at the European Junior Championships in Athens in the 4 x 400m relay and was selected as a reserve for the GB senior team at the end of the season…She goes on to comment that the next few years were a bit lean although she did compete off and on for Scotland.   They were not too lean however and in 1977 she was ranked number six in Scotland for the 400m with a season’s best of 56.2 and third in the 800m with a best of 2:09.1 (12th September) with a second best of 2:09.5 a week later.   The only championship medal that year was in the East District 400m where she was second in 59.0.   In 1978, her best 400m was slightly slower (56.5 in August) which only ranked her eleventh and in the 800m with a best of 2:07.8 she had slipped to fifth and had a run of 4:39.5 that saw her ranked tenth in the country.   As far as championships went, she won the East District 800m in 2:13.6 and was third in the SWAAA Championships with 2:11.1 and in the East v West fixture, she ran 56.7 for third place.      It was in 1979 that she set her first pb since 1974 when she was fourth in the UK Closed Championships 800m with 2:04.00.

1980 was the start of a wonderful period of seven years when she was placed in the first three at the AAA’s 800m six times.   In the AAA’s in 1980 she won in 2:01.89 from Jane Finch who was well back in 2:04.15 and was selected to compete for Britain against Sweden in the 800m as a result.   1981 was her first really outstanding year when she turned in no fewer than eleven of the top nineteen times by any Scot over 800m.   The times were set all over the world:

 Such a level of dominance is rarely seen in any endurance event but dominance it clearly is!    Incidentally, the 2:01.6 placed her seventh on the all-time rankings and third in GB for the year.   She also set what was to be her lifetime best for 400m of 53.77 on 18th September at Charlety in France which placed her fourth in the rankings with her second best of 53.9 (ninth best in the country) on 29th August at Ardal in Norway.    The 53.7 put her at number seven on the GB All-Time list and the 2:01.6 put her at number three.   The 2:02.3 was a Scottish women’s best ‘authentic’ performance in that it was the fastest ever run inside Scotland by a Scot.

Her competitive record was no less impressive.   In the women’s international between Scotland v Denmark v Eire at Meadowbank on 1st/2nd May she ran in the 800m which she won with 2:02.8 and in the 4 x 400m team which also won.   In the women’s international match at Ardal in Norway on 28th/29th August between Norway, Scotland and Wales, Anne was third in the 400 in 53.9 on the first day, then won the 800m on the second day in 2:01.6 with the second placed Norwegian timed at 2:01.7.   She was also of course in the winning 4 x 400m team.

Anne’s domination of the 800m event was even greater in 1982 than in 1981: the first seven times were hers, she had three inside 2:01.0 and had thirteen of the top 18.   Her best ten 800m times for 1982 are noted.

Anne was also ranked sixth in the 400m with 54.2 and thirteenth in the 1500 with a time of 4:25.3.    Her competitive record was really superb in Commonwealth Games year.    (Kind of spooky that the top four were all on the seventh of the month – seven has always been regarded as a lucky number with the seventh son of a seventh son being the epitome of good luck and specially blessed!)   Fiona McAuley outlines the season: “After winning the UK Closed Championships in 1982, Anne went on to run a fast series of races at meetings abroad culminating in her best 800m time to date of 2:00.20 in Oslo.   She was subsequently picked for the European Championships, getting to the semi-finals and running 2:00.34, the ninth fastest time overall.   Four weeks before the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, and favourite on paper, she broke two ribs when someone opened a door on her, but she still finished second to Kirsty Wade in the 800m final and also picked up a bronze medal in the 4 x 400m relay.”     Doug Gillon in ‘The Glasgow Herald’ elaborated on both meetings.   On 8th September 1982, he said “Anne Clarkson was edged out of the final of the 800m at Athens.   The Edinburgh Southern Harrier had a gallant race: fifth at the bell in 58.5 and finishing in the same position, one place away from a final berth, in 2:00.34.   “I’m bitterly disappointed, I wanted to be the first Scot below two minutes”, she said.“   When it came to the Commonwealths, his article in the paper of 17th September 1982 read: “One of Scotland’s Commonwealth Games medal hopes has broken two ribs – but she will report to Prestwick to fly out with the team tomorrow.   Anne Clarkson, just edged out of a place in the European 800m final in Athens last week, had been back at work for only 40 minutes when a colleague opened a heavy door while the Edinburgh girl was walking past.   “It was a freak accident”, says Anne, a BSc honours graduate who works as a a technical assistant in animal genetics at Edinburgh University.   “I’ve had the fracture confirmed by X-ray but the doctor says that I should be able to compete in Brisbane all right.   The big problem is training in the interim and I’m on strong pain-killers to allow me to do that.   But I’ve got to take the X-ray plates with me when we leave on Saturday.”    It is worth noting how close the final at Brisbane was.    After winning her semi-final in 2:04.06 (with the second finisher on 2:04.11) she was second in 2:01.52 behind (Scottish born) Kirsty McDermott of Wales who was timed at 2:01.31, with the third and fourth placers in 2:01.70 and 2:01.91!   Four runners in 0.6 of a single second.    Anne was of course renowned for her fast finishes.   I have been informed by several of her contemporaries that they cannot remember her ever taking the pace out from the gun or leading for much of any race.   In the 4 x 400m of the relay, the team of Sandra Whittaker, Anne Clarkson, Angela Bridgman and Linsey McDonald were one place ahead of England with Wales fourth.   The Maribor time was recorded in an international match between England, Scotland, Yugoslovia where she was second to England’s Christina Boxer with the times being 2:01.73 for Boxer and 2:01.83 for Clarkson.    Domestically, she was second to Bridgman in the SWAAA 400m in 54.38 to Bridgman’s winning time of 53.18, and she won the East v West 800m in 2:05.2.    It had been a very successful season for her despite the broken ribs before the Games and being beaten by McDermott who had been slower that she was going in to the Games.

“Surprisingly”, writes McAuley, 1983, the year she got married, was the first time that Anne lifted the Scottish 800m title which was unfortunately followed by a year of bad injury.   In 1985Anne and her husband moved from Edinburgh to Bishopbriggs and that same year she won the Scottish once again and was second at the WAAA Championships.”    Although there was a year out in 1984, Anne was in fact third in the WAAA 800m to Christine Boxer in 2:02.98.   The WAAA record to which I referred above is a good one:    1980:   First in 2:01.89;    1981: First in 2:01.92 from Lorraine Baker in 2:04.21 and Kirsty McDermott in 2:05.63;   1983:   second in 2:00.74 to Shireen Bailey in 2:00.58;    1984:   Third in 2:02.98;   1985:     Second in 2:02.41;   1987:   Second in 2:04.60 to Diane Edwards in 2:03.59.

With 1986 being Commonwealth Games year, there would have been three targets for Anne Purvis: first she had to convince herself and the selectors that the year out through injury had served its purpose and she was ready for the 1986 season; second the aim in any Games is to come back with the gold medal, particularly in her case because she had been so close last time round; and third there was the desire for the first sub-two minute 800m by a Scot.   And she did indeed set a top level platform for Games year.   Competitively she won the SWAAA Championships in July with a time of 2:05.75 and was second  in the WAAA (2:02.41) to Christina Boxer (2:00.41).   As far as time and rankings were concerned, in the 800 she was number one in Scotland and number fisix in Britain with 2:02.11 run at Meadowbank.  As an indicator of the standard at the time the five ahead of her were Kirsty McDermott, Shireen Bailey, Christina Boxer, Lorraine Baker and  Diane Edwards although it should be noted the Anne had beaten them all at one time or another.   In the 1000m she was top Scot and fifth UK with 2:41.44 run in the Kodak Meeting in Stretford and she was ranked fifth Scot and nineteenth UK in the 1500 with 4:17.5.   Clearly in good form she was ready for the Edinburgh Games year.

Reported to be at her fittest in 1986, Anne ran in the UK Championship at Cwmbran in Wales in May where she ran an excellent Heat which prompted this from Doug Gillon: “A dramatic showdown is scheduled in the Women’s 800m in which Anne Purvis was the fastest qualifier with 2:03.5.   She will be joined in the final by Liz McArthur, the defending champion from Pitreavie who had to run as fast as her winning time from last year to qualify as the fastest loser, and Carol Sharp (McLaren Glasgow) who clocked 2:06.24.”    In the final the following day she was second in 2:02.4.   Her fastest of the year was 2:01.63 which topped the Scottish rankings, her sixth year out of seven in that position.   But the year was all about the Commonwealth Games and the statistics say that she finished fourth – by no means a disgrace – in 2:02.17 behind Kirsty Wade (2:00.94), Diane Modahl (2:01.92) and Lorraine Baker (2:01.97).   But the figures do not tell the full story.   In her article in “Scotland’s Runner” quoted above, Fiona McAulay said:  “Probably no individual Scottish athlete came in for more criticism at last year’s Commonwealth Games than Anne Purvis (nee Clarkson) for the way she handled the 800m final, finishing fourth behind girls she could and should have beaten.   George Sinclair, her coach for thirteen years, likened her race to that of Steve Cram’s in the European Championship 800 metres final in Stuttgart where he found himself in trouble at the start of the back of the field, had to do all his running down the back straight to get in contention again, so that it was not so much that  he was outrun by Seb Coe and Tom McKean in the home straight, but rather that he just did not have the finishing kick when it was needed.   Sinclair, who has coached more athletes to Great Britain international standard than any other coach in Scotland summed up by saying “Anne had a tactical disaster.”   Purvis recalls that there was so much barging and pushing that she was almost brought to a complete standstill at 450 metres by a stray Canadian arm, and found it impossible to regain momentum.   She has never been known as a front runner – and a Commonwealth Games final is not the ideal place to suddenly change tactics – so Anne says now she supposes she should have run wide all the way to keep out of trouble.  As well as letting herself down, Anne felt she had disappointed her family, the crowd and not least of all her coach as they both know she went into that race fitter than she has ever been.   The next day, however, Anne went down with the virus that had circulated the Games village and was ill for weeks. “   An indication of her standing in the sporting community was that she was selected to take the athletes’ oath at the opening ceremony.

She did not stop there but went on to train hard for the 1987 season and have a final go at a sub-two minutes 800m that she wanted so much before leaving the country at the end of 1987 when her husband’s research came to a close.  According to Fiona MacAulay’s article, training was following the following pattern.   Working as a research assistant at Glasgow University, she runs home twice a week from work and on the advice of physiotherapist Tom Craig has cut her runs drastically, concentrating only on good running.   Two sessions a week are spent on weights and circuits, and the other three are on the track at Crownpoint doing repetition 1000m, 600m, 300m, and 200m.   She usually sees Sinclair once a fortnight at Meadowbank.”   Anne was definitely going to retire at the end of the season and with this in mind, George Sinclair is quoted as saying “we’re concentrating on speed endurance and elastic strength and to hell with the big mileage.”   Anne tended to train rather a lot on her own as she improved.   The male athletes at Meadowbank such as Peter Hoffman were just too quick and strong for any woman athlete and there were no women fast enough to train with.   The speed and speed endurance work was done with Bill Walker and Donny Cain.

For whatever reason – one supposes injury – Anne missed the SWAAA Championships that year and by the end of the summer was ranked in three events: ninth in the 400m with a best of 56.9, second in the 800m with 2:02.73 and sixth in the 1500m with 4:20.0.   The aim of a sub-two had not been realised so she would have been disappointed but she had had a wonderful career in the sport.    Having been competing internationally for thirteen years, with seven GB vests and several appearances at major Games and having had the inestimable honour of taking the oath on behalf of all the athletes in the 1986 Games she has a multitude of memories.

So why did she fail to break the two minute barrier?   The ability was there, the competitive spirit was there but according to Sinclair the fast, paced races on the European circuit were not there.   He is quoted by MacAulay as follows: “It has been unfortunate for Anne that invitations have not been forthcoming for those meetings abroad that inevitably produce fast times. ”   Do Scottish athletes then get a raw deal when it comes to selection for international meetings?   Without a doubt Anne Purvis has been continually snubbed and ignored by the selectors down   south since 1983.   She has seen rivals she has beaten, and with slower times, being dispatched abroad to the various Grand Prix-type events and with ‘small teams abroad’ while she for the most part has remained at home.   At the 1984 Olympic Trials, Purvis finished second to Lorraine Baker, neither achieving the qualifying time of two minutes.   Baker was given several races abroad and eventually produced the necessary performance while Purvis stayed put and was given no such assistance.”    There are many instances of Scottish athletes being ignored in this fashion and Sinclair is quoted as saying that “being Scottish in British athletics means that you need a knockout to get a draw.”   To my own knowledge other athletes have failed to get invitations to Grand Prix races in London when others of a near identical standard living in the locality were invited regularly ‘to make up the field’ because there were no big travel expenses involved.

However, there is no point in dwelling on this point at length – missing these opportunities did not help her but there may have been other reasons.   Would it have been different had she been able to run from the front at some point in the season?   I remember reading of Seb Coe as a young man on his knees at the end of a BMC race at Crystal Palace; the plan had been for him to really go for it from the gun just to see (a) if he could do it; and (b) see whether it could be a valid tactic in future.   I spoke to several of Anne’s contemporaries and none could remember her taking a race on early.

What we do know, is that the country could do with Anne Clarkson now in November, 2011

Back to The Milers 

Norman, fourth left with the Shettleston team in 1971

Norman Morrison won the Scottish Junior Championship in 1969 after having been fifth the year before and his last competitive year in Scotland was 1974 and that relatively short span is possibly one of the reasons that his achievements are not remembered as they should be.   He ran in every Edinburgh to Glasgow from 1966 to 1974, nine in all, which is more than many lauded for their achievements.   Let’s take a quick look at some of the statistics before starting on the profile itself.   First of all I have taken his performances on the Shettleston Harriers all-time list (as in the official club history – there may be other times to be inserted but it does provide a list of his best performances) and then some of his competitive highlights.

Competition Highlights

Junior National:   1968 5th, 1969 1st

Senior National:   1970  5th, 1971  9th, 1972  18th, 1973  4th

English Junior National:   1968   5th

English Senior National 1971  32nd, 1972  40th

ICCU Junior Championships:   1967  13th, 1968   13th

ICCU Senior Championships:   1970   46th,   1971   25th

IAAF World Cross Country Championships:   1973   13th

IAAF Cross-Country Championships:   1973   13th

Winner of European Clubs Cross-Country Championship in 1972/73

Second in World Student Games 10000m in 1973

Three winning appearances for British teams: in Leipzig, Rouen and London

SAAA Junior Championships:   1967   1 Mile   4:17.7

1970 Commonwealth Games:   1500m   3:47.3

1974 Commonwealth Games:   5000m   14:40.62

14th on all-time rankings for Mile and 10000m and 16th for the 5000m.

These are the headlines and there were many other excellent runs that were possibly even better.   He also qualified for the “Nae Luck” award in 1972 when he broke the record for the McAndrew Relay only to find that Jim Brown broke it by even more later, he broke the record for the Allan Scally Relay trail in November, only to find that Jim Brown broke it by more later in the race, and in the Edinburgh to Glasgow the same year he took seven seconds from the second stage record on the day when Ian Stewart, running for Aberdeen comprehensively dismantled the old figures.  He must have held more records for a shorter time than anybody in the world at that point!   Note too the three thirteenth place finishes in the Junior and Senior world championships.   Given his subsequent career it is clear that the number had no significance for him.

Norman was kind enough to answer the questionnaire and the responses are as follows:

Name:   Norman Morrison

Clubs:   Shettleston Harriers, Croydon Harriers

Date of Birth:   13/3/1949

Occupation:   Teacher

Personal Bests:   400m:   49.9 ( relay),   800:   1:50;   1 Mile   3:58.7;   5000m:   13:40;   10,000m:   28:40

How did you get involved in the sport:   Started doing cross country with Shettleston Harriers

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on either your attitude to the sport or to individual performances?   Alex Naylor, Gordon Pirie.

What exactly did you get out of the sport?   I enjoyed competing and travelling to new places.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?   Looking back I may have been a bit amateurish and had lots of injuries which always set ones training back.

What do you consider to be your best ever performance/performances?   Possibly second in the world student games 10000m, although losing by 0.089 of a second still gives me the ocasional nightmare.   Won lots of races with a fast finish but not necessarily in fast times.

What ambitions did you have that remain unfulfilled?   None, may not have been too good at setting goals.   Did not achieve the 5000m and 10000m times I believe I was capable of.   Ran around 13:40 and 28:40 lots of times, and looking back I probably did not push myself hard enough in training, and I missed the influence of a good coach as a senior.

What did you do apart from running to relax?   Spent time with family and friends.

What did running bring you that you would have wanted not to miss?   Travel all over the world.

Athletics highlights:   Representing English Schools in Canada for their centenary;   Representing Scotland in the Commonwealth Games and first in three races running for the UK.   Cross-Country highlights:   Shettleston winning the English Cross-Country Championships and nearly the European title.   Second in San Sebastian, thirteenth in the World Cross-Country Championships three times.

Born on 13th March, 1949, Norman first appeared in the Scottish ranking lists as a Youth (Under 17) in 1965 when he was fourth in the 880 yards in 2:00.5.   According to the official Shettleston Harriers history, in a report on the Land’o Burns Meeting in Ayr,“the most impressive performance of the day was that of 17 year old Norman Morrison whose spirited finish in the Mile almost caught Hugh Barrow of Victoria Park, the former Scottish Junior Half Mile Champion.”   In 1966 as a Junior when he was at University in England,  he ranked second in the Mile behind Birchfield’s Peter Stewart (and ahead of Ian Stewart) with 4:14.4 for the Mile.  Simon Pearson in “Scottish Athletics, 1967” commented on the ‘very fine performance at Ayr by Norman Morrison who was only a month too old for the youths age group.’   The top Youth that year was James Cook of Garscube Harriers with 4:27.7.   He hadn’t come from nowhere though.   When asked about his school athletics he said, I lived on the Isle of Arran until I was 16 when my parents moved back to Glasgow.   But not being clever enough to to go to Bute Academy I went to a Boarding School in London, actually Royal Russell School in Croydon, from age nine to sixteen and then on to London University.   While there I ran in the World Student Games where I was second by 0.9 seconds.   While down there I ran for Croydon Harriers and one of my mates was Don Fairclough who went on to win a bronze medal in the 1970 Commonwealth Games.   I also ran for Croydon Schools, Surrey Schools and England Schools winning a few Mile titles.   Two interesting stories from that time.   I represented English Schools in a quad event, English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish Schools,  at Scotstoun (in those days we ran on cinder tracks).   There were three Scots running in the 1500m or Mile.   Running for Wales and finishing second was Alec MacNab who also emigrated to New Zealand and has been a stalwart of athletics here.   He is currently President of Athletics New Zealand.   Then in 1967 for the Canadian Centenary, the Canadians invited an athletics team from Britain and France to compete in three meetings in three cities in three weeks.   It was the English Schools team that went!!!   (I bet the Scots didn’t even know about it.)   Fabulous trip and even went to the Expo in Montreal.  

In season 1966 – 67 he ran his first Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay.   Running on the third stage he pulled Shettleston up from eighth to sixth with the third fastest time of the day although the club eventually finished seventh.   He started the new year with seventh in the National cross-country championships at Hamilton, and by the end of the summer, he ranked eighth at 440 yards (51.7), third at 880 yards (1:55.6) and third at the Mile with 4:09.2.   In the course of that summer, he won the SAAA title with 4:17.2 for the Mile.   For this, he shared the FJ Glegg Memorial Trophy which is awarded annually to “the competitor who is adjudged by the General Committee to have accomplished the best performance or performances in the Scottish Junior Championships”with sprinter IW Turnbull.   Simon Pearson remarked in “Scottish Athletics, 1968, “The fast-improving Norman Morrison, along with Anglo Scot Ian Stewart consistently produced times unattainable by many seniors this side of the Border.”   Indeed the times quoted above ranked him 22nd senior for the 880y and 12th for the Mile.

Progress continued and in the Edinburgh to Glasgow in November 1967, Norman was third on the first stage in a team which won silver medals behind a quite outstanding Edinburgh University squad and in February 1968 Norman was fifth in the National Cross Country Championship.   This qualified him for selection for his second ICCU Cross-Country International where he finished thirteenth.   The 880 yards in Scotland was of a very high stadard with runners such as Mike McLean, Graeme Grant, Dick Hodelet, Duncan Middleton, Hugh Barrow, Craig Douglas and others all of international standard so it was no small feat for Norman as a first year senior to be eighth ranked (under the banner of London University/Shett H) with 1:53.1 set when winning at Motspur Park in May.   In the Mile he was ranked number five ahead of such as Lachie Stewart, Adrian Weatherhead, Gareth Bryan-Jones and others but behind John McGrow (an Anglo from Longwood), Hugh Barrow, Peter Stewart and Ian McCafferty with his time of 4:04.4 set at Motspur Park at the end of June, again he won the race.   In the Two Miles he was even higher – fourth – with 8:53.2 finishing ninth at White City at the very start of June.   Norman was also ranked in the Three Miles at number twenty four 14:17.1 run when finishing second, again at Motspur Park, this time very early in the season – in April.

Into 1969 and Norman won the junior National cross-country championship after a race-long battle with Alan Beaney of Springburn Harriers, eventually winning by four seconds.   And this was where his results really started to take off.   All Scots eyes in 1969 were on the Commonwealth Games to take place in 1970 and competition in all events was very tight.   Norman was ranked at number twenty five with a time of 1:55.4 set when winning at Lund in Sweden but was not ranked at either 1500m or the Mile.   He was however twelfth in the 300m with 8:21.4 when winning in April at Motspur Park.   He also appeared in the 5000m – twelfth with a time of 14:15.8 set in September when finishing third in Helsingborg in Sweden.

In the Edinburgh to Glasgow in season 1969 – 70, he moved the club up from seventh to sixth on the difficult but prestigious second stage and had the satisfaction of seeing the team finish second.   In the National in February 1970, he finished fifth in a quite outstanding field – have a look at the names of the first fourteen – Alder, Wedlock, Blamire, Mullett, Morrison, Weatherhead, J Wight, Stoddart, Bradley, Logue, McKean, Macgregor, Jones and Fergus Murray!  In his history of the SCCU, Colin Shields says of this period, “In the early Seventies, Scottish distance runners were amongst the best in Britain and Europe, and the Union received many invitations for teams to compete in international cross-country races throughout Europe.   These races allowed our top runners to test themselves against the best runners in Europe and prepare properly for the National and International cross-country events.   The glamour that was once the exclusive property of the track and field stars in the summer, and the resulting trips to compete in foreign countries encouraged the best distance runners to take cross-country running seriously throughout the winter.   Running for Scotland at that time were such Olympic and Commonwealth Games internationals as Lachie Stewart, Ian McCafferty, Jim Alder, Fergus Murray, Dick Wedlock, Don Macgregor and Gareth Bryan-Jones with other fine runners such as Alistair Blamire, Norman Morrison, Bill Mullett, Eddie Knox and Adrian Weatherhead all strong enough to gain selection for Scottish teams competing on the continent.”    After his run in the National Norman was selected for the International, to be held at Vichy that year.   Colin reports on the trip as follows: “Public transport strikes disrupted the Scots team travel to the international, necessitating three separate flights and two bus journeys in a tiring journey to France which did much to cause the disappointing Scottish performances in the actual race.   Ian McCafferty did not finish, leaving Lachie Stewart to be the first Scot home in twelfth place – well ahead of Bill Mullett 25, Jim Alder 31 with Adrian Weatherhead 42, Dick Wedlock 45 and Norman Morrison 46 finishing in a bunch to close in the scoring six and give Scotland a total of 201 points for fifth position out of thirteen competing countries.”  

Summer 1970 was of course dominated by the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh where the Scottish team covered itself in glory, notably in the 5000m and 10000m events.   Norman was chosen to run in the 1500m and was in Heat Two of three.   His time of 3:47.3, one place behind Ben Jipcho of Kenya, was only good enough for sixth place and, with four to qualify for the final, he was out of the Games.   For the record, the first five were 1.   Quax (NZ) 3:44.2;   2.   Kirkbride (England)   3:44.9;  3.   Smart (Canada)   3:45.5;   4.   Thomas (Wales)   3:45.6;   5.   Jipcho (Kenya)   3:45.6;   6.   Morrison   3:47.3.

The 1970 – 71 cross country season was described as a triumph for Shettleston Harriers by Colin Shields and Norman played a full part in their successes. They started by winning the McAndrew Relay at Scotstoun with a team of Morrison (13:40), Stewart (13:45), Scally (14:03) and Wedlock (14:02).   In the Laarkshire Relay at Bellshill, the selectors mixed up the teams a bit but the first team of Summerhill, Graham, Morrison and Wedlock won.   In the second running of the Allan Scally relay, the team of Stewart, Wedlock, Morrison and Scally beat Edinburgh Southern by 23 seconds although Lachie’s time of 22:40 was eleven seconds slower than that of Southern’s Gareth Bryan-Jones.   Morrison, Wedlock, Patterson and Stewart won the Midland Relay Championship and it was on to the Edinburgh to Glasgow.   Continuing the season’s pattern,  Shettleston won and Norman was on the fourth stage where he had second fastest time – only one second behind Gareth Bryan-Jones.    On 2nd January 1971 Shettleston won the team race at the Nigel Barge race in Maryhill with Dick Wedlock second, Norman tenth and Tommy Grubb fourteenth.   1971 however was also the year when  Monkland Harriers’ Jim Brown, as a first year Junior, surprised all the seniors in the country and he won the Midland District cross-country championship described by Colin Shields as follows:    “The precocious Brown startled his Senior rivals when winning the Midland District title at Stirling University.   While older, heavier rivals sank in the thick, clinging mud, the lightweight Brown skimmed over the surface to win by 60 yards from Norman Morrison who led Shettleston (5 in the first 11 home) to the team title.”       In the National in 1971, held in Bellahouston Park, Norman had slipped back to ninth, not at all a bad run, and Shettleston won here as well.   With the team that they had, and after all the successes of the season, Shettleston sent a team down to the English National Championships to be held at Norwich.   After a long journey down and cramped and uncomfortable sleeping accommodation (camp-beds!) the team positions were Alastair Blamire 11th, Lachie Stewart 19th, Dick Wedlock 24th, Norman Morrison 32nd, Henry Summerhill 65th and Tommy Grubb 131st.   Ronnie Morrison is quoted in the club history as saying more than thirty years later, “It took some time for the result to be accurately announced due to the fact that we were unfamiliar with the disc system employed to count the team scores.   Tipton Harriers were announced as the winners with 287 points but after checking I knew I was holding a team packet with a total of 282 points.   There was some disbelief when I eventually located the scores and after detailed scrutiny of the names, the were declared legal by SCCU official Ewan Murray.”    The history goes on “The most prestigious trophy, of what had been a momentous season was presented by the mayor of Norwich, after which the team bus headed north for a night of celebration.   “With victories in every senior event we entered, ” said Ronnie Morrison, “season 1970 – 71 can be described as a year of gold.”   After the National of course, Norman was selected for the International. There was again an unpleasant journey to Spain and then a stomach bug attacked various team members and a team which had looked really good on paper was suddenly rather fragile.  Colin Shields reports “Rain, Hailstones and gales spoiled the international championships at San Sebastian and heavy sticky mud slowed the runners throughout the race.   Commonwealth 5000m gold medallist Ian Stewart, in his first appearance for Scotland, finished ninth  to lead the Scottish team to seventh position in the team contest.   Stewart was followed home by Dick Wedlock 24th and Norman Morrison 25th with Scottish champion Jim Alder, who had been the most consistent Scot throughout the winter finishing 38th, ahead of Alastair Blamire 58th and a despondent Lachie Stewart 60th.”

In summer 1971 in the 800m, Norman was seventh with his best of 1:51.9 when finishing fourth at Grangemouth on 13th June.   In the seldom run 1000m, he was second to Graeme Grant with 2:24.3 run in Belfast on 19th June.   In the 1500m/Mile his best time was 3:41.1y when placing fourth at Leicester in May had him third ranked behind Peter Stewart and Adrian Weatherhead.   He also ran  times of 3:44.5y at Meadowbank in June, 3:46.3y at Belfast in May when he was second and 3:47.7y in the Heats at Leicester in May.   The outstanding run of course for the year was his 3:58.7 for the Mile on 31st May when a record breaking number of Scots (three) were led under the four-minute barrier by Peter Stewart, the other being Adrian Weatherhead in 3:58.5.   He was sixth in the 3000m/2 Miles with 8:07.4 set at Helenvale in June when finishing second to Lachie Stewart.   Norman was also eighth in the 5000m recording 14:08.2 at Lisburn in Northern Ireland in June.

Finishing second to Lachie Stewart at Cowal in August 1971

In the 1971 Edinburgh to Glasgow, Norman ran on the fifth stage where he recorded the third fastest time on the stage in the winning Shettleston team. In an interesting race, Shettleston were trailing Victoria Park on the third stage when Colin Youngson went off the course and the lead passed to Shettleston who increased it as the race went on.  On 16th January, 1972 the Shettleston team, as British Cross-Country Champions, travelled to Arlon for the European clubs championship.   Norman was affected by a ‘flu bug and was last club counter in in 26th place behind Wedlock (2nd), Stewart (6th), Bannon (11th) and Summerhill (23rd and the team finished second to Liege.    In the National in 1972, Norman Morrison finished eighteenth in the Shettleston team that won with 99 points to Edinburgh Southern Harriers’ 190.

In October 1972 Shettleston Harriers won the McAndrew Relay for the third year in succession and it was reported by Alan Dunbar as follows under the heading “Shettleston’s Hat-Trick in Road Race”:   Shettleston Harriers had a convincing victory in the McAndrew Relay Race at Scotstoun to record their hat-trick in this event.   Shettleston opened well when four minute miler Norman Morrison knocked a second off Lachie Stewart’s seven year old record to give his club a good lead.   A Brilliant run by young Jim Brown brought Monkland Harriers up from thirteenth to second place just 20 yards behind Shettleston.   Brown shattered the course record, taking 17 seconds off Morrison’s time.”  The remainder of the report recorded Shettleston’s comfortable victory but this was not to be the last time that Norman held a course record for hours, or less, that month!    In the Allan Scally Relays in November, Tommy Patterson was fifth on the first stage before Norman set off on the second.   Ron Marshall reports this time: “Norman Morrison quickly put the holders into their accustomed position long before lap two ended.   He also had the satisfaction of beating the course record of 22:09 by three seconds, although Brown was about to yank that time down drastically to 21:52 – 14 seconds faster than Morrison.”     Jim Brown was really on fire at this period but Norman was also really flying although Jim’s performances put his running into the shade a bit.   Came the Edinburgh to Glasgow and Marshall’s report of stage two read:   “The second leg was dramatic in more ways than one.   Norman Morrison took up Shettleston’s case so courageously that he forged his was from sixteenth to fifth in what in other circumstances would have been a memorable time, 27:54.   The old record had been 28:32.   Ahead of him however even greater deeds were being done.   Ian Stewart, the Olympic bronze medallist, running for Aberdeen AAC probably had not noticed the race number allotted to him – A1.   By the time he strode dourly up to the changeover point in Broxburn his performance had certainly warranted it for he had outdated the course record by a scathing 78 seconds.”   Stewart’s run has been described as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in the entire history of the race, so there was no disgrace finishing behin him but to break the record for a road trail for the third time in the season and get no credit in the books must have been a bit galling.

Scotland had three teams in the ‘Findus’ International and club race at Parliament Hill in London and they were all good.   The A team had Lachie Stewart, Norman Morrison and Jim Brown, the B Team had Andy McKean, Dick Wedlock and Alastair Blamire and the C Team had Lawrie Spence, Pat Maclagan and Paul Bannon.    What a line-up!   Once the teams were declared, there could be no switching between them and this probably cost Scotland A the race.   Lachie Stewart was fourth, Norman Morrison was tenth and Jim Brown had a day he would want to forget, finishing twenty fifth.   Andy McKean in the B Team was seventh and  Scotland was only beaten by Kenya by four points.    The complete result was:

1. Kenya;   2.   Scotland;   3.   Tunisia;   4.   England A;   ;   5.   England B;   6.   Belgium;   7.   England C;   8.   Scotland B;   9.   Ireland;   10.   Wales;   11.   Scotland C.   In addition, since Shettleston were allowed to use their runners in the international teams as club counters, they won the club race by a massive 102 points!

The following week and “Norman Morrison (Shettleston) careered away from a field of 56 in the East Kilbride AAC Open Cross-Country Event over six miles to beat Hugh Barrow by no less than 86 seconds or the equivalent of 500 yards.”

Norman started 1973 in some style by winning the classic Nigel Barge Road Race.   Colin Shields in his history of the SCCU, “Whatever the Weather”, said, “Norman Morrison of Shettleston Harriers, a 1500metres/mile track runner who, like Ian Stewart and Ian McCafferty, used the winter season principally as preparation for his summer track season, had his best ever year.   He won the Nigel Barge Road Race in the record time of 21:51 followed home at regular five second intervals by Paul Bannon, Douglas Gunstone and Dick Wedlock.   He followed this success by becoming the first Scot to win the European clubs championships at Arlon with Lachie Stewart finishing third.   Shettleston showed their great strength when again finishing second just two points behind the holders, Liege AC  and 20 points ahead of English champions Tipton Harriers.”   Ron Marshall’s account pointed out that one of the Liege runners who contributed to the victory was running without a club vest and had the rules been applied properly, then Shettleston would have won, but the refused to protest.   He had this to say of Norman,    “Norman Morrison, running over 100 miles per week this winter, continued his build-up to the big events of the cross-country season by winning the individual honour. “   The National was held over a snow covered course at Coatbridge and Jim Logan, writing in ‘Athletics Weekly’ described Norman as ‘the pre-race favourite’ and his team mate as ‘the ever-gritty Lachie Stewart’.   Andy McKean and Adrian Weatherhead (both Edinburgh AC) threw a couple of spanners in the works when they finished one and two with Lachie third and Norman, who at one point slipped back to eighth, fourth.    The international that year was the first organised by the IAAF and was held at Waregem Racecourse outside Ghent with 20 countries taking part.  Colin Shields reported on Norman’s part in the team effort which saw the Scots finish eighth thus: “Norman Morrison, despite losing a shoe early in the race, pluckily ran on in the Senior race to finish thirteenth – first Scot and third Briton home.”   Two points of interest here were that it was Lachie Stewart’s tenth and final race in teh world cross country championship and the whole week end was made for the Scots by Jim Brown winning the Junior race, giving him a set of gold, silver and bronze from his three years in the age group.   The ‘Athletics Weekly’ review of the cross-country season had Norman in twelfth place (second Scot behind Andy McKean in eleventh) citing the following performances: 10th in the Findus International, 10th in the Inter-Area, 1st in the European clubs championship, 2nd at San Sebastian, 4th Scottish and 13th in the International.

His best race in the summer of 1973 was when he won the Burmah-Castrol two miles race in the British Games at Meadowbank in 8:44.6 with Chris Stewart (Bournemouth) second in 8:44.8 and Allan Rushmer of Tipton Harriers third in 8:50.0.   On to the winter of 1973 – 74 and he had an outstanding run on lap four of the Allan Scally relay where he took over fifty yards behind Albert Smith of Victoria Park ad 250 yards up on Donald Macgregor of Edinburgh Southern Harriers.   He won by approximately 200 yards from ESH with Victoria Park AAC third.   Having been selected for the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in January, Norman competed in the Nigel Barge race at Maryhill where he had set the record the year before.   There was to be no repeat: Ron MacDonald of Monklands won in a new record followed by Lachie Stewart, Jim Brown and Norman finished a good close-up fourth.    In the Games themselves, he was competing up a distance or two from the 1500m that he had contested in Edinburgh in 1986.  In the 10000m at the start of the Games he was third Scot behind Ian Stewart and Lachie Stewart and eleventh finisher in 30:25.8.   In the 5000m he was ninth in his Heat in 14:40.64.      Norman set two personal bests later in the year when running in the World Student Games in Moscow where he was clocked at 13:47.02 for the 5000m but he surprised many when he took second (beaten by a stride length) in the 10000m where he was replacing world record holder David Bedford of England.   Norman was racing the distance for only the second time in his life but nevertheless recorded 28:40.99 – only 0.2 seconds behind the winner, Dane Korica of Yugoslavia.   This probably encouraged the Scottish selectors to select him for the event in Christchurch the following year.

January 1974 was Christchurch Commonwealth Games time and Norman was again in action.   he had been selected for the 5000m and the 10000m.   The latter was the first of the track finals and his team mates were Ian Stewart and Lachie Stewart and all the Scots were disappointed with their time.   Ian Stewart was sixth in 28:17.2, Lachie Stewart (probably suffering the after effects of being flag-nearer for the Scottish team – not a practice that would be followed today with the two events so close together) a was tenth in 29:22.2 and Norman was fifteenth in 30:25.8.   The 10000m/5000m double is really an impossible burden to lay on the shoulders of any athlete (particularly after doing the same double in Moscow less than five months earlier and Norman had a poor run in the 5000m with 14:40.62 in his Heat of the event.   Even iron-man Ian Stewart, after qualifying for the final could only manage fifth in 13:40.32 against his best of 13:22.85 which, truth to be told, would have placed him third behind Brendan Foster in second and Ben Jipcho in first..

It was in November 1974 that Ron Marshall disclosed to the world at large that Norman was leaving Scotland to settle in New Zealand.   His report on the Glasgow University Road Race  was headlined “SCOTS ATHLETICS TO LOSE MORRISON”and read: “Norman Morrison arrived at the Westerlands Pavilion in Glasgow on Saturday for Glasgow University’s Open Road Race.   Like the diligent person he is he was carrying the trophy he won last year all polished up for presentation to the new winner.   Precisely 25 minutes 21 seconds after the field of about 200 launched itself into the driving wind and rain, Morrison sailed over the finishing line at Westerlands nearly half a minute ahead of his nearest challenger, Colin Martin of Dumbarton AAC.   It was one of the season’s easiest victories and the trophy returns to the Morrison Mantelpiece, not for a year but, as I learned on Saturday, for a couple of months.   On January 20th Morrison , a 25 year old school teacher and one of our few four minute milers, leaves for Auckland, New Zealand to take up a new teaching post, a move that no doubt puts more money in his pocket and sunshine on his face, but one that leaves Scottish athletics and cross-country poorer for his absence.

On the track he has represented Scotland in the last two Commonwealth Games, in the 1500m and 1000.   Like so many competitors from Britain he was greatly impressed with what he saw in the Christchurch Games, of the people and the country itself.   Auckland, the base of Gordon Pirie the former world record holder, has an even better climate.   Morrison’s other track achievement of merit was taking second place in the World Student Games in Moscow last year.   In cross-country, Morrison ran in the International championships in 1970, 1971 and 1973, on the last occasion winning the Walter Lawn Memorial Trophy awarded to the leading Scot in the race.  

Saturday’s five mile circuit round the districts of Temple and Kelvindale bore no relation to any of these headier locations, but it did offer to us one of the few remaining chances to watch the style that has made him so easy to distinguish in packed fields, a sort of flowing lean forward, high heel kick behind, his face showing no sign of any strain.   After only a few hundred yards he broke clear and never looked anything like a winner.   David McMeekin tried hard to book the runner-up position but he confessed that the wind and inclines near the end, finished him, pushing him down to sixth place.”

On 23rd November Norman gave another display of fine running when he led at the end of the first stage of the first ever Scottish National Four Man Relay Championship only to see the team finish fourth.   On 7th December he was tenth in the International cross-country fixture at Stirling University and a member of the winning team.   At New Year he was part of a Scottish team which went to Madrid – and won – just before contesting the Nigel Barge with Jim Dingwall and finishing only one second down.  And then off to New Zealand for good just two weeks later.

I asked Norman about his athletics in New Zealand after he emigrated.   “I ran a bit of athletics and cross-country enjoying road relays.   I had the pleasure of running with legends like John Davies, Dick Quax, Bill Baillie, Barry Magee, Arthur Lydiard, Gordon Pirie and even young Anne Audain and Allison Roe who both went on to great things.   But a bad knee stopped me doing big mileage and I took up golf instead and more recently bowls.   I have two children who were both involved in sport and are now raising their own families (two grandchildren).  

I have always remembered the trips I had with Shettleston Harriers and Alex Naylor so I have tried to do similar trips with young runners here, first at my school and more recently at National Level.   I taught Mathematics in several Auckland schools and got involved in coaching my school teams and later with administration.   I am currently the Treasurer of the NZSSAA, an organisation that runs Schools Athletics and Cross-Country in New Zealand and have taken teams from New Zealand to the World Schools Cross-Country Championships.   The most recent was to Malta in March 2012.   I have wondered why Scotland doesn’t send a team?  

I have word that he is very friendly with that other Scot, Mike Ryan.   Mike was a member of Manurewa Harriers when Norman joined after leaving Tokoroa more than 25 years ago.   He taught in Mt Albert College where Mike’s daughter also taught and they met quite frequently at cross-country events.   Mike’s sister and her husband were at Norman’s house-warming as he  and Norman are members of the same bowling club at Takapuna.   It’s a small world, and good that the Scots are, as usual, sticking together!

Back to The Milers

   It does however show how alike they were and stories abound of their swapping places without anyone else being any the wiser.   Hugh Barrow was first to tell me that they swapped boy-friends and the boys didn’t know they’d been tricked.   Doug Gillon in an article in The Herald in December 2006 tells of the time that when they were at college in the States, Christine once did an exam for her sister.   I quote part of the article: “Chris ran the latter of two Commonwealth Games in 1986.   She had an Achilles injury then, but it was not hers, it was Evelyn’s.   By then she’d retired and had undergone Achilles tendon surgery on a day Christine was racing in Cork.   ‘I didn’t even know she was having the surgery, but when I got back to the hotel, my own Achilles was aching.’    They often shop in cities hundreds of miles apart on the same day and return with identical items.   ‘We’ve done that for years, but recently even sent each other identical Christmas gifts: some unusual gardening stuff,’ said Chris.”   and as athletes they would have been outstanding in any era.   Let’s have a look at some statistics first.

They are in a total of seven all-time ranking lists at GB level and eight at Scottish level between the ages of Under 15 and Senior; they have both run in two Commonwealth Games and Christine has run in the Olympics; in 1986 Christine broke the Scottish 1000 metres record that had been held for the previous eight years by Evelyn; both have run for Scotland and for Great Britain.   With brother David also a record-breaker and GB internationalist, they are almost certainly the most prodigious athletics family in Scotland.    Ian, Peter and Mary Stewart are also GB internationalists:  Mary first ran for Scotland at the age of 14 at Grangemouth over 800m.  She then ran in the international world cross for Scotland as a senior from the age of 16 and every year until 1978.   Fourth at the age of 17 fScotland at the New Zealand Commonwealth games and only moved to run for England in 1978.  Christine and Evelyn were good friends and team mates for several years.   Peter ran for England at one point.   Where did it start for Christine and Evelyn?

Christine (32) in the WAAA 800m

Born on 1st December 1956 they came into athletics, as Christine says, “When I was 12 years old after winning the school sports.”   At that stage they did “a bit of everything from 100 to 800 with a bit of long jumping thrown in.”   They joined Maryhill Ladies AC when they were 13 years old and that was where they were united with coach Jimmy Campbell.   In 1971 as 14 year olds, they had personal best times of 2:15.9 for 800 by Evelyn at Wolverhampton, and 2:17.3 by Christine at Grangemouth which ranked them second and third in Scotland behind the aforementioned Mary Stewart who played with the idea of a Scottish international career for a few years before nailing her colours firmly to the English mast.   They competed in the Scottish Schools Championships and consistently won the 400m or 800 in their age group.   Christine’s best as an Under 17 for 800m was 2:07.83 when finishing third in the international against Hungary in August 1973.   By the end of 1973 as Under 17’s, Evelyn was third in the 400m rankings with 54.6 and eight in the 800 with 2:09.7 behind Christine’s 2:07.83 already mentioned.

In 1974 Evelyn won the West District and the East v West 800m in times of 2:19.1 and 2:15.4 although in the ranking lists that year Christine was third quickest with 2:07.8 while Evelyn had tenth with her 2:14.4.   The top two runners were Anglos  Rosemary Wright and Margaret Coomber who had the top 20 times by a Scot between them, so Christine was really the fastest home-based Scot.   While Evelyn won the medals at 800, Christine was doing well at 400 with first in the West Championship and third in the East v West in 59.0 and 58.0.   The highlight for Evelyn however was the Christchurch Commonwealth Games at the start of the year.   She ran in the 800m, qualified for the Final but was unplaced.   She also ran in the 400 where she was sixth in the second semi-final in 55.66.   She then ran in the 4 x 400 metres team which finished fourth in the Final – “the closest I ever came to a medal.”   The team of Margaret Coomber, Evelyn, Rosemary Wright and Helen Golden ran 3:35.2.

Evelyn had a wonderful year: with more appearances over a wide range of distances in the ranking lists for 1974:

100m:   12.7 for 33rd;     200m:   25.5 for 19th;      400m: 55.0 for 2nd:      800m:  2:14.4 for 10th;     1500m:   4:45.1 for 13th;     3000m 11:42.9 for 22nd.

Christine was however eleventh in the 400m with 57.2 and third in the 800m   The compilers of the Yearbook had this to say: ‘First year Senior Christine McMeekin had a quiet season but came through towards the end of the year to equal her best of 2:07.8when placing second in the Junior International against West Germany.’    As an Under 20, Christine’s best 800 2:03.53 when fifth in the match against Russia in August 1975.   And it was at the U20 stage that their careers really started to take off.

 In the interview that Christine gave to ‘Athletics Weekly’ in late 1975, she listed her personal bests as: 200m – 25.8; 400m – 55.8 (1973); 800 – 2:03.5 (1975).   She had been WAAA Intermediate Indoor 400m Champion in 1972, UK Senior International since 1975, and went on to say:

“Most pleasing performance was getting below the Olympic qualifying mark in the UK v USSR match this year.   Greatest disappointment: ‘Not running well in the WAAA Championships 800m Final this year’.  Target for 1976 is to make the Olympic team for Montreal.    All-time goal is one day to receive a gold medal in the Olympic Games.   Intends competing ‘until I don’t enjoy it any more.’   On training : trains six days a week in winter and four or five in summer.   Trains during the day-time in winter for two hours per session, and for the same period in the evening in summer.   Usually trains around the grounds of the PE College – ‘which are good’ –  and also at Meadowbank.   Feels that coaching has been very important as without Jimmy Campbell’s coaching ‘I would never have got so far or enjoyed the sport so much.’   Only sees coach once a week (at weekends) since starting college.   Training she most dislikes is ‘doing long runs’.

Training cycle:   ‘I finish athletics in late September and then take a month’s rest.   During November, December and January (13 weeks) I train six sessions a week doing mainly long runs, interval training and general strength gain work withsome   weight training.   In February the long runs are reduced but the speed of the runs are stepped up.   ‘Interval training’ is gradually changed to ‘speed endurance’ runs.   Weight training is changed to circuit type work at about 30% – 50% of maximum.   Hill running is gradually changed to hill sprinting and speed running is started.   In May, June and July concentration is aimed at competition and preparation for important races such as the WAAA Championships.

Typical Week’s Training in Winter:

Sunday (am) Weight Training; (pm) Long run or hills;   Monday: Warm-up, followed by 20 x 200m fast-slows, 200 metres jog recovery;   Tuesday: Long run;   Wednesday: Weight training followed by 8 – 10 x 300m, 100m jog recovery;   Thursday: Long run;   Friday:   Rest;   Saturday: Cross Country race.

Typical Week’s Training in Summer:

Sunday:   Warm-up followed by2 x 600 in 95 (approx) with 3 minutes recovery or hill sprints;   Monday: Warm-up followed by running drills; 4 x 300m;   Tuesday: Gentle run;   Wednesday: 6 – 8 x 200m, walk recovery and flat out 4 x 80m;   Thursday: 6 x 150m on grass;   Friday: Rest;   Saturday: Competition.  

At that point she said that present training differed from last year in that she was trying to add more weight training sessions.   She liked two days rest before major competition and liked to compete most weekends during the summer.

In 1976, Christine qualified for the big one – the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where she raced in 800.    She is quoted by Doug Gillon as saying, “I was knocked over by a big Russian.   Though I got up and set a personal best, I didn’t reach the final.”   she recalls.

David and Evelyn

Up to 1976, the girls had run in the Scottish Women’s Cross-Country Championships in every age group from Under 15 to Senior.   In 1971 Christine was second as a Junior leading the team to third place.   As Inters (Under 17) in 1972, Christine was fourth in 18:05 while Evelyn was seventh in 18:43 and again the team was third.   As Seniors in 1975, Christine was seventh in 24:18 with Evelyn thirteenth in 25:14 and this time the team was first.   1976 however was the last year that they featured in the Scottish Cross-Country Championships and Evelyn was sixth in 23:09.   The track careers were obviously taking precedence at this point.

Rankings at the end of 1977 had Christine tenth in the 400m with 57.0 seconds and in the 800m she was ranked first with her best time of 2:03.5 and in fact had the top seven times in Scotland (and eight of the top nine!) with Evelyn tenth on 2:15.      In the Scottish records at the end of 1977, Christine held the Scottish Native record with 2:05.5 (which she had recorded twice, at Meadowbank in August 1976 and again at Grangemouth in August 1977) and as far as championship wins were concerned, she won the SWAAA 800m in 2:05.7.   In the West 1500m, Christine was second to Jean Duncan with a time of 4:43.

 Right at the start of 1978  in the Commonwealth Games Evelyn won her first round heat in 2:04.1 and also won the semi-final in 2:04.99 but after leading into the last 200m of the Final finished sixth in 2:04.10.   Christine was fourth in the 1500m in 4:12.43, having won her Heat in 4:16.99.   The Games were followed by a good summer.   By the end of the year the Yearbook had Christine leading the 800m  rankings with 2:01.2 and then Evelyn taking places two to seven inclusive with a best of 2:02.6 which, having been run at Meadowbank, was a Scottish Native Record..   In the 1500m, Christine had the first three times (4:12.4 the best), plus fifth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth – only Margaret Coomber filled any of the remaining 12 top times.   In the 400 metres, they were ninth and tenth with Christine recording 56.0 and Evelyn 56.3.   That summer they each had an International appearance – Evelyn ran in the 800 metres against Greece in Athens where she was first in 2:04.24 and Christine ran in the 1500m against Norway in Latvik where she was second in 4:16.8 with the other Scot, Margaret Coomber third in 4:18.    Following  the Games in 1978, they both attended Iowa State University where Evelyn only stayed for a year because of injuries but Christine had a second year during which she had some great successes.

1979 was a very interesting for both women.   Evelyn had two representative appearances on 7th July she was third in the 800m in the Scotland v Norway v Greece at Grangemouth in 208.1, and then just two weeks later (27th July) third in exactly the same time in the Scotland v Wales v Israel in Cwmbran.   Her season’s best however was when she dead-heated with list topper Cherry Hanson (ESH) in 2:04.2 on 11th August at Birmingham.   Evelyn was with that time second in the season’s list for 800m behind Cherry who had a best for the year of 2:02.3.   Evelyn was also third in the 1500m rankings with 4:20.8 at Grangemouth on 25th August.   Christine meanwhile had set a Native record of 4:17.2 for 1500m at Grangemouth on 18th August.   This placed her second in the 1979 rankings  with a time of 4:16,6 in Birmingham on 12th August when defeating Hanson (4:17.3).   This however had her behind Cherry Hanson  whose best of the summer was 4:12.5.     Neither twin seems to have competed in either the District Championships or even in the SWAAA event.

If we separate out the results of the Scottish (SWAAA) 800m championships for the four year period between 1975 and 1978 we get: 1975: 1st Christine – 2:06.8; 1976: 1st  Evelyn – 2:12.0; 1977: 1st   Christine 2:05.7 and 1978 1st  Evelyn 2:04.3.

In 1981 Christine set a wide range of marks when they were at College in the United States  and back at home new names were appearing on the results lists, names like Lynch, Murray and Everett with MacDougall, McQueen and Lightfoot coming up the age groups.   Christine did very well in America but there was not a single mark posted by Evelyn that made the ranking lists over here.   Topping the rankings for 1000 yards with 2:30.3 on 17th January Christine set a Scottish record that would last,  and a week later also in Madison, Wisconsin, she ran 2:07.9 indoors to take fourth place in the year-end lists.  In February she was third in the Mile in Champaign, Illinois, with 4:45.71 which placed her third in the Yearbook.   And in the 1500m her 4:30.4 on 17th April in Lawrence, Kansas, ranked her third in Scotland.   There were no international vests for the twins or Scottish Championships that year but it certainly widened their athletics experience.       If we look at where they were in the Scottish All Time lists after being Senior athletes for only six years, then we see that they are ranked second (Christine, 2:01.2) and fifth (Evelyn 2:02.6) for the 800m, second (Christine 4:12.43) and sixth (Evelyn 4:20.8) in the 1500m and Christine was fourth in the 3000m in 9:20 which she ran in March 1980.   Evelyn was married in 1981 and retired from the sport in 1983 – she says that it just evolved – there was a lot of Achilles tendon trouble and the decision was taken for her.

Evelyn was again absent from the ratings and championships in 1982.   Christine – by the end of 1982 – had two Scottish Records.   She had the Scottish Native 1000m with 2:37.34 which she did at Crystal Palace on 30th June 1982, just two days after setting the Native and National records for the Mile at Grangemouth.   The time was 4:40.65 and the date was 28th August 1982!   Three days, three records.   Although neither qualified for the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane that year Christine did run for Scotland in Maribor Yugoslavia on 24th July where she was third in the 1500m in 4:14.87.   She also won the silver medal in the SWAAA 1500m in a burn-up at the finish to be second in 4:16.7 to Lynne MacDougall’s 4:16.2.   By the end of the year she was in three ranking lists – first in the 1500m with 4:14.87 and she also ran 4:16.9 at Grangemouth on 10th July.   She was also tops in the Mile with her time of 4:40.65 at Meadowbank on 28th August.   Finally she was third in the 800m with her best time of 2:03.14 at Nottingham on 7th July and also had a time of 2:04.75 at Crystal Palace on 30th July.

In August 1988 Evelyn was in a dreadful car accident in which both legs were broken and then there were months of rehabilitation work to be endured.   “The annoying thing was that I had started to train and compete again and was pretty fit and thought I might have an outside chance of making the 1990 Commonwealth Games team.”    Scotland could maybe have done with her services in 1990 and to lose them after she had come through the Achilles injury must have been a real hammer blow.

Where it started: Christine and Evelyn in School colours after competing against Fiona McQueen and Pat O’Neil, Victoria Park, in 1971

David McMeekin was one of the finest 800 metre runners I personally have ever seen.   He is perhaps not as well known as he should be simply because he is of the generation immediately before the Clement/Robson/Williamson triumvirate that dominated the 1500 metres and the mile with such distinction.   He was fast over the short distances, had enough pace for top class 800 metres running and strength enough for a sub-four mile and was also an outstanding cross-country runner.   His ability, were it to be reproduced by any runner in the 21st century would shame many of the specialists around.    Add to that a friendly. good-humoured and unassuming manner and you have a wonderful role-model for any aspiring athlete.    What follows has been written by Colin Youngson who ran with Dave in Victoria Park AAC for a short time, with input from Frank Clement, one of his great rivals and friends and Alastair Johnston a Victoria Park club-mate.

“In his 1982 centenary history of the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association, John Keddie wrote the following: ‘David James McMeekin (Victoria Park AAC) was born in Glasgow on 10th February, 1953.   He was an excellent Junior, finishing third in the AAA’s Junior 800 metres in 1971.   he was to develop into a truly international class 800 metres runner.   Only once SAAA title holder (in 1972 in 1:53.3), McMeekin had a splendid record in the AAA’s event in which he was a finalist four times: in 1972. 1974. 1975 and 1976.   His best placing was third (1:48.3) in 1976 behind two redoubtable characters (and future Olympic Gold Medallists) in Steve Ovett and John Walker (NZ).   His fastest 800m was in Paris on 6th June 1974 when he recorded 1:46.8 in second place behind  the great South African Danie Malan.   The previous year at Leipzig on 1st July 1973 he had at last improved Jim Paterson’s 1957 Scottish record with 1:47.4.’

Although that is an accurate summary of Dave’s best 800m running, there is a great deal more to say about him as an athlete.   For example, he was a very fast miler, as well as having a very good record in cross-country and the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay.   This profile will deal with cross-country first, then the E-G, and finally track.   From his earliest days in Victoria Park AAC, right up to the present day, club-mates usually refer to him as ‘Davie’ , English track athletes seem to prefer ‘Dave’.   His family produced three talented Commonwealth Games representatives.    Davie’s twin sisters Christine and Evelyn (born 1st December 1956)  ran very well over 800 and 1500 metres.

Davie McMeekin’s first entry in the record books may well have been when he won the 1968 Scottish Schoolboys Cross Country Championship.   In the 1968 National Under-15 Cross-Country Championships, however, he finished second to John McGill who was a major rival on the track as well.   In 1969 Victoria Park won the team event.   Davie had previously won the Midland District Youth Cross-Country.   When he moved up to the Under 17 age bracket in 1970, Davie finished fifth and his team won bronze medals.  In 1971 he finished seventh.   In 1972 he was fourth in the Junior race behind Jim Brown, Paul Bannon and Ron McDonald.

I was a member of Victoria Park from 1971 to 1973.   Winter season club runs were on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but Davie was coached by Alex Naylor and did his training elsewhere.    In the longer road events like the Allan Scally or the Glasgow University 5, I might have gained a few seconds on Davie by late 1971, but he was in a different class as a cross-country runner, especially over tricky muddy courses with fences!   These included:   SCCU training at Cleland Estate, Motherwell; the nightmare Dunbartonshire event; the Midland Championships; and most memorably, the VP Club Championships at Milngavie.

Christine, David and Evelyn

James L Logan was our skilful and enthusiastic scribe who provided welcome publicity in the ‘Bearsden and Milngavie Herald’ and in the VPAAC Club Magazine.   In October 1971 he produced a brief history of cross-country running from Milngavie, which started with the Clydesdale Harriers in 1885.   From the 1930’s Victoria Park raced over similar courses.   ‘The present championship trail from Milngavie Community Centre begins around the spot where Clydesdale hares laid their false paper trails and follows the same route, skirting Clober Golf Course, crossing the Craigton Burn, up over Laigh Park to the heights and howes of Hilton Park and down to the Allander.   Then up the lower slopes of Carbeth Hill where the trail swings round and meanders among the Hilton Parkl Hills before retracing the first two miles – a traditional cross country test, across rugged terrain, over fences gates dykes and burns, a contrast to the manicured courses encountered in many open and international events nowadays.’    As a road fairy, I hated these events; but Davie was calm, gymnastic and showed impressive stamina.    Pat Maclagan had been club champion for several years, but in February 1972 he only managed to beat Davie by six seconds with me third, a further 30 seconds behind.    In February 1973, however, Davie strode away to an easy victory, with me a poor second and Pat fourth.   Although Davie was only officially Junior champion, I knew how soundly I had been defeated and had no hesitation in refusing to accept the Senior trophy.

Previously, between late September and November 1972, Davie had been a key member in a series of successful Victoria Park cross-country and road relay teams.   With the assistance of Hugh Barrow, Pat Maclagan and Innis Mitchell we had won the Edinburgh Southern Road Relay at Fernieside, the Dunbartonshire cross country relay and, best of all, the Midland District Cross Country relay.   I still have the SCCU plaque.   1973 was Davie’s last year as a Junior and Victoria Park was second to Motherwell in the National.   The top six were extremely classy: Jim Brown, Lawrie Spence, Lawrie Reilly, Ron McDonald, Davie McMeekin and Frank Clement!    Following this, Davie was selected for the IAAF World Junior Championship.   This took place at the Hippodrome de Waregem outside Ghent in Belgium.   The Scottish team ran extremely well: Jim Brown won with his Monkland team-mate Ron McDonald 14th, Davie McMeekin 17th and Lawrie Spence 27th.

Although his main focus was of course track, Davie continued to run well in the Senior National Cross-Country Championship.   In 1975 Victoria Park won the Midland District CC team award.   In the National Davie came in 14th (1975), 16th (1976) and 12th (1977).   He even supported his team in this event as late as 1981.   He was twice first finisher for Victoria Park.

The Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay was very important to Victoria Park (although some would argue that the TRIAL for the McAndrew Relay and that race itself took precedence)   Amazingly, David McMeekin ran SEVENTEEN  E-G’s in a row (1970 – 1986)!   He attempted every stage except the last one.   His road-running team-mate Alastair Johnston wrote:’ To me the great thing about David was that, apart from being respectful of older distance men (!), he was really versatile, combining a UK International middle distance track career with an extremely high Scottish standard road and cross country career   .He was a passionate supporter of VPAAC  and contributed much to its success in team events.’

David made an immediate impact in the E-G in 1970 at only 17 years of age!   On Stage 7 he was third fastest, pulling up 44 seconds on Edinburgh Athletic Club, setting up George Meredith to secure third place medals for Victoria Park.   In 1971 Davie ran brilliantly to be fastest on Stage 3 and move into the lead.   Sadly, after a terrific battle, his club finished a close second to the great Shettleston team.   In 1972 on Stage 5 Davie was second fastest to Dick Wedlock, a former National Crsoss-Country Champion.   In 1973 and ’74, Davie was third fastest on Stage 4.   A second silver medal was won by VP in 1978 and a second bronze in 1980.   In addition Davie’s club was fourth no less than six times.   This consistency was partly due to his great team spirit, even when he had more or less retired from the track.

West District 1500m: David (19) Ian Scales (12), Lawrie Spence (16), Jim Brown (3)

Scottish Athletics Yearbooks provide some interesting statistics and comments on Davie McMeekin’s progress as a middle distance runner.   In 1969 as a Youth (Under 17) he won the Scottish Schools 800, title but was second to John McGill in the SAAA Championships.   Nevertheless Davie topped the list with his 1:56.3 for fourth in the AAA event at Crystal Palace that August.

In 1970 as a Junior (Under 20) he won both the Scottish Schools and the SAAA Championships, improving to 1:52.5 at Leicester in late September.   The Yearbook noted ‘With wins in the two major title races in Scotland, a second in the Schools International and third placings in the AAA Junior final and the GB (Junior) match v West Germany, Dave McMeekin was far and away our most successful junior  competitor at this distance.’   In addition he won the West District 1500m and at Meadowbank improved his personal best to 3:54.3.

In 1971, Davie’s success continued.   He repeated his Scottish Schools and SAAA double; retained his West District 1500m title and produced new best times of 1:51.5   and 3:53.5.   He also won the Schools International 800m and was third in the AAA Junior Final.   The VPAAC magazine briefly mentions that he ran for Scotland v the RAF, winning the 1500m; and also represented Scotland v Northern Ireland finishing second in the 800m.   Was this a defeat by Paul Lawther, I wonder, who much later wrote in an interview that: ‘Probably the best training stint  ever did was when I went to Gibraltar for a week with the likes of Seb Coe, Ian Stewart, Brendan Foster, Dave McMeekin and others.   The training was intense, to say the least!’   Davie certainly knew some great athletes.   Davie himself has given an insight into his training cycle which consisted of: strength training; strength endurance; speed endurance and speed.

• Winter would concentrate on strength: long slow distance with a couple of track sessions a week to keep up speed; and cross country or road races to keep a competitive edge.
• Around January the strength endurance phase would start, which included at least three or four tough hill sessions a week, visits to the sand dunes at Gullane – or in Glasgow, Bellahouston Park or Cleveden Hill or the Clyde Tunnel.   This was a tough period!
• March would see the emphasis moving to the track, with short recovery speed endurance sessions.
• As the competitive season developed, there would be fewer speed endurance sessions and more speed sessions with longer recovery.   All track work was done at a good pace.   eg 8 x 300 in 39/41 seconds with 2-3 minutes recovery.

The next yearbook states that  ‘David McMeekin, still a Junior under European rules although not in Scotland, dominated the 800m at Senior level in 1972.   His performances in winning his Heat in the AAA Championships and then coming sixth in the Final with another fast run (1:49.0), deserve the highest praise.   Given some international competition he should go even faster in 1973 and book his place to New Zealand for the Commonwealth Games.’    Davie also won races at Birmingham and in Sweden; and on 24th June, 1972 he was victorious in the Senior SAAA 800m Championships.   Once again he won the West District 1500m title as well as recording a winning 3:52.6 at Meadowbank in July.   Thereafter Davie’s stamina improved  further, as is clear from his cross-country and road relay performances in late 1972 and early 1973).   This was surely part of the build up for a very important athletics season.   Then came the time for speed.   In May 1973 he reduced his 400m time to 49.8.   The 1500 was ignored; the focus was firmly on 800m.   The yearbook is full of praise: ‘Following his great 1972 season, David McMeekin went even better in 1973.   After a fast run behind Danie Malan in June (1:47.4 in Leipzig), he finally beat Jim Paterson’s Scottish National Record.   This fine record, however, lasted barely sixteen days, as Frank Clement produced an astonishing 1:46.0 in an international meeting in Athens.’

Davie was undismayed however.   He ran well in the heat and final of a Moscow international and was selected to compete for Scotland in the January 1974 Commonwealth Games.   In the pre-Games meetings in New Zealand he showed strength in achieving a pb for 1500m (3:48.5).   Then he got through his Commonwealth 800m heat to qualify for the semi-final where he was narrowly squeezed out of fifth place (1:48.12) defeating two of the three English representatives.   The yearbook, which also deals with the summer 1974 season, states: ‘Dave McMeekin tops the list with a fine personal best of 1:46.8 set in Paris behind Danie Malan of South Africa.   He backed up this breakthrough with many good runs in the 1:47.0 – 1:48.0 range and gained selection for both the Commonwealth Games and the European Games representing Great Britain.   Though not reaching the Finals on either occasion, he gained much valuable racing experience at the highest level.’   Davie had that season’s top six Scottish 800m marks and also raced in Stockholm, Warsaw and Rome.   He produced a very fine personal best 1500m time of 3:43.1 (winning at Warley) in one of his few serious attempts at this distance..

The top 14 Scottish 800 metre times in 1974

It proved impossible for Davie to do better at 800m, although in 1975 he still ended up with the top three Scottish marks including 1:47.6 for sixth in the final of the AAA at Crystal Palace that autumn.   He won a 1500m at Gateshead in 3:48.0; but the really magic moment of the season was when Davie became a four minute miler with 3:59.7 in a fast race at Stretford on 30th August, Just behind Frank Clement but in front of Ron McDonald.   To break the barrier must have been extra satisfying since Davie had run miles in 4:01.9 and 4:02.3 shortly before the breakthrough.

His great rival Frank Clement writes that Davie was certainly the man to beat as a junior.   Frank thinks that they had their first GB Senior International together in East Germany along with David Moorcroft.   Frank was reserve but Davie was in the 800m.   Frank notes that Davie tended to play down his training regime.   He didn’t go out for a run – it was always ‘a jog’, according to him.   Given his solid road running and cross country pedigree, Frank considers that Davie’s mile times could have been much faster if he had concentrated on this event and sought out races abroad.   Frank adds, ‘But I’m really glad that he left this distance to me!’

I do not have a yearbook for the 1976 season, but John Keddie has mentioned Davie’s fine bronze medal in the AAA 800m, and I know that he improved his mile best time to an impressive 3:58.05.   However Davie must have been very disappointed not to have been selected for the Montreal Olympic 800m.   After running 1:45.76 in Zurich, Frank Clement was picked to accompany Steve Ovett.   Frank was eighth in the 800m semi-final in Montreal, although he went on to finish a marvellous fifth in his main event, the 1500.   I believe that Davie McMeekin should have been chosen for the Olympic 800m.

After that, injuries disrupted Davie’s track performances.   He does not appear on the 1977 lists and was reduced to 1:52.0 in 1978.    After that it seems that only the Edinburgh to Glasgow could motivate him properly!   Yet what a marvellous career he enjoyed.   He should be celebrated as one of the finest Scottish athletes of his era.”

David with sister Evelyn

David was certainly one of our very best 800 metres runners and Frank was almost certainly 100% correct when he says that David could have been even better at the longer distance than he was.   However he specialised in the 800 metres and travelled the world, representing Scotland doing it well.   I have already mentioned his manner and approachability – we couldn’t have had a better ambassador.

Jim Mclatchie (Number 7 in the Ayr Seaforth vest) trailing Mike Beresford with Bert McKay behind wearing number 2.

Jim McLatchie is not a name that many in Scotland in the twenty first century are familiar with and yet he has many claims to fame that are all worthy of respect: a first class track career, in the main as a miler, one of the first Scots ever to go on an athletics scholarship to the United States, and coach to a whole host of Olympic, World Championship and other athletes as well as many record breakers.    Respected as a coach the world over but almost unknown in Scotland!   Always ‘Big Jim’ because he was literally head and shoulders above anyone else on the start line, he competed in the late 50’s and 60’s against such as Hugh Barrow, Kenny Ballantyne, Bert McKay, Ian McCafferty.       We can begin by hearing from Jim himself and looking at his answers to the questionnaire.

Name:   James (Jim) McLatchie

Club:    Ayr Seaforth/Luton United Harriers

Date of Birth:   July 11th, 1941

Occupation:   Retired – 35 years in the computer industry

Personal Bests:   800m – 1:50.2                    1500m:   3:48               Mile: 4:07

How did you get involved in the sport?   Played soccer in schools (International Trials).   In athletics, started off in the High Jump but there were no facilities.   Everywhere I went I seemed to be running.   My grandparents lived three miles from my village, so I would just go off and visit.   I started out racing 880y and then the Mile.   I enjoyed cross-country and managed to win most of the races I ran in as a Junior including the Scottish Championships.

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on either your attitude to the sport or individual performances?   Ted Hayden, University of Chicago) showed me how to be involved as a competitor, coach and Meet Director.   I took these attitudes and started a club when I moved to Houston, Texas.   I managed to develop several athletes who competed in the Olympics and World Championships; directed the USA Cross-Country Championships twice; women’s cross-country trials and the Masters Track & Field Championships.

What exactly did you get out of the sport?   The sport got me out of the coal mines – gave me an opportunity to travel and see the world.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?   I enjoyed the old days – everyone worked for a living – squeezed their training in whenever possible – never avoided one another.   Today most of the runners are more interested in what monetary rewards are available.   As coach of several USA teams, a few athletes refused to represent their country because they wanted more than $10 per diem and a uniform.

What do you consider to be your best ever performance?   In 1963 in Houston, Texas.   I won the Mile in the “Meet of Champions” beating Jim Ryun who was getting ready to puke as we neared the finish line.   Kept thinking, “Cannot have that bugger puking on me” which seemed to spur me on.   The winning time was 4:07 in 90 degree Heat.

What ambitions did you have that remain unfulfilled?   It’s hard to believe that coming from a family of eight (5 boys, three girls) and growing up in a one room house with no electricity or running water that I managed to achieve what I did.   Everyone’s dream of course is the Olympics – I didn’t make it, but the consolation was great.   I travelled the world, met some interesting people, and an education that money can’t buy.

What did you do apart from running to relax?   I like to watch horse racing.   I write some computer programmes to help me pick a winner – hardly ever happens as I am not in the know!   I can bet on-line and watch races from all over – even Ayr.

What did running bring you that you would have wanted not to miss?   All the characters that the sport produces.   I officiate Track & Field meets – and have been the head judge for the shot, discus and hammer.   When you are running round a track, sometimes you forget that there are other athletes competing in what might seem an alien event.

Can you give some details of your training?   At present – nothing.   In the old days running on grass as much as possible.   Used to do a lot of my lunchtime running on Haggs Castle Golf Course in Pollokshields (I worked for the railway).   I believe that when I was younger I did too much speed workouts with not enough rest between the hard sessions.   Like most of that generation, training was a ‘hit or miss’ situation.   Conditions in Scotland were rough – snow, sleet, rain and heavy winds.   Texas – hot, humid and windy.   Not the ideal set-ups to run fast.

Jim came from Muirkirk in Ayrshire and the obvious question is how does someone from such a remote area train to a standard where he makes the Scottish team?   His own response to the question was “No track – did zig zags on the football field.   Also ran quarter mile straights on the railway line.   Line ran east/west and I used to run 15-20 seconds slower going west (windy as hell).   Scottish National Coach back then was an Englishman.   He used to write me some workouts like 10 x 440 with one minute rest.   I would mail him my times and he would tell me my pace was all to hell.   I told him he needed to come and see what I was training on as he didn’t believe I was doing 440 along a rail line.   He showed up in the village – couldn’t believe what I had to work with.    I did a lot of zig zag training plus runs up and down a coal bing, runs on the moors.   I only ran on the roads in winter when it got too dark to run up the bings.   Did a lot of weight training and circuit training.”   I asked if he ever went to Ayr to train at Dam Park.   This got the following reply: “Never went to Dam Park to train – took forever on the bus which only ran every hour.   Bus – Strathaven – Glasgow, every four hours.   If I had a race in the Glasgow area, I had to make sure I didn’t miss the bus.   It was an all day excursion some times to get to a Meet.   Training under these conditions made pace judgment obsolete – that’s why in  a lot of scratch races I  I just ran as hard as I could from the gun.   Yet I lost National Junior Mile titles (Ballantyne and Ryan) by waiting too long and trying to catch them over the last 150 – live and learn.   When I moved to Milngavie and trained on a quarter mile track, then I learned a wee bit about pace judgment.”    

Although known mainly as a track man, he competed well on all surfaces and he said above that he enjoyed cross-country running. The best domestic results that I have are when, as an Under 20 runner in 1961 he won both the Senior and Junior titles over the heavy mud of the South Western District Cross Country Championships in the same race.   The next year he won the Scottish Junior Cross Country Championships at Hamilton Race Course from Mike Ryan and Jim Alder.   In the 1966 Commonwealth Games Alder would win the marathon and Ryan would be third.   Ryan also finished third in the notorious Mexico City Olympics in 1968.    I asked Jim why he didn’t run in the International Cross Country Championship that year and he said that he was told he could not run on the senior team and he wasn’t sure of a Junior team was sent.   He received an invitation to run in Belgium but the SCCU would not let him go; they said he was too young.   He did race in Germany but on return to Glasgow he was asked to give back the track suit with which he had been issued, failure to do so would mean that he was never picked for Scotland again.   Rather Draconian but read Lynne MacDougall on the same subject!.   He adds, rather unnecessarily, that the Union was awful back then.    The standard of road and cross country running was high  back then and Jim had lots of good races – eg in the 1963 Nigel Barge Road Race he was second behind Fergus Murray and ahead of Lachie Stewart.   They say big men are not suited to road or cross country but Jim was always a respected contender having beaten all the top men, Lachie Stewart, Fergus Murray, Jim Alder and so on at one time or another.   He deserved a cross-country selection for the international but it never came and his many dark blue vests were all won on the track.

He was a noted competitor on the track too, more than held his own against the top men in the country and picked up several Scottish international vests, but a Scottish title always eluded him although he had second places in behind Ken Ballantyne (1959) and  Mike Ryan (in 1960) – both as a Junior – Graeme Grant and Ian McCafferty.   Jim moved to stay with his aunt in Milngavie, Glasgow, 1962 and just 200 yards along the road from him lived Brian Scobie.   They became good friends, training and racing together and eventually they both became top flight coaches.   In the 1980’s Brian had among his charges the best squad of women distance runners in Britain as well as some male international athletes of high repute.   Brian says he already knew of Jim,  having read about him in the newspapers.   They used to train together at the Maryhill Harriers training track with coach Tom Williamson who also coached some of the country’s top women runners.

Jim’s best times from his first appearance in the Scottish ranking lists were as follows.   The figure in brackets is the Scottish ranking for the year.   In 1959 he ran for Doon and in ’60 and ’61 it was Muirkirk Welfare before he moved to Ayr Seaforth AAC in 1962.

A year or so after arriving in Milngavie, Jim left to go to America on scholarship by boat.   When I asked him about how the scholarship came about he said “I was recruited by a high jumper from Australia – Colin Ridgway.   For me it was tough because I ended up in a place (Beaumont) where the average temperature in the spring was around 90 degrees with 100% humidity.   Us ‘Pale Blue Scotsmen’ have a tough time in the heat.   I ended up coaching myself along with all the middle-distance runners as the coach was a ‘Football’ coach – knew next to nothing about running.   Back then it was tough to get the right information as it took for ever via the postie – no such thing as the internet – and who had a phone back in those days?   It hit the fan when I announced I was heading to the States – Dunky Wright had me on TV for an interview – all of a sudden I was offered jobs to stay in Scotland.   I told them it was too late as I had already purchased my ticket.   Ah well, it was a great experience fighting off the mosquitoes.”   The main reason for going on scholarship to America was to train for the 1964 Olympics and it just did not work out for him.   He says, “I was never allowed to recover.   ‘You’re on scholarship and you need to compete.’   Injury reduced me to a hobbling wreck and I packed it in in 1965 and jumped on a boat to France.   I made my way to Luton where I competed for three years.”   I coached Tony Simmons before I returned to the States in 1968.”

Jim (4) in the match v Ireland and Holland in 1962.

 Nevertheless there were some excellent races and some good times posted in 1963.  On 16th March he ran a 9:26.0 Two Miles race in Waco, on 8th April at Beaumont he ran 1:52.7 for the 880 yards (the top time by a home Scot was 1:52.8 by James Steel) and on the 25th May it was 4:07.8 for the Mile (only Hugh Barrow’s 4:07.7 at home was faster).   There is more to running than times, and it is doubtful how much can be read into times recorded in the heat and humidity that he was experiencing.   There s no doubt about his competitive spirit or about some of the scalps that he lifted at this point.   In December, 1963 for instance, he ran in the US Track & Field Federation Cross Country Championship against some of the very best Olympian Tom O’Hara of Loyola University.   The race report was as follows

McLatchie Pushes O’Hara.

Chicago, Nov 28.   The carrot-topped Irishman did it again.   Making only his fourth start of the cross country season, Loyola University’s Tom O’Hara kicked home to win the second annual United States Track and Field Federation’s Cross Country Championship at Washington Park.   Under bright skies and in moderate temperature, O’Hara clocked 30:12 .1 for 10000m on a rather slow course.   Left in O’Hara’s wake were the Scotsman Jim McLatchie, Polish born John Macy, Costa Rican Juan Marin and Australians Geoff Walker and Laurie Elliott.   Macy was on top at three miles in 14:45 but McLatchie took the lead at four in 20:01.   Jeff Fishback had moved up with the leaders in the fourth mile and six runners were within a four second spread of 20:01 – 20:05. 

Macy began to fade a bit in the fifth mile as did Marin, leaving Brown, McLatchie, O’Hara and Fishback in the front-running group.   Macy however wasn’t finished.   Reminiscent of his National AAU six mile against Pete McArdle this year in St Louis, the Houston runner moved  back up to within fifteen yards of the leaders with a half mile to go.   That was O’Hara’s signal.   He stepped on the accelerator and added another national championship to the NCAA title won in 1962.  

1. Tom O’Hara   30:12;   2.   Jim McLatchie   30:17;   3.   Jeff Fishback   30:22;   4.   Doug Brown   30:20;   5.   John Macy   30:22;   6.   Julio Marin   30:36;   7.   Geoff Walker   30:57;   8.   Laurie Elliott   31:04.

Jim comments on that race – O’Hara was a tough nut to crack: I was leading him with 5 yards to go in a 1500m race the following month in New rleans but he snuck by before the tape!   He made the Olympic team that year and broke the World Indoor Mile. Record The photographs below are from the race.

That was the year in which Jim was injured and despite the fact being obvious he was not allowed to rest the injury because the College required him to run.   He came home and ran in the SAAA 880 yards where he finished second to Graeme Grant and they were both chosen to represent Scotland in that event.

Jim’s best times over the years 1963 1965 were as follows.    All were recorded as ‘Ayr Seaforth’ or ‘Lamar State’ and races were run on both sides of the Atlantic.

He returned in 1965, joined Luton United Harriers and was an immediate success.   He started 1966 by winning a Luton v Cambridge University race over 7.5 miles prompting the comment from the local paper – “Jim McLatchie, Luton’s new runner, showed his undoubted class by smashing the course record by 30 seconds.   With a time of 37:40 he was well clear of Evans of Cambridge.”   A week later he was fourth in the inter-area match at Keele University and then he was ninth in the North of the Thames race wearing flat shoes.   In the Indoor Championship at Cosford on their eight laps to the mile track, he won the Mile in 4:15.   Four weeks, four races varying between seven and a half cross country and an indoor Mile.   Versatility indeed.   Recorded by the statisticians as ‘Anglo-Scot’ that summer, he was ranked 25th in the 440 yards (51.1), 9th in the 880y with 1:53.0, 8th in the mile (4:08.7) and 14th in the Two Miles (9:05.2).   The Mile time was run in a very competitive SAAA Championships where Jim was second to Ian McCafferty (4:07.5) and one place ahead of Ken Ballantyne (4:09.0)   In mid-July he picked up another Scottish vest when he travelled with a small Scottish team to Reykjavik for a match against Iceland where he won the 1500m and the Steeplechase.   Results for 1967 are harder to come by but the rankings indicate that he ran  4:14.1 for the Mile at Paddington in August and 8:58.0 at Welwyn in May.  In 1968 his only ranked time was 1:55.0 at Welwyn in July.“

1500m, Scotland v Iceland 1966.

His best times in 1966, ’67 and ’68 when he was running for Luton can be summarised as follows:

At Luton he had coached, among others, the talented Tony Simmons before returning to the States.   Jim landed in Chicago where he competed  for the Chicago Track Club and ran in several Distance Medley teams with Rick Wolhuter.  He spent seven years in Chicago, racing on the same team as Wolhuter and travelling to meets with Brian Oldfield, a renowned shot putter.   The indoor track in Chicago was a 220 yard dirt track and he ran a steeplechase indoors in ‘about 9:10’ – that doesn’t tell all of the story however as the water-jump was into the long jump pit!   He also ran a 4:10 mile on that track.   He was starter in several meets and sprinter Wilma Rudolph called him Wyatt Earp – ‘the fastest gun in Chicago!’   He reckoned that the indoor 60 yards race took forever with the ‘no false start’ rule, so he he speeded it up by not holding them too long in the start position.   As a competitor he won several Mile and 1500m races and also raced in some cross-country raceswhere the team finished second a few times to Florida TC (Shorter, Bacheler, Galloway etc).

Leading Rick Wolhuter in a Mile race in 1974

He moved to Houston in 1975 and with Allan Lawrence (who had been third in the 1956 Olympic 10000m) and Len Hilton (who ran in the 5000m at the 1972 Olympics), started a running club called the Houston Harriers which was modelled on the British club system and was very successful.   Outside running he had been working in the computer field.   Houston was to be where Jim McLatchie’s athletic career as official, administrator, organiser but mainly coach, took off in the most spectacular fashion.    Any doubt about his status in the community is removed by the following report when he retired in 2002.

McLATCHIE RUNNING OFF INTO THE SUNSET

They call him tough, rough and crusty – a running coach with a philosophy of ‘my way or the highway’    But when Jim McLatchie shows up at the track with his famous red-covered clipboard containing the day’s workout, runners know they’re getting the best.   Now Jim and his wife, champion runner Carol McLatchie – Houston’s first couple of running – are heading into retirement and moving to Bend, in central Oregon.   McLatchie will leave behind nearly 30 years of coaching success stories and the well-known club he helped to start in 1975, the Houston Harriers.   He has coached some of Houston’s most talented runners for years, runners who continue to dominate the winner’s lists at area races, such as Sean Wade, Jon Warren, Justin Chaston, Joe Flores and Joy Smith to name just a few.  

A champion runner himself, McLatchie knows what it takes to give one’s best and improve on it.   He never recruited runners – they came to him.   And he didn’t take them all.   ‘Don’t come out if you don’t mean to follow the instructions,’ McLatchie said, ‘There was always only one boss – me.   And that’s how it has to be.   Someone has to take control.    I always tell people to tell me what they want to accomplish.   If they can’t tell me that, I’m not interested.   There are enough sheep in this life without me getting any more of them.   If you could come to track and be disciplined in the workouts,  it would help you in your life outside the track.’

His coaching offered a support system –    runners helped each other reach their goals, and the workouts were not based in the star system.   ‘The key to success is, can you build upon each previous workout,’, said McLatchie.   That philosophy helped spur a host of champion runners and a series of titles through the years. 

Carol McLatchie is on sabbatical from running right now, but she continues to hold titles – like the American Female Masters 30K, and was named by Runner’s World as Masters Runner of the year in 1993.   She is in her sixth year as Chair of the USA Track & Field Women’s Long Distance Running Committee.   She met Jim at a track meet and starting training with him in 1979.   They have seen young runners blossom, succeed and become champion Masters.   But their ranks are slow to fill.   ‘There’s no really good young ones coming up,’ says Jim McLatchie.  

In March, Jim will retire from his long time job overseeing systems and programming operations in Information Systems Administration for the City of Houston, the job that paid his bills all these years but an occupation few people knew about.   The coaching he did was never a money maker – it was what he gave back to the sport.   From his early days in Scotland, working in the coal mines at 15, running offered him the freedom nothing else could.  

‘Jim’s an enigma really,’ said Chaston, ‘the only way he viewed running was from a runner’s perspective – that’s what really made Jim click.’    ‘The best thing that ever happened – him leaving town,’ joked Wade, then he stopped laughing. ‘He’s going to be missed, especially by the more serious runners.’   Warren, now men’s head track coach at Rice, said McLatchie had been the single biggest influence on his own coaching career.   ‘Jim’s done a tremendous job with tons of people.   He’ll work with anybody but you have to be able to make a commitment.’

McLatchie will keep in touch with many of his runners,    Email makes it easy to communicate, and ‘the telephone still works,’ he said.   

He’s 60 now and hasn’t raced in five years.   But he was still good enough at 50 to run a 5K in just over 17 minutes.   ‘I’d like to do something for myself – I’d like to do some running and get myself in shape,’ he said.   ‘I know everything I have to do; I just need to apply it to myself.’    Some have suggested that he write a book, and he’s not ruling it out.    But he’s packing the red covered clipboard too in case it’s called into service in Oregon.”

What had inspired this eulogy?   Quite simply he had had success on a large scale and he had a personality that they Texans took to their heart.   He was by now a coach first and foremost – just look at the following tables to illustrate this.   First table is the list of Olympians he has coached.

World Championship Competitors

European Championships

and these are only the major championships  – there are even more in World Masters, PanAm Games, State Champions, etc.   Little wonder that he was interviewed for the post of Scottish coach, a wonder that he was by-passed!  He was a genuine hero for his coaching in Houston.   He hadn’t forgotten his old Scottish friends however.   In the mid 80’s Brian Scobie had a wonderful squad of endurance runners and he took some of them to Houston for the marathon there.   Runners like Angie Hulley/Pain ran well but Veronique Marot was third in 1984 (2:31:16) and won it three times (1986 in 2:31:35, 1989 in 2:30:16 and 1991 in 2:30:55) and Brian won the Masters race in 1987 with a time of 2:30:59.   Jim’s own runner Martin Froelich won it in 1985 in 2:11:14.   These coaching feats had to be recognised and Jim had brought himself to the forefront of USA endurance running coaches and his reward was international coaching assignments which are shown in the table below.

Having been a very good runner and then a top class coach in the States would have been enough for most – a pipe dream in fact – but Jim wasn’t finished.    He was also a bit of a fixture on several Coaching Committees and Action Groups.   Have a look at these –

• 1984 – 1994:   Worked with Nike as coach of regional athletes to raise them to a level where they could compete nationally.   His women’s team won the cross-country title in 1988.   He was a member of several committees with associated coaches to develop a master plan to try to improve distance running in the USA;
• 1985 – 2002:   Member of the Women’s Long Distance Running Committee where he was one of the selectors for international competition.   He also held a post lecturing and coaching marathon development at the Olympic Training Centre;
• 1990 – 1993:   Member of the USA T&F Development Committee to develop a plan for distance running.   He received an award from the USA Women’s Track & Field for outstanding service to the sport;
• 1994 – 1999:   Member of the USA Women’s Cross-Country Committee to promote the development of sport for women;
• 1999 – Present:   Member of the Great Britain elite coaching squad for the steeplechase;
• 2003 – 2009:   Volunteer Coach at Pilot Butte Middle School;
• 2010 – Present:   Distance Track Coach at Summit High School

The fifth of these was unexpected but he explains that he went to England two to three times a year to work with Mark Rowland and the UK steeplechasers – and remember that Justin Chaston who was being coached by Jim competed in three Olympics and one World Championships for Britain.   Jim clearly had something to offer on that front.   Mark is now in Eugene, Oregon where he is the coach for Oregon Track Club.

What about the club that he set up with Al Lawrence away back in 1975?    Houston Harriers?   Well. he was a coach at the club from 1975 until 2001.   The club has approximately 100 members and the focus is on middle distance, distance and marathon running for High School, College, Open and Masters athletes.   The club was/is very successful and members have won more than seventy five USA National titles in twenty five years in events on the track, on the road and over the country.    Quite a record.  All coaches will now be asking what he did with the runners.   Information in the public prints is hard to come by but there is an interview with Donna Stevens easily available on the internet and in reply to the question ‘Can you give an insight into training in Houston in the 80’s?’ she gave this answer.   “ In 1979 I started training with Jim McLatchie and the Houston Harriers.   In a few years we had a group of 25 – 30 totally dedicated distance running athletes who met at Houston Baptist University on Mondays and Wednesday nights for track workouts and Saturday mornings for long runs.   On the track we were separated into groups of four to five runners that could run close to the same times.   Jim would have our workouts in his “black book” that he brought to the track.   Lots of  Mondays, we would run 6 x 1 Mile or 12 x 800 with a 200 jog between.   On Wednesdays we might have a mile breakdown of Mile, 1200, 800, 400 with 400 jog between.   We always ran hard on the track, holding nothing back, my heart rate was over 200 bpm.   Our long runs were 18 – 30 miles.   During marathon training, I did 2-a-days by running 4 miles in the morning and 6 – 12 miles during the evening (including our track days) with a 20 plus mile run on Saturdays and an 18 on Sunday.   I always built up from 70 miles a week in the off season to 100 – 120 peaking before a marathon.

We had a group of 4 – 8 women that consistently trained together and pushed each other to the limit.   Jim coached 8 of us to the Women’s First Olympic Marathon Trials in  Olympia, Washington.   Many of us PRed that day and it was an awesome experience and McLatchie’s training really paid off.”

He is now at Bend in Oregon where he is coaching at the local high school – the Summit High School referred to above – and enjoying retirement.   The boy from the coal mines in Ayrshire has come along way in every sense and it is all down to his own attitude and hard work.    And to me, one of the most amazing things is that he has done it all while holding down a serious day-job.   It was never paid employment.

 I think though that we should end with some words from his friend, Brian Scobie:

“He certainly was an influence on me in the ways he trained and where he took his inspiration from.   At the time he was staying in Milngavie, he was working for the railways on the south side of Glasgow, having escaped from Mauchline and the fate of the mines.  He was already past the stages of creating a running track on disused railway track and running up pit bings in boots.    But these things linked Jim to mavericks like Gordon Pirie and beyond him back to the great Emil Zatopek  Pirie was maybe his way back to the great Emil Zatopek, as well as to the Cerutty group in Australia with its sand dunes.   To me he stood in that lineage in terms of training attitudes and inspiration as much as in training modes..   He is a man with huge charisma.   Stubborn as a mule when he thinks he’s right.   A great pal to have.   Generous to a fault.”

I had thought that I had finished the profile there but Jim had other ideas.   We left him coaching at Summit High School after retirement – then in March 2012 we had an email saying that three of his girls had been 1, 2, 3 in the State Championships in the 1500m.   The first time it had been done!   He had coached the mother and grandfather of the girl who won.   Michelle Dekkers won the NCAA Cross-Country but was originally from South Africa.   She had moved up to Bend just so that her daughter Ashley could be coached by Jim.   Ashley who won also won the 800m and is headed for a scholarship at University of Oregon in the autumn.   The link is at  http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=46503 .

In May 2012, his athletes won the Men’s and Women’s Leagues at State Championships and there are three videos to be seen showing some triumphs:

Boys 3000m:   http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=68723

Boys 1500m: http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=68811

 Girls 1500m:  http://www.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=118&do=videos&video_id=68808

The Girls won their league of 12 teams with a total of 106 points with second placer on 74 points, and the Boys won their with 88 points ahead of the second team’s 67.5; there were also 12 teams in the league.    And as of August 2013, they have continued to do him proud winning State and League titles with amazing regularity.

Jim had won the Oregon State High School Coach of the Year award and it was right that he did so given the results of his young men runners.   The family double was complete when wife Carol won the women’s High School Coach of Year  in 2015 and went forward as a nominee for the National awa

Jim and Carol

  One World Cup Gold.   Two European Titles in 1990 – 800m indoor and outdoor.   World Indoor Gold.   Two Commonwealth Silvers. 

Won four consecutive Europa Cup Final 800m – 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991

Despite the above catalogue of success at international level, Tom McKean is almost unknown to the present generation of young runners, which I find quite amazing.   Tom was possibly the best endurance runner Scotland – by far the best 800m/1500m athlete of either sex – has produced.   Even if we only look at the number of times he has headed the Scottish Senior rankings we see that he has that honour no fewer than eleven times.   One of these time was under 1:44, five were under 1:45 and two were under 1:46 while only five other Scots ever have been under 1:46 and none under 1:45.   In the British all-time rankings he is number five with his best time of 1:43.88 and there are six more of his times listed there.   In the British Championships, he won in 1991, was second to a Kenyan in 1990 and also second in 1988 and third in 1992 and 1993.   Indoors he won the AAA’s 800m in   1990, 1993 and 1994 and back at home he won the SAAA 800m in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1994.   It’s an absolutely fabulous record.    Fortunately his career and the life of the “Scotland’s Runner” magazine were almost exactly contemporaneous so we have very good detailed accounts of his races (mainly from the excellent Doug Gillon) and some frst class pictures.

I first saw Tom in action at Coatbridge in the early 1980’s.   I had  a squad of 5000m/10000m runners and Tommy Boyle had a group of runners from Bellshill at the track at the same time.   One evening he asked me to come and ‘Look at this.’   He pointed out one of his young runners at the start of a rep and the young man sped through the group although he had started well behind them.   It was of course Tom McKean and Tommy’s line was, “When you get something different, you know it!”   He was right of course and we know now how good Tom was.    (By the way, for the purposes of this profile, I’ll use Tom to refer to the runner, and Tommy to refer to the coach.)   I was Scottish BMC Secretary at the time and organised seminars once a year at Huntershill in Springburn.   The first year, the theme was Strength for Middle Distance Running, the second year Speed for Middle Distance Running and the third year (1985) I invited Tommy to come and talk on ‘Putting it together’.   He did it clearly and at the end of the day in an ‘any questions’ format with Frank Horwill and other speakers he was asked to predict how Tom would do the following year in the Commonwealth Games.   He said that there would be a medal and afterwards I commented that he was either very wise, very brave or very foolish.    Well, we saw in 1985 and 1986 which of the three was the most accurate and who knew Tom best.   That’s important because I have never known so much ‘second-guessing’ of a coach and athlete programme as Tom and Tommy were subjected to.  There is always someone who knew best but I think that everybody thought they knew best about Tom’s progress.   At a BMC Two-Day AGM and Conference at Jordanhill in Glasgow when Tom was running superbly well, Tommy was asked in a very aggressive fashion whether Tom would not have been better with more races; when Tommy turned the question round and asked the chap how often he thought Tom had raced, the estimate was only about 50% out.   The numbers who said that Tom should do more long runs were also high.   The truth was that Tommy played his cards very close to his chest at all times and never really published all the details of training.   The gap in knowledge brought forth all sorts of criticisms and observations, many of which contradicted each other.     Because Tom’s athletics career was as good as it was, I intend writing about a separate bit for as many weeks as it takes: the high spots will all be here but will not all go up at the same time.   I would also add, that his career had so much in it that I won’t deal with every Grand Prix, every Heat that he raced in.   While not impossible for some it would be for me and would simply be a huge (and I mean HUGE) catalogue of results and there is more to any athlete than the figures of his career.

I’ll begin with an extract from an article by Doug Gillon in the first ever issue of ‘Scotland’s Runner’ in July 1986.  Tom had won the Europa Cup 800m in 1985, much to everyone’s surprise in 1:49.11 in a very rough race with elbows and fists flying.   Tommy was a bit concerned at this very early success, feeling that the Championships in 1986 would have produced even better results had Tom been less well known than he now was.    At the time of the article Tom was number eleven in the Commonwealth over his 800m distance …..

“Five of the eleven are Kenyans however.   In total only six or seven are likely to be on the start line in Edinburgh.   And not one of them is capable of finishing as fast as McKean …. provided the race is run to suit him.   The credit for that goes to Boyle, the fruit of 12 years hard work in which a very special relationship has been established.   How special can be gauged from Boyle’s reaction as McKean’s participation has hung in the balance in recent weeks because of a stomach problem.   “There is more to life than athletics,” says Boyle with unfamiliar heresy from a coach.   “I’d pull Tommy out of the Games without a second thought.”   But in the face of the inquisitor, Boyle refuses to recant.    “I am thinking about Tom McKean’s future as a human being not as an athlete,! he insists.  

If McKean has much to gain from athletics success, he also has much to lose from failure, as Boyle well knows.   It was he who negotiated a complex job and sponsorship package with the Glen Henderson motor group, and two deals with his own employers, Honeywell.   And there is more in the pipeline.   Boyle certainly works at his role.   He fields phone calls to shield McKean, checks on the credentials of medical advice on offer from Finland to Clelland, studies the qualifying times, round by round at major championships, probes every source for the slightest sliver of information about potential rivals.   Then there are the training schedules, weighed up and fine tuned daily.   Today’s neglected muscle twinge is tomorrow’s traumatic breakdown.   All that while holding down a demanding job in quality control with the Lanarkshire electronics firm.  

It is a world Boyle can never have dreamed about when Tom McKean first showed up at Bellshill YMCA on a winter’s day in 1974.   “He was one of about half a dozen very talented kids who joined that year,” recalls Boyle.   “But he was by no means the most talented.   Each of them subsequently became district or national medallists in middle distance or sprints.”   Nor was success immediate.   “Tom was a late developer, showed very little before he was 15 or 16,” he adds.   “There are two ways one can train children – work them very hard, especially at middle distance, and you get immediate results.   But whatever way you do it, there’s a big drop-out  –  about 90%.      The other approach – mine – is to take time, try to develop the youngster totally as an athlete and a person.   It takes a hell of a lot of patience, years of work.   And another 9 out of 10 will vanish before you see the fruits. …. The first time”   I can really recall Tommy showing signs of promise was the national cross-country championships in the snow at Glenrothes.   He was sixtieth with half a mile to go … and finished third.   And we had done no specific endurance training.”

But it was not all medals and glory.   At 15 Tommy ran in his first Scottish Schools 1500m final – and finished second last.   “I took a lot of criticism then,” says Boyle.   “He was a tall, gangly, raw laddie and other middle distance coaches at the club reckoned that he should be doing longer work, preparing for a cross-country career in the club’s general tradition.    But I had already spotted that he was bouncy …. that sprinting type of bounce, not just a flat footed runner.”   By now he was 16.   Training was stepped up from two weekly sessions to four with a race at weekends.  

At 17 McKean was second in the UK schools 800m, competed for Scotland in the Bell’s Junior International and won the Lanarkshire 1500m.   That year he earned his first Senior Scottish vest.   “I can remember it well,” admits McKean, “It was against England, Hungary and Poland – and Steve Ovett elbowed me in the gut in the back straight and I went from second to last.”   But such early lessons were quickly learned, and he did the 400m/800m double (49.47/1:56.2) at the Scottish Indoor Championship.   The following year, 1982, he retained the junior 800 metres title (1:55.33). but surrendered the one lap crown to Mark McMahon.       “But my   800m time for the year (1:49.1) made me the second fastest Scottish junior ever for the distance,” says Tom.   And in his training Diary he wrote “Sixth fastest UK.   Fifteenth in Europe.”   His horizons were widening.  

But 1983 was a disaster.   “it almost put me out of athletics,” confessed McKean.   He suffered shin splints and under pressure, physiotherapist Tom Craig allowed him one race, the national championship, in which he finished second behind Paul Forbes in 1:49.18.   “If it hadn’t been for that race, giving him a bit of encouragement it would have been all over, ” says Boyle.   Even after that, during the winter, the pair had problems.   “It was one of our toughest spells, just the typical teenager thing … Tommy had a girlfriend, thought he could spend a lot of time with her and still go out and win.   But he soon discovered that he couldn’t and things got back to normal.”

Those surprised by McKean’s exploits last year must have had their eyes closed the year before.   In 1984 he was unbeaten as he lowered his personal best for 800m to 1:48.4.  These successes included:   Scottish 800m title, Scottish YMCA 400m title, West District 800m,  Inverness Highland Games 800m, Edinburgh International Games 1000m B race, Dundee 800m, Scotland International v Ireland 800m (his first televised run) and another international win over two laps against England and Holland.   Last summer’s victories – over Steve Cram on the Grand Prix circuit, and when called in as a late replacement for world record-holder Seb Coe at the Europa Cup final in Moscow, are public history.   But the real secret behind McKean is the manufactured sprinting ability that makes him such a devastating finisher.   Other Scots have run faster but none with the finishing burst of this consistent winner. ….

“All Tommy’s training is at high-speed endurance.  Hence the high injury risk,” explains Boyle.   “Tommy couldn’t handle the type of sessions like 6 x 600m with short recoveries that Coe and Cram do.   He’s not that kind of runner.”

But he could provide a big embarrassment to both at the Games, especially if the Kenyans in particular, fail to push the early pace. “

That’s the bulk of Doug’s article and neatly encapsulates Tom’s history up to that point.   It only remains to reproduce the table that accompanied the article.

Tom finishing second behind Steve Cram in Edinburgh, 1986

In the Games two months later, Tom really set the heather alight when he took second in the 800m final behind Steve Cram.   Domestically his feat was marginally overshadowed by Liz Lynch’s gold in the 10000m, but in the hot-house of British middle distance running, Coe, Cram, Ovett and Elliott all marked their cards that they had maybe more competition than they had realised.

 Doug reported on the Games as follows: ” … a member of Bellshill YMCA since shortly after his eleventh birthday and nursed delicately by coach Tommy Boyle.   His silver medal behind Steve Cram was a national record and bettered a native one that had stood to Mike McLean, chairman of the selection committee for the Games, since 1970.” 

Video of the race http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cceACL2S0UA&feature=related

Later in the year Tom ran in the British vest at the European Games where his team mates in the 800m were Seb Coe and Steve Cram.   In what was a first class race he came so close to winning that the athletics cognoscenti (and even the not-quite cognoscenti!) really sat up and took notice.   We return to Doug Gillon in ‘Scotland’s Runner’ for the race description.   “… Hours earlier the vine terraces which provided the backdrop to Stuttgart’s Neckarstadium had rung to frenzied cheers as McKean lit the fuse for the most explosive moment of the championships.   The script that had the race as a scene to be played out exclusively between Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram was spiked when McKean struck for home into the final bend.   McKean, the catalyst for that amazing run, came within an ace of an upset as spectacular as the one four years ago when Coe, suffering from a liver ailment, had to settle for silver in Athens.  

Sitting just behind the leader, Poland’s Ryszard Ostrowski who reached the bell in 51.98 seconds, McKean felt sure he could win.   “I’m just not … fast enough,” he gasped, seconds after crossing the line, and then, sucking up lungfuls of the chill night air, he exploded ominously “yet.”    His time of 1:44.61 was his third Scottish record of the year and was just eleven hundredths behind Coe.   Cram clocked 1:44.88.   Coach Tommy Boyle, the man who made it all possible, nursing McKean to three lucrative sponsorship contracts and through three injury crises this year, was delighted.   He spent a sleepless night after the final, mapping the future of his protégé  before flying back to Scotland in the dawn hours.   Then he was off once again with McKean to the Sports Fair in Munich, and to plot the last act of McKean’s season, a run over 800m in the Van Damme Memorial Meeting in Brussels.  

McKean’s performance now guarantees absolution from the penance which most of his fellow countrymen pay for being Scots.   He can now walk into any race he wants, whereas most are at the mercy of international promoters who can fly in English athletes more cheaply.”

 It was the race that Tom thought was his best and Doug Gillon has a very good article about it on the Scotstats website – read it at    www.scotstats.com/sats/uploads/Tom%20McKean.pdf     It has lots of detail and a degree of insight that I couldn’t find in any other report.   A sidelight on the race: Tom’s first big race, the Europa Cup of 1985, was a very rough affair with a lot of barging going on.   At the BMC AGM and Training Weekend in Liverpool that year, Peter Coe took Frank Horwill and Tommy Boyle to see a video that the BBC had put together for him taken from different angles from that actually broadcast.   It was on the outside of the track in the middle of the back straight in the second lap and Peter asked why Cram had given ‘your man’ such a buffet at that point.   And as we watched in fairly close up, the runners were running along with Tom a couple steps ahead of Steve when at about 250 to go, Steve seemed to stretch out slightly and wallop Tom in the small of the back with the flat of his hand.   His route wasn’t blocked and it wasn’t a punch – just enough to put most men off their stride, coming as it did without any warning.   Peter then remarked that Tom had done very well to take it without even faltering.   This all happened at 1:44 pace.   International 800m running seems to be even more violent than Highland Games handicap 800’s on slippy grass and without lanes..

He won the 1987 SAAA 800m at Meadowbank in June after a heat, a semi-final and the final.   Three rounds – either a good sign of strength in depth of Scottish 800m running or madness to ask runners to do three quality 800’s in two days!  However, the report in “Scotland’s Runner” read as follows.   All eyes were on Tom McKean in his first outing of the season, but there was no call for him to turn up the super-charger.   Successive times of 1:50.81 and 1:50.82, put him into the Final and when he reached 600m in80 seconds, (400 in 53.42), the pursuit was already adrift.   But Tom Ritchie hung on well to dip under 1:50 for the first time, and 18 year old David Strang, Glasgow-born, South African junior champion (1:48.8)was good value for his third place.   It was a measure of what is expected of McKean these days that his breaking of Dieter Fromm’s  13-tear-old championship best excited little comment except a ticking off from his coach for not having run faster.    1.   T McKean   1:48.17;   2.   T Ritchie (PAAC)   1:49.62;   3.   D Strang (Haringey)   1:50.24;   4.   J Rigg (Warr)   1:51.13;   5.   D Gray (Ayr)   1:51.76;   6.   D Black (Liverpool)     1:51.90;   7.   P Tweedie (Anna Striders)   1:52.42;   8.   B Murray (ESH)   1:53.42.

The Wikipedia entry for Tom says that “McKean was one of the favourites for the 1987 World Championships in the 800m.   However he caught the foot of another athlete in the final and suffered an injury which resulted in him finishing last.”   The actual result of that final was 1.   Billy Konchella (Kenya)   1:43.06;   2.   Peter Elliott (GBR)   1:43.41;   3.   Jose Luiz Barboza (Brazil)   1:43.76;   4.   Ryszard  Ostrowski (Poland)   1:44.59;   5.   Faouzi Lahbi (Morocco)   1:44.83;   6.   Stephen Ole Marai (Kenya)   1:44.84;   7.   Slobodan Popovic (Yugoslavia)   1:45.07;   8.   Tom McKean (GBR)   1:49.21..     Doug Gillon in “Scotland’s Runner” did not give a detailed account of the race but reported: “Inescapably there were moments of bitter disaster and nothing did more to fan the flames of bitter disappointment than the eclipse of Tom McKean in the 800m final.   McKean learned a difficult tactical lesson and admits that he made mistakes.   But Seb Coe widely regarded as the greatest 800m runner in history, had a string of disasters at this distance before finally winning a two-lap title in Stuttgart after nearly ten years in senior international athletics.   And three subsequent victories over the world champion Billy Konchella have firmly regained the psychological edge for the Lanarkshire man.   ….   Conspicuously, the English tabloids who had been so quick to write ‘quitter’  or  ‘McKean bottles it’, were subsequently more restrained when Steve Cram also finished eighth, in what was an even more spectacular fall from Olympus.”   

He had been looking good in the Heats, Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals (that’s right – FOUR rounds in total!).   In the fourth of eight heats, he was third behind Phillipe Collard (France) and Stanley Redwine (USA) in 1:47.71, then third in the fourth quarter final behind Billy Konchella (Kenya) and Phillipe Collard in 1:46.11 and then won his semi-final in 1:44.86 ahead of Jose-Luiz Barbosa and Stephen Ole Marai (Kenya) while Conchella won the other semi in 1:46.11.    It looked good for the final.   Alan Campbell  said in “Scotland’s Runner”:   “One by one the top-billed gladiators entered the arena, and one by one they stumbled and fell, in some cases literally as well as metaphorically,    …..  From a Scottish perspective the let down came from Tom McKean and Liz Lynch.   Tom had asserted himself in the semi-final, and really the gold medal lay between himself and Billy Conchella (the final only confirmed that view despite the unhappy outcome).   I watched the final in the company of people with no real interest in athletics, but who were drawn to the box by the prospect of a Scot winning a rare gold medal.   Not knowing much about the sport, they were suspicious about the hype surrounding the ‘Glasgow street-fighter’ (sic) in the Fleet Street Press, and I’m afraid Tom’s nightmare only confirmed their prejudices.  It’s absurd to put such a weight on one young man’s large shoulders but Scottish athletics lost a lot of potential recruits that night.”

If you want to judge for yourself, there is kind of blurred video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P8kUMlBM08&feature=related     Thanks to Joe Small for that.

SAAA Final, 1988. 

1988 was of course Olympic year but the first championship that Tom had was the SAAA event at Crownpoint in Glasgow where he was defending his title.    Again there were three rounds and Doug Gillon had this to say, “This was little more than a training exercise for Tom McKean but it achieved his desire to get in three races within 24 hours.   In the real race, for second place, Nick Smith of Shaftesbury, edged out John Rigg and Tom Ritchie.   Result:   1.   T McKean (Bellshill)   1:47.09;   2.   N Smith (Shaftesbury)   1:49.63;   3.   J Rigg (Warr)   1:49.83;   4.   T Ritchie (PAAC)   1:49.95;   5.   A Murray (Kilmarnock)   1:50.60;   6.   A Linford (Blach Heath)   1:50.88;   7.   G Gibson (Kilbarchan)   1:51.95;   8.   G Stewart (Clydebank)   1:52.29)”       Quite straightforward then and minds were focused even more intently on the Olympics.

Tommy Boyle spoke in the “Scotland’s Runner” of October 1988 about Tom’s chances in the Games.   Doug again:

“You get the impression that the experience of Rome last year not only left a mark on Tom McKean, but on Tommy Boyle as well.   McKean went into that race as favourite, according to the British Press, and you sense from Boyle’s defensiveness that he is terrified one of his athletes is going to enter the paddock in Seoul as a favourite.   “People get built up and then get knocked down,” he says bitterly.     No way is McKean going to be a favourite in Seoul, and despite the disappointment that he hasn’t recorded a faster time going into the Olympics, Boyle is probably relieved about that.   “Physically Tom is as well prepared now as he was for Rome, given that he had an Achilles injury for six weeks,” Boyle reports.   “Tom has always done well in the major competitions with the one exception in Rome.   We’ll start to see the lie of the land in the 800m in the semi-finals.   You never know what will happen because Johnny Gray got knocked out in the second round last time holding the fastest time in the world.   But the people who get the best times and qualify for the final are the favourites.”   Although Boyle insists that times are not important at the Olympics, it will be a surprise if McKean is not forced at some stage to run inside 1:44.45, the Scottish record he set at Lausanne in September last year.   The speed endurance training he has undergone since the AAA trials in Birmingham, when he was nearly caught by Steve Heard in the final straight makes Boyle confident that his man will be capable of sprinting off a fast pace, such as the one he encountered at Birmingham and which so nearly caught him out in the last 100m”   (In the AAA’s championships that year Steve Cram had won in 1:44.16, with Tom second in 1:45.10 and Steve Heard third in 1:45.32.)

Tom’s best race in the pre-Olympic period was in Berlin against Seb Coe – much to the astonishment of David Coleman, and almost everybody else, Tom won.   Coe can’t say he wasn’t fit or anything like that, he was beaten by a better man on the night.  Tom ran a superb race, never in trouble and always with a clear line all the way through the race.    See it here    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viVhFMUcGbU   I give you fair warning that although the video is good and clear, the commentary is dire – so biased towards Coe that it is almost hard to take.   The write up before the race, the ….   Well see for yourself!

In Heat Nine of Round One, Tom was second in 1:47.24, then in the second round (quarter finals) he ran 1:46.04 but was unfortunately disqualified for too much physical contact.   Coming after the difficulties in Rome it was hard to take.   Doug commented on it in “Scotland’s Runner”.   “Tom Boyle adopted a similar policy with McKean (refusing to let him run in the Grand prix circuit in the months leading up to the Games) and I am convinced that it would have paid off for McKean had he not had a brainstorm in the second round of the 800m.   Whether he can cure himself of his disturbing habit of throwing the instruction manual onto the infield at major championships remains to be seen, be he remains potentially the greatest two-lap talent in the world.   He will have only himself to blame if it remains unfulfilled.”  

So there you have it.    The British Press build Tom up and generally add pressure but Doug only says that ‘he remains potentially the greatest two-lap talent in the world’ after a poor run – isn’t that also pressure?   The comment made by Jim Ryun to the reporter who told him what he should have done on the track in Mexico City to beat Keino is maybe appropriate.   He said “I know, but I was down on the track and you were up here.”    I do not believe that anyone who has not run in a major Games, where every opponent is a potential victor and things happen at great speed, can know or even imagine what it is like.   Back in June 1989 after Tom won the SAAA championship, Doug wrote an article containing the following: “McKean’s track career has been a Jekyll and Hyde affair, as he is the first to acknowledge.   Tom Boyle, his long-suffering coach, marks McKean’s card before every race.   When he follows these instructions, he is devastating but when they are ignored, McKean plunges his supporters to the depths of despair, as witness his World and Olympic Championships and the contrast of his last two races.”   This was not the only time in the course of Tom’s career, far from it, that he has been referred to as though he were Tommy’s creature, as though racing at the top level was like Subbuteo but with runners instead of football players.   Repeated as often as it was, it must have begun to grate on Tom’s nerves just a bit.   There is the story of the coach at Liverpool FC using a blackboard to discuss tactics before the match when Bill Shankly walked in and kicked the legs from the easel.  “That’s the other team coming on to the pitch.”   Every one of the eight runners in an 800 metres has his own race plan, at least one, and they have to be dealt with by the man in the thick of it.   It was a kind of leitmotif of Tom’s period at the top – journalists saying or implying that his virtues were all Tommy Boyle’s but his vices were entirely his own.    I may return to this theme at the end of the profile.

Before looking at Tom’s racing in detail for 1989, it might be appropriate to have a wee word about his racing frequency.   It was a common remark in Scotland that he did not race enough.   If we take his top races as listed in Power of 10 and compare them with Coe and Cram for the same period we get Tom 11 races, Coe 11 races and Cram 9.    If we go a year further on we get Tom with 19, Coe with 4 and Cram with 9.   They all had injuries to contend with and there were other reasons to miss some events but the figures as they do seem to indicate that he did not race any less frequently than his rivals.  For the record his races in 1989 are in the table below.

Eleven races, one below 1:44, another six under 1:45 and between 28th July and 8th September there were 6 races starting with the 1:43!    As David Coleman might have said, “Quite remarkable, really!”

Alan Campbell saw Tom win at Meadowbank in the Miller Lite IAC Meeting and commented in “Scotland’s Runner”.   After eulogising Jayne Barnetson’s performance in the high jump …“If only Tom McKean was so easy to predict.   I have always found Tom to be exceptionally pleasant and unassuming, but there are clearly unresolved questions about his temperament on big occasions   According to those who know him better than I do, McKean was on the brink of quitting athletics after his desperate performance in Seoul – only the (severely tested) faith of Boyle and the athlete’s backers kept him in the sport.   The Miller Lite Meeting last year was another of McKean’s failures, when he was pitted against Said Aouita in the 1000m but simply failed to compete against the Moroccan.    Against this background then, McKean might well have “frozen” at Meadowbank faced with a home crowd expecting and willing him to win, and a top class field including Johnny Gray, Jose Luis Barbosa and Robert Kibet.   Nor could his nerves have been helped by a 20 minute delay at the start of the race caused by television scheduling.   But our man, confirming earlier positive performances, defied his critics to win convincingly.    Nobody is going to pretend that McKean has the raw talent of Paul Ereng, but at least he has the guts to put the traumas of Rome and Seoul behind him.   No amount of Grand Prix victories will erase these memories but as 1990 and the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships approach, Mckean is at least enjoying a better rehabilitation than some might have dared hope.   So, well done again Tom.”      Maybe it’s just me but …………    The red tops calling him Tom McFlop and sundry other derogatory names was bad enough, no one ever re-built confidence after these sort of things written by football journalists but this particular article in an athletics magazine in which the writer twice mentions Seoul, once mentions Rome, throws in a side swipe on the Miller Lite 1000m and using less than supportive language in places does the man no favours as far as confidence building is concerned.   Talk about rubbing it in!    Later in the same issue there is a report on the meeting from which I quote:   “The sum which had taken a shine to Edinburgh for the earlier part of the week, chose Friday July 7th to accede to more traditional capital weather.   But even if the sprinters didn’t get the warmth or the wind they would have liked, there was nothing remotely overcast or chilling about the standard of performances at the IAC Miller Lite meeting at Meadowbank that evening.   Quite the reverse.   No fewer than 13 Scottish all-comers records fell to the top quality international field assembled by David Bedford and even the non-arrival of the world’s hottest middle distance property, Paul Ereng, went uncommented as the crowd rose to Tom McKean’s 800m victory (1:45.41) over Johnny Gray and Robert Kibet, the two fastest men over the distance this year at the time of writing   ….     McKean’s win, after the previous year when he appeared to give up on pursuing Aouita in the 1000m, confirmed a trend which has seen the Bellshill man show much more nuance and determination in recent outings.   A win in front of his own home crowd will presumably have accelerated his rehabilitation.”     Again there is the referral back to the Miller Lite and the use of the word rehabilitation twice in the same magazine makes him sound like an alcoholic rather than what he was – a superb athlete who at times made mistakes in a  high-speed, physical contact sport.

Earlier in the year, Tom of course won the SAAA title again prompting this unrestrained outburst from Doug Gillon: “Never mind his European and Commonwealth medals.   This was the greatest race of  Tom McKean’s  career – a solo run with 200m splits of 24.78, 49.91 and 76.22 represented a pace inside world record schedule.   Kilmarnock’s Alan Murray knocked lumps off his personal best, but McKean was a class apart with a native record which was one hundredth of a second faster than his Commonwealth silver medal.   More important, it demonstrated that he can run world-class times off a fast pace, building the confidence for an even more famous win over Olympic champion Paul Ereng a week later.   result:   1.   T McKean (Bellshill)   1:44.79;   2.   A Murray (Kilmarnock)   1:48.83;   3.   T Baltos (Knau)   1:49.62;   4.   D Strang (Haringey)   1:49.68;   5.   J Ostengard  (Denmark)      1:51.18;   6.   J Schweer (W Germany)   1:51.88;   7.   S Murray (Kilmarnock)   1:53.17;   8.   G Brown (SUAC)   1:54.93.”  

If the 1989 races were really remarkable, then have a look at his schedule for 1990 where he had 19 races listed against 4 for Coe and 9 for Cram.

1990 was of course Commonwealth Games year again and after his silver back in 1986, even better was expected of Tom.    He had won the European Indoor Championship in March 1990 in 1:46.22 – a memorable feat in itself but it was kind of lost in the build up to later in the season.   Writing in “Scotland’s Runner” in February 1990, Doug Gillon reckoned that McKean now had the maturity to thwart the inevitable Kenyan team tactics and put Sebastian Coe’s swansong out of tune.    Brian Whittle was also running the 800m and Doug warned not to rule him out of the final shake-down.   The final result tells its own tale.

What was the story this time?      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpgpgni3JQ8    will give you a very clear video of the entire race.    Coe and McKean in the first four, beautifully placed each with a clear run just didn’t do it and slipped back down the field.   A much more interesting run to watch was Brian Whittle’s.    There had been talk before the race of Tom and Brian working together on a plan to defeat the Kenyans but both parties denied it.    Brian took off like gang-busters for the first 200m and at that point slowed down and started looking back: there are different ways of looking back – looking back to check that all is in order and with a degree of confidence, or there is looking back in a panic with fear of being caught obvious to all but Brian seemed to be looking for something ….   Maybe he was just puzzled that in a field of that quality he was anywhere near the front.   Whatever the reason, he was in a position to come through on the inside as they entered the straight and was only beaten for third by 13 hundredths.    Alan Campbell wrote “I’m not going to dwell on the torment of Tom McKean, and having publicly backed him in the past, don’t intend to abandon him now.   He ran yet again like a donkey when most was expected of him, but one day he will triumph.   He’s too fine an athlete not to.”   

Alan’s last comment proved to have some substance when it came to the European Championships in Split.   Having been second at the last Europeans in 1986, he could reasonably have been expected to be a contender again.   However recent experiences led people  to take a dimmer view of his chances this time.   But he came good with a gold medal from a major championships.    His team mates this time were not Coe and Cram but David Sharpe (Cram’s training partner at Jarrow) and the erratic Matt Yates.   The story in figures:

Round One, Heat one of three:   1.   Sudnik   1:49.71;   2.   McKean   1:49.87;   3.   D’Urso   1:49.81;   4.   Selle   1:49.94   (Sharpe was second in Heat Two in 1:48.30)

Semi-Final: Second of Two:        1.   Piekarski   1:47.45;   2.   McKean   1:47.49;   3.   D’Urso   1:47.77;   4.   Miolovic   1:447.94.   (Sharpe was third in the first semi-final in 1:45.82)

Final (Result):   1.   T McKean (GBR)   1:44.76;   2.   D Sharpe   1:45.59;   3.   P Piekarski (Pol)   1:1:45.76;   4.   A Sudnik (URS)   1:45.81;   5.  S Popovic (URS)   1:45.90;   6.   T Viali (Italy)   1:46.04;   7.   G D’Urso (Italy)   1:47.29;   8.   M Yates (GBR)   1:48.42.

Alan Campbell wrote in the September “Scotland’s Runner”      “Tom McKean may be to the English language what I am to 800m running, but his succinct two-liner after Yvonne Murray had won the 3000m in Split was an appropriate summarisation of a golden night.    “We did the biz,” said an ecstatic Tom, “That’s sweet!”   Perhaps only Tom McKean and Tommy Boyle will ever know just how sweet.   But for the rest of us, sharing their joy from afar, it was a night to savour alongside the greatest-ever Scottish sporting triumphs.   I will leave it to Doug Gillon to report first-hand in the next issue on the celebration in Yugoslavia, but on a personal note my thanks to all the British athletes in Split, their coaches and their back-up supports for giving us something to really celebrate.”   I have read and re-read the November issue of the magazine, and the December one but could find no report from Doug.  The finish is pictured at the head of the profile.

Tommy Boyle has been praised profusely and correctly for his ability to get sponsorship for his athletes but detail is often missing.   In 1991 there was one article in “Scotland’s Runner” of the job that had been found for Yvonne to provide her with an income, a routine and a career after athletics and there was one in the April issue detailing the sponsorship received by Tom from Giltron Office Equipment.  “Tom McKean has won new backing worth £50,000 over the next two years.    The support comes from Giltron Office Equipment and provides McKean with the same level of backing as his previous sponsorship arrangement with Glen Henderson.   McKean, who is now employed by Giltron, works for 12 hours a week, allowing him the flexibility he needs as he prepares for next year’s World Championships in Tokyo and next year’s Barcelona Olympics.   Under the deal, the Paisley-based company also picks up all bills for physiotherapy, physiological testing and necessary travel.”    It is an interesting article and gives more detail and it can be read at Ron Morrison’s website www.salroadrunningandcrosscountrymedalists.co.uk where all magazines are available in the Archive.

Tom’s 1991 campaigns began comparatively late and his first race was reported in “Scotland’s Runner” as follows.   “Tom McKean, the European 800m champion was stunned in his first race at the distance this year, when he was outsprinted by fellow Scot Brian Whittle in the Dairy Crest Great Britain v Germany match at Crystal Palace – a match in which Ayr Seaforth’s Whittle was not even deemed worthy of a place.   Whittle’s win was against all the odds, though no surprise for the under-rated Ayrshire runner.   The British 800m team placings had gone to McKean, European silver medallist David Sharpe, and Steve Heard.   But it was Whittle who came off the final bend as the only challenger to McKean, running him down some 25 metres from the line to win in 1:46.58 to the Bellshill man’s 1:46.81.   McKean was not particularly perturbed and certainly he did nothing tactically wrong.   “Joachim Dehmel went from 300m out, and I had to go with him,” said McKean.   “it was a long sprint for my first race, particularly without having done any speed work.   I dare not start too early, or I would be over the top before the races that matter – the AAA championships which are the world trials and the worlds themselves.”   It was a gutsy run by Whittle who had the benefit of a European Cuo 4 x 400m relay leg to sharpen him up.   Ironically the Dairy Crest win earned him nothing, since he had requested the race, and when it came to a rematch with Heard two days later, Whittle was out-dipped on the line losing by one-hundredth of a second in 1:46.77.”      

He then went on to win the Panasonic AAA’s Championships and Trials – his first AAA’s title.   He won well in 1:45.67 from Steve Heard (1:46.53) and Brian Whittle (1:46.63) and secured his place in the GB team for the World Championships to be held in Tokyo from August 24th.   Once there, Tom shot himself in the foot.   It was entirely his own fault.   I quote, “Tom’s departure from the qualifying round of the 800m could not be blamed on anything but his own carelessness.   Running a perfect race for about 798m but slowing up at the line, he let in America’s Mark Everett and fast finishing Kenyan Billy Konchellah.   After a slow race, third was not enough to put him through to the final as a fastest loser.   The Scot summed up what everyone else was thinking when he admitted that he had messed it up.   He felt that he had run exactly to plan until the very last stride but was not making any excuses.”   Doug had told it exactly: it was a great race to watch with Tom running a beautifully judged race and then, when he knew he had qualified, eased up.   Unfortunately neither Konchella nor Everett knew that Tom had qualified and sped past him literally two metres from the line (the grid helps you judge at times like that!).   I couldn’t find a video link for the race – it would be a wonderful teaching tool for any coach of young athletes. “A micro-second of lapsed concentration”, said Doug.   How close was it?   Well the official IAAF archive give the first three times of the first three athletes in the first heat of the first round as – Konchellah – 1:47.35, Everett – 1:47.37, McKean 1:47.38.   Three one-hundredths separating first from third.

1992 was another Olympic year and you had to go through “Scotland’s Runner” until June before you found serious mention of Tom, and according to Power of 10 his first race was in June.   The article. by Doug Gillon, read, European 800m champion Mckean expected to become a father as we were going to press.   Perhaps it is as well that he has signed a new shoe contract and believes he is running faster than ever.   Having returned from training at 7200 feet in Colorado, under the eye of Commonwealth discus gold medallist Meg Ritchie in Arizona, he said, ‘We are looking forward to our first child and the responsibility will, I’m sure, help make me more committed.  In Tucson (3000 feet), over  600 metres, I was running two seconds faster than I would normally be running a month from now.”    Footwear company New Balance have signed up McKean and although they do not normally make sprint shoes – which is what McKean normally races in – they have launched a new range in his name, the TM800.   McKean, and the shoes, will have their inaugural race during the first week in June,    “We’re looking at meetings in Italy, France and Spain,” he said.   McKean will run in a 4 x 800m relay at Sheffield on June 5th, he joins Peter Elliott and Kevin MacKay in a team which may be completed by Ayr Seaforth’s Brian Whittle.”

His season is summarised in the following table:

What are we to make of that?   Barcelona was at the start of August.   Tom had seven good races, only once out of the top three and that was fourth.   Going into the Games he was quited as saying, “I am running faster than I have ever done before at a major championship.   I am right on course and have only the fine tuning to do.”    And then one round in the Barcelona first round which he won.   So what happened in the Olympic Stadium?   The first round was fine but Doug as usual has the word for us: “Once again McKean found the Kenyans too hot to handle. finishing third behind Kiprotich and Tanui in 1:44.39.   Kiprotich won in 1:43.55 with Tanui second in 1:44.12”    (Herald, 17 August 1992.)

In an article in the Herald on 15th August 1992, Doug Gillon wrote as follows (neither Yvonne nor Tom ran as well as hoped in the Olympics and the article deals with them both: I am only quoting the bits about tom but the full article, entitled “Boyle must bring out  drawing board again” can be seen online.)   “Going back to the club environment, more than anything else, brings the exaggerated consequences of Olympic failure into perspective.   It is nevertheless a reality which Boyle finds hard to confront.  He has been forced to go back to the drawing board before, more than once in McKean’s case, but this time he does so in the knowledge that nothing will ever be quite the same for Scotland’s two European champions who fell so short of expectation.   “With McKean the only self-doubt is whether I could have done more,” says Boyle, “We have tried the psychological approach, but there aren’t too many people around who are skilled in that area.   Now we are going to have to examine that aspect even more deeply for both of them.   Tom would have run 1:42 (his Scottish record is 1:43.88) by now if we had been able to resolve his problem at the highest level – namely the inability to overcome fear of failure.”   You can see the telltale signs on the start line.   Instead of staring straight ahead, all externals blotted out, he fidgets, fiddles with the chain around his neck, and looks about.   “But if Tom has the courage to continue, then the least we can do is explore ways of overcoming this.   We have not spoken about the race itself because it would serve no useful purpose.   Nobody knows better than Tom what went wrong.”

McKean said, “God knows I so much wanted to run well in Barcelona, but if it is possible, failing to make the final has made me even hungrier.   A lot of people have sacrificed a great deal for me.   I just have to pack my suitcase and get on to the circuit, run it out of my system.   In four years I will be 32, the same age as Johnny Gray who won the Olympic bronze, so an Olympic medal is not necessarily gone for ever.   I will need to reassess my goals.   I may miss the World Championships next year, perhaps do an indoor season, and think about the Europeans in two years time.   They come just before the Commonwealth Games and that may be a problem.  I have been in shape to run a personal best for the past three years and haven’t had that little bit of luck, or the right race at the right time to do it.  Hopefully, that might come before the end of this season.”       

The table above shows that as Tom said, he got back on the circuit with races at Sheffield, Cologne, Berlin, Brussels, Belfast, Turin and Rieti.   The right race for his personal best did not materialise.   He also, as he suggested fitted in a decent indoor season in 1993.   1991 was significant for another reason – Tom and Tommy split after a long association as coach and athlete.    For that reason in particular, although the season was remarkable in other ways, this year will be looked at in more detail than any so far.   Indoor season first.

On 23rd January in the Kelvin Hall, Tom started his campaign with a win in the West District 800m in 1:49.01 and was quoted as saying: “When I was out in Cyprus (warm weather training) I put on an extra five pounds in weight due to the amount of liquids I had to drink,” he explained.   “But obviously I’m highly delighted with the run.   I felt I timed it just right, I’m getting fitter and feel I’m right on target for next weekend (the Pearl Assurance international).”   even days later in the Kelvin Hall in the international against Northern Ireland and Russia he won the 800m in 1:46.86 ahead of David Sharpe (1:46.92).  There was another international indoors, the match against Northern Ireland and the USA at Birmingham on 13th February where he finished second to David Sharpe ((1:47.76) in 1:47.78 with Martin Steele third in 1:47.85.   In the AAA’s Indoor 800m championships on 27th February, he won in 1:47.27 from Alex Rosen (1:51.28) and assured himself a place in the team for the World Indoor Championships in Toronto in March.   The story there was that he he won his Heat and then won the Final.   If you don’t mind a slightly blurred video or a German commentary, you can see it here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfoaiuDhNqU .   It was a good race to watch if you were a Scot: Tom went to the front early. took it at his own pace and won looking comfortable.   It brings to mind the words of Dunky Wright’s old marathon adviser who told him to get to the front, don’t let anybody past and he’d win.   “McKean adopted the tactics that brought him his European 800 metres titles indoor and out – running from the front – and was never headed in his three races.  ….  His critics will decry an apparently slow winning time.   But McKean had led through 400 in 51.89, constantly increasing the tempo as challengers came alongside, then easing back when the the threat was repulsed – uneconomic and fiercely taxing.   And the world’s fastestr man of the indoor season – Giuseppe D’Urso of Italy, failed even to make the final.   “My gold means a lot to me” said McKean, “But I am delighted for so many people, especially Tommy Boyle after all he has had to put up with from me over the years.   And I hope it goes some way to re-paying the people of Scotland after having let them down.”    With simple grace, in an emotion-charged aside, he added: “I dedicate a piece of this medal to Derek McLean the son of my former sponsor who died of cancer.   Hopefully it is also an omen.   I won the European indoor title in 1990, then claimed the outdoor in the summer.   Now I want to repeat the pattern with the world gold in Stuttgart this summer.” 

Tom McKean winning in Toronto, 1993

His next race was not until June 19th in Belfast where he was fourth in 1:46.17 and the next article I can find by Doug is from the ‘Herald’ of 25th June which is headed “Europa Cup 800 metres may be a race too soon for McKean” and goes on to say, “Tom McKean arrived here last night chasing the immortality which a fifth successive European Cup victory would bring, and intent on laying a ghost which will haunt the forthcoming two-day athletics feast.   The Lucozade Motherwell man is already the only male athlete to have taken more than three titles in the same event, the quality ofwhich achievement is endorsed by the fact that the combined might of two Olympic champions, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett, could amass only three Europa wins over two laps.   But Tom Boyle, coach to the world indoors 800m champion, warns that expectation of a further success from McKean on Sunday evening may be too high.   “Tom is possibly not even fifth fastest in the field on current form, and it really is asking a lot of him to deliver in only his second race of the season,” insisted Boyle, attempting to put the race into perspective as McKean flew out.   “The Byelorussion and Russian relay teams at Portsmouth earlier this month beat Britain and fielded men faster than Britain’s Olympic finalist, Curtis Robb.   That shows they are right on form.   The Spaniard Gonzales beat Tom in Belfast on Sunday, and the Pole Piekarski, who finished behind Tom, was playing games and giving nothing away.   Add to that the likelihood of the Germans fielding the European 1500m champion Jens-Peter Herold and Italy lining up Andrea Benvenuti whose best time of 1:43.92 last year was faster than the Scot’s, and you have probably the best quality field of the meeting.   “Yes,” agreed Boyle, it will be very hard and if Tom wins it will be a great slice of history.   But frankly, it does not matter.   Indeed Boyle confirmed that Britain’s needs in this contest of one-per-event were almost rejected.   “For Tom the only event that matters this summer in the World Championships in Stuttgart.”   Following the disaster of his last outing in Stuttgart, it was doubly important to Tom to run well there.   Tom ran in the Europa Cup and was generally felt to have had a good tactical run but nevertheless finished third and so ended his perfect run in the event.   His time was 1:47.32 but he was outkicked in what Doug called ‘ominous fashion’ by Andrei Bulkowski.   .

The Edinburgh Trades Week is in the first two weeks in July and on 2nd July, at the GB v USA v Northern Ireland match held in conjunction with the holiday, Tom ran in and won the 800m from a top class field including Martin Steele, David Sharpe and Matt Yates in 1:48.19.   In the AAA’s on 16th/17th July, Tom was third behind Martin Steele, whose athletic star burned brightly for a brief spell in the early 90’s, who ran 1:47.83 to beat Hezekiel Sepeng of South Africa (1:47.84) and Tom’s time was 1:48.05: his third third in the AAA’s in two years.   He was accordingly chosen for the World Championships in Stuttgart, having achieved the qualifying time prior to the third place.

The shock to the Scottish system came in Doug Gillon’s article in the ‘Herald’ of 4th August, 1993.   Under the heading of “Parting of the ways for McKean, Boyle” the article read,

“Tom McKean made a double confession last night.   He has ended his 19 year old relationship with coach Tom Boyle, and faces a race against a virus to be fit for the World Championships which begin at Stuttgart a week on Friday.   The parting between the world indoor 800m champion and the man who has steered him to Commonwealth and European medals, and four Europa Cup victories, is “completely amicable”, insisted 29 year old McKean. “I do not plan any other coach,” he said, “I simply felt it was time to move on.   We had some minor differences of opinion over training details, but really with perhaps only anther three or four years left in the sport, I feel I want to try out a few ideas of my own.   If they do not work, I have nobody but myself to blame.   Over the past few years, Tommy has been encouraging me to think more for myself.   I have nothing but respect for him, gratitude for what he has done for me.   It has not been an easy decision after all these years.”  

The coach, who steered McKean and  his stablemate, Yvonne Murray, to unique world indoor and outdoor title doubles, put together the most scientifically based training programme for McKean, and arranged some of the most beneficial sponsorship packages in Britain for his protégé.   But last night he was clearly surprised only by the timing of McKean’s announcement.   “Tom should be preparing for the world championships and to running for Great Britain, and should not have got involved in this just now,” he said.”   It was clear from this and other articles that Doug felt Tom had made a mistake in parting from Tommy.

Came the championships with three rounds – heat, semi-final and final.   Doug Gillon in the ‘Herald’ of 14th August, the day of the first heat, reported that McKean was happy to take on the world.   “The last time Tom McKean was in Stuttgart he was cosseted by some of the most scientific preparations British sport had seen.   His sponsor was a dealer in German cars, and the Motherwell man was chauffeured in limo luxury.   That help preceded the most memorable sight in British athletics history – Seb Coe, McKean and Steve Cram sweeping up the straight claiming the three 800m medals.  … He is (now) a man without a sponsor and has recently split from coach Tom Boyle, ending the longest partnership in British athletics.   And McKean’s only chance of a car is if he wins one of the 38 Mercedes on offer to the winners.  ………….. But in McKean’s mind the battle must be harder than ever.   If he could not do it before with all his needs pandered to, how can he win now?   He stands on his own with his poorest season behind him, not having broken 1:46, ranked outside the world top 25 and only third Briton behind world number one Martin Steele and Curtis Robb?   Or so the rhetoric goes.   “There is no pressure on me,” insists McKean. “The virus that has held me back seems to have cleared, and I am going well.   I won the world indoor during the winter.   I haven’t gone soft or fallen apart.   I have just been unlucky with illness and I am confident that I will run well.”   ….  McKean’s poor times this season have caught up with him.   He is unseeded and only fourth fastest in one of the toughest first-round heats tonight: it includes American Mark Everett (1:44.43 this year),  former world 1500m champion Abdi Bile, Italy’s Giuseppe D’Urso and former Scottish 1500m champion, Mbangyi Thee of Botswana.   If McKean survives beyond tomorrow’s semi-finals, it will be a significant personal triumph.”

 In the first round, Tom was in Heat Five of Six where he and D’Urso finished in the same time of 1:48.79 with Mark Everett third in 1:48.89 with all three qualifying – it had been close with the fourth man (Abdi Bile) being timed at 1:48.90   The semi-final was held the following day, 15th August, and in the third of three, with two to qualify, Tom won in 1:45.64 from William Tanui (1:45.74).    Among the non-qualifiers for the final were Barbosa and Johnny Gray who were last in their  heats.   Doug’s report on the activities was in ‘The Herald’ of 17th August.   Tom McKean, after a split with his coach, is, improbably, just one race away from tunes of glory in Stuttgart tonight and he has the chance to claim the medal he covets most at the World Championships.   The Bellshill Bullet has been off target at all four outdoor global championships he has ever attended, thrice failing to reach the final and finishing last in the other.   Nt a medal of any colour from two Olympics and world outdoor championships, and at 29 time is running out with recent poor form leading to claims that the bullet may be a spent force.   But McKean insisted last night, ” I may never have a better chance than in this final.   It is wide open and my kind of race – no front runners.   I have nothing to lose.  People said that reaching the final would be my greatest achievement, meaning I wasn’t going to reach the final at all.”   Tonight at 7:25 UK time, McKean and his British compatriot Curtis Robb line up against three Kenyans, Billy Konchellah, Olympic champion William Tanui,  and Paul Ruto, plus Giuseppe d’Urso (Italy), Hezekiel Sepeng (South Africa) and Freddie Williams, a South African-born Canadian beaten by McKean at this year’s world indoor final.   The Kenyans believe they are invincible and given that they will run as a team, must have a head start.   Konchella, who won the world crown in 1991 and 1987, is confident he can do so again, and dismisses all, save McKean.”  

Into the final and Tom was run out of it in 1:46.17.   There were only 1.46 seconds between first and last – and Tom was last.   How did the press see it?   From ‘The Herald’ of 18th August, 1993:

“McKean last as Kenyan Ruto even surprises team-mates”

That the 800m winner at the World Athletics Champ behind Olympic championships last night was a Kenyan should surprise nobody.   They have monopolised the last two world and Olympic titles at the distance, after all.   But the identity of the winner, Paul Ruto, shocked the Kenyans.  They had even left the 32 year old out of their team book of pen portraits, so little did they rate him, with both the Olympic and world champions in their team.   Yet it was Ruto, who has not won a grand prix or the international circuit this year, who held off Italian Giuseppe d’Urso and the two-time previous winner, Billy Conchellah.    Ruto clocked 1:44.7 with d’Urso on 1:44.86 and Konchellah three hundredths of a second behind.   Perhaps it should also have come as no surprise that Scotland’s Tom McKean finished last.   That after al is where he finished the only other time he finished in an outdoor global final – in this event six years ago in Rome. …McKean the world indoor champion, was unlucky – barged sideways by the South African Hezekiel Sepeng 60 metres from the line, with the fast finishing Konchellah alongside him in overdrive.   The Wishaw man admitted, “I would have been placed no better than fifth or sixth.   But if I’d barged like that I would have been disqualified, like I was in the 1988 Olympics when I did something similar to Rob Druppers.”.   It was damaging but by no means a mugging although McKean, who finished just  behind Olympic champion William Tanui, rounded angrily on Sepeng in the athletes tunnel…”You whacked me,” he said gesturing with his fist.   Then he shrugged and walked off shaking his head.  

Britain’s Curtis Robb took fourth in 1:45.54.   “We thought we’d run as a team”, said McKean, “but when Ruto went out we didn’t know whether it was a Kenyan ploy, or a burn up.”   McKean and Robb went through the bell together, sensibly third and fourth, behind Tanui and Ruto who led in 51.22 with Konchellah last.   McKean got himself slightly boxed after the leaders reached 600m in 77.92, but would have salvaged dignity  had he not been impeded.   “I made the final and wasn’t even expected to get there.” …. National Coach Frank Dick pointed out, “If that had been a European final tonight, Britain would have won silver and bronze.”   “I suppose so,” said McKean, “and you can take it I’ll be there next year, chasing European and Commonwealth titles.   I am not finished.”   

Yvonne Murray did not do well there either and they both ran at Sheffield in the McDonald Games.   Tom’s race had no fewer than 13 starters and, according to the press, he was bumped at the break and never looked likely to recover.   He finished ninth in 1:48.54, one place behind Curtis Robb and both complained afterwards about the size of the field.    There ended Tom McKean’s epic season: A World Indoor Championships gold medal at one end, and a last place in the final of the world outdoor championships bracketing a split from Tommy Boyle.

For the statisticians among us, Tom had 15 of the top 20 and was ranked second in the 400m with 48.0 in Scotland; in the UK lists he was third (behind Martin Steele (1:43.84) and Curtis Robb (1:44.92) with his season’s best of 1:45.64 although he had more top times listed than either of the other two (13 McKean, 10 Steele, 7 Robb).    His 400m time ranked him 45th in the UK.

The Scottish Athletics Yearbook for 1995 summarised Tom’s 1994 season as follows: “Once again Tom McKean comfortably headed the Scottish rankings and failed to do himself justice on the international scene due to injuries and lost training.   He failed to qualify for the European final and tailed off last in the Commonwealth final.”   Tom did nevertheless win the Scottish 800m title on 25th June from the very fast finisher Paul Walker (trained by John Anderson) in 1:48.69 to 1:48.85.    He had 10 of the top 26 times recorded by a Scot.    The British Athletics annual he was up a place to second Briton, behind Martin Steele, with his season’s best of 1:46.20 an he had six times worthy of inclusion to Steele’s nine and Craig Winrow’s fourteen.   In the NUTS merit ratings, he was third – as he had been the year before – behind young Craig Winrow and Martin Steele.   Competitively at British and international level, he raced in the Indoor International against Northern Ireland and Russia in Kelvin Hall on 29th January and won in 1:47.60 from Andrei Loginov of Russia (1:47.63).    Much less impressive was his run in the GB V Northern Ireland v USA in Kelvin Hall on 12th February where he was a poor sixth in 2:00.2 – the explanation however was that he was knocked off the track on the last bend and had to get back up and he gamely ran in last for the team.   There was clearly a problem, either during the event or brought into the match but in the absence of other reports on it, it is impossible to say why this was.   It could not, as McEnroe might have said, been serious because he won the AAA’s indoors on 18th February in 1:48.46 from Martin Steele (1:48.59) and Craig Winrow (1:48.72).

 He was not selected again until the middle of August when he raced in the European Championships in Helsinki where he was sixth in the third heat of the first round in 1:49.41.  Doug quoted Tom in an article in ‘The Herald’ on 16th August.   “Despite his humiliating first round exit from the European Championships, Tom McKean has decided to go to the Commonwealth Games.   He will travel to Victoria tomorrow.   Memories of a catalogue of premature dismissals at Olympic and world level gave serious thought to ending his season.   ‘It was a heck of a way to surrender my title,’ he said,’ but I have talked it through with my family.   They have been very supportive, and feel I should go to Canada.   So I have told the Scottish Federation I will.   There was never any question of my retirement.’   Helsinki does not hold happy memories for the Scot, at the World Games here earlier this year he finished last and then second last in his heat in these championships in   1:49.41  – six seconds outside his best, set back in 1989.   Previous poor showings by the world indoor champion have been more of a shock – when his form had appeared good.   But McKean had not run a single good race this year.   ‘I have been through this before and it does not get any easier,’ said McKean, ‘ but there is no point in running away from it.   I hope a few more days will see me much sharper.   A couple of niggling injuries, calf and groin, meant I was unable to do some of the work I would have wished.   I have reviewed my heat several times on video.   I did nothing wrong.   I just had no pace when I needed it. ‘”   It might be of course that the Tommy Boyle back-up machine would have helped him avoid the injuries or at least provided swifter assistance at the right moment although Tom still had access to what SAF had to offer to all its elite athletes.

In the Heats in Victoria, Tom ran well, and Doug saw him as confident and workmanlike against better quality opposition that at the Europeans.   The heat was won by Patrick Konchellah in 1:46.88 with Craig Winrow second (1:47.84, McKean third  with Martin Steele fourth.   Looked good but the race wasn’t .  In the final Winrow was fourth, Steele sixth and McKean seventh.    Under the headline “Now McKean May Quit” on 27th August, Doug Gillon reported, “Even sharper than the razor which cut away the hopes of Tom McKean, Patrick Konchellah sprinted off the bend to victory in the 800m.   The Kenyan bearing a name which creeps unbidden from the Scot’s worst nightmares, emerged to haunt McKean who had concealed a foot injury for the past week and now is contemplating retirement after having finished in 1:50.6.   Konchellah clocked 1:45.18 ahead of South African Hezekial Sepeng, 1:45.76, and Zimbabwean Saveen Nghidi, 1:46.6.   “It was dark during the night and I stepped on a safety razor in the bathroom of our quarters,” said McKean, pulling off his shoe and sock to reveal the cut.   “There was a lot of blood – it was like a slaughterhouse.   The wound required seven stitches.   I could not run at all for two days, but I doubt if it made any difference in the end – too many injury breaks this year.   My legs just didn’t have it.   The pace quickened, I tried to go faster but they were just going away.   I have no sponsorship, and can’t expect any now.   I’ll need to find a job and that may mean the end of my career.”   The winner, Konchellah, is the younger brother of twice world champion Billy, who beat McKean when the Scot placed last in the 1987 World Championships, and who won again in 1993, after having pipped McKean with a dip finish when the Scot faltered on the line.”  

Tom is one of the most optimistic and forward-looking runners I have come across and there was an article in ‘The Herald’  on 27th October 1994 which read: “Tom McKean has joined the growing band of Scottish exiles at the English club Haringey in a move which he hopes will help kick-start athletics career.   If he goes over the top in training, which he believes led to his worst season in a decade.   During the campaign just ended McKean surrendered the European 800m title without reaching the final, and he failed to break 1:46 for the first time since 1985.   His move from Lucozade Motherwell to the London club, which also has David Strang, and Ayr Seaforth trio  Brian Whittle, Gregor McMillan and Hugh Kerr on its books, completes the split with his former coach Tommy Boyle.   McKean now has no sponsorship, either with Motherwell District Council which helped launch his career when he laid slabs for them on the YTS programme or with anybody else.   “I intend to join another Scottish club within a few weeks – probably Lesmahagow,” said McKean, “I have had a six-week break and the groin, knee and foot injuries which troubled me have cleared.   I have joined Haringey because last season I could not get the right kind of races early on.   This will give me what I want.   I will not be changing my training methods – I am convinced last season’s build-up was correct – I just did not know when to stop.   I was too enthusiastic, and tried to pile one good session on top of another but Ian Callender has teamed up with my training group and he will tell me when to stop.”   Callender, the policeman who used to lean on the teenage McKean in track sessions to accustom him to the physical rigours of the event, is now a coach.   McKean confirms that he will do an indoor season, including the West District and Scottish events, and possibly the Great Britain v France match in Kelvin Hall, “But I will not defend the world indoor crown I won in Toronto”, he said.”

What a year!    Lots of selections, quite a few good scalps but a dismal record in major competition.   His opinion about not knowing when to ease up in training and doing too much, is easily believed if you know anything about athletes.   Many seem to work on the principal if one aspirin is good, then three must be better.   I have runners who would slip in extra weight training sessions when they thought I didn’t know about them, and the number of distance runners who think free time is wasted by not going for a run is legendary!   I remember when Liz McColgan split from John Anderson, there was a similar situation reported when she was doing too much and she was quoted as saying that husband Peter kept telling her she was doing too much.   A coach to whom he was responsible, or even a friend with access to his training diary could have pointed it out to him.     So when Tom said that, it had the ring of truth about it.    The other thing is that there have been several reports of athletes who split from Tommy having the entire package removed at one fell swoop: Tommy gave them a package that included medical back up, physiological testing, immediate Physiotherapy for injuries, sponsorship and race: the whole kit and caboodle.   Give up one part of the package and you give up the entire package.   That might have been very useful to Tom in 1994!   Enough with the editorialising, let’s get back on track and with 1995 in particular.

True to his word, Tom did join a Scottish club, and it was Lesmahagow.   In ‘The Herald, on 14th January, Doug’s article was headed “Fit again McKean dons new colours for 800m return.” and went on to read “Tom McKean returns to the job he does best when he races the 800m in the West of Scotland Indoor Championships at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall.   Last autumn, following a dismal Commonwealth Games, stepping on a razor and slicing his foot the week before the Victoria final was the unkindest cut in a catalogue of minor injuries that troubled him all season.   “I lost eight weeks out of 15 from May to August”, said McKean yesterday.   “Nothing major but they combined to ruin my season – the worst I’ve ever had.   Yes, I did think about quitting but I took six weeks off, sorted my body out and had some great physio from the Scottish team’s Joan Watt.  Now I’m looking back at the best winter I have had in years.   No niggles, no injuries, just consistent good training.   It’s been brilliant, injuries destroy your confidence and confidence is what breeds success.   I’m just looking to win the District title, to blow out the cobwebs.   It will be my first race since Victoria and I hope to run in some International races indoors..”   McKean’s plans include next weekend’s Scottish Indoor Championships and the UK selectors know he wishes to run against France at the Kelvin Hall, and the USA in Birmingham.   “But no matter how well I run – even if I were to break the world record – I will not do the World Indoors in Barcelona,” he says.   His wife Yvonne is expecting their second child in five weeks, and he adds, “Having a good outdoor season is the most important thing for me.   I have no sponsorship of any kind and need a good season to land some help.”   Today’s race, the first in the colours of Lanark and Lesmahagow, will be no walkover.   It promises to be the event of the day.   He faces one reigning world champion, 17 year old Boclair Academy pupil Andrew Young, who took gold at the World Schools outdoors Olympiade last year, plus the fourth and fifth ranked Scots outdoors last year, Strathclyde student Ewan Calvert and Clydesdale’s Grant Graham.”

He won the West District title comfortably enough though and was selected along with Craig Winrow to compete against Russia in Birmingham.    The race turned into a battle but this time our hero was not involved.   “With bodies skittling around in his wake, Tom McKean battled to his fifth consecutive indoor victory of the year helping Britain beat Russia in the men’s international  at Birmingham on Saturday.   But a clash which left team-mate Craig Winrow sprawled on the infield and a Russian disqualified may lead to Guests being banned from such races in future.   “I feel they should not be allowed,” said Verona Elder, UK team manager at the McDonald’s international.   “The person in there has earned their British vest and should not have to worry about guests.”   McKean had dominated a modestly paced race, waiting for the challenge.   But when European champion  Andrey Loginov charged in pursuit in the final 70 metres, he clashed with English guest Martin Steele.   Their arms windmilled, Steele barged Winrow, and the man ranked UK Number One outdoors last season crashed to the ground.   Loginov got to within a foot of McKean who won in 1:50.04 then castigated both Winrow and Steele.   “Craig was unfortunate but should have got up,” said McKean, “I finished when I went down against the USA last year in Glasgow.   We could have lost that match by one point.”   McKean agreed that guests are a distraction.   “The priority is to win for Britain, but if challenged, even by a guest, the instinct is still to respond.”    

In the second indoor international that winter he won the match 800m against France and Northern Ireland in Kelvin Hall on 17th February in 1:48.72 but had not run in the AAA’s championship and did not go to Barcelona for the World Indoor Championship.   Having also won the Scottish indoor championship in 1:49.85 on 22nd January as well, he headed into the track season in good shape and looking like his old self, albeit that the times were a bit slower than before.   But the season did not go as hoped for.   Tom dropped out of the Scottish 800 metres final – he went to the front at 200m and tried to slow it down but teenager Des Roache jumped the field coming into the finishing straight for the first time and got almost ten yards on the field.   The charge after him was on and the runners were almost all big men – Tony Morrell and Gary Brown being probably the biggest – and with 150 to go and Roache still leading and Tom surrounded by men all over 6′ tall, Tom had a recurrence of an old injury and stepped off the track.   The race was won by Paul Walker who had switched from John Anderson to John Lees’s training group came round the field in the finishing straight and took the gold.   No matter, Tom was again injured and there was no championship here.   Nor was he successful in the English Championships where he could do no better than seventh in 1:50.70 in a race won by Curtis Robb in 1:46.78.    In the British Merit rankings, he had slipped back to fifth behind Robb, Strang, Winrow, Cadwallader and Ireland’s Gary Lough.   I had not been a good year for him.

The Statistical Yearbook review of 1996 read:  “Tom McKean was absent from the rankings for the first time since 1981 having retired from competitive athletics, and his usual top-class runs were sadly missed.”.  

Tom’s championship record has been covered well enough above but his times and how they rated against the best in Scotland, Britain, Europe and indeed the rest of the world had not.   The following table lists his annual best time and where they were ranked n the first three.

Tom was an outstanding talent who was well brought on by Tommy Boyle.   Both benefited from the arrangement and it is pointless to try to say who gained most.   It would be good for Scottish athletics were Tommy to publish either as a book or as a series of articles what he knew when he started, what he learned and what other coaches could take from it.    I’m not talking about a wee sensational book about his relationship with his athletes – he is widely said to be a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of coach (as are many another including Jim McLatchie) – but a book on coaching theory and practice.   Should Tom have split with him in 1993?   I don’t know anything about disagreements of previous differences of opinion – it’s not my business anyway – but it would be strange if a 29 year old athlete who had travelled the globe, spoken to a myriad of athletes as well as learned from his own experiences did not want to try out his own ideas on himself before it was too late.   In Tom’s case the effect of having been told time and again that he was nothing without Tommy (one of the excellent Doug Gillon’s sentences that grates a bit still in the one about Tommy marking his card before every race and when he follows them he is devastating and when he doesn’t ….) must have had some kind of multiplier effect.   He read the columns as well as the general public.    Mind you, when you come to the end of the day, it’s the athlete who makes the coach famous.    I remember Peter Coe at Jordanhill one day saying he took on Wendy Sly (Olympic silver medallist at the time) because he wanted a challenge and a wee coach from Glasgow remarked that he had two women who couldn’t break 2:15 if he really wanted a challenge!   Scottish athletics was really fortunate to have had the two Toms in their corner all through the 80’s and into the 90’s.    And I still want that book from Tommy!

Tom McKean has been inducted into the Scottish Athletics Hall of Fame.

Winning the Scottish Universities Cross-Country Championship in 1986

There have been many outstanding women endurance runners in Scotland in my time in the sport but very few have made it to the Olympics.   Liz McColgan, Yvonne Murray, Karen McLeod – and Lynne McDougall.    I remember one of the very good senior men I was coaching in the late 1980’s phoning me after a road race with the boast that he had out-kicked an Olympic 1500m finalist!   It was Lynne that he outkicked.   Although she is now perhaps better known as a top class road and marathon runner, she ran in the Los Angeles Olympic final back in 1984 and was also an outstanding 800 metres and cross-country runner.  There were also representative races over the country with three runs in the World Cross-Country Championships at Madrid (as an Intermediate), Rome and Gateshead and a GB vest on the road when she ran a 6K leg of the Yokohama Ekiden Relay.   A popular member of any team, she is said to be incredibly good at impersonating people – and she was particularly good at doing a couple of Scottish athletics officials!   There was one occasion when with a Scottish team in Italy  she wanted honey for breakfast and was reduced to flapping her arms like wings and saying “Bzzzzzz!”   She was however superbly talented and the range of her abilities and length of her stay at the top can be easily shown by her appearances in the Scottish and British All-Time ranking lists.

Add in one Olympics and two Commonwealth Games and you have an idea of the quality of which we speak.   How about championships won?   Scottish Senior victories in the 1500m were in 1982 (4:16.2), 1986 (4:10.23), 1988 (4:13.99), 1989 (4:08.14) and 1996 (4:30.05); SWAAA 3000m in 1991 (9:24.43) and 1993 (9:28.45).   In the AAA’s Indoor Championships she won in 1984 (4:16.89), 1988 (4:26.00) and 1989 (4:21.96); in the WAAA Under 17 championships she won in 1981 (4:25.76) and 1982 (4:27.0) and in the WAAA Under 15’s Lynne won in 1979 (4:34.34); In the UK Championships proper she finished second to Zola Budd in 1984 (4:10.80) and won in 1989 when Zola Budd was history in 4:11.31; she won the CAU 1500m in 1996 in 4:21.85 and won the British Schools International in 1981 in 4:25.39.   What a record.   I can’t think of another Scottish athlete – male or female – with such a list of successes.   She seems to have been competitive from the very start – Fiona Meldrum says that they both ran their first race at the same time (they were 9 or 10 years old at the time) and remembers it as being a very hard race for both of them.

 But Lynne’s story is also one of a catalogue of disasters defeated and hardships overcome; disasters that would have seen a lesser athlete, whatever the talent, depart the sport.   Lynne has answered the questionnaire and, before looking at her career in detail, we should read what she has to say.

Name:   Lynne McDougall

Club:   Victoria Park/McLaren Glasgow/City of Glasgow

Date of Birth:  18th February, 1965

Occupation:   Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow

How did you get involved in the sport: I loved running from when I was very young and have vivid memories of testing myself running various distances in Primary 1 and 2 in Ayr.   When I moved to Glasgow with my family I went to Simshill Primary and became friends with Andrea Calderwood whose dad, Bobby Calderwood, was of course a very good runner.   We went along to Victoria Park and I was lucky that the middle distance coach at the time was Ronnie Kane who was, I think, one of Scotland’s best ever coaches (although probably underrated).   I was 9 and began to compete in cross-country.

Has any individual or group had a marked influence on either your attitude to the sport or individual performances?    Two of my coaches have had an important influence on my athletics.   Ronnie Kane, my first coach, provided an excellent introduction to the sport and a firm basis for development.   He was wholly committed as a coach and had an intelligent and methodological approach.   He encouraged all of the people in his group, no matter their abilities, to be as good as they could be.   His attitude was far from the parochialism we sometimes see in Scotland now – our key championships were always the AAA’s and the English National Cross-Country Championships and we often went to England seeking fast races.

My second coach, John Anderson, also had a very important influence.   I was introduced to John by Jimmy Campbell (who coached Christine and Evelyn McMeekin).   I was not sure what to do after Ronnie Kane died in 1982 and had no coach.   I linked up with John prior to the European Junior Championships in 1983.   Not all of John’s athletes were international athletes at that time, but the majority were and this made me feel that I should emulate their approach to training, racing and life style.   This kind of group atmosphere, mixing with well known athletes through John’s contacts, and John’s training programmes which emphasised a lot of quality running helped me to improve rapidly.   Within a year of starting working with John I had knocked 5 seconds off my pb for 800m and 10 off the 1500m.   I never ran was well as I did in that 1984 season for a range of reasons but I continued to work with John on and off over the years.   When I eventually began to train for the marathon I again sought guidance from John – he is one of the most knowledgeable athletics coaches in the world.

My partner, Allan Adams, has had an important  influence on me in my latter years.   I learned a lot about long distance running from him and he helped me in training.   He has a very professional approach to training.   I particularly like his attitude to racing where he is competitive but also pleased to see others do well.   If he has a bad race he bounces back very quickly and stays very positive.

What exactly do you get out of the sport?   I used to enjoy winning races or doing well – it gave me a great sense of satisfaction!

There have been times when I have been fit and I know that I pushed myself to the limit.  I cannot imagine going through life and never experiencing this.   This means that despite not achieving all the things of which I think I was capable there have only been a few times when I have abandoned running (and even then I only stopped competing but continued to run) so it defines me and is a constant source of well-being.

More prosaically, through running I have been able to see the world.   I would never have been able to see all of the places I have visited otherwise.   I have also met many remarkable people from all walks of life, countries and backgrounds.   I would never have been able to meet all of these people without being involved in a sport like this.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?   I don’t think that I have a general attitude to the sport.   It has been different at different times of my life and at different parts of my career and I must admit that I have struggled sometimes to achieve the right mental approach because I have let external factors and my emotions distract me.   From observing successful athletes I think that there seem to be a few common factors in their attitudes including love of the activity of running (not just winning), self belief, focus on their own performance and a positive outlook.   Only some people are born with such an attitude and the rest of us have to learn these things.

What do you consider to be your best ever performance?   I think I ran well at the Scottish Championships in 1989 when I set a new Championship record.   I had a lot of personal difficulties at that time and yet I was able to overcome them on that day, win and get the Commonwealth Games qualifying time that I needed to go to Auckland in 1990.   I got my attitude right that day!

And your worst?   That’s easy!   In 1998 I ran in the AAA’s 5K.   My heart was not really in it and I was over-anxious and stressed before the race.   Not surprisingly I started badly, and the gradually got slower and slower until I was walking and then I walked off the track.   That is the only race I have ever not finished and I never competed on the track again.

What did you do apart from running to relax?   To relax – the usual things … sitting around and watching telly!   I have no other talents such as other sports or arts so did not have any hobbies.   However I do think that it is important to have other interests.   I qualified as an addictions counsellor and did a Masters while I was running.

What goals did you have that are still unachieved?   Many!   I ran my fastest times while I was still a junior when I was certainly not training as hard as I could.   A variety of factors in the years after that made it difficult for me to put in place all the things that need to come together fro an athlete to be successful.

What has running brought you that you would have wanted not to miss?   The opportunity to compete in many different parts of the world.   I found some of this stressful but at the time it was very exciting.   Taking part in major games like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games was particularly exciting because in addition to the competitions these brought along with them a lot of opportunities such as meeting new people or travelling to new places.

Can you give some details of your training?   Two things that I think are important are intensity and being specific in training.   The first means that you have to spend quite a lot of your time running fast if you want to be a serious athlete.   This means at race goal pace and faster.   The second means focusing on the training that is specific to your event.   So if you want to be a track runner you need to do track sessions!   I trained on the track 3 times a week when I was a track runner.   I am inclined to think that people are not really training intensively enough or specifically enough these days.

When I was competing on the track my key sessions were:   8 x 300 with 3 minutes recovery; 4 x 600 with 5 minutes recovery; 3 x 1000 with 7 minutes recovery; plus sprint sessions like 150 -200 – 150 in increments of 10m with walk back recoveries.   I also ran 3 – 4 miles fast once a week and ran an hour or 10 miles once a week.   I trained twice a day with a total mileage of around 60 miles a week.

I took up marathon running comparatively late in my athletics career and did my first when I was 35.   When I was a middle distance runner I did relatively little mileage but quite a lot of intense running and ran sub 34 minute 10K’s off this kind of training.   I did very little racing over longer distances and in fact I ran only one half marathon before I did my first marathon.   My training for the marathon changed a bit from my track training in that I increased the length of my sessions and runs.   A typical week might be something like this:

Monday:        am   5 miles          pm   5 – 7 miles

Tuesday:        am   5 miles          pm   Track session, eg 1000m/600m x 5 with same distance jog recovery.

Wednesday:   am   5 miles          pm   1 hour steady

Thursday:       am   5 miles          a ‘stepping stones’ session like the one above but perhaps of 9 or 12 miles duration

[Lynne explains: ‘Stepping Stones’ is when you run one mile at one pace and then another at a faster pace: eg in a 12 mile run, you might do six at marathon pace and six at 10K pace.]

Friday:           Two easy runs or a rest

Saturday:       Another stepping stones

Sunday:         Long Run               20 miles done at or near race pace (6 min miles)

Doug Gillon, in an article in the ‘Herald’ suggests that the first indicator of her ability was in the winter of 1976 when she won the Scottish Under-13 championship from Linsey Macdonald who would also be an Olympic finalist, albeit in the 400m in Moscow in 1980.    Her record in the Scottish National Cross-Country Championships at the beginning of her career was exceptionally good: in 1977 she was second in the U-13 Championships which she won the following year.   Missing the championships in 1979, she won the U-15 championship in 1980 and in 1982 she won the U-17 National.   As an U-20 in 1985 Lynne finished fourth in the Senior National which she won in 1985.      But good as that record was, a better indicator might have been her track running in the same year.

Lynne receiving her award for winning the Gallery Street Mile in 1983

(This was a Street Mile from Lenzie to Kirkintilloch organised by the BMC and Strathkelvin Council in connection with the Luddon Half Marathon)

As a ‘Girl’ (ie Under 13) Lynne ran an 800m in 2:21.9 which had her at the top of the age group rankings but it also placed her fourth Junior (Under 15) and fifteenth Intermediate (Under 17); her 1500m time of 4:52.3 was also top of her age group but placed her second Under 15, third Under 17 and nineteenth Senior!    At this point she was training with an excellent group under the guidance of Ronnie Kane who had been a Scottish cross-country internationalist and a regular and dependable member of the outstanding Victoria Park team of the 1950’s.   The group contained such excellent athletes as Fiona McQueen. Judith Shepherd and Janet McColl, all of whom made the difficult transition to senior athlete having negotiated the pitfalls on the way up that lose the sport so much talent.   After winning the National in 1978, Lynne had another good year as an Under 15 on the track.   She won the West District 800m in 2:22.3 and was second in the East v West fixture in 2:15.0.   At the SWAAA it was the 1500m that she tackled and won in 4:46.5.   The 800m time ranked her second in her age group and her 1500m best for the season of 4:39.8 topped her age group.

In 1979 Lynne continued to progress: she won the West District 800m, the East v West 800m and the Scottish Schools on 16th June in a season’s best of 2:15.13 which was two seconds clear of Angela McGeown from Paisley who managed to top the rankings for the season with a late-season 2:14.9.   She won the Junior SWAAA 1500m and in the UK Schools she won in 4:29.6. which was a UK age 14 best at the time. Add in a victory in the WAAA Championships and you have successful summer. Her season’s best at the distance was 4;29.6 which was run at Grangemouth on 16th July: the time was eleven seconds up on Sharon Morris and a whole 20 seconds up on Yvonne Murray,

1980 had a third place in the WAAA Under-17 indoor championship 800m at Cosford in 2:10.6.In 1981 she tackled only one senior championships – that was at the West District 3000m which she won in 9:53.4 – preferring to run at the Intermediate Championships where she won the Scottish in 2:11.9 and the East v West which she also won (2:10.0).    In the Intermediate rankings she was fifth in the 400m with 58.2, first in the 800m with 2:08.9 and first in the 1500 with 4:23.8.   Lynne ran in two women’s internationals that year.   In the match at Meadowbank against Denmark and Eire she was fifth in the 1500m in 4:29.8 and in the match against Norway and Wales at Ardal in Norway she was again fifth in 4:24.6.   It should of course be noted that she was racing against senior women of international standard.   Her travels that year included Antrim, Oldenburg (West Germany), Ardal, Dublin, Birmingham and Crystal Palace as well as the Scottish circuit.    She was at this point still a pupil at King’s Park High School.   Her performances showed a remarkable consistency for a 16 year old: often enough a young runner has one or two or even three performances in a season that rank with the best of the Seniors but Lynne had many more than that.   Her 1500m performances in 1981 included:    4:23.8 (Antrim, 24/5), 4:24.7 (Oldenburg, 13/6), 4:24.7 (Grangemouth, 28/5), 4:24.7 (Ardal, 29/8), 4:25.6 (Dublin, 4/7), 4:26.9 (Birmingham 19/9) and 4:27.1 (Crystal Palace 25/7).   On the Women’s All-Time lists her 4:23.7 that year placed her ninth on the seniors list but first on the U-17 list to equal her top rankings for the U-15’s and U-13’s.   An outstanding year by any measurement.

If 1981 was good, 1982 was better!   At the age of seventeen, she had no fewer than five times in the Senior women’s rankings with the best (4:15.7) being third behind Christine McMeekin (4:14.87 and Yvonne Murray (4:15.1).   Her best 800m time of 2:06.87 was fourth and she was even in the 400m lists with 58.3 seconds.   At the end of the season she had moved up to fourth on the all-time list.   It was a time when the standard of women’s middle distance running in Scotland was good – her rivals included the McMeekin twins, Yvonne Murray, Andrea Everett and Elise Lyon (Wycombe Phoenix).   In the SWAAA senior championships, she won the 1500m from Christine McMeekin with 4:16.2 to Christine’s 4:16.7 while in the West Championships she was second in the 800m with 2:14.7 and in the schools championships she defeated Andrea Everett with 2:09.6 to 2:11.8.    There was a women’s international that year in Maribor, Yugoslavia against England, Yugoslavia and Spain and Lynne was again in the 1500m where she was sixth of the eight runners with a time of 4:18.19.   Her racing venues in 1982 included Crystal Palace, Maribor, Cwmbran, Amsterdam as well as all the Scottish venues.

1983 was the year when Lynne had her first taste of a major games when she was picked for the European Junior Championships at Schwechat in Austria.   Running in the 1500 metres she qualified for the final along with Elise Lyon from Brighton where she was fourth in 4:15.39 behind the Romanian winner, Margareta Keszeg, who was timed at 4:13.17 with Elise tenth in 4:22.13.   This was to be her first Games occasion but by no means her last.   She comments on the event: “I was quite pleased with this performance.   I had been the top ranked Junior in Europe the year before but then Ronnie died and it was a difficult winter.   I had a terrible run in the world Cross-Country in Gateshead.   I started being coached by John just prior to the championships and this really helped to turn things round and so to be that close to a medal after a period of turmoil was quite good.”

1984 was Olympic year and Lynne started off on 14th January winning the indoor 1500m in the WAAA Championships at Cosford in 4:16.89 and in the international fixture two weeks later she represented Britain against the GDR and finished third in 4:14.11.   The next result of any consequence was in May in the UK Championships at Cwmbran when she was second in 4:10.81.   Two weeks late, on 10th June, at Gateshead in the Olympic trials Lynne was second in 4:06.99.   Eighteen days later in Oslo Lynne was second in 4:09.27.   The Olympics were in Los Angeles in August and the Soviet bloc boycotted them in retaliation for the American boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980.   Nevertheless the standard was very high indeed and in the 1500m for Britain Lynne was accompanied by Christine Boxer and Chris Benning.   Her first race in the arena was on 9th August and she finished fifth in the second Heat in 4:09.08 to qualify for the final.   Two days later in the final, Lynne was eleventh in 4:10.58.    As a nineteen year old, the youngest in any endurance race final at the Games, she could not have been disappointed in this result although the papers made a big deal of Lorraine Baker – 20 years old – who made the 800m final and even more of Zola Budd.  The actual race was fascinating with the issue in doubt right to the last few strides: the field was still bunched with 600 metres to go and Lynne was in the bunch – have a look at the race on YouTube,  just go to 1984 Olympics and then type in Women’s 1500m and you’ll get it.  Lynne has this to say about the Games: “This was a wonderful experience.   People were very kind to me because I was one of the youngest members of the team.   I think I could have run better in the final if I had been better prepared mentally.   However this was only me second senior GB vest!!!”   It should be noted that at this point many of the top Eastern European women, and some others too, were suspected with good reason of having used drugs to reach their peak and of course the whole thing came to the surface in 1988 with Ben Johnson’s disqualification and the many stories about other medal winners.   She was probably ‘cleaner’ in this respect than several ahead of her.   Two weeks after returning from Los Angeles, Lynne raced to 2:01.11 for 800m at Crystal Palace which was a Scottish record that still (September 2011) stands.   Two days later in Budapest she was fifth in 4:05.98.   Still racing in September she was fourth in the Mile at the IAC meeting at Crystal Palace in a time of 4:30.08 on 7th September and on the sixteenth on the international against Yugoslavia in Karlovic, Lynne was third in the 800m in 2:02.37 to bring the curtain down on a very successful summer season.

1985 was not nearly as busy a year however she started by winning the Scottish Cross-Country Championship from Yvonne Murray.  Doug Gillon had this to say about it in the ‘Herald’ of 25th February: “The women’s championship at Rosyth saw Lynne MacDougall carve out yet another victory over Yvonne Murray.   Lynne stalked her capital rival hoping to outsprint her towards the end.   The Edinburgh girl, aware of the danger, tried to get away, opening a 30 yard gap, but the Olympic finalist remorselessly cut her down and went away to win by twenty two seconds.” For summer 1985 Lynne is only on record with an early season indoor 1500m in the international against the Federal Republic of Germany at Cosford where she was first in 4:14.51.  This time placed her twelfth in Britain and second in Scotland (behind Yvonne Murray)  at the end of the year.   The ‘Glasgow Herald’ of 17th April 1985 had this report from Doug Gillon: “Lynne MacDougall, the Olympic 1500m finalist from McLaren Glasgow, has been struck down by a knee injury on the eve of the 1985 track season.   For the past few days she has been able to run for only 15 minutes at a time and is now reconciled to the fact that she will not be able to compete until July at the earliest.   “I went to Portugal for warm-weather training, she says.   “I had been there only four days when I twisted a knee and damaged the ligaments.   I haven’t really been able to train now for three weeks.”   Lynne was in Portugal with the International Athletes Club and treatment was readily available.   “The damage was done on the tight bends of the cross-country course,” she said.   That means she will miss the UK Closed Championships in Ulster next month, an event which looks increasingly likely to be affected by considerable defections following IRA threats.   Lynne however is looking philosophically at injury.   She has degree exams which will determine whether she does an honours year or not.”   

 She won the Scottish Universities Cross-Country Championship at the start of the 1986 (it was to be six years before she ran over the country again) and she is pictured at the top of the page crossing the finish line. All these races were in the early part of the year. 1986 however was Commonwealth Games year – and they were to be held in Scotland too.   There were many complaints about the size of the team, the selection procedures and the whole financing of the Games but Lynne made sure that she was selected when she won the SWAAA Championships in June with a time of 4:10.23 on 14th June.  The report in “The Glasgow Herald” said: Since her appearance in the Olympic 1500m final, Miss MacDougall has suffered prolonged injury problems.   That doubled with the build-up to her final examinations for a degree in psychology at Glasgow University continued to hamper her.   Last week she struggled to finish a detached sixth in the women’s 1500m before completing her finals in midweek.   But she produced a gutsy performance clinging grimly to the shoulder of Dundee’s Liz Lynch before striking for home from 280 metres out, slicing six seconds from her own championship best.”     On 19th July she ran a very good 1000m at Birmingham where she finished sixth in 2:38.67.    The Games started on 24th July and became known as the Boycott Games as 32 nations stayed away in protest at the Thatcher Government’s links with apartheid South Africa.   26 nations attended however.   Lynne was in the 1500m representing Scotland along with Yvonne Murray and Christine (McMeekin) Whittingham.   Qualifying for the final she finished in a time well below her usual – 4:17.25 in eighth place while Yvonne was fifth in 4:14.36 and Christine was eliminated in the Heats in 4:33.01 when finishing sixth in the first Heat.  Lynne’s own take on the event is as follows: “I struggled over the 1985/86 winter after being out all of the 1985 season with the knee injury.   It was really difficult to get back to the shape I had been in at the beginning of 1985 where, as I think the Scottish Cross-Country win over Yvonne Murray indicates, was probably the best shape I have ever been in.   At least I made the final!”   The season ended on 8th August with a Mile at Crystal Palace in 4:34.10 in the IAC/GP meet.      By the end of 1986 she was in four separate Scottish ranking lists: sixth in the 800m with 2:04.4. third in the 100m with 2:38.67, third in the 1500m with 4:10.23 and first in the Mile with 4:34.10.   Lynne did not turn out in either the West Districts or the UK Championships but did race in the Scottish Championships at Crown Point on 19th June where she was second to Karen Hutcheson.   The ‘Scotland’s Runner magazine reported as follows: “Karen Hutcheson led from the start with an even paced 66.54 for the first lap and a time of 3:04.75 at the bell.   Behind her, a slow-starting Lynne MacDougall fought back, closed on Jill Hunter, and passed her on the last bend to take second but victory was Hutcheson’s in a personal best of 4:14.04.   Placings: 1.   K Hutcheson 4:14.04;   2.   L McIntyre 4:30.47;   3.   J Hunter   4:21.24.”   By the end of 1987, Lynne was second in the 800 (2:04.67), third in the 1500m (4:11.27) and third in the Mile (4:13.24).   Running at that level is of course an expensive business and in May 2009 there was an announcement of a marketing campaign organised by Dundas Marketing in Edinburgh for several of John Anderson’s group of athletes including Lynne, Liz McColgan and Lynsey MacDonald with Dave Moorcroft also on hand.   The article in ‘The Glasgow Herald’ of 10th May 2009 is worth looking at it is easily found on the internet.

1987/88 would be much more active for her.   On 7th November she was second woman in the Glasgow University road race in 26:15 behind Sandra Branney’s 25:18.   On 20th December she dropped a distance or three to win the West District Indoor 800m championship with a time of 2:13.1.   Into 1988 and Lynne won the Springburn Harriers Jack Crawford Memorial Road Race in 29:20 and then the Nigel Barge Road Race in 26:08.   On 23rd January she was second in the AAA Pearl Assurance Indoor 1500m at Cosford in 4:26.50.    Two high profile indoor 1500’s followed and were reported in ‘Scotland’s Runner’ as follows: “Lynne McIntyre, disappointed to lose out in the tightest of finishes at the Dairy Crest International at the Kelvin Hall, had only a week to wait for revenge.   The Glasgow AC woman had been given the same time, 4:18.27, as Bev Nicholson against France but eight days later, competing against Belgium and Holland at Ghent she had eight seconds to spare over Nicholson as she clocked a season’s best of 4:16.39 to finish second.”   The good form continued into summer 1988 where she finished fifth in the final of the TSB/Kodak Olympic trials in 4:12.50 while Karen Hutcheson was eighth in 4:15.85.   On July 22nd in the Scottish Championships at Crown Point track in Glasgow Lynne again defeated Karen Hutcheson in a field that was considerably better than the previous year.   ‘Scotland’s Runner’ again:   Lynne McIntyre, showing some welcome signs of returning to form, relieved Karen Hutcheson of her 1500m title after the duo had dropped Chris Whittingham about 700m from home.   In the end, McIntyre won comfortably putting in a sub-66 second last lap to pull clear.    1.   L McIntyre   4:13.99;   2.   K Hutcheson  4:18.06    By the season’s end she had best times of 2:05.46 for 800m (fourth ranked), 4:12.50 for 1500 (third ranked) and 9:35.1 (sixth ranked).

Scottish women’s 800m, 1989.

Lynne (13), Abrahams (21) are both clear, Bevan is behind Lynne in the black vest and Anderson is immediately behind number 16.

At the end of 1988, the Commonwealth Games guidelines for 1990 were released and for the women’s middle distance races they were 2:02 (A Standard) and 2:05 (B standard) for the 800m, 4:08.5 and 4:15.0 for 1500m and 9:00 and 9:15.0 for the 3000m.   Lynne knew her targets from that point.   Ending 1988 with a victory in the Glasgow University Road Race in November, there is no record of her competing indoors or on the country in winter 1988/89 with the first run in 1989 being n the Dunky Wright Road Race in Clydebank where she defeated Sandra Branney to win in 29:26 to Sandra’s 31:02.   On the track, in the HFC Bank UK Championships in Jarrow Lynne won the 1500m in 4:11.31 from Alison Wyeth (4:13.33) and Sonia McGeorge (4:14.24).   It was reported by Doug Gillon in the July 1989 issue of ‘Scotland’s Runner’ thus: “A new Scot on the gold standard was Lynne McIntyre (1500m) clearly almost back to   the form which earned her an Olympic final place in Los Angeles.   She was rewarded with 800m selection for the International Select at Portsmouth the following week.”   If this was a good run she excelled in the Scottish Championships at Crown Point.   This was one of the years when the governing body saw fit to invite a ‘squad from abroad’  to compete on the excuse that they were raising standards in the championships – we had the Australians at Meadowbank but this year there was a visiting team of Indians taking part.   However in her favourite event, the 1500m, the report read as follows: “This was clearly a two-horse race as Lynne McIntyre and Karen Hutcheson left the pack early on to take on a duel of their own.   They set up a fast pace and constantly increased the gap between themselves and the rest of the field.   The two stayed together into the final lap. the split time at that stage being 3:02.73.   With 350 to go Lynne started to pull away from Karen and started her long sprint for home.   Karen was unable to respond to this sudden burst and at the end of the race there was about 20 metres between them.   Lynne’s time of 4:08.14 beat her own championship best performance by over two seconds and was within the Commonwealth Games selection standard of 4:08.50.   1.   L McIntyre   4:08.14; 2.   K Hutcheson   4:12.26; 3.   Laura Adam   4:18.44.”   (Adam had already won the 3000m on the previous evening.   Not content with that, the report for the 800m reads: “Lynne McIntyre and Sue Bevan took up the running in the first lap of the 800m, the final of which was only one hour and twenty minutes after Lynne’s excellent 1500m victory.   The pace was unhurried as they went through the bell in 64 seconds.   With 300 to go Lynne took the lead in a bid for home and was closely followed by Sue Bevan and Mary Anderson.   By 200m to go, Sue was putting on the pressure and then Mary started to come to the front at the 150m mark.   Into the straight and any one of the leading pack could have won.   As they neared the finish, Mary Anderson seemed lost for pace ad India’s Shiny Abrahams seemed to come from nowhere to take the lead.   Lynne McIntyre made a valiant bid to catch her over the last few metres and almost did so, but Shiny had just made it to the line to win.   1.   S Abrahams   2:06.72; 2.   L McIntyre   2:06.77; 3.   M Anderson   2:07.76; 4.   S Bevan   2:08.32.”    (Anglo-Scot Sue Bevan was comparatively young at this point but she was to go to become a Scottish International track runner over 800m both indoors and out in the 1980’s)   Lynne now had her qualification for the Games and at the end of the summer in 1989she was ranked second to Yvonne Murray in both the 800 (with 2:03.43) and 1500 (4:08.14).    When it was announced that only 22 athletes would be selected for Auckland with only ten of them women, there was a real stushie with SAAA Secretary Ewan Murray pilloried for saying that no one would go ‘just for the trip’.    Ruth Booth the women’s team manager was ‘upset and amazed’ at the lack of places and the SWAAA complained formally.   Nevertheless the team went as selected and Lynne was there.   November 1989 was another victory for her in the GU Road Race – this time in 26:15 for the 5.5 mile course from Ruth McAleese (27:34).

In February 1990, Doug Gillon previewed the Commonwealth Games in ‘Scotland’s Runner’ and had this to say about Lynne: “Lynne McIntyre with solid warm-up outings at 1500m and 800m is beginning to regain the form which took her to the Olympic 1500m as a teenager, and cannot be dismissed as a medal prospect in the metric mile.”      Further through the same issue of the magazine in an article entitled ‘For Love Or Money’ which dealt with the difficulties for athletes of trying to balance a full-time athletics life style with the need to earn money to put bread on the table, the following comments were made: “At least £10,000 a year is what several of the Auckland Scots calculate athletics is costing them.   …. For McIntyre that Commonwealth Games equation came true in 1986.   The 13th Games in Edinburgh provided the scene for her proudest moment in a successful international athletics career.   Wearing the dark blue vest of Scotland in Meadowbank was more fulfilling to the Glasgow woman than any of the other numerous occasions when she has competed for Scotland.   “At Commonwealth Games time it becomes very important to be Scottish,” Lynne says, “and because they are the ‘Friendly Games’ as well, it is so much better that we compete as a small country.”   …..  “I think that if we competed as a British team the Games would be viewed in a different light – it would be just another competition.   A further reason is that the English are so good they would make up most of a GB team”   …..   The Commonwealth Games can provide Scottish athletes with the level of competition to inspire them and to promote pride in themselves and in their performances.   Not all international appearances for Scotland can do this, as Lynne recalls, “I think the worst I have ever felt in a Scottish vest was when we competed against Birchfield Harriers and the Midlands.   There we were – a National team – taking on a team from an English club and a region!   It was an opinion of our standards before we even started.”      (I should maybe add, that for many years after this the same fixture continued – it was designated a ‘Scottish Representative’ team and a ‘Representative fixture’ with the word ‘International’ carefully avoided.   The Midlands Select was always of a very high standard and it was not at all certain that we would beat them.   To add to the lack of a sense of occasion, the vests and tracksuits were issued to the athletes and taken back again afterwards!    I remember coming back after one such encounter at a time when the Scottish kit supplier was changing from Asics to Nike: the track suits were issued, taken back again and then a sale was held on the bus with the track suits going for £5 each!   Only the green eye-shades were missing).

However, Lynne went to the Games in Auckland and right well did she do there!    After a lot of trouble with injuries and other problems she went and was fifth in the final – but good as that sounds, it was even better than it sounds.   The Games were the third to be held in New Zealand and to the great relief of the organisers, there was no boycott as there had been in Edinburgh in 1986.    Lynne made the final of the 1500m easily enough as did Yvonne Murray and Karen Hutcheson.   In a fast race, Lynne missed the silver medal by one second – in fifth place!    The result:   1.   Angela Chalmers (Canada) 4:08.41; 2.   Christina Cahill (England) 4:08.75; 3.   Bev Nicholson (England) 4:09.00; 4.   Yvonne Murray (Scotland)  4:09.54; 5.   Lynne MacDougall (Scotland) 4:09.75; 6.   Debbie Bowker (Canada) 4:11.20  …. 10. Karen Hutcheson (Scotland) 4:13.77.   Lynne says “This was another great experience.   The New Zealanders really ensured that it was an athlete friendly Games and it had a much better sense of occasion than the Games four years previously in Edinburgh.   I ran 4:07 in an Open Graded in Australia prior to the Games so I knew I was coming back to good form.   Unfortunately I had a very sore tendon in the lead-up to the Games and this limited my training in terms of volume although my track sessions were very good.   I think I managed to compete well at this Games despite this because I was away from my home environment for eight weeks training in Australia.”

 By the end of the year she was second in the 800m rankings with 2:04.43 to Yvonne Murray’s 2:03.57 and third in the 1500m behind Liz McColgan and Yvonne with 4:08.88.   Still plagued by injury, there had been times when it seemed that she would not be able to run in Auckland but with a lot of medical assistance, she did and that made the year a big success.   There was however a price to pay in the form of operation on ankle tendons.

 In 1991 there was only one race – the national 3000m championship which she won.   Doug covered it as follows in the ‘Herald’ of 6th July 1991: “McIntyre Is Back In The Big Time.   Scotland’s forgotten Olympian Lynne McIntyre, ended the wilderness years when she won the 3000m crown, the first track to be decided in last night’s opening session of the Scottish national athletics championships.   The City of Glasgow woman was an Olympic finalist over 1500m in Los Angeles at the age of 19.   But for six years she has been plagued by back and ankle tendon injuries.   Surgery last year repaired the ankle damage  and at Crown Point Stadium, now aged 26, the three time former national  1500m title-winner showed a flash of her former glories in her first championship outing at the longer distance.   She sprinted clear of Hayley Haining with 250m to go to clock 9 minutes 24.23 seconds.   “There were quite a few times that I thought of giving up athletics,” said psychology graduate McIntyre, “I was not only frustrated by the injuries but at not being able to run as fast as when I was younger.   But now I am going to try to make the Barcelona Olympics.” 

As it turned out, other than that, Lynne did not race at all either on the road, on the track or over the country.    It looked like the end of a first rate career in the sport …… it looked like it but there was more to come.    There were Olympics in 1992 and Lynne was never one to pass up on a challenge!   There was an article in ‘The Herald’ on 13th January 1992 by Doug Gillon which began: “Lynne McIntyre, racing cross-country for the first time in six years, captured the Scottish closed 4000m title from defending champion Vicki Vaughn yesterday at Irvine and earned herself a certain place in the Scottish team to contest the world championship trial at Basingstoke on February 9th.”   Not just back in business but straight in at international level!   The race was run in perfect conditions on ‘a perfect course’ at Irvine Riverside in an extended version of the article in ‘Scotland’s Runner of  February 1992, she told Doug that there had been a planned progression back to racing fitness. she knew that if the tendons broke down she was finished.   But now?   “I’m quite motivated about Barcelona , at either 1500m or 3000m, but my times haven’t improved for seven years . and after so many disappointments I’m reluctant to admit to Olympic possibilities, even to myself.”   Doug added that it was a ‘timely boost’ for McIntyre after several seasons when her career teetered on the brink.   The result of the race was – 1.   L McIntyre   15:09;   2.   V Vaughan   15:15;   3.   A Rose   15:32.

But nothing was ever easy for Lynne.   ‘Scotland’s Runner’ again:  “National 4000m champion Lynne McIntyre who entertained hopes of a medal, withdrew just before the gun with a leg muscle problem and required minor surgery on her return.   She expects to be back in training in a fortnight.”   It didn’t turn out well for her though and she was absent from the SWAAA Championships and the Olympic Trials nor was she ranked in any event at all at the end of the year.   Her next appearance in the Scottish Championships was on 10th July 1993 at Grangemouth when she won the 3000m in 9:28.4 from Sue Ridley (9:34.9).   “… Lynne McIntyre regained the 3000m title, breaking clear at the bell from last year’s winner Sue Ridley …. she proved that she has regained her appetite for the competitive fray,”   reported Alasdair Fraser for ‘Scotland’s Runner.   But it was not until the end of 1995 that Doug Gillon wrote the following in the ‘Herald’ under the headline ‘McIntyre plans to put athletics career back on track.’   1993 was also the year when she won the first ever Glasgow Women’s 10K Road Race.   The race, famous for both the quality of athlete at the ‘sharp end’ and the huge numbers of runners taking part is still being run and Lynne is still racing in it.   If you go to YouTube and type in ‘Lynne MacDougall’ you will get a film clip of her finishing first in the 2009 race.

The athletics jury which has already condemned 30-year-old Lynne McIntyre one of sports under-achievers may yet have to reconsider.   Twelve years after she was the youngest Olympic 1500m finalist at 19, the City of Glasgow woman hopes to return and win selection for Atlanta in the same event.   Why not?   She has overturned a catalogue of disasters, any one of which would have buried a person of lesser moral fibre.   In 1984, McIntyre was seventh in Los Angeles.   A week later she set a British junior 800m record (2:01.11) which still stands.   Were it not for South African Zola Budd’s passport of convenience, she would also hold the 1500m mark.   Charting the rise and demise of the former Lynne McDougall is simple, but behind the statistics – as many Scottish senior outdoors titles as Commonwealth champions Liz McColgan and Yvonne Murray combined – and the belief that she can run faster after a 12 year absence, lies a saga of triumph against emotional and physical adversity.   The death of her coach, and then her father, painful injury, surgery, and then divorce – all while earning an honours degree and a distinction in a post-graduation Masters – conspired against her.   Budd and McIntyre, the two youngest in that 1984 team, exchanged little conversation, with Budd a cloistered pawn in a newspaper circulation war.  However McIntyre, dismissing two Commonwealth Final appearances as incidental, hopes to have the last word.   Just two months after her seventeenth birthday, belying her frail physique, she won the Scottish senior 1500m title, setting a senior native record.   It survived a week, broken by future Commonwealth 10000m champion  Murray – one year her senior.   Two years later McIntyre won the national senior cross-country title with Murray second.   And when Murray won the 1986 Scottish 1500m title, the older McColgan – later that year to become the Commonwealth 10K senior champion – was runner-up.   In 1989 she set a Scottish championship 1500m record which still stands, and the future European and World finalist, Alison Wyeth, was runner-up when McIntyre won the UK 1500m title.

“But perhaps none of this should have surprised.   In the winter of ’76, she had given a clue by running future Olympic 400m finalist Linsey MacDonald a close second in the Scottish under-13 cross-country championships.   A few months ago, despite having kept in modest shape – enough to pick up what, by her own standards, were soft Scottish track and cross-country titles in the interim – McIntyre was contemplating final retirement.   Instead after her flickering enthusiasm had been kept alive by Gerry Barnes and Bill Parker, she returned to John Anderson, the man who had helped steer her to Olympic success following the death of much-loved Glasgow coach Ronnie Kane.   Anderson refused to help her unless she was serious.   “I told him I was back because I felt I’d never fulfilled my potential,” she said. “If I could achieve that at 19, psychologically immature, I know I can run faster now.   I got a poor degree at Strathclyde (she dismisses a second-class honours degree in psychology) and don’t want to look back on my athletics in the same way.   Perhaps I can do as well in my athletics, second time around, as I did in my masters.   It was perhaps no coincidence that she sought out Anderson within days of her former husband re-marrying.   “It took me three years to sort out my life after our marriage broke up,” she said.   “I felt ineffectual – as if I could not control my life.   It was hard working out where I went from there.    But women, I think, do better than men in that situation because they confront themselves.   We internalise it while men just carry on.”   Listening, one understands why at 21, she counselled drug addicts and alcoholics full time, and why now she co-ordinates the Glasgow Healthy City project which attempts to address the problem of urban regeneration by combating unemployment, poverty and deprivation.   She realises winning Olympic gold   might be easier than changing Government attitudes.   The elfin face is remarkably unchanged since 1984, I observe.   “Surprising, considering I enjoy a Glenmorangie – with a dash of water – and a good dry white wine,”  she says with a laugh.   The heresy: “There’s more to life than athletics.”   Perhaps that truth reveals why she might just succeed in turning back the clock.   Unlike most top athletes, she puts something back.   Responding to an initiative by fellow 800m internationalist Carol Sharp, McIntyre will help present a Puma-backed conference next week end at Jordanhill College which will attempt to reverse the pattern which sees Murray as the only Scott, Sharp and McIntyre apart, to have broken 2:03 for two laps in more than a decade.   Perhaps en route to Atlanta, Lynne will retrace her footsteps and show the way.”

Back with John Anderson, Lynne ended 1996 with six of the top sixteen Scottish 1500m times as follows:

The top time of 4:17.10 ranked her fourteenth in Britain.   She had also run 2:08.37 for 800m which placed her fourth in Scotland and 36th in Britain.  In July however, there was a Scottish silver and bronze at the British Championships in Sheffield with Yvonne Murray (15:39.08) second and Lynne third (15:43.03).  There was also a road 5K in 17:15 which was sixth best time by a Scot that year.   The Annual Yearbook commented, “Lynne MacDougall’s successful comeback continued with a list topping of 4:17.10 – the slowest time to top the Scottish rankings since 1977 – a year when a 12 year old Miss MacDougall appeared in the lists for the first time with a 4:52.3.   She also won her fourth National in a close finish with Irish holder Ann Tevek.”   In 1997 her road racing had gone up to 10K and she was third in the rankings after winning at Ayr in 33:42.   On the track she had four of the top seven 1500m times (4:12.4 at Crown Point in August, 4:16.6 at Sheffield in February, 4:20.1 at Enfield in June and 4:22.8 at Grangemouth in July) prompting the following comment from the statisticians: “32 year old MacDougall took advantage of a mixed race at Crown Point to record 4:12.4 – her fastest run since 1990 – and recorded four other winning races under 4:24 with a victory in Malaysia in 4:23.7 in thick smog in September.”  The Malaysian race was an interesting one: Lynne had been sent on a fact-finding errand by Scottish Athletics to Kuala Lumpur ahead of the following year’s Commonwealth Games and while there, they had won the Malaysian Championships (‘despite 80% humidity and serious air pollution’)! Also in 1997, Lynne had three of the top five Scottish times for the 5000m – 15:45.03 in Sheffield in June placed her second, victory at Crown Point in 15:51.7 in June placed her third and 16:04.01 at Birmingham when she was third behind Yvonne Murray in July placed her fifth.

The rankings in 1998 took an interesting turn in that there were ranked places in three road races and only one track position.   The statisticians said in their yearbook, that she had concentrated on road running  that year and certainly her placings showed that.   In road racing, Lynne was first in the rankings for 10 miles when she won in Manchester in August with 55:58, second for 5 Miles when she won in Glasgow in February with 26:23, and third for the 10K when she was first in Belfast in 33:32.   On the track she had second and sixth in the 5000m – 16:01.41 when finishing fifth in Turku, and 16:21.8 when winning at Crown Point in August.  Unfortunately, because of injuries she could not run in the Commonwealth Games.

Unfortunately in 1999, Lynne appeared nowhere at all in the ranking lists.   The injuries that had denied her a third Commonwealth Games after she had been one of the first to be selected, had not gone away and were still causing her some difficulty.

By 2000 Lynne was committed to road running – at home she was ranked fourth at the five miles distance with her 27:49 when finishing second in Glasgow in November behind Hayley Haining, Katie Skorupska and Gillian Palmer.   She was top of the 10K road distance with her winning time from Leeds in December of 33:22 from Hayley Haining’s 33:38.   At ten miles her winning time from Carlisle in November of 57:37 placed her fourth.   She also had the top two half marathon times of 74:50 (Reading, March) and 75:43 (Glasgow, August) as well as a creditable 79:31 at Bristol in October when she decided to drop out, then changed her mind and turned in a time that many men would be pleased to call their own!.   But at the longest standard distance of the marathon she topped the rankings with 2:38:22 from second placer Trudi Thomson’s 2:40:40.  This was turned in when she was first British female runner to finish in the London Marathon which meant that she was the UK  Women’s Marathon Champion.     The picture below was taken in August 2000 when Lynne and partner Allan went for a running holiday in America.   In the North Reading, Mass., 5 miles Allan won the men’s race in 24:52 and Lynne was fifth overall and first woman in 28:43.   They’re entitled to smile!    The statisticians welcomed her not only to road racing but also to the veterans’ ranks with “New veteran Lynne MacDougall, in her first serious road racing season, recorded excellent times in the 10K, half-marathon and marathon.”

Lynne with partner Allan Adams after they won a double victory in America in 2000

Despite appearing on no fewer than five Scottish all-time ranking lists, Lynne in 2001 stuck to road running where the ability that had her as one of the best ever at distances from 800m to 5000m on the track indicated that she was certainly one of the best of her generation on this surface too.    As a V35 she was ranked second to Hayley Haining at 10000m with her time of 34:30 when finishing eighth at Cheltenham in September and topped the lists at 10 Miles (55:28 when winning at Carlisle in November), half marathon (74:24 when finishing in fifteenth in the Great North Run at South Shields in September) and in the marathon (with 2:37:40 at London in April).   As far as championships were concerned she won the Scottish 10,000m with a  time  of 34:41 and it was her second national title at the distance with the first being in 1993 when she was timed at 34:28.

In 2002,  she retained her first place in the marathon rankings with the improved time of 2:36:29 when finishing second in Seville in February.  This gave her the qualifying time for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. But there was an unexpected problem.   Doug Gillon covered it with his article in the ‘Herald’ of 14th June that year.   Under the headline “Injury Gives MacDougall Much To Chew Over”,  he said:   “Scotland yesterday confirmed the first three places in the Commonwealth Games team for Manchester:  Marathoners Simon Pride and Lynne MacDougall and Sarah-Jane Cattermole for the 20K Walk.   An Olympic finalist 18 years ago in Los Angeles, MacDougall reached the Commonwealth Games 1500m final in 1986 and 1990 but ran her fastest marathon in Seville earlier this year.   She is an uncertain starter for the Bank of Scotland team however.   “I have a back injury which may be related to my teeth, perhaps my bite is out of alignment, and have missed some training,” she said.   “I am to see a specialist and will go only if I am fit enough.”   As it turned out, she didn’t think she was and missed the Games. Doug from the ‘Herald’ on 31st August 2002: “City of Glasgow’s MacDougall ruled herself out of Scotland’s Commonwealth Games team with a back problem.   She was a bitterly disappointed spectator when the Manchester bronze medal went with a 2:36:37 which was 15 seconds above what she had run in Spain.   “It’s been a bit de-motivating,” she said.   “I haven’t raced since that marathon but my back injury has gone and I’m back in training.”    Her other ranking places in 2002 were third in the 10000m with 34:19 recorded when winning at Paisley in September and third in the half marathon with 76:24 which she ran at Glasgow in September when she finished tenth.      Incidentally when she won the half marathon at Alloa in March, Allan won the men’s race to reprise the American result from 2000!

She appeared only in the 5 Miles and 10K ranking lists in 2003 – fifth with 26:08 in February for her run at Alsager in Cheshire and sixth with 35:24 two weeks later at Grangemouth where she finished second – but the Annual Yearbook noted that Gillian Palmer, Kathy Butler and Lynne MacDougall were all injured in 2003 which left the way open for such as Susan Partridge and Hayley Haining over the shorter distances and Trudi Thomson over the longer ones.   It was now five years since her last track race and although still racing well her career at the very top was by now over.   However, unlike many of her rivals she kept her love for the sport and kept on racing domestically: in 2005 she was third in the 5K Challenge in Glasgow with a time of 19:43; in 2007, by now a V40, she is on the record as having run run a 3K in November round Glasgow Green in 10:51 after having already run two 10K’s, in 37:34 in May and 37:56 in June – all three were in Glasgow.   Lynne ran the Women’s 10K in Glasgow in 2008 in 38:09, in 2009 in 38:54, in 2010 in 38:49 and in 2011 in 39:21 (second V45).

Settled now and living on the south side of Glasgow with Allan and their son Josh, with a good job which she loves at Glasgow University, she is very contented with her life but continues to run – and I believe she will continue to do so just because she loves to run.  She is still mentioned in despatches (eg in the ‘Sunday Herald’ preview of the 2009 Glasgow Women’s 10K there is a this: “25 years after she was the youngest Olympic 1500m finalist, Lynne MacDougall, now a mum, is in action again …).    There was also

Settled now and living on the south side of Glasgow with Allan and their son Josh, with a good job which she loves at Glasgow University, she is very contented with her life but continues to run – and I believe she will continue to do so just because she loves to run.  She is still mentioned in despatches (eg in the ‘Sunday Herald’ preview of the 2009 Glasgow Women’s 10K there is a this: “25 years after she was the youngest Olympic 1500m finalist, Lynne MacDougall, now a mum, is in action again …).    There was also another excellent article covering the various aspects of her career as a runner, student, graduate, mother, etc, in ‘The Herald’ of 3rd May 2010 in the course of which she says “I’m retired, so I only run four times a week.”   Her running career was stellar and, but for the dreadful injuries and the toll they exacted, it could have been even better.   She is an excellent advertisement for the sport and indeed a first class role model for any young sports person.