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Christine running for Scotland in Die, France

Christine was by 1986 a genuine hill runner and racer with many good runs behind her and one who was highly respected by the hill running cognoscenti.    She followed her second place in the 1985 SHRA championships with another second place in 1986.    Important as these championship placings are, they are the result of running in several races in a variety of categories during the season and although none of them are easy races or runs, the championships give no indication of the runner’s preferences or race schedules.   Christine had been encouraged in her early hill running days by several people.  In “Voices From The Hills” she mentions Clydesdale Harrier Bobby Shields (former Ben Nevis and West Highland Way record holder, his brother Jim, Robin Morris of Carnethy and Denis Bell of Haddington.   There were also of course a number of women who helped and inspired her – Ann Curtis and Helen Diamantides plus Pauline Haworth and Joss Naylor of the Lake District.   At this stage of her career Christine ran well but as the years went by, her interests and abilities took her into longer and more challenging events but we can start here with some of the races that she contested in 1986.   

Most of the race results have been taken from “The Fellrunner” whose report started with this paragraph:  “Snow drifts, cold and high winds contributed to this year’s winning time being 17 minutes slower than last year.   Anyone who ran this year, and managed to beat their previous best time, should lodge a claim for a prize of a year’s supply of ice cream.” 

Although Christine was running well and being highly placed in most races, Ben Lomond was the only run over an hour’s duration and as we said above, she would come to in the longer challenges than those she faced of 1986.   For instance the Great Wilderness Challenge which would be the scene of one of her best races was first run in 1986 but she was maybe not ready for it at that stage.   1987 on the other hand saw a brilliant run in the Arrochar Alps race.   Into 1987 and we see these longer races appearing: 

Note that Ben Lomond, the longest tackled in 1986, was only the third on the list in 1987 and there were two of approximately 4 hours each.   Although it was early in her career, and although she subsequently broke numerous records at many venues, this Arrochar Alps one was always a bit special.    The profile of the course below shows the four Munroes and the steepness of the climbs and descents.

She is quoted in “Voices From The Hills” : “The record run that I enjoyed most and which stood for the longest was the 1987 Arrochar Alps Race (there was no duck-boarding over the bog in these days).”   Her record was broken by Andrea Priestly in 2010 by three minutes.   It had stood for 23 years.    The “Fellrunner” magazine report of the report from the Winter 1987 issue is below.

Given the quality of the run, and its significance in the development of Christine as a hill runner, the map of the trail is also shown below.

1987 was indeed an important year for her since, as well as beginning a series of massive challenges in terms of distances and heights, she was ranked sixth equal in the British Fell Running Championships and was first Scot.   Christine included more and more of the longer races into her programme and by 1989 she added the Bens of Jura race where she was first Lady in 4 hours 16 minutes 15 seconds.    A 16 miles race with 7,500 feet of ascent, held on 27th April with “a blazing hot sun” to contend with as well as the boggy underfoot condition with knee deep heather.   Second Lady was Ruth Pickvance, timed in at 4:28:24, with P Gibb (4:29:00) and Ann Curtis (4:35:38) in third and fourth.   The next big one was the Glen Rosa Horseshoe on the Isle of Arran on 24th June which she won in 2:51:08.   This was a 12 miles race with 5,500 feet of ascent with 37 runners from all over the country taking part.     These no doubt helped her gain selection for the World Cup Mountain Races at Die, France on 16th and 17th September 1989.   Christine ran well to finish 37th of the 53 finishers and was fourth scoring runner in the fifth placed Scottish team.   She did of course run other races in ’88 – eg Dumyat where she was first Lady in 42:07 in May and the Broad Law (uphill only) where she was second to Trish Calder who was running very well indeed that year – but the trend was to the more challenging, longer and more difficult technically events.

Christine is pictured below with Scottish team mate Brian Potts in Die.

1989 finished with Christine ranked sixth in the British Championships.   It had been a good year in which she had confirmed her position as a formidable competitor on any hill at any distance. 

Picture from Westerlands CCC website

Any athlete who ended their career with National Championship victories in four different age categories over an incredible 30 years would be  reasonably happy with their achievements.  These successes were not, it should be remembered, for a single race, but for a series of races at varying distances, in different conditions and over all sorts of  terrain.   The calibre of opposition faced included, in Christine’s case, such as the legendary Angela Mudge, the quite outstanding Helen Diamantides, the very talented Tricia Calder,  Elspeth Scott and Ann Curtis, plus the others mentioned below and a host of superb women hill runners in what was a golden age for the sport.   

If we add to that a catalogue of international and invitational races across the globe including all the home countries plus most of Europe from France to Poland and even round the world to Australia, we have a picture of a very talented athlete indeed.   Nor was she one of the athletes who have a good career in their chosen sport but put nothing back in – Christine also did her share of committee work and race organisation when starting out at a time when women’s place in ultra distance running, and particularly on and over the hills and mountains was in its infancy.   Before following her sporting career, we should have a look at her sporting background.   This page will look at the background to her running and the start of her career as a serious runner before looking at the different aspects separately.

Name: Christine, nee Taylor, was born in Bolton in Lancashire.   

Date of Birth: 15th October 1956.   

Clubs: Bellahouston Harriers, Clydesdale Harriers, Westerlands CCC.

Family background: The Taylor family had an active lifestyle and are described in Steve Chilton’s book “Voices from the Hills” as a hill walking family.   Her father used to tell Christine and her sister “Don’t sit down, you’ll get stiff.”   As teenagers they ‘struggled through wind and mist up numerous Welsh and Lakeland hills when, as she says, they would rather have been on the beach.    She emphasises though that “Without a doubt, I owe my love of mountains and adventure to my parents’ early encouragement and passion for the outdoors.”   

Sporting background:  Although her school did not include track and field athletics but concentrated on team sports, she did represent it in the lacrosse, netball, tennis and rounders teams.   Plus 

(1) competitive dinghy sailing crewing at various events.   

(2) As a student she enjoyed squash at university, 

(3) She did some jogging to keep fit and had an occasional run up Winter Hill which was not far from the house she grew up in.     (NB: Winter Hill is 1496 feet in height and a hill race in its own right).

As a student she did some work in the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe which allowed her to indulge in hill walking and climbing during the day.   The buzz in the Bar in the evenings, with all the hill walkers’ tales and stories which all helped her decide to move to Glasgow after finishing her university studies.

Christine, on the left, at the WMRA Championships in Die, France

These all meant that she was a very fit person indeed with a love of the hills when the Glasgow Marathon appeared on the scene in 1984.   She first ran in it in 1985 as a member of Bellahouston Harriers.   That first run was timed at 3 hours 08 minutes 08 seconds.    In a field of 11, 492 runners, men and women combined, she finished 1303rd.   She ran in Glasgow again and had faster time and also a bit further afield.  eg in Snowdonia (2nd Lady finisher), Lochaber, Windermere and Moscow.   The experience of running Moscow where she was part of a tour party, was a bit different from the others .   When asked how she got roped into that one, she comments:  “Restless by nature and saw it advertised in Running Mag I think. Pete and I just decided to go for it; we wanted to run together but there were separate starts. Didn’t find him until ww met in the foreigners finishing chute and got bundled into a gym for caviar, eggs, black bread and tea – just what no one wanted at that point!!! Later our gang wenr hunting for beer ( within our allowed zone) and ended up in a weird hotel ‘night club’ drinking the only thing they had – champagne – by the bottle!   Got in very, very late, we didn’t bother sleeping – just packed our bags and waited in the foyer to be picked up for our very early flight to St Petersburgh ( Leningrad); most of us fell asleep on the coach tour of the city!!!”   As for the race itself – “Moscow was very hot and humid – black bread, pear juice and milky tea were the en route refreshments; streets lined with soldiers, women who stared you up and down for your good kit and trainers (gave away post-race).Great memories of the wee tour group of which Pete (ex hubby) and I were a part and saw some amazing pre -perestroika Russia.”

Back at home, training consisted of running on the roads around the south side of Glasgow and when she got married her husband took her ice climbing in the winter – not a pursuit that recommended itself to her as something she’d want to pursue but nevertheless we have an image of a very active lifestyle encompassing a variety of sports and activities  and all the while managing to obtain not only a university degree but also a post graduate qualification too.   It is surprising that these were not her only activities at this point.   She tells us via Steve Chilton’s book that back in the early 1980’s  her good friend Ali Coghill who worked at the Inverclyde Sports Centre encouraged her to enter the Scottish Island Peaks Race as part of an all women team using he mountaineering skills, marathon running experience and sailing experience.  1984 was a year of hard training and they used Christine’s father’s boat – a Contessa 32 footer.   Her running partner was Lesley Kirkwood who also worked at the Clachaig.  They competed at that time in several SIPR’s.  She says that they competed well and a passion for the race that was to last – as we will see – for three and a half decades.

She was still a member of Bellahouston Harriers and running for them and her career as a hill runner was just starting.   “The Fellrunner” magazine for November, 1985, listed the winners of the Scottish Hill Running Championship for that year as follows:  1.  A Curtis, Livingston;  2.  C Taylor, Bellahouston.   Among her races that year was a fourth place in the Bens of Jura race on 25th May – a 16 miles 7,500 foot of ascent race which was won again by Ann Curtis. 

We have now followed Christine from her school days where she competed for the school in four different sports and spent a lot of time on the hills with her family to the point where she was starting out on a career as a hill and mountain runner that would show her as a top class international athlete.   It is appropriate to look at some of the many challenges and races that she undertook during her 30+ year career in the sport.

The Scottish Island Peaks Race    Hill Runner 1986-89     To The Top:1990-99    From the Year 2000     Pictures  

This collection of cuttings, photographs and memorabilia from Hugh Barrow begins with Herb Elliott and Gordon Pirie after a cross country race in England.

These are entitled simply     “A Famous Victory!”

And, as member number one of the British Milers Club, the following has significance for Hugh over and above that for the future of British Middle DFistance running.

The historian in Hugh shows with this clipping of a football match between Clydesdale Harriers and Rangers FC.

Whatever became of Shawfield (below)?   A venue for athletics from way back in the 19th century with pro athletes every week to start with, then when we knew of it after the War as the place where the Lanarkshire Constabulary Sports were held.   Sad, sad pictures.

Maybe the Celtic FC Sports???

Cars on the actual track.   As Hugh says, during the half time races at cup finals and Ne-erday matches the track could get a wee bit crowded at times.

Frank Horwill, one of the founders of the BMC and a name synonymous with the club, was never slow to voice an opinion.

An unusual angle of the start of the first 4 minute mile (NB Alan Gordon, a Scot, the forgotten man!)

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The fifth annual Junior International took place on 13th August, 1983 and was previewed in the ‘Scotsman’ in the lead-in the week before as follows:

Given their form in the senior ranks since the international the previous year, the nomination of McDougall and Parsons maybe didn’t need a crystal ball but the other names had been well selected.   The Scottish team was a very strong one with Elliot Bunney 3rd in the 100 and 2nd in the 200m, Jim Nicol 2nd in the 400m,  Geoff Parsons 1st in the high jump, Craig Duncan 2nd in the Long Jump, and Carol Candlish (400m), Lynne McDougall (800), Karen Hutcheson (1500m) all winning their events.   

One year later on 4th August in 1984 the 4 nations faced up to each other at Meadowbank.   The following preview was printed in the ‘Scotsman’ on Friday, 3rd August.

As far as the highlight predicted above was concerned, Jayne was second in the high jump but her best clearance on the day was 1.82m which was a bit short of the record.   As for the others, Elliot Bunney won the 100m, Dawn Flockhart won both 100m and 200m, Alistair Currie won the 1500m and Craig Duncan won the long jump.   There were many seconds and thirds with the team result being a win for England with 335 .5 points, Scotland was second with 222.5, Wales had 174.5 and Northern Ireland 125.5.   

In 1985 the date was 17th August when, although he was still eligible, Bunney was advised not to accept the invitation to run because the meeting was only five days before a GB international for which he had been selected.   However he did agree to run but only in the relay as a gesture of support. Sandy Sutherland gave the meeting more coverage in the ‘Scotsman’ then the ‘Glasgow Herald’ sports editor did and his report is below.

When the meeting was held on 16th August 1986, it was not realised that it would be the last in the series.    It had been a good meeting, one which helped young athletes progress in competition against the best of the rest of Great Britain as well as a target for new Junior athletes in their first season in the Junior Ranks.   Several clubs had their first athlete ever ‘capped’ in these fixtures.   For example, the following extracts from regional papers indicate how significant the fixture was all across Scotland.  First, from the ‘Galloway News & Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser’ of 21st August:

‘Arbroath Herald’ 22nd August –

From the Fife Free Press 8th August

From Falkirk Herald, 15th August

From the ‘Perthshire Advertiser’

That was just a small selection of reports found in fifteen minutes; from Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife Perthshire, Arbroath, Glasgow and Galloway.   A big event which was good for the athletes, the clubs, their home areas and for Scotland which ended all too soon.   

The performances of all Scots at all meetings (except for 1983 where p

Bells  Junior International: Scots Positions 1978-86

The pages below indicate the finishing positions of the Scottish competitors in the above competition along with the team results.   They were kindly supplied by the official Scottish athletics historian Arnold Black.

Graham Williamson winning an invitation race at Meadowbank

Bell’s Junior International meeting was an annual competition between Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales and was sponsored by the Bell’s Whisky company and held at Meadowbank.  Bell’s, under the chairmanship of Raymond Miquel, were enthusiastic sponsors of sporting events and supported the annual Tennis Championships of the Highlands, the Junior Athletics International, the Bell’s Badminton Championship of the Highlands and in 1983 they extended their sponsorship of golf (which included the PGA Cup and the Ryder Cup) to include sponsorship of the PGA Junior Championship.   Individually they provided 66 individual Outward Bound scholarships at Loch Eil in Inverness.    The event began in 1978 and went on through the 1980’s.   

The first meeting was held on 29th July, 1978.   Ron Marshall’s take on proceedings for the ‘Glasgow Herald’ are reproduced below.

A disappointing result written in a tell-it-like-it-is fashion by the Herald’s top athletics reporter.   With hindsight, there are a couple of interesting names in the English team.   First Neil Black who won the 1500m was a very good athlete who would later join Bellahouston and be a top member of their very good team before going in to the administration of the sport; second the English winner of the men’s shot putt was Andy Vince who would become Scottish National Coach in the 1990’s and coach several very good Scots athletes.   Graham Williamson was of course always a very good talent and thoroughly deserved his victory after being very badly treated when omitted from the Scottish team for the Edmonton Commonwealth Games.  

Despite the disappointing result first time round, the second match took place on 31st July, 1979 again at Meadowbank with increased sponsorship from Bell’s.+   It was previewed in ‘The Scotsman’  by Sandy Sutherland on 24th August under the headline of  ‘More Cash for Junior Match’  as follows.

The accommodation arrangements as described by Sandy do seem rather strange with athletes from the east travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow four times in a couple of days.   Graham Williamson was missed but he had very good run in the World Student Games where he won the 1500m.   With an international match in Dresden and the women’s British League match final taking place on the same day, space in the Monday papers was at a premium but the ‘Glasgow Herald’ gave the Bell’s match only a passing reference while the ‘Scotsman’ (Sandy Sutherland again) was a bit more detailed and did include the results.

There is a disjointed sentence which refers to the 1500m which should have read that Fiona McQueen won the women’s event with a strike from halfway enabling her to win easily, and in the men’s. the tactic was almost copied by Steve Cram.    At the start of their careers, Williamson won 21 out of 22 races with his rival but missed out on the CG in Edmonton while England took Cram along.   Not a good move by the Scotland selectors – but in ’79 while Cram was at the Junior International, Williamson was to win the World Student Games 1500m   Lots of very good names in this list of results with many Scots who were to shine in years to come including Linsey, Fiona, Dawn Kitchen, Chris McGeorge and Paul Mardle for Scotland and others like Eugene Gilkes and Ossie Cham spread through the field. 

Linsey McDonald winning at the British Airways Games

The decade ended with the meeting being held on 26th July in 1980 when it clashed with the Olympic Games in Moscow which grabbed all the attention and almost all the space available in the Press.   The ‘Sunday Post’ gave us this on the day immediately afterwards.

One day later, the ‘Herald’ gave slightly greater coverage when it said  “England won the Bell’s Junior Home Countries International at Meadowbank on Saturday.   They scored 349 points, Wales were second with 198, Scotland third with 190 and Northern Ireland fourth with 124.   The English team was so strong that in many events they took maximum points.   Scotland badly missed Linsey McDonald.   In her absence England’s Jane Parry took the sprint double in 11.95 and 24.17 but Kaye Jeffrey proved to be an able substitute for Linsey in the 100 metres finishing second in 24.34 seconds.”

And that was it as far as coverage went.   

27th July, 1981 saw the fourth in the series and a new star took the headlines in the ‘Scotsman’.

Again many very good athletes – and that was a part of the attraction: spotting the stars of the future.   The Scotsman gave us Sandra (pictured below in the Commonwealth Games of 1986) and Ann on the women’s side and Paul Mardle (AAA’s champion whose father Des was a Scottish Staff Coach) but others who would prove to be quite outstanding were Peter Elliott of England in the 800m, his team mate Paul Davies-Hale in the 3000m and Roald Bradstock in the javelin, and Nigel Walker for Wales in the sprint hurdles.

A year later, 7th August in 1982 was the date of the now firmly established annual Meadowbank fixture.   It continued to showcase some really high quality up-and-coming talent.   For instance Lynne McDougall, a future Olympic finalist running for Scotland defeated another future Scottish and British internationalist in Elise Lyon for a Scottish 1-2.  It was another Commonwealth Games year with the team not yet selected. The ‘Herald’ report on Monday begins with comments on that and 9th reads –

Complete results are not available at this point but we do have all the Scottish athletes performances, courtesy Arnold Black at the link below.

Bell’s Junior International: Scots Positions 1978-86

The photograph above – not quite the same as the one on the earlier pages (note the marathon runner here who is missing from the other) – shows John and the team with which he is most associated in Scotland – the 1986 Commonwealth Games team – but it is not the only Scottish team that he worked with.   We will have a look at various aspects of his work with GB teams and Olympic Games squads in this look at his athletics career, but let’s not forget the 17 (yes, seventeen) times he worked with Scottish teams.   The list is impressive.

*Bell’s Junior International and was sponsored by Bell’s Whisky Company.   It was an annual match contested by Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales with the first having been held on 29th July 1978

**Flora is in Ireland. 

Below: Another version of THAT picture! 

17 matches and meetings with 12 different venues.   Frequently with two internationals in a month in two different countries eg July and September 1985!   It is quite a record.   After 1986 he was selected as admin officer and at times team manager for GB teams or squads through until his retirement from international duty in 1992.   

A Young Brian Potts in action in the Carnethy 5

Clydesdale Harriers has had good hill runners from at least the 1940’s.   Men like twins Jim and Bobby Shields, Ian Donald and many others created a legacy.   The hill men and women of the 1980’s and ‘90’s were also quite superb with internationalists like Brian Potts and Ian Murphy, like Christine Menhennet, and with race winners like Cathy Farrell with of course Jim and Bobby featuring strongly.   Brian Potts was one of the best, albeit with a short career in the sport.  Born in 1962, he was 25 when he joined the club in 1987 but he retired from the sport comparatively early.   Why did he, a successful athlete and an internationalist to boot, retire from the sport?   The reply is simply that he was injured and could not continue.  Diagnosed with anterior compartment syndrome for which the treatment was to have the leg operated on, Brian reluctantly refused the operation and left the sport.   He returned briefly in June 1997 when he turned out in the Kilpatricks Hill Race.

 He was introduced to the club by John Hanratty who says, “Brian and I worked for Babcock in Renfrew in the1980s. We were both into running and I suggested he came to Clydesdale Harriers. He would leave work and do a training run up Ben Lomond. His preference was hill and country. “

He spoke of his love of the hills and respect for those who took part there, and for all who helped ‘make the sport tick.’   Born on 9^th June in 1962, he says he came into the sport initially to keep himself fit.    He credits the Shields brothers as having a very positive effect on his running and attitude to the hills.      He liked the mountain running scene but how good was he?  

A good way of assessing any hill runner’s summer racing season is to look at their performance in the Tiso Championship decided over performances in a set number of races.   In 1987 Brian was in fourth position after 4 races with just A Curtis (61 pts), G Kerr (75), and P Marshall (53) ahead of his 44 points with such as D McGonigle, R Morris, D Bell and  J Maitland behind him.  By the end of the season he was fifth, Alan Farningham having slipped into third place.

1. A Curtis 116 points
2. G Kerr 113    “
3. A Farningham 103 “
4. P Marshall 86   “
5. B Potts 80   “
6. J Maitland 60   “

He was mixing it with the big boys there.   Maitland, in sixth, was included here to illustrate that: he was a world class hill and fell runner, orienteer, duathlon and triathlon competitor who became head of the Triathlon High Performance Centre at Leeds Metropolitan University.   He may not have run in as many nominated races as Brian in 1987 but it indicates the calibre of athlete with whom he was competing.

He had a good run at Criffel on 15^th March to finish seventh behind six very good athletes, on 9thh May he was ninth in the Ben Lomond race and in the Bizzibery run on 20^th June he was second in 16:04 over the 3 miles with 500 feet of ascent course, and on another short course   Third at the Falkland Festival 3 miles/1200feet on 28^th June in 21:10.  

The Scottish Hill Runner magazine said after he won the Kaim Hill Race on 15^th May, 1988, that “Solid performances in both uphill and downhill sections brought a well-deserved victory to Brian Potts.”  Result:  1.   B Potts 27:59; 2.  A Farningham 28:07; 3.   D McGonigle 28:17.

1988 was another good year for him.   He ran in and won the Tiso Campsie Race on 29^th May leading the Clydesdale team of Andy Dytch (5^th), Jim Shields (8^th) to first place.  On 26^th June he won the Falklands Festival run of three miles and 1200 feet.   Two days later, 28^th June saw him run in the Eildon Two Hills Race and finishing sixth.   The Fell Runners magazine reported on the Falklands race: “Heavy overnight rain made the top part of the course fairly slippery.   Nevertheless Brian Potts was only 11 seconds outside the course record set by Dermot McGonnigle in 1987.”   His winning time was 19:35, one minute and 35 seconds clear of second.   On 3^rd July he ran in the Moffat Weavers Chase over 18 miles and with 5000 feet of ascent to be fifth finisher.   It was a much longer race than the others noted above and he emerged with credit over this distance too.  

Brian with Christine Menhennet at Die where they both represented Scotland

1989 was a good year for him on the Hills.   The high spot was when he was selected to run in the World Mountain Running Championships at Die-Chatillon-en-Diois in France when he was a member of the team that won third place medals.   The team of Colin Donnelly, Brian, John Wilkinson and Ian Davidson was placed on the Scottish Athletics Roll of Honour for this performance in a world championships.

  At home he ran well and although not all results are available, the following list, while not comprehensive, gives a picture of the year.  

And then we add in one of his favourite races, the Tinto Hill race in Lanarkshire, which he won on 1^st November in a time of 31:37.   It is one that he wanted to win well before it was due to be run and it was as much a triumph for determination as for ability.  Three firsts, a second and a third in eight races is pretty good for someone as new to the mountain running scene as he was then.  

Brian Potts, second from left, finishing in the National Championships at Irvine.   This picture solved a problem for the SCCU because there was quibble about whether the Dundee runner had finished in front of the man in the white vest.   This photograph, provided by John Hanratty, solved the problem for them.

1991 saw some very good results starting with his sixteenth place in the Snowdon International on 25^th July bringing a  third place team medal.     Other excellent results that year were victories in Criffel on 10^th March where he was 5^th, the Kilpatricks Hill Race on 16^th June which he won in 52:12, the Half Ben Nevis on 14^th July in 52:07 was another victory, and the ‘Fell Runner’ commented on the fact that of the three races that weekend (Cow Hill and Melantee) two had been won by Lochaber runners with the remark that Brian Potts of Clydesdale broke the Lochaber stranglehold on the weekend.   There were also second places in the Cairngorm race in 73:26 and the Blisco Dash in Cumbria on 17^th July where he was beaten by G Bland with Brian’s time being 38:30.  

Having started the year in the Snowdon International, he ran in the World Mountain Running Championships at Zermatt on 8^th September where he finished 49^th over the short course 11.3 km with 805 metres of ascent.  

*

In 1992 he won the Midweek League decided for points won over five races – the Whangie Whiz at Strathblane, Dumyat at Blair Logie, Kilpatricks in Clydebank, Ben Shean at Strathyre and Cort Ma Law at Lennoxtown.  

He won the Criffel Hill Race in Dumfries on 15^th March, Ben Lomond on 9^th May and Ben Sheann on 17^th June.   (Results from Fell Runner magazine)  

There were many other good races that year but nor quite as many as is shown in his 34^th place in the 1992 Championship.    

Over the country he ran in club, District and National championships and relays including the prestigious Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage.   Brian also represented the club in track and field competitions as part of one of the best teams in the land specialising in the steeplechase which he ran in 1988, 1989, 1992. In 1989 he also ran over the 400m hurdles.  His best time for the event was recorded in 1988 when his 9:50.7 ranked him in the top 30 in Scotland.   A good club runner?  He ran one steeplechase with racing flats on instead of spikes.   Landing on and then taking off from a wet steeplechase water jump with wet shoes would indicate that he would not do that by choice but he did it for the club team.   Note also that he ran the 400 metres hurdles once, saying it was as a warm up for the ‘chase when really the club needed the points.

When asked what he got from running, he said he liked the feeling of achievement and of meeting people from far and wide. He thought his personal bests were finishing 28th in the world mountain championships in a team which achieved third team bronze medals   His general attitude to the sport was that you got out what you put into it.   His best ever performance was winning Ben Lomond  in 1992 in 1:0854 from Dermot McGonigle in 1:09:06 in afield of 194 runners.   When asked what was his worst race, his reply was short and succinct: “None!  If I finished down the field there was always a reason.”    The only race that he wanted to win but didn’t manage to was the Ben Nevis – but he’s not alone in that one where you are racing the hill and the weather as well as the other runners.

Getting a bit philosophical we asked what running brought him that he would not have wanted to miss and there was no hesitation here either.   His response? The people that make the sport tick.   Brian is an endurance runner and the question that other runners always ask is about the training that he did to get the results that he got and we asked if he could give some details of his training?    “I was doing 70 miles a week which meant running morning and night.  Before I won Ben Lomond, I ran it six times prior to the race day , on the race day I turned at the summit and the marshal shouted out 45 mins at that I nearly stopped for a second as I had turned at the summit in 42 minutes in training.”

A Clydesdale Harriers club group after the Dunky Wright race.   From right: Charlie McIntosh, Brian Potts, Derek Halpin, John Hanratty, Willie McCoo and Peter Rudzinski

There was more to Brian than the running.   Although he was never a committee man, he did help at the ‘Come and Try Hill Running’ days held in Old Kilpatrick run by Christine Menhennet and Denis Bell.   Denis says : “Chris Menhennet had the great idea for ‘Come & Try’ and I helped her carry it off at Old Kilpatrick Bowling Club.   As I recall about 15 ‘turn ups’ and about 6-8 of us worthies.   We did basic introductory stuff and explained the concept of hill running and the organisation in place to assist…I cannot remember if it was still Scottish Hill Running Association, or Hill Running Commission (the fully affiliated SAL organisation).   We covered stuff like essential equipment, shoes and bumbag, top coverings, then maps and compass etc…and a few countryside craft hints and tips (eating and drinking etc) all very low key.

We were trying to enthuse ‘new runners’ to hill running, and I recall ‘most’ had some jogging running experience, though generally ‘little’.   We set off in small groups to do easy runs up into the Kilpatricks and those were very canny ‘social’ groups,  I remember in mine I got them to do a wee scree run descent for fun).”

Picture below from one of these days shows Denis Bell (second left), Christine Menhennet, Brian Potts and Ian Murphy second from right.

CoPilot says about him: 

“Brian Potts, a talented runner, made his mark both on the track and the hills. Let’s delve into his achievements:

1. Track and Road Running:
   • Brian was a good runner on the track and road. He excelled in cross-country races and was particularly outstanding on hilly terrain.
   • His favorite hill race was Tinto, where he secured numerous victories and set records.
   • Brian represented Scotland in hill running events.
   • He also participated in the Island Peaks Race, showcasing his versatility as a competitor.
2. Island Peaks Race:
   • The Island Peaks Race is a unique event that combines hill running and sailing. Teams consist of both hill runners and sailors.
   • The sailing course spans 160 nautical miles along the stunning West Coast of Scotland, including challenging areas like the Corryvreckan and the Mull of Kintyre.
   • While sailors navigate the waters, runners cover 60 miles and ascend a total of 11,500 feet during the race.
3. Legacy:
   • Brian Potts left a lasting impact on the Scottish running community, especially in hill racing.
   • His dedication to both track and hills made him a respected figure among fellow athletes.
   • Brian’s achievements continue to inspire runners and adventurers alike.

Remembering Brian Potts, a true enthusiast of Scotland’s rugged landscapes and challenging races”.

Ian racing Tommy Murray and Alex Robertson

Ian Murphy arrived on the endurance running scene as a fully fledged senior athlete.   There was no coming through the age groups, or of a couple of years finishing down the field and working his way through the ranks.   He kept fit by cycling, hill walking and by the activities undertaken in his job as a personal development officer.   After arriving on the scene, Ian ran very well indeed on all surfaces.  He was an immensely talented athlete whose career was blighted by injury and illness although this did not prevent some quite superb performances.   Although he ran well on the road and track, he excelled on the hills and in some of the wildest country races that Scotland could offer.   We asked him for his own comments in reply to the questionnaire.

Name: Ian Murphy

Club: Clydesdale Harriers

Date of Birth: 1^st November 1964

Occupation: Fire Fighter

How did you get into the sport initially: Through my friend Andy Dytch.

Personal Bests: All my records!

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on your attitude to the sport and/or your performances? Pat Bonner, Jim Shields, Christine Menhennet.

What exactly did you get out of the sport: Adventure, Achievement, Fitness, Pleasure, Challenge, Friendship.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?   Take it or leave it, in a nice way!

What was the toughest event you’ve ever taken part in?   West Highland Way – length and weather.

What do you consider your best ever performance? My first win – the IBM 10 Miles Road Race.

… and your worst?   Running for Snowdon.   Got heat stroke.

What goals did you have that were never achieved?   Winning the West Highland Way.

Can you give some details of your training?   Running hard/hills/hiking.

Further to the remarks about how he got into the sport, Ian has credited Andy Dytch and Pat Bonner with his start but speaks elsewhere of “The Great Jim Shields his CMV – Coach Mentor and Valet”!   He thanks Christine for that.

As he says above, Ian was introduced to the sport in the first place by his friend Andy Dytch, an experienced and talented hill runner.   They often walked in the country and hills at Loch Ard where Andy had a trail that he used as a time trial and, like all runners with a personal course that they use to judge their fitness, had a personal best for the course that he was quite proud of.   Ian reckoned that he could beat it – and ran round and did indeed beat it.   Andy then, without hesitation, got him into hill running and racing.    

The first race appearance noted was in February 1986 when he ran in the Carnethy 5 hill race on a very snowy afternoon and finished 46^th.   On that occasion there were four Clydesdale Harriers running including Andy Dytch and Jim Shields but Ian was listed in the programme as “I Murphy, Unattached – Clydebank’.   Ian also took part in the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon over two days with Gordon Pryde.   This a fierce challenge in which the runners run in pairs, each carrying a pack with enough to sustain them for a night in the hills if need be.   The weather that year was not good but Ian and Gordon finished third in the ‘C’ Class race.

In the late 1980’s he took part in the Bruichladdich Island Peaks race with Pat Bonnar.   The Island Peaks race requires two sailors and two runners.   The runners race through the streets of Oban to the Harbour where they join their boat which takes them to the Isle of Mull where they run to the top of Ben More and back to the boat which takes them to Jura.  On Jura they follow a route that takes in three mountains before returning to the boat to head for Arran.  On Arran the route takes in Goatfell and the boat then takes them to the finish in Troon.   All sorts of mishaps do take place – eg their boat was becalmed one year and despite the runners helping with the rowing they were, like others, out of the race.   When Ian and Pat ran in it, the first problem was that the team was to be Ian and Andy.   Andy was injured so Pat stood in.     He had not run very much that year because of injury.   The first hill run was fine but on the second the weather was what hill runners call claggy – ie seriously misty and unpleasant.  They lost their way and had to go back almost to the beginning and start again.   They were 11 hours on the hill before making it back to the boat.   The sailors had been seriously worried about them.   Then it was on to Arran – they had been running third behind a team of two policemen but caught them on Arran with Ian carrying Pat’s pack as Pat was really suffering by then. so Ian, being Ian, took Pat’s pack and carried both, one front and one back for the second half of the run. 

Other than that epic run, there is gap in published results for the 80’s and the first year for which we have statistics is 1990 when he was 26, the first race being this one reported in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ of 16^th April, 1990:

“IAN Murphy, of Clydesdale Harriers, was the surprise winner of the Renfrewshire AAA 10-mile road race at Greenock, taking the lead with four miles to go to score his first-ever competitive victory in a time of 51min 33sec. Northern Ireland international Cameron Spence (IBM Spango Valley AC) was second in 52-18 with Gerry Gaffney (Greenock Wellpark Harriers) third a further 31sec behind. Clydesdale Harriers won the team contest”.   He had been running prior to this but this was his first win in any race.   He tells us that in a field containing many top class road runners including several sub 2:20 marathon men, his tactics were those that he often used in hill races – there was a steep hill on the course and he made a point of gaining a biggish lead on the hill then taking a bit of a breather for a bit while they worked on catching him up when he would then surge away again.   A technique that brought him success on the hills.

His hill racing record that summer reveals four races ranging in distance between 29:56 for the Campsie race on 27^th May where he was fourth to the one hour plus win in the Merrick race in Galloway which he won.   He was also fourth at Criffel on 14^th March in 51:30 and fifth at Dollar on 9^th June in 45:17.   The time for the Merrick is not available but it is a challenging event with winning times varying from just over an hour to outside an hour and a half depending on the weather.   The fourth places are significant because it was very early in his career as a runner and he was running in road races too.  

Two years later, 1992, he was getting into his stride and started his season by finishing second to clubmate and Scottish hill running internationalist Brian Potts in the Midweek League of five hill races and going on to win the Merrick again in September.   Potts had 498 points to Murphy’s 476. One of the five races was the Kilpatricks where he was fourth in a race won by Mark Rigby in 52:16 – as a measure of his improvement he ran in the same race a year later and won in 51:00 with Rigby third..  In May that year he ran in the Ben Lomond Hill Race which was won by Potts with Ian, who was having a really bad day, finishing 18^th.   Then on 18^th July in the Melantee in Fort William he finished 7^th in 32:38.  

Perhaps his biggest triumph in 1992 was when he won the Corrieyairack race in 1 hour 39 minutes 53 seconds which remains a record at the time of writing (July 2024).   The Corrieyairack Pass goes from Laggan to Fort William and reaches a height of 732 metres (2,401.5 feet) and is very rough underfoot.   Before the event, Ian decided that if he could maintain 6 minutes a mile on the uphill and manage 5 minutes per mile on the way down he could get the record.   At the finishing line he had taken 5 minutes 28 seconds off the pre-existing best time.

In September he was 21^st in the Ben Nevis race with a time of 1:40:28 and on September 19^th he won the Merrick Hill Race in Galloway in 1:17:44.    Overall Ian won the hill running Newcomer of the Year award – picture below.

Above:Ian with Newcomer of the Year Trophy awarded by the Scottish Hill Runners Association

The report is from the Clydebank Post in September 1992 tells us that “Ian Murphy, fresh from his 10,000m race the previous week, was first in the men’s race at Glen Trool where he broke the record by the huge margin of 8 minutes in a time of one hour 17 minutes 44 seconds.   To break a record by however small a margin  is a major achievement but to shatter the record as he did is really exceptional.”

We should now look at just some of the races he contested to see the range of distances and quality of his running: it would be impossible to cover them all.   In 1993 his most notable victory was probably when he won at Durisdeer on 28^th March in 1:34:06, and on 7^th May 1994 he was third in the hotly contested Ben Lomond Hill Race against some of the best racers from both north and south of the border.     

1995 was a particularly good year and started in March with a victory in the Glen Fruin race in Helensburgh.   That was followed on  9^th April with second place in the Four Tops which is run over 14 miles at Fort William in 2:19:53.     On 20^th May he won Goatfell Race in Arran in 1:18:45.   Came 11^th June and he won the Aonach Mhor in 1:19:10 and into August where on the 6^th he was fourth in Glen Clova in 2:45:45.   At the end of the season, on 19^th September he was 10^th in the Scottish Trials.

Ian always liked a challenge and on 31^st August, 1995 he took on the Ossian Challenge.   The Challenge was to run round Loch Ossian in under an hour.   His friend and running ompanion Pat Bonner, no mean runner himself – describes the event: The Loch Ossian round loch challenge is just over seven miles on forest track. The challenge to complete course in under an hour was set up by Tom Rigg who was warden for 23 years.  Thousands have attempted it.   On that day in 1995  Ian broke what had been a record held for twelve years on 31 August 1995 with time of 38 minutes 19 seconds.  Hostel warden Tom Rigg, originator of the event, held the stopwatch. That record still stands.  Ian smashed existing record by over one minute which had been set by and Englishman named Bill Nock.     The extract from the log listing all the runners is below with a memento in the form of a photograph.

NB: Pat also completed the challenge and was comfortably within the one hour target –

It is quite a picture the story is that the deer’s name was windswept and Tom had taught it to enter the hostel and put its front hoofs on the bench we were sitting on for the reward of a banana.  It then very gracefully exited the hostel door in reverse, turning it head to get through the doorframe as it left.

As a Firefighter, Ian competed for the Strathclyde Fire Service and did so very successfully.   In January 1996 in the European Fire Services Championships, against a field of 900 runners over 10,000m in Amsterdam, he won the event for the third time in a course record of 31:01.    In April he ran as a guest in the Scottish Police Championships at Tulliallan and won comfortably.   In June he won the Kilpatricks Hill Race in 53:54.  

Ian running in Amsterdam in 1996

As a Firefighter, Ian competed for the Strathclyde Fire Service and did so very successfully. He joined the Fire Service in 1993 and was extremely successful in firefighters championship races in Scotland, in England and in Europe.   In January 1996 in the European Fire Services Championships, against a field of 900 runners over 10,000m in Amsterdam, he won the event for the third time in a course record of 31:01.    In April he ran as a guest in the Scottish Police Championships at Tulliallan and won comfortably.   In June he won the Kilpatricks Hill Race in 53:54.  

Ian missed almost all of 1997 through injury and illness but he did run in the Kilpatricks Hill race and win again over a new course when the organisation of the race was done by the Westerlands club from Clydesdale.   His time was 44:23 – more than 2 ½ minutes ahead of second placed Adam Ward of Carnethy.

In 1998 he was third in the Criffel Hill Race in 52:40.   In May he ran two Firefighters races in seven days.   First there was the Fire Services relay in Strathclyde Park where he had the fastest time of the day in a course record, and then a week later he was second in the International Fire Fighters 10K Championships at Lochinch.   Only beaten by a single second it was his first ever defeat in a Firefighters race.   Nearer home the County Cross-Country Relay Championship was held over the rugged and hilly Braidfield Farm course.   James Austin gave the club a lead on the first stage, Allan Adams increased it on the second, Ian increased it even further and Billy Jenkins on the last stage went off the trail but still won – this led to an appeal by Victoria Park on the bizarre grounds that he had run too far! 

Ian started 1999 with a victory in the Dunbartonshire County Cross-Country Championships at Strathleven, Dumbarton in 36:23 from Stuart Kerr (Kirkintilloch) and English internationalist Kevin Forster (Victoria Park).   Then it was back to the Glen Fruin race in April 1999 where he won for the third time by over three minutes in 77:20.   Not only that he won the King of the Mountains when he was leading at the highest point of the trail.  In May he won the Whangie Whizz by almost two minutes in 26:28.   The came two Fire Fighters races in three days.   He had the fastest time of the day in the 6 x 4 miles relay and then won the International Firefighters 10000m in Lochinch by 48 seconds from Graeme Croll in 31:40.  Two thirds followed – in June he was third in the Polaroid 10K and in July in the Cort-ma-law over 6 miles in 48:50 (34 seconds behind the winner) before winning the Half Ben Nevis race (6 miles, 2200 feet of ascent) .   His running so far in 1989 led to his selection for the Snowdon International Fell Race where he was twenty second.   Then, possibly the most remarkable of them all, he ran in the Glasgow to Fort William race over 90 miles and finished second in 18 hours and 20 minutes, a time only 30 seconds behind the winner: ie less than 200 yards.   He always liked the longer distance but this one was even longer than anything attempted so far.   It ended a quite remarkable month’s running.   Nevertheless, he was back in the event in 2003 when he was third in 17:55:25.

A note on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay later that year (November) – Ian was on the tough sixth stage over 7 miles but he had come straight off shift and went straight through to the Forestfield Inn which was the starting point of his stage!

Ian was a good club man who competed for the club on road, track and country.   He was a real talent and when in the mood, few could live with him.   Both were put into words when he was asked to run in a Scottish Track League 10,000m race for the first time.   He asked who were the best runners in the race and when the two men from Falkirk were pointed out to him he said that he would just follow them.   After 600 metres had been covered he surged to the front and ran away from the field.   When the two runners mentioned realised how far away he was and how fast he was running, they gave chase but it was too late.    When asked after the event why he had gone to the front so early, he said, “I don’t mind getting beat, but I wasn’t going to get beat at that pace!”   Some stats from top competitions.   In the National Cross-Country Championships he ran in four consecutive years.   See below.

Cross-country racing is run on different sorts of courses and in all weathers and in the National against the top runners from Scotland whether they live and compete in Scotland or England, Ireland or Wales.   He ran in the District Championships five times with results as shown below.

Ian as winner of one of many road races

On the roads Ian was equally effective and consistent.   The most important road relay of the year was the Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage event and held every November.   Only the top 20 Scottish clubs were invited to take part and by common consent the most difficult stages were the two longest – the second and the sixth. 

 Ian ran in four such relays and always on the sixth.   His record is in the table below.

Ian on the Sixth Stage of The Edinburgh to Glasgow in 1995

He also ran on the track for the club in track league matches where he specialized in 5000m and 10000m races.   His best at the former was 14:46.2 in 1995 and over 10000 he ran 31:24.0 in 1992 and 31:51.7 in 1994.   The 1992 result had him placed 16^th among Scottish track runners – it was achieved like all Ian’s track times in a League Match against some of the best men in the country. More important for the club was that he won almost every race he ran on the track.   On one occasion when he was running in a 5000m at Grangemouth and leading the field, the English AAA’s coach for 5000/10,000m said that he looked a really wonderful runner and when told Ian was a hill racing specialist commented “That doesn’t surprise me in the least – I’ve worked with a few of these!” It would have been interesting to see him run in a championship. 

If it seems strange that a man of his talents as shown in his running and racing, and as testified by team mates and opponents alike is not better known, he just says he just didn’t want the attention; he was happy running  and doing his very best.

Opening Ceremony of the 1970 Empire & Commonwealth Games: John’s first big Games.

We are fortunate to have John’s own account of his career as Team Manager (Scotland and Great Britain) and Admin Officer (Scotland and Great Britain – a career that went from 1979 to 1996.   John speaks:

My first Scotland team was in 1979 as Admin Officer , a match against England and Sweden at Crystal Palace.   I had further Scotland teams in 1980, ’81, ’82 & ’83.   January 1984 I was appointed as Team Manager through to the end of the 1986 season which included the XIII Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.   A total of 17 Scotland teams , three as the team Admin Officer and fourteen as Team Manager.   Jan ’83 I gained my first Great Britain & Northern Ireland team.  As Manager of a team of 33 to the famous Bislett meeting in Oslo.   Little did I realise that I was now setting out on an adventure that would subsequently lead to being a member of some seventy three GBR teams between 1983 and 1996.   Of these teams only two were as Team Manager, the other being the 10th Nikiai Games, Nice, France on Tuesday 18 July 1985 when Steve Cram set one of his several world records for 1500 metres.   A team of only nine, including myself and one coach.   A night never to forget.   

My forte lay as the Team Administrator and in January 1985 I was appointed Admin Officer for the GBR senior track and field team for the following four years taking in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.   However this appointment was subsequently extended twice to take in the Olympic Games at Barcelona and Atlanta.

May 1983 I moved from the Regional Council Architect’s office in Dumbarton to Headquarters in Glasgow, where I would remain for four years.