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Jim winning the Mile from pacemaker Graeme Grant at Westerlands, early 1960’s

Jim McLatchie was a first rate runner from the most unpromising of backgrounds.   From a small mining village in Ayrshire where there was no track, no real sports facilities of any kind and not very much flat,even ground to train on, he made himself into an uncompromising athlete who could run in almost any kind of race and acquit himself well.   He says the following of his training then in his own story:

Early in my career growing up in Muirkirk with no track. I did most of my running in the hills and for strength work I would run up a ‘slag bing.’ A slag bing was created from stones and dirt which was the residue from the coal dug underground. This ‘bing’ was over 200 feet tall and I would run to the summit wearing coal miner’s boots which weighed about four pounds. Each boot had steel heel and toe plates studs in the soles. I would run as many as twenty repetitions. Other days I would run in the hills and visit the local soccer pitch twice a week for speed work. It was a grass surface and I could get about 200 metres around the pitch.

When I moved to Glasgow I was able to train on a 440 yard cinder track and started working on pace. Along with track workouts. At lunch-time I ran on a golf course. Most of the time in my bare feet. There was nothing like feeling the grass as you ran.

I was probably running about 50-60 mile per week, but didn’t really count miles. Time on my legs was more important. Some days due to the weather I would do circuit training indoors. It was effort on many days to open the door and go for a run. We had no indoor facilities. So I was used to running in all weathers: rain, snow, slush and winds.

My schedule was as follows if I was not racing:

Sunday – Long easy run anywhere from 10 to 15 miles

Monday – Track workout

Tuesday – Easy run – if weather was bad in the winter I did circuit training

Wednesday – Track workout

Thursday – Easy run – if weather was bad in the winter I did circuit training

Friday – 3-4 mile – if racing – 30 min warm then strides

Saturday – Race or 1 hour easy

The race where Jim ran his 4:08.3:  Winner Mike Beresford, 23, Jim McLatchie, 7, and Bert McKay, 3, from Motherwell who was third.  Run on cinders.

Below is what I did for 28 days when I ran 4 min 8.3 secs

28 days from race – I ran most days at lunch time on the golf course       usually around 3 miles to loosen up – nice and easy

28 – Warm up/ 10×300 with 2 min rest/ jog 10 min 6×70 walk back

27 – 4×880 in 2:10 with 3 min rest Jog 10 mins/ 2x 440 –   60-62 with 3 min     rest

26 – Rest day

25 – Race – 3ml in 14:46 – warmed up and cooled down

24 – Easy run followed by 6 x 100 and 2 x 400 no times

23 – Rest Day

22 – Race on Grass Track ran ¾ mile in 3min 2.5 sec which I won

21 – Easy run with 6×220 with 1 min rest/ jogged 5 min/ 6×140 with 45 sec   rest between in the middle.

20 – Raced a 3000 meters steeplechase which I won in 9:21.7

19 – Easy 1 hour with 10 x 220 no time 1 min rest between

18 – Raced a Handicap mile won in 4min 03 with a mark off 30 which is 30 yards short of a mile

17 – Easy warm up – grass – 8×400 yards in 54-55 with 2 min rest

16 – Rest day

15 – Track Meet – 880 heats – 1min 52.9/ Final 1:53 off 10 yards – raced 870 yards

14 – Easy run with 6×100 with 1 min rest/ jog 5 min/ 6×140 JB

13 – Easy run with 2 miles fartlek

12 – Warmed up – ran easy mile in 4:13 – cooled down

11 – Lunch time – 20×200 with 45 sec rest/ evening 6×440 in 58 2MR

10 – 20×110 45 sec between (ran the bends on track)

9   – Rest day

8   – Warmed up easy 880 in 1min 57

7  – Rest Day

6 –  30 min easy with a few strides

5 – 3 miles fartlek then 4×220 around 30 with 220 jog

4 – Rest

3 – Rest day

2 – Scottish Championships heats – jogged mile in 4:25.8

1 – Scottish Champs Final – finished second in 4:8.3

Jim ran his 4:08.3 in 1962: in that year he also ran a 1:54.2 half mile, – in addition  a 9:17.0 two miles, a 14:30.5 three miles and  a steeplechase in 9:21.7.   Although he was concentrating on running the half- and the mile, the other distances indicate a strength in depth that many milers do not have: a strength that maybe came from running up pit bings in heavy boots!

His profile as an athlete can be found at    

http://www.scottishdistancerunninghistory.scot/jim-mclatchie/  .

A short quote from it tells us that 

“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. ”  

So that’s the first instalment of Jim’s start in athletics.   It was also the first building block on the way to becoming a world class coach twenty years later.

Training with Jim McLatchie: 2   Training with Jim McLatchie:  3    Training with McLatchie:  4   

Training with McLatchie – the Mile: 5         Training with McLatchie – the Marathon: 6   

Training with McLatchie – the Steeplechase: 7

 

 

Introduction

The Summit high school girls’ varsity cross country running team as a group early in the season approached coaches Carol and Jim McLatchie and said that every one of the girls is committed to staying and training together in Bend over Thanksgiving break to prepare for Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). This was the first time every runner committed to train together over Thanksgiving break and it showed a true commitment to the team and the belief that this could be a special season. A successful cross country season is made up of consistent hard work and key milestones along the way. Committing to train with the team 100% was certainly one. An additional significant event that occurred late in the season was when coach Jim McLatchie suffered a stroke which necessitated lifesaving treatment in the ambulance and the emergency room at the hospital, multiple days in the critical care center, and additional days and nights in the hospital rehab center. Jim had a lot of visitors and while he couldn’t remember
every person who came to see him and sit by his side, every day he told coach Carol McLatchie, his wife, the varsity team’s workout for that day. Jim was recovering quickly after some days in the rehab center and he talked his way into being let out of the hospital for part of the day to attend the district cross country meet at Central Oregon Community College.   Jim’s commitment to the team is such that being in the hospital wasn’t going to keep him from thinking up workouts and attending every race possible to help the team; even if it meant he had to agree to having a person shadow him the whole time to make sure he didn’t fall and had to  return to the hospital right after the race. The Summit girls won the race, qualified for the State meet, celebrated with hugs all around, and then prepared for the next training day. There are certainly key moments that stand out during a season that make it a memorable season. There are also the daily workouts, races, and recovery days and while these days may not get the spotlight they build on the day before and are what make a great team. A successful season is created by showing up every day, putting in the hard work, and enjoying the process. And, when it does happen, it certainly helps to really come together as a team and commit to achieving something that is impossible to achieve as individuals.
On Saturday, December 1st 2018 our Summit high school’s girls’ cross country running team, running as the team name Central Oregon, won Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland Oregon. Summit is the first team west of Minnesota and only the second team outside of New York to win NXN. Summit’s (OR) team’s score was 120 (runners 1-5), North Naperville (IL), the second place team’s score was 186, and Wayzata (MN), the third placed team’s score was 207. Every team that raced at NXN put in a lot of hard work, dedication, and training to make it to NXN. Summit’s goal is to put in the hard work that will help our team be competitive in every race we enter and it was a great achievement to win a National Championship. Cross country is a team sport and our coaching staff and runners have benefited immensely from coaches across the country and the world who have selflessly shared their training knowledge.

We are sharing our 2018 season training plan and we hope that high school runners and coaches find it interesting and find some things that will work for their teams. Our hope is that  coaches continue to share their knowledge to continually improve the sport of cross country that we all love. Please, if you have ideas to share to help improve our team and running community,  let us know.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of our 2018 training program we want to present a general overview of the coaching support we have, the environment we are fortunate to train in, and additional things we hope you find of interest.   Also, many who read this will likely be well versed in how cross country running races are scored. For those who may not know, in a varsity cross country running 5K race each team can enter seven runners and the top five finishers on each team score points for their team. As an example, the first place finisher in the race scores 1 point and the tenth place finisher in the race scores 10 points. The goal is for the team to score the lowest amount of points.

Team

Summit cross country benefits from having over 80 runners on the team and a large number of coaches who help supervise workouts. We have 10 coaches, some split salaries, and the majority volunteer their time. We want to thank our coaches for their dedication to our high  school runners, Carol McLatchie (head coach), and assistant coaches Jim McLatchie, Chris Shunk, Damian Olson, Stacey Hager, Dave Sjogren, Brendan Layden, Carrie Carney, J.D. Downing, and Kari Strang.   Our high school runners train in one of three training groups. Black group, silver group, and green group. All groups are co-ed and they are based on current running ability. We have a 4K time trial at the beginning of the season to place runners into their appropriate ability running groups. Our fastest girls and boys train in the black group and this year the black group was made up of 32 runners. Some runners moved down groups and some up groups during the year based on their race times. Many parents are very involved in supporting our team and a great way they help with team bonding is by hosting team dinners.

Environment

We are fortunate to live in train in Bend, Oregon and many of our parents are athletes so our runners have grown up in the outdoors and being active. Bend is at 3,623 feet elevation and we usually have sunny days and moderate temperatures.
Month High / Low (°F) Rain
July 82° / 47° 2 days
August 81° / 46° 2 days
September 74° / 39° 1 day
October 62° / 33° 3 days
November 48° / 28° 4 days
We train on the surfaces we race on. We have an 800 meter grass loop at our school; a rectangle around soccer, baseball, and softball fields. Our school is a half mile from dirt running trails. The hills we run on are dirt and we fortified one long hill with crushed stone for level footing. We have a track and we mainly use it for 150 meter pickups at the end of practice, but otherwise it is rare that we train on our track during the cross country season.   These past two years we have suffered from smoky summers, smoky days during preseason, and smoky early season practices which has forced us to train indoors due to air quality advisories. We run in the school hallways and lift in the weight room.

 

Captains and Team Attendance

Captains are chosen at the beginning of the year by their peers voting for them and coaches also have input. Captains help out in numerous ways. One main way is in taking attendance every day at practice by having clip boards and each individual runner is responsible for checking in with them and being marked present. If a runner misses practice they have to contact head coach Carol McLatchie and let her know the reason. Committing to training and being accountable are keys to success. 
Training During the “Off-Season”
We collect the email addresses for every runner on the team and they are sent a monthly calendar with the dates and details of practices and races. Calendars are also posted on the team website, www.summitcrosscountry.com. During the winter we have practices on Sundays at Drake Park and while these are open to everyone on the team, the majority of the runners who show up are varsity runners. We do have runners from other local high school attend these training sessions. We also have a winter track program were a number of our runners will run, lift in the weight room, and often attend a couple of indoor track meets. During the spring season the majority of our varsity runners run track and train for the 800, 1500 and/or 3,000. During the summer we hold captain practices and we meet three days a week to train. Coaches and parents are in attendance as their summer schedule allows.

Moving from 5A to 6A this year   Moving from 5A to 6A our team did pretty much the same workouts, but we made the workouts tougher. This year we increased our captain’s practices in the summer from two days per week to three days per week.  

Annual Team Camp:   We hold an early season team camp at Scout Lake near Sisters, OR for three days of running and team bonding. We have team easy runs, a competition running up to the top of Cache mountain where the top 10 girls and boys receive a prize, and the final day we a three person team relay that includes running and swimming. We also have a parent cookout night where all parents are invited to grill, eat, and spend quality time with each other and our team. 

4K Time Trial to Choose Training Groups: We hold a 4K team time trial at Drake Park and based on runner’s times they are placed into the black, silver, or green running groups. Runners of similar ability train together to get the most out of their training. Runners are often motivated to improve and we allow them to run themselves into different groups during the XC season. We invite parents and former runners to cheer on the current team and enjoy each other’s company.
In Season Workouts:  Every workout should have a purpose and the coach should be able to articulate the purpose for every workout.

Weekly Workouts (General)
Monday – Hills workout. Strides.
Tuesday – Easy run (45-60 mins.) Strides. Core workout. Weights.
Wednesday – Grass workout (800 meter loop). Strides.
Thursday – Easy run (45-60 mins.) Strides. Core workout.
Friday – Easy run (30-40 mins.) Strides.
Saturday – Race
Sunday – Easy run (45-60 mins.)
Additional Morning Shakeout Run
For some top and motivated runners they will run 30 mins shake out in the morning
during the week. This year we had 2-3 runners on the girls varsity team doing these easy early
morning runs.
Workouts are Modified as Needed

As a principal, workouts are not set in stone, they can change due to weather and race schedule. Also if a runner is sick or tired their workout will be either cancelled or adjusted as needed. We have no problem telling a runner to cut the workout short if they can’t sustain their target pace, if they become injured, or another significant reason.

Every Practice
Every practice Monday through Friday starts with a warm up run (800 meters), drills (see list for drills), and after the daily workout has been completed, finishes with strides which are 4 x 150 meters where each runner progresses progress up to race pace or faster. The 150s at the end of every practice are very important because it trains our runners to know that when they are  tired after a workout, and at the end of the race, they can still run very fast and we let them know in a race they should be passing people or not getting passed.

Daily Team Warm Up and Drills
800 meters easy warm-up run
Forward Skip – 50 yards
Backwards Skip – 50 yards
Side Shuffle with arm swings – 50 yards
Backwards run – 50 yards
Knee Pulls – 6
Quad Pulls – 6
Toe Touch – 6

Side Lunges – 5 yards
Regular Lunges – 10 yards
A-Skips – 4 X 20 yards
B-Skips – 2 X 20 yards
“Old School B-Skips” – 2 X 20 yards – good for fast days: provides good range of motion
to warm-up hamstrings
High Heels – 2 X 10 meters
Tip and Gos – 4 X 100 meters (catch breath between sets)
On an Easy Run Day
On an easy run day we will do a plyometric session in addition to the warm up.

Pogos
Tuck Jumps or Box Jumps
Regular Bounding Progression
Speed Bound
Core
Tippy Birds
Plank Rolls
Windshield Wipers
Suitcases
Leg Throws
Balance Toss w/ Med Ball
Push Ups

Weights
We meet each runner where they currently are in their ability to lift weights and not every runner will perform the same weight lifting routine. We have coaches teach lifting techniques and we have coaches in the weight room to monitor for correct form.
Here is the list of the main lifts we do. Sometimes we’ll throw in other things to change it up, but not often. The lifts are in the order we do them, but we do different combinations depending on the time of year. Warm up is usually a good morning/front squat/press/deadlift complex with a light bar or PVC pipe. On more dynamic days we’ll do box jumps before our power cleans or deadlifts.
Lifts:
Deadlift
Power Clean
Hang Clean
Push Press
Split Jerk
Half Squats
Step Downs
Step Ups
Overhead Lunges
Dumbbell Lunges
Stranding Military Press
Shoulder Swings

Hill Workouts (Monday)
For hill workouts, we ask our co-ed runners to run at 90-95% effort. We train on two hills that are about a .5 mile from our school and our team can run to these hills. One hill we run is 500 meters to the top and we have it marked off in 100 meter segments. We instill in our runners that we run past the top, not just run to the top. The second hill is Overturf Butte, a loop that is, depending whether we are running clockwise or counterclockwise, 365 meters uphill and 425 meters downhill, or 425 meters uphill and 365 meters downhill. In a workout we will mix up the direction; for example 6 clockwise and then 6 counterclockwise

 

Easy Runs (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday)
Easy runs are 1.5 – 2 mins. slower than race pace. For example, if race pace is 6 min. miles, then an easy run is at 7.5 – 8 min. mile pace. We will have girls run with boys if their recovery run speed is similar. We don’t have our runners do tempo runs because we believe easy days are very important to recover from hard days and we believe that it is very difficult to get high school runners to do tempo runs in groups that are specific to their individual speed.  
We try and have co-ed runners of similar abilities run together on their easy runs, but we know that some runners will choose to run in groups that are above their easy pace and they are in essence doing a long tempo run or a hard run which may compromise their training and ability to fully recover from hard training days. This can be a recipe for injury or burnout and one that we try to avoid. Easy should be easy, recover days are ways to consolidate all the hard training that was done, and easy days are when the body repairs itself and grows stronger.
We do get questions asking if our team does tempo runs and our grass workouts are the closest we get to tempo runs and probably some runners are doing tempo on “easy days” because they are running with a group of faster runners and they don’t know how to run easy or think it is helpful to have easy runs. This will wear runners out and it will show up in their practice and race performance.

Grass Workouts (Wednesday)
At the beginning of every grass day workout we put runners in co-ed groups based on similar pace and depending on the workout tell them to run at either 80% or 90% of their race pace. The total distance of the grass loop is 800 meters. Specifically, the length of the grass we run on is long, there is a 10 meter hill, that leads to a 200 meter slightly downhill asphalt section, and the remaining grass section of 400 to 600 meters are a mix of wet to swampy grass due to the sprinkler system and a drainage issues on the outer grass fields.

Choosing the Team for Race Day
Coaches meet in the days before a meet to decide who will run varsity and submit the names of the seven girls who will race varsity. The team mostly picks itself by their race results from their prior race. We sometimes have runners who run a great J.V. race and race themselves onto the varsity starting seven. But, coaches have the discretion to decide the final varsity team for the upcoming race because a number of factors can be at play in deciding who will run varsity this week; including if a runner was sick, injured, had a bad race, or any current circumstance that factors into who should race varsity in the upcoming race. This is also a good time for the coaches to check in with each other about how all the training groups are going and how they are doing personally as well. We try and look out for our runners and our coaches wellbeing.

Race Day
On race day coach Jim McLatchie will walk the course and tell our team where all the holes, wet spots, and dangerous corners are located. If Jim has any concerns about holes or dangerous parts on the course he shares this information with the race organizer to try and make the course safe for all runners. He then meets with the varsity runners tells them the race strategy for the day.  An hour before the race the varsity girls will go for a group warm up run. Fifteen minutes before the race the team will go to the starting box and start their drills and strides. Coaches will be at the start with baskets to take warmups and other clothing back to the tent. If it’s a cold day coach Carol McLatchie will have olive oil on hand to give to the girls so they can rub it on their exposed skin to keep themselves warm at the start of the race. As the race progresses the skin heats up and the layer of olive oil “sweats” off.   Coaches are strategically placed around different parts of the course to yell out split times, encouragement, and sometimes that all important “go now” (if you can) directive. At the end of the race the girls return to the team tent to put on warm clothes, hear some encouraging words from teammates, coaches, and parents, and then they are off together for either the awards ceremony and/or their team cooldown. Finally, it’s time to pack up the tents and gear, get on the bus, and because we usually race out of town, get food at a grocery store before the bus ride back over the mountains.

Races in 2018 and Race Strategies
Our varsity girls team raced 10 races this season. We had 7 races on our calendar including districts, then our 8th race was State, 9th race was Nike Cross Regionals (NXR), and 10th race was Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). All season long the whole team really cheered each other on. We trained for our early season and mid-season races by training at today’s race pace; the current pace our runners were racing at. Then we cranked up the training in late season for State, NXR, and NXN training at goal pace, which we call “winning pace” the pace coaches think each individual girl will be capable of racing at.
We trained through State and NXR, meaning that we didn’t taper during this time. The evening before the State meet, Peter Thompson, a coach for over 50 years, talked with the girlsand boys teams. He reminded them that they had already put in all the hard work in their training and that it was important tonight and tomorrow morning “to keep the lid on the kettle”, to control and contain their emotional energy – until it was time, at the gun, “to let the lid off the kettle and put all the hard work and ’emotional steam’ to work during the race”. Following State, the athletes carried this thought into NXR and NXN.   From NXR to NXN we tapered one week before NXN where we eliminated hills, eliminated weights, and tapered overall running. An important point to highlight is that to go to NXN and race our best we needed our team to commit to staying in Bend and training with the whole team over Thanksgiving break. That conversation started well before State. Runners and parents recognized this great opportunity to be competitive at State, NXR, and NXN. Our whole team trained together for the first time over Thanksgiving and it ultimately showed in our NXN
race results.

Our NXN race strategy was to go out quick, but not too quick. To believe that we can win this. We put in the hard work and on the start line it was, again, time, “to take the lid off the kettle”. And, at the 4K mark it was the time to go for it all, in the final 1K.
Annual Soccer Game
And importantly, we have a yearly end of season tradition where we play a soccer game on the turf field because Jim McLatchie is a huge soccer fan, it’s Scotland vs. USA, and it’s awesome.   Sharing with our Running Community We have had a number of cross country great seasons, this season was very special, and we are already putting in the work daily for the upcoming track and cross country seasons. We have fun because we see the progress and improvement in every runner who works hard. It is fulfilling as a runner to improve and as a coach to see the improvement. Our hope is that sharing our workouts will provide you with some ideas to incorporate into your training and racing plans.

Our hope is that you will also share your training and racing plans with our team and additional teams so that high school cross country runners can continue to develop and improve. Here is a calendar listing every workout for our 2018 season.

From left – Jim McLatchie, Jasper Fievet (SO), Stella Skovborg (JR), Isabel Max (JR), Teaghan Knox (FR), Fiona Max (JR), Kelsey Gripekoven (JR), Azza Borovicka-Swanson (JR) and Stacey Hager 

Full Year 2018 Training Schedule, Every Single Workout

 

____________________

 

27
Saturday, December 1 2018, NXN Nike Cross Nationals, Glendoveer Golf Course, Portland, OR
1. CENTRAL OREGON (Summit) team score 120
Time spread between runners 1-5 (17:29-18:42 = 1:13)
2. North Naperville 186
3. Wayzata 207
Central Oregon (Summit) 11, 42, 67, 77, 96, 134, (7th runner did not finish due to illness, this
race includes unattached runners)
28
2018 NXN Champions – Central Oregon (Summit High School)
Athletes Coaches
Fiona Max (JR) Carol McLatchie (Head coach)
Teaghan Knox (FR) Jim McLatchie
Kelsey Gripekoven (JR) Dave Sjogren Stacey Hager
Isabel Max (JR) Kari Strang Damian Olson
Azza Borovicka-Swanson (JR) Brendan Layden Carrie Carney
Stella Skovborg (JR) Chris Shunk J.D. Downing
Jasper Fievet (SO)
Head Coach
Carol McLatchie
Carol and Jim McLatchie
2018 USTFCCCA
High School Girls Cross Country
Coach of the Year – Oregon
29
“The key is team and a part of that concept includes the teamwork between
coaches. Jim has been coaching for over 64 years and we have been married for
over 35 years. Prior to that I ran, with Jim as my coach for 5 years. My name is
listed as ‘Head coach’, but Jim and I operate as a team, so the credit should go to
Jim, myself and the rest of our team, including our athletic directors (Gabe
Pagano and now Mike Carpenter), principals (Alice DeWittie now Michael
McDonald), Dave Turnbull (Head track and field coach) and close friends and
parents that are always there for us and the athletes. Summit’s mascot is the
‘Storm’. 2018 was our ‘Perfect Storm’, for our team of coaches and a team of
girls and boys that all came together for one huge goal: to win the Oregon state
XC meet and NXN. Go Storm! I am so proud of you all.”
Carol McLatchie
2018 USTFCCCA National High School Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year

Jim suffered his stroke last year just as the season was coming to a peak.   He had contributed so much over the years and was a kind of talisman for the team.   His nature was always one of getting on with the work and enjoying doing it.   True to form he was back attending the next race – asked the hospital for a Saturday pass so tat he could do it.   Some guy!   Here is his own story of the year and the stroke incident.

“Training the cross country team was interesting as we had a bunch of kids that wanted to train hard and listened what the coaches were telling them. A few weeks before the State championships the varsity girls approached d Carol and I, asking “why Summit never performed well at Nationals.“   We told them that most of the kids take off on Thanksgiving vacation to Hawaii, Mexico or skiing, and when they return to school they are out of shape.

We told them that if you want to perform well at Nationals providing you qualify you need to ask your parents to postpone your vacation and stay in Bend and train. We gave them a few days to come back with an answer. All the girls informed us that they would be in Bend during the holidays and wanted to train for Nationals.

I had another health scare where I nearly kicked the bucket. One night I was watching TV when all of a sudden the room started spinning and I couldn’t see.   I thought, “Oh shit here comes the big one.” Carol was playing Bunco with friends at another location. I managed to find my phone, called Carol – that call went to her answering machine. I then tried to call my next door neighbor to no avail as I couldn’t see his number. I knew where 911 was on the phone which I called, told the dispatcher where I lived and thought I was having a stroke. While talking to the lady I started feeling sick and made a bee-line for the kitchen to throw up in the sink. As I could not see I ran into the kitchen table which knocked me on my arse. I managed to get up and make it to the sink. While throwing up I could hear the ambulance’s siren. I was still throwing up when help arrived. They put me in gurney asked me some questions and gave me an IV.   

Next thing I knew I was in hospital and a doctor asked if he had permission to give me clot buster. I said yes. Next thing I knew a friend was with me in the Intensive Care unit and said to me that if someone asks who she is tell her she is your niece. I guess I was in ER Care for 3 days before being transferred to Intensive Care. I had suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage on the right side of the brain where the clot was lodged.

Carol was at the hospital same time as me as Fred my neighbor when he saw the ambulance at the door called his wife to tell Carol to get home immediately. Seemingly when I tried to call she had turned off her phone because parents were calling her about their kids, and since she was having a night out with her friends she did not want to talk to parents.

One evening while in Intensive Care I had to go to the bathroom. After I had finished doing my business I tried to stand up and down I went hitting my head in the wall. I called for help and my daughter Amy opened the door and went running for a nurse. Between the two of them they managed to get me back to bed. Seemingly I was not to be left alone but when the nurse stepped out for something, down I went. I was rushed to have a scan, and when the results came back the bleeding in my brain had stopped. Being me I said to the Doctor that hitting one’s head on a wall might be part of the recovery process.

The first week I had to attend rehab and could hardly do anything. I couldn’t walk up or down 4 stairs without help. I was on a tether when they had me walking. I was hopeful without help. I made my mind up that I have to get out of this place.

Each day I was getting stronger and the medical staff kept asking what I wanted to do. I replied it is simple, “get me out of here.”

The Wednesday before the District Cross Country Championships which were being held in Bend. I told the medical staff it was imperative that I be allowed to attend the Champions. On Thursday they had me walking outside on the grass with a walker to see how I navigated grass and obstacles. I passed with flying colors. The staff had a meeting and decided to give me a pass to attend the meet as long as I had someone keep their eye on me.

I was picked up from the hospital by a good friend, Aaron Gordon who took me to the races. When I arrived I was enlightened to see Olivia Brooks an athlete whom I trained and now attends the University of Colorado. It was great day as Summit won all four races.

Aaron took me back to the hospital where I had to have a nap. Next day I had a battery of tests which I had failed seven days ago. This time I passed with flying colors scoring 35 out of 36. One of the tests was to stand on one leg then repeat with eyes closed. I never ever thought I would be standing with my eyes closed, on one leg, and I wasn’t even drunk.

After the tests there was a meeting with the doctors and Physical Therapy staff that I could home tomorrow. Thank goodness, I am out of here. Hospitals are great for taking care of you and getting you back on your feet. I like my own bed and surroundings and really dislike getting wakened up every hour. I know it is a necessity but if you don’t get sufficient sleep you are no use to anyone.

Even though I was delirious at times that when asked what the workout was for the runners, I could always come up with a workout they had to do. Most times I don’t remember her asking, but what I said was documented and the kids did the workout.

Carol was there every day helping me get around, cajoling me to behave myself and slow down. Amy my daughter for driving from Portland offering moral support and attending to my needs. Heather my daughter in Houston for calling every day and giving me words of encouragement. I would not let Heather fly up from Houston as I told her I will be up and about as I am going to beat this thing. I told her to visit when I was out of hospital which she did. I must thank all the people that showed up at the hospital to give me hell and good wishes. The Physical Therapy staff that brought me back from a physical wreck to near normal. Some people tell me that this will never happen as I don’t know what normal is.

I was discharged around lunch time on a Monday and showed up at the hills later to watch the team do the workout which I had prescribed earlier. It was an emotional moment for all and reminded them to focus on the task at hand which was to qualify and place at nationals. I wasn’t too worried about winning State as we had Jesuits number.

2018 – National Champions

The night before the State championships Carol invited Peter Thompson to give the runners a motivational speech which was a hit, and even today some of the team talk about the inspiration that received from the talk.

I kept the level of workouts at a high level and only eased up the week of nationals. I didn’t change the training protocol at all. Damian Olsen was in charge of taking care of developing the runner’s body strength through a regime of exercises developing core. Carol took care of the logistics, Dave Sjogren and Brendan Layden helped me monitor the workouts that I had developed. We had a good support team which one needs on the journey to compete well at a National level. We won state over Jesuits by 39 to 68 points. Fiona won the title and probably would have broken the course record if she didn’t have a hiccup the last 300 meters

The following week we headed to Boise for the Regional Championships where the top two team attend the National Championships. I told the girls to run as a team and we will be on the Dais. The girls won fairly easy with a score of 54 to 106 over Jesuit.

 Carol and I asked Stacey Hager one of our assistant coaches if she would be in charge of the team at Nationals which she accepted. Carol had to attend the USATF national convention. I couldn’t handle another championship where you are dictated as to where to go and what time you had to be there. At my age I am not too keen on following a regimented procedure.

I said I would show up the night prior to the race and would be there for the team on race day. I received a ride to Portland. Dave dropped me off at the hotel where I met up with Stacey and discussed the plans for tomorrow.

I rode the bus with the teams, and when we arrived at the race course. I went and walked the course noting where the water and mud was on the course. I returned to the holding area where I spent some time with the team before the start. At the start I told them where all the tough parts were on the course and said, “Run you usual race and with 1 kilometer from the finish, hit it and you will win this thing.” On leaving I looked at their faces and could see they were ready.

When I heard we were the leading team at 1 & 2 miles I said to myself there is no way we can lose this race as our team doesn’t start racing until 1 mile to the finish.

I headed towards the finish and stood at the bottom of the hill which is about 300 yards from the finish. As one of our runners approached the hill I would shout out “150’s.” (We do 150’s every workout.) Watching them take off I knew we had it in the bag.

After the race seeking out the kids I rounded them up and told them job well done. I was approached by an official and told to head to the awards stage with the team. The girls asked me “Well, how do you think we finished?” I replied, “We won the f*****g championship.” The organizers had three teams on the stage and they go through the drama of introducing the third team and then the second team and when that is done everyone knows who won.

We were announced as the winners with 120 points with North Napierville second with 186 points. We had went from leading by 16 points to 66 over the last mile. We were the first team from west of the Mississippi to win the nationals with a team that will be back next year to defend.

I was tired and emotionally drained and informed Stacey and Dave I am going home. They can attend the awards ceremony for Carol and I. Later we were to find out that we were announced as coaches of the meet.

It was amazing how many coaches would ask me “How many miles are the kids running?” Response, “Don’t know we run for minutes not miles.” Or the question, “How far are your tempo runs?” Response, “Don’t do any as we are only racing 5000 meters and there is no need for them.”

Dave Turnbull who is Summit’s head track coach gave me a ride home. When I entered the house, I opened a beer and smiled saying out loud, “We did it.”

This is the work done by Justin on his run in to the Olympic Gams in 2004: first the work done leading to the selection for the GB team and then the 21 days leading up to the Olympic race.   Jim has generously passed it to us for information but we can get more than just information if we look at it properly.

March 2004 

Ø1        2 mile – 10.00/ 5MR/ 1600 – 4.52/ 3MR/ 800 – 2.20

Ø3       20 x 200 with 30 sec rest 33-34

Ø8      4x 1600 in 4.40 with 3 min rest over 4 hurdles per lap

Ø10    4x 800 – 2.24 with 2MR/ jog 5 min/ 4 x 800 – 2.26 1MR over 2 hurdles

Ø15     5x 1k – 2.50 with 3 min rest over 2 hurdles per lap

Ø17     1600 – 4.40/ 1200 – 3.27/ 800 – 2.16/ 400 – 62/ 3 min rest

22        3x 1k – 3.10 with 30SR/ jog 400/ 2x 1k – 3.05 with 30SR/ jog 400/ 1k – 3.00 over 4 hurdles per lap

Ø25     8x 400 – 64-65 – 90SR over 2 hurdles

Ø29     400 – 63/ 1200 – 3.26/ 400 – 62 with 4MR over 4 hurdles

Ø31     16x 200 – 31-32 with 30SR/ jog 5 min/ 800 – 2.05

• over 4 hurdles

 April 2004

• 4 – 14 – 16 MILES EASY
• 5 –     1 HOUR WITHJ 2X 4 MIN PICK UPS
• 6 –   1K – 2.50/ 500 – 85/ 1K – 2.48/ 500 – 84/ 3 MIN REST
• 7 1 HOUR EASY WITH DRILLS
• 8 1500M TIME TRIAL –
• 9 20 – 30 MIN WARM UP WITH A FEW STRIDES
• 10 HILLS
• 11 10 – 12 MILES
• 12 3X 1K WITH 2 MIN REST – 2.47/ 2.49/ 2.45
• 13 1 HOUR EASY
• 14 4X 400 – 68 PACE WITH 400 JOG
• 15 20 –30 MIN WARM UP WITH A FEW STRIDES
• 16 MT SAC RELAYS – 3000M – 8:36.29 (3rd)
• 17 HILLS
• 18 10-12 MILES EASY
• 19 1 HOUR EASY
• 20 1600 – 4.35/ 1200 – 3.25/ 800 – 2.14/ 400 – 60 3 MIN REST over 2 hurdles
• 21 1 HOUR EASY WITH DRILLS
• 22 20 x 200 with 30 sec rest 32-33 secs
• 23 45 MIN EASY
• 24 HILLS
• 25 10 – 12 MILES EASY
• 26 1500 – 4.20/3 MR/ 1K – 2.50/ 1MR/ 500 – 80 over 2 hurdles
• 27 1 HOUR WITH 2 X 4 MIN PICK UPS
• 28 45 min easy with a few strides
• 29 20 – 30 min easy with a few strides
• 30 Stanford Invite 3000M S/C 8:24.88 (1st)

 May 2004

Ø2       10 – 12 miles easy

Ø3       1 hour easy with 8 min pick up

Ø4       3x 1k with 30 SR/ 2.55/2.56/2.55 jog 400

Ø           2x 1k with 30 SR/ 2.55/ 2.56       jog 400

           1x 1k – 2.46       over 2 hurdles

Ø5       1 hour easy with drills

Ø6       1 Hour easy

Ø7       1 hour easy

Ø8       HILLS           

Ø9       12 – 15 miles easy

Ø10     1 hour with a 8 min pick up

Ø11     1K – 2.50/ 1MR/ 2K – 5.55/ 2MR/3K – 9.13/ 3MR/2K –5.55/2MR/

1K – 2.48 – over 2 hurdles (9K of running)

Ø12     1 hour easy with some drills

Ø13     1 hour with a 8 min pick up

Ø14     1 hour easy

Ø15     HILLS

16 –      14 miles easy

17 –      1 hour with a 9 min pick up

18 –      1K – 2.43/ 3MR/ 400 – 62/ jog 5 min/ 1K – 2.43/ 3MR/ 400 – 59 over 2 hurdles per lap

19 –      1 hour easy with drills

20 –      1600 – 4.36/ 800 – 2.10/ 1600 – 4.36 with 4MR/ hurdles 1st & 3rd lap

21 –      1 hour easy

22 –      Hills

23 –      1 hour with a 9 min pick up

24 –      800 – 2.09/ 1600 – 4.30/ 800 – 2.07 with 4MR: hurdles 2nd & 4th lap

25 –      1 hour easy with drills

26 –      8x 200 – rest = 1.45/90/75/60/45/30/15 ave 31.4

27 –      1 hour easy

28 –      45 min easy

29 –      45 min warm up few strides

30 –      30 min warm – hamstrings sore – withdrew from Steeple – Stanford

 May 31st withdrew from Stanford Invitational – slight strain of hamstring

June 2004

June 1 – June 7          – Therapy plus light jogging

8 –        1 hour easy

9 –        2K – 5.41/ 1K – 2.49/ 3K – 5.40 with 3 MR

10 –      1 hour with a 5 min pick up

11 –      45 min easy

12 –      Hills

13 –      12 mile run

14 –      1 hour easy

15 –      1 hour with 3 x 4 min pick ups

16 –      1 hour easy

17 –      5x 1K with 2MR – 2.46/2.47/2.45/2.46/DNF over 3 hurdles

18 –      30 min easy with a few strides

19 –      5K road race at 6500 feet – 14.42

20 –      12 miles easy

21 –      1 hour easy with a few drills

22 –      1600 – 4.33/ 1200 – 3.19/ 800 – 2.10/ 400 – 60 with 3MR over 2 hurdles

23 –      1 hour easy with a few drills

24 –      800 – 2.07/ 8MR/ 600 – 91/6MR/ 400 – 57/4MR/ 200 – 28

25 –      45 min easy

26 –      Hills

27 –      12 miles easy run

 June-July 2004

                   14 Days before UK Trials     June 28 – July 11, 2004

1 – 1500 – 4.08/ 3MR/ 1K – 2.42/ 2MR/ 500 – 77 over 2 hurdles

2 – 1 hour easy (Travel to London)

3 –   4x 400 over hurdles 65 pace with 400 jog between

4 –   600 over hurdles 65 pace

5 –   45 min easy with a few strides

6 –   3000m S/C – Birmingham – 1st – 8:30.52 (2nd place 9:06)

7 –   1 hour run

8 –   1600 – 4.15/ 3MR/ 2x 200 – 29, 30 with 200 jog/ 3MR/ 1600 – 4.14

9 –   1 hour easy

10 –   4x 400 over hurdles with 400 jog ave 65

11 –   1 hour easy – supposed to have been a 600 at 65 pace pouring rain

12 –   45 min easy with a few strides

13 –   30 min warm up with a few strides

14 – – UK Trials – 1st – 8: 33.69 (2^nd place – 8:39.44)

        July 2004 (continued)          

 12 –     Travel to Colorado Springs

13 – 16            Easy running

17 –      5K road race – 15.30 at 7000 feet

18 –      14 miles easy

19 –      1x 1k – 2.45 – quit workout still tired (5x 1k 2.50 with 1MR)

20 –      1 hour easy with some drills

21 –      8 x 400 with rest = 1.45/90/75/60/45/30/15 over 2 hurdles

            64/63/63/63/64/63/64/63

22 –      1 hour easy with some drills

23 –      45 min easy

24 –      Hills – 20 x 35 sec – jog back

25 –      12 miles easy

26 –      1 hour easy with some drills

27 –      2K – 5.38/ 5MR/ 1K – 2.45/ 3MR/ 500 – 78 over 4 hurdles

28 –      1 hour easy

29 –      400 – 60/ 1200 – 3.19/ 400 – 60 with 4MR over 4 hurdles

30 –      45 min easy

31 –      Hills – 20 x 35 sec – jog back

 ***

21 Days before Olympic Race August 1 – August 21

 1          12 miles easy

2          1 hour easy with a few pick ups

3          800 – 2.12/700 – 1.54/600 –96/500 – 79/400 – 62/300 – 45/ 200 – 30 with 3MR over 2 hurdles per lap

4          1 hour easy with some drills

5          1600 – 4.26/ 800 – 2.07/ 1600 – DNF with 4 min rest over 4 hurdles 1st and 2nd laps

6          45 min easy

7          Hills 20 x 35 secs – jog back

8          14 miles easy

9          Travel to London – 45 min easy run

10        London – 1 hour with a few strides

11        Cyprus – 30 min easy

12        1 hour easy

13        1 hour with 6 x 150 pick ups (50 stride/50 accelerate/50 sprint)

14        2K TT full set of barriers – 5.26 (63.8/65.6/65.8/66.1/65.1)

15        4x 400 over hurdles 1MR – 62.2/61.9/61.5/61.7

16        45 min easy with 2x 200 pick ups

17        1 hour easy

18        800 over hurdles – 65-66

19        45 min easy with a few strides

20        20-30 min warm up with a few strides

21        Olympic Games – 8:28.35 5^th place in prelims

 

 

 

Jim McLatchie is well known as a talented and hard, no nonsense runner who never gave anyone an easy race in their life.   You can read about his time as a runner by simply clicking on his name.    He is not as well known here as a coach because it was almost all done across the Atlantic.   His record includes British and American senior internationalists as well as the many high school winning teams he has coached – and is still coaching – since he retired.   He is however a very successful coach indeed having worked with club runners and champions up to and including Olympic standard.

One of the questions that always comes up is “How did you get into coaching in the first place?”  In Jim’s case it goes back to the beginning, right back to his days in Muirkirk in the mid-1950’s.   He started a training group in the Community Centre which met twice a week in winter and they would go for a couple of miles easy run then get into some circuit training in the Centre.   Most Sundays they would go for a cross-country run but only about 4 miles.  For most of his running career he was self coached – I refer you to the link above about his time as a runner – and also when he was at college in the States he helped  all of his college guys for events between 880 yards and three miles.   When he was in Luton between 1965 and 1968 he worked with Tony Simmons.   Tony was a Welsh and British International runner whose personal bests included 3:41.1 for 1500m, 13:21,2 for 5000m and 2:12:33 for the marathon; his world half-marathon record of 62:47 which stood for 16 months after he set it in 1978.   They did two track sessions a week aimed at the mile and the rest of the week was mainly steady runs.   Jim reckons that Tony ran a 4:03 mile as a teenager.   Tony was trained for a while by Harry Wilson so there would be a lot of conversation between them about training too.   And of course as an athlete he was at times in teams with Frank Dick and his good friend Brian Scobie, both of whom became well known coaches.

When he was living in Scotland he did weight training twice or three times a week with a lot of hill running.   He says that at that time he did not know what drills were – but in Scotland (maybe even in Britain) not many did know about them.  As he has got older, he has gone back to hills and weights but has incorporated Drills and other Core strengthening exercises.   And he also believes that athletes of the same ability should train together – the girls train with the boys.

That’s the background story of  runner who was always interested in conditioning and training and who gradually made the transition into a successful coach.

Three months into the winter of 2015, a wee run down of progress this year: September 12th, 2015, Ash Creek  5000m Boys:  1st Summit  33 points;  2nd Camas  75 pts;  5000m Girls: 1st Summit 54, 2nd Camas 58; 3000 Novice Boys: 1.  Summit 31; 2. Camas 51; Girls:  1.  Summit 29;  2.  Camas 30.   There were 24 teams in the Boys race, and 20 in the Girls event. September 19th, Oregon City Cross-Country Invitation 5000m JV Boys:   1.   Summit  15;   2.   Glencoe  75.    5000m Varsity Boys: 1.   Summit 15;  2.  Southridge 91;   5000m JV Girls: 1.  Summit 27: 2. Glencoe 62;   5000m Varsity Girls:  1.  Summit 28;  Oregon City 87;  Nike Portland Cross-Country:   1.   West Torrance 147;  2.  Mountain View  151;  3.  Summit 153.   24 Teams competed. Oxford Classic, October 2nd 5000m Junior Varsity Girls:   1. Summit 24;  2.  Mountain View 43;  5000m Junior Varsity Boys:  1.  Summit   16; 2.  Mountain View  63;   5000m  Varsity Girls:  1.  Sheldon  51:  2.  Summit  66; Boys:  1.  Summit 44  ; 2.  Capital 113 George Fox Cross-Country Classic, October 10th 2015 5000m JV Gold Girls:  1:  Summit 33; 2.  Camas 36;  5000m Girls Varsity Gold:  1. Camas 46; 2.  Summit  76;  5000m JV Boys Gold:  1.  Summit 23; 2.  Camas 52;   5000m Varsity Boys Gold:  1.  1.  Summit 41;  2.  Camas 118. 5A-4 Inter Mountain Conference Championships: October 23rd, 2015 Girls 5000m 1.  Summit 17; 2.  Mountain View 49;  Girls Junior Varsity: 1.  Summit  15; 2.  Mountain View  54;   Boys 5000m: 1. Summit 20; Bend 61;  Boys Junior Varsity:  1.  Summit View 16; Mountain View  61. State Championships – Oregon 5A, October 30th. Team Scores, Girls:   1.   Summit  23;   Mountain View 49;   Boys:  Summit 32:  2.  Crater 36

… and the early Christmas present for them was that the boys were ranked number 10 in the entire United States by the authoritative “Runners World” at the end of November 2015!    The 2015 Summit results will continue to be published   here  and the summer 2016 are at this link  Finally for this post, on 2nd September 2016, athletic.net published results from the start of the new athletics year’s cross-country.   They are to be found at  http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/Results/Meet.aspx?Meet=115210.   I have started a new page for the 2016 cross country results at this link.   while the 2017 performances are here, here, and the most recent are here

2018 summer results are going up now, the first two are here

You will know by now that he is not the only coach in the family – Carol is a considerably good coach – a fact that has been recognised by the national association.   At the ens of 2016, she was nominated the High School  Coach of the year for their home state.    After the girls had won ten straight State Championships, and they were going for their eleventh in October 2018, Jim had a stroke and was hospitalised.   He was allowed out on the Saturday for the race and the report here is a wonderful tribute to the man and his teams.

Summit Girls Win 6A Title, Emboldened By Recovery Of Coach

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE — The Summit (Bend) OR girls soared into national contention during a month when there was deep concern for coach Jim McClatchey behind the scenes.   The Storm have risen to No. 2 with a deep lineup that was on full display on Saturday at the OSAA Cross Country Championships at Lane Community College. Summit was entered in the Class 6A race after more than a decade of dominance in Class 5A.   And with junior Fiona Max leading the way in 17:29 — just three seconds off the state course record — the Storm scored 39 points to unseat 2017 champion Jesuit, the No. 8 team.

But the most important part of the afternoon for Summit was that McClatchey was there. The coach with the Scottish brogue and white beard suffered a stroke in mid October and spent the second half of the month in the hospital.   McClatchey coaches the team in partnership with his wife, Carol, but it is the one who writes the workouts.   “Even in ICU, I asked him ‘What are we doing on Wednesday?’ and he was (rattling off workout details),” Carol McClatchey said.

Jim McClatchey is up and mobile again and his mind and humor are as strong as ever.   A girls cross country team that is as deep as any in Oregon history had moment of deep concern as the momentum of the season began to build.   “It’s 100 percent a humbler,” Max said. “It gives us a moment to take a step back and realize that everything has to be lined up perfectly for us to have our best meets. We take a breath, realign and realize that we’re here for each other, we care about each other and every (opportunity) is special.”

Max and a handful of teammates visited McClatchey in the hospital.   “That man’s made of iron,” she said.   One of Summit’s seven assistant coaches, Dave Sjogren, stepped in to take a bigger role day to day with the team as Carol monitored Jim’s progress.   McClatchey’s recent health scare is related to a heart attack he survived five years ago.   The girls on the team have seen first-hand that time is precious.   “He’s our dad,” Max said. “It definitely added to the stress of the past few weeks. He just got out of the hospital and was at our workout on Wednesday. It was great to see him back on his feet and swearing again. We pushed past it as a family.”

Max was followed across the finish line by freshman teammate Teaghan Knox (18:01 for fifth), Isabel Max (18:13 for eighth), Kelsey Gripekoven (18:16 for 11th), Azza Borovicka Swanson (18:27 for 14th), Jasper Fievet (18:38 for 22nd) and Stella Skovborg (19:01 for 28th)

 

2018 was a superb year for Summit and the icing on the cake was when the girls won the National.   Read Carol’s Review of the year  at this link

   It was also notable because Jim had a stroke.   Being Jim he got a Saturday pass from hospital for the next race.   For his account of the stroke and the rest of the season  go here

Jim was a very good coach from early in his career but for all the information about how he trained himself, and the work that selected athletes did, then go the page entitled Train ing with McLatchie

Leaving the track at Coatbridge – I’m hiding behind Charlie Thomson and Jim Orr.

(If you look closely you’ll see Douglas McDonald, James Austin, Derek McGinley (Clydesdale), Alex Gilmour, Sam Wallace, Pat Morris, Tam Rhodes and Bob Anderson (Cambuslang), Graeme Getty (Bellahouston), Hugh Forgie (Law), Mike Gallacher (Maryhill) and Alex Chalmers (Springburn)

————————————————————————————————-

Second : as an administrator 

I came out of the Army in 1958 and was on the Committee in 1961.   It was a very different Committee from most in recent years.   First, it was always well attended, second there was almost always competition to get on to the Committee at the AGM and third the top jobs were all held by experienced members.   You had to wait your turn – which might never come if the others didn’t think you would make a good Secretary, Treasurer or President.   I was unlucky that my first important job in the club came when club treasurer Jim Shields was asked to go to India by Singer’s and one January evening I had a rapid course in book keeping in Jim’s house in Vanguard Street.   The job lasted until the AGM when Jim Sweeney took over and I became Assistant Secretary for a year then Secretary – the first of four stints in the post.   I didn’t mind doing it because most of the work was done in your own time and didn’t interfere with training.   So long as you were organised it was straightforward enough.   I represented the club on the Dunbartonshire Committee with David Bowman for two years and attended SAAA AGM’s as club representative for several years.

In 1976 it was suggested by David Bowman and agreed by the Committee to put my name forward for membership of the SAAA and at the AGM in 1977 I was elected on to the General Committee of that body.   That involved at least one night a month at Committee Meetings which alternated between Glasgow and Edinburgh.   I also served on the West District Committee and the Joint Coaching Sub Committee as well as on a couple of ad hoc sub committees.   Again I learned a lot about organisation – for instance I was convener of the Senior National Decathlon Championships for three consecutive years.   I stood down in 1980 because of the pressure of work, club commitments and family duties – Liz was 10 and David was 8 and we were thinking of moving house at that point.   Thereafter I served on the club committee off and on for the next twenty five years or so.   I was lucky enough to hold the posts of President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Captain more than once each as well as the very short period as Treasurer.

With Sean Kyle and Alex Naylor at the BMC Conference, Jordanhill, in 1985

Third : as a coach

In 1961 the continuing saga inside the club was the lack of  coaching and coaches.   A meeting was held and several members went on coaching courses as a result.   At that time there was a qualification for ‘Club Coach: All Events’ and I did that one.   I then started coaching the Ladies Section where I was lucky enough to work with some excellent athletes such as Lynn Dollin, Ann Hannah and Carol Campbell. All went well until I married in 1966 and handed the job over to a very good group of coaches.   The next coaching venture came when Robert McWatt, George Carlin and Dougie MacDonald asked me to coach them in the mid 1970’s.   That went well and Robert picked up two Scottish Junior International vests as well as a good collection of championship medals and Dougie became President of Glasgow University with a collection of Scottish Universities’ international vests.   The group grew to include many good club runners like Charlie McIntosh, Paul Ross, James Austin and Peter Halpin.

We did our training as a group on Wednesdays at Coatbridge so as not to take the guys away from club nights on Tuesday and Thursday.   When Frank Horwill (founder of the British Milers Club) recommended to Hugh Forgie of Law and District AAC (a 3:48 1500 metres runner/1:53 800 man) that he train with our group it added a new dimension to the coaching.   His presence not only provided a new challenge to the group but also brought along others of a very high standard such as Alex Gilmour and Eddie Stewart of Cambuslang.   At one point there were ten current Scottish Senior Road and Cross Country Internationalists training with the group. I had my first GB Internationalist when Sam Wallace (who had twice won the British Junior Indoor 1500 metres) was picked for the Under 20 match against Poland and East Germany.   The higher profile saw me asked by Alex Naylor in 1986 to take on the post of Scottish Staff coach for 5000 and 10000 metres events.   I did that and my education as a coach progressed.

Meanwhile I was Scottish Secretary for the British Milers Club putting on six or seven paced races a year designed to help runners get fast times and in one of these Paul Forbes set a new Scottish All Comers record for the 800 metres.   The BMC involvement meant travelling south of the Border for coaching week ends and actually working with squads of top class athletes from other countries.   I was emboldened to hold the BMC’s AGM and Training Weekend at Jordanhill with Peter Coe (Seb’s coach and father), Jimmy Hedley (Steve Cram’s coach), Sean Kyle (from Ireland), Malcolm Brown, Alex Naylor and of course Frank Horwill all in attendance and all of those who came (over 100) profited from the experience.   I was made President for a year  and then life member of the BMC.   But the work in the club and with the Scottish group was taking so much time that I had to stop the actual hands on stuff with the BMC to concentrate on that although I did more travelling – almost once a month – to Stretford for the BMC Tuesday night races with many athletes and not just the very top men.   This contact with the best coaches in Britain was invaluable.    One of the most enjoyable features of the position was organising the BMC Grand Prix events at Scotstoun in 2000 and 2001 after two years of negotiations and discussions with the national committee.

Domestically, I was asked by National Coach Andy Vince to move over from the 5000/10000 metres job and become Scottish Coach for the 800/1500 metres which I did for three years.   Then in the mid 90’s I was invited to be Group Coach for all the Endurance Events from 800 to Marathon (and including Race Walking of which I knew nothing!)   The money paid at that time was £240 a year which you could not claim in one go; it was £120 at six monthly intervals – it really didn’t cover the phone calls – and you had to provide receipts.   All the Staff Coaches were in effect subsidising the SAAA’s.

 The one assisted the other.   For instance, via the BMC I managed to get Steve Cram to come to Largs and speak to a group of younger Scottish athletes (ie Under 20 and Under 17).   Then when the BMC Grand Prix series of five meetings devoted entirely to Middle Distance events started, it took two years of hard work and planning to get them to hold their final race every year in Scotland at Scotstoun in Glasgow.   The first year had seven men’s 800’s, four men’s 1500’ three women’s 800’s, two women’s 1500’s and a 3000 metres for each of them.   It was only after I resigned and the races were organised by Scottish Athletics in Edinburgh on a Friday night instead of a Saturday afternoon, that the momentum was lost and the meeting was lost to Scotland.   The point was that in both cases BMC contacts were being used to the benefit of Scottish middle distance running.

 When the organisation of Scottish Athletics was reshuffled in 1996/97 I stood down and did not apply for any subsequent post at national level preferring to work more locally.

Another Career: Clydesdale Harriers Men’s Team Manager

Some of the Men’s team in 1994

I became team manager in about 1983 and kept it until 2002.   Realising that it was an impossible job for one man, I decided I’d be a co-ordinator rather than an overall selector and only deal directly with the Middle Distance group (partly so that I could give my own athletes the races they needed at any particular moment) and Billy Hislop took charge of the sprinters.   We then gathered a very good group of coaches to work with us; Scott Govan became a Senior High Jump Coach and a hurdles coach, David Gibson took up pole vault coaching and was Scottish Staff Coach for the event for a while, Bobby Bell took over the Throws and specialised in Shot and Hammer.   The coaches did a lot of their own recruiting and selected their sections of the team which did superbly well.   Without all the help it would not have been a success: at that time I was working with four or five really top class runners who needed a lot of maintenance, serving as Scottish Coach for one event or another and doing a lot of lecturing at various venues and of course there was the day job and family commitments.

And that’s it.   I enjoyed it all – mind you, I just wish I were running in races in the club vest again, that was the best time of them all!   Whatever fun and pleasure you get in athletics – and it is considerable – I was probably happiest just running and racing with people I liked and respected.

 Handing over to Barefoot Bobby Shields in the Midlands Relay, 1962

 

 

Why me?   Well a couple of people profiled commented that it was difficult to talk about themselves with the question about whether I ever did it?   I had the same comment when I was doing books of profiles of Clydesdale Harriers so I eventually did a self-portrait.   Thii is simply a reproduction of that, so when I mention ‘the club’ it’s Clydesdale Harriers I’m talking about.   First the years as a runner, then the time spent  as  a coach then as an official, administrator

Taking the baton from Neil Buchanan in the Midland Relays, 1960’s

When I joined the club in 1957 I was halfway through my two years National Service and running for the regimental cross country team.   I had always been interested in sport – in post war Clydebank it was hard not to be.   At that time we were exposed to all sorts of sport in the papers (there was coverage of football, boxing, cycling, athletics, golf and just about every sport conceivable in all the papers) and in the town itself there were three Junior football teams, the Harriers, the Swimming club and two swimming Baths, two cricket clubs, a boxing gymnasium, the Lomond Roads Cycling Club, two golf courses, a hockey team and tennis courts and putting greens in every public park and of  course bowls.    We lived in Singer’s Building (erected to house key workers from the factory) and among our neighbours were Junior football players, a boxer who appeared among the supporting bouts on many Glasgow Bills, bowlers, harriers, golfers of course and a cricketer.    We were within easy distance of Glasgow with its six senior football clubs and there were annual sports meetings of note at Ibrox Park and at Shawfield Stadium.    Nowadays football demands exclusivity and many of the above sports are not represented in the Burgh.

My favourite was always athletics with the local focal point being Singers Sports at the factory’s sports ground.   They always had a top personality as a chieftain – one year it was Dorothy Lamour the Hollywood film star, another year it was June Foulds the Olympic sprinter for instance.    There was also a lot of athletics on television and Dunky Wright reported on athletics on the Saturday evening ‘Sports Report’ on radio.     I wasn’t good enough to join the Harriers like many of my schoolmates – Bobby Clark, Jim McDonald, Hudson Scott, Evelyn Graham, Ellen Gray and company were all Harriers with Bobby being quite outstanding.    Moira Wright, John’s cousin, was in my class and every Monday would talk about John’s running with the Harriers.

At that time when boys became eighteen, they had to do two years National Service in the Army unless they were in a reserved occupation.   I wasn’t and was called up for my National Service.   It had us all running cross country on a frequent basis soon after call up.   I liked it, found I was not too bad at it and then ran for the regiment in local cross country races, training five mornings a week before breakfast.    (When we represented the regiment we were transported in the back of a three ton Army vehicle and given rations for the day of three sandwiches – one cheese, one with a fried egg in it and one with corned beef.   No expense was spared.) Meanwhile Moira had been bugging me by post to join the Harriers and eventually I asked her to send me an application form.   I sent it off with my five shillings membership fee and that was me in the club.    On demob in September 1958 I went along with school friend Tom McAllister who had also been in the Army and was already a member of the club and we started regular training.   Had it not been for National Service I would never have been a Clydesdale Harrier.   Allan Faulds and several others have said that this ‘would have been great loss to the club’ and Allan insisted that I include the remark but my own thoughts are that there is always someone who will do the work.    Training and racing with the club my philosophy soon became that of my mentor in the Harriers, David Bowman – one of the finest gentlemen ever to grace the sport – ‘do what your club needs you to do’.   So I did a variety of things and it is easier to look at them in compartments although the reality was that they were often mixed in with each other or layered on top of each other.    It was seldom if ever that only one role was filled.

First : as a runner 

The usual winter pattern included the McAndrew Relays, the Midland District Relays and the County Relays (there was no National Relay then) with the Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage road relay being the focus of the first half of the winter.   The Nigel Barge race at Maryhill was at New Year and then the second half with the County, District and National Championships completing the season.   The gaps were filled in with inter club meetings and club championships.   The inter club meetings were held on a home and away basis and normally three packs (slow, medium and fast) went out.    The usual clubs involved with us were Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Greenock Glenpark, Springburn and the week before the National was always with Vicky Park and Garscube at Milngavie.

The usual winter pattern included the McAndrew Relays, the Midland District Relays and the County Relays (there was no National Relay then) with the Edinburgh to Glasgow eight stage road relay being the focus of the first half of the winter.   The Nigel Barge race at Maryhill was at New Year and then the second half with the County, District and National Championships completing the season.   The gaps were filled in with inter club meetings and club championships.   The inter club meetings were held on a home and away basis and normally three packs (slow, medium and fast) went out.    The usual clubs involved with us were Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Greenock Glenpark, Springburn and the week before the National was always with Vicky Park and Garscube at Milngavie.

The start of the Dirrans Road Race: 53 Hugh Mitchell, 52 Pat McAtier, 138 Charlie McAlinden, 51 David Simpson, Bobby Calderwood 

I had come into the sport to run and did just that and nothing else for a while: I ran road, cross country, track, and some hill running (Goat Fell once, the Mamore Hill four times).   On the track, I ran in the County, District and National Championships at Three Miles, Six Miles and Ten Miles as well as the Marathon at the Scottish Championships.   Preferring the roads and as a member of the Scottish Marathon Club I ran all over Scotland with the fixtures having a wider range of distances (if fewer races in total) than now when there are far too many 10,000 metres road  races on the calendar.   Then for instance there was the 10 miles Tom Scott Memorial and another 10 miles at Kirkintilloch Games, the 12 miles Marathon Club race at Springburn and at the Dundee ASA and of course at the Balloch – Clydebank, the 13 Miles at Dirrans Sports in Kilwinning, the 14 Miles at Gourock and at Shotts, 14½ at Dunblane, 15 at Babcock’s in Paisley, the 16 Miles of the Clydebank – Helensburgh, the 18 Miles at Rothesay, the 20 miles at Strathallan, the 22.6 miles from Edinburgh to North Berwick and the 30 miles plus of the Two Bridges Race.   The Strathallan Race originally appeared on the entry form as being 20 miles, when you got there the programme said 21 miles but when you raced it you found it was really 22!   They later owned up and it appeared as 22 miles on all documentation.   Like all runners in search of a good marathon time I ran in marathons wherever I could including the Shettleston and Glasgow Marathons, the annual Scottish Championships from Meadowbank over various trails, in Rotherham in 1976 and Boston in 1977 and the Scottish Veterans Marathon at Bellahouston.   But like the E-G the marathon running was more notable for the number and average time than for the quality of any one race.   I did 15 or 16 marathons, was once outside three hours (Boston in 80 degrees heat) and twice outside 2:50, had a personal best of 2:32 and an average time of just outside 2:45.    Of all the surfaces, I enjoyed the roads most – there was no necessity for a good sense of balance as there was in cross country, there was no crowd or other athletes watching you in action as there was on the track and I think I was better at it.   It might be that my first two races ever influenced that preference: I ran in the McAndrew Relay and pulled in 21 places to be the fastest club runner.   The following week it was the County Relays at Kirkintilloch and it was really dire.   Mud everywhere unless you went off the trail somewhere – always a danger with me on the country.

I reckon that I ran about 1200 races for the club in total.   I was proudest of doing 21 consecutive Edinburgh to Glasgows with my best running there being in the early 1970’s when I was not doing anything but run and race – ie no coaching or officiating.   And of course the runners that I was racing with at that time were high quality athletes – Ian Donald, Doug Gemmell, Ian Leggett, Phil Dolan, Allan Faulds and the rest.    The feeling of the E-G, including the weeks leading up to it was like nothing else in Scottish athletics and the demise of the event was nothing but bad for Scottish Road Running.   I ran on seven of the eight stages at one time or another – it could have been eight but in 1962 when I was the scheduled sixth leg runner, there was snow everywhere and cars were being abandoned in the streets of Airdrie.   The selection committee of Billy Hislop and George White switched me to second and Cyril O’Boyle to six!   Neither of us ran well.

On the track, the club entered teams for the many Two Mile Team Races that there were at particular Highland Games meetings and we contested almost all of them. The favourite was the race at Cowal where there were only six or at most seven teams entered with the Longwood and Saltwell clubs from England regular participants.   Of course when you ran in the team race you always entered the handicap mile as well so that was two hard races in an afternoon.   In the County and District Championships I always ran in the Three Miles (later the 5000 metres) and usually added the Mile at County level.    When I was staying in Lenzie and the West Districts were at Coatbridge – as they were for many years – Doug Gunstone, Alistair McFarlane and I were transported by car to the venue, where we raced then ran home together (7½ miles) afterwards.   Then there were the Highland Games on grass where there was usually a road race as well as a long track race so the choice was there.   Finally on the track there were the inter club contests which we usually held with Springburn, Greenock Glenpark, Garscube and other ‘local’ clubs and for some time we were in the Men’s Track League where it was usually the Mile and the Three Miles every time.   In general there was at least a race a week on a year round basis.    Then there was the time when I ran for Jordanhill College in an inter club against St Andrew’s University and Ayr Seaforth and turned out in the Mile, Three Miles and Six Miles on a five laps to the mile track!

My personal best times were –

 

Distance	Time	Date	Distance	Time	Date
One Mile	4:24	1964	Two Miles	9:45	1964
Three Miles	14:45	1959	5000 Metres	15:00	1975
Six Miles	31:34	1966	10000 Metres	32:33	1975
10 Miles	52:30	1971	16 Miles	1:29	1964
Marathon	2:39:13	1975	Marathon (Veteran)	2:41:36	1981

 

I have included the unusual distance of 16 Miles because the annual 16¼ mile road race from Clydebank to Helensburgh was one that I enjoyed and ran more than most: three times inside 90 minutes which is 5:32 a mile was a good record on a course where the prevailing wind was from the West.   That and four first handicap prizes!  These times were hardly earth shattering but when Allan Faulds described me as ‘a solid, dependable club runner’ it was a great compliment given the standards prevailing at the time.

Next:   Brian McAusland: Coach, official and administrator

 

Football is massive in Scotland – some say it occupies too big a profile in the country but whether it does or not its influence on the younger generations is unquestionable.   It was always essential to get football on board.

Ally McCoist talks to parents at Hampden

Gordon Smith, CEO SFA, launches PCS

Jim Thomson, a real enthusiast, on PCS at Hampden

 

John Brown talks about respect

Darren Fletcher talks about respect

Alex McLeish, Tina Seyers, Tommy, Jim Fleeting

Stewart Harris, CEO Sportscotland

John Wilson talks on education

Stuart Grieve, SFA PCS Projects Manager

Grant Small, WSF, PCS Project Manager

and, of course, …. 

Tommy at the Stirling launch of PCS

This gallery has some of Tommy’s colleagues in the Positive Coaching Scotland activities:

PCS Training Course in California

 

PCS in Fife schools

Leanne Martin on PCS 

Drumchapel PCS coaches

Tommy at PCS in Renfrewshire

Barrhead Boys Club PCS launch

Frank Dick at PCS in Scotstoun

The PCS launch in Clackmannanshire

 

Judy Murray on fun in PCS

Chris Paterson on rugby

 

The whole Winning Scotland Foundation and Positive Coaching Scotland journey took Tommy to places he never expected to go to, and led him to meeting many very influential and interesting people from many walks of life.   Just some of them are shown on this page and many more are on pages linked from the foot this page.

Ian Wood, a major funder of WSF

Gregor Townsend, friend and 100% supporter of PCS

John Paul Fitzpatrick, mindset guru

Louise Martin

.

Judy Anderson

Rick Orr

Kath Grainger, WSF Patron

Andrew Pert, WSF Board Member

 

 

With Daley Thomson in 2012