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Fred Lumley was a giant of a man in athletics giving tireless service, and money, to the sport in both its amateur and professional forms.   His Lumley Shield is still awarded for the winning team in the Scottish National Cross-Country Championship, for instance.   Chapter Four deals with him and his time at Powderhall.

The photograph above shows Alan Simpson winning a typical early 1960’s domestic race.   The races, whether won by Simpson, Stan Taylor, Brian Kent Smith, Mike Wiggs, Brian Hall or any of the other top UK runners, were typically three and a quarter laps of keeping an eye on each other with a final desperate sprint finish.   Even runners who came from abroad fell into that pattern.  Have a look at these results of the AAA’s Mile Championships at the start of the 1960’s.   

The times were not slow but the fact that the athletes were content to run as a pack until the final ‘burn up’ indicated to Frank Horwill and a number of other athletics coaches, officials and aficionados a lack of desire to commit themselves.    This was reflected in the coverage of the AAA’s championships where over the years in question the headlines were for Robbie Brightwell, Frank Salvat, Gordon Pirie, John Savidge and others with the mile at times not even mentioned in the reports.  The Daily Mirror report on the 1961 version, run on a wet and heavy track, read as follows:

 That’s the entire report and the final sentence stands out.  Almost the entire report was given over to Gordon Pirie who won the Three Miles.   That particular event was getting lots of headlines with Bruce Tulloh and Frank Salvat getting more than their share of the AAA’s headlines over the years.  Frank Horwill was  maybe a bit more vociferous than some others.  That was always the case though: I remember at a BMC two day AGM in Liverpool in the 1990’s watching coverage of a major Games with others when Frank stood up, announced “I am going to leave the room to throw up!”   The race on the screen was showing a heavily strapped up Said Aouita leading the field slowly round the tracK.   Frank thought like many of us that the other runners were showing too much respect to an injured runner – instead of having a go at winning it, they were in effect conceding the race to him and thinking only about second place. 

The tactic of sitting in and sprinting has its merits – Brian Hewson won the 1958 European Championships 1500m by doing just that, and, for the Scots the outstanding example of sitting and kicking was Lahie Stewart winning the 10000m at the Commonwealth Games in 1970.   At any rate, there was a feeling in the country at large that the ‘wait-and-see’ tactic had been elevate to an art form by that generation of milers while the rest of the world was passing us by.   Look at the result of the 1500m in the Rome Olympics:

1.   Elliott  3:35.6;  2.   Jazy  3:38.4;  3.  Rozsavolgyi 3:39.2; 4.  Waern  3:40.0;  5.    Vamos  3:40.8;  6. Burleson  3:40.9; 5;  7. Bernard  3:41.5; 8. Grelle  3:45.0; 9.  Hammarsland  3:45.0

The British 1500m and mile rankings for 1960 were 

The best British runner, on his best day of the year would have finished eighth in the Final.   In the 1962 European Championships, the first three were Jazy (3:40.9), Baran (3:42.1) and Salinger (3:42.2) and the only British runner in the Final was Berisford in 3:45.2.   Cornell and Taulor were eliminated in the Heats in the identical time of 3:49.9.   Also in 1962, the Empire Games was won by Snell in 4:04.6 from Davies in 4:05.1, Sullivan (Rhodesia) 4:06.6 and Blue in 4:08.4.   The two Britons in the Final were Taylor in 4:12.7 and Tulloh (formerly of Scotland) in 4:22.1, both of England.   Domestic Rankings for 1962 are as follows.

Mile

Boring races over the classic mile distance, lack of success in any of the major Games (Olympic, European, Empire) and a lack of any perceived action by the governing led to Frank and some colleagues taking their own action.   That was the situation when the best British milers, like BMC member number one, Hugh Barrow, received a letter from Frank about a new club being set up to foster Miling in Britain to be called the British Milers Club.   That was the start of something which was to become the tremendous success that is the BMC that we all know and which has done so much for British middle distance running.   

The Scottish Association of Track Statisticians (SATS) have posted annual best performances (usually top ten Men’s times) from 1959 to 2017. In addition, a Scottish Athletics Yearbook was published from the 1960s to the 1990s – and this includes approximately a top forty. Examining these statistics gives clear evidence of improvement (or, during a number of years) deterioration in times achieved.

In this article, the intention will be to consider probable reasons for improvement or deterioration in performances:

• before the 1970 Commonwealth Games course was used;
• during its use for the Scottish Marathon Championship;
• afterwards until ‘Big City Marathons existed;
• during the 1980s ‘Marathon/Jogging Boom’;
• and since the disappearance from the fixture list of so many Scottish (and British) marathons.

Although the Scottish Marathon Championship started in 1947, no settled course was used. Footwear could be unsupportive and only a fairly small number of hardy amateurs took part each year. Joe McGhee (1956) and Harry Fenion (1957) reduced the Championship Best Performance to 2.25.

However, it took until 1965 for three, or in this case four men to break 2.30 in the same Championship (Alastair Wood (2.20.46), Donald Macgregor, Charlie McAlinden, Hugh Mitchell). Ron Coleman ran 2.28.04 in Aberavon. Earlier in 1965, the Shettleston Marathon had allowed Fergus Murray (2.18.30) and Wood (2.19.03) to become the first Scots to break 2.20 in Scotland. The ranking list shows an unprecedented six Scots under 2.30.

Top Scottish marathoners, at this time, had a choice of three marathon courses: the Scottish, Shettleston and Inverness to Forres. There was also the opportunity to race in England at the Polytechnic or another, often fast, course which might be used for the AAA Championships. In 1967 at Nuneaton, Scots were the first three finishers in the AAA event: Jim Alder (2.16.08), Alastair Wood (2.16.21) and Donald Macgregor (2.17.19).

The 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Marathon course, when the weather was kind, was undoubtedly fast. It was first trialled in 1969, but the 1970 Scottish Marathon Championship, which was the Trial for the Scottish CG team, showed real progress. Jim Alder set a Championship Best Performance of 2.17.11, with Donald Macgregor, Fergus Murray and Alastair Johnston also under 2.20. Tenth man home ran 2.25.27! In the actual Commonwealth Games event, Jim Alder finished a valiant second in a new Scottish National Record of 2.12.04. The Yearbook shows that, in 1970, five Scots ran sub 2.20; another ten sub 2.30; and a further five sub 2.40.

What factors may have allowed Scottish Marathoning to improve to this good level? Certainly, the fast 1970 course, but aspiring marathon racers could peak gradually by building up fitness from early September, not only through fast, short cross-country relays but also road relays culminating in the prestigious and enormously popular Edinburgh to Glasgow 8-Man Road Relay. On New Year’s Day, there was the 14 Miles Morpeth to Newcastle road race. Shortly after, the 5 Miles Nigel Barge race. After stamina-testing Cross-Country Championships, there ensued many traditional road races (often linked to Highland Games) over distances from ten to 22 miles. On the track, 5000m and 10,000m races increased speed and tactical awareness, while the Scottish Ten Miles Track Championship might be another stepping stone. At the end of June, the Scottish Marathon Championship was a major target. In early Autumn, another marathon might be attempted. If not, a brief rest – and then the Road Running Year would start afresh.

From 1971 to 1980, the Scottish Marathon Championship continued to take place (on the same potentially fast course) during the Track and Field Championships at Meadowbank, Edinburgh. Consequently, a good standard was maintained. Donald Macgregor finished an excellent seventh in the 1972 Munich Olympics Marathon. The Scottish Championship record was lowered to 2.16.05, first by Colin Youngson (1975 – 2.16.50) and Jim Dingwall (1977). In the latter year, the first four in the Scottish Marathon broke 2.20, making a total of six in the Yearbook. First Sandy Keith, then Jim Dingwall took over from Donald Macgregor as Scotland’s best marathon man.

Change started happening in 1979, when the first Aberdeen and Glasgow Marathons commenced, followed by the most important factor of them all – the London Marathon – in 1980. As the number of runners contesting London increased, times became ever faster, due to the long mainly downhill early miles and groups sheltering from any headwind while hanging on grimly! Gradually, cash prizes became available, In London and fast events abroad, such as Rotterdam, Boston and New York. Semi-Professional athletes appeared; and domination by ‘Serious Amateurs’ ended.

In Scotland the same traditional events continued to exist, allowing ambitious young marathon runners to peak in a structured manner: short relays, longer ones, cross-country, track and longer road races. As Big City Mass Marathons, developed, finishing times improved for Scottish competitors.

Yet the lure of such events ensured loss of status for the Scottish Marathon Championship itself. The 1970 CG course was last used in 1980. A slower Edinburgh course was used in 1981 Another fast course from Grangemouth was used only in 1982; a slower Edinburgh course was used in 1983; the 1984 Scottish Marathon was farmed out to a reasonably fast course in Aberdeen; and the 1985 event, on another slower course in Edinburgh, was the very last one to take place along with the Scottish Track and Field Championships. Thereafter, the Scottish Marathon Championship was doomed to wander, a pale shadow, to courses which were usually rather slow, as part of events like Inverclyde, Lochaber, Elgin, Loch Rannoch and Loch Ness. 1982 was the last time that the winner ran under 2.20 (apart from the 1999 heavily-sponsored event, when three foreigners took the medals) until 2009, when Martin Williams ran 2.18.24 in the Edinburgh Marathon.

The 1980s Marathon Boom undoubtedly produced many fast times for many Scottish runners, even if the Glasgow Marathon (and its fast course) ended in 1987) and Aberdeen (on a much slower version than the one used between 1980 and 1984) was last run in 1990. Dundee (1983 to 1991) could also be fast, unlike several other, fairly short-lived Scottish marathons.

Most fast times by Scots were achieved in Glasgow and London. The ranking lists show the following.

1980 was the first time that more than ten Scottish Men ran under 2.20. John Graham set an excellent new Scottish record of 2.11.47 at Rotterdam; and bettered this mark at the same venue in 1981: 2.09.28.

In 1982, 18 broke 2.20; 46 2.30; and 70 were under 2.40. Compare that with 1970! By 1983, 2.17.33 was only good enough for tenth in the ranking list. In 1984, tenth fastest was 2.17.04. That was as fast as tenth place ever got, although ‘best ten times under 2.20’ was also achieved in 1985, 1986 and 1987 – but this never happened again, right up to 2019.

A new breed of fast Scottish marathon runners thrived during the boom years: John Graham, Graham Laing, Andy Robertson, Dave Clark, Fraser Clyne, Lindsay Robertson and, later on, Peter Fleming. (Paul Evans, mysteriously, topped the list twice, but raced for England, never Scotland.) In 1985, Allister Hutton set a Scottish National record (2.09.16) that lasted until 2019. In 1990, famously, Allister Hutton won the London Marathon.

(This article focuses on Scottish Men’s marathon running; but the Scottish Women’s Marathon Championship started in 1983 – and many Scottish female athletes have shone brightly in the marathon, including Leslie Watson, Lorna Irving, Lynda Bain, Lynn Harding, Liz McColgan, Karen McLeod, Trudi Thomson, Lynne MacDougall, Susan Partridge, Kathy Butler, Hayley Haining and Freya Ross. However, their story is for another article.)

Gradually, the slide in Scottish Men’s marathon standards began. By 1990, tenth in the rankings meant 2.28; by 1995, 2.33. In 2004, 2.38. Yes, a few top racers appeared, such as David Cavers and Simon Pride, but there was no doubt that times were much slower, not only when compared to the 1980s, but also to the 1960s!

What factors might account for this?

• A lack of fast marathon courses in Scotland and, apart from London, in England
• 1987 being the last year when Scotland could compete as a separate nation in the World Cross Country Championships – which had been a major ambition for good distance runners, who later turned to the marathon
• The Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay last being run in 2002. Like so many other traditional relays and road races, the police or local councils no longer granted a permit – using as unconvincing excuses expense or safety
• In the Scottish fixture list, a lack of structured training opportunities for road racers to gain speed and stamina in time to peak for important goals (which used to be the E to G in November and the Scottish Marathon Championships at the end of June)
• Mass Marathons led to fun runs and the mistaken notion that a sub 3 hour marathon is an excellent performance, even for physically talented men in their 20s and early 30s

In 2010 (for the first time since 1998) there were two Scots under 2.20! Ludicrously, in that year, the so-called Scottish Marathon Championship became part of the London Marathon. However, Andrew Lemoncello finished first Briton in 8^th place and recorded 2.13.40 – the fastest time by a Scot since Peter Fleming in 1995. Martin Williams ran 2.17.36.

Since then, although Derek Hawkins, Ross Houston, Callum Hawkins, Michael Crawley, Tsegai Tewelde and Robbie Simpson have produced sub-2.20 performances – and, in some cases, run much faster than that mark – tenth fastest in the yearly rankings continues to hover around 2.30.

Therefore, a few Professional Scottish Male Athletes (especially, Callum Hawkins, who in the 2019 London Marathon broke Allister Hutton’s record with a superb 2.08.14) are still capable of running very fast and competing well in Commonwealth, World or even Olympic marathons. Otherwise, the overall depth of Scottish Men’s marathon running continues to be unimpressive. More support from the Event Calendar would help enormously, with just a few significant alterations.

HOW MIGHT THE DEPTH OF SCOTTISH MARATHON RUNNING BE IMPROVED?

EACH ASPIRING MARATHON RUNNER WILL NEED TO CHECK THE CURRENT SCOTTISH FIXTURE LIST.

At present (assuming that road running is possible, after the coronavirus pandemic), the Scottish Athletics fixture list includes the following:

From the beginning of the Cross-Country Season (October 1^st) are there any other short, fast ROAD relays?

District Cross-Country Relays (mid-October)

Scottish Cross-Country Relays (Cumbernauld, end of October)

Allan Scally Memorial Road Relay (4x5k) (Glasgow Green, end of October)

Scottish Short Course (4k) Cross-Country (early November)

District Cross-Country Championships (early December)

ARE THERE ANY ‘TRAINING’ ROAD RACES IN DECEMBER/JANUARY?

Scottish Inter-District Cross-Country (Stirling, early January)

Scottish National (10k) Cross-Country (Falkirk, end of February)

Scottish 6-Stage Road Relay (Livingston, end of March)

Scottish 10 miles (Motherwell, also end of March)

Scottish Marathon Championship (Stirling, end of April – but a slow course) LONDON IS MUCH FASTER.

Scottish 5k (Edinburgh, early May)

Scottish 10k (Stirling, early September)

Scottish Half Marathon (Glasgow, end of September) 

[The Scottish Road Running Grand Prix was aligned with all of the Scottish Road Championships at 5K, 10K, 10 miles, 1/2 marathon and marathon and the final score is calculated with the best 4 out of 5 races. (Therefore, decided after the Half Marathon, end of September.)]

CONCLUSION: 

Although Scottish Athletics and British Athletics does support a very small number of Elite or Near-Elite Scottish Marathon runners, the existing race calendar does NOT seem to support aspiring road-racing athletes who wish to a) improve and achieve a fairly good marathon time and possibly b)  improve further to sub 2.20 or faster and then c) JOIN the Elite and receive funding to make them truly competitive. (Cross-country, track and shorter-distance road runners are reasonably well catered for; but not marathoners.)

ROAD RUNNING PEAKING CALENDAR: SUGGESTIONS:

(TO IMPROVE THE DEPTH OF SCOTTISH MARATHON RUNNING)

It is logical that a fairly young (up to mid-thirties) aspiring Scottish marathon runner (aiming at sub-2.30 or even sub-2.20) may wish to compete in a) a Spring Marathon and b) an Autumn one.

Obviously,  each aspiring marathoner should be following an appropriate training schedule (including a longish Sunday run (steady or varied effort 10 miles gradually increasing to 16 and occasionally 20), easier recovery runs, faster work – long reps, fartlek, road hill reps, time trials/hard effort parkruns ); and should include carefully selected ‘training races’ to improve speed and stamina, then tapering for two weeks to ensure freshness before a target marathon. (For sub-2.30, a talented youngish runner might average 60-70 miles per week (including these ingredients every fortnight), while for sub-2.20 (on a fast course, with sensible tactics and considerable luck!) 80 mpw might be more suitable. Some runners go for 100, but the ‘ideal amount’ depends on the resilience of each individual.

END OF MARCH/VERY EARLY APRIL: TEN MILES ROAD RACE (TOM SCOTT?); PLUS A HALF MARATHON OPTION REQUIRED. (NO NEED FOR CLASHING SIX STAGE ROAD RELAY HERE. The National XC in February serves as a non-road-running target for this part of the season).

END OF APRIL OR EARLY MAY: FAST SCOTTISH MARATHON REQUIRED; OR PEAK FOR LONDON END OF APRIL.

JUNE, JULY AND EARLY AUGUST; MAJOR TEN MILES OR HALF MARATHONS REQUIRED. EXCELLENT ‘TRAINING RACES’ to show top potential for the Marathon. A road race of 18 or 20 miles would also be excellent pre-marathon preparation. Perhaps the Edinburgh to North Berwick might restart?

EARLY SEPTEMBER: STIRLING OR EDINBURGH MARATHON (= SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP). ALTERNATIVE TO GREAT SCOTTISH RUN HALF MARATHON IN GLASGOW. OTHERWISE, THERE WILL BE A NEED TO TARGET A FAST EUROPEAN MARATHON.

OCTOBER: THE SCOTTISH CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS TAKE PLACE AT THE END OF OCTOBER; WHY NOT SHIFT THE ALLAN SCALLY RELAY TO MID-OCTOBER TO BE A ‘TRAINING RACE’ FOR ROAD RUNNERS?

SHIFT SIX STAGE ROAD RELAY TO MID-NOVEMBER (= MAJOR ROAD RUNNING TARGET LIKE E TO G FOR FIRST HALF OF SEASON). THEN TRAINING FOR NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY, FOLLOWED BY MARCH TEN MILES/HALF MARATHON, THEN LONDON OR POSSIBLE SCOTTISH ALTERNATIVE.

Recently, the Scottish Athletics Marathon Project has been set up, under the direction of Robert Hawkins (who coaches his talented and very successful Elite sons, Derek and Callum). The aim is to boost Scottish marathon standards before  the next Commonwealth Games.  A maximum of three Scots can be selected for that, but several other aspiring young Scottish marathon runners have been included in the Project. Although Coronavirus has delayed developments, everyone has access to a fund if they require physiotherapy. Some runners are entered for the Wrexham Elite Marathon in early October, and personal bests may result.

Would it be possible for the Scottish Athletics Marathon Project to consider the suggested adjustments to the Events Calendar to encourage even more up-and-coming Scottish Road Runners and Marathoners to improve their times and be considered for training camps and selection? Wouldn’t it be great to see the DEPTH of Scottish Marathon running return to the standards of the 1980s?

Previous Parts of this Post:   Part 1     Part  2     Part 3 

Back in the 1970s, nearly every road-running Scot was male. [SAAA, SCCU and SWCCU rules did not allow men and women to race together. The only time they might see each other racing was during the SAAA/SWAAA Track and Field Championships – and then only in separate events.] After the advent of City Marathons (starting with Aberdeen in September 1979) could take part in the same races. (The developing Veteran scene was also important in allowing men and women to compete together on the roads.)

Any road-racing specialist would train on a variety of surfaces – track, grass, trails and hills as well as tarmac. In addition, he would almost certainly race on track and cross-country as well as road. Nevertheless, the Road Running Year provided a calendar of events, which allowed the athlete to increase fitness gradually, before peaking for major races like the Tom Scott 10, Scottish Marathon Championship, the Two Bridges 36 and the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay.

The very top road runners had the organisation of their year down to  T.   It might be of course that that was the difference between the real top men and the ‘nearly top men’.    

One of our best endurance runners who had success on all surfaces – track and country but especially road – at all age levels is Colin Youngson and we asked him to discuss and explain his racing year and how it was planned.    

For example, his best year was 1975 when, representing Edinburgh Southern Harriers, he was training 70 or 80 miles per week and did not suffer injury. No fewer than 24 races were completed that year, and he did peak successfully for the Scottish Marathon and Edinburgh to Glasgow, as well as producing decent performances on cross-country, middle-distance track and (without extra training) the Two Bridges. At the end of such a busy season, he was delighted to be presented with the SAAA Donald McNab Robertson Trophy (for Best Scottish Road Runner of the Year).

                                                                         Colin finishing the last stage of the 1986 E to G, which his team Aberdeen AAC won.

What follows is a list of his 1974-1975 races, with road races in bold, and his comments on the season.   He takes over  the story:

“The Road Running Year may be said to start (or in the case of marathons, end) around 1^st October. In June 1974, I returned to Scotland after ten months teaching English as a foreign language in Sweden. There, I was slowly improving as a runner, despite having to do all training on my own in a flat part of the country. The opposition, apart from a few tough athletes, was nothing like as strong as in Scotland, let alone Finland and England. My marathon personal best was 2.22.28.

Having reached my home city of Aberdeen in early June, I raced the Scottish Marathon on the 22^nd, finishing a tired third (2.21.36). By mid-August, I had moved to hilly Edinburgh, started teaching English at Craigmount High School, had become a member of Edinburgh Southern Harriers, and proper 70 to 80 miles a week training had resumed, including Sunday Runs (16 to 25 miles), hill reps and long and short interval work with a number of good runners. How would this fresh regime affect my speed and stamina?

 On 25^th August 1974, in a slow time, I won a very windy Scottish 10 Miles Track title at Meadowbank. On September 28th came the first road running fixture of the Winter season: the ESH Fernieside Relays. Our team won, I posted the fastest time – and it was the only occasion that my brilliant young clubmate Allister Hutton let me finish a few seconds in front of him.

5^th October: We finished second to Edinburgh Athletic Club in the McAndrew Road Relay in Glasgow. I was third-fastest behind Andy McKean and Gareth Bryan Jones.

19^th October: Kingsway Relays, Dundee. ESH first team. I was third-fastest behind Alister Blamire and Craig Douglas.

26/10/74: Harlow Marathon, Essex. 8th. Although I chipped a few seconds off my pb with 2.21.06, I was disappointed not to get closer to the 2.20 mark.

16/11/74: Delighted to come home first (outsprinting Willie Day due to the uphill finish) on Stage One of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay. ESH won this legendary race after a very close battle with EAC.

23/11/74: ESH third in the Scottish XC Relay. I took over third and finished there but felt a bit stale.

7/12/74: A poor run on a bumpy, muddy course during the SCCU v SU v Northern Ireland contest.

There was absolutely no doubt that running on the road suited me best. What would 1975 bring? Could this new training regime allow me to build up for important races and produce new pbs for 10.000m, 10 miles and, especially, the Scottish Marathon Championship?

Nigel Barge Road Race, 1984 

There followed four weeks hard training, totalling: 71 miles, 80, 100 and 80, leading up to the first race of 1975.

4^th January – Nigel Barge Memorial 4 and a half mile race, Glasgow – 4th.

12^th January – East District Cross Country League (final race), Livingston. 6^th.  ESH won team title.

18^th January – East District CC Championships, Fernieside, Edinburgh. 4th. ESH first team.

5^th February – Scottish National CC Championships, Coatbridge. 19^th. ESH second team.

1^st March – Edinburgh University 10 mile road race. Third. ESH first team.

5^th April. After release from hospital (for a minor face operation) a poor run in the Tom Scott 10. Only 20^th, but got fit again surprisingly fast.

26^th April – AAA National 12-Stage Road Relay, Sutton Coldfield. ESH second team against the cream of English clubs. I was third-fastest on the short stage – a hilly 3 miles 100 yards in 14.16.

3^rd May – Scottish Athletics League, Division One, Meadowbank, Edinburgh. 5000m (B race): 1^st in 14.32.

10^th May – SAAA Ten Mile Track Championship, Carluke. 2^nd in a lifetime best 49.00.8.

17^th May – Drymen to Scotstoun 15 mile road race (Glasgow Highland Games). 1^st.

.31^st May – East District 10,000m at Meadowbank. Second in a lifetime best 29.33.4. This very hard run led to selection for Scotland v Iceland 10,000m.

8^th June – Pye Gold Cup 5000m, Meadowbank. 1^st in 14.37.6 (despite fall on first lap).

28^th June – Scottish Marathon Championship, Meadowbank. Won in 2.16.50 (Championship Best Performance). Best race ever. Led to selection for a GB two-man team in an International Marathon.

29^th June – ESH (unsuccessful) attempt on 100 x One Mile world track record, Meadowbank. 4.29 mile, the day after the marathon. (A long warm-up was essential.)

Scottish Marathon leaving Meadowbank Stadium, 1981.   Colin Youngson leads (and won).

5^th July – Forres Highland Games. Ten Miles. CY 1^st.

19^th August – Scotland v Iceland Athletics match in Reykjavik. 10,000m: second to team-mate Allister Hutton.

23^rd August – Two Bridges Race, Dunfermline. 36 miles 158 yards. Second in 3.29.44, almost three minutes behind Cavin Woodward (World number one ultra-marathon runner that year.) This run probably clinched the Robertson Trophy award.

Friday 12^th September – 6^th Internationale Berchem Marathon, Antwerp, Belgium. Second, 17 seconds behind Danny McDaid (Eire), with GB team-mate Max Coleby just 9 seconds further back. We beat the Irish on countback as well as several Continental pairings.

McAndrew Relay changeover, 1979, 

4^th October – McAndrew Road Relay, Scotstoun, Glasgow. 6^th fastest. ESH won.

12^th October – Coatbridge 5: fifth in a classy field.

25^th October – Allan Scally Road Relay, Baillieston, Glasgow. 6^th fastest. ESH won in a new course record 90.45.

8^th November – Glasgow University 5 miles road race. 3rd in a PB 24.57.

15^th November – Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay. 1^st ESH 3.33.32 (new course record). I set a new Stage One record of 26.00. Second-best ever run.

29^th November – International Cross-Country, Gateshead Riverside Bowl. Scotland (1^st team) v England v Rest of World v Gateshead Harriers. Reality check! Horrible circuit with vicious little anaerobic hills. Ended up 27^th ex 32, in front of two Scottish team-mates.

(N.B. After such an outstanding year, Colin trained too hard (100 miles per week), got sciatica, had to reduce mileage and was never quite as good again, although between 1977 and 1985 he ran eight more sub 2.20 marathons and had a long, often successful career as a Veteran/Master up to the age of 70.)

Comments on 1975

Important training ingredients included: long fairly hard Sunday runs; speedwork (short and long repetitions plus hill sessions, short road relays, 5000m races); easier, recovery training runs; track 10,000m events (there very were few road 10ks back then); cross-country; ten and 15 mile road races. This produced fitness for a fast, competitive marathon and the stamina to complete 36 miles steadily before finishing strongly.”

What other possible races featured in the calendar?

(The Scottish Marathon Club provided an excellent fixture list.)

(Originally 13.6 miles but this was changed to 14.1 miles in 1983.)

Then it was back to the winter cycle of 

  October: McAndrew Relay

Mid-October: the Kingsway road relay in Dundee

End of October, the Scottish CC Relays.

Early November, the District CC Relays.

In format

Early December, County CC Champs.

SCCU v Scottish Universities.

East Kilbride road races.

Queen’s Drive road race, Edinburgh.

The outline is clear and then you can see the races that Colin added in to trim and tweak his progress through the year.   For instance in May he added the tough Drymen to Scotstoun race instead of the quicker Gourock HG 14 miles.   At the end of May and the start of June he fitted in a 10,000m on the track followed by the even shorter and quicker 5000m on the track in the lead in to the fast-paced marathon.   Without labouring the point too much, the season now is a bit different.   

First, there is a proliferation of 10K road races.   No one in the governing body is tasked with asking some of these organisers to alter the distance of their race to help the runners in their preparation for the major championships.   Instead, the governing body dishes out permits to all who want them – or maybe they have completely stopped trying to control the flow of races by permits or by any other method.      

Second, there does  not seem to be any concern about races being dropped from the programme.  For example, the Strathallan 20 became the Strathallan 14, then the Strathallan 10 before being dropped; other races such as the Dunky Wright 5K have just been dropped.   No one has enquired of the organisers why these events have been dropped or offered to assist in their restoration.   It is impossible to imagine such as Jimmy Scott or Dunky Wright not acting.   The road racing scene seriously needs examining by the governing body.

The Scottish marathon championship is now run as part of a mass marathon – the last five have been enmeshed in the Inverness, London and Stirling marathons.   These in no way resemble a marathon championship race.   For two years it was not even run in Scotland.   It is a proper Scottish championship and should be treated as such rather than as an add-on to a glorified fund raising exercise.   

The last five championships have been run on 27th September 2015, 24/4/2016, 23/4/2017, 29/4/18 and 28/4/2019.    How can any serious marathon runner build up to a peak for the very start of the season?   

The once excellent Scottish endurance running organisation has been deprived of the proper stepping stones to success, as used by such as Colin, Donald Macgregor, Fergus Murray and all the other genuine national marathon heroes.

Alastair Macfarlane, a fine runner who became Scottish Marathon Champion in 1979 (beating Donald Macgregor and Colin Youngson) commented as follows on his own approach to ‘training races’ and peaking for important events.

“Thinking about the running calendar: Brian McAusland is right in suggesting that there was a bit of progression back in the day – but I suppose it was what you made it. I wonder if there was ever any planning on the part of the SCCU or SAAA and their female equivalents with regard to progression. I always tried to adhere to the principle of short, medium and long term targets – didn’t always succeed but that was the plan. And in the most successful part of my running career the long term target was a marathon.

I would aim to target no more than six or eight races per year in which I would aim to do well. These would include the Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay, the Balloch to Clydebank, the Clydebank to Helensburgh and the National 6 Stage Relay. Other races such as the District and National Cross Country Relays, the County Relays, the Glasgow University 5 miles, the Nigel Barge and the Springburn Cup were really used as glorified training runs. I would always try to run and compete well in them, and sometimes achieved that, but wouldn’t ease down my training. I would often be beaten by runners who wouldn’t normally beat me when I was at my best but was confident enough to realise that.

As I alluded to earlier, I wonder if the racing calendar in the seventies and eighties was progressive by accident or design and of course it was up to the individual to design their own fixture list. Nowadays I wonder how much if any planning goes into it. In Autumn the District and National Relays are still around and the National Short Course Cross Country has been added. This is a good start to the winter season along with the District Cross Country Championships but there are now far too many races available to runners. If an individual or organisation wishes to organise an event, Scottish Athletics will issue a permit without too many questions, providing safety requirements are met. This is because events are an income source and there is probably little consideration given to where events will fit into the competitive season.

Nowadays I coach a group of runners, mainly Masters who, after some effort, I have convinced should decide on targets and focus on certain events within a race programme, rather than treat every race with equal importance. However, my experience tells me that nowadays the huge majority of those taking part in our sport give little thought to race planning. Maybe it was always so?”

The Road Runner’s Year Part 1     Part 3      Part 4

The start of the first ever Tom Scott 10 Miles Road Race

Runners from the recent past, and those who have read and thought about Scottish endurance running, are mildly critical of the current programme of races offered to athletes by governing bodies and race/championship organisers.   It takes only a cursory look at the winter programme for any year in the 1960’s (or the 1970’s or the 1980’s) to see that there were cycles of competition where the importance of the events gradually increased, leading the athletes to more and more intense effort and gradually rising standards of performance.  Indeed there were cycles inside cycles.  

For instance, September was pretty well a fallow month as far as competition was concerned and was followed by the short relays (each runner in a four-man team raced two and a half miles).   Road runners spent September (and October) developing a bit more pace, while the half milers and milers were gradually building in a bit of strength.   There were four relays in the sequence –  McAndrew (road),  and three cross-country ones – County, District and (from 1974) National, with a couple of weeks (perhaps including five mile road races like the Allan Scally Relay or the Glasgow University 5) to prepare for the prestigious 8-Man Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay (with stages ranging from 4 miles to 7 miles).   That was one cycle.   Then the runners went in to the  cross-country championships proper – County then District then National, then, if you were ambitious and talented, the English National, then the International.   Another cycle.  Put the relay cycle and the championships cycle together and that was the winter cycle    It all made sense.  

The same was true of the summer season where there was gradually increasing distance and severity in the races leading up via 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, and 20 miles to the marathon itself.   That was the one cycle.  Then there were the highland games and sports meetings where the races were all different and it was almost refreshing to run the 20 miles at Strathallan or the 14 at Shotts with the fearful climb up past Kirk o’Shotts.  

There was a definite pattern, where the aim was clearly to assist athletes to reach a peak when it mattered; and to raise the standard of Scottish road and endurance running (which could be track 5000m or 10,000m too) across the board.    For example, if there were no 20 mile races, then a member of the Scottish Marathon Club would approach the promoter of a meeting which had a road race and offer to help organise a race at that distance.   I say ‘a member of the SMC’ but many of the committee were also members of the SAAA with Dunky Wright being the prime example.   

In addition a platform was given to these events where the public could see the road runners in action.   The SAAA Marathon was held from the actual track and field event championships – after all they were bona fide  athletes just like the hurdlers and hammer throwers.   The event has now been relegated to a bit part in a massive road race organised more often than not with the prime object of maximising the number of participants.   There was the ludicrous instance for some years of the Scottish national championship being held in England.   

However, the pattern was set for the runners who could use it and there were also many other distances, mainly on the road, that could be fitted in to  a runner’s schedule to help him tweak whatever aspect of his fitness needed a bit more attention at a particular time.   For instance Allister Hutton used to run in the Dunky Wright 5 miles+ in April as part of his programme leading to the London Marathon.    Enough discussion – it helps to see how a good Scottish runner, who usually managed to peak when it counted, shaped his year.   

Lachie Stewart running to work in 1970.  Many, possibly most, road runners ran to work and back again

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Back in the 1970s, nearly every road-running Scot was male. [SAAA, SCCU and SWCCU rules did not allow men and women to race together. The only time they might see each other racing was during the SAAA/SWAAA Track and Field Championships – and then only in separate events.] After the advent of City Marathons (starting with Aberdeen in September 1979) could take part in the same races. (The developing Veteran scene was also important in allowing men and women to compete together on the roads.)

Any road-racing specialist would train on a variety of surfaces – track, grass, trails and hills as well as tarmac. In addition, he would almost certainly race on track and cross-country as well as road. Nevertheless, the Road Running Year provided a calendar of events, which allowed the athlete to increase fitness gradually, before peaking for major races like the Tom Scott 10, Scottish Marathon Championship, the Two Bridges 36 and the Edinburgh to Glasgow Road Relay.

The very top road runners had the organisation of their year down to  T.   It might be of course that that was the difference between the real top men and the ‘nearly top men’.   I remember, after the Shotts 14 mile road race race was won by one of the latter, asking one of the former how he felt about defeat and he replied that the winner ‘never won when it mattered.’   In other words he couldn’t peak for the year’s important competitions.   Another very good non-championship medal winning athlete was racing quite a lot at one point and when I asked him why his reply was something like, “Well, when you’re running fast and you don’t know why, you have to make the most of it.”   

One of our best endurance runners who had success on all surfaces – track and country but especially road – at all age levels is Colin Youngson and we asked him to discuss and explain his racing year and how it was planned.    

For example, his best year was 1975 when, representing Edinburgh Southern Harriers, he was training 70 or 80 miles per week and did not suffer injury. No fewer than 24 races were completed that year, and he did peak successfully for the Scottish Marathon and E to G, as well as producing decent performances on cross-country, middle-distance track and (without extra training) the Two Bridges. At the end of such a busy season, he was delighted to be presented with the SAAA Donald McNab Robertson Trophy (for Best Scottish Road Runner of the Year).

Part  Two         Part  Three       Part  Four

Money matters.  In the mid 1990’s as group coach for endurance (800 – marathon, including race walking) I had an allowance of £120 per year which could only be claimed in two lots of £60 with receipts where applicable.   Weekend  courses or conferences such as the BMC weekend at Jordanhill in 1986 had to be self financing.  With guests including Peter Coe, Jimmy Hedley, Frank Horwill and Sean Kyle whose expenses had to be paid, I sought sponsorship and still had to charge the exactly 100 who attended for the privilege.   When we took parties on warm weather training weeks in Portugal, the athletes had to pay their own way, and if an outstanding young athlete (eg AAA’s champion) wanted/needed to do altitude training then he had to find the money on his own.   This involved all sorts of ploys – such as asking Eddie Kulukundis in London for a contribution.   Money matters.  The shortage of money was a national one.  

In racing terms, the runners had to have financial backing of their own, eg Tom McKean and Yvonne Murray had support from Glen Henderson thanks to the efforts of their coach, to access the support team they required and to get to the races.   In the search for good races time from employment had to be found, as well as the finance, to travel around Britain for the top races.   Needless to say, for the rest of the running community for whom this was out of the question, their entire racing season had to be organised inside Scotland.   Recognised by everybody, this meant that the domestic season had to be arranged to develop all athletes through a system graded in terms of severity of competition and, in the case of marathon runners, in terms of distances raced.   The situation has been documented  and it needed to be changed.   With no fewer than seven different governing bodies and money in short supply, it was necessary to reduce the management costs and go about raising money in a commercial way.   

There was no problem with the structure of the sport at this point: it had not come about by accident and was for the benefit of athletes of all levels in the country.  That it was a deliberate act by the SCCU is evidenced by Colin Shields in his official history of the SCCU where he says on page 164:

“There was a reorganisation of relay fixtures in season 1978/79 to give a logical start to the winter season.   Since the introduction of the National Relay championships four years earlier it had been after the Edinburgh to Glasgow relay at the end of November   This resulted in a mixture of road and cross country relays over varying distances.   The Union rearranged the fixture list such that the season opened with County, District and national four by two and a half miles cross country relay championships on successive weeks in October as a start to the winter season and a lead in to the longer distance races later in the season”.

This was already true of the other championships – the National had always been the last race in the winter and the District Championships were a month or so befre them.   The County Championships were invariably before that and in the east of the country, the East District League was held on the same day as the Counties Championships.   It was a structure that worked for all involved in Scottish endurance running.  How and why did it change?

Committees were set up, meetings held, consultations made and the required alterations were made. This led to the dismantling of the whole structure of the sport in the mid 1990’s with the seven different governing bodies being merged under the new SAL Banner.   There was as part of the re-organisation access to money via Sport Scotland and, according to one of the group coaches active before and after the reorganization many new possibilities were now available to them.   It was possible to have a training weekend with the cost wholly covered, it was possible to take groups to warm weather training, and in some cases even altitude training.   Support systems were set up and quick access was now available in a way not always possible before.  The changes also affected racing possibilities for the top athletes who could now be financed, in whole or in part, to have a graded international racing programme.  

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But everything has a cost – including money.  I remember being at a meeting in Bridge of Allan where Meg Ritchie suggested that Scottish athletics might, in future, have to be split into the elite  international athletes and their provision and the domestic version of the sport.   There is a good argument to be had on this topic but it has never been openly discussed in detail with the consequences for all runners and clubs thought through.    

Most, if not all, of the money from Sport Scotland seems to be attached to medals won in major Games and other high profile international events, and to the athletes who will (it is hoped) deliver them.   The names are easily found on many internet sites and we hear regularly of the comprehensive backup, the support provided, the altitude training camps and so on which provide for our top talent.   It was necessary if the country has to compete at the top level, and it seems to be working – and working well.   

However the competition needs of the elite cannot simply be met by the situation domestically.   That is a given.   But one of the babies has been thrown out with the bath water and that is the provision for the club standard and slightly above athlete.   There is now in 2020 no obvious governing body provided ladder for these athletes to progress or to achieve their best.   How do we do that?

Part 1     Part 2    Part 4

The first issue of the BMC News was two sheets of foolscap, folded, to make 8 pages, hand typed, artwork hand drawn.  The latest issue runs to 48 pages in full colour, 61 full colour photographs, 7 black and white photographs (Peter Snell, Lindsay Dunn) and several tables also in colour.  The whole was professionally produced and the magazine is Volume 17 Issue 1, dates Spring 2020.   The magazine has come a long, long way since 1963 and this only reflects the journey that the club has taken.   One only has to take a look at the relative statistics for the period of the club’s founding and for the current period – they will go up on a separate page.   Let’s look at the covers from 2010 to 2020.   

The new millenium   came and the most striking thing when the new issue of the News was opened was the use of colour.   The whole thing was even more professional looking than before: the mix of pictures on the cover was skilfully done and there was colour through the magazine.  The layout of the pages was varied and the range of content quite amazing.   Without wanting to offend anyone, I can honestly say that it was mire professionally executed the Athletics Weekly and on quality paper so that it would live in an athlete’s library for his entire career and beyond.   You can see them in their entirety, and you really should at  

http://britishmilersclub.com/bmcnews/news00.asp

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Into the 1990’s and there were more developments with the magazine paralleling those in the club.  The REAL big one was the news of the three year sponsorship of the club Grand Prix by Nike, announced in the Spring 1997 issue.   The magazine had gone from being numbered in sequence from Number 1 to becoming a more professional Volume 1 and  now BMC News Volume 2 Issue 1 appeared in Autumn 1990.   There were also experiments in layout both inside and on the cover of the magazine.  You can see all the changes in the magazines and information of the Nike sponsorship by looking through the magazines

at http://britishmilersclub.com/bmcnews/news90.asp

The 80’s saw a major change in the size and format of the magazine.   It was right from the beginning professionally printed in black and white with real photographs on the cover.  As the decade progressed the size of the publication increased.  With two wide columns per page it could take much more in the way of content and Frank Horwill’s original wishes for the magazine were being realised at last.   The entire magazines can be downloaded at the BMC website – http://britishmilersclub.com/bmcnews/news80.asp 

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