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The competition rules continue . . .

Alexander Duncan Robertson ( born 7/05/56), Edinburgh Southern Harriers, Penicuik Harriers, Lothian Running Club.

Personal best times. 3000m: 8:28.47 1981; 5000m: 14:34.8 1981; 3000m Steeplechase: 9:03.8 1978. 

Alex, a Scottish International athlete, was an invaluable team man and a decent steeplechaser and road runner.  He was the son of Hamish Robertson, the ESH secretary and 1950s road runner.  

Representing ESH, Alex was in 4 winning teams in the Edinburgh to Glasgow relay. 1977 gold (Stage 7); 1978 gold (Stage 7); 1979 bronze (Stage 7); 1981 gold (Stage 8 ran very well, 3^rd fastest); 1982 gold (Stage 8 ran very well, second fastest).

Alex also contributed to 4 winning teams (1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983) in the Scottish Six Stage Road Relay. He ran the fifth stage in the first two, and recalls that team star Allister Hutton asked him to limit the gap to Clyde Valley AC (the leaders), so that Allister could overtake them on the final stage – which Hutton did, both times! In 1979, Alex was fastest on stage five, six seconds faster than Ron Macdonald (CV); and in 1980 Alec was second-fastest to Jim Brown (CV), but only lost 32 seconds. Both Ron and Jim were outstanding Scottish International athletes.

 In the classic 1982 Tom Scott Ten miles Road Race Alex ran an excellent 48.58; and later that year 10,000m on the track in 30.40.2. His best marathon was 2.28.10 in 1985.

In the 1985 Tom Scott Ten Miles, Alex finished a valiant third, behind Alan Puckrin and Jim Brown.

Jim Brown (left)  and Alex Robertson

Alex Robertson featured in the Scottish Athletics annual rankings from 1975 to 1990.   Highest rankings below.

Alex also raced internationally for Scotland on the track three times:

In the 3000 Metres Steeplechase:

*31^st August 1980 at Gateshead, England (Scotland v England v Norway v Yugoslavia);

*and early August 1981 at Meadowbank, Scotland (Scotland v Denmark v Ireland).

In the 3000 Metres – 26^th July 1981 at Gateshead, England (Scotland v England v Hungary v Norway).  

EDINBURGH MARATHONS

On September 4^th 1983, Alex finished fourth in 2 hours 28 minutes 45 seconds, behind Lindsay Robertson (EAC), Ian Elliot (Hawick) and Dave Ellis (England).

                                   Left to right: Ian Elliot, Alex Robertson, Lindsay Robertson, with Dave Ellis hidden behind

On September 2^nd 1984 in the Edinburgh Waverley Market Marathon, Alex raced for Scotland. He kept up early on but unfortunately suffered a stitch and dropped back during the second half.

Left to right: Lindsay Robertson, Evan Cameron, Dave Ellis, Alex Robertson

“A field of 3,597 runners lined up outside Meadowbank Stadium at 8:30 am on Sunday morning, with light rain making the conditions perfect for the runners.   As the race got underway, a group of four runners were immediately to the fore.   The group contained Lindsay Robertson (EAC), Evan Cameron (Edinburgh SH), Alex Robertson (ESH) and the winner of the first Edinburgh Marathon in 1982, Dave Ellis of Birchfield Harriers.   By the time they had run two miles, this group was 100 yards clear of the next runner with the rest of the field starting to settle into their pace.   As the runners reached Princes Street they were being caught by Brian Emmerson of Teviotdale Harriers.   However, soon after catching the group he was again dropped and they continued to push on.   Lindsay Robertson at this point was doing most of the front running and it was good to see the Scotland squad in a 1,2 and 3 position with Dave Ellis still with the group but not looking very comfortable.   By halfway, Lindsay Robertson and Evan Cameron had broken away from Alex Robertson and Ellis.”

Lindsay Robertson finished very strongly, to win in an event record of 2.15.55, with Evan Cameron second in 2.19.34.

Alex Robertson remembers “I ran the Edinburgh Marathon in 1983, 1984 and 1985. It was a well-organised event. In 1983 I finished fourth in 2.28.45; 1984 16^th in 2.31, having suffered a stitch; and in 1985 11^th in a personal best of  2.28.10.

 In 1984 I was part of the Scottish team (with Lindsay and Evan) and we received complete International kit: vest, shorts, tracksuit and even shoes! Unfortunately, England did not send a complete team, so Scotland won unopposed.”

Alex Robertson also answered the questionnaire.

Occupation: Research Technician. 

How did you get into the sport?  Initially, through my Dad who ran for ESH.

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on either your attitude to the sport or your performances?  Training at Fernieside (the club track) and my years training with Ali Hutton and all the support I got from club officials and team mates. 

What exactly did you get out of the sport?  Fun and friendships.

Can you describe your general attitude to the sport?  Enjoyment. At the 1970 Commonwealth Games, I remember, as a 15 year old, from inside the track, watching Lachie Stewart, Ian Stewart, Ian McCafferty and Gareth Bryan Jones racing so well!

What do you consider your best-ever performance?  Tom Scott 10 miles in under 49 minutes and running for Scotland. I was also proud to race for ESH during their Grand Slam or Clean Sweep year (see certificate). That was some winter season!

And your worst?  Some of my Scottish National Cross Country Championship performances. 

What goals did you have that were never achieved?  Win a Scottish National Cross Country team medal. 

What has running brought you that you would not have wanted to miss?  All the friends I made and enjoyment. 

Can you give some details of your training?  

I trained twice most days.  

Between 70 and 100 miles a week

Sunday: long run (15 miles) with the group.

Monday: track session with the group or just me and Ali. 

Tuesday: run from Fernieside with the group.

Wednesday: normally an easy run.

Thursday: track session. 

Friday: easy day if racing on Saturday. 

Saturday: race or steady run.

A regular session Allister and I did was driving down to Gullane Sands, then runs over the dunes and hill reps. Also did the Monday 16-rep session, four times round The Meadows in winter.

I would like to thank all the guys I trained with – too many to name but they know who they are.

Alex added “After giving up racing for a few years, I got into mountaineering and rock climbing, climbing in many different countries. Nowadays I am still climbing and running for fun in a few races a year. Once a week, I still meet up with John Gladwin for a run.”

Tower Ridge, Ben Nevis. Left to right: Alex, Darren Smith, Stuart Aikman

One of the more important items in the Handbook, so important that it came immediately after the office bearers and honorary members, was the Constitution and Standing Orders.   Not long compared with some other sections but very important in the event of any infringement – especially by a Committee Member.  Apologies for some of the copying but the binding on the copy we have is very tight and at times obscure a letter or two.

The sport couldn’t run without officials – not to be confused with administrators.   The former stand out in all weathers measuring jumps and throws, timing and starting track events, while the latter sit in the office and organise meetings, etc.   We have the officials with their events and their addresses so that meeting organisers can invite the officials of the grade and in the numbers they want.   For some reason the women’s officials are listed in three pages at the back of the book while the men’s officials are listed earlier.

The first page of Coaches  below is from the 1980 Handbook because the corresponding page in the ’79 version does not show the paragraph at the top of the page in its entirety.   This accounts for the wrong page number and slight difference in names of Coaches.   Note that although the list of officials appears earlier in the handbook, the SWAAA officials are listed here in the last three pages.   I don’t know why that is.

Both the SAAA which dealt with Track and Field athletics   and the SCCU which dealt with cross-country and road running in Scotland  had their own organisational structures and procedures for the running of the sports.   They ran parallel to each other but had different ways of electing committees, the committees were also differently structured, the club input to each body was also different.   Financial procedures were also peculiar to each body.   We also have the professional circuit’s equivalent publication – the SGA Handbook and the comparison between the two codes is interesting.

And there were the rules and regulations to be adhered to and which had to be communicated to the clubs and other organisations (schools, County Associations, Youth Organisations, etc).    These were contained in their respective annual handbooks.     That of the SAAA was necessarily larger since it had all the track and field events to cover, and the various regulations relating to the Highland Games, Border Games, Local and Works Sport meetings, and in short everything for every sort of competition.   The SCCU handbook was 5″  x  4″ while the SAAA was 8″  x  5″.     

Their importance in the running of the sport across the entire country cannot be over-estimated and it is appropriate that we look at the contents of these publications.    We have taken the cross-country handbook for 1980 and the SAAA publication for 1979 simply because they are representative and because we have them to hand.   The SWAAA Annual Report for 1982/83 is also here and is similar in format to the other handbooks.

See them at the links below.

SAAA Handbook     SWAAA Report   SCCU Handbook   SGA Handbook

Every year the SAAA issued the Handbook – a compendium of the current state of the Association, of its Constitution, Rules and Regulations, of its history and of its members.   No look at the sport during the reign of the SAAA would be complete without looking at this production.   It is however a fairly big book – the 1979 edition runs to 128 pages plus cover – and will take some time for the scanning to be complete.   

It will be done in sections as above with the part dealing with the Rules for Competition being further divided simply because of its length.   Links to these sections are below and will be linked as the relevant pages are complete.

1.   Committee Members  and Office Holders, District Representatives, Honorary Members and Past Presidents.
2.   Constitution.
3.   Rules for Competitions and Promotions under SAAA:  Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5
4.  Trophies, Championship Standards, Records at the start of 1979 and Results of Championships in 1978.
5. Officials by District.
6. Fixture List for 1979 and Coaches plus affiliated clubs and their Secretaries, SWAAA Officials.

Finally, it will be noted that such a booklet could not or would not be published today – mainly because it has the addresses and phone numbers of all committee members, all coaches and all club secretaries.   This is a pity because it makes the job of course organisers who want to invite appropriate coaches, race promoting bodies who are looking for officials, and club secretaries who want to contact others.    This was part of athletics life however in 1979.