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Stevie Wylie’s career before he became a vet and eligible to run in Masters races was remarkable, but he has given a considerable amount of time and effort since then to ensure the continuing success of Cambuslang Masters runners.  He has done this by advising and training with developing athletes like Kerry-Liam Wilson; and also by playing a vital part in winning teams.   Before he reached M35 status, Stevie had been part of Cambuslang’s team victory in the 2003 Scottish 10K Road Championships. In 2015, as an M45 competitor, he contributed to Senior gold for Cambuslang in the Scottish 10 Miles Road event.   A rundown of his exploits:

• In the Scottish Masters Cross-Country Championships: in 2008 Stevie finished third  (second M35), leading Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers to team victory. In 2009 he was second (but Scottish M35 Champion) behind the outstanding M40 Robert Quinn, and led RCH to team gold. In 2012 Stevie finished sixth but the consolation was that Cambuslang won the team title again. They repeated this feat in 2015, when Wylie secured M40 silver. In 2018, Stevie finished third M45.
• British Masters Athletic Association Cross Country Championships: The Scottish Veteran Harriers hosted the event at Bathgate in 2007 and Cambuslang swept the board in the M35, M40 and M50 events.  The M35 representatives were Kerry-Liam Wilson, Greg Hastie, David Rodgers and Stevie Wylie, while the M40 runners were Ross Arbuckle, Dave Thom, Benny McLaughlin, Robert Lyon, Gerry Reid and Colin Feechan with Freddy Connor, Archie Jenkins, Frank Hurley and Frankie Barton making up the M50 quartet.
• In the 2010 British and Irish Masters International Cross-Country Championships, in Dublin, at Santry Demesne, on a deceptively tough, increasingly muddy lap course near the Billy Morton Stadium, Stevie Wylie, running for Scotland, did very well to finish fifth M35.
• BMAF 5K Road Championships at Horwich, 2018. Kerry-Liam Wilson was first Cambuslang runner home in fifth place and first M45 (for the third successive year). Stevie Wylie just missed out on M45 individual bronze but, with Wilson and Justin Carter, gained a decisive team gold in the M45-54 category.

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These results as a vet and team member in vet competition were very good but they did not mean that Stephen had retired from mainstream racing and competition – far from it.    His 2007 record was up to his usual standard: Victories included Ayrshire cross-country championship, Girvan Cross-Country, Stranraer half marathon in 68:53, Kilmarnock 10K, Calderglen trail race plus a second in the Dunfermline half marathon in 69 minutes – 7 seconds slower than his victory at Stranraer.    In 2008  he won the Ayrshire cross-country championship. his third place at East Kilbride on 29th November placed him 24th for 1oK with a time of 31:52, and on 1st November he won the Stranraer 10K in 32:42.   Into 2009 and on 21st February Stephen finished 14th overall and first Cambuslang man home for the team that finished fourth.  Then he was third in the Tom Scot Road Race in 51:21 for the 10 miles course making him first  vet  and then went up a distance or two to finish the London Marathon in 2 hours 34 minutes. 

In 2010 he was first in the Ayrshire cross-country championships but it was in 2011/2012 that he really showed his ability.   in the National Cross-Country Championships in  he finished in thirty third position  (two seconds behind  Robert Gilroy) to be last counter for the Cambuslang team that finished third.   Next was the Six Stage Road Relay where the vets team of Thom, McGregor, Hastie, Wylie, O’Hagan and Ramage was eighth and won team gold.    

In 2014, he had earlier in the year, November, run the classic Brampton to Carlisle 10 miles in 53:12.  The West District Championships were on 6th December and Stephen in twentieth place was first vet across the line.   He was first vet the following year in the Tom Scott 10 miles in 53:45.   In Masters competition, in addition to the team silver at Birmingham mentioned above, he was third in the M40 masters indoor 3000m,  and in the National 5K Road Running championships he was second vet in the M40 class.   Finally in the Six Stage Road Relay at Livingston he was in the Cambuslang line-up of Reid. Wilson, Harrow, Hastie, O’Hagan and Wylie that again took the team gold.  

Like all Masters athletes, Stephen now rations his races but when he does turn out, he makes it count.   The photograph below shows him winning the Balfron 10K in 2018.

Peter Hoffmann was a very good runner indeed who represented Scotland and Great Britain with distinction.   He also knew his way around Scottish athletics and, training as he did at Meadowbank, he met and mixed with the professionals who also trained there.   I asked him for his thougts on the professional/amateur interface and his response is printed here in its entirety.

There were two different athletics codes but were there two different sorts of athletes?   It doesn’t seem so – all the basic personality and environmental qualities are required for them both.   The pleasure in taking part in sport in the open air, the preference for individual events where the athlete responsibility for his own performance against team sports where the credit/blame is shared and there whether you are a pro or an amateur.  The athlete needs to be the sort of person who trains hard almost every day of the week, for at least 50 weeks of the year for his event regardless of the code.   

These of course are best developed if the young athlete is brought up in a home where sport is seen as important, where an active lifestyle is practiced and the example is added to by a genuine desire to help any children take part in their sport.   These are all true whether those running are doing it for a casserole dish or for pennies.

However the two codes are not totally separate.   In a country as small as Scotland with thriving professional and amateur circuits in the Borders, in Fife, in the West Highlands, etc, that would be impossible.   In fact athletes often take part in both codes at one time or another in their career.   

First, there are many athletes who start off on the Games circuit who, later in their life become amateur athletes and go on to represent their country and win amateur titles.   An examples of this that could be cited is Alastair Macfarlane who was SGA athlete of the year in 1968, and went on to win the SAAA Marathon in 1979.   A more extreme example might be Terry Mitchell of Fife who was a pro, then an amateur, then a pro again and finally an amateur!   An excellent runner he was a Scottish internationalist several times over and twice won the SAAA Marathon Championship

Second, there are runners who seem to have a foot in both camps: I saw a post on Facebook about a borders runner, pictured running at Meadowbank, which read “Another pro pretending to be an amateur!”  There is a very successful professional athletics scene in the Borders with meetings held in Kelso, Hawick, Innerleithen, Jedburgh and all have noble traditions going centuries back in time.   All know about them – at least they know about their local games and training groups.   They also know about a different type of Games – the Commonwealth Games as well as the Olympic Games, and European Games; they know that access to these is limited to amateurs and given that there are very good athletic clubs such as Teviotdale Harriers and Gala Harriers in the area as well as bigger clubs in nearby Edinburgh, the athletes have the choice of codes.   And it is an informed choice.   

Then there are the professional athletes who become coaches for amateur athletes and right well do most of them do it.   Stuart Hogg from Kirkcaldy was a very good sprinter on the Games circuit winning races all over the country and training with Jim Bradley.   Stuart went on to become an important part of the SAAA national coaching team.   Eric Simpson was also a Games sprinter who coached at national level, and even worked with a GB 4 x 440 relay squad.  Keith Redpath who is at present coaching in Australia was a member of the British Milers Club and coached some very good amateur athletes.   John Freebairn played in goal for Partick Thistle in winter and  on the Games circuit in summer.   He was a very good all rounder competing in the jumps and throws and he became such a good coach that he was an SAAA national event coach.   This coaching cross-over inevitably brought a degree of cross-fertilisation as they used techniques that they knew had worked for them and their group

So – ideas flow back and forth.   The British National Coach once said in a ‘Glasgow Herald’ interview that “if black English sprinters trained like white professional Scottish sprinters, then they would be unbeatable.”   Nowadays that would never be said in those terms but it was a clear indication that this respected coach believed the peds had something to offer.   Of course the outstanding example of this was the introduction of the speedball into the training of amateur sprinters.   It had been used by professional coaches for many years but it was only when Wilson Young used it with Allan Wells that people looked, discussed it, liked what they saw and heard and started using it themselves.    Sledges had been towed by sprinters as a form of resistance training for decades but when the Scottish national coach found out that a former ex-ped had his athletes towing tyres, he had to investigate and soon had his own athletes doing it.   However he had to go back to the pro and ask him how he stopped the tyres bouncing around all over the place: he was told to put “a wee dab of cement” inside the tyre.    

Further evidence that the two codes were not as separate as they might seem.   More on these topics to come.

Alva Games is one of the more popular Games on the circuit: in a beautiful setting below the picturesque Ochil Hills it has been, and still is, well supported by the best of contemporary athletes.   Founded in 1843, their history is noted on their website and tells us that 

“And Gymnastic games they remained until well into the second half of the twentieth century but by this time the games had developed into something much more like what you will be watching today. Traditional events such as running were and are still a major component of what is on offer at the games. It was at Alva in 1871 that the first highland games cycling took place. An old Scots favourite, quoiting, used to feature in the programmebut has now disappeared as, sadly, have wrestling, light field events such as high jump and pole vault and the former finale event of pony trotting. A more health and safety conscious society combined with the reduction in the size of the arena after the building of the extension to the former Alva Academy, also now lost to the developers wrecking ball, meant that pony trotting was deemed to be impractical and potentially unsafe. Their memory lingers on. With their passing, other events came to take their place. A full range of highland dancing, the full programme of heavy strength events, races for children, youths and visitors and, of course, the hill races. Although there are now four age-restricted competitions the hill race, originally known just as the Endurance Race, has always captivated the runners and the audience alike. It is a unique event with almost every inch of the race from starting pistol to finishing line being visible to the crowds in the arena.

For well over 130 years, the ring at Alva has been surrounded by the attractions of the travelling fair now organised by the members of the Scottish Section of the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain. Their continuing presence has ensured that the compact atmosphere of the arena is assured helping to build the feeling of anticipation and excitement as the events of the day unfold. Originally, competitions were restricted to local athletes only but with the passage of time this changed until we now have open competition of the most truly international kind. Dancers from Australia, Canada and the USA are to be found here regularly. We have had heavyweight athletes from Holland, Germany, Poland, Australia, USA, Canada and Finland and the entries in our hill races have come from throughout the British Isles with overseas runners from France, Catalonia, Belgium, USA and the Czech Republic. Our Visitors’ Book tells us that the spectators are now also truly worldwide with recent visitors from across Europe, Southern Africa, North America and even from Thailand!

The games at Alva have survived at a time when many other similar gatherings locally have perished. No more will the crowds roar home the runners at Sauchie or Alloa games just a few miles south of here. Times have not always been good for Alva. The complete loss of the woollen mills and light engineering in the area not only robbed many local people of their main source of income, it also deprived the games of invaluable support in the form of sponsorship and patronage. It has been many years since the entrance fee alone was capable of sustaining the level of expense involved in running the games.”

Known as The Famous Alva Games, they have adapted well to the changes in society at large and reap their rewards in the crowds who come along and the athletes who lend their talents to the occasion. 

“The  Jedburgh Border Games  –  The Blue Riband Meeting of Scotland’s Summer Circuit”.    So says the banner at the head of the excellent Jeburgh Games website and it certainly has a very good claim to the title.   Their brief description of the origins of the meeting read:

The first person to moot the idea of having an athletic games event was probably Mr Thomas Oliver, sawyer of Jedburgh. While chatting with ex-provost Miller in the High Street one evening in 1852, he remarked to the effect that there may be an opportunity to have a Games here next year. Both were enthusiastic admirers of athletics and accustomed to conducting such sports during the summer evenings in the town. They both managed to get other kindred spirits interested in the matter, and were not long in putting the idea into a business like form. Contests held almost nightly during the summer evenings, at the Anna and at Abbey Bridge End Green, adjoining Barton’s Ropery may be said to have been the immediate precursors of the Border Games. Sums of up to sixpence could be won by youths testing their running prowess in those early days, and the modest prizes collected from a willing crowd of spectators, were as hotly contested then, as the much prized cups and other trophies presented to the most successful competitors nowadays. The first ‘Jethart Games’ were held on Friday 12th August 1853 to mark the coming of age of the 8th Marquis of Lothian. The original, memorandum quotes, “acting under a desire to give the greatest possible amusement in the least harmful manner, the commitee of Management for the occasion resolved to celebrate the majority of the Marquis of Lothian by Border Games”. Early records recall that a procession left the Market Place for the Dunion Games field where Peggy Lockie set up her krame at the Toonheid selling gingerbread horses. The band was made up for the occasion, and consisted of Thomas Main, shopkeeper (bugler), James Hopkirk, painter (cornet), James Turnbull, tailor (trombone) James Balmer, skinner (cornopean), Wm. Aitchison, tailor, and Walter Ferguson, shoemaker (drummers), James Cook, High Street (fiddler).”

There is more but for the full story you should visit the website where the story from 1853 to the present day is detailed in nine chronologically ordered chapters.   It is probably the best set out and most detailed description of a meeting on the internet and well worth a visit.   

The meeting is a popular one and has had many close and exciting races with all the top class athletes performing there.   The Jedsprint is the main attraction among many and the story behind it is an interesting one.   This description is from the official website:

“Although there was no formal Jedforest Sprint during the early years of the 1850’s and 60’s, prizes were already being donated to the Games from Jedburgh exiles who had emigrated and found wealth and prosperity overseas in the Dominions and in the Americas. The origin of the Jedforest Sprint was a flat handicap open race of 150 yards, introduced to the Games events as the Glasgow Cup in 1871. The handsome purse for the winner then stood at £3, and was donated by Jedburgh lads working on the shipyards of the Clyde, who were probably earning a comfortable wage at that time. This event continued for a number of years with the prize increasing to £7 for the winner at the turn of the century, when it became known as the Glasgow Prize, after the distance was reduced to 120 yards during 1887. At the Games Jubilee Year of 1903, this sprint became known as The Tyneside Prize, a title that had in previous years, been associated with a wrestling event. Once again, the purse was provided by Jedburgh lads working in the shipyards of Tyneside and Sunderland. For the Games of 1911 the event was advertised as The Coronation Handicap with the prize money then increased to £10 for the winner. The following year of 1912 heralded the first use of the title, The Jedforest Handicap, which continued until the Games were abandoned during the Great War. The next gathering in the year 1919 saw the event hailed as the Victory Handicap, and from 1920 was continued until present as the Jedforest Handicap, with the prize money during that particular year being reduced to 140 shillings. The Original Glasgow Cup was finally presented as a trophy to the winner of the 90m Youths Open event in 2003, and has now been withdrawn as a competitive prize, to be viewed by all at The Castle Jail Museum in Jedburgh.”

The direct quote is important because each of the meetings has its own particular history and traditions which to a large extent dictate the individual nature and content of each meeting.   Sprinters at Jed include the great Australian Eric Cummings, Edinburgh’s Ricky Dunbar, who shaved three one-hundredths of a second off Ewell’s record in 1965, the incomparable George McNeill and, much more recently, Olympic sprinter Nick Smith from Dunfermline and there were the legends of the sport such as Dave Walker, Jimmy Bryce and JB Steede.

Sprint Finalists in the 1950’s

Of course the Borders is a stronghold of Scottish Rugby and naturally it has seen many take part, generally in the sprint.   British and Irish Lions to compete include Peter Dods, Colin Deans, Alan Tait and Tony Stanger – with Dods winning the sprint in 1980.   Tait was a frequent competitor on the circuit.

The programme currently has 34 events and starts with a Round the Town race at 6:30 am. Traditionally a small cannon is also fired from the town square at 6:30 am in all four directions to mark the start of Games Day – and the start of the race which needs 5 runners before it can be held.   

 The starts with a race for athletes with special needs and there are races for Youths, for Juniors, for Seniors and for Over 45’s, events for Ladies, races for Front markers and for Back Markers in most categories, and an Obstacle Race.   There are also races for 6 – 8 year olds and 9-10 years old (boys races and girls races held separately).   There is also an interval at mid-day during which the crowd is entertained by a pipe band.   Two of the big names in Games distance running – G Tinion from Dearham and J Brotherstone from Gordon were frequent visitors and both defeated former world record holder Gordon Pirie in the Mile where Brotherstone won in 4:10.5; Pirie was also well beaten in the Two Miles.   He was later quoted as saying that he was surprised at the high standard of running on display.   He would not be the only visitor surprised in that fashion.

The Games have also had their fair share of controversy.    For instance in 1961 young James Kirk from Lochgelly ran in the Mile Race, ran well and was first over the line.   The representatives of the second placed runner put in a protest on the grounds that their man had been jostled going down the back straight.   The protest was upheld by the meeting judges and Kirk disqualified.   Many that day thought that Kirk had been the better man on the day and deserved to win but that’s not how it worked out.   Kirk threatened to leave the sport but fortunately he did not and went on to have a great career as an athlete.   

In 1964 Olympic sprinter Berwyn Jones refused to run after “discussions with the Committee” because he had claimed appearance money of £60 .   

Then there was the story of Tommie Smith, the Olympic 200m gold medallist who became a professional athlete and competed in Britain in 1972.   He ran in Wakefield for the title of World Professional Sprint Champion against some of the best of British professionals who included Scotsmen George McNeill, Bob Swann and John Steede.    He travelled up to Jedburgh on the Thursday and tried to enter but, as entries closed two weeks before the meeting, his was not accepted on the grounds that the rules applied to everyone.   Legally correct – but there have always been times when a late entry was accepted – on one occasion I had an entry on the day accepted for a Games Hill Race, probably because I would not interfere with the proceedings at the head of the field.   

Like all athletics – professional and amateur alike – and maybe like most sports, the numbers have dwindled, spectators and competitors alike.   But with a tradition as strong as Jedburgh’s you can bet that the Games will continue to flourish. 

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Alastair Macfarlane had a very successful career as a middle distance runner on the professional Games circuits.  Some run only in the Fife Games, others restrict themselves to the Borders and the West Highland events have their own devotees but Alastair ran in them all – from Oxton and Grasmere in the Lake District to Pitlochry in the Perthshire highlands, from Thornton in Fife to the Games at Luss – and ran well.  These are just some photographs from his collection.

Alastair with Alan Simpson, former Olympic 1500mrunner Alan Simpson, and sprinter Stuart Hogg

Grasmere, 1968, Finish of Mile race, won on the tape from Brian Carruthers

On left, winning on the line from Sandy Nelson at Pitlochry – have a look at the size of the crowd.

Athlete of the day, Grasmere, where he won both heat and final of the half mile, plus final of the Mile

Lauder, 1968

Just some of the trophies!

Alastair Macfarlane was one of the best runners in the country: first as a professional middle distance runner, and then as a top class amateur road runner who won international honours as well as being SAAA marathon champion.   The following pictures are from a collection of some that he has taken himself.   You will know most, if not all of the subjects – Jim Brown Nat Muir, Graham Laing, Sandy Cameron, Tom Donnelly, Tommy Wiseman, Peter McGregor and so on.

Some from the 1982 Edinburgh to Glasgow: you should know all of these guys

On to the road races : Clydebank to Helensburgh

1980 Marathon:  Doug Gunstone

After the portraits .. some of the National …

As well as running for his club, Alastair ran – more than that, he organised – the BT Telephones team.   It was a good team whose top men were Alastair himself and Jim Evans.   What follows is a selection of his pictures of the Telephones team.

Note that the chap on the left watching the action closely is the Scottish international team manager, the late John Hamilton

JP Stark, Glasgow

In 1905, the Inter-Varsity Sports were held on 12th June and the  Scotsman printed a very full report of the event despite there being many other athletic meetings on the day.   The Free Gardeners Sports were held at Powderhall (a big meeting with, for instance, sixteen heats of the 120 yards), the Abercorn FC Sports in Paisley (another big amateur sports meeting, the even bigger West of Scotland Harriers Sports Meeting at Ibrox, Cupar Highland Games, Falkirk Junior Games, Clack,annan Games, the Hawick two-day Games as well as several other smaller local meetings) so it was a busy weekend. 

 “Aberdeen was on Saturday the venue for the annual athletic sports between the Scottish Universities, and the recreation grounds at the King’s College afforded ample accommodation for the interesting event.   Fine, if slightly cold weather, favoured the occasion, and the attendance, which was good, included a considerable number of Ladies.   An agreeable feature was the musical programme discourse by the band of the Aberdeenshire Royal Garrison Artillery, led by Mr James Wood.   To all sportsmen the various competitions were replete with attraction.   Unfortunately for Edinburgh they were without Messrs Macrae and Irons, but gave a very good account of themselves, for in the end they tied with Glasgow for leading place.   There were in all ten events on the card.   

The first was the 100 yards race which, as was generally anticipated, easily fell to JP Stark, Glasgow, the Scottish champion.    WH Welsh, who filled DJ Macrae’s place, coming in second.   The half mile proved exceptionally interesting.   PF Hugo and AM Mathews represented Edinburgh, C Duguid and W Smellie represented Glasgow, and Aberdeen’s men were A Murray and C Twort.   Mathews led all the way until the last 100 yards or so, when Hugo pressed him on entering the straight.   Then amidst much excitement on the part of the spectators, Twort came away in fine form and, passing Mathews about 20 yards from the tape, ultimately beat him by about half a yard, the plucky performance evoking hearty cheers.   The time – 2 min 2 4-5th sec. – is the best yet achieved at the Inter University meeting, and experts regarded it as a very good performance on grass.   Hugo was third.   In the 220 yards, E Russell filled Macrae’s place for Edinburgh, Welsh being their second string.   Here, as in the opening event, Stark  (Glasgow) was again victor, covering the distance in what was regarded as the fine time of 22 3-5th sec, and beating Welsh by three yards.    That fine racer however once again asserted his supremacy as the record holder for the quarter mile by winning that event, on this occasion coming in first a few yards ahead of his team mate Hugo.   Always a popular race, the hurdle race (120 yards) evoked keen interest.   RS Stewart and Cookson championed Edinburgh, while A Gordon and AN Gordon were Glasgow’s representatives and HR Neilson and GM Bain  did service for Aberdeen.   This was a spiritedly conducted contest.   Stewart (who had been fancied for first place) was outdistanced by both Aberdeen men, and had to take third position, some two yards behind Bain, for Neilson came in first by just a foot, his time being 17 seconds.   In the Mile Mathews, as last year, proved the winner, defeating Dawson (Aberdeen) by 25 yards, while JH Bennett, the other Edinburgh runner, pluckily persevering, arrived third.   The remaining three competitors dropped out. The jumping competitions came in for a good deal of notice, G Carmichael (Edinburgh) leading in the Broad Jump by 20 feet 1/2 inch with R Twort (Aberdeen) and Wilson (Glasgow) tieing for second place at 19 ft 10 1/2 in.   Cookson dropped out at 19 fet 5 ins.   Last year at Glasgow, DJ Macrae (Edinburgh) cleared 23 ft 2 ins.   In the weights the leading honours fell to R Gunn (Glasgow) .   It was after 6 o’clock before the sports terminated.   …   Th result of the day’s contests was a tie between Edinburgh and Glasgow with 11 points ; Aberdeen gained 8 points.   

It was the typical Scotsman report which beautifully wrote up the meeting from an Edinburgh point of view – note that the results of the throws competitions were not included although they appeared in the list of results that followed.   For the record, Glasgow had one and two in Putting the Weight with Gunn and McDonald achieving 40′ 4″ and 38′ 2″ respectively, Gunn won the Hammer (111′ 4″) from Macpherson (Edinburgh  99′ 2″) and there was no javelin that year.

On 9th June, 1906, Glasgow Universitry held their own sports at the grounds of Glasgow University as preparation for the Inter-Varsity Games, and Aberdeen University held their Sports which included fourteen events, at the King’s College Grounds on the same day.   The big event was held the following week at Craiglockhart in Edinburgh on a wet and miserable afternoon where the reports all said that the performances in all events were adversely affected.   The results were as follows:

100 yards: 

Ht 1:  1.  E Russell (Edinburgh); 2. J Walker (Glasgow)  10 3-5th sec.   Stark did not compete although he was present.

Ht 2:  1.  GH Weller (Glasgow); 2.  ID Dickson (Edinburgh)  10 3-5th sec

Final:  1.  GH Weller;  2.  E Russell;  3.  ID Dickson   10 4-5th sec.   Less than a yard separated the men at the finish.

High Jump:  1.  JB Milne (Edinburgh) 5′ 6″;  2. J Murray (Aberdeen) and J Walker (St Andrews)  tie  5′ 0 1/4″

880 Yards:  1.  CC Twort (Aberdeen);  2.  AM Mathews (Edinburgh);  3.  T Jack (Edinburgh).  Time 2 min 10 sec.

Throwing the Hammer:  1.  TY Bremner (Aberdeen) 96′ 1″;  2. H Macpherson (Edinburgh);  3.  N McInnes (Glasgow)

120 yards hurdles:  1.. RS Steuart (Edinburgh); 2.  Alex Gordon (Glasgow);  3.  H Hoyland (Edinburgh).  Time 17 3-5th sec

220 yards:  1.  WH Welsh (Edinburgh);  2.  D Dickson (Edinburgh);  3.  James B Struthers (Glasgow)  Time 24 4-5th sec

Putting the Weight:  1.  A MacDonald (Glasgow) 39′ 1″;  2.  WH Welsh (Edinburgh) 36′ 1″;  3. N McInnes (Glasgow).

One Mile:  1.  AM Mathews (Edinburgh);  2.  CC Twort (Aberdeen);  3.  MB Ward (Edinburgh)  Time  4 min 55 1/2 sec

Broad Jump:  1.  HA Cookson (Edinburgh);  2.  John Murray (Aberdeen);  3.  HGM Wilson (Aberdeen)  Distance  19′ 7″

440 yards:  1.  WH Welsh (Edinburgh);  2.  ID Dickson (Edinburgh);  3.  D Gillespie (St Andrews).  Time  56 secs.

This was the year when St Andrews returned to the meeting, their first entry since the event’s restart.   It was a welcome return but their lack of previous experience showed in the fourth position that they occupied at the end of the day.   Team Result:

1.   Edinburgh 40 points;  2.   Aberdeen 14 1/2 Points;  3.   Glasgow  13;   4.  St Andrews  2 1/2. 

In 1906 the meeting was held on 16th June in St Andrews         The report in the Glasgow Herald was interesting, apart from the report on the meeting, for what it had to say about the facilities at St Andrews.  The Herald of 18th June reported as follows: 

“The Inter-Varsity ended in a very pronounced win for Edinburgh University whose representatives scored 40 points against 14 1/2 by Aberdeen, 13 for Glasgow and 2 1/2 for St Andrews.   This is the first time the students of the “Grey City” have taken part in the contest, and if they did not cover themselves with glory they will no doubt do much better in the future.   Thanks to the generosity of their Lord Rector they have a recreation ground which is second to none in Scotland alike in regard to situation and general appointments, and it will be nothing short of a reproach to Fifeshire students if they do not make the most of it.   JP Stark, the SAAA Sprint Champion, was not among the competitors, but for all that the 100 yards fell to Glasgow, GH Walker winning after an exciting finish with JD Dickson who, the previous week, won the sprint at the West of Scotland Sports.   WH Welsh who seems to have got back some of his old form won the 220 and 440 yards while he was second in the weight, which was the only other first scored by Glasgow, A McDonald putting 39 feet 5 in.   AM Mathew annexed the half mile and the mile for Edinburgh, and AH Cookson of the same ‘Varsity covered 19 feet 3 in in the broad jump, while the modest performance of 5 feet 6 in won the high jump for Edinburgh.”

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Edinburgh won a fairly wide margin again on 15th June, 1907, when the championships were held at Anniesland in Glasgow, the result being Edinburgh 32, Glasgow 23 1/2, Aberdeen 12 and St Andrews 2 1/2.   The report said right at the start that St Andrews was not up to anything like full strength.   JD Dickson had three firsts in the 100, 220 and 440 yards and was largely responsible for Edinburgh’s success.   “There was a surprise in the half mile, Aberdeen providing first man, and thereby defeating such stagers as AM Mathews and T Jack, both of whom made short work of all opposition in the Mile event.   Glasgow excelled in the hurdles, getting first and second thereby crying quits with Edinburgh who had a similar number of points (6) in the Mile.   The proceedings were a little dull and it was remarked by those who have followed University athletics in Scotland this season that the quality is scarcely up to the quality of some recent  years.  The fact is athletics are not taken as seriously as they might be at our centres of culture.”

Maybe a bit harsh at the end – among the athletes mentioned above, Tom Jack won the SAAA 10 miles 6 times, the four miles once and won other medals in the mile and four miles; Mathews was second to no less than John McGough three times in the national championships and Dickson after gaining two third places in the Scottish championships, would go on to win the 220 and 440, with a second in the 100 yards in 1909.   There was a lot of talent there.   The un-named victor in the half mile for Aberdeen was CC Twort who had run so well in previous Inter-Varsity events.   

EUAC Sports 13th June, 1908;  

“Favoured with splendid weather, the Scottish Inter-University Athletic Sports held at University Recreation Park, St Andrews on Saturday afternoon, were carried through with great success before a large and fashionable gathering.   The contests were under SAAA rules.   

100 yards race Final:  1.  JD Dickson, Edinburgh; 2. EFW MacKenzie, Edinburgh;  3. R Gilmour, St Andrews  Time  10 2-5th sec

High Jump:  1.  GH Wilson, Glasgow, 5 ft 5 in;  2.  GR MacDonald, Aberdeen, 5 ft 4 in;  3.  JR Izat Edinburgh, 5 ft 2 in

Half mile:  1.  CC Twort, Aberdeen;  2.  JW Bruce, Edinburgh;  3.  A Gray, Aberdeen.   Time: 2 min 6 4-5th sec

120 yards hurdles Final:  1.  EFW MacKenzie, Edinburgh;  2.  T Prain, St Andrews;  3.  H Hoyland, Edinburgh.  Time  17 4-5th

Throwing the Hammer, 16lb:  1.  R   MacPherson, Edinburgh, 101 ft 7 1/2 in;  2.  G Wilson, Edinburgh, 96 ft 8 in;  3.  CR Glass, Aberdeen, 94 ft 8 in.   

220 yards:  1.  JD Dickson, Edinburgh;  2.  EFW MacKenzie, Edinburgh;  3.  R Gilmour St Andrews.  Time  23 2-5th sec

Putting the Weight, 16 lb:  1.  R MacPherson, Edinburgh, 36 ft 1 in;  2.  CK Smith, Aberdeen, 35 ft 11 in;  3.  RD Sivwright, Edinburgh, 34 ft 10 in.

Broad Jump:  1.  G Stephen, St Andrews, 241 ft 4 in;  2.  RF Twort, Edinburgh, 21 ft 3 in;  3.  AJ Cookson, Edinburgh, 19 ft 2 in

440 yards:  1.  JD Davidson, Edinburgh;  2.  RF Twort, Edinburgh;  3.  AD Donald, Edinburgh.  Time: 53 3-5th sec

One Mile:  1.  CC Twort, Aberdeen;  2.  A Gray, Aberdeen;  3.  RT Johnstone, Edinburgh.  Time:   4 min 47 3-5th sec

Team:  1.  Edinburgh 38 points:  Aberdeen 18, St Andrews 10 and Glasgow 4.

The only event which was described at all was the Mile where the first three were separated by only two feet.   

*

In 1909, 19th June was the date of the contest which was held at King’s College in  Aberdeen on a showery day with few spectators.   Dickson of Edinburgh won the 100, 220 and 440 yards and G Stephen of St Andrews won both high and broad jumps.  Results:

100 yards:   1.   JD Dickson, Edinburgh; 2.  EFW MacKenzie, Edinburgh;  3.  WL Kinlay, Glasgow.   Time  10 4-5th sec

High jump:  1.  G Stephen St Andrews, 5 ft 3 in;  2.  AGG Ellis, Aberdeen, and J Izatt, Edinburgh, equal  5 ft 2 1/2 in

880 yards:  1.  A Gray, Aberdeen;  2.  T Welsh, Edinburgh;  3.  JW Bruce, Edinburgh.  Time  2 min 5 sec 

Hurdles:   1.   EFW MacKenzie;   2.  RM Chance, Aberdeen;  3.  GV Bogie, Edinburgh.  Time 17 2-5th sec

Throwing the Hammer:  1.   RDM MacPherson, Edinburgh, 113 ft (beating record of 111 ft 10 in at Aberdeen in 1902); 2.  J McCrae, Glasgow;  3.  FR Cramb, Aberdeen 

220 yards: 1.   JD Dickson, Edinburgh;  2.  T Milroy, Aberdeen;  3.  TA Clarke, Aberdeen.  Time:  23 1-5th sec

Putting the Weight:  1.  F MacCrae, Glasgow, 36 feet;  2.  HDC Craig, St Andrews;  3.  CK Smith, Aberdeen

Broad jump:  1.  G Stephen, St Andrews, 20 feet;  2.   RM Chance, Aberdeen;  3.   J Cattanach, Edinburgh.

One Mile:  1.  T Welsh, Edinburgh;  2.  A Gray, Aberdeen;  3.  WE Glover, Aberdeen.  Time:  4 min 46 1-5th sec

440 yards:   1.  JD Dickson;  2.  JW Bruce, Edinburgh;  3.  JA Clarke, Aberdeen.   Time:  54 1-5th sec

Points totals:   1.  Edinburgh  37 1/2;   2.  Aberdeen  13 1/2;   3.  St Andrews  10;  4.  Glasgow  9.

The results above are as printed in the Glasgow Herald two days after the meeting – the initials may be wrong in some places – eg is it JA Clarke or TA Clarke or were there two of them; similarly is it J MacCrae or F MacCrae or both?   Whatever it is, the result was another resounding victory for Edinburgh, and for Glasgow it was two fourth places in consecutive years.