Young Kilmarnock Harriers miss out on title

Jul 11 2008 by Clair Fullarton, Kilmarnock Standard

THE Harriers travelled to Grangemouth to participate in the Bank of Scotland Youth Festival.

The young Killie Harriers were attempting to defend their title from the previous year but had to settle for second best this time behind a very strong Shettleston Harriers team.

Although Shettleston Harriers were overall dominant in the U13 and U15 events, there were good individual achievements. Brogan Wallace defended her first place successfully from last year and Evie Kerr finished third girl in the U15 age group.

However the U17 athletes showed that Kilmarnock Harriers is a force to be reckoned with, winning two silver medals. Mia Tait was second women and in the men’s race it was Ross Connelly, who showed a real fighting spirit beating the local athlete from Falkirk Harriers in the second round.

The full results are as follows: U13 Girls/ Boys 1,500m – 1 Brogan Wallace 5.10, 7 Lorne Kerr 5.56, 8 Laura Duncan 5.58 /9 Danile Steele 6.01, 12 Liam Gibson 7.03.

U15 Girls/ Boys 2,500m – 3 Eve Kerr 9.23, 11 Laura Meney 10.32, 14 Laura Reilly 10.57, 17 Sarah McDonald 13.19/ 9 Joe Kimmett 9.58, 11 Cory O’Hara 10.04, 12 Callum McAughtrie 11.11, 13 Craig McAughtrie 11.30, 14 Maxwell Hood 12.30.

U17 Women / Men 3,000 m – 2 Mia Tait 14.04 / 2 Ross Connelly 9.26, 4 Dylan Chester 10.08, 6 Grant Beattie 11.02, 7 Gregor Devoy 12.14, 8 Murray McDonald 13.22.

Hannah Bartl, U11, represented Kilmarnock Harriers a day later at the open graded meeting at Grangemouth and achieved a PB in the 800m, finishing second girl in 2.53, jumping a seasonal best of 3.10m and had a decent shot putt of 4.89m.

Competing in the Three Peaks Mountain Challenge, James Wales and dad Kenny Wales along with three other runners and two drivers aimed to climb the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. Eleven hours driving was permitted between the mountains, and a stiff target of below 17.5 hours was set for the challenge.

In heavy rain, and freezing conditions, Ben Nevis was conquered in an excellent 2 hours 24 minutes, and from there the minibus headed to the Lake District and Scafell Pike – the third highest in the UK.

Despite rocks, slippery stairs and heavy fog, the team completed this part in 1 hour 56 minutes and at the end of it they were sitting in second place.

Fittingly, Wales was the country for the grand finale, and Snowdon was run in 1 hour 5 minutes. Added to the 11 hours driving time, this made for an overall effort of 16 hours and 25 minutes, and this time was all the more remarkable considering that in all the years of the event only a handful of teams have been below 16 and a half hours.

This gave the team Platinum Standard – only three others of 130 achieved this – and on top of this over £1000 was raised for the Fire Service charity.

Sunday will witness a number of Harriers taking part in the Asda Girvan Half Marathon, which this year starts in the sponsors car park. An excellent race this also doubles up as the Ayrshire Half Marathon Championships.

John Cairns took part in the Forres Highland Games 10K Race. On a very hilly course, and in hot conditions, John was satisfied with his time of 40.14. Despite the Kilmaurs athlete just returning from a bad injury, this gave him a top 10 placing in a field of 77 runners, and bodes well for the months ahead.

July 21 sees the next instalment of the Harriers Road Racing Championships at the Saltcoats 4.5 mile Road Race.

Kilmarnock Harrier Matthew Dodds starts another epic adventure on Thursday, July 31, walking 500 miles through Scotland from the southeast corner to Cape Wrath in the far north west.

Previously, Matt has walked to Everest base camp and also climbed to the summit of Mera Peak 21,047ft / 6,476m in the Himalayas. This time he will be raising funds for The Helambu Project in Nepal, Maggies Centres and the youth development fund at Kilmarnock Football Club.

En route, Matt will take the opportunity of climbing the most southerly Munro in Scotland, Ben Lomond (3,195ft) and will tackle Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis 4,409ft when he reaches Fort William.

If all goes to plan, Matt should arrive at Cape Wrath after walking for 35 days on Thursday, September 4. He is hoping to ascend Ben Hope (3,041ft) the most northerly Munro the following day.

He then hopes to tackle the Glasgow half-marathon on Sunday, September 7.

Matt would welcome anyone who wants to walk with him for a day or two. E-mail matt.dodds@alancampbellgroup.com or call 07860 430053.

For Harriers’ information log onto www.kilmarnockharriers.com