Club News 2010

28th July - Castle Douglas 5 mile race

On the evening of Tuesday 27th July an amazing 45 DRC members, making up half of the field, took part in this annual 5 mile race. It was therefore fitting that the race winners were both from Dumfries running club with Steven Smith clocking 27:47 and Mhairi Duff finishing in a superb 29:30 after cycling to the start!

A full race report from Steve Mohan can be found here.

The full race results are available here.

28th July - Club summer BBQ is on Sunday 15th August

"Cairngill Surf and Turf Fun Runs": Sandyhills / Colvend Coast and Dalbeattie Forest
Meet at 10am at Cairngill House, Sandyhills, for 10:30 run start.
Coast and Forest combo loops: 5 to 15miles.
There will be a map of the trail options.

Any pals and spouses/significant others welcome to come along for the barbecue, but it would be great if people could let me or Peter Hutch know if they wish to come the week beforehand, so we can get an idea of the quantity of catering required.

28th July - Next track speedwork session on Wednesday 18th August

Following the first successful trackwork session at the David Keswick Centre in July the next session is planned for Wednesday 18th August.

Meet at 18:30 for an 18:45 start consisting of 8 x 400mm speedwork. All abilities welcome.

Remember it will cost £2 each - or £1.25 if you work for the public services.

25th July - Club night hill training at Beattock on Thursday 12th August

Richard McDougal is organising a club training night using the 'Crooked road' at Beattock on Thursday 12th August. Meet at 18:45 for a 19:00 start at the Brig Inn in Beattock (just off the main roundabout where you join the M74). The run can be of any distance to suit up to 6 miles and water will be provided on route.

After the run we will meet in Moffat for some food - see menu on club notice-board from Richard and add your name.

25th July - Ross Queen runs in Strathclyde Parkrun 5K

The free-to-enter 5K parkrun concept is fast gaining popularity all round the UK and several DRC members have travelled to Glasgow over recent months to take part in these events.

On Saturday 10 July Ross Queen ran in a wet Strathclyde park and placed an excellent third in a time of 19:33.

22nd July - Newlands Valley Round

Some parts of Cumbria may have hosepipe bans, but in the Lake District there are still several reminders of the recent floods. One was noted by 7 DRC members as they raced the 6.4 mile Newlands Valley Round on Wednesday night. The route had to be changed due a bridge still being washed away, but most runners did not mind as it meant that the course was several minutes faster than last year's.
First back for the club was Doug Brown in 40:35, missing out on the first V50 spot by a mere 9 seconds. Next in was Jo Zakrzewski, 41:33, again as 2nd lady home. Les Hill finished in 44:26 and then came in a trio of ladies in burgundy, each of whom had the lady in front in sight. Vicky Hart overtook a couple of other ladies in the final straight to finish in 52.10, followed home by Rachael McDougal, complete with mtn bike scrapes, in 53.24, and Susan Gallagher made her long-awaited return to road racing after injury in 54:07. Alan McKean got the loudest cheer from his mainly female fan club as he arrived in 64:57, and then all retired to the pub for a debrief (and chips). Jo, Vicky and Rachael were the 3rd ladies team.

21st July - Northumberland Coastal Run

The annual Northumberland Coastal Run covers an approximate distance of 14 miles (depending on whether the tide is in or out) from Beadnell to Alnmouth, using a mixture of sand, public footpaths and roadways. Unfortunately for the 1000 strong field who lined up on this year’s start line, the tide was in, meaning a longer race distance. And for them, with the additional challenge of a strong headwind to hamper their progress, it was abundantly clear why Los Angeles was chosen over Northumberland for the setting of Baywatch.

21st July - Clyde Stride 40mile ultra race

On Saturday 17th July Les Hill, Marian McPhail and Paul Hart travelled to Glasgow to take part in the first ever running of the Clyde Stride 40 mile race. The race started in Partick and generally followed the river Clyde to finish at New Lanark. The stand out performance came from Marian McPhail who continued her strong showing in the SUMS (Scottish Ultra Marathon Series) of races by finishing in a time of 6hr18mins for 23place overall and 7th female from 85 finishers. Les Hill, who only decided to enter a few days before the race, and still feeling the effects of the Moffat hill race, ran steadily to finish in 5hr53mins for joint 8th place. Paul Hart pulled out of the race at checkpoint 2 (Strathclyde park) having taken a few wrong turns too many when running alone in 2nd place. By the time he arrived at Strathclyde Park he had added an extra 7miles onto the course distance and decided to pull out at this point.

21st July - Castle Douglas 5 mile road race - post race drink!

We have managed to arrange for the Sulwath brewery to open after the race from 7:45-9:15pm, so there is somewhere for everyone to go afterwards for an alcoholic/soft beverage and a socialise. No need for dressing up or showering and anyone will be able to direct you there as it is very close to the race finish. Anyone and everyone welcome.

14th July - Castle Douglas 5 mile road race will take place on Tuesday 27th July

The next race in the 2010 Dumfries Running Club Grand Prix is the Castle Douglas 5 mile road race.

The race will take place on Tuesday 27th July starting at 7:00pm at Kelton loch. Entries taken on the night.

14th July - Moffat hill race results

A total of 33 DRC members took part in the 2010 Moffat hill race on Tuesday 13th July.

The results for DRC members are shown below. Well done to everyone for some excellent performances. Full report to follow.

run No	Surname		First		Club		Vet	Super Vet	Time	Position
170	Smith		Steven		Dumfries RC				55.44	5
160	Conchar		Kevin		Dumfries RC				58.35	11
169	Baxter		Alan		Dumfries RC				59.10	13
50	Cross		Graeme		Dumfries RC	V			59.23	14
108	Brown		Douglas		Dumfries RC		SV		59.24	15
118	Hill		Les		Dumfries RC		SV		59.45	16
352	Zakrzewski	Joanne		Dumfries RC				60.13	17
258	Finlay		Lisa		Dumfries RC	V			60.25	18
121	Neilson		Norman		Dumfries RC		SV		62.16	26
174	Aitken		Thomas		Dumfries RC				62.28	29
63	Mortlock	Simon		Dumfries RC	V			63.12	32
117	Shankland	Sandy		Dumfries RC		SV		65.02	39
173	Manson		Allan		Dumfries RC				69.38	61
355	Wilson		Allie		Dumfries RC				70.25	66
106	Breen		David		Dumfries RC		SV		71.19	70
312	Dickson		Maureen		Dumfries RC		SV		71.54	74
100	Grierson	James		Dumfries RC		SV		73.41	79
311	McPhail		Marian		Dumfries RC		SV		74.09	85
105	Trant		Mike		Dumfries RC		SV		76.50	102
92	McDougall	Richard		Dumfries RC		SV		77.12	106
350	McDougal	Rachael		Dumfries RC				78.03	113
309	Neill		Paula		Dumfries RC		SV		78.24	115
101	Wilson		Robert		Dumfries RC		SV		79.13	118
354	Walker		Kerry		Dumfries RC				80.40	123
296	Smart		Elisabeth	Dumfries RC		SV		80.46	124
351	Needham		Joanne		Dumfries RC				81.24	126
269	Lean		Patti		Dumfries RC	V			84.34	135
305	Callander	Susan		Dumfries RC		SV		85.10	138
307	Wilson		Paula		Dumfries RC	V			88.30	145
268	Hamilton	Joyce		Dumfries RC	V			89.25	146
107	Anderson	Adam		Dumfries RC		SV		91.48	152
261	Walker		Sue		Dumfries RC		SV		94.00	157
114	Hutchison	Peter		Dumfries RC		SV		99.29	160

8th July - Les Hill runs in Costa Teguise Carrera Popular 6K road race Lanzarote

While holidaying in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, Les Hill  ran in a 6K road race on the evening of Friday 2nd July.
The men´s race was separate from the ladies and juniors races and about 40 men lined up for the start. Les was 9th overall and got a trophy for first V50 in a time of 23.58.

The course was on one of the main streets in the town and consisted of 3x2K loops.

4th July - Wednesday night trackwork

Due to an overwhelming positive response from throughout the club, we will go ahead with an initial session of trackwork on Wednesday July 7th.
Meet at the David Keswick Centre ready to start at 6:45, so earlier if you need to stretch etc.
We do not have exclusive use of the track as we have not booked it outright, not knowing how many people will turn up, but anybody can pay to use it on the night. It will cost £2 each - or £1.25 if you work for the public services.

4th July - Summer Handicap Series results from 4th race

The 4th race in the 2010 summer handicap series took place on Thursday 1st July over 4 miles on the Holywood route.

On a damp evening the David Breen marked his return to club running by winning and claiming the maximum 25 points on offer. Fastest on the course was Alan Baxter.

Results are shown below, overall series point scores to be updated shortly.

4th July - 10K for men at Bellahouston Park

On Sunday 20th June Ross Queen ran in the Mens Health 10K and recorded a new PB of 41:15 to finish in 125th place out of 2793 runners.

Ross improved on his previous 10K PB set at the Vale of Leven race one week earlier by another 53 seconds.

26th June - Norman Neilson and Vicky Hart finish the West Highland Way Race

On Saturday 19th June Norman Neilson and Vicky Hart ran in the gruelling West Highland Way race. This involved setting off from Milngavie (just north of Glasgow) at 1am on Saturday June 19th covering 95 miles along the West Highland Way route finishing at Fort William within a 35 hour time limit. As if this wasn’t challenging enough, there is over 4400 meters (14,600ft) of ascent to be negotiated. The trail itself is very uneven underfoot and runners can find themselves scrambling over rocks and tree roots as well as climbing numerous hilly sections.  Before Saturday’s race only 496 runners had ever completed the race since it was first established fully established in 1991. Out of a field of around 140 starters only 106 of these runners managed to complete the race in hot and windy conditions, and Norman and Vicky were among those who were successful. Norman finished in a time of 23hrs15mins surpassing his time from 2009 by over 20minutes and Vicky, running in the race for the first (and she claims last time!), finished in 25hrs41mins.             

26th June - Anglo Celtic Plate 100K

On Saturday 19th June both Les Hill (Scotland) and Marcus Scotney (England) had a tough day running in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100K in Gloucester.

Les ran bang on schedule from the very first lap to 53K, getting to half way in 4 hours 7 minutes. From then until the finish he had intermittent problems with his right leg caused by sciatica and his pace dropped in the second half of the race. As the Scottish men's team only had the minimum number of runners, three, Les was determined to finish no matter how slow it would be and his finishing time was 9 hours 37 minutes 14 seconds. Les's two team mates were also suffering badly in very warm conditions but all three were determined to ensure Scotland had a finishing male team. This they did but were only able to manage the bronze medal spot after a close race with Wales who finished second while England were clear winners taking the first three individual places.

Unfortunately Marcus had to pull out of the race at around the 50K mark due to injury.

15th June - Anglo Celtic Plate 100K this weekend - Good luck to Les and Marcus!

This weekend Les Hill has been selected to run for Scotland and Marcus Scotney for England in the 100k Anglo Celtic plate. This year the race is taking place in Gloucester. Best wishes from all club members to both of them

15th June - West Highland Way race this weekend - Good luck to Norman and Vicky!

This weekend sees the culmination of months of training and dedication with the 95 mile West Highland Way race which starts from Milngavie this Saturday at 1am. Both Norman Neilson and Vicky Hart are representing the club and both have strong experienced back up teams ready to support over such a daunting event. Hopefully both run well, meet the challenge and complete the race. Best wishes from everyone in the club go to both

15th June - Mabie Forest 10K - Steven Smith retains title and improves course record

On Sunday 13th June Steven Smith was the race winner in the Mabie Forest 10K for the 2nd year. He also improved on his course record of 2009 by some 14secs to finish in 37:36.

A total of 21 DRC members took part in the race. Alan Baxter was 4th in 40.30 and finished a minute ahead of Simon Mortlock who pipped Ian Brown by 3 seconds. Sandy Shankland,8th in 42.23 was 18 seconds in front of Sebastian Pflanz with Adam Dickie 10th in 43.17.  Craig Malcolmson enjoyed his run in 45.39 as did Chris Neill who was 25th in 48.09 and Maureen Dickson kept up her recent excellent form as second woman in 50.03 and Marian McPhail finished very smoothly in 52.14. Dawn McDonald in 54.45 headed off newcomer Kerry Walker by 7 seconds and Bob Quin in 57.05 was 2 seconds in front of Liz Smart. Tom McCaulay in 57.54 just over forty seconds ahead of Sandie Donald with both delighted to break the hour mark. Susan Callander, five seconds shy of the sixty minute mark, was over a minute ahead of Peter Hutchison nearly 3 minutes in front of friend and training partner Nicola Morrison who crossed the line with Rachel McDougal.

15th June - Vale of Leven 10K

On Sunday 13th June 4 members of Dumfries Running Club took part in the Vale of Leven 10K. On a course with some testing hills Danny Queen clocked a new PB by 22secs to record 40:23 followed by Ross Queen in 42:12 smashing his previous PB by nearly 4mins. This was Ross's first race after recovering from a fractured ankle. Jim Grierson was next to finish in 45:54 followed by Mike Trant in 47:31.

15th June - Dunfermline 1/2 marathon

On Sunday 13th June Mhairi Duff and Sian Finlay ran in the Dunfermline half marathon which this year was also the Scottish half marathon championships. With a competitive field guaranteed Mhairi ran well on a hilly course to finish in 1:23:43 and 10th female. Sian ran strongly to stop the clock in 1:31:07 and finish as 2nd FV40.

15th June - Carlisle Tri 10K - Jo Zakrzewski takes 1st place

On Wednesday 2nd June Jo Zakrzewski and Mark Johnston made the short trip to run in the Carlisle Tri 10K. Jo produced another fine run to finish as clear 1st lady in a time of 38:06 shaving a few seconds of her PB from last month. Mark produced a good run and crossed the line in 46:29 for 71st place.

15th June - Blencathra fell race

On Wednesday 2nd June Adam Dickie travelled to the Lake District to run in the Blencathra fell race. Adam finished in a respectable 86th place in a time of 1:29:23.

9th June - Lakeland Trail Race Series Round 2 - Staveley trail race

In the beautiful surroundings of South Lakeland, round 2 of the PUMA Lakeland trails attracted six club members to join the hundreds who took part in the 17 kilometre series of races. With round 1 of 4 at Hawkshead in April followed by Keswick in September and Coniston the following month the very popular series is divided into the faster Trail category and the Challenge event for those less familiar with trail running. Best performance of all came from Doug Brown who had an outstanding run as first supervet competitor in the Trail section and was 10th out of 329 in 80.54mins ahead of Liz Smart in 122mins and Paula Wilson in 131mins.In the Challenge series Susan Callander ran well in 105th place in 126mins ahead of training partner Nicola Morrison who was 14 minutes behind. Susan Graham thoroughly enjoyed the run in the difficult warm conditions in 3 hours 7mins.

9th June - Stranraer half marathon

A smaller than usual group of 9 Dumfries Running Club members travelled through to Stranraer on Saturday 5th June on the hottest day of the year so far, ready to tackle the half marathon. With the sun adding extra degrees of difficulty to a tough course there was little chance of personal bests with sunburn and dehydration a more likely outcome. The race organisers deserve great credit for realising this and mobilised several groups of people, including the Police to hand out extra supplies of water to the parched 153 competitors.

Allan Manson wisely slowed down in the tough conditions and his time of 99.10 in 33rd place meant that he, plus Kevin and Alan claimed the first male team prize. Stephen Mohan was next in 102mins and Marian McPhail ran very well to win her age category prize in 105mins, two minutes ahead of Maureen Dickson who was first in hers. Jim Grierson found the very warm conditions difficult and ran conservatively in 113mins two minutes in front of Frank Skachill.

7th June - Summer Handicap series results from 3rd race

The 3rd race in the 2010 summer handicap series took place on Thursday 3rd June over 4 miles on the Holywood route.

On a very warm night it was Stephen Mohan who claimed the maximum 25 points with a time of 27:59 followed by Mhairi Duff in 2nd placed for 24 points in a brisk 24:06. Fastest on the night was Stephen Smith in 22:57 but it is Annie Stoddart who has moved into the overall series lead on 51 points from 3 races.

The updated results are available here.

2nd June - Chester marathon

On Monday 31st May Paul Hart travelled to Chester to tackle the brand new Chester marathon. Paul had was satisfied to finish in 10th place overall and 2ndV40 in 2 hours 46 minutes.

2nd June - Kircudbright half marathon

Sometimes one race encapsulates the progress and improvement in standards so much that it stands out above all others. This was shown on Saturday 29th May when 30 Dumfries Running Club members tackled the long standing Kirkcudbright half marathon and the associated 11k race. With 9 finishers in the top 20 and 4 women under the 90 minute mark it was no surprise that the club claimed double team prizes in both the mens and womens events in the half marathon, something that has rarely ever happened.

Marian McPhail had an excellent run 22 seconds over the hundred minute mark, a minute ahead of Maureen Dickson and the reward for both of them was that, combined with Sian they claimed the second womens team prize. Dawn McDonald ran well in 105.55, especially considering that she had cycled to Kirkcudbright just to add in an extra degree of difficulty! Paula Neill in 108mins was pleased with her first race after the London marathon and Donald Anson turned back the years with his run in 111mins. Debutant Kerry Walker in 114mins relished the challenge and Peter Hutcheson was pleased to complete the course in 125mins.
11k race
In the shorter race that started simultaneously, Paul Hart was first back overall out of 78 in 39.01mins ahead of father and son team of Alastair and Nick Stapleton. Alastair added to his first junior prize at the Hollywood Stroll by finishing in 8th place in 46.03, beating his dad by 36 seconds. Annie Stoddart ran well in 52nd place in 61.59 four minutes ahead of Tony McClusky in his first race back after paternity leave and Christine Clemie enjoyed her run in 66.15mins.

2nd June - Ayr and Polaroid 10K races

Last Wednesday, Jo Needham and Jo Zakrzewski travelled to Ayr for the popular Land O Burns 10k. Out of a field of 208, Jo Zakrzewski was first woman and 16th overall in 38.26 and Jo Needham was thoroughly delighted with a time of 49.27.

The following day, Jim Grierson and Mike Trant joined nearly 1,000 runners at the Polaroid 10k series race 1 at Helensburgh with Jim 294th in 46.04 and Mike one hundred places and three minutes behind.

26th May - Edinburgh marathon

Last Sunday’s warm temperatures would have been very welcome for most people as a chance to top up suntans after a freezing winter. However for 5 members of Dumfries Running Club who joined the field of 10,000 in the Edinburgh marathon the heat caused an added difficulty for those already apprehensive about the challenge of the 26.2 mile distance.

Fastest club member on his debut was Kevin Breen in 499th place in 3 hours 22 ahead of Rachael McDougal who ran a sensible even paced race in the difficult conditions and was 4,203rd in 4 hours 19. Joyce Hamilton in 5 hours 3mins had been training very hard for this event but quickly realised that in the very warm conditions it was wise to run conservatively. Friends and training partners Val Vince and Shona Payne carefully ran together in the early stages with Val in 6.19 finishing nine minutes ahead of Shona.

23rd May - Sebastian Pflanz completes Bob Graham round in 21hr45mins

Starting at 02:00 on Saturday 22nd May Sebastian Pflanz has successfully completed the Bob Graham round!

He maintained a strong pace throughout the route to finish back in Keswick in a fantastic time of 21hr45mins, well inside the allowed 24 hours.

WELL DONE SEBASTIAN FOR THIS GREAT ACHIEVEMENT!

Full report from Sebastian updated for DRC members can be read here.

19th May - Cateran Trail race

For two members of Dumfries Running Club, Paul Hart and Frank Skachill, the target on Saturday 15th May was the Cateran Trail race that started last Saturday morning at 6am from Glenshee. Run in the heart of the Highlands in Monarch of the Glen country, this beautiful trail race, which made its debut in 2009, covers 55 miles of Perthshire and Angus and combines trail running, forest tracks, farm roads along with grass and road sections and would test the field of 50 to the limit.

For Paul, this was another leg in the SUMS Scottish Ultra Marathon series and he was aiming to do well at the sharp end of the field. Early on he took the lead but a costly navigation error added 2 miles to his race which meant he was passed by the eventual race winner. Despite this he finished in 2nd place overall in 8 hours 23mins, inside the course record from 2009. Frank, who has now completed 3 Ultra races in the past month, was much more careful in his approach. Setting off at his usual sociable pace he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge in the sunshine and finished strongly in 33rd place in 12 hours 41. Many thanks are due to Vicky Hart who supported both runners in this difficult event.

19th May - Windermere marathon

On  Sunday 16th May Simon Mortlock , Mike Trant and Susan Graham ran in one of the toughest road marathons in the UK as they took on the Windermere marathon where the 'sting' is very much in the tail of the race. Simon crossed the line in 3hrs22mins for a very good 51st place with Mike finishing in 4hrs7mins for 325th place. Susan finished with a time of 6hr7mins.

19th May - Loch Leven 1/2 marathon

On  Sunday 16th May Lisa Finlay ran in the Loch Leven marathon, now in its 27th year. Lisa finished in 1hr28mins to take the prize for 1st FV.

19th May - Monklands 1/2 marathon

On  Sunday 16th May Les Hill ran the Monklands half marathon in Coatbridge. With a tough three lap course with several testing climbs, Les was thoroughly delighted to finish as third super vet in 86.26mins.

19th May - Bristol 10K

On Sunday 9th May Sarah Queen joined 5000 others running in the Bristol 10k.With a good winter’s training programme behind her Sarah was very pleased to cross the line in 46.12mins, the best time she has run for a long while.

19th May - London Marathon 3rd place Scottish ladies team

In a delightful postscript to last month’s event the DRC trio of Jo Zakrzewski, Maureen Dickson and Paula Neill found out this week that their strong runs qualified them as the third place Scottish womens team in the London marathon. Well done!

17th May - DRC Monday night runners help GB Coastal relay through Dumfries

On Monday 17th May a total of 18 runners took part in the GB coastal relay. Susan Callander had the honour of carrying 'Barry the Baton' from Glencaple to the Millenium Bridge at the start of Dock Park. Photographs can be found by clicking on this link.

On May 9th at 11am the Great UK Coastal Relay began. The general idea is to run a relay around the coastline (or as close to as safety will allow) of the United Kingdom, starting and ultimately finishing at the same point in Blackpool. The route will cover roughly 5,000 miles and is split into chunks of approx. 200 - 300 miles. Each of these sections has an overall co-ordinator and then each leg of the run is organised by individual runners who have been communicating via the Runner’s World forum. The runners have created maps and scheduled their runs to all meet up at specific time so that they can pass on ‘Barry the Baton’ from one leg to the next.
Two Dumfries Running Club women have been organising two legs in the region. Vicky Hart and Dawn McDonald have both been involved in the organisation of relay stages for the past couple of months. Vicky arranged to collect the baton from Annan runner Caroline Legg on the evening of Sunday 16th May. Unfortunately Vicky wasn’t able to run herself due to a toe infection but with the club’s Monday night organisers Susan Graham and Margaret Gray, encouraged a selection of the club’s Monday night section to take part in the Glencaple to Dumfries leg of the relay. Many of these runners have recently been training for the Glasgow Women’s 10k so the relay was a great opportunity to use their training for something fun and a bit different. They were joined by two Lancashire runners, Alan Scott and his wife who travelled up specifically to run along the Galloway coast.
The runners set off from the Nith Hotel in Glencaple at 6pm on Monday 17th May and ran the 6 miles to Dumfries, finishing via the cycle path at Kingholm Quay. The baton was then handed over to Mike Taylor at the Kirkpatrick MacMillan Bridge at the bottom of Dock Park. Mike ran the next section to Southerness where he handed the baton over to local runner Dawn McDonald. Dawn then ran along the tough 16 mile section from Southerness to Palnackie before handing the baton onto the next runner.
The Relay is designed to be something a bit different that runners of any ability can join in. If you want to take part in any section of the relay it will be still be going for a number of weeks so just take a look at the website and get involved.

12th May - Monday Night Treasure Hunt planned for 24th May

After a few years without a treasure hunt fun event it returns!

On Monday 24th May a Treasure Hunt has been organised by Susan Graham. Meet at usual time at the club and form into teams. All information will be given out on the night. This is a fun thing, not too serious, just something to get all club members together for a bit of a laugh. Refreshements will be served in the clubhouse on your return, there many even be a few wee prizes.

12th May - Langholm Doctors Run Sunday 9th May

The 8 mile Muckletoon Doctors run has been well established for year s and was targeted by a large contingent from Dumfries Running Club. With the toughest of starts, this race climbs from the outset which catches out the unwary but has the reward of a 2 mile downhill section towards the finish, some of which is on rough forestry tracks before the finish back at Langholm Academy.

Jo Needham in 63.15 was delighted with a much faster time than last year ahead of Frank Skachill who thoroughly enjoyed running in conditions similar to his home terrain at Glenmidge. Paula Neill eased back into racing after the London marathon in 65.11 and in her first race for a while Aileen Gibson did well in 68.02 three places and 18 seconds ahead of Liz Smart. Susan Callander in 70.35 ran strongly and Nicola Morrison in 75.58 ran carefully in her first road race of the year.

12th May - Glasgow Womens 10K Sunday 9th May

This female only race is the largest of its kind in the whole of Britain and 17 runners mainly from the Monday night beginners section joined the field of 13,000 at Bellahouston Park. With a race ethos that values participation more than competition, fun, fitness and friendliness were the main objectives which perfectly mirror the training programme organised by Margaret Gray and Susan Graham each week.

Jo Pennington was within a minute of the hour mark ahead of Emily Kennedy and Alison Hall who ran together in 62.07. Sue Jeffries in 64.17 was 10 seconds in front of Jean Evans who was less than 30 seconds in front of both Helen Paisley and Ann Fitzpatrick. Laura Fairbairn in 66mins was well into the top half of the field as was Shona Payne in 67mins who has been training hard for the Edinburgh marathon in less than a fortnight. In her first ever race of any description Julie Watt was in the top half of the field in 6718th position in 71.58 minutes. Many of the DRC runners were raising funds for SANDS The still birth and neo natal death charity and at least £600 was raised on behalf of the charity.

11th May - Holywood Stroll results 2010

On a warm and clear evening, 78 runners, the third highest total ever, took part in the long established Holywood Stroll 5 mile race, expertly organised as usual by Sandy Shankland. With a flat, well marshalled route on quiet rural roads this allows the perfect opportunity for runners of all standards to measure their early season progress.

The team prizes were retained by Dumfries Running Club with Marcus Scotney, Steven Smith and Kevin Conchar as first male team and Mhairi Duff and the Finlay sisters as first female team. Thanks are due to the support and help from Scottish Water who kept all runners hydrated and to Rowan Glen foods who gave prizes to winners in all categories.

The results are available here.

Summary of prize winners is available here.

Check out more great photos now on the Dumfries Running Club group page on Flickr

8th May - Summer Handicap series results from 2nd race

The 2nd race in the 2010 summer handicap series took place on Thursday 6th May over 4 miles on the Holywood route.

Donald Anson is the series leader with 42points from two races with Jo Needham and Annie Stoddart close behind on 36points. Handicap winner on the night was Annie Stoddart who improved on her April time by 4minutes with Alan Baxter recording the fastest time of 23:48.

The updated results are available here.

6th May - Troon 10K

Three club members ventured up to the Troon 10K on Wednesday 5th May in much better weather than last year. Val Vince wisely listened to a few niggles and decided to support both Dumfries clubs taking part rather than undo the good training she's put in by getting a last minute injury. Mark Johnston seemed to enjoy the run and was even seen to smile as he crossed the line in 47:24, a good return to form. Jo Zakrzewski was reunited with many Kintyre Way relay runners from Giffnock North at the start, but ran away to finish in 38:08, a new PB and 2nd lady (2nd in the West of Scotland Championships).

5th May - Anglo Celtic Plate 100K 2010 selection for Les Hill and Marcus Scotney

Confirmation has come through that both Les Hill (Scotland) and Marcus Scotney (England) have been selected for the Anglo Celtic Plate 100K to be held on the 19th June in Gloucester.

Congratulations to them both.

5th May - Kintyre Way Relay - 'Crocks and Chicks' DRC team take 1st place and break course record

Held last Saturday May 1st, this 66 mile route from Tarbert south to Campbelltown is broken into 6 sections of varying degrees of difficulty and is designed to show off one of the hidden gems of Scottish scenery at its very best. With a race ethos that encouraged entrants to enjoy the landscape as well as challenge themselves there were different expectation levels among the DRC teams. The team with the highest hopes were the unbeaten “Crocks and Chicks” of Sandy Shankland, Jo Zakrzewski, Doug Brown and Mhairi Duff who won the mixed team prize at the Rotherham relay and at the Highland Fling. With a 6am start on the climb out of Tarbert Doug had got his team off to the best possible start with an outstanding run on leg one and handed over to Jo who maintained the pace on legs two and three where the unforgiving rocky shoreline gave some of the most challenging of conditions. Sandy took over on the hilly forested section 4 and handed over to Doug who pushed on well on the short but punishing stage 5 and handed over to Mhairi for the longest 13 mile section to the finish at Campbeltown. Not only did she maintain the high standards but the quartet broke the course record for the event by over an hour finishing in 8 hours 38 minutes, 12 minutes ahead of the Uphill Hurriers from Kintyre and nearly an hour ahead of Giffnock North from Glasgow.

Read Stephen Mohan full report here.

5th May - Keswick 1/2 marathon

On Sunday May 2nd three club members travelled to the Lake District to take part in the long established Keswick half marathon. With a route change forced on the organisers due to flood damage over the winter, the new more challenging course had more hills and was steeper than many of the 569 runners had anticipated. Best performance came from Steven Smith who was 8th overall in an outstanding 78.53mins ahead of Mike Trant who was 229th in 107.31 and Jim Grierson who was 4 minutes and 50 places behind his friend and training partner.

5th May - Edinburgh 10K

On Sunday May 2nd three DRC members took part in the BUPA Edinburgh 10k which attracted nearly 10,000 runners on a route that showcased many of the tourist friendly city landmarks as the race was shown live on Channel 5. Keeping up his recent rich vein of form Danny Queen ran very well in 41.26 which won him the bronze medal in his age category and meant he was 185th overall. Keeping things in the family, Beatrice ran well after a recent layoff to finish a frustrating 40 seconds over the hour mark and Shona Payne, who is training hard for the Edinburgh marathon in 4 weeks was delighted to finish in 67.33.

26th April - Lakeland Trails race series - Hawkshead trail race

On Saturday 24th April 8 runners tackled the second event in the very popular Lakeland trail race series. This pair of 15k races followed a circuit along well marshalled and clearly signposted footpaths and bridleways with panoramic views of Lake Windermere and most of the Lakeland hills. In the tough steep but runnable Trail race Doug Brown was best placed finisher in 15th place out of 537 in 77:27 ahead of Rachel McDougal in 108:52 and Liz Smart in 112:23.

In the challenge event for those less confident or new to trail running the best placed club runner was Susan Callander in 120:02, three minutes ahead of Nicola Morrison and a further minute ahead of Janice Allan who herself was just ahead of Paula Wilson. Susan Graham was thoroughly delighted to finish in 162mins as was Kerry Willacy who was a further three minutes behind.

26th April - Anniversary Waltz fell race

On Saturday 24th April Simon Mortlock returned to run the Anniversary Waltz for another year. The 11.5mile course takes in a punishing 3,660ft of ascent which Simon negotiated in 2:14:43 to finish in 97th place in a field of 270 runners. This means Simon was over 2 minutes faster than his 2009 time!

25th April - London marathon Sunday 25th April

Initial reports from DRC members running in the 2010 London marathon have come in.

Best placed runner was Ian Brown who ran a great race to finish in 2:57:55. Ian overtook Jo Zakrzewski  at the 22 mile mark as Jo struggled from 20 miles to the finish. Jo hung on to finish in 3:01:22 and record a new PB. This meant she was 4th female Scot and 49th woman overall.

Danny Queen ran well in 3:35 and was delighted to be 15th in his age category and after months of careful training Maureen Dickson and Paula Neill were apprehensive about the challenges of such a daunting distance. Both started conservatively and benefited from this in the latter stages with Maureen in 4:05 and Paula thoroughly delighted to be 15 minutes faster than her only other marathon in 4:17. Bob Quin also ran carefully as he has not been able to train as much as he would have liked in 4:29, a time that beat 50% of the field

25th April - Kevin Conchar runs in Bolton 10K

25th April - Highland Fling Saturday 24th April - DRC take 2nd ladies team prize

21st April - Holywood Stroll Race Tuesday 11th May

21st April - Results from 1st race in Summer Handicap series

21st April - Lochaber marathon results - Les Hill claims supervet bronze medal in British Masters championship

21st April - Screel hill race

21st April - Eleni Barbetsea runs in Boston marathon

21st April - Baby boy for Jonathan and Kirsty Dale

18th April - Sir Chris Hoy Edinburgh 1/2 marathon

18th April - Grand Prix races 2010 UPDATE 3

The entry form for the 2010 Mabie Trail race on Sunday 13th June can be found using this link.

New for this year will be improved toilet facilities, free competitor car parking and free tea/coffee & biscuits for all finishers.

Dumfries running club members will again be planning to hold a BBQ at Mabie after the race (weather dependant!).

18th April - Calderdale Hike 36mile trail race 10th April

18th April - Peter Hill runs in Blackpool Marathon 11th April

13th April - Dumfries runners achieve 6 PB performances at Tom Scott 10mile race

On a beautiful Sunday morning, many families had the idea to go for a gentle walk around Strathclyde Park. Several members of Dumfries Running Club decided to take this one step further and went up to compete in the Tom Scott Road Race. This is a fast 10mile course with the odd hill, but the main difficulty in the race is avoiding pedestrians, small children on bikes, swans, and dogs carrying large sticks.
The men put on a very strong show with some pre-race banter leading to gutsy runs throughout the field.First home was Steven Smith in 21st position in a time of 58:15, followed 2 mins 22 secs later by Kevin Conchar in 34th place (60:38). Alan Baxter was chasing him down to finish in 61:40 for 41st place. Doug Brown (62:23) and Graeme Cross (62:52) were 45th and 46th, with Sandy Shankland next man home in 64:06 for 56th place. Mike Trant enjoyed the run (in 75:59) a lot more than rival and training partner Jim Grierson (82:36).
Although down on their usual numbers, the ladies still came away with the first team prize, but by far the best performance was from Mhairi Duff, who has been in amazing form recently, running in as 4th lady in 63:12 followed by Jo Zakrzewski in 63:36 for 5th place. Marian Mcphail was not to be outdone and finished strongly in 77:48. Unknown to the ladies, the race was also the West of Scotland 10mile championships, so Mhairi and Jo also came away with gold and silver medals respectively.
Everybody agreed, in the postrace debrief in a sunny beergarden, that a good day was had by all with many new PBs and running standards achieved - and many other runners commented on the strength and number of competitors from Dumfries. (race report from Jo Zakrzewski)

5th April - Dumfries Running Club Women's team finish 5th in Scottish National road relay championships

The Dumfries Running Club ladies seem to have been improving with every race they run in over the past year. This weekend saw a quartet travelling up to Livingston for the National Road Relay championships. This consists of 4 stages for ladies - a 3.15mile loop, a 5.85mile loop, 3.15miles again, then 5.85miles at the end. Mhairi Duff sped off on the first leg to put the girls into a great position before handing over to Lisa Finlay, the only lady doing the same leg as the year before. Sian Finlay then took over to maintain the team position for Leg 3, while Jo Zakrzewski put in a final sprint up the last hill to overtake a lady in the final 200m to the line. The whole team improved on their performances from the previous year to finish in 1hr 53mins 13secs, 3.5 mins ahead of their 2009 time, and moved up the leaderboard from last year's 8th to 5th place overall. This is a great result for a national competition, in which times seem to get faster and faster - for example the winning team from Kilbarchan had the 2nd fastest recorded time and the DRC team the 35th fastest ever, in the 13 years that the competition has been running. Well done on this outstanding performance at a national level!

5th April - Marian McPhail produces stand out performance at Deeside 33mile ultra

On Saturday 3rd April three members of DRC - Marian McPhail, Vicky Hart and Frank Skachill made the trip to Aberdeen to take part in the first ever running of the Deeside 33mile ultra race with 90 other runners. This was an out and back run along the former Deeside railway line from Duthie Park in Aberdeen to Banchory. The forecast rain did not really materialise making for good running conditions although the amount of tarmac on the route was probably better suited to road shoes. This did not deter Marian, however, who showed all her ultra running experience to run strongly on the way back into Aberdeen where she overtook many runners to cross the finish line in 5hr2mins and the prize for 2nd FV55. Vicky Hart was using this as a training run for the West Highland Way race in June and had a tough day suffering from leg pains and physical sickness which meant she slowed on the way back into Aberdeen. Despite this she managed to grind it out to the finish in 5hr36mins just ahead of Frank Skachill in 5hr43mins who enjoyed running the race at a steady training pace.

31st March - Dumfries Running Club Jackets now available with 50% off!

Since the club running jackets were introduced at the end of 2008 over 50 DRC members have snapped them up at the discounted price.

The jacket supplier is now offering the jacket with a further discount totalling 50% off the original price. This means jackets are now available for £14 (smallest size) and £16 (all  other sizes).

If you are interested in a new DRC jacket for this knock-down price please contact Paul Hart on club nights.

31st March - Informal Sunday Morning Training Runs moving from Nunholm to Mabie Forest

The informal Sunday runs are moving from the streets of Dumfries to the lovely leafy setting of Mabie Forest.
The first run takes place on Easter Sunday. If you are interested in some off road running, meet us at the top car park at 9.30 a.m. For all other Sundays the time will be 9.00 a.m. In future all information etc regarding the runs will be posted on the Forum, under the Club Run Diary heading. It would be a good idea to post on here if you intend to take part or wish to ask any questions. This saves everyone from receiving e.mails they may not want.

31st March - Nigel Barge 10K race 1st ladies team

The first race of 2010 for the Dumfries Running Club grand prix took place last Saturday at the Nigel Barge Memorial 10k Organised by Maryhill Harriers, the race had been postponed from January because of snow and has been run every year since 1943. With a double lap around north west Glasgow the route was not an easy one for the 13 DRC members taking part. Best club performance came from Alan Baxter who was 16th overall in a high class field in 37:58 which qualifies him for a bronze standard award. Also gaining bronze was Graeme Cross who improved his PB by over 2 minutes and was 18th in 38:36. In a sprint for the line, Jo Zakrzewski was 1st woman and 23rd overall in the gold standard time of 38:50 as she pipped Les Hill by two seconds. In 28th place Mhairi Duff had an excellent gold standard performance in 39:12 heading off Sandy Shankland by one place and 16 seconds.  Jim Grierson held on to finish in 45:46 and in the battle of the Mohans, Brian in 43:37 comfortably beat Stephen by 3 minutes and thirty places. Maureen Dickson and Marian McPhail had outstanding runs in 82nd and 83rd place respectively with Maureen in 46:44 winning by 3 seconds. Mike Trant ran well in 47:04 and David Breen who has not been able to train as much recently as he would have liked, was slightly below par in 49:31.
The excellent quartet of women runners meant that Jo, Mhairi, Maureen and Marian retained the first team prize from 2009.

23rd March - Marcus Scotney wins Cartmel Trail Race

On Saturday 20th March the first in the Lake District Ultimate Trail series races took place for 2010. The first race was the 18km Cartmel trail race which involve plenty of hills and mud. The race winner was Marcus Scotney in 1:10:26 and a 2 minute gap to 2nd place. A great run considering this was only 2 weeks after Marcus won the Glasgow to Edinburgh double marathon! Next to finish for DRC was Dougie Brown in 1:23:19 for 19th place and 2nd V50 followed by Liz Smart in 1:57:29 for 152nd place and 2nd FV50. All race finishers were rewarded with sticky toffee puddings!

22nd March - New York half marathon gold standard performance by Danny Queen

On Sunday 21st March Danny Queen didn't let the travelling slow him down as he continued his excellent start to 2010 by completing the New York Half Marathon in a time of 1:29:38 and being very well placed in the MV55 age group. This also gives Danny his 3rd gold standard performance (to add to the Jack Crawford 10K and Trimpell 20) before the end of March. Well done Danny!

22nd March - Criffel Hill results

The Criffel Hill race was held on Sunday 21st March with DRC runners well placed in the results. Craig Malcolmson was 5th overall in 1:07:25 closely followed by Norman Neilson in 1:07:39 for 7th place. Next to finish was Simon Mortlock in 1:10:06 for 14th place with Graeme Cross in 22nd place stopping the clock at 1:14:26 and Adam Dickie in 23rd place finishing in 1:15:19. Gill Pearcey was the only female DRC runner to take part and finished in 1:21:08. Also running for DRC was Adam Anderson who finished in 1:36:43.

16th March - Mabie Trail Race 2010 entry forms

The entry form for the 2010 Mabie Trail race on Sunday 13th June can be found using this link.

New for this year will be improved toilet facilities, free competitor car parking and free tea/coffee & biscuits for all finishers.

15th March - Trimpell 20mile race Sunday 14th March

On Sunday 14th March 9 DRC runners travelled to Lancaster to take part in the Trimpell 20 mile race. Following on from the Haworth Hobble the previous day, Paul Hart ran comfortably to finish in 2:12:17 and 47th place as part of his final preparations for the Athens 24hr race in two weeks time. Les Hill shook off the effects of a sore ankle from the Haworth Hobble the previous day and put in an excellent performance to cross the line in 2:18:52 and 82nd place. He also helped a delighted Danny Queen to finish in 2:19:39 and claim the gold standard for this distance. Vicky Hart and Maureen Dickson also had great runs with Vicky pulling away to finish in 2:40:21 followed by Maureen in 2:41:57. Both of these performances should give them confidence for the longer distance challenges they face in the coming months. Mike Trant was next to finish in 2:44:58 this time well ahead of training partner Jim Grierson who finished in 3:08:51 and was not feeling at his best. Splitting them was Paula Neill who ran well to stop the clock at 2:54:51 showing that her London Marathon preparations are going well.

Also running was Ian Brown (with fellow Tynedale clubmates) and Ian was satisfied with an excellent time of 2:16:52 for 76th place.

Full report to follow.

15th March - Dentdale race Saturday 13th March

On Saturday 13th March 5 DRC runners travelled to compete in the hilly Dentdale 14mile race. Graeme Cross finished in 1:41:58 for 53rd place closely followed by Peter O'Malley in 1:42:17 and 54th place taking part in his first race for the club. Allan Manson was next in 1:48:29 followed by Marian McPhail in 1:57:21 (3rd FV55) and Dawn McDonald in 2:08:33.

Full report to follow.

15th March - Paul and Les finish as 6th team in Haworth Hobble 32mile trail race

On Saturday 13th March Paul Hart and Les Hill ran in the Haworth Hobble in good weather and relatively dry underfoot conditions. This tough 32mile trail race takes in parts of the Bronte Way as well as the Pennine Way with some testing climbs such as Stoodley Pike. Paul and Les started steadily and showed strength during the climbs in the second half of the race to overtake many runners to finish as the 6th team overall in a time of 4hr58mins. This race was also the first of the Vasque Runfurther series of races in 2010 and Les has made an excellent start as the 2nd V50 to finish.

14th March The Atacama Desert Challenge - Jo is the winner!

Jo Zakerzewski has won the gruelling women's Atacama Crossing in the dry desert of Chile. The doonhamer doctor completed the final stage to cross the finish line in San Pedro de Atacama in a time of 58:15. Jo led the women's race from the start and placed sixth overall, having completed the entire 250km in an incredible time of 33:37:50

Follow this link to the website for full results. Full report to follow.

9th March - Sarah Queen runs in Bath half marathon Sunday 7th March

Sarah Queen ran the Bath half marathon on Sunday, 7th March as part of a team of 5 from her work (Triodos in Bristol), who were collecting money for a charity called Emmaus that tackle problems of homelessness. Her time was 1:49:16 and she was 3522 out of 10858 runners. Well done Sarah!

8th March - Grand Prix races 2010 UPDATE 2

8th March- Maureen Dickson wins winter handicap series 2009-10

The final race in the winter handicap series took place round the Crichton route on Thursday 4th March. The winner of the series is Maureen Dickson with a total of 70 points. In a close finish Maureen won by only one point from three runners who shared second place:- Sian Finlay, Marian McPhail and Mark Johnston with Frank Skachill only one point further back. Fastest on the night was Alan Baxter in a great time of 24:08. The final results are available here.

Well done to everyone who took part in this series and hope to see you all on the summer route. Please note, if you have not participated for over six months and intend taking part in the summer series please register your interest with Les Hill. If you are not registered you will still get a start if you turn up but you would not be eligible for points for that run.

7th March- Jo Zakrewski ready to start her toughest challenge - The Atacama Desert Challenge

Well, the good news is that Jo has made it to Chile ready for the start of the race. However, the bad news is that her kit has not made it! In a challenge this tough this makes things even tougher. Reports are that Jo has managed to borrow running gear (including mens trainers!) from other competitors. Lets hope this major setback does not threaten her ability to finish the race after training so hard for it.

Everyone in Dumfries Running Club wishes Jo and Ian luck. Follow progress and news in the race through this link.

7th March- Great performances by DRC runners over the weekend 6th & 7th March

Crikey - where to start! After what seems like a prolonged winter making racing difficult reports are now coming in of what must be considered a glorious weekend of running for many DRC members.

Saturday 6th March - Glasgow to Edinburgh double marathon - Marcus Scotney race winner

On Saturday March 6th Marcus Scotney took part in his first Ultra Marathon of 2010; the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double Marathon a distance of 56miles. The race started in Ruchill Park, Glasgow and followed the course of the Forth & Clyde and Union Canal to taking in such sights as the Falkirk Wheel before leading competitors into the heart of Edinburgh finishing at the Edinburgh Quay.
Marcus knew that his fitness would be tested as there were several Scottish International 100km Athletes lining up at the start, and with the course being flat following the towpaths it was going to make for a fast Ultra Marathon. The race started very swiftly with Grant Jeans taking an early lead; Marcus instead took a cautious start and by the first checkpoint at 13miles was 6minutes down on the leader in 2nd place. Marcus maintained an even pace going through the first Marathon in 2:58.20 shortly afterwards Marcus caught sight of the leader Jeans and at 30miles Marcus moved into first place where he was able to maintain his pace finishing 18minutes ahead of the rest of the field. Finishing in a time of 6:22.57 which is averaging 6.50mins a mile and setting a new course record.
Marcus said ‘my victory was only possible thanks to the great support I had at the checkpoints from fellow DRC members Paul Hart and Dougie Brown’.

Sunday 7th March - Arbroath Smokies ladies only 10mile race - Lisa Finlay race winner

Lisa Finlay who recently was awarded the Best Female Performance of 2009 at the DRC Annual Awards has got 2010 off to a flying start with a performance that will no doubt put her in contention in that category again this year. Lisa was running at the Arbroath Smokies 10 Mile women only race. She won the race with a new PB in a truly outstanding time of 63mins36secs, 1 minute and 10 seconds ahead of the second runner.

Check out Lisa approaching the finish by following this link.

Sunday 7th March - Steven Smith and Vicky Hart new DRC cross country champions

On Sunday 7th March 10 DRC members took part in the Annan River Races. The senior race is also used as the DRC club cross country championship. The route used this year was changed from previous years and consisted of 5 loops round the Everholm playing fields covering 4.5 miles with 4 climbs of the steep hill! This made it slightly longer than before and very much a classic cross-country route which both the Seniors and Under-17s ran together.
With excellent performances from all members, Steven Smith was first home for DRC putting in a strong final lap and finishing in 27.42 in second place overall. Paul Hart, normally accustomed to ultra-running, was next to finish in 27.59, claiming third men’s place overall. Alan Baxter and Kevin Conchar were the next 2 DRC members to finish and had a great battle throughout the race. On this occasion it was Alan who came out on top with a superb time of 28.14 and Kevin finishing in 28.52. Vicky Hart was the first lady home for the club in a strong time of 34.59, and extremely pleased to finish 3rd lady overall. Next home was David Breen who was happy to finish in 35.41 despite having a few niggles. Maureen Dickson was next DRC lady home in a time 36.33, glad to have a little speed work to add to her marathon training. Jo Needham in her first race since last August was delighted to finish the course in 38.10 making a good start to her racing calendar. Liz Smart was next DRC lady home smiling her way across the finish line in 39.19. Susan Callander was really pleased to finish with a great time of 44.30. Joyce Hamilton, who is also in the midst of marathon training, was happy with her run of 51.44.
DRC came away from the races with a great array of prizes. Steven Smith won the Senior D&G Cross Country Championship and the DRC Championship. Paul Hart won D&G Vet category and was 2nd in the DRC Championship. Alan Baxter was 2nd in the D&G Championship and 3rd in the DRC Championship. Kevin Conchar was 3rd in the D&G Championship.
Vicky Hart won the Senior D&G Cross Country Championship and the DRC Championship. Maureen Dickson won the D&G Supervet category and was 2nd in the DRC Championship. Jo Needham was 3rd in the D&G Senior category and 3rd in the DRC Championship. Liz Smart was 2nd in the D&G Supervet category. Susan Callander was 3rd in the D&G Supervet category and Joyce Hamilton won the D&G Vet category.
DRC also won an excellent team double with both men’s and ladies team titles. Steven, Paul and Alan claimed the men’s prize, and Vicky, Maureen and Jo claimed the ladies prize.

Sunday 7th March - Simon Mortlock, Peter Hill, Jim Grierson and Mike Trant run in Haweswater 1/2 marathon

Best placed was Simon Mortlock who had a truly outstanding performance on such a tough route finishing in 1.28.33 and 23rd Vet40. Simon was delighted with his run, finishing well inside his target time for the race. Next to finish was Peter Hill who also had a strong run to finish in a time of 1.35.43 and 13th Vet50. Jim Grierson and Mike Trant were both using the race as part of their marathon training. Both had strong runs, with Jim finishing in 1.43.07 and Mike finishing in 1.43.40.

Sunday 7th March - Mark Johnson runs in Stanley Park 10K Blackpool

Mark Johnson made a welcome return to racing on Sunday taking part in the Stanley Park 10k race in Blackpool. Having had ankle problems for most of last year mark really enjoyed his return to racing. He ran an excellent time of 47.52 finishing in 118th place in a field of over 300 runners.

3rd March- Susan Gallagher runs in Meon Valley Plod 21 mile race

Susan Gallagher took part in the 21 mile Meon Valley plod, a 21 mile multi terrain race over the South Downs organised by Portsmouth running club on Sunday 28th February. With 1,500 metres of ascent, twice over Butser Hill, this event would provide a tough test but was made tougher by the appalling weather (worst conditions in 20years according to the race organiser) that added to the difficulty in this race. In her first big race back after injury Susan battled through the mud and knee deep water to finish the race and was satisfied with her time of 4hr25mins.

3rd March- Jack Crawford 10K Saturday 27th February

After a postponement due to the January weather, the Jack Crawford 10K race went ahead on Saturday, even though competitors had to drive through snow showers to get there. The canal was frozen and the flooded muddy course made it seem more of a trail race, but there were 4 Dumfries Running Club vests to be seen competing (with the men outnumbering the ladies for once!).
Jo Zakrzewski consolidated her recent form with a new PB of 38:29, a good 1min 24 ahead of the second lady. Next back was Les Hill, finishing in 39:29. Danny Queen was the 2nd V55 home (by 16secs) and was very happy to achieve his gold standard in a time of 40:43. Graeme Cross, coming back from illness, chased Danny down to the line in his first 10K to achieve his standard in 40:55. Ross Queen couldn't ruin due to an injury and so provided useful on course support, encouragement and general jacket-holding!

1st March- Netherhall 10mile road race West Cumbria Sunday 28th February

On Sunday, three brave fool(hardy) Dumfries runners made their way down to the wilds of west Cumbria to take on the windy, hilly Netherhall 10. Jo Zakrzewski had decided to race 2 days in a row as a last bit of psychological training for her desert challenge. She managed to spur her tired legs on to finish in a time of 65:13, well clear of the second lady in 66:35 (and gaining her a 3rd distance of gold standard time). Adam Dickie flew the flag solo for the Dumfries men, finishing with his usal sprint finish in a time of 68:21 as the 18th man home breaking his old PB by 24 seconds. Marian McPhail has been putting in some long hard mileage recently, but was still up for the challenge of a race, crossing the line in 79:36 as 1st LV55 and 7th female overall with that gold standard there for the taking. All 3 agreed that the buffet and cakes afterwards were definitely worth the run!

28th February - Grand Prix races 2010 UPDATE 1

27th February - Grand Prix, Handicap Grand Prix and Club Championship races announced for 2010

The grand prix and handicap grand prix races have been decided for 2010.

For full details see the race list here. Please note the following at this stage:

- The 1st race will be the Nigel Barge 10K in Glasgow on Saturday 27th March so not long to go until the series starts!

- Certificates will be presented at the 2011 awards for any DRC member who completes all 9 grand prix races.

27th February - Dumfries Sports Club Question of Sport quiz

A 'Question of Sport' quiz is being held at Nunholm on Saturday 10th April and teams of 4 people are required to represent Dumfries Running Club!

If you are interested in taking part please contact Steve Mohan.

27th February - Thank you message from Ian Sills who ran as a guest in February 4mile winter handicap while visiting the area

Many thanks for making me most welcome. I really enjoyed taking part in your monthly 4m time trial. I hope to be able to join you again in the future. If any member of DRC are ever in East Lothian please join us at Dunbar for a training session. Don't forget we host a 10k and a 10mile race check out our web site for details.
I look forward to meeting members of DRC again. Best wishes.
Ian Sills

19th February - Updated Winter Handicap Results following latest run 18th February

The winter handicap series results are now available following the re-scheduled January run which took place in cold conditions on Thursday 18th February.

The results are available here.

Maureen Dickson has now moved into the lead by just one point from training partner and long time series leader Marian McPhail! Maureen claimed 24points with a time of 29:44, her fastest of the series so far. Moving onto equal points with Marian is Sian Finlay who claimed 22 points with a fast 26:40, also her fastest run of the series so far. With one race to go there are still six people in contention for the title: Maureen Dickson, Sian Finlay, Marian McPhail, Tom McCaulay, Frank Skachill and Mark Johnston who claimed the maximum 25points available on the night.

17th February - Les Hill and Ian Brown run in Keswick - Buttermere Round race Sunday 14th February

On a cold but calm day Les Hill and Ian Brown took on this challenging road race, with 68 others, that starts and finishes in Keswick. This race has about 2000 feet of climb in it as it goes over Honister Pass then drops to Buttermere before turning and ascending Newlands Pass, through Stair and even then has a few short steep climbs at Swinside and Portinscale. The two guys ran together as planned to the foot of the first climb and separated slightly on the tough slog up to Honister.  Ian reached the top a few seconds ahead of Les but they got back together almost immediately. Once down on the more level part of the route Ian was edging ahead and then went on after Les told him to run his own race. By the time they reached the foot of Newlands Pass Ian was about one minute ahead of Les. However, when Les turned on to this climb he could see about ten people in front of Ian who were walking on the climb and that spurred him on. Although Ian didn’t walk on the climb Les had caught and passed him half way up and by the top Les had passed five others with four more within easy catching distance and he was by them shortly after the top. In the last few miles he caught a few more runners to finish 25th and was the first in his age category – V50 to 54 with a time of 2 hours 43 minutes 47 seconds. Ian also finished strongly and not far off his best time for this race despite it being 600 metres longer than normal due to the suspension bridge at Portinscale being closed and a detour being required. Ian was 28^th, 2^nd V50 and his time was exactly 2 hours 47 minutes. This should set Ian up nicely for London Marathon in two months time.

17th February - Frank's Valentine's Day run Sunday 14th February

Instead of celebrating Valentines day with roses, chocolate and wine, 22 Dumfries Running Club members and friends gathered at Frank Skachill’s house at Glenmidge for the first off road training run of the year in the beautiful Nithsdale countryside. Unusually the groups included a determined collection of walkers and canines, many of whom are in training for an upcoming ”Hearts and Heroes” event in May as well as runners of differing speeds keen to develop off road strength and stamina for races later in springtime. On a cold and overcast day it was a privilege to be out in the countryside for anything up to two hours and, over soup, rolls and coffee afterwards everyone agreed that they thoroughly enjoyed such a sociable event.

7th February - Great Performances from Jo, Vicky and Marian at Central Lancashire 1/2 marathon Sunday 7th February

Jo Zakrzewski, winner of the most improved runner 2009 club award, staked an early claim for the 2010 award by smashing her half marathon PB and winning the Central Lancashire 1/2 marathon. Jo crossed the line in 1hr23mins57secs for 14th place overall and 30secs clear of the 2nd lady. This slices over 3minutes off her previous PB set at Stranraer in 2009. Not to be outdone, Vicky Hart also produced another PB performance to finish in 1hr40mins39secs and knock 1min30secs off her previous PB set at Lancaster in 2009. Completing the trio of fine performances was Marian McPhail who stopped the clock at 1hr45mins4secs, a fine performance and achieving the gold standard of 1hr46mins.

Although no team prize was awarded, a study of the results shows that Jo, Vicky and Marian would have been clear winners of the ladies team prize.

Unfortunately the men did not fair so well! Dougie Brown took the wise decision to pull out of the race after 1mile with a very tight calf muscle. Les Hill started strongly but slowed in the later stages to finish in 1hr28mins28secs for 30th place overall.

7th February - Full list of Dumfries Running Club Prizes and Awards 2009

Dumfries Running Club awards for 2009 were made at the annual dinner dance on Friday 5th February.

A full list of the award winners can be found here.

Read Steve Mohan report on Dinner dance and awards here.

(remember - this picture and other pictures are available full size/resolution on the DRC Flickr page!)

6th February - Updated Winter Handicap Results following latest run 4th February

The winter handicap series results are now available following the February run which took place in cold conditions on Thursday 4th February.

The results are available here.

Marian McPhail is still in the lead with 69 points but Maureen Dickson has closed to within 1 point. Frank Skachill and Kevin Conchar are close behind and also in contention is Sian Finlay who claimed the maximum 25 points on the night to move to 47 points with only two races completed. Fastest on the night was Steven Smith in 23:18.

A reminder that the next handicap race is on Thursday 18th February (re-scheduled January handicap). Meet at 19:00 at the Crichton.

2nd February - That's Lyth 23 mile trail race Kendal Sunday 31st January

Now that the weather has warmed up (slightly), training is back in full swing, and a group of hardy Dumfries Running Club members braved the early start and low temperatures to go down to Kendal on Sunday for the 23.3 mile course of That's Lyth. Strangely enough' despite it being -4 degrees at the start and only 4 degrees at the finish, many runners proclaimed it to be the best conditions they had seen for this course, as the cold crisp air enabled fine views as the runners went up hill and down dale and the usual mud and steams that make the route more challenging were frozen solid.

2nd February - Garstang 10K race Sunday 31st January
Les Hill decided instead to capitalise on his recent return to good form and raced over 10K at Garstang. He was rewarded by an enjoyable race finishing 36th in 39:35, a good 6 places ahead of an old arch-rival. Full report to follow.

2nd February - Helsinki 24 hour ultra race 30th/31st January

Paul Hart was disappointed to report that this race proved to be a 'bad day'. His review of the race is below:

"I've found with ultra running it really can be such a fine line between success and failure. Your body is performing right on the edge and the smallest margins seem to make such a big difference to the outcome. In this race I was ultimately undone by two things:
(1) The temperature and very dry air from running inside.
(2) A painful blister that developed on my left foot.

So, time to get over the disappointment, get all the learning from this I can, and move on to the next challenge with a better plan."

27th January - Thursday 28th January speed work update

Speed work for Thursday 28th January will be at the Crichton. Meet in car park at Easterbrook Hall at 7.
Teams of 2, of similar ability, will do half miles in relay with their partner. The start times will be staggered by handicap.

Remember next week at the Crichton is the 4 miles handicap, weather permitting.
There will also be a 4 mile handicap on 18th February to make up for the January handicap that we had to abandon due to the severe weather.

NOTE - Anyone who doesn't get e-mails from Les Hill with details of speed work should send me an e-mail to les.hill@dumgal.gov.uk asking for their e-mail address to be added to his circulation list.

24th January - Scottish Vets Relay Strathclyde Park Sunday 24th January

Three men's teams and two women's teams travelled to Strathclyde Park on Sunday 24th January to take part in the Scottish Vets Relay championship with each runner completing a 3.66mile circuit around the park. An enjoyable time was had by all and the following times were recorded:

MENS TEAMS (positions in brackets)                                WOMENS TEAMS (positions in brackets)

1. L Hill                          22:17  (17)                                     1. M Dickson                27:00   (11)

2. D Brown                    22:15  (13)                                     2. M McPhail                27:39   (12)

3. S Shankland               22:49  (10)                                     3. D McDonald             28:53   (11)

4. P Hart                        20:34   (9)

1. G Cross                     22:29  (19)                                      1. P Neill                       27:36  (13)

2. D Queen                    24:05  (16)                                      2. S Callander                32:01 (14)

3. M Trant                     26:46  (18)                                      3. B Queen                    34:17  (15)

4. F Skachill                   27:21  (21)

1. R Wilson                   28:05  (29)

2. J Grierson                 27:18  (28)

3. T McCluskey            29:11  (25)

4. A McKean                32:16  (25)

The support offered on course by Steve Mohan, Sian Finlay and Jo Zakrzewski was also appreciated by all runners.

Report on ladies teams from Jo Zakrzewski:
Maureen Dickson (who was slightly delayed by swans twice her size) and Paula Neill (who produced the outstanding run of the day - definitely on target for a year of PBs) led the teams off, handing over to Marian McPhail (who was faster than many of the men) and Susan Callander (a last minute substitute due to the date change, who ran strongly despite feeling well below par). Dawn McDonald (being chased down by her brother) anchored the first team home in 11th place, while Beatrice Queen (whose husband led her to believe they were on a romantic day out) powered up the hills to bring the 2nd team home in 15th place.
They were ably supported by Sian Finlay at the start, finish and changeover points, and Jo Zakrzewski who accompanied some of the ladies around the course."

Read Steve Mohan race report here.

24th January - Lisa Finlay 1st Lady at Chernobyl 10K nr. Preston Sunday 24th January

Lisa Finlay continued her 2009 form into 2010 as she finished 1st lady in the Chernobyl 10K on Sunday 24th March.

Lisa recorded a time of 38:33 to finish over a minute clear of the 2nd lady and in 32nd place overall.

24th January - Entries for Scottish National Cross Country Championships

Any DRC members interested in running in this event on Saturday 20th February at Callender Park, Falkirk should let Paul Hart know by Wednesday 27th January latest so entries can be submitted before the closing date. The women's race of 8K starts at 13:25 and the men's race of 12K starts at 14:30.

24th January - Dumfries Running Club 2010 Cross Country Championships - Annan River Races

The club cross country championships for 2010 will be at the Annan River Races on Sunday 7th March.

Races start at 11:30 at Everholm Park in Annan. For further details and entry form follow this link to ADAC river races.

24th January - Dumfries Running Club Annual Dinner Dance

This is a reminder to that the annual Dumfries Running Club Dinner Dance is on the 5th February 2010 starting at 19.00.
There are still some tickets left and these will be sold on a first come first served basis.
The tickets are also no longer limited to 2 per club member so for those of you who already have one and would like to bring an extra friend or two then they will be available from David McNaught at Nunholm on club nights.
Tickets are £16 and include a meal, presentation of club prizes and awards and a live band
 

20th January - Dumfries Running Club leading 3 contenders announced for 2009 awards

Following the nominations process and review by the awards sub-committee Dumfries Running Club are delighted to announce that the leading 3 contenders for the new awards being introduced for the 2009 season have been decided.

They are as follows (in alphabetical order):

(1) Best Performance Male:               Dougie Brown                   Paul Hart                                  Marcus Scotney

(2) Best Performance Female:            Lisa Finlay                        Paula Neill                                 Jo Zakrzewski

(3) Most Improved Runner:               Vicky Hart                        Steven Smith                              Jo Zakrzewski

(4) Best Team Performance:              Highland Fling                Scottish National Road              3 Peaks Island Race

                                                                                                  Relay Ladies Team

                                                        Sandy Shankland                  Sian Finlay                              Craig Malcolmson

                                                        Dougie Brown                      Lisa Finlay                               Sebastian Pflanz

                                                        Mhairi Duff                           Mhairi Duff

                                                        Jo Zakrzewski                      Jo Zakrzewski

(5) Contribution to the Club               Margaret Gray                     Les Hill                        Richard McDougal                    Alan McKean

                                                         Susan Graham

Due to the number of people nominated for the 'Contribution to the Club' award the top 4 leading contenders have been announced.

The winners of each award from these names will be announced at the Dinner Dance on Friday 5th February.

14th January - BUPA Great Winter Run Edinburgh Edinburgh 9th January

Mickey Breen flew the flag for Dumfries Running Club in this 5K cross country race (using the same course as the International cross country races) to finish in a terrific 8th place in a time of 14:05.

14th January - Danny and Sarah Queen run in Mickey Mouse Marathon!

Danny and Sarah Queen have been training for months for their New Year target of the Disneyland marathon last weekend in Orlando Florida. They decided to tackle the Goofy Challenge which involved a half marathon on Saturday the 9^th followed by a full marathon the next morning. The 17,000 runners in the half were met by near record low temperatures and freezing rain and they both conserved energy very well in one hour 51 mins to finish in 1284^th place.

The full marathon, with a 6 am start from the EPCOT centre traversed all of the world famous attractions including the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s animal Kingdom, the MGM studios and a finish back at the EPCOT centre. Both Danny and Sarah began carefully in the sub zero temperatures and only warmed up in the latter stages. A strong finish in 3 hours 57, the fastest time ever obtained by Sarah meant that they won a Donald Duck medal for the Half Marathon, a Mickey Mouse one for the marathon and a coveted Goofy medal for the two challenges back to back.

9th January - Les Hill runs in Dave Clark 5 mile race Lancaster

Les Hill was first on the starting line for Dumfries Running Club in 2010! On Saturday 2^nd January Les Hill did the Dave Clarke 5 road race. On arrival at Salt Ayre Sports Centre, Lancaster he was informed that the race was being shortened to only 4.5 miles because of ice on the path near the start / finish area. There was plenty ice and frozen slush on other parts of the route which resulted in the pace varying from a walk on very slippy corners to very fast on the well gritted road heading towards Heysham.

During the race the organiser, who was heading the leaders on his bike decided to change the route again from a loop to an out and back because of worsening underfoot conditions. This resulted in the distance being changed yet again and the competitors found at the finish they had actually run 5.3 miles. Les finished first V50 and 8^th overall out of 41 finishers. He was pleased with his time of 33.48 considering the conditions and it was a bonus just to be able to get a fast run after the recent weather conditions curtailing any speed work in the Dumfries area.

2nd January - Nominations for club awards

A reminder that nominations are being sought for club awards for the 2009 season. The following awards will be made for the 2009 season:

(5) Contribution to the club

*Can be based on a single performance or a series of performances.

Please nominate by replying to the email sent giving your nominated names for these 5 awards. The closing date for nominations is Friday 15th January.

2nd January - Vets Relay Strathclyde Park Sunday 24th January - NEW DATE OF 24th January!

If you are under 35 on Sunday 24th January do not read on, this is a veterans only race. We are now seeking names for Dumfries running club to enter mens and womens teams in this event.

The race is being held at Strathclyde Park Motherwell starting at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday 24th January. We will be able to enter as many teams as we want and it is not just the fast runners that take part in this race, all are welcome and encouraged. Men's teams consist of 4 runners and ladies teams consist of 3 runners. The loop that each runner has to do is 3.8 miles.

The entry fee for this team event is paid for by the running club. Transport will be organised nearer the time.

THE CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES IS FRIDAY 8TH JANUARY THEREFORE YOU NEED TO LET EITHER PAUL HART OR JO ZAKRZEWSKI KNOW IF YOU WANT TO ENTER BY WEDNESDAY 6TH JANUARY LATEST.

Lets hope we can build on the success of last year when we had a number of teams who enjoyed this event.

2nd January - Announcement: Ladies Club Captain

Jo Zakrzewski has accepted the new role of Ladies Club Captain. This means that for 2010 Dumfries Running Club will have new club captains of Jo Zakrzewski (ladies) and Paul Hart (men's). The main role of the club captains will be to organise DRC teams for such events as the Vets relay championships, cross country championships, road relay championships and any other suitable events.

2nd January - Dumfries Running Club Annual Dinner Dance

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR THE ANNUAL DINNER DANCE!

Following the very positive feedback from this years event, the dinner dance will again take place at Dumfries Rugby Club, Park Farm on Friday 5th February, 2010.

Arrive 7pm for 7:30pm start including 3 course meal, tea/coffee, presentation of club prizes and awards, and live music by Peter Kirk band until 1a.m.. There is also a free drink on arrival at the door and free raffle. This year the club are introducing a change to the annual club prizes to reflect the growing numbers within the club - further details on this to follow.

Tickets only £16 per person available from David McNaught at Nunholm on club nights.

2nd January - Club Awards Scheme

Any club member who still wants to claim a standards certificate for 2009 please send details to Les Hill as soon as possible. 

News Archive 2009

News Archive 2008

News Archive 2007

News Archive 2006

(NOTE: Not all links to photos, reports, etc in archive material may still be active)