One of the most challenging yet scenic races, the Highland Fling took place on Saturday 30th April and attracted several of the ultra runners of Dumfries Running Club eager to test themselves on the 53 mile route. Run on the first part of the West Highland Way, this trail race started at Milngavie near Glasgow with the first relatively flat section past Mugdock Country Park towards Drymen. After that the runners climb Conic Hill by Balmaha and negotiate the rugged eastern side of Loch Lomond towards BeinGlas farm beyond the northern tip of the loch. The final section involves twisty climbs as the route reaches the final destination, the village of Tyndrum where very welcome bottles of ice cold beer await.

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Dave and Jane McQuillen of Solway Orienteers have kindly agreed to organise an event within the Crichton Grounds for Dumfries Running Club Members on Thursday 28th April 2011. Entry will be £2 and this will cover the cost of map and use of electronic dibber. Dave is making all arrangements with the Crichton for use of the grounds and both he and Jane are qualified orienteering coaches so will provide us with all the necessary advice required. Further details will be posted on the club notice board. This is an opportunity to try something a bit different so hopefully we will have a great turnout!

DRC was represented by only one member among the 35,000 who lined up for this year’s London marathon. Dawn McDonald found the conditions to be hot and sunny but the crowds more than made up for this by encouraging tired runners in the more difficult later stages. She found things got more difficult after the 10 mile mark but kept going to finish in 4 hours 3minutes in 10,032nd place a time that placed her well into the top third of the field.

The Dumfries Running Club organised Holywood Stroll 5 mile road race will take place on Tuesday 10th May. Race starts at 7:00p.m. Registration from 6:15p.m. at Dumfries Sports Club, Nunholm Road, Dumfries. Entry Fees £3.50, £5.50 (unaffiliated) & £1 Junior. Further information can be obtained from Sandy Shankland - see 'Dumfries R.C. Races' page for contact details.

Contrary to all weather forecasts, Saturday was a lovely sunny day and so several DRC members took advantage of the conditions and entered the Screel Hill Race, which may seem a short race to some, being only 3.3miles long, but it is certainly very demanding with 1000feet of elevation gained and lost over that distance.

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A reminder that we need to get an idea of numbers for this orienteering taster event for DRC members by this Friday.
Full details of the event can be found here.
There is a sheet for names on the club notice board or alternatively anyone interested in taking part can either email

dougie.brown@btinternet.com or Dave McQuillen dnjmcq@tiscali.co.uk

There are distances to suit all abilities and gives everyone a chance to try their hand at something different in a friendly environment.

On Sunday 17th April 2011, while thousands ran the marathon through the streets of London, three Dumfries Running Club members chose to compete at the other end of the running distance spectrum and took part in a one mile track race at the Open Meeting organised by Nithsdale Athletic Club at the David Keswick Centre.

In the 2nd race of her comeback weekend, Jo Zakrzewski was first home for DRC in a time of 5mins 33sec. Les Hill took the opportunity to use the meeting for some last minute speedwork prior to his 24 hour race in Brive, finishing in 5mins 40secs whilst Audrey Brown made her track debut and was very pleased to clock a time of 7mins 16secs. Also taking part was Mickey Breen, who ran for Corstorphine AC on the day finishing the race in 2nd place with a time of 4mins 34secs. The race was won by David Vernon, Victoria Park in 4mins 28secs.

Father and daughter Sarah and Danny Queen ran the 26.2km Edinburgh Kilomathon on Sunday 17th April. It was a beautiful day and the course was out from Ingleston beside the Airport over the Forth Road Bridge to Fife and back over the other side of it on the way back. The views were stunning although the novel distance was fairly hilly, but Ingleston was a great venue.

Sarah had a strong run to finish in 2 hours 18mins and 48 seconds, coming 234th out of the 709 runners. Danny had a good run too, but faded in the last few miles coming in 30th position in 1 hour and 54 mins.

The Tom Scott memorial 10 mile race at Motherwell has always attracted the cream of Scotland’s road racers on a fast and flat course. Established 49 years ago to commemorate the tragic early death of one of Lanarkshire’s finest runners, the original route ran directly from Law to Motherwell on one of Tom’s regular training runs However, on police advice in the last few years the route has been changed to a series of loops inside Strathclyde Park which increases the safety of the runners but means that the race route is shared with pedestrians, dog walkers and many locals enjoying the unseasonably warm weather.

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Kevin Conchar was making his marathon debut on the streets of Paris on Sunday 10th April. With a start on the Champs Elysee the race takes the runners past all the well known landmarks and provides an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower on the way to the finish. Kevin has been training well and was quietly confident that he could run well. Despite leaving his timing chip in his hotel room he was thoroughly delighted to get under the three hour benchmark with an excellent 2hours 58minutes

At Fort William on Sunday 10th April Simon Mortlock and Allan Manson lined up with nearly 400 others for the Lochaber marathon, a very popular event now in its third decade with both hopeful of good runs. On a warm and sunny day each was delighted with their runs as Simon crossed the line in 70th place in 3 hours 24 and Allan knocked 14 minutes off his personal best to finish in 78th place in 3 hours 28.

The Edinburgh half marathon on Sunday 10th April attracted 5 club members in a field of over 3000 with a start at Meadowbank stadium and a route that took the runners to the finish at Musselburgh race course. The stand out performance came from Lisa Finlay who was second woman, first vet and 33rd overall in an outstanding 83.56 and Danny Queen ran strongly to finish in 240th place in 89.59.However he was glad the race had a chip timing system as he misjudged his timings and started the event virtually in last place and spent the first third of the race overtaking as many as he could. John Green ran a well judged race in 96.21 and in his first race for a while Tony McCluskey was glad to complete the course but frustrated that he failed to beat the 2 hour mark by around 30 seconds. In a big step up in distance Tracy Campbell ran well and was delighted to finish in 2 hours 25.

The Glasgow to Edinburgh ultramarathon took place on Saturday 9th April. Starting at Ruchill Park in Glasgow for the 9am kick off the 78 competitors travelled along the Forth and Clyde canal towards the Falkirk Wheel and then changed to the Union canal towards Edinburgh.

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Sunday 3rd April saw 4 ladies from Dumfries Running Club heading up to Livingston to represent the club in the National Road Relay Championships. The team consisted of Audrey Brown, Maureen Dickson, Kerry Walker and Allie Wilson.

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