25-Sep-2005

Dyke 10K

    Thank you to all the club members, friends and family who assisted today at the Dyke 10K, without your help it would not have been possible to host such a successful event.

    We had a record entry once again, it just keeps amazing me that the entries have increased every year since we first hosted the event with 107 entries in 2001.

    There were many club members out running and Dave Adam looks to be getting back into shape for the cross country season, which kicks off next weekend at Fort William.

Great North Run

    3 intrepid ladies from the Harriers made the long journey down to Newcastle at the weekend to participate in this years Great North Run.  Despite the oppressive climatic conditions all 3 ran well to complete the course as follows:  Bev 2:38:30, Jo and Ali 2:38:43

Dyke 10K Children's Race

    Mike Rodgers has kindly agreed to organise a children's fun run immediately after the start of the Adults 10K.  The course will be from the 10K Start to the finish line (no you do not have to do the Cloddymoss loop as well!!!)

Great Glen Relay

18-Sep-2005

Morven Hill Race

    Kyle Greig just edged out Jon Musgrove to win the Morven Hill Race by just 3 seconds.  A fine run by young Kyle as he prepares to defend his North District Cross Country League Title.

Dava Way Experience

      The Dava Way Trail Race was held in ideal conditions, cool with a Southerly Wind gently persuading the athletes to run faster, from Grantown-On-Spey all the way back to Forres.

     As the race departed Grantown, Simon Pride was in no mood for a gentle jog along the route, as he literally scorched his way across the Dava Moor.  Following along in a distant 2nd were a group of Harriers consisting of Mark Priestley, Mike Howell, Greame Jervis and Andy Holder.

    Allegedly, every time Mark Priestley led the Group, somehow he managed to lead them off course, 4 times ( he must have been looking for a tractor again).  Eventually, once back on track, Mike Howell managed to break free from his admirers to claim 2nd place (Danny Bird take note), leaving his younger rivals to choke on his dust.

    In the Ladies race, our very own June Duncan, was also on fire, winning the race after leading for much of the way, ahead of Sarah Houston (Moray Road Runners) and team mate Jackie Nicol.

    It was great to see Alison Rodgers once again out there competing, but special mention has to go to Anne Docherty and Frances Russell, for an outstanding piece of paced running, as they just gradually picked off the miles and the runners in front, all the way home.

    This event would not have been possible without the assistance of many willing volunteers, however I would like to say a special thank you to Mike Milmoe, Bernie Foran and Stu Burn for assisting in the course preparation and all the other assistance leading up to the event.

Loch Ness Marathon

    Dave Adam has asked me to advertise that he has free places in this years Baxter's Loch Ness Marathon, running for the Leonard Cheshire Charity.  If you would like to take up the challenge, contact me and I will put you in touch with Dave.

11-Sep-2005

Halliburton League

    Matthew Hester and Grant Cameron were the clubs sole representatives at the final league meeting of the Halliburton Athletics Championships. Grant won the Under 15 Boys 800 Metres race and Matthew won the Under 15 Boys 200 Metres, equalling the League Record in the process.  This performance saw Matthew win the track athlete of the match award.

Great Glen Relay

     Due to the great response from Club Members I am currently assembling a 5th team to compete in this years Great Glen Relay,  I have just a couple of confirmations to receive and then I will post the teams on the site by the end of the week. 

    As is normal with this type of event, I am looking for reserves who would be willing to stand in at short notice as there will inevitably be some late call off's, could you please let me know if you are willing to be a reserve.

North District Cross Country League

    The first race in this years Cross Country League Championships are taking place at Fort William on Saturday 1st of October.  Dave Adam is interested in competing and is wondering if anyone can give him a lift to the race, if so please let me know and I will pass on the info to Dave.

4-Sep-2005

Aberfeldy Half Marathon

   Richard Pearson the race organiser of the Aberfeldy Half Marathon has very kindly provided me a copy of the results from last Sunday's race.

Nairn Triathlon

    There were a number of Harriers competing in the Nairn Triathlon on Sunday, Mike Reaper was the first Harrier home in 3rd place finishing just behind Adrian Pottinger and Eleanor Reid.

Moray Marathon

    There was a huge turnout for this year's Moray Marathon events on an extremely hot and humid day.  The Harriers had three finishers in the Marathon, Sam Morrison was first Harrier home followed by Danny Bird and James Hume.

    The full Marathon, Half Marathon Results and 10K (thanks to Carol Lawrie for compiling them so quickly) are now on site.

British Junior Hill Race Championships

    Grant Cameron has been to selected to run in the Under 14's British Junior Hill Race Championships  and will travel with the Scottish Squad to Ireland in October.   Grant gained his selection after attending the Juniors development squad training weekend last week, where he won the Under 14's selection race.

    Another fine prospect, who is following in the footsteps of our other Scottish International Hill Runners; Graeme Bartlett and Kyle Greig.

Craig Dubh Hill Race Results

     There was only one Forres Harrier competing in the event this year. 

28-Aug-2005

Scottish Senior Athletics Championships

    Mark  just missed out on the Gold Medal and finished in 2nd place with a time of 1:52:58 another fine performance.

Scottish Senior Athletics Championships

    Mark Mitchell succesfully progressed to the final of the Men's Scottish 800 Metres final after winning his semi-final race in a time of 1:53:8 which just makes him the fastest qualifier going into tomorrows final.  Good luck Mark, I hope it's a gold medal that you bring back North up the A9 on Sunday evening.

20-Aug-2005

Scottish Under 15 Championships

    Grant Cameron and Matthew Hester were representing the club at the Scottish Under 15 Track and Field Championships.  Granr finished in 4th place in the 1500M in a time of 4:30:23 and Matthew finished second in the 400M in a new club record time of 52:98 seconds.

    Grant will be on his travels again this weekend, where he will be competing in the Junior Home International Hill Race Trials at Oyne.  We wish him well with his race preparations.

Nairn Half Marathon

    Another successful Half Marathon on a fabulous hot summers day, great for the spectators, but hard work for the Half Marathon Runners.  There was an entry of 101 but only 91 managed to successfully combat the extremely hot conditions.

    The class act in the field was Aberdeen AAC's Ben Hukins who won the race at a stroll, in a time of 1:14:37.  Moray Road Runners Jane Barker was also a convincing winner in the Ladies event, finishing in 11th place overall.

    The Forres Harriers were to the fore in the team competitions, with our Men (Mark Howls, Sam Morrison and Andrew Walker) and Ladies (June Duncan, Carrie-Ann Ward and Sarah-Louise Grigor) teams finishing in pole position.

Celtic International

    Mark Mitchell won his 800 Metre race and was also a member of the victorious 4 x 400 Relay Team.  Matthew finished 4th in the 100M and the 4 x 100M team were 3rd in their race.

3-Aug-2005

Viewpoint Challenge

        Thank you to all the competiors and helpers who assisted in tonights race, once again entries were up on last year.  This years race was dominated at the front by Moray Road Runners, but the most pleasing aspect of the race, it is the younger athletes that are challenging for pole position.  As it was, Andrew Clark just finished ahead of team mate Kyle Cowie to win by 1 second.

    23 Forres Harriers of the 47 competitors, made up the field and it was great to see the old and new faces out there competing for the club.

The Great Glen Relay

    The Great Glen Relay will take place on Sunday 23rd of October, I know that I keep on harping on about it, but this is one of the best races in Scotland, it is fantastic the way that all the competitors interact with each other.

    If you have not competed in this event before, why not make the effort and organise a team to participate, you will not be disappointed, it is all about going out there and enjoying your running, no prizes but just the satisfaction of competing.

    This race was first organised by Lochaber AC Legend Eddie Campbell, but is now organised by Graham Whyte and Nancy and what a sterling job they do.  This year's event will be the 21st staging of the race and long may it continue.

    There is an entry form available on the local races page of the web site.

30-Jul-2005

Sam's The Man

    Super Veteran Runner Sam Morrison, showed the younger pups of the club a thing or two at yesterday's Ben Rinnes 5 Tops hill race.  The race was held in Dreich conditions, with visibility down to a minimum, however that did not deter 98 hardy souls (a record entry for the race) participating in this Scottish Hill Running Championship event.

   Carnethy celebrated a double win, with Stewart Whitlie (just 3 seconds from breaking the course record!!) and Kate Jenkins winning the Men's and Ladies races respectively.

    I do not know how our Club Secretary is feeling today, it was reported that he was a rather forlorn figure in the howling gale at the top of Ben Rinnes, I am sure all the runners are grateful Hamish.

24-Jul-2005

Celtic International

    Two Forres Harriers have been chosen to represent Scotland at this years Celtic Games, which are due to be hosted by the Welsh on the 6th of August.

    Mark Mitchell and Matthew Hester have been chosen to run in the 800M and the 4 X 100M Relay respectively.  Mark has competed in this event on 3 previous occasions, however for Matthew this is his first National appearance in the Dark Blue of Scotland.

    Matthew has been a member of Forres Harriers for 18 months and competes in a wide variety of distances ranging from 100M to 1500M on the track and has also represented the club in Cross Country races throughout the winter months. 

    It is at the shorter distances he excels, where he has achieved a number of impressive performances.  He is the current Under 15 North District Champion at 100M, 200M and 400M, setting a new Championship Best Performance at the 200M.

    At the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships in June, Matthew claimed the Silver and Bronze Medals at 100M and 200M.  It was these performances that brought him to the attention of the Scottish Selectors, who then invited him to train with the Under 15 Relay Squad.

    Matthew's interest in Athletics was first stirred, when friend and now training partner Grant Cameron  persuaded him to go along to Forres Harriers at the beginning of April 2004.  It soon became apparent to Club Youth Coach Howard Mitchell, that Matthew had a talent for the shorter distances and the two of them have worked extremely hard in developing this talent.

    A delighted Matthew stated " I am very proud to have been selected to represent my Country at a National Level.  I would just like to thank Forres Harrier's Youth Coach Howard Mitchell for all the support and encouragement he has provided over the past 18 Months."

    Accompanying Matthew on his trip to Wales is Club Mate Mark Mitchell, an experienced campaigner at the event; this will be Mark's 4th appearance at the Celtic Games.  Having just returned from the World Youth Championships in Morocco, Mark is looking forward to competing once again, which he hopes will prepare him for his final challenge of the season at the Scottish Senior Athletic Championships in Glasgow at the end of August.  

Forres Harriers Club History

    I have recently composed a brief history of our club,  I am unable to find a definitive date on when the club was originally formed and if anybody would like to see anything added, please drop me a line with the relevant info.

17-Jul-2005

Aquaduct T-Shirt

    I now currently have 1 Medium Aquaduct Red T-Shirt in stock for the bargain price of £18.70.  If you would like this highly desirable item, please drop me an e-mail and I will get it to you right away.

Harrier Wins At Tomintoul Highland Games Hill Race

Kyle Greig was competing in his favourite athletics discipline at Tomintoul Highland Games, where he won the Hill Race.

Elgin 10 Mile Road Race

        Forres Harriers made up a quarter of the field in this years Elgin 10 Mile Road Race.  This race also incorporated the North District 10 Mile Championships and once again there were medals for Forres Harriers. 

    Danny Bird won the Bronze Medal in the Veterans category and the Gold in the Super Veterans.  Whilst Jackie Nicol had a fantastic race to win the Bronze in the Ladies section and Silver in the Veterans Category.

    There were good runs from Bernie Foran and Mark Howls in conditions that were far from perfect for distance running.

    Thanks to Steve Murdoch of Elgin AAC for providing the results.

13-Jul-2005

Mark Just Fails to Make Final Cut

    Mark unfortunately did not make it to the Final, he finished 5th in his Semi-Final in a time of 1:52:94.  It was still a tremendous effort to get this far and I am sure there is still more to come.

Mark Storms In To The Semis

    Mark Mitchell won his heat in the first round of the World Youth Games in Morocco.  He clocked an excellent 1:52:00 in the oppressive heat conditions and will compete in the first heat of 3 in the Semi-finals tomorrow evening at 19:20.

Matthew the Celt?

9-Jul-2005

Jervis Wins Hebridean 3

 Our very own roaming racer Graeme Jervis has just successfully won the Hebridean 3 Half Marathon Challenge.  Graeme's Overall time in 3 of the races was enough to secure the title for 2005.  Congratulations Graeme, they must be charging you extra on the ferry journey home for all that extra baggage.

Forres Highland Games 10K

    There was a record entry for this years 10K however the weather conditions were too hot and humid for racing.  We had a great turn out from the club with 18 club members competing. Welcome to Carrie Ward and Gerald Box competing in the Harriers Colours.  Gerald has been a great supporter of all our races over a number of years.

    Kyle was the first Harrier home in 2nd place and he led the team of Mark Howls and Robert Paterson to another fine victory.  Jackie and June just failed to make the prize list, but I think they were just glad to complete it in one piece and Catriona was also glad that she did not have to take any detours on this race.

6-Jul-2005

Monaughty Woodland Run

    There was another excellent turn out for the last Woodland Run in this years Series with 104 entries, 21 up on last years total.

    The only disappointment, was that a number of the runners went off course, due to some idiot who had deliberately tampered with the course markings and adjusted the direction of the course arrows.  If you were one of the unfortunate runners who went off course, please accept our apologies.

    Any way to the race itself, Moray Road Runners were the dominant team with the first four finishers, Kyle Cowie leading the way home, closely followed by Andrew Clark, with Martin Flynn and Raymond Hardie the next 2 finishers.  Andrew Clark was the series winner with the fastest aggregate time over the four races.

    I would like to thank Alistair and Carol Stewart of Nairn Road Runners for the lift back to the start area, during our search for the scattered runners, at least they were still smiling at the end, after their own detour out on the hill.  

    Results to follow soon.

Tain 10K

    Graeme Jervis and our recent new recruit Gerald Box were in action at the Tain 10K last week.  There was a healthy entry of 62 runners.  Many thanks to Alison Johnston for providing a copy of the official results.

Mitchell Gets GB Call

    It has just been announced that Mark Mitchell will represent Great Britain at the World Youth Games in Morocco in the 800 Metres.  This is a fantastic achievement and as I have said on many occasions previous, we at Forres Harriers are really proud of his achievements.

    All the best Mark and we will be thinking of you on Race Day.

26-Jun-2005

Results

    I have now posted the results from Today's Grantown 10K race and last Wednesday's Quarry Wood Race, which once again had a record entry in the Senior and Junior Races.

19-Jun-2005

Under 20 Scottish Athletics Championships

Forres Harriers First International Runner

    The first Forres Harrier to pull on a Scotland Vest at International level was our Club President Iain MacKenzie's brother Forbes.  I was scouring the Web the other day and came across the full results from this historic race.  Follow the link to see the full results from that race.

Forres Harriers Tombola Evening

    The Forres Harriers Tombola evening held in the Town Hall last night was a resounding success and has boosted the club funds.  I would just like to thank everyone who assisted on the day to make the event possible, it was a fantastic team effort.

    Special mention to Hamish Cameron and Mike Milmoe, who were the principle organisers and carried out a lot of the background work, thus ensuring the event ran as smoothly as it did.

12-Jun-2005

Scottish Schools Athletics Championships

    Grant Cameron and Matthew Hester were both in medal winning form at the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships.  Grant won the Bronze in the Under 15 Boys 800 Metres, while Matthew also picked up Bronze in the Under 15 Boys 200 Metres and Silver in the 100.  Mark Mitchell struck gold in his last outing at the Scottish Schools in the Under 17 Boys 800 Metres. 

    The following is a report on the Weekend's action very kindly compiled by Howard Mitchell:

    Five young athletes from Forres Academy travelled to Grangemouth last week to compete in the 2005 Scottish Schools Track and Field Championships and returned with an impressive array of medals, personal bests and badge standards awards.

    On Friday Eilidh Tait put in an impressive performance to win gold in the B age Group Hammer competition in a personal best distance of 41.13 metres.  Her first throw of over 39 metres was a personal best and she was delighted to better this further to take the first medal for Forres Academy of the championships.    

    This was followed by two bronze medal performance by the up and coming Group C track specialists Grant Cameron in middle distance 800 metres event and Matthew Hester in the 200 metres.  Grant achieved a Personal Best time of 2.09.44minutes, knocking a second off his previous best time.  He ran a good tactical race, having won his heat earlier in the day.  

    Matthew also won through the heats for the 200metres and having waited all day for his final, he also achieved a personal best time of 24.13 seconds (new Forres Harriers Club Record) in the second last race of the first day of the championships. 

    Eleanor Duncan was competing for the first time in a national track competition and gave an impressive performance in the D Girls 800metres heats.  Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the final by only three seconds but the personal best time of 2.32.31 minutes (which is also a new Forres Harriers Club Record) compensated for this.

 On the Saturday, first to compete in glorious sunshine was Eilidh Tait in the B Girls Discus where she came fifth.  Next was Mark Mitchell in the 800m A Boys event which he won comfortably from Dougie Selman of Stewart’s Melville College, his friend and rival for many years, in a Championship best time of 1.52.33 minutes.  This also earned him the meritorious TSB cup for the best 800m performance of the Championships, the fourth time he has been awarded this trophy. 

    This was followed by a silver medal in the 100m sprint race, won by Matthew Hester in a time of 11.92 seconds.  He came second by one hundredth of a second from the third place runner and they could only be separated by the photo finish print out.  This was a very impressive race with so much talent that third and fourth finishers also dipped under the 12 seconds mark. 

    Eleanor Duncan and Grant Cameron were next to compete in the 1500metres events.  Eleanor achieved another personal best time by winning her heat and went on to better this in the final where she was placed fourth in a time of 5.08.02 minutes (yet another Harriers Club Record), seven seconds off her time from last week’s Halliburton performance and this gained her a Scottish Schools badge standard.  Grant won his heat for his 1500m race and came fifth in the final in a time of 4.29.57 minutes, yet another personal best, ending a great two days competition for all the Forres Academy athletes.

Edinburgh Marathon

    I have been informed the Jenny Stewart and Jackie Nicol successfully completed their first marathon in 3:38 and 3:41 respectively,  just rewards for all the hard training they have been doing lately.

    First Harrier home was Danny Bird second supervet and more importantly to him he finished in front of Club Captain Mike Howell. 

    Harriers Results:

8-Jun-2005

Roseisle Forest Run   

    The Roseisle Forest Run was held in warm and humid conditions that really made the runners sweat.  A great turn out once again for this popular event, the support from the members of the local athletics clubs are really appreciated by the event organisers.

    The winner of the race this year was Keith & District athlete Mike Stewart, closely followed home by Kyle Cowie of Moray Road Runners.  First Harrier home was Paul Rogan.

       Oh I must not forget to say it was great to see Ross Arbuckle out there competing again, the red vest certainly made him look the part, the only thing missing, was the words Forres Harriers on the front of it!!!   

5-Jun-2005

Halliburton League

   Many thanks to the clubs junior coach Howard Mitchell for the following report of the day's action at the Halliburton League Meeting in Inverness.

The second match of the Halliburton North District Athletics League saw several outstanding performances from Forres Harriers Juniors.  Under-15 Matthew Hester keeps going from strength to strength and achieved two League Best times and beat his own club records in both the 100metres (11.85 seconds) and 400metres events (54.55seconds).   

James Warham achieved a new Harriers record, coming third place in the Men’s 100 metres in a time of 12.05 seconds in a photo finish from Kevin Morice of Moray Road Runners.   

Eleanor Duncan was delighted to have knocked 15 seconds off her personal best time for the U15 Girls 1500 metres, recording a time of 5 minutes 14.13 seconds beating a club record which had stood for 15 years, Grant Cameron also knocked three seconds off his PB in the under-15 boys 1500 metres in a time of 4 minutes 37.29 seconds.   In the 400m B Race Grant also came first in a time of 59.65 seconds. Rachel Pirie came first in the under-17 women’s 1500 metres in a time of 5.48.29, yet another personal best performance and came 3^rd in the 100metres. 

Mark Mitchell came first in the Men’s 1500m race leading the field from the start and he also came second in the Men’s 400m, to Neil Gray of Orkney last year’s under-20 Scottish Champion. 

In the under-13 girls Hannah Duncan came 3^rd in the 1500metres, 4^th in the 100m and the long jump.  Jasmine Vallance in her debut performance for the Harriers came 5^th in the under-15 girls 100m and 8^th in the 200m after a nasty fall when she was in third place due to the wet conditions. 

Several of the athletes have made the grade to enter the Scottish schools Championships and will be competing in Grangemouth on Friday and Saturday this week.

Benbecula Half Marathon

    Graeme Jervis and new club member Ross Jamieson were competing in the Benbecula Half Marathon.  By all accounts a lot of the competitors were suffering in the glorious conditions.  Here is Graeme's report on the day.   

Edinburgh Marathon

    I realise that this could be a little short notice, but I have been informed that Donald has a place available for any budding marathon runner at this years Edinburgh Marathon.  Please e-mail me and let me know if you are interested and I will contact Donald on your behalf.

    Also Kyle Greig is looking for a lift down for the event, if you can assist Kyle please let me know.

Ben Aigan Hill Race

    Mike Milmoe, Stu Burn and Jackie Thwaites were the Harrier representatives at this year's Ben Aigan Hill Race. 

Lost Items

    At our recent 10K a number of items were left behind in the changing rooms.  We are currently in possession of a small rucksack and two caps. We would like to give them back to their owners,  If they are yours, please e-mail me to arrange a collection of said items.

29-May-2005

Stornoway Half Marathon

    Many thanks to Graeme Jervis for providing the following report from the Stornoway Half:

Nairnshire Challenge

    This is the intrepid Forres Harriers team before the event.  Please send me your captions and I will post them accordingly.

28-May-2005

North District Half Marathon Champion

    Graeme Jervis has claimed the North District Half Marathon Championship at this years Stornoway Half Marathon along with the Veterans Gold.  Danny Bird won the Bronze Medal in the overall category and also won the Gold Medal in the Super Veteran's Category.  I am sure Graeme will provide us with a report on the event.

25-May-2005

Culbin Forest Run

    Thanks to event organiser Mike Rodgers for the following report:

    The 2005 Moray Forest Runs Series got under way at Culbin in some style last night (Wed 25^th May).  Despite the attractions of the Champions League and a not-very-good weather forecast, and amazing 208 runners took part in the event, including 72 children in the ever-popular children's’ race. 

    This was the 7^th year that the Culbin Run has taken place since it first began in 1999.  It started off as a fundraiser to help build the new village hall in Dyke, and following the success of the first race, the Dyke Hall Committee decided to make this an annual event.  Three years ago, 3 other Moray village halls each decided to add their own events to create the 4-race series and it’s never looked back since.   

    In the 5.2 mile main race, Moray Road Runners were dominant.  Under 21 runner Kyle Cowie stormed home 29 seconds clear of veteran team-mate Martin Flynn in a time of 28:20, leaving Forres Harrier Paul Rogan, running at Culbin for the 7^th successive year, to claim his highest ever placing of 3^rd just 6 seconds further back in his fastest time yet of 28:55.  Moray Road Runners were nearly as dominant in the ladies race, with Jane Barker claiming her customary title in 17^th position overall and a time of 32:07.  2^nd place went to Keith & District’s Susan Johnstone (38^th overall) in 35:05 with another Moray under 21, Chantel Clarke finishing an excellent 3rd (46^th overall) in 36:45.  All 6 runners went away to enjoy a bit of culture, each winning 2 free tickets to National Trust properties which made an unusual change from normal race prizes. 

    There was a special prize of a bottle of champagne that went to the furthest-travelled runner.  Cornwall Athletic Club’s John Holden could be justified in feeling a little miffed to find himself pipped in that category by veteran runner Warszawski Weodzimierz, who had recently arrived from Poland!  

    In the 1-mile children’s race it was the girls who took the plaudits, with the fairer sex taking the first 3 places.  13-year old Forres Academy pupil Eleanor Duncan knocked 17 seconds off her time from last year to finish in 6:20, beating Dyke Primary’s Rosie Pindar (aged 11)  by 29 seconds.  Rosie was closely followed 6 seconds behind by talented Anderson’s Primary runner Kirstie Rogan (12).  The leading boy was Mosstowie’s Moray Goodfellow (11) who was 4^th in 6:45, surprisingly 3 seconds slower than his time last year.   But this event was about more than just the leading runners.  One of the best things about the whole evening was to see children as young as 3 getting their first ever experience of taking part in an athletics event, and to see the pleasure on some of their (and their parents) faces as they crossed the line made the event so rewarding for the organisers.  To recognise the effort made by some of these very young runners, there were special prizes of £10 vouchers to Bumbles Play Centre at Brodie.  They went to Owen Taylor the first 5 and under (who finished 43^rd) and to leading pre-School runner Emma Rogan who was 64^th and seems set to follow in dad Paul and sister Kirsty’s footsteps in the future.  The final award went to 3-year old Daniel Campbell for managing to run all the way round in 19 minutes to bring up the rear.  Most of the children stayed around to cheer on their mums and dads later in the evening, making the whole event a real family occasion. 

    Organiser Mike Rodgers said after the event “This was yet another wonderful event for us and we would like to thank all the local running clubs and the many ‘unattached’ runners for helping to make the event the success it has been.  The Culbin Run is such a great fundraiser and brings together many people in the community who otherwise would never have any involvement in a running event.  It’s good fun putting it on and we hope that everyone will come back again next year, as well as supporting the other events in this year’s series.” The proceeds of over £350 will go towards maintenance costs of the new hall.

Inverness Highland Games

    It looks as though there will be a 10K race attached to this years Inverness Highland Games details as follows:

    Nova International, the company that organises some of the biggest athletics events staged in Britain such as The Great North Run, will be staging an International Triathlon themed team event, the Visit Scotland Adventure Tri Loch Ness.  Tri-athletes will be competing in a swimming event in Loch Ness, a mountain bike event above Drumnadrochit and a 10K Trail Run in Inverness which will be the subject of six half hour TV programmes.  

    The 10K Trail Run will start at Queens Park and follow a course around Highland Rugby Club and Torvean Golf Club and Quarry before finishing alongside the Canal. The run is open to all local athletes and fun runners and anyone interested in taking part is asked to email info@greatrun.org or telephone 0191 2727033. 

    Entries will cost £12 for a Scottish Athletics Federation affiliated runner and £14 for unaffiliated runners. Each runner will be identified by using the latest in computer chip technology which enables the organisers to sort the runners by postcode and offer a £50 prize to the first local male and female athlete to complete the course. Every runner taking part will receive a souvenir t-shirt and medal.

14-May-2005

North District Athletic Championships

    Many thanks to junior team coach Howard Mitchell for the following report on the juniors performances at the North District Championships at the weekend.

    Forres Harriers juniors returned home from the Scottish Athletics North District 2005 Championships with an impressive haul of eleven gold medals and one bronze medal.  Five athletes had entered the Championships, which took place at Queens Park Stadium in Inverness on Saturday 14^th May in glorious sunny weather with virtually no wind.  There was an impressive turnout of competitors from as far a field as Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, Stornoway and North Uist.     

    Two of the Harriers won three gold medals apiece. Matthew Hester won all his heats followed by the finals of the 100m, 200m and 400m in the under-15 age group.  He cruised his way into the 100m final with a personal best time and new club record of 12.08 seconds and he went on to win the 200m final with another PB and club record of 24.45 seconds.  While waiting to compete in this race, he fitted in the 400m final and won comfortably in a time of 58.06 seconds.  

    The second Harrier to win three gold medals was under-20 Mark Mitchell who won the 400m, 800m and 1500m titles.  He defeated the reigning champion, Neil Gray from Orkney, in the 400m in a personal best time of 49.54 seconds.  He also achieved a championship best time in the 800m race. 

    Grant Cameron won two gold medals in the under-15 boys’ race with Forres Harriers athletes dominating this age group in the track events, winning all the flat races of the competition.  He achieved two personal best times, taking the lead early on and running from the front with an impressive lead in both the 800m and 1500m, knocking eight seconds off his 800m time. 

    In the under-17 men’s 100m hurdles and the high jump, Robert Stitson won gold.  He won his hurdles, making this difficult event, look easy in a time of 16.42 seconds and jumped a height of 1.68meters in the high jump. In both events he achieved personal bests and new club records.  He also took part in a very competitive triple jump competition and came fifth, achieving a new personal best and club record. 

    John Gillespie was the Harriers’ youngest competitor and won his first North District Championship medals in the under-13 boys’ 200m and 800m races.  He came third in the 800m and a very impressive first in the 200m race to take gold.

   Great effort guys and a lot of these performances were new club records, check the club record page to see which ones were.

Forres 10K

    The Forres 10K was once again a resounding success with yet another record entry.  These races would not be possible without the assistance of many volunteers, especially the Ladies and Gent (yes you Alex) for their sterling work in the kitchen preparing the post race refreshments many thanks Heather and Sam's wife (Sorry I can't remember your name).

    Also to Edna Cameron for compiling the results and to all the marshals out on the course and the Kids who dished out the medals at the end.

8-May-2005

Race For Life - Inverness

    Many thanks to the Harriers who helped out with marshalling duties at this event.  I have received an e-mail from the event organiser thanking us for our assistance. 

30-Apr-2005

Knockdhu International Hill Race

    I am led to believe that Grant Cameron finished 3rd in his race at the Knockdhu International Hill Race.  This was a fine performance in his first race on the Hills, I am sure that more will follow in the future.

    Moray Road Runner Kyle Cowie was also 3rd in his race, helping the Scottish team claim the Gold Medal.  A great team effort from all the young Scots.

Moray Primary Schools Cross Country Championships

    Many of our young athletes were representing their Primary Schools at the Moray Cross Country Championships today at Elgin Academy.  Kirsty Rogan had a fantastic race, finishing first in the Primary 6/7 Girls race, with Hannah Duncan finishing strongly in 5th in the same race.

    There were in excess of 500 youngsters competing today, all the schools and organisers deserve great praise for all their efforts.

Knockdhu International Hill Race

    Kyle Greig and Grant Cameron will both be competing in Ireland this weekend at the Knockdhu Hill Race.  This will be Kyle's first Senior Scottish Vest and Grant is making his hill running debut.  All of us at the club wish them the very best.

24-Apr-2005

Lochaber Marathon 

Dead Sea Half Marathon

    The famous red vest has been on its travels once again, the Forres Harriers vest was up there at the front of the Dead Sea Half Marathon the other week, where our ex-pat stalwart Al Black was competing.  Al finished in the top 10 with a time of 75:30 in rally oppressive conditions. 

    Could this just be the warm up, until the next great Black/Rogan challenge?  The last duel between these two was a none event, as Al had to drop out of the Kinloss-Lossie at the last minute due to the cold. 

17-Apr-2005

London Marathon

      4 Harriers successfully completed this year's London Marathon.  First home was Super Vet Danny Bird in a time of 2:51:47, followed by Andrew Holder 3:13:44, June Duncan in a great time of 3:39:03 and finally Dennis Greigson 4:18:28.

   Halliburton League

    The first Halliburton North District League competition of the Outdoor Season took place on today and, despite a very cold and windy afternoon, a large number of athletes from throughout the North turned out.   

    Some very impressive performances were recorded for the Forres Harrier Juniors.  In his first outing in the Men’s race after moving up to the U20s for the coming season, running in the Senior Men’s events, Mark Mitchell won both the 400m and 1500m races achieving a PB of 4 mins 03.49 secs in the 1500m and breaking the Harriers Junior Men’s record.   

    In the U15 boys events Matthew Hester stepped up the distance, competing in the 400m and taking first place in a new Harriers U15 Record of 55.54secs, just 0.54 seconds off the League Record set in 1996.   He put in another very impressive run in the 100m against a fierce head wind, his time being 12.91 seconds. 

    Eleanor Duncan won the 1500m U15 Girls race after running a very well thought out tactical race, staying well back for the first two laps and confidently picking off those in front, taking the lead at 300m to go and finishing very strongly. 

    Grant Cameron was also in top form, winning the U15 Boys 1500m, leading from start to finish, ensuring that no-one could catch him.  He also used the same tactics to achieve an impressive win in the 400m B race. 

    Rachel Pirie was running in the U17 Women’s 1500m for the first time and came second.  This event was run with the women’s race and she did really well to maintain her pace and position throughout. 

    Relative newcomers to competition, Hannah Duncan, John Gillespie and Josh Owens all performed well and will be able to use the experience gained for future events.

 Full results: 

U11 Girls

 U13 Boys   

U15 Girls

 U15 Boys                      

 Relay Team – 4x100m – 2^nd 

U17 Women 

Senior Men 

Clachnaben Hill Race

    Kyle and Mike Milmoe were competing in the Clachnaben Hill Race, after which, it is rumoured that Kyle uttered "it is the hardest race I have ever done."

    9th   Kyle Greig 1:35:26

    61st Mike Milmoe 2:16:10

10-Apr-2005

Neways Speyside Way 50Km

    With a number of late call off's due to various injuries, only Mark Priestley was flying the flag for the Harriers at this years Speyside Way 50K.

    At one stage in the race Mark was passed by two rider less horses, that still had their saddles on, there is absolutely no truth in the rumour that these horses were being ridden by Mike Howell and Mike Milmoe and that they were arguing over who was going to win the best injury award for the year, when they both fell off in dramatic fashion.

    Any way, it proved to be a challenging race and Mark was really struggling towards the end of the race then within sight of the finish line he started to walk, whilst another competitor was gaining.  A few choice words of encouragement from his supporters soon had him on his way again, although it has to be said every step was looking as though it was agony. 

     I think we can now say that Mark is once again the Daddy and Mike Howell will now have to relinquish his hold on that prized T-Shirt.  We can maybe have a rematch for the title at the Dava Way race fellas, how about it?

Knockfarrel Hill Race

    Kyle Greig was the Harriers sole representative at this years Knockfarrel Hill Race.  The course had to be slightly altered, due to a number of fallen trees blocking the route that was used in the past couple of years.

    The entry was slightly down on last year, however there was some real quality at the front end of the race.  Local athlete Andrew Wright, who runs for Ron Hill Cambuslang was the immediate front runner, closely followed by Brian Marshall of Haddington East Lothian Pacemakers, just off the leading pace were Kyle and Andrew Clark of Moray Road Runners.

    As the race progressed to the first serious climb, it was obvious that Andrew and Brian were not going to be caught by anyone else, these two battled all the way to the finish, with Andrew finishing in 1st place 21 seconds ahead of Brian, Kyle was a further minute and 43 seconds behind in third.

New Web Site

    The RAF Athletics Association have a new updated web site available, full of results and photographs.  I have placed a link to the site on the links page.

2-Apr-2005

Harriers 1-2 at Craig Dunain

    Kyle Greig and Paul Rogan were in fine form at this years Craig Dunain Hill Race, finishing 1st and 2nd respectively.  Due to the revised course, Kyle's time will now be regarded as the new course record.

    Bernie Foran made his hill running debut today and I hope that the legs are not too painful tomorrow.

Howell Has Neigh On Little Chance Of Making Lochaber

    Club Captain Mike Howell made a brief appearance at this years Craig Dunain, on his way back from the hospital, where they confirmed that he had 2 broken ribs, after falling off his horse, allegedly.  So this excuse saved him from hoofing and puffing his way up Craig Dunain and is now a doubtful starter for this years Lochaber Marathon, where he was the rank outsider. 

    He received loads of sympathy from his team mates at the race today, Neigh chance!!!

27-Mar-2005

Moray Road Runners 10K

    The Harriers were out in force once again in the 2nd race of this years Northern Scot 10K Series, with 24 of our members on the start line, in a very competitive field.

    Although not an easy course, the vast majority of our squad recorded PB's today, with Mark Howls getting ever closer to that elusive 36 minutes.  Andy Bolton is also going from strength to strength with the settled period of training he is currently maintaining, paying dividends.

     Jenny Stewart was also showing that her marathon training is going well, with another 10K PB recorded and was the first of our ladies home in 8th place.

    Kyle Greig had another strong race, but had to settle for second place behind the dominant Keith & District veteran athlete Frank Barton.  Paul Rogan had his best performance to date on the road, when just finishing behind George Sim in 4th place, slashing 30 seconds off his PB in the process, (obviously the training schedules Al Black has given him are beginning to take effect) with Davie Armour finishing in 5th place, this secured the team award for the Harriers.

    This race was also the North District 10K Road Race Championships, Kyle won the Silver Medal in the Senior Men's race, with Davie Armour winning the Bronze in the Veteran Men's.

    A special mention has to go to Graeme Jervis, who travelled down from Inverness to Aviemore to pick up Davie Armour for today's event.

13-Mar-2005

Scottish Secondary Schools Cross Country

    Eleanor Duncan, Grant Cameron and Mark Mitchell, were all competing for Forres Academy at the Scottish Schools Cross Country Championships at Irvine on Saturday.  They all ran well with Eleanor finishing in 9th in the Under 14 Girls event, Grant 5th in the Under 15 Boys and Mark 7th in the Under 17's.

    Grant and Mark have now been selected to represent for Scottish Schools at the British Championships which are being hosted by Wales this year.  It's great to see Grant winning his first National vest and all of us at the Harriers hope that this will be just the first of many in the future. 

Inverness Half Marathon

    In contrast, the old and the bold were out in force at this years Inverness Half Marathon.  There were 9 members of the club competing in the race, which had 1087 finishers and must be regarded as the biggest athletics event in the North. 

    I think that this year was the 22nd edition of the race and that Inverness Harrier Gerald Box was once again competing having raced in the previous 21.  A great achievement by a guy who has supported  a great many of our events over the years.

    First home for the Harriers was Aviemore based Davie Armour, finishing in 7th place and claimed the 2nd veterans prize.  Danny Bird was once again the leading Super Veteran, finishing in 21st place.  It was great to see another fantastic performance by Denis Greigson, finishing in 388th, a great effort from a guy who is 60 years of age, also Alison Rodgers was back competing in the red vest, I hope this is just the first of many races this year Alison.

Kinloss-Lossiemouth PB's

   I was hearing a little whisper the other day about lack of PB's at the recent Kinloss-Lossiemouth Half Marathon.  At first I thought it must have been the Weather conditions, however recent photographic evidence seems to prove otherwise.

  6-Mar-2005

Nairn 10K

    There was a near record field in this years Nairn 10K and the Harriers were out in force with 24 club members on the start line, which was the largest entry by any of the clubs competing.

    Kyle Greig opted to run this race rather than the Inter Counties Cross Country and was in commanding form, leading from start to finish.  Paul Rogan and Stuart Davies finished in 5th and 8th places to secure the team title.

    Maureen McCrossan and Ali Beck were making there competitive debuts for Forres Harriers and I believe they enjoyed the experience.

Scottish Veterans Cross Country

    Davie Armour was representing his first claim club Central AC at the Scottish Veterans Cross Country Championships in Glasgow.  Davie finished in 17th place.

Highland Secondary Schools Cross Country

    Well done to Grant Cameron and Eleanor Duncan on winning their respective races at the Highland Secondary Schools Cross Country at Gordonstoun. 

    Nairn 10K

    With well over 100 pre-entries, this year's Nairn 10K looks as though it could be heading for a record entry.  There will be a number of Harriers competing and my mole tells me that Andy Beattie has dusted down the old red vest, but is a bit concerned that it has shrunk in the wash!!!

Inter City Cup

    Mark Mitchell will be representing Edinburgh at the Inter City Cup, which is being held in Manchester this weekend.

27-Feb-2005

Inter-Services Cross Country Championships

    Ben Livesey was representing the RAF at the Inter-Services Cross Country Championships at Plymouth last week.  The RAF had high hopes of winning the Championships for the first time in a number of years, however on the day they lost out to the Army by just 2 points.

    The RAF had 4 of their 6 counters in the top 7 places with Ben placing 7th and Banff's Willie Duncan also representing the RAF, 1 place ahead of Ben in 6th.

Aberdeen AAC Cross Country Championships

    Kyle Greig ran as a guest at the Aberdeen AAC Cross Country Championships and continued his fine form of late with a comfortable victory, 1 minute 30 seconds ahead of the second placed athlete.