One Thousand and Eight Hundred

Glasgow 800 winners Melissa and Jeff share an emotional post race moment

Sunday witnessed the final race in the Scottish Veterans Run and Become series of races, the Glasgow 800 10k Road Race. The race was introduced in 1975 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the granting of Glasgow's burgh charter in 1175 and is held in Pollok Park with a 1.30pm start. I ran it for the first time this year but didn’t earn any of the double points up for grabs in the final race of the series, as I chose to run it some six hours after the event. By 7:30pm the sun was much lower than it had been when 33 hardy veterans made their way around in the scorching midday sunshine and much of the two lap course was in the shade. The cars attracted by the earlier 7 a-side rugby tournament and the American football game had dispersed, leaving a much quieter and safer route. I ran the course as part of a longer training run, leaving from my house and meandering through the Crossmyloof streets, including the intriguingly named Killiegrew Road, to accumulate my desired ten miles. The training session took my running miles total to over 1000 for the year. This is a bit behind my original target and reflects the fact that I was injured and couldn’t run for around three months, however my cycling benefited and I recently passed the 1000 mile marker for cycling too.

Glasgow 800 Race Report
I had made it along to Pollok Park earlier to take a few photos of my running mates as they endured their run in the sun. To be fair, some athletes do prefer running in the heat but the majority yesterday seemed not to be in this group. As is often the case, the stars of the day were Pitreavie’s Jeff Farquhar and Inverness’s Melissa Whyte. Despite taken a wrong turn Jeff recovered to win the race in an excellent time of 34:52, Melissa, who pointed him in the right direction, finished in second place and first woman, with a time of 35:33. Clydesdale’s Gerry Montgomery continued his recent good form to place third in 36:05.

Unfortunately the heat took its toll on a Portobello runner who slipped and banged his head. Early intervention from Strathclyde’s finest ensured that an ambulance was called to provide him the necessary care and attention.

Well done to all concerned with the event, I’ll maybe actually race it next year. If you are 35+ then why not join me? Membership and further details on the Scottish Veteran Harriers is available via their web site here.

Photos here

Results:
1. Jeff Farquhar M50 34.52
2. Melissa Whyte W45 35.33
3. Gerry Montgomery M50 36.05
4. Anthony Devlin M40 36.22
5. Ian Stewart M50 36.55
6. Robert Rogerson M45 37.12
7. Gerry Craig M40 37.40
8. Alastair MacLachlan M50 37.52
9. Colin Feechan M50 38.35
10. Andy Law M50 39.06
11. Sue Ridley W40 39.23
12. Robert Marshall M60 39.23
13. Stuart Waugh M60 40.42
14. Dave Fairweather M65 41.09
15. Sandy Eaglesham M55 41.24
16. Pamela McCrossan W45 41.31
17. Henry Curran M55 42.07
18. Brian Campbell M65 43.02
19. Marie McChord W50 43.34
20. Bob Young M65 43.55
21. Susan Addison W45 44.12
22. Eddie Dickson M60 44.17
23. John Softley M60 44.21
24. Peter Rudzinski M55 46.04
25. Terry Addison M45 46.04
26. Frances Maxwell W45 46.19
27. Ada Stewart W45 48.12
28. Marina McCallum W35 48.52
29. Alastair Shaw M70 55.10
30. Russell Couper M45 57.48
31. Willie Hamill M75 59.16
32. Bill Drysdale M70 63.27


Age Grouped Results:
M40
1. Anthony Devlin 40 36.22
2. Gerry Craig 41 37.40
M45
1. Robert Rogerson 49 37.12
2. Terry Addison 47 46.04
3. Russell Couper 45 57.48
M50
1. Jeff Farquhar 51 34.52
2. Gerry Montgomery 52 36.05
3. Ian Stewart 53 36.55
4. Alastair MacLachlan 51 37.52
5. Colin Feechan 51 38.35
6. Andy Law 54 39.06
M55
1. Sandy Eaglesham 57 41.24
2. Henry Curran 58 42.07
3. Peter Rudzinski 59 46.04
M60
1. Robert Marshall 62 39.23
2. Stuart Waugh 61 40.42
3. Eddie Dickson 60 44.17
4. John Softley 61 44.21
M65
1. Dave Fairweather 66 41.09
2. Brian Campbell 66 43.02
3. Bob Young 66 43.55
M70
1. Alastair Shaw 73 55.10
2. Bill Drysdale 74 63.27
M75
1. Willie Hamill 77 59.16


Women's
W35
1. Marina McCallum 39 48.52
W40
1. Sue Ridley 44 39.23
W45
1. Melissa Whyte 46 35.33
2. Pamela McCrossan 49 41.31
3. Susan Addison 47 44.12
4. Frances Maxwell 46 46.19
5. Ada Stewart 47 48.12
W50
1. Marie McChord 51 43.34