4th December 2015
The weekend saw the 106th Perth Parkrun take place. It was a fancy dress affair with the theme being beach wear. 20 Green Vests took part. Conditions were not ideal with heavy rain and strong winds accompanied with It being muddy underfoot on the banking and many leaves covering the tarmac areas.
Mike Mcconnell was second home overall and first road runner in 18.20. next home was Jimmy Fotheringham in 19.04. Ronnie Glen managed 21.15 with Lorraine Macpherson 21.53 closely followed by Stuart Fraser in 21.56,Richard Ward 22.27, Joan Wilson 22.38,Fiona Manson 23.57,Mike Dales 23.57,Kenny Stewart 24.26,Chistian Muir 25.59 who outpaced his ageing grandad Neil Muir who managed 26.12,David Stokoe ran well to post 26.36 despite wearing a snorkel, Gillian Smith 26.40,Margaret mcintosh 26.46 Caroline Hogarth 28.18,Catriona Liddell 28.30 Karen Walters 30.39,Jean McCullough 32.31 and Fiona Morrison brought the runners home in 34.20.
11th December 2015
Ten green vests took part in the second race of the Frostbite trail series at Falkland estate, Fife. Stuart Fraser was fired up, finishing twelfth overall and first Perth Road Runner in 28.10, strong running on the wet and muddy 3.7 mile course. Neil Muir topped his age category with 28:32. Stewart Reid was next with 30:03, closely followed by Richard Ward 31.13 and Richard Hughes 31.37. Gillian Smith was first female road runner in 39:48, followed by Caroline Hogarth 40:14, Stewart Dallas 40:22, Margaret McIntosh 41:13 and Julie Reid 41:20.
Perth Parkrun on Saturday 5th was cancelled for the first time since it began due to the heavy flooding at the North Inch Park caused by Storm Desmond. Tuesday is the usual club run from Bells Sports Centre at 6:25pm. New members are always welcome. Thursday 17th will be a track session at George Duncan Athletics track with coach Colin Keogh putting the runners through their paces.
PRR Frostbiters
18th December 2015
It was a busy week for the Perth road runners at various events in Scotland and beyond.
The cross country team finished 9th place in the East District Cross Country Championships at Livingston in a strong field. Myles Bax was first club member home in 35:08 (46th place). He was followed by Greg Simpson 35:42, Michael McConnell 36:01, David Knight 36:45, Mark Dunn 39:22 and Kevin Riddell 40:48.
Kevin Rogers was declared fastest Santa in Perth, first to cross the line at the North Inch park. Over 10 road runners took part amongst hundreds of other Santa’s.
The first race in the Strathearn trail series took place early on Sunday in freezing conditions. Ronnie Glenn finished 6th, followed by Richard Ward in 10th, Scott Connor 21st,Tessa Ward 24th and Julie Ramsay in 28th. Three more races will follow throughout the winter.
Paul Grace (73 mins) and Daile Sipple (89:01) represented the club at the Lossiemouth 10 mile Turkey trot.
Simon Grieshaber set a new personal best in the Lanzarote marathon, finishing in 3:27:16. A great effort in the 23 degree heat. Peter Ritchie completed 26.2 miles in 04:59:49. In the 10k event, Bob Brown finished first in the over 70s category with 48:51.
11 green vests also took part in the weekly Parkrun event, which followed an alternative route due to the floodgates still be closed. The club welcomes new runners every Tuesday 6:25 at Bells Sports Centre. There will be no Thursday sessions on the 24th or 31st during the holidays.
25th December 2015
Yahoo race
December 15th was the annual Road Runners Yahoo event, a challenging 9.5 mile race round the streets of Perth. The staggered start times meant that all club runners had the chance of winning. Caroline Hogarth was first to cross the line ahead of 38 other runners. Myles Bax ran the quickest overall time, finishing in 57:27, just seconds faster than Greg Simpson (57:35) and Michael McConnell (57:46).
On Sunday 20th there was the annual pre-Christmas social run at the Sma’ Glen near Crieff (see picture) giving the runners a chance to battle the elements, four seasons in one day, and the festive bulge.
The club was well represented at Perth Parkrun on Saturday, with 3 club members in the top 5 places. Michael McConnell secured his 8th parkrun victory in a time of 17:49. Kevin Riddell was third in 19:10, with Jimmy Fotheringham fourth in 19:21. Special mention to Mike Dales (24:45) who completed a highly impressive achievement of either walking, running, cycling, kayaking or skiing at least 5 kilometres per day for 1000 consecutive days!
Tuesday night club runs will continue during the holiday period from Bells sports centre at 6:30. There will be no Thursday night session on Hogmanay. If you fancy starting the New Year with a Parkrun double, Camperdown will be starting at 9:30am on January 1st, followed by Perth at 11am. If not, the New Year is still a perfect time to join the club and target some Spring races.
