Harriers rise admirably to Virtual Challenge

Well over 1100 athletes of various ages undertook their solo runs and submitted distances from all over Scotland and beyond.

The Virtual Challenges aim to be both fun and semi-competitive, with some rules introduced.

In addition to following Government guidelines, they seek to replicate ‘championship conditions’ as closely as possible, despite every runner using a different course.

All runs were to start and finish at around thesame point – either lapped or out and back. Gala Harriers athletes participated in this challenge with great enthusiasm and effort.

Most importantly, they also used the opportunity to raise money for a good cause, with athletes and supporters donating nearly £400 to the NHS Borders COVID-19 Response charity, helping patients and staff in the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In total, nearly 40 Gala Harriers participated in the 15-minute challenge, from the Under-13 age group all the way through to Masters. Some terrific distances were covered.

The solo runs also contributed to overall club and various team rankings. In the overall club placings, Gala Harriers were a fantastic eighth out of 68 clubs, with a combined distance of 133.3 km covered. The mixed Under-13 teams finished in overall third and 10th place (out of 17), and the mixed Under-15 team was fourth overall (out of nine). The Senior ‘A’ team placed ninth of 174 teams in the open competition and the Masters ‘A’ team finished sixth out of 67 teams. The km distances covered by the Gala athletes in 15 minutes were:

U13 Girls – Erin Gray 3.50, Jessica Hendry 3.18, Ellie Darlow 3.12, Poppy Lunn 2.94, U13 Boys – Zico Field 3.93, Ross Christie 3.80, Matty Fleming 3.72, Morgan Fairclough 3.42.

U15 Girls – Isla Paterson 3.67, Anna Fairclough 3.52.

U15 Boys – Ewan Christie 4.27, Archie Hendry 3.80, Cameron Rankine 3.76.

Senior Women – Kirstin Maxwell 4.01, Rachel McAleese 3.19, Kirsty Meldrum 2.73.

Senior Men – Darrell Hastie 4.75, Marcus D’Agrosa 4.58.

Masters Women – Julia Johnstone 3.86, Lindsay Dun 3.49, Pamela Baillie 3.46, Lisa Dalgliesh 3.40, Carole Fortune 3.38, Angela Jewitt 3.30, Eileen Maxwell 3.26, Jocelyn Richard 3.21, Eileen Nicol 2.98, Karen Haldane 2.89, Charlotte Hendry 2.60.

Masters Men – Graeme Murdoch 4.38, Gary Trewartha 4.25, Colin Brown 4.03, Tim Darlow 3.98, Neil Christie 3.90, David Nightingale 3.63, Felix Otton 3.51, Anthony Lunn 3.29, WilliamMcCulloch 3.05.

In addition to the national 15-minute distance challenge, Gala Harriers organised an internal club challenge for the Under-11 age group, to give the younger members of the club a chance to show their speed against the clock.

This time, they tried to cover as much distance as possible in 10 minutes and results were:

Archie Dalgleish (2.57), Kirsty Rankine (2.33), Charlie Dalgleish (2.27), Elise Field (2.25), Archie Grey (2.07), Seb Darlow (2.05), Thea Fraser (1.95), Annabelle Hendry (1.88), Molly Trewartha (1.77), Cameron Turnmore (1.77), Olivia Lunn (1.74), Finn Bayne (1.72), Leah Murdoch (1.60), Gregor Murdoch (1.60), Hamish Trewartha (0.93).

Congratulations went to all Harriers for taking part and also raising some funds for an important cause.

Coming up next for the virtual racers will be a one-mile Time Trial, organised by Scottish Athletics over this weekend, May 8-11.