Race reports
Inter District XC Championships 9/01/10
Congratulations to club member Louise Mercer who was selected to represent the East District at Saturdays Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships held in Edinburgh. Louise was running in the Girls U15 event and was second overall just 2 seconds behind the winner, a fantastic result which helped the East District team to victory. Louise was one of the younger runners in this category and still qualifies to run in the U15s next year.
Report by A Inglis 9 January 2010
East District League Race 3 -
Teviotdale Harriers took part in the 3rd and last league race of the season at Broxburn.
In the first race for u/11 girls Ishbel Inglis finished in 14th place with Emma Grieve
coming home in 17th place.
In the race for u/15 girls, Teviotdales Louise Mercer came
home in 1st place in the time of 17min 4sec. In the race for senior ladies, Donna
Inglis finished in 69th spot with team mate Sylvia Grieve coming home in 70th spot.
In
the last race of the day for sen men, Teviotdale had six runners, with club captain
Raymond Jaffray coming home in 30th place with Alan Inglis in spot. Alistair Biggar
was next in 131st, Bill Knox was next Harrier home in 178th position, with Alan Coltman
in 181st and Norman Taylor finishing in 193rd spot.
Report by Rob Halliday 18 January 2010
Borders XC Berwick 31/01/10
Following the previous days Langheugh races six Harriers travelled down to Spittal
beach for the 4th leg of the Borders XC series. The sun was shining but a cool northerly
breeze meant that the runners would have to contend with a headwind once they turned
for home on this out and back course. For the first time this season Teviotdale were
able to field a team of three in the junior race which started in the dunes and went
the full length of the beach before tackling a tricky rocky stretch and then retracing
their steps back. Louise Mercer continued her impressive form in being first girl
home for the third successive race and finishing 13th overall in 16:39. Competing
for the first time in the series David Mercer ran most of the way alongside Calum
Murray before pulling clear to finish 49th (21:55) with Calum 51st (22:01), 67 finished.
After the run along the beach the senior course climbed up to the cliff tops where
the frozen path contrasted sharply to the run along the sand, while the return also
saw the added hazard of a fast incoming tide which caught out several runners who
suddenly found themselves splashing knee-
Report by K Murray 3 February 2010
Langheugh Trophy Races -
Last Saturday Teviotdale Harrriers held their recently postponed Langheugh Races.
In the first race for u13 boys and girls it was Iben McMillan who crossed the line
first to claim the silverware, covering the lap of the park in 11min 42sec. In second
place it was Mhairi Inglis and in third spot it was Ishbel Inglis. In the boys race
David Mercer romped home in first place with Keiron Pringle in second and Morgan
Tait in third.
In the sen ladies/u17 girls race it was Louise Mercer who claimed the
spoils, winning in the time of 23min 6sec. In second it was Pam Paxton and in third
spot it was Sylvia Grieve. The u17 boys race was won by Keith Learmonth in the time
of 23min 17sec.
The sen men who had to take on 5 miles of rough and rugged Border
countryside was led home by Ian Williams in the time of 46min 54sec. Second in the
time of 47min 14sec was club captain Raymond Jaffray and in third spot it was Allan
Inglis in 48min 12sec. Special mention must go to Alan Coltman who completed his
nineteenth Langheugh in Succession.
Report by Rob Halliday 3 February 2010
Borders XC Gala 07/02/10
The penultimate leg of the Borders XC series was held last Sunday in fine conditions and ten Harriers made the trip across to the challenging Gala course which differed slightly from previous year’s with the junior race being slightly shorter while the seniors had about a mile extra to run most of which seemed to be uphill. Among the six Harriers lining up in the junior race were Catherine Mercer, Harry and Charlie Marshall who were all making their debut in the event. The route started off on a woodland path before crossing over a stile and a loop round a field, crossing a burn before returning to the wood and a scramble up a steep banking, before dropping down to splash through the burn and a run back into the finish. Problems at the finish mean results are very provisional but it was Louise Mercer who led the team home coming 9th overall in 11:35 and once again was 1st girl to clinch the series victory. Catherine came 23rd (13:22) with Harry probably 30th, Calum Murray 51st (15:52), David Mercer 53rd and Charlie 64th (21:32), around about 66 completed. The senior course started with a lap and a half of the woods before crossing onto the hill with several climbs round the fields before rejoining the junior course for the woodland finish. Reaction at the finish was that it had definitely proved a tough challenge and having moved on from the beach at Spittal the previous Sunday just proved the great variety to be found in these races. Raymond Jaffray and Stewart Fraser both completed their first races of the series and both came 1st in their respective age groups. Raymond warmed up for the championship race nicely with an excellent 2nd place (31:33) while Stewart was 12th (33:31), regulars Keith Murray and Keith Elliot finished 22nd (34:33) and 35th (36:45) respectively, 144 finished.
Report by K Murray 11 February 2010
Club Championships -
Last Saturday was Club Championship day for members of Teviotdale Harriers. In the
first race for U11 boys it was Morgan Tait who became Colts Champion, with Calum
Murray winning the sealed handicap and Kieron Pringle coming second with David Mercer
and Callum Murray third equal.
In the U11 girls race Ishbel Inglis became champion
winning the Taylor Trophy.
In the U13 boys race Harry Marshall romped home to become
Champion winning in the time of 5 min 48 sec.
In the U13 girls race Kirsten scott
became champion, with Mhairi Inglis winning the sealed handicap, in second spot it
was Sarah Brown with Megan Blacklock in third place.
The Ladies race was next on the
agenda with the inform Louise Mercer becoming Ladies Champion. In the sealed handicap
it was Donna Inglis who took the spoils with Gillian Young second and Pam Paxton
third. The U17boys race was run with the ladies and first home was Dylan Mitchell
to become champion. In the sealed handicap it was Keith Learmonth who took the spoils
with Kyle Potts second and in third place it was Charlie Marshall.
The Senior mens
race was next with defending champion Dave Cavers in the field, but as the race unfolded
it was club captain Raymond Jaffray who was out in front. At the finish it was Jaffray
who took the title for the first time with Cavers in second.
The sealed handicap was
won by Alistair Biggar with Alan Inglis second and Keith Murray third.
Report by Rob Halliday 17 February 2010
National XC Championships -
At the recent Scottish Cross Country Championships held at Callender Park Falkirk young Teviotdale Harrier Louise Mercer had a great run to finish 5th in the U15 girls race. This has earned her a place in the East District Cross Country team which will be competing in the inter counties cross country champs at Birmingham on Sat 13th March. This means that Louise will be running against the best athletes in her age group in the country. This is a great honour for someone who has only been running for two years.
Also competing in the same race at Falkirk was sister Catherine who finished in 67th
place. In the U13 boys race Harry Marshall was sporting the Harriers colours finishing
in 66th spot. In the U15 boys race Keith Learmonth finished in 109th place with
Charlie Marshall finishing in 110th spot. Next race on the card was for sen women,
with Pam Paxton coming home in 102nd place, Donna Inglis was next Harrier home in
78th spot, with Ladies captain Sylvia Grive next in 181st spot. In the Sen mens
race Teviotdale had 5 runners with Raymond Jaffray coming home in 65th, Ian Williams
177th, Alan Inglis 231st, Alistair Biggar 310th and Alan Coltman 406th.
Over the winter months the Border Cross Country series has been taking place at different
venues throughout the Borders. Teviotdale’s young star Louise Mercer has competed
at 6 events in the Junior Races, winning 5. This is a great achievement for someone
young.
Report by Rob Halliday 28 February 2010
Borders XC Peebles 28/02/10
This hugely enjoyable series came to a close at Peebles on Sunday, where another
good turnout saw 67 juniors and 154 seniors complete the races. Early morning sunshine
had disappeared and sleet was threatening by the time the races got underway but
underfoot conditions were not too bad with just a bit of mud to contend with and
some snow on the higher parts of the senior course. The juniors had two laps of Haylodge
Park to run which included a couple of short climbs and once again Louise Mercer
came out on top for the girls making it five wins from five and finishing 8th overall
in 9:21 , sister Catherine also showed up well finishing 26th (10:45) which was 2nd
in the F15 age group. Calum Murray achieved his target of completing all six races
with his best run of the series in 37th place (11:34) while David Mercer completed
the quartet of young Harriers in 54th place (12:54). The senior race followed a familiar
route with a lap of the park followed by a run alongside the Tweed before crossing
the old rail viaduct and through the woods to the main climb of the day and then
down through some fields before returning to the finish back in the woods. The only
senior running here for Teviotdale was Keith Murray who despite the cold completed
the full set with his best finish of 18th in 26:55. Following the race the prizegiving
was held in the Gytes centre along with welcome hot drinks and snacks. Only Harrier
in the medals this year was Louise who collected the trophies for first in the F15
and overall girls categories, while all those completing four or more races received
a horse brass memento and this year also a t-
Report by Keith Murray 28 February 2010
Cup Races 6 March 2010
Last Saturday Teviotdale Harriers held their last race of the season. The Teviotdale
Harriers Cup, this is the oldest cross country race in Scotland, first run in 1894.
The
first race of the day for u13 boys and girls, with 1 1/2 laps of Hawick racecourse
to be covered, first across the line was Callum Murray to win the M&M Trophy, 2nd
was David Mercer and 3rd was Harry Marshall. The first u13 girl was Molly Marshall
who claimed the John Elliot Trophy, 2nd was Ishbel Inglis and 3rd was Mhairi Inglis.
The
second race was for u17 boys and sen ladies / u17 girls. This race consisted of 2
laps of the course. The junior cup for u17 boys was won this year by Charlie Marshall
with Dylan Mitchell 2nd and Kyle Potts 3rd.
In the ladies race for the Ladies Challenge
Trophy it was Eilidh Inglis crossed the line first with sisters Louise and Catherine
Mercer 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the main race of the day for the Teviotdale Harriers
Cup, Wayne McIntosh was first across the line to win the coveted trophy for the 3rd
time. His previous wins being in 2003 and 2009. Second home was Dave Cavers to win
the Glencairn Trophy for the first over 40 to finish and in third spot it was club
captain Raymond Jaffray.
Report by Rob Halliday 8 March 2010
Gala Harriers 3k
On a glorious spring day 32 young runners from both local schools and clubs and places as far away as Motherwell and Norwich competed in the Gala Harriers 3k which is held over the 3,000m course starting and finishing at Netherdale. Ten Teviotdale Harriers Juniors made the journey to Gala. First home overall and first girl was Louise Mercer and third home overall and second girl was twin sister Catherine. The Mercer twins ran exceptionally strong races to finish in times of 11 minutes 1 second and 12 minutes and 28 seconds respectively. Louise managed to inprove on last years time by 51 seconds, a remarkable achievement. Gala Harrier Cameron Gowans came home in second place overall and first boy in a time of 12.28. Teviotdale Harrier, Kyle Potts, was next to cross the line in fourth place and second place boy in a time of 12.37. This was truly a fantastic day out for the club taking three of the top four places. Making it a family day out brother of the twins David Mercer, sisters Eilidh, Mhairi and Ishbel Inglis and sisters Emma and Holllie Grieve and also Charlie Marshall all competed and recorded improved their times on last year.
Report by Alan Inglis 19 April 2010