There was a first for the club when Marbeth Shiell was selected to run for the Scottish Junior Women's team in the World Hill Running Championships in Germany in September. She was 24th in her race, and was the first Scottish (and second British) runner home. Unlike Track & Field, Scotland has it's own team for the World Championships in Hill Running

Our men's sprint squad completed a season in which the 4 x 100m sprint relay team was unbeaten in all six meetings they competed in this summer – four Men's League and two SNWL meetings.

It's that time of year again! The club's membership year runs from Oct 1 to 20 Sep, so everyone will be receiving their membership form in a few week's time. Please help us by replying and renewing as soon as possible.

There is one important change on the membership fees we need to collect following a decision made by SAF (which we voted against). All clubs now have to collect a £3.00 levy from every member, which is then forwarded to SAF. This will be included in the membership renewal forms. As SAF have already sent us a bill for what they expect us to collect in terms of levies, it is doubly important that Club membership fees are paid promptly.

We need to point out that this club membership levy is IN ADDITION to the Athletics Scotland Membership scheme administered by SAF, and it has been introduced by SAF to overcome a shortfall in their budgeted income. As a club we object to the principle of a centrally administered scheme plus a membership levy, but in order to continue operating as a club we have to apply the rules. We therefore encourage everyone to join Athletics Scotland.

Club Meeting with SAF Officials

As part of an initiative to find out more about the needs of clubs at a grass root level, SAF officials have volunteered to meet with clubs over the next couple of months. We have taken up this opportunity and will be meeting with ex-Olympic competitor Frank Clement and Linda Low from the SAF board of Management on Monday 9 Oct, at the Kestrel, Balerno, 7:15. We feel that this should be extended beyond the committee and coaches to anyone who has views on the way the sport is run. Please contact Bob Douglas (0131-449-6105) if you would like to come along.

The prize draw is one of the Club's less painful ways of raising funds, and it provides a useful cash windfall to one lucky person every month. It costs the princely sum of only £2.00 per month per entry, paid by Bank Standing order, and half the income raised is redistributed as a monthly prize. We'd like to keep the prize at the £50 level so, but the more who join, the better the prize becomes, so we'd encourage as many older members and parents + friend to join. Forms are included with this Herald.

Prize draw winners: May - Hugh Lind; June – Betty Gibb; July – Andrea Lawson; Aug - Brian Mayor

With the start of the cross-country season almost on us, I wish to take the opportunity to let our new members (and not so new members) know what this entails.

The cross-country season officially runs from 1st October to 31st March. The fixtures are extensive though it is entirely up to each member where and when they compete. We have included on the fixture list some of the best local events. Unlike Track and Field, where there is a limit on the number of competitors per event, there is no limit in cross -country, so everyone can participate. The second big difference is that everyone knows what time his or her race is at beforehand, so it's not such a long day. Entry forms for all races are distributed to members at Balerno High School on Monday and Wednesday nights approximately 2 to 3 weeks before the event.

The club cross-country championships will be as follows: The male competition will be decided on a points basis over 6 races with the best 4 scores to count. The female competition will be decided on a points basis over 4 races with the best 3 scores to count.

The races are Livingston (male only) on 21st October, Pitreavie (female only) 22nd October, Lasswade 12th November, Alloa (male only) 2nd December, Kirkcaldy 10th December, Edinburgh 17th December and Gorebridge (male only) 13^th January. Please note that it is necessary to complete a minimum of two events to be eligible to win your age group championship.

NOTE - Dates are provisional !

The first placed Harmeny runner in each race will score 20 points, the second 10 points, third 5 points, fourth 4 points, fifth 3 points, sixth two points and seventh and higher one point. Non-runners will score zero points. After the last race at Edinburgh/Gorebridge, the highest scorer over 4 races (male) and 3 races (female) will be champion for his/her age group. If any scores equal, best performance in a non-counter will decide. If still level, best performance in final race of championship and if still level, best performance in second last race of championship. Cups and trophies will be presented at Thistle Awards night early next year. Cups will be retained for 12 months only, though trophies will be retained by individual winners.

Veteran Championships

Bill Stobie made his debut in the veteran's category with a winning debut at the Scottish Veterans Championships in Aberdeen, winning gold in both the Pole Vault and the 110m hurdles. His winning vault of 3m40cm equalled the Championship Best Performance. This gives the club a unique double as we now have both the Veterans indoor (Kevin Maguire) and outdoor Pole Vault champions.

Congratulations to Stephanie Lyall & Tommy Ashby for their performances in the Scottish U13 Championships. Stephanie won gold in the 800m, whilst Tommy achieved a sprint double with gold in both the 100 & 200m.

Harmeny went into the last meeting knowing that relegation to Division 2 was inevitable. This in no way reflects on the enthusiastic band of talented athletes that we have had who have competed extremely well in this division throughout the season. Unfortunately we simply have not had enough athletes particularly in the U11 and U15 boys competing in these age groups. However hopefully we can redress this for next season and recruit some would be athletes after the Olympics!!! Remember if you have any friends who have any interest in athletics bring them along for a try!!!

However this last meeting provided some very fine performances again. Tommy Ashby had a great sprint double win in the 100 and 200m despite having one of his worst starts in the 100m. The 200m provided one of the best contested races of the afternoon with Tommy showing his wonderful determination in winning which has resulted in him taking district and national titles this year. There were excellent wins for Amy Clancy in her 200m and for Stephanie Lyall in the 800m where she led from start to finish and posted another very fast time of 2 min and 25.8 sec. The only U15 boy, Paul McDougall, proved to be too strong for the rest of the field, which included some very good opposition, in winning the mile in a personal best of 4 min 49.6 sec. Stacey Downie had a very impressive win in the 100m and finished very strongly in her 200m race to get second place. There were other very good performances from Robyn, Emma, Karen, and Jamie in the sprints and from Colette and Amy-Jo in the 800m who had taken time off from their hill running to help us out on the track!! The field produced some promising results with Kirsty, Emma, Kelsie, Catherine, Erin and Alistair all performing close to their pbs. A special mention for the U11 girls and boys Fraser, Andrew, Neisha, Claire and Kelsie who competed well against tough opposition filling in as many of the events as they could.

Well done to all the athletes who have competed throughout the season in this league. There are many fine performances to look back on and a lot of pbs recorded along with club records. Many thanks also to all the officials who lent a hand particularly Jim and June Duffy - Without you the athletes would not be able to compete!! All that remains now is to work hard through the winter to improve on all your pbs for the next season!!! – and remember to bring any friends along to have a go!!!!

Final placing for Division One: 1 City of Edinburgh 21 points; 2 Dunfermline & W.Fife 19; 3 Pitreavie 18; 4 Falkirk Victoria 12; 5 Livingston & Dist 7; 6 Harmeny 6

Heading into the final meeting, promotion was still an outside possibility, but with Dunf & W.Fife well clear, and an ominously strong Black Isle on home territory, it was an unlikely outcome, especially when we were again unable to raise any middle distance runners.

The sprinters were, as usual, totally dominant with the squad of Mark Wilson, Euan Dale, Stephen Blane and Dave Hutchison between them getting 1A & 1B in the 100m, 1A in the 200m, 2A / 1B in the 400m and a resounding win in the 4 x 100m relay. Stephen Blane nobly relinquished his spot in the 400m hurdles B race, in which he has been unbeaten this year, to run in the A race (4A), allowing Bill Stobie to duly win the B race, to add to his victory in the Pole Vault. Bill had a very busy afternoon, competing in no fewer than seven events, some of them simultaneously. Iain Jackson also had a very useful day in the field, winning the long jump and also picking up useful points in the hammer, Javelin and High Jump.

With scrutinised results still to be received we were provisionally 4= on the day, only fifteen points behind the second placed club.

Provisional Final League placings: 1 Dunfermline & W.Fife 28 match points; 2 BP Black Isle 26; 3 Central 22.5; 4 Harmeny 21; 5 Lasswade 17.5; 6 Inverness Harriers 15; 7 Cumbernauld 10; 8 Dundee Hawkill H 2

This was a very close league with only a handful of points separating the top clubs in each meeting. Another sixteen points in each meeting would have put us top of the division. The Men's league is likely to be restructured next year to allow clubs to put in combined teams. This is something we are pursuing behind the scenes, and although it is too early to announce details we have started informal discussions with a neighbouring club to put a combined Men's team into Division two next year, with a real prospect of challenging for a Division one place.

Getting a team organised for Dumfries in the middle of the summer holidays, and on the back of meetings the previous two weekends was always going to be a challenge, but with a real effort from all involved we had a pretty successful, and mainly dry afternoon.

Amy Clancy was told beforehand that Dumfries is the track for fast times in the 200m and she duly delivered with a fine win in a new club record of 27.8s. We also had good sprint performances from U17 girls Eilidh McIntosh 3A (27.9s) and Kirsty Robertson, recovering from injury to finish 2B (and totally puggled !!), U15 Stacey Downie 3A (28.2s), and in the U11 80m sprint Ara Grigor and Clare Carmichael were 1A and 3B. Clare went on to take 3A in the 800m (3m 00.8s). The Shiells were out in force and turned in the usual reliable performances, U13 Collette 5A (2m 50.9s) and big sisters Marbeth and Amy-Jo 1A / 2B in the U15 Race (2m23.6 / 2m41.8).

The U13 relay squad (Karen Milligan, Emma Mitchell, Robyn Addinal and Amy Clancy) had a convincing win in the 4 x 100, and the U15 girls (Marbeth, Amy-Jo, Erin and Stacey) came a useful third.

In the field we had a 1-2 in the U17 girls shot putt with Kirsty Robertson and Lynsey Douglas 1A/1B (7.05 / 6.20). Robyn missed first place in the U13 g long jump by 2 cm (3m80), and Stacey was 3A with 3m96.

In the Senior Men Ian Gibb got us off to a winning start on the track with a victory in the 400mH (61.1s) in spite of clattering one of the hurdles. Dave Hutchison and Mark Wilson were convincing winners in the 200m.

In the U13 boys Dale Clancy was 2A (29.8s) – but to put him in his place, I'll point out that the bionic-kneed club secretary completed the same distance in 28.7s – I expect you to beat me hollow next year, Dale!!!

There was a clean sweep in the U11, U13, and U15 boys 800m "A" races with, respectively, Andrew Martin (2m48.0), Jaimie Charters (2m 26.1) a new club record, (with Dale 2B in 2m40.7) and Paul McDougall (2m11.0s), also a club record.

Iain Jackson wandered around the field for 2A in the High Jump (1m70) and 3A in the Javelin (36m16), and Mark Wilson tore himself away from the comfort of the café to finish 2A in the Triple Jump (10m 93).

Both the U11 and U13 boys 4 x 100 relays were second, the U13's in an identical time to the winners. In the Senior Mens 4 x 400m relays we had three top class sprinters plus one pair of bionic knees for the last leg (no pun intended). Jings. it's a long way round, and it was no surprise when one guy went past, but I was a tad annoyed to be caught on the line by a second fellow. Still it must've looked good from the stand given the noise.

We went into the last match of the season knowing that our chances of staying in Div 2 were extremely slim, but it was almost like old times with several familiar faces returning to give us the strongest female squad we've had this year. We also had strong Senior men and U13 boys squads. Again, it was the lack of numbers in the other boy's age groups that would be our undoing.

There were several good performances, especially in the middle distance races, with several club records being broken (although as I write this the results /times have still to be received).

The best race of the afternoon was in the U13 boys 1500 where Jamie Charters was one of a leading group of four who were all in contention until the final bend. Although finishing a close second, it looks like Jamie has picked up another club record. Paul McDougall was a very impressive winner of the U15 boys 1500m, shattering his pb and the club record again. "Super-Mac" is going to have a pretty lengthy section to himself for middle-distance records when we get the details published! Young Veteran Gerry Starrs has been in excellent form during September, and he improved his pb (and club record) in the Senior Men's 1500m by nearly ten seconds to finish third. The other new club record in the middle distance was Stephie Lyall's winning time of 2m 24.0s in the U13 girls 800m.

We had a notable 1-2 finish in the Senior Women 1500m with Kristin Lownie now back to top form finishing ahead of Sheila Brown. Sisters Sheila and Jenny Brown popped along from their base in Glasgow to battle it out in the 3000m. After matching each other stride for stride over the first 4 laps, Sheila pulled away to win the race convincingly. We hope to see a rematch next year – get training Jenny!

Amy Clancy is another one in awesome form recently, and was a convincing winner of the 100m.

We had an impressive 1-2 in the Senior Men's Long Jump with Iain Jackson winning in a new club record of 6m 25cm and Ian Gibb only a few cm behind him. With Dave Hutchison 2A in the 100m and 400m, Eaun Dale a strong 1B in the 400m and Iain Jackson a strong 1B in the 100m it was looking good for the 4 x 100 relay – and the new SNWL league record of 44.1s sums up an awesome performance by the guys.

In the relays both the U13 boys and girls were second. We had high hopes of a useful looking, very experienced, well-practised Senior Women squad.... so we won't say who dropped the baton... !!! Maybe it was the blue track!!!

McDonalds Young Athletes League

We completed our first season back in the McDonalds League with the third and final meeting slap bang in the middle of the school holidays. As usual we were short on numbers on the boys side, but the girls gave a good account of themselves and finished mid-table in the three age groups. At the final meeting our girls finished fifth, ahead of City of Edinburgh and Fife, two much bigger clubs. As mentioned earlier in this Herald, Marbeth won the U15 girls 1500 in a new league record, and was named female Track Athlete of the Match. The outstanding performance on the boys side was Paul McDougall winning the 3000m (on a pretty hot day!) in 9min 59.5 s, which needless to say, is a club record!

We joined this league to give more athletes the chance to compete in their preferred events as it has a much bigger programme for the U13 / U 15 and U17 age groups than any other competition we are in. The girls are definitely good enough to challenge for one of the top four places which qualify for the finals. We need to get a few more boys away from the football pitches!

Final Meeting results

Girls: 1 Edinburgh Woollen Mill 384.5; 2 Pitreavie 341; 3 Dunf & W.Fife 289; 4 Perth 218; 5 Harmeny 188.5; 6 City of Edinburgh 145; 7 Fife 122; 8 Lasswade 121; 9 Dunbar 63

Boys: 1 City of Edinburgh 458.5; 2 Pitreavie 340; 3 Fife 294; 4 Perth 262; 5 Black Isle 258.5; 6 Dunf & W.Fife 195; 7 Lasswade 124; 8 Harmeny 77; 9 Dunbar 53.

Final overall positions

Girls: 1 EWM 27; 2 Pitreavie 24; 3 D & WF 21; 4 City of E 15; 5 Fife 14; 6 Perth 12; 7 Harmeny 12; 8 Lasswade 7; 9 Dunbar 3

Boys: 1 Fife 25; 2 C of E 24; 3 Pitreavie 23; 4 Perth 17; 5 Black Isle 16; 6 Dunf & W.Fife 12; 7 Lasswade 9; 8 Harmeny 6; 9 Dunbar 3.

Note: Events in bold are club championship events.