Above: where we were.
Thanks to my shin problem, the second Mens League meeting represented my first competitive outing since the first meeting at Meadowbank a month earlier. I headed into it in the midst of a period of considerable stress and worry both in running and outwith it. Running wise, as well as battling to be injury free on time then hoping to be fit enough to tackle at least one race, there was the headache of organising transport, rounding up enough athletes to form a viable team, hoping and praying none of them called off on me and having the 3 officials required by the league rules. Not providing these officials means, according to Rule 1 of the Rules of Competition, your club "will not be allowed to compete in the match." In the end, we had 5, Mark Stringer, Willie Sutherland, Cathy Robertson, Steven Whyteside and Susan Gatens.
For athletes, there were myself, Whitemoss first claim members Michael Brennan, Ian Smith (a former American footballer with the East Kilbride Pirates), Craig McEwan, Zach Bryson, Craig Whyteside and John Robertson plus Cambuslang Harrier Robert Gilroy. John and Robert made their first appearances of the year. Not making it after competing first time out were two more Cambuslang runners, Stuart Roe (shin splints) and Dean McMurran (exam the following day).
With Steven and Craig Whyteside and Craig McEwan already in Aberdeen, the rest of us set off by minibus from East Kilbride at 7.45am, having a breakfast stop at Morrisons in Dundee where Michael and Ian, our two throwers, ordered fry ups and Willie and I chewed the fat about our respective football teams, Clyde and Queen's Park, over rolls and sausage and pots of tea. Wondering where Robert had gone, he emerged from the main store with a can of Red Bull, denying Willie's blatant Cambuslang stereotyping accusation of shoplifting! On our way out the store, we met Kilbarchan on their way in.
Safely arriving in a slightly chilly Aberdeen, the field action got underway at 12noon and the track at 1pm. John Robertson got us off to a flyer, winning the pole vault with a personal best of 3.60m. Zach Bryson was a little disappointed with 5th in his 100m (11.91 seconds) but happier with his triple jump (4th, 11.45m). Craig McEwan was more disappointed with his 100m, being deemed to have false started and disqualified by a starter we had given a lift up north on our minibus. That's gratitude. Craig's long jump (3rd, 5.85m) and high jump (4th, 1.65m) made up for it. Under 17 Craig Whyteside ran a superb 800m, clocking a personal best of 2:12.81 to beat his time on his Mens League debut at Meadowbank by 2 seconds. He jumped 4.33m in the long jump, sadly just missing the minimum standard for scoring points of 4.50m.
I've known Michael Brennan since my early teens. He competed for Whitemoss, disappeared for a while then came back a few years ago vowing to "give up the fags" and get in shape. Ian Smith took up athletics in 2010 after an injury induced retirement from American football. They've proven to be great training partners, improving their throws at every meeting. Michael won the A string shot putt (11.75m) and hammer (30.81m) and took 2nd in the discus (32.14m) while Ian took a clean sweep of the B string competitions, 10.65m in the shot putt, 27.87m for hammer (an event where he didn't reach the points standard of 20m on his debut in 2010) and 29.83m for the discus. They are the backbone of the Whitemoss team.
I talked Robert Gilroy into an 800m on the journey up to kill time before his 5000m. Being his first ever 800m, I stood at the break line at the end of the first bend and shouted when to cut in to lane one to prevent disqualification. He needed 2:20 for points. He got 2:19.36 and 4th in the B race. With Robert doing 800m, that freed me up to try a 1500m where I finished 5th (3rd A string) in 4:10.65. In the home straight, I was pipped by two Kilbarchan athletes, Conor McNulty, one hour after his 3000m steeplechase, and under 17 Gavin McArdle. Still, points secured by both of us, a successful gamble.
Robert and I then did the combined Division 1 and 2, A and B strings, 5000m. There were a lot of athletes on their second or third race of the day so more or less an level playing field for us all. I started with a cautious approach, letting a sizeable group of Robert Russell, Luke Traynor, Lachlan Oates, Andrew Crichton and Mickey Breen forge ahead. I ran behind Falkirk's Barry Paterson for a couple of laps then stepped out to give chase. Crichton and Breen, like me not so fresh from 1500s, had fallen off the group and were coming back to me, giving me something to aim at. Chris Devenney, one of the athletes I met at Morrisons in Dundee in the morning, was in turn putting me under pressure. I caught and passed both Crichton and Breen but had given myself just a little too much to do to close down Russell, Traynor and Oates. Crichton eventually finished before me but staying ahead of Breen, who beat me over 1500m about 40 minutes earlier, would win me the Division 2 race. I managed to do that, clocking 15:16.91. 7:36 first half and 7:40 second half and actually feeling I had slightly more in reserve. With the Scottish 5000m on 2nd or 3rd June, encouraging. 5th overall in a field of 22 runners with a feeling of something extra there was alright. Robert battled away and won the B string in 16:22.69 to earn Whitemoss maximum points in the event.
I rounded off my racing by joining up with Craig Whyteside, Zach Bryson and Craig McEwan to do the 4 x 100m relay, 5th in 50.16 seconds. We had no 4 x 400m team. Two more meetings to put that right.
With that, it was homeward bound with a brief stop again in Dundee, giving Tesco some business this time, getting back to where we started in East Kilbride at around 8pm, 12 hours after setting off. The day brought a welcome change of scenery and respite for me during an ongoing extremely stressful time both in running and outwith it with plenty laughs to lighten my mood. Having taken the Monday off work and stayed teetotal the night before, I felt like a little refreshment. The local Co-Op was the only place still open and a 4 pack of Peroni was sufficient to watch Haile Gebrselassie run the Manchester 10k quicker than I can complete the distance on a bike.
Match result
1. Kilbarchan, 358 points
2. Lasswade, 315
3. Pitreavie, 224
4. Whitemoss, 219
5. Corstorphine, 166
6. Clydesdale, 132
7. Fife, 86
8. Dunfermline, 62
9. Kirkintilloch, 0
League positions after 2 meetings
1. Lasswade, 17 points (637 match points)
2. Kilbarchan, 16 (612)
3. Pitreavie, 15 (494)
4. Whitemoss, 12 (404)
5. Corstorphine, 10 (318)
6. Clydesdale, 7 (236)
7. Fife, 7 (193)
8. Dunfermline, 4 (150)
9. Kirkintilloch, 0 (0)
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