Author: The Author

By 1981 the race was back to mid-October and the numbers had increased as shown in this brief preview from ‘The Scotsman’.

The race was held, 101 runners finished the race, 5 inside 2:20, another 12 inside 2:30 and runners from all over Scotland from the Shetland Isles to the Cheviot Hills.  The detailed results below were provided by Colin Youngson who was first Scot to finish and Scotland won the team race on countback.   With only two to count, the home country had three in the first six finishers

Colin’s medal for the race is shown below – even for a good athlete like Colin, it had special value since the race was an international and there were so few of them for road racers (but more international contests did take place, at Glasgow and Aberdeen, during the imminent ‘marathon boom’ years). 

That it had been a successful event, there was no doubts but the Glasgow Sports promotion Council had bigger plans yet.   Ron Marshall in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ comments on the race but looks ahead to the city’s plans for 1982.   He writes:

Did the Council’s plans for a bigger event in 1982 come to fruition?   Elsewhere in this website Joe Small who ran in the ’79 and ’80 versions of the race says:   “Following on from the success of large marathons such as New York and London, the race this year was the first “Scottish People’s Marathon” with a new course taking in much of the city, starting on the Saltmarket, via George Square taking in Byres Road, Dumbarton Road, the Clydeside Expressway, the Broomielaw, Bellahouston Park, Pollok Park then through the south side and finishing at Glasgow Green.   From the hundred or so starters in previous years a huge total, 7100, set out on Scotland’s first mass participation “people’s” event.”   See the picture below if any evidence is required.

It was a pity that the Glasgow International Marathon had to go.   It was a very good race over an interesting course that was a success by its own lights.   The day of the mass marathon was upon athletics by the 1980’s and the new race was maybe an even bigger success – the sheer numbers, the new athletics enthusiasts that it brought into the sport, the rise in the numbers of sub-2:20 runners was high, the rise in sub:2:30 higher and the number inside 3:00 hours would have been unbelievable at any point in the past.

The Glasgow International Marathon was run in 1979,  1980 and  1981

Glasgow City Chambers: Starting place of the original Glasgow Marathon

Everybody remembers the Glasgow Marathon in the 1980’s with tens of thousands of participants making their way through the city, from the city centre to the west end to the south side to the east side and finally back to the finish at George Square.   But there had been a marathon in Glasgow before that, one that Leslie Watson referred to as ‘the best kept secret in Scottish athletics.   The numbers were small because the runners were all trained athletes, there was often an international dimension to it, there were four laps not one.   The original Glasgow marathon started in 1979 – four years before the mass participation version.    The route in 1979 started in George Square and did not cross the river at any point:-

It was a neat, compact course and, from the point of view of a runner shouting on a team mate who was competing, it was a great course.   Lots of room in the empty Glasgow streets on a Sunday morning made darting around the city, taking short cuts here and there, intercepting your chosen runner over four laps and still getting to the finish in time to see him crossing the line!    The first race had 63 starters, 58 still running after three laps and which was also the finishing number.   Result below:

See the remainder of the stats above – 58 finishers, 11 inside 2:30, 9 outside 3 hours and a final runner clocked in at 3:15:21.  And only one woman – Glasgow’s own Leslie Watson – who had a wee report of her own which managed to get her finishing position wrong.   

Race splits and detailed results  at  this  link.  

The first Glasgow Marathon had been held in October in 1979 and this was maybe felt to be too late in the year for such a race – or maybe representations had been made that it was right at the start of the cross-country season’s short relays.   Whatever the reason, it was moved back to September in 1980.   Alastair Macfarlane had a copy of the programme (cover above) and we reproduce it here with the complete list of officials and entrants.

Inside the front cover and was a very impressive list of members of the Glasgow Sports Promotion Council with SAAA Officials at the foot of the page.  On the facing page was the obligatory message from the Chairman of the Council to the participants.

The list of officials was comprehensive a.nd the race had not only the appropriate number of officials but all the officials were experienced and very good at their job.   Many of them had already officiated at the Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh earlier in the year.  Lots of notables – Walter Ross, founder of the Scottish Veteran Harriers movement, John Hamilton, Scottish Cross-Country team manager, David Bowman who had been in charge of the Commonwealth Games marathon, a host of former champions-turned-officials.   

Then came the runners on two pages – almost exactly the same as in the previous year but every one a good athlete wiwth the international representatives heading the list and Leslie Watson again the only woman in the field.

Then came the race.   Report and results   at this link .

In keeping with the ‘best kept secret’ nature of the event, there was very little pre-publicity for the international event with all four home countries sending strong teams.   The only picture of the race in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ report on the race was of Leslie Watson (below).   The actual report was down the page on page 19, the middle page of three sports pages, immediately above the “Sport In Brief”    section and not much bigger than the coverage of items there.  

Only six runners mentioned, not any results despite the fact that it was an international fixture.   There was not even a note of the first three with countries and times, no team order either and, in short, the lack of coverage was a poor reflection on the Sports section of the paper.  Joe Small came up with the complete results though and we print them below.

51 finishers, 3 outside 3 hours, 15 inside 2:30, 4 on 2:20 or faster, 1 woman on 2:47:07.

Before we go on to the results, let’s look at the Programme, provided by Alastair Macfarlane.   

The results of Scottish athletics ‘best kept secret’ were sent to us by Joe Small (Monkland and Clyde Valley) and we reproduce them below.  Produced by Roneo or Gestetner duplicators they give all the splits for all the runners at 5, 10, 20, 25 miles and the final result.   All were at the very least good club endurance runners  and at best there were international representatives – and several of the ‘club’ runners not selected for the race were also international athletes in their own right.   There was only one woman in the race – the redoubtable Leslie Watson (Glasgow Herald photograph above) who was 45th in 2:53:22.   Some who were well known for other events include Bobby Shields who was an international hill runner with a Ben Nevis victory to his credit, Hugh Barrow, GB and Scotland miler and world age group record holder for that distance, Willie Russell who became a good ultra marathon runner. And then there is Gordon McGregor of Bellahouston who went on to be a pole vault coach and Tommy Lucas who became a sports psychologist and worked with football players, boxers and competitiors from other sports.

Such was the success of his athletes who were competing in the T20 category with Owen winning the paralympic 1500m and Ben the world championships, that the BMC News in December 2023 published the following article.  Steven has been a BMC member since the 1980’s and attended several AGM weekends and conferences before he became a coach and has encouraged his athletes with the qualifications to join the club.   

Laura Adam (nee Wight) was born on 28/02/1965. She became a fine international athlete on track, cross country and road, competing for Stevenage & North Herts, University of Nebraska and Parkside (Harrow) Athletic Club.

Laura Adam leading Karen MacLeod, Christine Haskett and Sandra Branney.    Laura went on to win the Scottish 3000m title from Karen and Sandra. 

The Herald newspaper posted an invaluable article about Laura Adam and Vikki McPherson on 19^th March 1994. Almost certainly, this was written by expert athletics journalist Doug Gillon.

“NINE months ago, Laura Adam’s promising athletics career seemed over.   After having finished runner-up for the AAA of England 10,000 metres title, behind fellow-Scot Vikki McPherson, she suffered a serious liver virus and anaemia.

”It was a bit like hepatitis,” said Adam. ”I felt absolutely drained, and it wiped out my whole summer. I could not train or race at all. I never thought I would get through it, and came close to packing the sport in.”

But she battled back from what was her second career-threatening illness with the same determination she had displayed in conquering the first. Before she made her UK senior debut in 1988, it had taken a year to diagnose a folic acid deficiency, which meant her blood was carrying insufficient oxygen and she was constantly exhausted.   But, a week today, Adam will line up alongside McPherson, the only two Scots in Britain’s team for the World Cross-Country Championships in Budapest. Not one Scottish male has made the party.   

Both women hope it will be a stepping stone to a Scottish vest at the Commonwealth Games later this year, while Adam, a long-serving internationalist — but mostly on the periphery — hopes that it will consolidate her return from illness and herald the beginning of a more established role in the sport.

A skelf-thin 5ft 4in., Adam’s fragile physique belies an iron will.   She has represented Scotland several times, but her first representative vest was in England’s colours, in cross-country, aged 16.   Her only Scottish track title to date was at Crownpoint, in 1989, when she won the 3000m — the distance which she hopes to run in the Victoria Games this year.   Adam, formerly Laura Wight, won a UK junior vest at 800m — her only British track international — although in a four-year US collegiate career, at the University of Nebraska, she captained both the track and cross-country teams, and won bronze in the NCAA 3000m.

”Both my folks are from Edinburgh, which is where I was born,” said the 29-year-old graduate. ”But we moved south when I was four. All the family loyalties are to Scotland. That’s why I switched, after my first international, when I realised that it was possible to do so.”   

Adam’s first senior British appearance was at the 1988 World Cross-Country Championships in New Zealand, when she was called on at 24 hours notice to replace Zola Budd after the South African finally fled back to the country of her birth.   She has been to the world event five times in the past seven years, one of these absences being to give birth to her daughter, Nicole, now aged three. A year ago, she travelled as reserve to Amorebieta in Spain, but did not compete, while in 1992, in Boston, though a reserve, she did run.

”It’s nice to be in the team on merit this time,” she said. ”Especially as I thought, after last year, that I might not run again.   Nicole could do with a sibling. That was a temptation as well, but things are on hold now that I’m running well.”

This winter Adam has enjoyed perhaps the best season of her career.   She was third in the English women’s national championships last weekend, helping her club, Parkside, win the team title, and she finished second in the world trial behind Paula Radcliffe. There was a fourth place in the European Clubs championships, and top-10 finishes at World Cross races in Seville, Brussels, and Belfast.

Adam lives in Zurich, commuting around the circuit. ”Last year I spent three months at my folks’ home, in Stevenage. They helped look after Nicole, but it was hopeless for family life. This winter I have stayed at home. It is more expensive, and training is much harder, but at least I see my husband, Marc.   ”There are no endurance runners at the local club, and all the others train indoors, which means I have to do all my work outside, alone.   ”It is very cold, rainy, and windy. There isn’t much snow, oddly enough. In fact, winter is not too unlike Scotland.   ”I find it very difficult to fit in training. I’m a teacher, but don’t work. People say it should be easy for me. But Nicole is really demanding, and I have to wait till Marc comes home from work, so that I can train.”

Next weekend will be Vikki McPherson’s third successive appearance in Britain’s world team. A former World Student Games silver medallist, she helped the UK win team gold, and could repeat that this year.   She made her Great Britain track debut in the World championships at 10,000m in Stuttgart last year, having placed fourth in the World Student Games track 10,000m, and has just been voted women’s team captain of the Walter Scott Commonwealth preparation squad which meets this weekend at Inverclyde. Adam’s track performances do not yet merit inclusion in the squad.   McPherson, an accountant, will pick the brains of Adam, an accountant’s wife, when they are team-mates next weekend.   But the Swiss housewife’s briefing may add up to bad news for City of

Glasgow’s double Scottish cross-country champion. Adam’s husband ran the steeplechase for Canada at the World championships in Helsinki 11 years ago.  Now, he is a high-flying accountant, but balancing athletics and a career put his racing into the red. ”He could not keep both up,” said Adam. ”Work was too demanding.”

McPherson’s employers, Arthur Andersen, have eased off on her workload. ”No overtime at the moment, for which I am really grateful,” she said.

Two nights before the trial she worked until 11pm — and snatched last place in the team by just one second.   But most of McPherson’s international appearances have improved a couple of places on last winter, and she is lying eighth in the WorldCross rankings — the world-wide grand prix for the sport.

Both have set a top-30 finish as the realistic objective in Budapest.   But within the next few days, the pair should also be named in the UK’s six-strong team for the World Ekiden road relay championships, in Athens on April 17.”

Doug’s really excellent article deserves several follow-up comments.

*Laura Wight’s first appearance in the Scotstats archive is in 1983, when her 800m time was 2.07.8, (ranked 7^th in Scotland). She was also listed each year for 1500m, 3000m (and, in 1986, 5000m).

*Laura Adam was married in 1988. That year she improved her 800m personal best to 2.11.7; and in 1989 set a “best ever” mark at 1500m (4.17.66). Her 1990 5000m “lifetime best” was 16.05.6 (first in the Scottish rankings). Two more fastest ever times were: 3000m (9.02.47 at Hengelo, Netherlands) which was second in the 1994 Scottish rankings; and 10,000m (34.00.12) second in 1993.  

*Laura Adam actually raced for Great Britain four times in the Senior Women’s World Cross Country Championships: 1988 Auckland, New Zealand; 1990 Aix Les Bains, France (when she was 47^th and second Briton); 1992 Boston, USA; and 1994 Budapest, Hungary (where she finished 45^th and first Briton).  As was mentioned in the article, she was a non-running reserve in 1993.

*Track championships: as well as the 1989 3000m title, in 1994 she won the Scottish 1500m title. GB championship medals: third in the UK 3000m in 1989 and 1992; second in the AAA 10,000m 1993.

*English Women’s Cross-Country Championships: Laura helped Parkside (Harrow) Athletic Club to win the team title in 1989 at Jarrow (when she was third individual); 1990 at Rickmansworth (2^nd individual); 1992 at Cheltenham (5^th); 1993 at Luton (7^th); and 1994 at Blackburn (when she secured an individual bronze medal behind Paula Radcliffe). Superb consistency.

*Other British vests: 1989 World University Games in Duisberg, Germany (when she finished 8^th in the 3000m); 1992 Yokohama, Japan, International Women’s Ekiden Relay; 1992 Funchai, Portugal World Road Relay Championships.

*Two Scottish Athletics appearances: 1989 versus Northern Ireland and Ireland (2^nd in 1500m); 1994 Commonwealth Games at Victoria, Canada (8^th in 3000m).

*Seven Scottish Cross Country international appearances between 1983 and 1994: Dublin 1983; Cardiff 1988; Margate 1989; World Cross Trials, Glasgow, 1990 (4^th and first Scot); Basingstoke UK Championships 1992 (5^th); Mallusk 1994 (7^th and first Scot); British Championships, Alnwick, 1994 (2^nd, first Scot).

*While in Europe, Laura Adam raced all over Britain, plus New Zealand, Germany, France, Japan, USA, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands and Canada. She seems to have retired from international competition in December 1994. Shortly afterwards, she moved to St Louis, USA and, until leaving the sport aged 35 in May 2000, raced on the road in so many different American states, usually over 5k to 10k, placing well, winning five times and earning over ten thousand dollars in prize money during her career.   

Laura Adam, an extremely good Scottish athlete, should look back on her athletic adventures, a record that most top Scottish men would covet, with justified pride.   

Robert McWatt (21) in SAAA 5000m

Robert was a very good runner with a positive attitude to the sport which showed in his competitive record.   A credit to Clydesdale Harriers and to the sport he replied to a question and answer session which is reported below.  

We knew he ran for the club but did he represent any other club after emigration?   The answer is that after he emigrated to Canada he joined Edmonton Road Runners and ran for them for many years.   He commented “Competing in Jasper to Banff which is probably the most awesome relay in the world.   Then competing in the Gold rush trail Skagway Alaska to Whitehorse Yukon relay, won my leg but our team was 2nd, I really wanted to win as they gave medals for first gold pan with small gold nugget.”

Living in the football-mad West of Scotland, the question of how he got into the sport in the first place came up.   “As far as I can remember, in the early days friends and me joined a lot of clubs to try them out, BB’s etc.  One was the harriers and I was a rotten young runner, but was curious about it.   I love football and that was my sport – then I ran for the schools and won lots of races, then preferred this over football.   I met Dougie McDonald at a schools race and then he asked me to come run in the harriers .or some team with him – I was about 16 and that was me back in thanks to Dougie Mac.”

Knowing how good a competitor he was, we asked what his best times were and when he said  “ I’m not really sure I worried too much about this, and I can’t even remember to be honest.”  it was not really a surprise.    He reckoned that he really got other benefits from the sport – “meeting some great people, training with these people and chatting, 2 hours would go by fast. It really comes down respecting the slowest to the fastest runner, we all have a journey and story to tell, its not all about winning the race, I remember more about the people that the medals

Having joined the club and come into the wider sport he needed help to progress and credited several influences. 

• Derek McGinley was a good early coach, relaxed and would listen – he had his limitations.
• Brian McAusland really focused me on how to compete
• Pat Younger showed me that there was the running for fun side in the highlands
• Dougie McDonald and Phil Dolan were great friends to be around and train with, great times.

They all combined to bring me friendship, good friends, lifestyle, health, travel, fitness.

If he wasn’t a clock watcher and personal best hunter, what were his best races?  .

• Probably qualifying to run for Scotland world championships in 1978;
• In reality the two-day Glasgow to fort William solos, with Bobby Shields, George Carlin and Jim Shields – we got together in the pub after training on the Tuesday and by Saturday in a cold December we were running, torch in hand, early morning from Milngavie.
• The solo hilly marathon in Canada was a good run 2;35 on a hilly windswept course, ran from early on alone, RCMP car in front was my company for whole race.
• 2014 I decided to run an ultramarathon officially in the Rockies – 50km through rough terrain hills, rain mud and snow, but I managed to get through it.

George Carlin, Jim Shields, Robert, Bobby Shields

If they were the high spots, were there any ‘low spots’?  What did he think was his worst performance?

That was going the wrong way in Western District Relay Championship.  He still remembers that and the doubt when he turned at the wrong flag –   It was just bad luck but it drove him on to be better – “big Pat Younger was a good sounding board that day for me.”

When he was asked what goals he had that were never achieved, he replied that

“Last time home I asked Dougie Mac what he would have done different – he said train harder and win more – I said train less and run longer in my life – I coached provincial soccer here in Canada for about 10 years – my goal was the kids to be playing all their life.   and loving the sport, I remember watching another coach’s boy, John somebody, crying after losing races. Pretty sad state to get kids in.”

How long was his running career after he left Scotland?   “I ran my last race here in Canada when I was 30.  My first daughter, Thalia, was just bor.    I ran the 10km, won it and hung up competitive racing. But always trained for fitness.”

Commenting on what he gained from sport he said quite simply a base for life “going through hard management meetings I would draw on how I could run longer than these 2 hour tough question meetings, turned into a lifeskill the running”.

Ending the interview with a return to running and training he reckoned that he was running about 80 – 100 miles per week, sometimes three times a day from Monday to Thursday.

Robert leading Alistair Douglas in the finishing straight at Scotstoun in the Dunbartonshire Championships 1500m 

Having said that he was a good competitor the picture above shows him and his good friend Alistair Douglas of Victoria Park AAC battling it out up the finishing straight at the Glasgow University ground in Glasgow.   The picture below shows him in an invitation 1500m race on return from a holiday in the Highlands, on the day of his return against some of the best in the west of Scotland.   The field is being led by Scottish cross-country internationalist Alex Gilmour, in second place is Ron McDonald of Clyde Valley, a sub-4 minute miler and Scottish and British internationalist, tucked in is George Braidwood of Bellahouston, another international track and cross country runner, 96 is Billy Nelson, a good club runner, inside him is Hugh Forgie of Law, another track internationalist, behind him are Jim Golder of Ayr and Stewart Easton of Falkirk, both internationalists, ? , and Robert at the back.   He battled through this field of quality runners to finish third.   A remarkable run. 

It was a time when the standard nationally was high but he more than held his own as the following results from District and National Championships shows.

** International selection.  The Scottish age groups did not coincide with the International ones; two of the runners ahead of Robert were too old to qualify; the following year, although placed 6^th again he himself was too old for selection.

Robert also ran in the prestigious eight stage Edinburgh to Glasgow Relay six times with his best run being in 1982 when he was seventh on the first stage.  The picture below shows him leading with Tommy Wiseman of Victoria Park with Olympian Don Macgregor just behind.

Individually he ran in open races, championships, open graded meetings, club events – all sorts of events and consequently his race was wide – from 800m to the two-day Glasgow to Fort William runs and relays.  

.Above we see him back at Westerlands racing World Student Games champion and European & Commonwealth Game athlete Graham Williamson with Victoria Park’s Ian Smith in third.

On the track he took on everybody, no matter their status – in the photograph at the top of the page, he is running in the SAAA 5000m championships against many international runners such as Allister Hutton, Lindsey Robertson, Doug Frame and team mate Phil Dolan.

Robert, Brian McAusland, Phil Dolan

Within the club   he took part in all club events with enthusiasm and won medals and trophies for both track and cross-country.   Note the following:

1. Janice Moir Wright Memorial Trophy for the first Junior Man to finish in the National Cross-Country Championship in. 1979.
2. Championship Challenge Cup f for the senior championship for season 1982/83.
3. Sinclair Trophy for the 6 Mile road championship in season 1982/83;
4. Hannah Cup for the fastest time in the 6 miles cross-country handicap for season 1982/83. 
5. Dan MacDonald Cup for the highest points total in representative races (ie District and National Championships and Relays) for 1982/83.
6. Harold Wright Trophy for the first senior to finish in the National Championships 1983.

That all indicates that 1982/83 was a very good year to be Robert McWatt!   But his contribution to the club was much bigger than his competitive ability.   One of his former team mates said that the club lost a lot when it lost Robert.   He took his turn on the committee, played his part in organisational tasks and even came up with ideas to cement the club together.   Take a look at the programme below.

One of his most surprising – and successful – events was a Burns Supper held along the hallowed lines in 1982.   To the best of my knowledge the club had never had such a function, the tickets sold very quickly and the night was pronounced a great success.   the tickets sold very quickly and the night was pronounced a great success.   Ou will note from the list of speakers the name of Jack Fearn.   He was the PE teacher at Robert’s old school who was a good friend of Clydesdale Harriers: Robert persuaded him to come along.   Robert could talk anyone into anything.

He was also a good Committee Member, attending meetings regularly, taking part in discussions and taking a full part in proceedings.   eg in 1978 he was club Vice-Captain with Phil Dolan as Captain.   When the club was organizing the Young Athletes Presentation, Robert and his friend Douglas McDonald took responsibility for the buying of the awards for the occasion.   He also set up a club magazine, solicited contributions and printed it out.  He helped select teams, he printed out fixture lists, pretty well invented the club magazine, solicited contributions printed it out, sold it and kept it going regularly – it was not an irregular sheet published when he could be bothered.    It contained news, comment on races and on issues that had come up at committee, puzzles, articles on coaching, on upcoming events and on occasion was illustrated.   It was a very interesting publication and enjoyed by club members.

When the club took part in the Glasgow to Fort William relay he was an integral member.  There was no actual race – it was more of a challenge.   There were teams of eight, split into two squads of four.   Each runner had to do four stages.   One squad covered the mainly road sections and the other did the hillier, mountainous sections.   It took a lot of organisation and recce runs.   Vanloads would go out on a Sunday and do several stages in teams of two so that by the time the race came along, everybody knew every stage.   Robert was one of the runners and a member of the team which set a record for the run.  

Some of the record setting Glasgow to Fort William team: Charlie McIntosh, Pat Younger, Jim Shields, Stevie Darling, Phil Dolan, Bobby Rosborough and Robert McWatt 

There was also within the club a group of hill-walking and climbing enthusiasts and Robert joined up with them.   They travelled all over the Highlands in all kinds of weather.   He struck up a particular friendship with “The Harrier’s Harrier”, Pat Younger.  Pat was great outdoorsman being a runner, a climber who with his friends climbed in Scotland, England and in Europe, a fisherman, a sailor with his own boat and a really outgoing disposition.   Pat educated Robert in the ways of the highlands and inculcated a love of the outdoors life.  The result was that Robert also became a lover of the Scottish hills and a good mountain climber in his own right.

The hill climbers were an integral part of the club – Pat, his great friend Frank Kielty, Allan Sharp, Gerry Hearnes and others often raced on the Saturday and went straight off to the hills immediately after the race without going home first!

Robert with Dougie and Frank Kielty in front.

Back at the beginning, when asked about his best times, Robert said that he didn’t remember any of them.   We might be able to help him a bit with them.   The Scottish Association of Track Statisticians puts out annual ranking lists from which we have taken the following information:

In 1977, as a Junior(Under 20) he was ranked seventh in the country for 5000m with a time of   15:32.0, ninth for 2000m steeplechase with 6:39:19 having finished second in the West District Junior 1500m and third in the Scottish Junior 5000m.   And in 1982 he was ranked 73^rd for the marathon with his time of 2:31 run in Aberdeen – ahead of many international runners such as Willie Day of Falkirk, Andy Brown of Clyde Valley and within striking distance of Colin Martin and Bill Stoddart.

When I asked Paul Ross who was a talented  young athlete with the group what he remembered in particular about Robert he said:    “I will always remember how close he and Pat were. He bridged the gap between the older and younger guys at the club perfectly well, which made it easier for me to fit in also.”  That encapsulates a lot of what Robert did for the club: one of those who welded it together.   

Joe Small running third in this picture at the finish of the Nigel Barge Road Race

Scottish distance running in the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s was on a real high and road racing was experiencing the ‘running boom’.   If you look at the Scottish athletics who’s who on this site  it will be clear that there were many competing who were regarded as club runners but whose performances in, for example, the marathon and the various stages of the Edinburgh to Glasgow relay, would have won honours in previous generations.   One of these was Joe Small and we can begin to examine his athletics career by  looking at his answers to the questionnaire.

Name:   Joe Small

Club/s: Monkland Harriers, Clyde Valley AAC, Cambuslang Harriers

Date of Birth: 28/12/54

Occupation: Retired Curtain Wall Designer

How did you get into the sport initially: Started at secondary school, running in local cross country races then joined Monkland Harriers.

Personal Bests: 3000m 8.46, 5000m 15.14, 3000m S/C 9.58, Marathon 2.25.43

Has any individual or group had a marked effect on either your attitude to the sport or your performances? The guys at St. Pat’s & Monkland Harriers in Coatbridge – Ronnie MacDonald, Jim Brown, Paul Bannon, Eddie Devlin, Willie Drysdale, Andy Arbuckle, Tom Callaghan etc. –  a long list! 

What exactly did you get out of the sport? Sense of achievement, cameraderie with clubmates, competing all over the country.

What do you consider your best ever performance? Not a single race, but a month,

April 25th, 1981; Clydebank-Helensburgh: 3^rd, Edinburgh-North.Berwick: 4^th, Lanarkshire 10: 3^rd, Strathkelvin 12: 4^th,  Airdrie 13: 2^nd. Didn’t repeat that again!

And your worst? Running in 3^rd team for Cambuslang in District X/C relay – struggling, being passed by guys I didn’t know, back hurting – my last ever race.

What goals did you have that were never achieved? A fast marathon. Never really recorded the times that I felt training & shorter races indicated I should have been able to achieve.

What has running brought you that you would not have wanted to miss? General sense of fitness, meeting lots of different people & seeing places I would probably not otherwise have visited.

Can you give some details of your training? Typical week:

Sunday: Long steady run, 10-15 miles.

Monday: 8-10 miles steady

Tuesday: Fast 10 miler, usually with guys at club.

Wednesday: Faster work, track 10 x 400, or fartlek session

Thursday: 6 miles at club.

Friday: Easy 5 miles, or 3 if racing next day.

Saturday: Race or steady run, 8-10 miles.

The answers above are interesting.  If we start at the end we see that although he was running well at a time when many, if not most, road racers were doing 100 mpw (or as near that figure as their body would let them) he was doing a much lower total: somewhere between about 45 and 60 miles a week.   For a man running marathon, Joe’s long run was only 15 miles. In fairness, he does also say that in the build up to the marathon he it would be 70-75 mpw with a long run of about 20 miles.   But on the other hand, the quality was high – given the quality of men in the club, a fast 10 on a Tuesday would be maybe racing pace for many.  For a man who never ran a fast marathon, his best three years were 1979, 1980 and 1981 with times of 2:30:01, 2:25:57 and 2:25:43.   His best time would have won all but one of the SAAA marathon championships between 1946 and 1962.  That he was a good runner is not in doubt.   The results of his ‘good month’ mentioned above show that in some detail and are worth looking at.

Joe Small ran in the race twice – the first time was in 1978 and he says – This was my first attempt at a long race.   Having decided to try the marathon and only having raced 12 to 15 miles, I thought that the 21.8 miles would be a good stepping stone.   Starting from Meadowbank Stadium I sat in the leading pack gradually moving up as others fell off the pace.   The group held fairly tightly together as there was a fairly strong headwind until around the ten mile mark when it was whittled down to three – myself, Davie Wyper and Jim Russell.   I pushed the pace from there and Jim was quickly dropped leaving me to do all the work as Davie sat in.   I tried everything to get clear – speeding up, slowing down, even inviting him to go in front but he didn’t take up the offer!   We came into North Berwick, still together and previous knowledge (he’d won the race two years before) allowed him to sprint clear.   I hadn’t a clue where the finish was!   Dave beat me by 6 seconds with 2:01:50 but I was quite pleased with my first effort at the distance.   A couple of years later, in better conditions, I had a really fast run – 1:55 – to finish fifth I think.  

Let’s have a look at Joe’s performances in the classic winter events – the district and national championships as well as the classic Edinburgh to Glasgow relay race.   Take the November event, E – G, as the first of these held every winter.

Like all good road runners, and all good club men, Joe did his work in the toughest road relay in the country – the classic eight stage Edinburgh to Glasgow relay.   He ran in ten of them, for two clubs (Monkland and Clyde Valley), covered stages 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 at various times and was part of teams that won the race (1980) and had three third places (1974, 1975, and 1983).   His team mates in the 1980 winning team were Ronnie McDonald, Neil Agnew, Ian Gilmour, Jim Brown, John Graham, Eddie Devlin and Peter Fox.  Selection was tough in most of the Clyde Valley years and just making the team was a feat in itself.   Joe, like Eddie Devlin, was a key part of these teams and the Browns, McDonalds, Gilmours and Grahams would not have won as many team medals without them.   The same is true of the county, district and national cross-country championships.   The National six-stage road relay did not appear on the fixture list until season 1978/79 and Clyde Valley only took part in the first three.   Joe ran on the first stage in the inaugural event finishing fifth of 44 runners, only 20 seconds behind the leader and putting his team well in contention.   They finished second that day.   The following year he was third fastest on the opening stage for the Clyde Valley team that finished second.   The year after that (1981) he ran on the second stage for the team that finished fifth.   Again running well, beating several men who on paper should have been ahead of him and helping win medals for his team mates. 

The Midland Championships are next of the big championships on the calendar and Joe first appeared there as a senior boy in 1970 when he finished 34th but as a non-scorer in the Monklands team that finished sixth.   He went on to run as a Youth (ie under 17) twice with a best position of seventh in 1972.   He then ran in the combined Junior/Senior championship where he was almost always a counting runner in the six man team for Monkland and then for Clyde Valley from 1975.   Joe continued to progress as he went through the age groups and started to train with the big boys – and the big boys in Monkland and Clyde Valley were very big indeed.   Jim Brown and Ronnie McDonald were from the Monkland days, and if we add in Brian McSloy, John Graham, Ian Gilmour and Peter Fox then you have runners that could take on the very best at any distance from 1500m to marathon.   The same is true of the National Championships; Clyde Valley teams won many races as teams of individuals or as relay teams whether it was at County, District or National level.   It is equally true that the big boys would not have won anywhere near as many races, trophies or medals without Joe, or Eddie or Neil.    He was in the winning team at the National championship in 1973 as a Junior Man and in 1980 with a Clyde Valley team, second in 1982 and third in 1981 also with Clyde Valley.    

Joe Small on the extreme left running in the Lanarkshire Championships

Joe was undeniably a very good athlete as far as road and cross-country running was concerned, although he did run on the track and was even ranked in Scotland as a steeplechaser but, by and large, his track best times as noted above are not as impressive as the other chievements already noted.   When we asked him about it he replied, “Regarding track, I would say that I was a road runner first, cross country second with track a distant third.   The steeplechasing followed on from school, couldn’t compete with the guys on the flat so tried the hurdles instead. After finishing 3rd in the Scottish Schools 2000m I tried a couple 3000m’s before packing it in.”    There is however inter-club competition on the track as well as over the country or on the road.   One of the things the endurance athlete did during the summer was compete in track team races – usually four to run but only three to score- and there were many of these across the land.  Lanarkshire had its fair share of these with the nearest to Joe being at Shotts, Airdrie and Coatbridge.   The tracks varied in distance and in degree of upkeep allocated to the track surface.   A good clubman, Joe competed in them for the team.   His comments of the highland games circuit?   “Favourite event would probably be Cowal, as a club we’d usually get an invite to the 3000m team race (with all expenses paid!), so travel down, run the race then spend the expenses on beer!   I was never a fan of handicap races at highland games, I always thought you should compete on level terms, if you couldn’t keep up so be it, so tended to do 3000 team races.”   I think everybody liked Cowal.   The journey to Dunoon was enjoyable, the crowd was massive, it was the last Saturday before the football season started which helped, and it had the added attraction of the March of a Thousand Pipers at the end as they appeared between the houses high up at the corner of the arena and marched down and into the arena – band after band after band with the different kilts on display.   The track was not as good as some but it was 440 yards which was unusual.    Joe’s final comment was,” No national or even district results to speak of on the track, just a lack of speed really, although I did run in the Home Countries Schools International (2000m s/chase)”

That then is Joe’s career as a distance runner of some ability, a man who would have been welcome in any club in the land for his ability and and his team spirit.   

Enjoying Cowal: Joe, Ian Moncur and Neil Agnew

The reports on the race were becoming hard to find with the sports editor of the ‘Glasgow Herald’ preferring to print results of high profile and international races rather than the bread-and-butter domestic scene.   Some of the results in 1966 were of interest to this page – eg Mike Ryan of St Modan’s was now living in New Zealand and won the Fukuoka Marathon on the last Saturday in November, many of the runners from past Clydesdale Harriers races were performing well with Alistair Johnston having the fastest time ever on the fifth stage of the Edinburgh to Glasgow, the Scottish team to take on the British army included Ian McCafferty, Alex Brown, Jim Brennan, John Linaker and Eddie Knox.   However, given the sparse coverage of the race over the decade we will cover what we can and fill in the gaps subsequently.   The picture below is of Jim Brennan and Pat Maclagan – both of whom ran well in the race – running in the Midlands 

The 1970 race was held on 28th November over the recognised course and the report in the ‘Glasgow Herald’ read:   “Laurie Reilly (Victoria Park) who has already established a reputation as a top-grade performer set a record time of 13 min 28 sec on Saturday at Clydebank in the two and a half mile graded race for youths.   This was one second better than the six year old record held by Eddie Knox (Springburn).   Reilly was content to remain with the leaders until 800 metres from the finish.   Then he decided to step up the pace and ran out the winner from Laurie Spence (Wellpark) and Paul Bannon (Shettleston).   Jim Lawson (Springburn) won the race for Senior Boys and winner of the race for Juniors was Nat Muir (Shettleston).”

There were of course three races for different age groups by now and the names in the various age groups bear scrutin with Laurie Spence of Glenpark (NOT Wellpark!) and Paul Bannon, a future Olympian, being runners-up in the Youth Race, Jim Lawson and Ian Murray of the formidable Springburn junior squad master minded by Eddie Sinclair and of course Nat Muir, one of our greatest ever cross-country and 5000m runners ever.

RESULTS

The races in 1971 were won by runners from outside the usual winning clubs of Springburn, Shettleston or Victoria Park.   They came from Beith, Kilmarnock and Greenock.   The report from above includes the results of another race being held on the same dat – a schools race at Coatbridge which was fishing in the same athletics pool.  This unfortunately impacted on the Youth & Ballot Team Race  Results as printed in the ‘Glasgow Herald’:-

The race had been organised by Clydesdale Harriers and supported by clubs from across the central belt since November 1946 and many, many top class young runners since then.   When it had been started it was filling a gap in the fixtures across the country, by 1970 there were many races for the age group targeted in the beginning and many races that had been for senior men only, now included age group events.      It carried on well into the 1980’s, it changed to a cross-country event.   It had varying degrees of success, eg runners came from as far as Inverness – but its ‘glory days’ were in the first 20 years of its existence.   It was a real classic but not one aimed at senior men.

The DAAA has had many very good athletes taking part in the championships, whether on the track, over the country or on the roads.   Some of these competitors are pictured here.  Not all are pictured in DAAA events but as far as possible they have been.   

Colin Martin Winning the 5000m at the DAAA Track Championships at Scotstoun

Earlier in the same race: Bill Yate (Maryhill), Phil Dolan (Clydesdale) and Colin Martin (Dumbarton)

DAAA Championships at Scotstoun on a sunny day in the 1980’s, Denis Williams, Alistair Kinniburgh , Derek Halpin

Hugh Barrow (Victoria Park) Scottish and GB internationalist

GB sprinter Les Piggot, Garscube, wearing the club colours

George Rodger (Clydesdale  5) and Les Piggot (Garscube 1) in a handicap 100 at a highland games

GB sprinter and captain, GB record holder, W Menzies (Ming) Campbell, Garscube

Lachie Stewart of course – not further comment required!!!

Willie Gallagher, Vale of Leven

Four DAAA runners in the West District Championships at Westerlands:   Lachie Stewart (VoLAAC  12), Colin Martin (Dumbarton third left), Brian McAusland (Clydesdale on the right) and Hughie McErlean (Vale of Leven, third right.

Graeme Grant, Dumbarton AAC, (Scottish and GB internationalist) leading in a half mile race at Westerlands.

Graeme Grant, Dumbarton AAC, running in the Edinburgh to Glasgow

George White to John Wright (both Clydesdale) in DAAA Relays, mid 50’s

Walter Lennie, Vale of Leven AAC – note the Vale badge on his singlet

Cyril O’Boyle (Clydesdale) leading Alex McDougall (Vale of Leven) in the Balloch to Clydebank: McDougall was an international cross country runner and represented Scotland in the Empire Games marathon while O’Boyle won many championships in Ireland.

Phil Dolan (Clydesdale) leading Allan Adams (Dumbarton) in the Balloch to Clydebank

Davie Kerr to Davie Martin (Both Garscube)

Alex Kidd and Arthur Wharton (both Garscube) running in the McAndrew Relay but both good competitors in DAAA events

Starting Line for the Balloch to Clydebank in 1952 when it was only four clubs competing: Clydesdale, Dumbartron, Garscube and Vale of Leven

Leaders in the Balloch to Clydebank 12 Miles Road Race in 1953

John Maclachlan (Clydesdale)

Jack Brown, Dumbarton AAC

Pat Moy to Bob Steele (Both Vale of Leven) in the Edinburgh to Glasgow