Many runners, clubmen and supporters concentrated on the long leg (six), the champions leg (two) and maybe four – but then the first stage was vital if you were gpoing to be a contestant, and three was one where a lot of ground could be lost on what was the shortest leg of the race – very few looked at five in any detail.  The fifth stage was fairly long (5 miles plus) but was without any doubt the most exposed of them all.   If there was a wind, you got it all the way, and in one year there was a bit of a gale blowing and I remember getting in to the bus at the end of the stage followed by a student from one of the university teams gasping, “That wind!   Oh!   That wind.   What a wind.   Oh that wind!”   When it snowed, as it did at least once, the leg was one of the toughest any of us had experienced.

Shettleston’s Ben Bickerton to Harry Howard in April 1949: start of fifth

1957: the Armadale changeover, B4 being the Irvine YMCA runner

1959: George Meikle to John Hamilton for Teviotdale

Henry Summerhill to Graham Everett (Shettleston) in 1960

 

Roden to Moody for Teviotdale in 1961

 

Davie Simpson, Law and District in 1975

Chic Forbes (VPAAC) to Ian Binnie at the end of Stage 5

1985: Tom Graves, Kangaroos (a travelling group of US runners)

The excellent black and white pictures below are of course by Graham MacIndoe

1985: Alistair Douglas (Victoria Park AAC)

1985: Derek Easton (Falkirk Victoria)

1985: Colin Donnelly (Cambuslang)

1985: Keith Lyall (Edinburgh Southern Harriers)

1986: Laing (AAAC), Connaghan (Spango Valley), Thomson (Cambuslang)

Charlie Thomson finishing stage 5, to Alex Gilmour for Cambuslang

The next four are by Roddy Simpson, as shown on Scottish Running in the 80’s Facebook page, and are of the 1992 Race.

Allan Adams running for Victoria Park AAC

J Garland of Edinburgh AC

The changeover at Armadale: David Cameron of Shettleston to Tony Coyne

Same change over: Hawkhill’s B Pattieson to Matt Strachan

 

Edinburgh AC changeover

2001