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races 2009
Come July and a better day dawned for Dollar, sunny and warm. At 95, the entry was larger than expected, including four from Holland who were in Scotland on holiday. First back was Joe Symonds of Hunters Bog Trotters (HBT) in an impressive time of 1 hour 13 minutes, the third fastest ever. He was closely followed by Prasad Prasad of Clydesdale Harriers. Andrea Priestley and Alayne Finlay of OHR were first and second ladies respectively, and both male and female team prizes went to OHR (well they were organising it!). Thanks go to Dollar Academy for the loan of the wonderful cricket pavilion and to Williams Brothers Brewery of Alloa for the prizes. The following weekend warm weather again prevailed for the Famous Alva Games, where Alastair Dunn of Helm Hill Runners won the men's race for the 4th year in a row. His time of 20 minutes, however, was still some way off the record of 18:39 set by Kenny Stuart in 1981. A few days later saw another big field turn out in Tillicoultry for the 2009 Maddy Moss Mash which, with 122 starters, is proving to be another popular mid-week race. Conditions were a bit damp for registration but by the time of the 7:30pm start the showers had eased off and sunny spells made for a fine evening. However, the rain had done enough to make the course quite greasy underfoot, and good studs were essential. Murray Strain of HBT won the race in a time of 50 minutes, two minutes ahead of Andrew Wright of Carnegie Harriers. Iona Robertson of Bellahouston was first female in 1 hour and 1 minute. Geoff Smith and the Remote Rescue Medics team provided much needed first aid support on the hill, with at least one sprained ankle to deal with. Thanks again to Williams Bros Brewery, Alloa, and The Running Company, Bridge of Allan, for help with prizes. And so to the end of August and the final race of the summer season, the Ochil 2000s, sponsored by The Running Company, Bridge of Allan, who kindly provided all the prizes. The race starts in the Glensherup car park in Glendevon and finishes at the university, having covered all the Ochil tops over 2,000 feet, with Dumyat thrown in for good measure at the end. This year runners had to put up with a strong head wind and wet conditions underfoot after weeks of rain, but the clouds cleared the hills before the start and navigation was not a major challenge. Alastair Anthony of OHR did well in the conditions to finish first in an impressive 2 hours 48 minutes, just 39 seconds outside the course record, whilst first lady was again Iona Robertson of Bellahouston. Local club OHR fielded 17 out of the 110 starters, and were rewarded with both male and female team prizes. www.ochilhillrunners.org.uk
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