TEN years ago three tartan-clad ladies from Helensburgh Amateur Athletics Club took on the Great North Run half marathon and received an unexpected boost before the race.

We take a look a look back in the Advertiser's archives to this story from 2009...

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THE Great North Run half marathon from Newcastle to South Shields attracts, among its 54,000 competitors, a sizeable sprinkling of celebrities.

This year, however, a small group of ladies from Helensburgh Amateur Athletics Club drew as much recognition from their fellow runners as did any of the famous stars.

Lynda Brown, Kathleen Grieve and Norma Johnstone were widely acclaimed for something which actually started exactly one year previously.

For the 2008 run, they supplemented their HAAC running vests with mini kilts which attracted not just a lot of encouraging support from spectators, but also the attention of an official photographer at the end of the run.

When the envelope with the entry pack for the 2009 Great North Run arrived the ladies were surprised and delighted to find one of the photos was included in the information magazine that accompanied the race number and chip.

With these publications going out to all runners, they found themselves being hailed as “the girls from the magazine” before, during and after the 13.1 miles, as they once again wore the trademark kilts.

The recognition and encouragement that this gave them ensured that they enjoyed the whole race experience once again.