LOCAL man Iain Docrwa is starting to turn heads on the ultra running scene after claiming new course records in the Kintyre Way and Dirty 30 races.

Last month saw him enter the Kintyre Way (67 miles) as his first competitive ultra. Not content with winning the race in a time of 10 hours and 27 minutes he also stole the course record from team GB athlete Paul Giblin.

This month he took another record in the notorious ‘Dirty 30’, a 30 mile race scattered with hills some of which exceed 1500 feet.

Iain’s trademark relaxed running style saw him hold a comfortable, steady pace to finish in 3 hours 59 minutes, setting a new course record.

Iain admitted that the results surprised even him, he said: “Both the Kintyre Way and Dirty 30 records came as a suprise to me too.

“I guess a solid winter of training with HAAC and my training buddy Eoin Lennon has paid off.

“I still really enjoy both my training and racing. I get to run through some stunning Scottish scenery along the way. That’s is the key, enjoyment.” Club president Laura Johnstone said: “HAAC is delighted to be celebrating Iain’s recent successes. To see a relative newcomer breaking records held by established champion runners is very exciting and testament to Iain’s hard work.” Further afield and in slightly warmer climates Jan Fellows was celebrating her 60th birthday in style as she took on the California Marathon. Accompanied by HAAC club mates Anna Wylie and her husband Alastair, Jan made light work of the 26.2 miles as she won the F60 category in a time of 3.46, closely followed by Alastair in 3.49 and Anna in 4.11.

Back in Scotland, the unstoppable team of Michelle Heatherington and her daughter Madeline Robinson took on the formidable Classic Quarter, a 44 mile hill race covering 4400 feet of elevation.

The experienced Helensburgh duo put their training to good use as they claimed not only fifth and third females respectively but Michelle took first veteran and Madeline finished a very respectable 13th overall.

The latter was a particularly impressive achievement given the race boasted a strong male dominated field of 267 starters.

Helensburgh man Stevie Bell completed the 100 mile South Downs Way. An experienced hill and ultra runner, Stevie was the perfect candidate for the challenge which included 12,700ft of elevation. His recent months of training paid off with a top 50 position, finishing in 21 hours and 11 minutes in 43r.

Triathlon Recently a number of club members have added swimming and cycling to their training as triathlon season starts. Last month the inaugural Loch Lomand triathlon saw HAAC members Phil Dye, Maria Dye, Laura Johnstone, Stuart Cordner, Euan Crumbly and Karl Giarchi take on the open water swim, challenging bike course and fast run on the bonnie banks.

In the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run) Ironman Phil Dye made the most of a strong swim to come out the water fresh and attacked the bike course, his strongest discipline, with ease.

Despite injury taking its toll on the run, Phil finished in a convincing 1 hour 28 minutes and took first male in the S.Vet category. In the same race Laura Johnstone put in her usual steady performance over all disciplines to secure a comfortable finish at fifth female.

In the longer standard distance Karl was first home for the club and took third male vet following a very strong performance over all three disciplines.

Euan Crumley’s recent pool training paid off as a strong swim put the HAAC member in a comfortable position for the bike allowing him to show his true form in the run, where despite a wrong turn costing him an extra kilometre he finished 12th overall.

Stuart Cordner is more used to sailing on the loch but made the transition to triathlon look easy as he produced a powerful swim to put him mid pack before an impressive performance on the bike and a sprightly run saw him slip into the top 20 and finish 17th male vet.

Local ironman and record holding swimmer Maria Dye was the only HAAC female member to take on the standard distance. A particularly strong swim saw her come out of the water in front of husband Phil allowing her to maintain a steady bike course before dismounting and tackling her strongest discipline, the run. Making easy work of the 10k in 44 minutes saw her claim a well deserved third female vet.