Scotland's New Year Sprint

Scottish Athletics interested in Sprint
SANDY SUTHERLAND
December 31 2007

Comment
Could Glasgow host a future New Year Sprint as part of the build-up to the Commonwealth Games in 2014?

The chief executive of Scottish Athletics, Geoff Wightman, who attended the 139th staging of the event, at Musselburgh Racecourse on Saturday, was impressed with the talent on view and has pledged to continue talking to the Scottish Games Association, to which the Sprint is affiliated, about ways of co-operating to the mutual benefit of both bodies.

Developing the Sprint and its supporting events could be one such way. The traditional professional handicap, first held at Powderhall in 1870, has had six other venues in the last half- century, all of them in the East of Scotland, with the exception of 1958 when it went to Hawick.

Generously backed by East Lothian Council and Musselburgh Racecourse for the last decade, the event needs a better track than the long grass strip currently on offer at the side of the racecourse and Pitreavie and Grangemouth have been mentioned as alternative venues.

But that decision rests with the promoter, Frank Hanlon, who had high hopes, now dashed, that an all-weather surface would be laid at Musselburgh.

“The track was very soft,” Hanlon readily conceded after 16-year-old Craig Robertson, a pupil at Galashiels Academy, powered to victory on Saturday in a triumph for Innerleithen coach Charlie Russell.

Following the success of another Craig Robertson, the 21-year-old Logierait farmer, in the 1600 metres handicap on the first day, the younger of the two, a 7-1 outsider, emerged from the relative obscurity of youths races in the Border Games to win the £4000 first prize at his first attempt.

David Rae, 33, of Hawick, was runner-up and another 16-year-old, Annan Academy pupil Josh Crawford, was third.

Robertson, a scrum-half with Gala Wanderers semi-juniors, only took up sprinting to help his rugby fitness and was at a loss for words: “This was my first ever event as a senior,” he admitted.

He covered the 110 metres in 12.00sec. from his start of 9.5 metres, with Rae, the fastest heat qualifier on Friday, second in 12.03, from 8.5 metres, and down on his heat form.

Robertson claims New Year Sprint

The New Year Sprint is the oldest professional athletics race in the world
Galashiels schoolboy Craig Robertson (5/1) lifted the 139th New Year Sprint in a time of 12 seconds in a photo-finish at Musselburgh Racecourse.
David Rae, 33, from Hawick, the Evens favourite, finished second in 12.03, with Josh Crawford from Annan third.

Landing the £4000 prize, Robertson, 16, a pupil at Galashiels Academy, said: “It’s a great honour to win the Sprint. We’ll have a party tonight.”

Robertson’s proud parents, Lesley and Scott, witnessed the memorable victory.

Ha Ha! I have fond memories of this competition! Nice little earner for those who don’t usually rujn the 100m!

What’s the surface?? Is that for 110m with an 8.5m head start?

i think its 128.5 yards or 117.5m rather odd distance.

Lane Name Club/Town H’cap (metres) Place Time (secs)
8 Craig Robertson Gala 9.5 1 12.00
7 Josh Crawford Annan 10 3 12.12
6 Ivan Barskanmay Hawick 9.75 4 12.16
5 Antony Daffurn Shettleson H 6 6 12.35
4 David Rae Hawick 8.5 2 12.03
3 Cameron Smith Tullibody 8.5 8 -
2 Gareth Gattinby Edinburgh 6.5 5 12.34
1 Duncan Cleat Edinburgh AC 7.25 7 12.40

see here’s one of the bits I can’t follow it looks to me like all here had a handicap start, so why didn’t anyone start from scratch? :confused:

More importantly though what is Robertson’s time worth on synthetic? Where is Sharmer when you need him? :stuck_out_tongue:

looks soft alright. what was the temperature that day?

Charlie, none of the “pro” guys seem bothered by the lack of wind readings at some (most? all?) of these handicap races. Why even bother making conversions for distance and time if you don’t factor in the wind influence?

Do you remember Edinburgh 1986? When the 400 finals were on, the wind blowing against them on the backstraight was off the scale - easily 9m +. (Homestraight was largely protected by the grand stand, but there was a gap between the structures around the bend which funnelled the breeze.

Katkat, thanks for posting report about the New Year Sprint. Conditions were pretty benign on Saturday - about 5 degrees C, wind unfavourable and grass track soft (easily taking a one inch spike). There is talk of it returning to a synthetic track next year, which would be good news.

So as a guess, winner 10.50 range in 100m on track in good weather??

As the lad ran 100.5 metres in 12.00e, admittedly in shitty conditions, I think he would be looking at 11.20-30e in good conditions on a tartan track.

Assuming there was someone running from scratch - probably got knocked out in the heats?
Marks generally dont change between heat->final

It’s 117.5m less the handicap of 9.5m so 108m in 12.00, 5 degrees C into the wind on slow grass. He’s faster than that even here on the way through.

The 400s were bad enough, but what about the relays??!!
The wind was so strong, everyone’s eyes teared up and they couldn’t see!!
If the officials had been strict, they prob could have DQ’d everybody- but, then again, they probably couldn’t see what was going on either!

The distance of the sprint was 110m, (http://www.sportingworld.co.uk/newyearsprint/index.html) so the guy ran a mere 100.5m.

Was it hand or electronically timed? I can’t see any timing post type thing from that picture.

Thanks, I wondered if that might be the case.

No one ran from scratch. The lowest handicap in the heats was 2.5m for Craig Fleming, a 10.54 and 21.34s(w) sprinter. I believe that handicaps are awarded using a set formula rather than relative to the rest of the field. If there is thus no <10.30 sprinter in the field, no one will start from scratch.

so now its a 110m race the only thing i could find was the distance i posted before, has some history though this race

The New Year Sprint has been 110m since the early 70’s and before that it was over the imperial equivalent of 120 yards.

It’s the race that presented Jim Bradley with the platform to spectacularly prove his theories about sprint training. Jim coached 5 winners of the famous race between 1963 and 1971.

Jim Bradley’s New year Sprint record:
1962 Rick Dunbar (6.5yds) 2nd
1963 Rick Dunbar (4.5yds) 1st
1964 Dave Walker (1yd) 4th
1965 Tom Dickson (6.5yds) 1st
1966 Bob Walker (8yds) 5th
1967 Joe Murdoch (8yds) 4th
1968 Bert Hutchinson (6.5yds) 2nd
1969 David Deas (5yds) 1st
1970 George McNeil (5.5yds) 1st
1970 Joe Murdoch (4yds) 4th
1971 Wilson Young (6.5yds) 1st
1971 George McNeil (Scr) 2nd

Interestingly, the coach - Charlie Russell of the the 2007 New year Sprint winner Craig Robertson, trains his athletes employing the Jim Bradley methods.