Peter Rudzinski joined Clydesdale Harriers in 1983 with his application for membership going through the Committee Meeting on 18th November, just three months after his friend Jim Wright. He has now been a member for over 40 years and has served the club as a runner, as an official and as an administrator. As shown in the tables below, he has run in all the major championships – club, county, District and National almost every year since the mid 80’s, run in open races as a senior man, as a veteran in every category for which he was eligible and in races on the road at distances up to the full marathon of 26 miles 385 yards. Never an international runner or one of the top men in the country there have been many events in which the club would not have had a team finishing without him. He has a total of 937 races under his belt – so far. He has been an able administrator organising open races and serving on the Committee in almost every position since he was first elected on 13th April 1984. It has become a family pastime too with his son Mark being a very good runner indeed he won the first stage of the District relays on one occasion and has finished in the top 20 of the National Championships and the family has the distinction of winning all three sections of the club Christmas Handicap – Peter the senior, Mark the junior and Peter’s wife Shirley winning the Ladies race.
We start this detailed look at his extensive career in the club by asking him about his first steps as a club member.
How did you get into the sport in the first place? I was working for Strathclyde Region in the offices in Dumbarton in 1982 when a certain Jim Wright joined the staff. He used to train at lunchtimes and told us he was training for the Glasgow Marathon. I went up to Glasgow to watch him in the race and was amazed to see so many people, all shapes and sizes, all ages, taking part. Right there I decided if they could do that then so could I.
At the Glen Fruin race in Helensburgh: Peter on the right of the picture beside Gerry Kennedy
What was your first ever race?I was then invited (persuaded) to participate in the NALGO (Local Government Union) XC Champs which were being held at Lutterworth in March 1983. 3 of us from the office went down to run. Tony McCall was also there. (He loaned me a pair of spikes).
We started training at lunchtime from the office in January 1983. We went out twice a week, usually up to Overtoun House or along the A82. I also went out on a Sunday for a longer run. By March I was running 12 miles on a Sunday.
The race was on 19th March. From memory I was about 250th. For some reason I remember the winner was Ashworth Laukum who was a GB internationalist. Tony McCall was 1st vet.
After that the same 3 of us decided to train for the Glasgow Marathon. I trained during the year. By May I was up to 17 miles on a Sunday. I only did 1 20 miler before the marathon but managed to jog round in 4 hours and 7 minutes.
Had you been involved in any sport before that?
I had starting playing golf a few years before and had joined Dumbarton GC in 1982. Only played in summer and usually only once a week.
Were you sporty at school? There were no organised sports at my school although I did participate in the only time we had a sports day. I was second in the sack race and third in the hurdles. I won 10m shillings in vouchers!
Were you/are you competitive in everyday life – eg did you always want to win at table games, do you want to overtake anybody when out for a walk, or whatever? I never played table games. I had four sisters and there was not much interaction between us. I have learned to ignore the pace of fellow walkers. Not bothered about anyone overtaking me.
What was your first race? My first race was the Nalgo Cross Country Champs, then the Glasgow Marathon, followed by the Yoker Mini Marathon the month after the marathon. My first club race was the Sinclair Trophy race in December 1983. I remember being passed on the Boulevard by Phil Dolan who had missed the start of the race!
What training did you do at that time? See above for my training for the first race. About 200 miles in the 10 weeks up to the race.
A group of runners after the Dunky Wright Road Race: Peter, Willie McCoo, John Hanratty, Derek Halpin, Brian Potts and Charlie McIntosh.
Peter was a prolific racer in championships. If we look at the total of these races we see the following. He joined the club on 18th November 1983, he ran his first National Cross-Country Championship on 25th February, 1984 (i.e. his first season in the club) in Irvine and has run in every National Championship since then with the exception of 2022 when there was no event held. His record in the District Championships is equally impressive. A very good club man, we can look at his record in the main club races – the championships, the Hannah Cup for a cross-country handicap and the Sinclair Trophy for the short road championship over 5 miles.
|
Event |
First Race |
Last Race |
Total |
Comments |
|
Championship |
8 February 1986 |
9 February 2013 |
26 |
Missed Only One |
|
Hannah Cup |
12 January 1985 |
1 December 2012 |
25 |
* |
|
Sinclair Trophy |
3 December 1983 |
17 July 2012 |
22 |
Won in 2002 |
The red star indicates that he missed some races but officiated at every one he did not compete in. The Christmas Handicap is a tradition in every club and Peter ran in 20 races between December 1983 and December 2005.He stopped in 2005 because he started to officiate at the race then. A remarkable record to be sure but nothing like as remarkable as his record in country, district and national championships.
|
Event |
First Race |
Last Race |
Total |
Comments |
|
County Champs |
1 December 1984 |
24 Nov 2011 |
22 |
* |
|
County Relay |
13 October 1984 |
21 October 2006 |
21 |
* |
|
District Champs |
28 January 1984 |
4 December 2021 |
38 |
Still Running |
|
District Relay |
17 October 1987 |
12 October 2019 |
30 |
|
|
SCCU Champs |
25 February 1984 |
24 February 2024 |
39 |
Still Running |
|
SCCU Relays |
27 October 1984 |
21 October 2023 |
25 |
|
|
Six Stage Relay |
30 March 1986 |
25 March 2023 |
22 |
That is a quite remarkable record: no club member has been found who has run anywhere near as Many National or District Championships The red stars again indicate that he has been officiating rather than running in these races since his last recorded appearance. The total figures are quite formidable. We have searched the records and asked for information on the internet but so far have only come across two athletes who have run in more National championships – Eric Stevenson from Edinburgh who has notched up an astounding 51 appearances and Doug Gunstone from Dundee who has 44 consecutive appearances. There are probably a few others in the country but not many have reached 40 – and Peter is only one short of that total.
Peter of course also runs in Veteran Harriers Championships and his record there is no less impressive. His first run was in Linlithgow on 3rd February 1991 and he has run in the championships all over Scotland – from Elgin and Cupar in the north to Hawick in the South and every course where it has been held, missing only one race. His most recent race was on 11th February 2024 making a total of 32 runs. He only missed one because he had booked a holiday before he knew the date for the race!
He doesn’t only run on the country of course and his personal best times on all surfaces are as follows:
|
Distance |
Time |
Venue |
Year |
|
5K |
18:58 |
Masters T&F Champs |
1991 |
|
10K |
38:48 |
Helensburgh |
1994 |
|
10 Miles |
62:18 |
Tom Scott Road Race |
1986 |
|
Half Marathon |
1:24:22 |
Helensburgh |
1994 |
|
Marathon |
3:17:06 |
Glasgow |
1987 |
Peter (47) running with Tommy Wright in the Inverclyde Marathon in 1984
Looking back at his career, Peter continued to respond to the questionnaire.
What did or do you get from running? From running I got satisfaction, a sense of achievement, the pleasure of a PB, a feeling I was doing something worthwhile. After all these years I remember beating Phil Dolan (national cross-country champs at Perth), Bobby Young, Peter Cartwright, Bobby and Jim Shields (in the same race – Glen Fruin) and even Allan Adams snr in a vets race. My last triumph was beating Colin Youngson at the Masters cross-country champs at Hawick. I don’t care if they were past their best when I eventually beat them! Also of course were the many long lasting friendships I have over the years. My time would be much less enjoyable without seeing these friends on a regular basis.
Did you get any significant help from any individual or group? In the beginning, Tony McCall was a great help to me because of his advice. He always told me that training was like putting money in a bank, and racing was withdrawing that money. His advice was that you had to have enough in the bank before you could make a withdrawal. I always tried to follow that principle. Bobby Shields looked after me and my training partners and gave us plenty of advice.
What was your best or most satisfying run? Too many to choose from but when I ran my best half marathon (1:23) at Helensburgh I remember being in total control all the way through the race and finished strongly as if it was a training run. I felt good all the way. Perhaps my finest achievement was running the 5th leg for the first team at the national 6 stage road relay at Livingston and I did not lose a place! I think we were 17th that year.
Any race you would rather forget? Truthfully I think I have seldom had a stinker when I was racing. I usually was fairly consistent and my times never fluctuated much, I got gradually faster, then got gradually slower after I had peaked. Cross Country is a different story however. Conditions can be very challenging and one in particular at the national champs in Cupar I nearly chucked it because of the extreme cold. Also one masters cross-country at Hawick, I wore a hat, gloves, thermal vest, rain jacket and tracksters, with my vest over my jacket because of the horrendous conditions.
In the 6 stage road relay, Livingstone, in 2012
Peter is however best known at present as an able administrator and official. Like Jim Wright and John Hanratty, Peter is still working on the club committee 40 years after joining the club. He has held many offices in the club including Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and President over the years. He was club treaurer from 1998/99 to 1999/2000, and also in 2001/2002. As President he served in 2002/03, and then there was a mammoth stint from 2008 through to (at least) 2024. He has also represented the club intermittently on the West District Committee and has been on the Dunbartonshire County AAA Committee continuously since 1991and was President of the Association for one year.
As a race organiser he was responsible for
· running the Polaroid 10K in Clydebank for 15 years. The Polaroid 10K series consisted of four races run in Clydebank, Dumbarton, Helensburgh and Vale of Leven and was well supported by runners from all over the country. The series came to an end when the Polaroid company ceased to support them following a series of problems in the company.
· Organising races for the Scottish Veteran Harriers Club over 5k, 10K and the half marathon as well as their Christmas Handicap
· As club president he was also the main force behind the Dunky Wright Road Race.
As an official he has worked at highland games and league matches, but he is a UKACM Grade 2 qualified course measurer and qualified to measure race routes for road races.
Although currently recognised as an administrator and official Peter was, and still is, a runner – it’s what brought him into the club in the first place – and he has run in races all over Scotland, run in the London marathon and even run as far afield as Gran Canaria. This last has an interesting story attached to it. For several years he went with the Scottish Veterans Club to Spain in winter – for a holiday, although they had a 5k and 10k during the week. Peter continues the story:
“Some of the participants got a bit fed up going to the same place every year so Cammy Spence (from Greenock) organised an alternative trip to the Canaries. We always had a 5k during the week but it was definitely a holiday. We had daily morning runs – but no sessions. Only sessions I saw were in the bar at night.
“After a few years, some of the runners from Clydesdale Harriers (non -vets) started coming with us so I was eventually persuaded to organise the event. Last one was held in 2016 and has not been resurrected due to a lack of interest. As it happens, I am the current holder of the 5k championship as I won the last race!”
And that’s the story about his ‘race’ in Gran Canaria.
It has been a grand career in the sport and one from which he has gained a lot but he has also contributed a great deal.
