The dates when current athletic clubs were formed are quite clear but what went before is usually as interesting as the current situation.   What went before differs because of the areas in which the clubs appeared.   For instance conditions in Aberdeen were different from those in Ayrshire, and both were different from the Lothians or any of the big cities.   These pages deal with the development of athletics in Aberdeenshire and consist of three separate strands.

1.   W Hunter Watson’s account as told in a series of papers of what went before the establishment of Aberdeen AAC in 1952.
2. Colin Youngson’s history of the Shire Marathons in the early part of the twentieth century.
3. The profile of James Youngson as an illustration of an athlete based in Aberdeen during two distinct periods: the 20’s and 30’s, and then again in the 70’s and 80’s