FALKIRK Victoria Harriers will today reveal a new weapon which may

help bring them major honours this season, writes Doug Gillon. Steve

Binns, the 1986 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres silver medallist, has

joined them and will run in Shettleston's Alan Scally Road Relay.

Falkirk are optimistic that their enhanced quartet this afternoon --

Binns, John Sherban, Gary Grindlay, and Donnie Bain or Mike McQuaid --

can go one better than their runners-up place last year.

''Subject to Scottish Athletics Federation approval of Binns's

transfer from second-claim status at Annan to secondary first-claim with

us, he plans to run with us in the Edinburgh to Glasgow relay in a

fortnight,'' said Falkirk spokesman Doug Gillespie yesterday.

Binns, who recently opened Victoria's new clubrooms, is a first-claim

member of Bingley in England, but lives at Kettleholm in Dumfriesshire,

where he operates a riding stable. Scottish internationalist Grindlay is

also a first-claim member of Bingley, while Sherban is first-claim with

Shaftesbury.

Falkirk spearheaded a campaign this month to have new rules drafted

which make it possible for this trio, as Scottish residents, to compete

for them, and they now stand to reap the benefits.

Cambuslang will be without Scottish champion Tom Murray, who helped

them win the national cross-country relay last weekend, and it is

doubtful whether the Cumnock runners-up, Kilbarchan, or bronze

medallists, Racing Club, can challenge Falkirk.

Racing, particularly, go much better on road, but will also have a

depleted team, minus Ian Brown and Peter Fleming. But ''The Scally''

always brings out the very best, as it operates as most clubs' final

trial for the Barr's Edinburgh-Glasgow race.

So intense is competition that Olympic steeplechaser Tom Hanlon and

Commonwealth marathon man John Graham must run for their places, and are

by no means guaranteed selection. Alan Robson, Racing's founder, reckons

there are six or seven runners chasing the last two places in their

team.