Senior Race Round Up 4th January 2024

Happy new year to all of our athletes, coaches and volunteers from your club captains! We have
been enjoying our Christmas break, but meanwhile there has been a LOT going on for us to report
back on from the last few weeks.

On the 13 th of December, U20 athlete Jamie Phillips travelled to Dublin to take part in the Track and
Field Live event over 3000m. In a high quality field, Jamie finished an excellent 6 th in a new PB of
8:43.77 – incredible running Jamie, well done!

We then had the senior/older juniors Christmas handicap held on the 14 th of December. A total of
39 athletes turned out for this popular annual event and we were blessed by fairly decent weather
conditions – something coach Colin Glencorse had perhaps not considered when running in a fluffy
reindeer outfit! This event is run as a bit of a hybrid handicap rather than the true handicap we do
for the Valley Dash with athletes sent out at closer intervals in larger groups to prevent too much
standing around in the cold and all of the calculations are done in the background, thankfully Team
Gebbie have these events down to a fine art and all went smoothly! On the night, the young team
prevailed with Alex Curran, Jonathon Downey and Alex Lindsay the first 3 runners across the line.
Jonathon was also fastest on the night with a net time of 16:04. First lady across the line was U17
athlete Eve Starritt, and fastest lady on the night was Lynsey O’Connor in 19:42. Our top 3 athletes
based on the true handicap calculations were Kieran MacCann, Eve Starritt and Lauren Little. Huge
well done to everyone who put their toe on the line, it was great to see such a fantastic turnout.

On the 21 st of December, two Harriers took to the line at the Cyclists v Harriers event on Irvine Moor.
Jonathon Downey was 2 nd overall and 1 st runner in a time of 28:14, and Murray McDonald was 18 th
overall and 12 th runner in a time of 36:28. Second claim member Kara McKenzie Tait was also
competing (representing her first claim club Corstorphine), finishing first lady and 11 th overall in
32:57.

A move from the 26 th to the 27 th of December for the Turkey Trot was no doubt welcomed by many
who could enjoy their Christmas celebrations more freely – unfortunately the weather on the 27 th
was far from ideal! Our sole representative in the 5k event was U17 athlete Jamie Work who
finished in a fine 2 nd place in 17:23 – great running Jamie! In the 10k event, 15 hardy souls turned
out in the wind and rain to take on the out and back course. First home and 3 rd overall (1 st U20) was
Jonathon Downey (32:36), followed by Craig Ferguson in 9 th (34:46) and Matthew Monachello in 22 nd
(38:40). For the ladies, first home was Amanda Bryden in 52 nd overall and 3 rd senior lady (45:02)
followed by Izzy Caufield in 63 rd and 2 nd U20 lady (47:03) and Lauren Little (53:04). Well done to all
our athletes on the day!

On the 29 th of December, two Harriers travelled through to Tillicoultry for the Tilli 10k – well known
as a fast and competitive race! First across the line in 20 th overall and 1 st in the 15-17 age category
was Sam Rice in a cracking time of 33:26. Connell Drummond finished 147 th overall in a solid 40:25 –
well done both.

Moving swiftly into 2024, the first event for many was the Beith Harriers 10k. Following from some
great results from our younger athletes in the junior road races, 13 Harriers came forward to
represent the club over the 10k distance – again in the rain, roll on summer! First home and taking
another win was Jonathon Downey in 33:53, followed by Jordan Phillips who was 3 rd overall and 2 nd
U20 in 35:04. Rounding off our top 3 men on the day was Graeme Quinn who was 4 th overall and 1 st
senior man in 35:59. For the ladies, Lorna Baird was first home and 2 nd lady overall in 39:23,
followed by Amanda Bryden (45:57) and Bethany Ross (46:47). Well done to all of our other athletes

who also competed – Jamie Work (7 th overall, 2 nd U17 in 35:59), Jamie Nix (38:45 and a new PB), Nick
Carter (41:13 and a 2 nd PB in a row for Nick I believe!), Lauren Little (53:18), Jacqui Sandler (54:57),
Stewart McAllister (55:52) and Salvatore Monachello (1:06:04).

With 3 point scoring races now added into the leagues (U20 and seniors only), competition is
starting to heat up. At the top of the ladies table Amanda Bryden has a commanding lead with 94
points, followed by Bethany Ross with 41 and Lauren Little with 25. For the U20 ladies Izzy Caufield
leads the way with 83 points and Sasha I’Anson is 2 nd with 39. The senior men’s table is probably the
most competitive this season so far, and things are tight at the top! Craig Ferguson still leads the
way with 94 points, but Nick Carter is hot on his heels with 87 and still all to play for. Jamie Nix now
takes up 3 rd place (55 points) after a couple of strong 10k performances in the last fortnight. For the
U20 men, Jonathon Downey leads the way with 87, with his closest rival Jamie Phillips on 33 and
Connor Scobie with 20. There are still 5 events to go and lots of points to be gained!

Now we are into 2024, we will be looking to collate and verify results for those looking to achieve
their ‘Club Together’ award in association with Howdens Irvine. In the next week or two we will be
asking athletes to submit their events via email so have a look at the rules Club Together rules to see
if you are eligible and watch out for further communications on this.

Lastly, we will shortly be looking for names for the next West League XC match – get those spikes
dug back out!