Marathon season starts with a flourish

Marathon season kicks off in Earnest

This weekend a number of athletes were in action at different parts of the UK taking part at Marathons in Manchester and Fort William.

South of the border, new member Stuart Murdoch was first Kilmarnock Harrier home in a fantastic time of 2 hours 52 minutes and was rightly pleased with his effort.

Alister Neil defied a lack of recent training to run a massively respectable 3.19, while Clubmate John Tougher finished not too far behind in another solid 26.2 miler by clocking 3.32.

At the longstanding Lochaber Marathon in the Highlands a number of Harriers defied shocking conditions to clock excellent times with a few personal bests amongst themselves.

Training partners David McCleod and John Cairns peppered the top 20 with both dipping under the magical 3 hour barriers with John Parker amazingly shattering his previous lifetime best by close on 30 minutes. Ultra Runner Mark Hamilton, 6pm Group member Mandy, and debutant Kimberley Todd completed a superb day for Kilmarnock Harriers.