National XC Championships 2020 – Falkirk

Callendar Park in Falkirk was the venue for the National XC Championships, the final race of the XC season.

No Cross Country race report would be complete without mentioning the weather! A challenging course at the best of times, the conditions deteriorated as the day went on, with strong winds, freezing temperatures, hailstones and thick mud adding to the difficulty.

After some fantastic performances from the juniors, the 4 Harriers ladies gave it their all, with Aly Conquer coming home in 46.52 and 52^nd place, Kirsty Alexander placing well in the vets and finishing 76^th overall in 48.29. Gail Henderson completed the course in a very creditable 55.58 with Paula Wilson performing well in the v50s with 58.24.

There were several National debuts amongst the men with Richard Mair continuing his excellent recent form finishing 35^th overall (38.19) in a field of 680 runners. Another great run from Craig Ferguson saw him home in 42.31 (142^nd) with Dan Thompson not far behind on 43.07 (171^st).

Robert Lindsay 44.43 (220^th), David Moody 46.41 (296^th) and Mark Alexander 48.18 (354^th) made up the 6 team counters which saw Kilmarnock finish in 20^th place overall. Just outside and still placing well were Scott Martin 48.38 (371^st) and Murray McDonald 51.04 (448^th)

Although the Cross Country season is finished, we still have a couple of races to go in the Winter Championships, and it’s a close one for the ladies with Kirsty Alexander, Paula and Kirsty McNulty all within a few points of each other. Craig Ferguson is running away (literally) with the men’s title.

Next up – Jack Crawford 10k on 9^th of March.