Senior Event Roundup 14 th November 2023

As the weeks go on it has been getting colder, but we have mostly been treated to some great racing
conditions compared to the start of the XC season! Our athletes have been out and about on the
roads, country, trails and mountains in the last few weeks, and as always we have lots of good news
to report.

In a bit of a crossover timing wise from our last report, Jonathon Downey represented Scotland as
part of the senior team at the Trofeo Vanoni mountain race in Italy on Sunday the 22 nd of October.
The team finished in a fine 9 th place in some really excellent company. This was Jonathon’s first
senior vest, hopefully the first of many!

Friday the 27 th was the monthly installment of 3k on the Green – remember that this is included in
the winter championships this season! Our sole Harrier on the day was Adam Todd who finished 13 th
in 10:13 – well done Adam.

Saturday the 28 th of October saw some of our Harriers take on the tricky Glasgow University 5 mile
race. First back in 10 th place overall and 2 nd U20 was Jamie Phillips (27:12) followed by Ross Granger
in 32 nd (29:17). Next over the line was Mark Alexander in 52nd (31:02), with our only lady Lynsey
O’Connor finishing in 57 th pace and 3 rd lady/1 st V40 lady (31:34). Great running from all!
Saturday the 4 th of November saw all roads lead to Lanark for the Lindsays National Short Course XC.
We were blessed with a gloriously calm and sunny day – a far cry from the last time we were at
Lanark! In the U20/senior ladies we had 3 participants, with Amanda Bryden first home in 161 st
place (18:05). Izzy Caufield was not far behind in 177 th (18:21) and making a welcome return to XC
was Kirsty McNulty finishing in 220 th place (19:43) – well done ladies! Our U20/senior men got stuck
in at the cavalry charge that is the start of this race, and coming out top of the Kilmarnock athletes
was Jonathon Downey in 65 th overall (20 th U20) in 12:38. Next back was Craig Ferguson in 97 th
(12:59), Owen Walpole in 148 th (13:38), Jamie Nix in 263 rd (14:55), Nick Carter in 375 th (16:23) and
James Wales in 400 th (16:55).

Also on the 4 th , Steven Robson took on the Glen Ogle 33 Ultramarathon. At time of writing the
results were not available, but Steven completed this gruelling course in under 5 hours – well done
Stevie!

On Sunday the 5 th of November we had 2 Harriers compete at the Strathaven Striders Run with the
Wind 10k. Mark Lyden finished 80 th overall in 53:51, and Kate Todd was 95 th overall and 1 st V70 in
57:55 – well done both!

Saturday the 11 th dawned bright and cold, perfect XC weather for the Ayrshire Championships at
Rozelle. For the ladies, Izzy Caufield was first across the line in 40:53 in 4 th overall and 1 st U20.
Amanda Bryden was 7 th in 41:14 and Bethany Ross was 8 th in 42:14. The ladies also picked up team
silver – well done all! For the men it was a fantastic 1-2 from Jonathon Downey (29:05) and Craig
Ferguson (29:12). Next back in 14 th was Greig Glendinning in 35:35, followed by Nick Carter in 21 st in
37:09, Murray MacDonald in 22 nd (38:28), Mark Henderson in 24 th (39:14) and Gary Martin in 27 th
(41:36). The men’s team (top 6 to count) also took the silver overall.

Also on the 11 th we had athletes up in Cambuslang competing in the Newton Road Races 10k. 1 st
Harrier across the line was Sam Rice in 7 th overall and 1 st U20 (34:11). Mark Alexander was next back
in 28 th overall (38:28) and Mark Lyden was 182 nd (54:18).

On Sunday the 12 th Mark Lyden was back in action at the Jimmy Irvine 10k at Bellahouston Park,
finishing in 395 th place (56:40). Also taking part was Doreen Wales who finished in 350 th overall (93 rd
lady) in 54:27 – well done both!

A little further afield on Sunday, Connell Drummond took part in the Athens Marathon and finished
in 953 rd overall in a fantastic 3:23:47 – well done Connell, hope you enjoyed the sunshine!

Next on the agenda we have the West League match at Kilmarnock this Saturday (18 th ). You need to
be an SA member for this one but pre-entry is not required. West Districts follows at Strathaven on
the 2 nd of December – entries have to be to me/on TeamApp by 5pm today 14/11/23 please.
From a league perspective our senior ladies table is currently topped by Amanda Bryden with 42
points, Bethany Ross is in 2 nd with 23 and Laura Haggarty sits in 3 rd with 17. For our U20 ladies Izzy
Caufield takes an early lead with 49 points while Sasha I’Anson is in 2 nd with 24. For the men, Craig
Ferguson tops the table with 49 points, with Nick Carter hot on his heels with 44. Murray
MacDonald rounds off the top 3 with 31 points. In the U20 men’s table Jonathon Downey leads with
32 points and Jamie Phillips is 2 nd with 24. Connor Scobie and Charlie McNulty currently tie for 3 rd
with 7 points each. Still plenty of time to get points on the table!

You can see the full tables here – winter 23 24 league