The clocks have changed, spring is definitely in the air and with our winter championships
concluded and an absolutely fantastic awards night now a distant memory, we now turn our
attention to the spring season and the return of outdoor track and field and the local road
racing circuit for the majority of our athletes.
That is not to say that we have all been sitting around waiting on spring to arrive – as always
our squad have been out and about locally, nationally and internationally and doing some
great things. As always if anything has been missed please let us know as we love to hear
all your success stories.
Speaking of success, we start this week’s report in the best possible way with a British
Masters gold medal for our very own Katrine Kelly at the BMAF XC held at Tollcross on the
15 th of March following a hard fought race in good company – great result Kat, and the first
British gold of many we’re sure!
Also on the 15 th , Kirsty Donovan was at the SA Spring Throws event at Crownpoint where
she finished 1 st V40 in the discus with a 25.6m throw – well done Kirsty.
Sunday the 16 th saw a squad of Killie athletes have an early alarm call to head over to Alloa
for the half marathon. Traditionally one of the most popular early season half marathons
especially for those preparing for Edinburgh marathon, it always attracts a strong field of
runners despite a few wee speed bumps along the way! Runners were blessed with cool but
calm conditions on the day, and recorded some excellent results. 1 st home in the blue and
white and taking 3 rd place overall on the day was Martin Brown in a new PB of 68:49 – great
to see a Harrier on the podium again this year! Next back was Scott Masterton (78:18), then
Mark Alexander (84:44). Kirsty Girvan (94:21) and Lynsey Jamieson (94:30) gave a clear
warning shot that they mean business with their marathon training, and Nick Carter was also
across the line at the same time (94:31). Ian Power was next home (1:43:33) followed by
Lauren Carter who smashed her target in 1:54:59. Lynn Brown was next in 1:57:45 then
Louise Baillie in 2:03:30, Amy Alexander in 2:12:52, Catriona Hastings in 2:28:49 and finally
Chris Stewart in 2:36:45 – great running from all!
A little further afield on the 16 th , David Sherrington was taking part in the Rome Marathon,
where a winter of hard training was rewarded with a 2:55:15 for 201 st overall and 40 th V40 –
well done David.
Saturday the 23 rd saw just the one squad make it to Livingston for the Scottish Athletics
National 4/6 stage relays, where our men finished in 30 th place overall – well done to the
squad of Jordan Phillips (17:27), Jonathon Downey (32:26), Connell Drummond (20:32),
Craig Ferguson (33:02), Cameron McLymont (28:32) and David Anderson (40:28) – great
running from all and great to see KH Jog Squad graduate and now jog leader as well as full
club member Cameron take part in his first National race.
On Friday the 28 th , conditions could best be described as ‘challenging’ (this is a family read
after all!) but this did not stop 4 hardy Harriers from taking on the 3k on The Green. First
across the line in 6 th overall (9:41) was Jordan Phillips, followed by Laura Haggarty who was
13 th overall and 1 st lady once more in 10:22. Mark Alexander could have found someone a
bit bigger to shelter behind, but he was hot on Laura’s heels nevertheless in 14 th place in
10:24. Rounding up a great set of results was David Anderson who was 27 th overall in 11:17
– brilliant running from all in horrible weather!
On Sunday this weekend just gone the sun deigned to come out, unfortunately for our squad
at Strathclyde Park the wind decided to hang around, making the Tom Scott 10 miler and 6k
around the Loch slightly more challenging than the pictures would have you believe! This
did not deter our athletes however, with some great results. First home in the 10 miler and
12 th overall in an absolutely stacked championship field was Martin Brown (52:20), followed
by Tom Flood in 54 th (58:50), John Speirs in 64 th and 5 th V40 (59:36), Scott Masterton in 68 th
(59:58), Kat Kelly in 118 th overall and taking the bronze V40 championship medal (64:47),
Nick Carter in 162 nd (69:46), Gary Martin in 165 th (69:54), Alistair Craig in 229 th (78:35) and
finally Lauren Carter rounding up the results nicely with a solid 89:31 for 287 th overall. Great
to see good numbers at a championship event, well done everyone!
In the supporting 6k round the Loch race, Charlotte Gebbie was 2 nd U17 in 29:56 and Natalie
Sharp was 4 th senior lady in 34:18 – well done both!
In the coming weeks we will see the start of our summer championship races and the
beginning of our track and field league campaigns. The CSSAL team for match 1 on the 6th
is almost full (looking for 1 more masters lady to run 100/800 and 1 more man to high jump
please) and Kevin Mitchell is currently putting together the squad for the first SNAL on the
13 th – please let him know ASAP if you wish to compete. Entries are also open for the first
Ayrshire Open graded at the AAA on the 27 th but are selling out quickly – don’t miss out! If
anyone would like to give track and field a try but isn’t quite sure where to begin then please
speak to Jennifer, Robert or any of the coaches – there are loads of opportunities to give it a
go regardless of age or ability and we have some fantastic coaches at the club who would
love to help you!
