Senior/U20 Race Roundup 5th May 2024

How can it be May already? It finally seems like spring may have arrived after some challenging
weather weeks for training and racing, and our athletes have been super busy since our last roundup
with lots of exciting results to report as always!

This week we start off up in the hills on pretty much the first decent day it feels like we have had for
months! 5 Harriers took on the Kaim Hill race on Wednesday the 17 th of April in glorious sunshine.
First back was Greig Glendinning in 71 st place (43:06) followed by Mark Henderson in 44:24. Roddy
Pugh finished 3 rd V60 in 44:42, Eilidh Ballantyne was 1 st Junior Female in 47:10 and not to be outdone
was mum Susan Ballantyne who was first FV50 in 48:00. The photos suggested that this was a tricky
but fun race and it was great to see a few newer faces to hill running taking part.

On Saturday the 20 th of April, U20 athlete Jamie Phillips who ran a scorching 14:52.5 to finish 13 th in
an absolutely stacked A race field at the Fast n Flat 5k event in Linlithgow. Great running Jamie,
congratulations on a cracking PB. This weekend also saw a few Harriers take on the marathon
distance – at London Mark Alexander ran a solid 3:21:24 and John Tougher completed the course in
3:55:48. Craig Ferguson unfortunately had to pull out of the race part of the way through due to an
injury whilst on target for a huge time – speedy recovery Craig. A little closer to home, Graeme
Quinn took on the Blackpool marathon and finished in a fabulous 6 th overall in 2:47:19 – cracking
debut Graeme!

Also on the 21 st , Steven Robson made a return visit to the Hidden Glen 10k at Callander – a very
tricky and hilly course but apparently the buffet at the end makes it worth it! A course PB of 46:21
was good enough for 32 nd overall, well done Stevie. Another athlete running up and down big hills
on the 21 st was U20 Jonathon Downey, who was at Keswick taking part in the British Inter Counties
Mountain Running Championships which are a selection trial for the European Hill Running
Championships. Jonathon finished an excellent 4 th place in the Junior section in a very tight race –
best of luck with the selection process Jonathon.

A bit closer to home, we had 2 athletes taking part in the DAAA 10 mile road race in Clydebank.
Jamie Nix was 10 th senior man in 1:00:42 and Izzy Caufield was 4 th lady in 1:12:33 – great running
both!

Wednesday the 24 th saw the next of our Summer League races – the Ron’s Runners Spring 5k
incorporating the Ayrshire 5k Championships. It is safe to say that the race was dominated by blue
and white vests with 5 of the top 10 finishers all Kilmarnock athletes! A total of 20 athletes from the
club took on this tricky little course (full results HERE), with Sam Rice coming out on top for the
overall win in 17:04. In 2 nd overall and also 2 nd U20 behind Sam was Jamie Work (17:13) and
Matthew Monachello rounding off the top 3 U20s in 4 th overall (17:56). Making up the 4 th counting
score for the winning men’s team was Scott Masterton who was 6 th overall and 3 rd senior man
(18:00). Ross Granger was 7 th overall and 1 st V40 in 18:06. For the ladies, Izzy Caufield was 1 st U20
and 2 nd lady overall in 21:30, with Bethany Ross 2 nd lady back in 22:14 (4 th senior lady). Rounding off
the gold medal winning ladies team was Lynsey Jamieson (22:56 and 5 th senior lady). We also had
top 3 age group finishes for Mike Corson (2 nd V60 22:51), Kirsty MacKay (2 nd FV40 24:06), Susan Boyd
(1 st FV70 27:28) and Alison Mair (3 rd FV60 29:20). Well done to everyone who took part.
On Friday the 26 th , Sam Rice was back in action at the Scottish Athletics 10,000m championships at
Crownpoint. Sam was 12 th in the A race, finishing 1 st U20 athlete in a fabulous 33:11:66 – great
running again Sam.

Saturday the 27 th saw a squad of senior and U20 athletes travel to Crownpoint, this time for the 1 st
match of the CSSAL league. Results have yet to be finalised, but there were some really strong
performances across the board including a load of PBs (Brooke Dunlop shot and long jump and
Adam Todd 100m and 400m that I’m aware of for starters) plus some superb debuts from Kat Kelly,
Ross Granger, Nick Carter and Alistair Craig. Huge thanks to all of the athletes who stepped up to
represent the club, full results to follow on the Harriers page once they are available.
The 28th once again saw Harriers travel to Crownpoint, this time for the GAA Sprint Gala. For our
senior/U20 athletes, Nathan Smith recorded a PB in the 300m in 38.77 and Hannah Burn ran 42:66.
In the 100m hurdles Isla Raeburn ran a SB of 18.27. Well done to all of our athletes that competed.
On the 28 th we also had a small band of Harriers making the most of the weather for a nice trip to
Arran for the Ormidale 10k – a choice that was well rewarded with the team prize! Nick Carter was
1 st back in 13 th place (41:44), Gary Martin was 18 th (44:08) and Lauren Little was 39 th (52:25) – well
done guys, looked like a smashing day out!

Wednesday the 1 st of May saw a great turnout of Harriers at the ever popular Troon 10k (results
HERE). A warm day gave way to some showers just before the start, but this did not deter our
athletes! 1 st back in blue and white and claiming yet another win was U20 athlete Sam Rice (33:16),
with David Sherrington 2 nd man back in 6 th overall and 3 rd V40 (35:23). Graeme Quinn made up our
top 3 Harriers men in 35:32. For the ladies, Kat Kelly took the overall win and 1 st V40 in 38:00, with
Sasha I’Anson next lady back in 44:09 and 11 th senior lady. Rounding off our top 3 ladies was Eilidh
Ballantyne in 45:10. We also had 1 st Junior female for Jennie Munro (50:25), 3 rd V60 lady for Susan
Beattie (50:33), and 1 st V70 lady for Susan Boyd (54:04). Huge well done to everyone who took part
on the evening!

Also on the 1 st , we had two athletes taking part in the Whangie Whizz hill race. Mark Henderson was
79 th overall in 39:30, with Roddy Pugh not far behind in 87 th (40:30). Well done both.
Now we are 3 races in for the summer league here’s a little update of the standings. For the ladies,
Amy Mitchell currently leads the way with 26, with Izzy Caufield second with 22 and Susan Boyd
third with 15. For the men, Sam Rice tops the table with 30, with Ross Granger second in 25.
Rounding up the current top 3 is Jamie Work with 14. Plenty to go for, with Land O’Burns and the
Helensburgh 10k being the next two events with available points.

Speaking of events, don’t forget the club 5k next Wednesday (8 th May) at 7pm – simply turn up at the
AAA between 6:15 and 6:45 to collect a number and run! There will be a prizegiving and light
refreshments after the race, any home baking would be gratefully received also and we could do
with a few more marshalls to make sure that the race is as safe as possible for our athletes – let us
know!

Full Summer Championship tables can be found here – Summer 2024 tables

If we have made any errors or omissions please let us know – we can only report based on
information provided.