Senior/U20 Event Report 7th May 2025

I actually cannot believe JUST how many events have happened since the last report – the
season is well and truly under way for both our endurance and T&F athletes. Just a
reminder that although I do my best to cover every event, some do inevitably slip through the
net – drop me a wee note or catch me at club if I’ve missed you out and I’ll make up for it in
the next report!

We ended the last report wishing our distance runners luck for the start of the spring
marathons, so it seems fitting that we begin there today. On the weekend of the 26 th and
27 th of April, a number of our athletes took on 26.2 miles, or in John Speirs’ case a whopping
42 miles! Fresh from an overall 2 nd place in The Great American Bacon Race (5k) in Florida,
John showed his range by finishing 2 nd V50 at the Devil O’The Highlands foot race –
incredible running John! Also taking on big miles and a couple of hills (!) was Mark
Henderson who completed the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Fell race, finishing in 4:58 on this 24 mile
course for 373 rd overall – well done Mark.

On the Sunday, we had marathon runners at 3 separate venues, many of whom were
making their debuts at this distance. At Manchester, Scott Masterton made his debut a sub
3 one, finishing in 2:56. Next back was Lynsey Jamieson, also debuting with 3:35. Training
partner Kirsty Girvan also made her debut in 3:50, and Amy Alexander rounded up a set of
fantastic first-time efforts in 5:01. Meanwhile in London, Graeme Quinn completed the
course in glorious sunshine in 2:52, and Gary Martin crossed the line in a fine 3:36 – great
running lads. A little further north, Martin Brown was also making his much-anticipated
marathon debut at the Blackpool marathon, and we are delighted to report that he made this
debut a winning one, crossing the line and breaking the tape in 2:29 – huge congratulations
Martin, great to see a Killie athlete at the top of a marathon podium!

Not wishing to be left out of the prizes over this weekend, we had a clean sweep of podium
finishes at the Isle of Arran Ormidale 10k. Craig Ferguson was the overall winner, Eilidh
Ballantyne was 3 rd lady and Susan Ballantyne was 1 st FV50 – great running guys, hope you
enjoyed the beer prizes!

Our track and field athletes were also in action, with the Scottish Open at Linwood the first of
the events for our athletes on a busy weekend. On the track, Jennifer Beattie knocked the
outdoor rust off in the 800m with a 2:35.4 run. In the field events, Brooke Dunlop was 3 rd in
the long jump (4.80m), Maisie Hinks was 3 rd in the javelin with a 29.59m PB, and Logan
Mitchell was 1 st in the shot with a 14.37m effort – well done to all taking part. Sunday the 27 th
saw the first of the Ayrshire Harriers Open Graded meets at the AAA. There were some
fabulous performances across the board from U11 right up to our Masters athletes on the
day and it was great to see so many blue and white vests! In the 100m, Blake Manson took
the win in H1 with 11.79s. In H2, Adam Todd was 5 th with a SB of 13.22s, and in H3 Ally
Craig was 3 rd in 13.8s and Douglas Dickson was 7 th in 14.42. Onto the 400m, Jordan Phillips
took the win in H1 in 51.23s, whilst Jamie Work returned a PB of 54.56s for 3 rd . In H2, Molly
Hunter was 3 rd in 62.08s, and Jennifer Beattie was 4 th in 68.28s. In the 1500m we had more
wins, with Jamie Work winning H1 in 4:17.94 (SB), and Conor Scobie also ran a SB of
4:25.11 for 3 rd . In H2, Adam Todd took the win in a new PB of 4:54.02 and Emma Bain was
7 th in 6:11.41.

The weekend just gone was also a busy one, with athletes at various events around the
country. A trip to Dundee for the Scottish Athletics Throws GP was on the cards for a squad
of our throwers, and U20 athlete Logan Mitchell made it a worthwhile trip with a win in the
shot (14.99m) and 2 nd overall in the hammer (1 st in AG) with 52.88m. Well done Logan and

to our younger athletes also competing. Saturday also saw some of our athletes at the first
of the season’s GAA Sprint Galas held at Crownpoint in sunny but breezy conditions. Some
of our younger athletes had fabulous runs in their events, and our sole senior Jennifer
Beattie was 6 th in the 300m in 48.17s.

Sunday the 4 th saw a team of Harriers head to Cambuslang for the Dick Wedlock Memorial 5
mile race. First across the line was Amanda Bryden in 48 th (36:10), followed by Gillian
Wishart in 79 th (40:27) and Russell Duncan in 80 th (40:28). Jackie Duncan ran a whopping 2
minutes faster than last year to finish in 95 th place (42:55) and Kate Todd rounded up a great
set of results finishing in 121 st (48:20) – well done all!

Wednesday the 7 th saw the return of the ever-popular Troon 10k. A total of 41 Harriers
registered results so it will be impossible to mention everyone, but a full list is available
HERE. Good conditions made for some speedy racing and we had some great results. Our
top 3 men were Matthew Monachello in 6 th overall (34:16), David Sherrington in 7 th overall
and 3 rd V40 (35:07) and Tom Flood in 9 th (35:35). For the ladies, Kat Kelly was first Harrier
home in 2 nd overall and 2 nd V40 (38:15), followed by birthday girl Eilidh Ballantyne (5 th senior
lady) in 42:03 and Sophie Granger (8 th senior lady) in 43:04. We also had an age group
winner in the FV70 category with Hannah Connell taking top spot, and Mike Corson was 2 nd
V60. Great to see so many Harriers out, hopefully you managed to get a bit of Eilidh’s
birthday cake!

At this early stage in the league tables, Matthew Monachello leads the men’s standings with
maximum 30 points, followed by Mark Alexander (22) and Ross McNaught (19). For the
ladies, Kat Kelly takes an early lead with 28 points, with Kirsty Mackay in second with 18 and
Laura Haggarty in third with 15. The next league events are Land O’Burns and the eagerly
awaited Roon the Toon – if you are not racing at Roon the Toon then please consider
volunteering – we are always in need of as many helpers as possible to ensure the event
runs smoothly. summer 2025 (1)

From a track and field perspective we will shortly be looking for names for the next CSSAL
league match on the 1 st of June – watch out for posts on socials or speak to your captains.
Finally, we would encourage all members to come along to the AGM on Friday the 30 th of
May – come and hear about our plans for the future and have your say!