Senior/U20 event report 31st July 2025

Only a fortnight has passed since our last report, but at the rate things are going we may need to go weekly – there have been a HUGE number of events in the last couple of weeks!  Despite best efforts, it is entirely possible that something will have slipped through the net – please let us know if so and we will include it next time, we love to share good news!

We start this week pretty much exactly on the day we left off last time, with Jordan Phillips travelling to the Trafford AC GP BMC Meet at Stretford on the 15th of July.  His trip was made worthwhile with a solid 1:50.94 for 4th place in the BMC B race – great running Jordan.

The following evening saw the return of the Cairn Table Hill race – from the photos it looked like conditions underfoot were a little interesting (either that or Mark’s sat nav is rubbish!).  Jonathon Downey came home in 1st place, very close to the course record in 31:40.  Mark Henderson finished in 31st in 46:26, well done both!

Thursday the 17th saw a small team of Harriers head to Milngavie to take part in the Charlie Kilshaw Memorial 5 mile race run by our friends at Garscube Harriers.  Mark Alexander was first across the line for the club in 12th overall (30:08), followed by Lynsey O’Connor who was 1st V40 in 32:18.  Kirsty Girvan was next home in 34:50, with Mike Corson snapping at her heels in 34:53 and 1st V60, and Jackie Duncan rounded up a great set of results finishing in 42:39.

Friday the 18th saw the start of the Run The Blades running festival, held at Whitelees Windfarm.  The Friday evening traditionally is the 10k race, at which Kat Kelly finished 11th overall and 2nd lady in a strong 42:21, followed by Hannah Connell (1:06:55), Deborah Clark (1:07:58) and Mandy Nimbley (1:12:01) – well done to all of you on this really challenging route!  Saturday was the turn of the ultra runners for the 50km race, where Ken Monaghan was 160th in 5:57:04 and Jamie Cooper was 188th in 6:25:18 in some challenging weather conditions.  Finally on the Sunday the half marathon runners got their turn, with Mark Lynch the first Harrier back across the line in 13th place (1:33:59).  Next back was Nick Carter in 31st overall (1:41:53) and then our sole lady Lauren Carter in 172nd place (2:06:53).

The trail runners did not have it all their own way however, as just down the road the Ayrshire Centenary Track and Field Championships were being held at Ayr Riverside on the Sunday.  From U11 right up to masters there were some fabulous performances, full results can be found HERE as there are just too many great results to list!  However, we did note PBs from David Inglis (100m & 400m), Ally Craig (100m), Eve Starritt (400m & 800m), Molly Hunter (200m), Jonathon Downey (mile), Laura Jedrusiak (400m), Matthew Monachello (400m) and Jamie Work (400m).  Great to see so many medals also!

On Wednesday the 23rd, we had two athletes at the GAA Miler meet at Crownpoint, where Jamie Work made the most of paced and super competitive racing to deliver a 1500m PB of 4:09.04 to finish 6th in his race.  Eilidh Ballantyne was 12th in a very competitive 5000m race to finish in 21:20.28.  A little further down the road, your ladies captain Jennifer Beattie verged very much outwith comfort zones to take part in the Baydale Beck trail race in Darlington where she finished 3rd lady (1st V40).  

Friday the 25th was the next instalment of 3K on the Green, where our sole representative Mark Alexander had another solid run to finish in 13th place (10:04) – well done Mark!

The weekend just gone has been really busy, with athletes representing both at home and abroad!  Jamie Phillips was racing at the CAS Meeting International 2025 in Schifflange, Luxembourg on the Saturday, where he was 5th in the B race in 1:47.74.  A little closer to home, two of our senior men were at Ayr Riverside for the Javelin Fest event – a mix of coaching and competition which we hear was really successful!  Sammy Hill was 3rd with a throw of 24.08m, and Douglas Steele was 4th with 19.05m – well done to both.  A bit further down the road, we had two athletes at the English Athletics Senior and U20 Championships at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.  Logan Mitchell continued on his rich vein of form with a shot PB of 16.62m to claim a coveted silver medal, whilst Brooke Dunlop was competing in the senior Heptathlon and returned some fantastic performances including 4 SBs (high jump, shot, long jump and javelin) whilst gaining some great experience among some of the top athletes in the country.  

Sunday the 27th was the final SNAL meeting at Grangemouth, and whilst we were short of some of our usual athletes due to other commitments there were some great performances.  Laura Mitchell was a busy lady, competing in the javelin (14.17m), high jump (1.40m) and shot (6.67m), gaining plenty of points for the team!  On the track our first athletes were out in the 800m, with Jamie Work running a 2:03.53 for 5th in H2 and Eve Starritt running 2:22.32 for 3rd in the ladies H2.  Onto the 1500m, Gregor Samson was 9th in H1 in 4:28.48 and in the ladies races Laura Jedrusiak was 3rd in H1 with 4:45.71, and Eilidh Ballantyne and Jennifer Beattie both returned PBs in H2 to finish 3rd and 4th in 5:11.86 and 5:15.00 respectively.  In the 400m races, the wind had started to pick up but this did not stop our athletes!  Lewis Anderson was 5th in H3 in 55.59s and Jamie Work was 2nd in H4 in 54.41, and for the ladies Eve Starritt ran a PB of 59.91 for 2nd in H2 and Molly Hunter was 6th in the same heat in 61.52 – great running from everyone!

This week saw the return of our league races, with athletes having the choice between Kilmaurs 5k or Dundonald 10k to chase points on Wednesday the 30th.  At Kilmaurs we had a total of 29 finishers, results available HERE as we cannot mention everyone, but special mentions to Lorna Baird who was 1st lady, Lynsey O’Connor who was 3rd lady and Kat Kelly who was 4th lady and took the V40 prize.  Kirsty Girvan was 3rd senior lady (8th lady overall) and made up the team of 4 who also took the ladies team prize – great running ladies!  Greig Glendinning took the MV50 prize, with Robert Lindsay 2nd MV50.  Mike Corson was 2nd MV60 and Mark Alexander was 3rd MV40. Special mention also to Nicholas Latto who was first in the 14-17 age group – we look forward to him moving up into the U20 ranks!

Down the road at Dundonald, we had 14 athletes take on the challenging 10k route and what a successful night it was for the team!  Full results HERE, but special mentions to Jonathon Downey who took the win in 32:50, and Sasha I’Anson who took the ladies win in 41:12.  Morgan McBurnie was 5th senior lady in 44:03, with Eilidh Ballantyne rounding up our top 3 ladies in 45:36.  Charlotte Gebbie was 1st U20 in 52:57, Kate Todd was 1st FV70 in 1:06:52 and Drew Lambert was 2nd MV60 in 50:08.  Well done to everyone who took part!

With the league tables updated, the ladies league top 3 are as follows: Kat Kelly (69), Kirsty Girvan (49) and Lorna Baird (43) with plenty still in the hunt!  At the top of the men’s league Matthew Monachello still retains the lead (57) but Mark Alexander is hot on his heels with 50 and Scott Masterton just behind on 49.  Again, there is still a lot to play for especially when we start to add Parkrun, HM and marathon to the mix.  The next races on the calendar are the Marymass 10k and the Cumbrae 10 mile, and the Valley Dash date will be announced in the next few days.