Senior/U20 Event Round Up 18th September 2025

Less than a fortnight has passed since we pulled together the last report, but there have been SO many events in the meantime with our athletes pulling out some incredible performances on the track, field, road and trails as the outdoor season concludes and we look forward to XC season.

We start this week on the track, with a trip to Livingston on Friday the 5th for their last Open Graded of the season.  We had 3 athletes competing over 1500m, with Jamie Work posting a PB of 4:05.03 in second place in his race.  Gregor Samson featured in the same race, finishing 10th in a fine 4:16.12.  Laura Haggarty was 10th in her race in 4:47.23 – great running from all.

A little further afield, Matthew Monachello was making his half marathon debut in Budapest on Saturday the 6th off the back of what has been a very successful summer season so far for this young athlete.  A very solid run in 1:18:19 was good enough to secure 66th overall and 3rd U20 from what I can gather from the results – fabulous debut and there will no doubt be more to come!

Also tackling the half marathon distance (in slightly cooler temperatures than Budapest!), Eilidh Ballantyne completed the Great North Run on the Sunday in 1:59:42 – well done Eilidh.

It’s safe to say that the weather on the Sunday was not especially kind to any of our athletes, but that did not stop our U20/senior/masters athletes from running, jumping and throwing at the Club Champs with some really strong performances across the day.   Times/distances have been posted on the Harriers Facebook page and TeamApp, final standings will be posted in due course and prizes presented at our annual awards night in the spring.  

Probably getting even more battered with the weather than our track and field athletes were the hardy bunch that took on the North Ayrshire 10k at Saltcoats – a total of 13 athletes faced up to the wind and the rain on the day.  First home and 1st lady overall was Lorna Baird (38:35), with Sasha I’Anson 3rd lady (41:23) and Morgan McBurnie 4th (42:43 PB) meaning that the ladies team prize also came back to Kilmarnock.  1st man home (and 1st V60) was Mike Corson (43:38), followed by Scott Lyden (47:33), Richard Beattie (53:10 and 3rd V70), Cameron McClymont (53:31), Alison Mair (53:37 and 3rd FV60), Brian Darroch (57:56), Hannah Connell (1:02:25 and 2nd VF70), Deborah Clark (1:04:30), Victoria Martin (1:05:36) and Danielle Pieroni (1:08:02) – well done all who took part!   This was also an Ayrshire championship event, so Ayrshire medals will be presented to Lorna, Sasha and Morgan who were top 3 Ayrshire ladies and top ladies team, and Mike Corson for top V60.

Taking advantage of slightly better conditions further inland, we also had 3 Harriers at the Podfather Stirling 10k – traditionally a very fast and competitive race.  Owen Walpole was 1st back in 34:44, followed by Tom Flood in 35:09 and Gary Martin who smashed his PB with a 39:20 effort – well done guys.

Moving forward to the weekend just gone, we had athletes competing in all manner of events which is great to see!  A number of Harriers travelled through to Linlithgow for the Flat ‘n Fast 5k – a race that is extremely competitive and very popular due to the potential for PBs on the day.  Two of our ladies were competing in the Ladies A race, with Laura Haggarty finishing 28th in 17:46.3 and Lorna Baird 32nd in 18:01.5.  In race 3, Jonathon Downey took the win in an outstanding 14:59.8 and Matthew Monachello was 48th in 16:05.2.   In race 6 Izzy Caufield was 43rd in a big PB of 20:09.4, and Eilidh Ballantyne (representing Stirling Uni on this occasion) was 22nd also with a big PB of 19:24.8.

From Flat ‘n Fast to decidedly more undulating and time consuming, we also had athletes out competing in the River Ayr Way race (approx. 40 miles from source to sea).  It is safe to say that we had a very good showing, with 3 of the top 4 athletes linked to Kilmarnock Harriers.  David McLure was 2nd overall (1st V40) in 5:21:14, followed by Josh Raeburn (representing SBF racing on this occasion) in 3rd in 5:26:32, and Graeme Quinn was 4th in 5:35:27.  In the relay we were represented by Lynne McCaffrey, Louise Baillie and Kirsty Mackay who were 11th overall and 1st all female team – brilliant running from all!

A little further from home, Gordon and Jacqui Sandler took on the Kyles 10 Miles race with Gordon completing the course in 1:18:36 for 1st V60 and Jacqui finishing in 1:32:48 – great running guys.

Also taking on the 10 mile distance this weekend were a hardy bunch of Harriers who jumped on the ferry to race the Kenny Phillips 10 mile race round Cumbrae.  First home in 3rd overall was Jonathon Downey (52:30), followed by Scott Masterton (59:00), Mark Alexander (1:00:39 and 3rd V40), Ross Granger (1:00:53), and Mark Lynch (1:05:12).  First Killie lady home was Kirsty Girvan who was 4th senior lady in 1:10:34, followed by Izzy Caufield (1:12:48), Katie Vallance (1:14:45), and Amanda Bryden (1:17:37).  Richard Beattie was next in 1:24:32 (2nd V70) and Sophie Hepburn rounded up a great set of results with 1:24:54.  This was also an Ayrshire Championship event, and as such Ayrshire medals were also up for grabs.  Jonathon Downey was 1st Senior man and Kirsty Girvan was 1st Senior Lady and both our men’s and ladies teams (Jonathon, Scott, Mark Alexander and Ross for the men and Kirsty, Izzy and Katie for the ladies) took the win – great to see!

A wee bit further afield, Jennifer Beattie and Robert McHarg were in Derby for the weekend at the British Masters Outdoor Championships.  On the Saturday in the 1500s, Rob took V60 gold in 4:40.02 and Jennifer was 5th British competitor in the W40 race in 5:13.84.  On Sunday the weather took as much of a dive in Derby as it did at home for the 800s, but this did not deter Rob from a big front running effort to take the gold in 2:13.34.  Jennifer was 5th Brit again in 2:34.43.  

We round up this report with a quick summary from the XC trial event last night at the Kay Park.  Full results have been posted on the Harriers Facebook page, but a total of 29 athletes came out to get a line in the sand.  Jonathon Downey took the win in 12:44, with Jamie Work having a really strong run for second in 13:19 and Craig Ferguson rounding up the top 3 men with 13:52.  For the ladies, Sasha I’Anson was victorious with 15:11, followed by Lynsey O’Connor in 15:44 and Morgan McBurnie in 16:14.  Well done to everyone who came out and ran or marshalled/supported.

In the league tables, all the set races have now been completed and the top 3s are currently as follows: Ladies – Kat Kelly (99), Kirsty Girvan (90), Amanda Bryden (80) Men – Scott Masterton (103), Mark Alexander (98), Jonathon Downey (89).  There is still time to post Parkrun, HM and Marathon times – we will advise when we are ready for these to be sent in.  The winter races also will be announced shortly, for those planning ahead expect them to be similar to previous years.

If you are planning on running XC please either click Yes against relevant events on TeamApp or message Jennifer directly.  Remember for Wests and above an up to date SA number is required – don’t get caught out!