Senior/U20 event report 6th September 2025

The nights are starting to draw in (already!), it won’t be long till we’re training under the lights, and attention will soon turn to the incoming XC season.  However, our seniors and U20s have been making the end of the summer season count with some great performances!

We start at the pinnacle for our senior track athletes – the 4J Studios Scottish Athletics National Senior Champs held alongside the U17 champs at Grangemouth on the 23rd and 24th of August. We had some tremendous performances from our U17 athletes, but the senior women were not letting them have all the fun!  On the Saturday on the track, Laura Haggarty was first out in the senior women’s 800m heats where she finished 8th in her heat in 2:21.86 in very good company (the overall gold and bronze medals came from this heat).   In the women’s 5000m we had two athletes participating, with Morgan McBurnie finishing 10th in 20:09.28 and Eilidh Ballantyne (this time representing Stirling Uni) was 12th in 20:17.26.  On the Sunday, Laura was back out for the 1500m race, finishing 10th in 4:44.51 – great running Laura!  

Also on the 24th of August, Matthew Monachello was taking part in the Doonhamer 10k organised by Dumfries Harriers.  The trip down the road was made worthwhile with an overall 3rd place in 35:50.9.  Showcasing his wide range, Matthew was then back in action on the Tuesday night at the Shettleston OG meeting, running 1:58.87 for 9th in the A race 800m. 

A little bit further afield than Crownpoint, our very own Jonathon Downey was in Courmayeur in the Italian Alps for the UTMB ETC race, a 15km race with 1200m of gain – definitely not for the faint hearted!  The UTMB racing is fiercely competitive, and due to this being Jonny’s first UTMB race and not having a ranking he had to start back in the 5th wave, but he cut through the field to finish 86th of 1283 finishers – rest assured he will get to start further up the pack next time!  Huge congratulations to Jonathon, his coaches and family.

On Wednesday the 27th, Harriers came forward in their droves to compete at the Ayrshire Harriers Centenary Mile races at Irvine Sports Club on the grass track.  Every race featured blue and white vests, and from U11 up to Masters athletes we secured wins in 6 of the 10 races.  In race 1, M55 sprinter Colin Young ventured well outside his comfort zone to secure the win in 7:34.  In the same race Arlene Gordon was 6th in 9:00 and Jennifer Harper was 8th in 10:07.  In race 2, Oriana Logue was 5th in 8:28 and in race 3 Amy Mitchell was 6th in 8:11.  We had no seniors/U20s in race 4, but in race 5 Amelie Adam was 8th in 6:58.  In race 6, Alasdair Murray was first harrier home in 7th (6:44) and Amanda Bryden was 9th in 6:50.  Heat 7 had no senior/U20s, but in race 8 we had Kat Kelly in 3rd (5:57), Mike Corson in 5th (6:20) and Murray McDonald 7th (6:34).  In race 9, Scott Masterton was 2nd in 5:19, with Greig Glendinning in 4th (5:39).  Morgan McBurnie rounded up the senior results in this race with a 5:59.  The final race was dominated by Harriers, with the win going to a fresh from the airport Jonathon Downey (4:38) and Matthew Monachello 2nd in 4:52.  Graeme Quinn was 6th in 5:16 and Mark Alexander was 8th in 5:22 – great running from everyone!

On Friday the 29th, Mark Alexander was back in action at the 3k On The Green where he finished 12th in 10:03 – well done Mark, that sub 10 on the new course is coming…

Saturday the 30th saw the return of the ever-popular Monument Mile at Stirling Uni.  Unfortunately the weather was not kind on the athletes and spectators, but nevertheless this event continues to be a spectacle and well worth an entry when they open later this year for 2026.  First out in race 7 was Jennifer Beattie who was 6th in 5:42.78, followed by Laura Haggarty who was a fine 3rd place in race 12 in 5:09.47.  Our next senior was not out until race 21, and it was another podium finish – this time for Jamie Work who was 3rd with a new PB of 4:26.40.  Not to be outdone, Matthew Monachello ALSO finished 3rd in race 23 with a new PB of 4:26.28 – great running from all, well done!

Senior/U20 event report 5/9/25 Sunday the 31st, we had a solo representative at the Jim Dingwall Memorial Round the Houses 10k at Grangemouth – David McLure was 34th overall (5th V40) in 36:00, well done David.

Rounding up this set of results, on Thursday the 4th we had a fantastic 47 Harriers take on the Valley Dash handicap – a ‘gently undulating’ route from Galston to Newmilns over the hill and back along the river back to the Barrmill track.  We were really lucky with the conditions and there was some excellent racing.  From the handicap side of things we had our most joyous winner for as long as I can remember in Lauren Carter, who defied Gebbie’s predicted mark by a whopping 4:34 to take the win on the night in a total time of 36:56.  Second across the line was Rhona O’Neill in 38:11 and rounding up the top 3 finishers was Andrew Davie in 40:09.   Fastest on the night for the men was Jonathon Downey who actually got ahead of the handicapper in 23:22, followed by Scott Masterton in 25:30 and Mark Alexander in 26:55.  For the ladies, Sasha I’Anson was fastest in 29:31, followed by Jennifer Beattie in 31:00 and Kirsty Girvan in 31:14.  Following the race everyone enjoyed a fabulous buffet supplied by our very own Alisdair Hood of the Coffee Press in Kilmarnock – be sure to support him when you’re looking for a coffee and cake in town!  Huge thank you to the organisers, volunteers and supporters out on the course for making this such a success.

From a league perspective we have now updated to reflect the Centenary Mile and the Valley Dash.  Kat Kelly retains the lead in the ladies rankings with 99 points, with Kirsty Girvan second with 75 points and Amanda Bryden holding third with 68.  For the men, Scott Masterton holds the lead with 89, closely followed by Mark Alexander with 85.  Rounding up the top 3 is Jonathon Downey with 15 – still plenty to play for with Cumbrae 10 miler and your best Parkruns/HM/Marathons to count. You can see the full results here – summer 2025 (4)

Looking forward, club champs is on Sunday – entries have closed but if you can lend a hand even for a couple of hours please let Billy know.  Tuesday the 16th will be our XC time trial at the Kay Park and we will shortly be looking for names for Ayrshire, West District and National XC relays – get those spikes dug out from cupboards and sheds!