Senior/U20 race report 21st August 2025

The summer season is starting to reach its peak, the weather has been hot and it is safe to say that the Kilmarnock Harriers performances have been even hotter!  As always we have a wealth of good news to report, but if we have missed anything please let us know.

We start this week at the Livingston Open Graded on Friday the 1st of August, where we had 3 Harriers competing in very well supported 800m races.  Jordan Phillips was 2nd overall in 1:52.42, Jamie Work ran 1:59.71 and Laura Haggarty was 1st V40 in 2:23.0 – well done all.

On Saturday the 2nd of August, Sasha I’Anson continued her fine run of form on the road at Dunoon 10k, claiming 2nd lady spot (17th overall) in 40:54.  Robin Bourne also competed at this event, crossing the line in 57:52 in 124th place overall (12th V40) – great running both of you!

Sunday the 3rd of August saw a number of athletes take on the K6/K12 Ultra event at the Dean Castle.  Unfortunately the results online are not the most clear so apologies if I have missed anyone out.  In the 6 hour solo, it was a Harriers 1-2 for the men with Shaun Dunbar taking the win with 17 laps as part of his preparation for the Devil O’the Highlands Race later in the year, and Graeme Quinn finishing 2nd with 16 laps.  In the 12 hour solo, Jacqui Sandler was 5th lady with a total of 19 laps, and Josh Raeburn was 3rd man with 28 laps completed.  Lynne McCaffrey and Gordon Sandler also took part in the relay race – well done everyone on a hot day and a tough course.

On Wednesday the 6th, two Harriers made their way to Aberdeen for the AAAC Open Graded.  The long journeys were made worthwhile for Matthew Monachello who was 2nd in race 1 with a new PB of 4:07.36, and for Jennifer Beattie who was 5th in race 2 with a new PB of 5:05.54.

The track and field train just keeps rolling at this time of year, and Saturday the 9th saw Jordan Phillips at the BMC Trafford GP meet where he was 7th in the 800m D race in 1:52.77 – great running Jordan!

Sunday the 10th saw a big squad of athletes from U11 right up to Masters travelling through to Grangemouth for the final CSSAL league match of the season.  Sadly we did not retain our title, but there were some excellent performances and some new faces to the team which we love to see!  Results are not yet finalised and published but a huge well done to all our seniors and U20s, and a big thank you to those who picked up extra events!

On Wednesday the 13th, Jordan Phillips was back in action at the Falkirk Vics OG at Grangemouth, returning a fine performance for 2nd in the 400m in 49.35 – well done Jordan.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th was the big one for a number of our U20 athletes who travelled to Aberdeen for the National U20 Championships.  On the Saturday in the 800m, Eve Starritt qualified for the final by running a huge PB for 3rd in her heat (2:19.72) and was 6th in the final in 2:28.38.  For the men, both Jamie Work (4th in H1 in 2:00.15) and Matthew Monachello (3rd in H2 in 2:01.6) safely earned passage to the finals in the afternoon, with Matthew finishing 5th (1:58.37) and Jamie finishing 6th in a new PB of 1:59.31.  In the 200m, Molly Hunter cruised through to the final by finishing 4th in H2 (26.72) and was 8th in the final in 26.63.  For the men, Blake Manson was 5th in H2 with 23.93, unfortunately not progressing but a great run!  In the field, Maisie Hinks was 5th in the Javelin with a 27.41m throw.

On the Sunday, Blake was back in action in the 100m heats with a solid run of 11.79s in H1 for 6th.  Molly Hunter ran 60.59 in the 400m heats to qualify for the final later in the day where she finished 8th (60.95).  In the 1500m Jamie Work and Matthew Monachello were back with a toe on the line, and were joined by Gregor Samson.  In heat 1, Gregor was 12th in 4:12.6 and in heat 2 Jamie was 8th (4:10.41) and Matthew was 11th (4:13.01).  Unfortunately there was no progression to the final, but great running and excellent times from all of these young men.  Out in the throwing cage, Abbey Kennedy claimed a silver medal in the discus, throwing 31.97m – brilliant result Abbey!

Also competing on the track on the 17th, Jennifer Beattie was representing Scottish Vets at the EMAA Inter Area Challenge at the University of York over 100/200/400m.  Though not her preferred distances, a PB in the 100 (14.87), SB in the 200 (30.4) and outdoor SB in the 400 (66.15) was enough to gain a few points for team Scotland.

A bit closer to home, we had 11 Harriers complete the Paisley 10k in red hot conditions.  First across the line for the team was Tom Flood (35:37), followed by Ross Granger (37:09).  First lady home was Lorna Baird (38:42), followed by Cal Haswell (45:04), Brian McLure (51:03), Richard Beattie (51:15), Doreen Wales (59:20), Thomas Samson (1:00:36), Hannah Connell (1:03:08), Victoria Martin (1:11.06) and Sandra McGowne (1:13:51).  Richard was also 3rd V70 on the day – well done all!

Last night saw the return of the Marymass 10k, this year taking a different route due to works at the harbour.  Despite a slightly more challenging course, there were plenty of smiles in the photos and the ice cream at the end always softens the blow of running up a big hill!  A total of 23 Harriers put their toe on the line on the night and it is safe to say that as a club we dominated.  First across the line and taking another win was Jonathon Downey (32:52), followed by Scott Masterton (36:01) and David McLure (36:08 and 1st V40).  Graeme Quinn (36:57) made up the top 4 Killie men who also took the team prize.  For the ladies it was a clean sweep, with Kat Kelly taking the win (39:25), Izzy Caufield in second (43:05) and Kirsty Girvan third (43:13) to take the ladies team prize also.  In age groups, Alison Mair was 2nd V60 (57:10) and Hannah Connell was 2nd V70 (1:02:19).  Full results can be found HERE, well done to everyone who took part!

As a result of the Marymass race there has been some movement in the men’s league table, with Scott Masterton leapfrogging from 3rd to top of the league with 63 points.  Mark Alexander retains second spot with 61 and Matthew Monachello now drops to third with 57.  In the ladies table Katrine Kelly retains top spot with 84 points, Kirsty Girvan is second with 68 and Lynsey Jamieson is third with 48.  However Izzy Caufield and Amanda Bryden are both poised to strike with 47 apiece so still all to play for!  You can see the full table here – summer 2025 (4)

Our next points race is the Ayrshire Harriers Centenary Mile, followed by the Valley Dash – please get your names to Gebbie ASAP for this one or you’ll get a rotten handicap!  Remember that your best Parkrun from the start of April will also count, so get one on the board before the cut off.  We are also looking for names for club champs on the 7th of September – for seniors there will be the options of 3000m, 800m, 200m, javelin and long jump.  Two runs and two throws to count!