Callander Crags Race

The annual Crags hill run, excellently organised by locals Alistair and Sheila Johnston, attracted a field of 55 runners.  The initial tough climb to 800 ft. was added to by fallen trees on the route. Conditions underfoot were soft with deep mud to negotiate on the slippery descent.  The 4 mile race was won convincingly by Prasad Prasad of Clydesdale Harriers in 22.44 followed by father and son John (22.48) and Jamie Stevenson (22.49) of Ochil Hill runners in 2^nd and 3^rd place.  Central youngsters put on a superb display with Conor Kerr (U13) finishing in 12^th position overall in 28.25 with Alexander Coubrough (U13) equally impressive (28.55) in 14^th place.  The remaining Central line up included Hugh Kerr (28.39), Mary Kerr (34.43), Jo Polak (35.04), Jim Drummond (36.21) and Gregory Gaughan (39.31).

Celtic Nations Cross Country

Three of Central’s athletes competed for Scotland with distinction in the Celtic Nations Cross Country Event in Belfast on 7 January. Michael Gillespie underlined his recent good form with a seventh place in the Under 20 race finishing in a highly competitive 19min 15secs over the 5.6 kilometre course.  Alastair Hay competed in the Senior International race finishing in a very respectable 28^th and third in the Under 23 Celtic International race in a competitive 31.37 over 9 kilometres. Jennifer Emsley competed in the Womens Senior International race over 5.6 kilometres, completing the course in 24.03 for fifth in the Under 23 Celtic International race.

Indoor League  7^th January 2007

The second match of the Indoor League at Kelvin Hall, saw Central AC under 15 girls defending their league lead after the first match, whilst other age group teams were taking up the pace to seek qualification to the final in March. 

In the Under 11 girls  Kathryn Gillespie running for the first time indoors, took top points by winning the 600m overall with an outstanding 1:57.9 with Lily Haytor, running another good race, taking fifth overall with 2:25s. In the 60 metre sprints, Lily produced a fine 10.11 run for fourth place overall, with Roanna Fraser running well for 10.74s.

In the under 11 boys, Connal Brosnan was second in his 60m heat with 10.25s and 3^rd overall in the standing long jump with 1.66m. Hugo Richards made a major contribution with his 60m and 600m, providing important points for the team missing young tyro Matthew Smith, leading point scorer at the first match, still away on holiday. Hopefully this team will have done enough to consolidate or improve on their fourth league place position.

For under 13 girls, Sophie Brown produced the goods with a fine 2^nd place in the high jump with 1.25m and another good performance in the shot put, Amee Bilsland ran another good 60m sprint and produced a personal best in the long jump with 3.39m.

Chloe Rock showed her potential with a brave run in 800m with fourth place overall and a time of 2:54.1, and ran a 200m in 36.1s. Joanne Lowrie was another who impressed in her second appearance, with 10.11s in the 60m, 35.7 in the 200m both new personal bests. Ruth McCabe ran her 200m in a useful 36.3s, unfortunately clashing with her hurdles race. Katie Adam showed her capability in the shot put, exceeding the 5m barrier.

In the under 13 boys, Conor Kerr was a bit tired after his exploits from his hill running the day before but posted a second place in his heat of 800m with 2:32.3. Matthew Mills won his 200m (29.8), was second in his 60m (8.78s) and was reasonably happy with his long jump of 3.96m. Neil Cameron won his 60m heat in 9.14s, came second in his 200m (31.8s). Jamie and Anthony Gray made great contributions with Jamie 3^rd in his heat of 60m with 10.74s, and fourth in his 200m, with Anthony showing promise in the 800m with 3:10.0.

In the under 15 age group, Lorna Cameron won her heat of 300m, placing 4^th overall and ran a good 800m in 2:33.3 for third place overall. In the sprints, Louise Anderson looked very good with her 8.77s taking second place in her 60m heat and performing well in the shot with 6.50m. Niamh Callan took on the 60m with 9.25s and Georgia Quinn had a good 60m in 9.29s, before showing further speed in the 200m with 31.5s. Mairi Gillespie made her debut at 300m with a sub-50s clocking. Katie-Mairi King took on hurdles (3^rd in heat), high jump (1.40m) and 200m (31.3s). This team will have dropped back, missing Rachel Adamson and Smith through injury and holidays, but should remain in contention for the finals.

Stewart Ardrey won his under 15 boys 60m heat in fine fashion with 8.07s and placed 2^nd in 26.6s in his 200m, with Martyn Paterson also winning his heat with 8.23s, and 3^rd in 200m with 27.3 and gave the triple jump a go with 6^th place overall (8.97m).

Roddy Irvine matched his PB in the high jump with 1.40m and posted his first time of 63.4s for the 400m.

Jennifer Hutchison took second place in the under 17 hurdles with a strong run, and had a useful run in the 200m with 28.6s. Rachel Hunter made a good contribution with a 2:36.3s 800m timing and Lily Eadie threw 5.62m in the shot in addition to her 300m.

Issac Sanchez-Cruz showed his continued improvement by taking 2^nd place in his heat of the under 17 men’s 200m with 25.1s and was 4^th in the 60m in 7.70s.

Scottish Inter-district – Holyrood 13 January 2007

Central AC were well represented in the annual Scottish Inter-district matches that were incorporated with the televised Holyrood cross country event featuring the world’s top runners.

Four senior Central men were featured in the senior men’s race over 9,000 metres with a hard wind and wet ground that turned the flat course into a much tougher beast. Alistair Hay had a storming run, representing Scottish universities, finishing second in 31:52s, with Michael Gillespie yet again performing well in the senior ranks in 6^th place in 32.31. Alasdair Anthony too picked up good points and a high placing with 11^th in 33:04. Robert Russell was far from full fitness form but made it 15^th place in 33:27. The latter three Central men were part of a victorious East Team. Spectators had the bonus of watching the awesome speed of the leading group of five in the invitation part of the race, led home by the peerless Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, holder of 15 world cross country titles, multiple Olympic and world records at the age of just 25.

The senior women’s race was won by another Ethiopian world cross country Champion, Geleta Burka, with Central’s Ainsley Normand gaining 7^th place in the inter-district stakes with a time of 27:25. Fiona Thompson represented Scottish Universities and was somewhat off her full form in 20^th place.

In the junior races, Central had four boys representing the under 13 East team, with Tom Watson finding tough opposition from the West team before finishing 10^th in 13:49. The next Central contingent came in close order, with Conor Kerr 14^th in 14:02, Ross Milne 15^th in 14:05 and Alexander Coubrough 16^th in 14:06.

In the junior girls races, two Central runners had the honour of wearing a district vest with Catriona Buchanan running a solid 17^th place in the under 15 race in 15:03 and Rachel Hunter made it made it home in 22^nd in the under 17 race in 22:36

The under 17 Men saw another strong contingent of Central runners with Sean Reilly winning an overall silver medal with a time of 15:50, with Scott McDonald recovering from the recent respiratory virus worked hard to take 4^th place in 16:00 and Alex Hendry showed his continued improvement with a classy 9^th place in 16:44, with the three boys taking the honours in a winning East Team.

Indoor Relays – 21 January 2007

Central AC had five teams in the National Indoor Junior Relay Championships inside the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, with the teams experiencing a variety of success and valuable experience. The format featured a single 200m lap by each runner of the high banked track to be featured on this coming weekend’s televised international. The Under 15 boys team started with a second place in their heat recording 1:47.78 after leading for most of the race, but overtaken by a fast Pitreavie last leg runner. The team of Adam Innes, David Scott, Stewart Ardrey and Martyn Paterson  progressed to the final as fastest losers, where pushing hard they were disqualified for cutting in too soon.

 The under 13 girls team were all relatively inexperienced at the event and the indoor venue and finished out of the qualification places after taking fourth in their heat with a respectable time of 2:16. Caitlyn Watson led off with Abby Housego, Joanna Lowrie and Amie Bilsland continuing to keep the team in contention throughout their heat. Three of these runners will remain in the same age group next year and can only benefit from exposure to this experience.

Two teams of Central under 15 girls featured in the biggest group of entries with four heats and difficult qualification. The A team of   Louise Anderson, Lorna Cameron, Katie-Mairi King and Rachel Adamson easily broke the 2 minute barrier, with 1:58.44 but were unlucky to be in a fast heat that saw them finish 4^th fractionally behind a good City of Glasgow team. The B team of Sarah Dicks, Fiona Cameron, Nicole Docherty and Georgia Quinn battled hard, having to be happy with 4^th place with 2:08.04. The under 17 ladies team found very tough competition with the quartet of Megan Cowle, Susan Robb, Lorna Frame and Lily Eadie recording 2:04.92

East and West district Indoor Championships

The Kelvin Hall featured in the junior district championships where Kyle Henderson and Roddy Irvine took gold medals in the 60m and 800m for under 15 boys respectively. Kyle has been struggling with a lower back injury but put this behind him as he recorded 7.54s in the 60m final. Roddy claimed his first district gold in the 800m winning a close finish from Stewart Clark of Banchory in a new personal best of 2:23.0. Multi-talented Roddy also went on to win a bronze medal in high jump with 1.40m.

Stewart Ardrey took the silver medal place with 8.01s in the 60m and gave an excellent account of himself with a 26.16s timing for 5^th place in 200m final. Jennifer Hutchison had a good run in the 300m for under 17 women in the fastest heat of the day finishing 4^th with 44.76 but did not make the final for her preferred event, but moved through to the 200m final where she was edged out of medals with 4^th place in 28.01s. It was good to see Amanda Hewitt competing in the 60m to record 8.78s. Martyn Paterson was another medal winner with a bronze medal in the long jump with 4.86m.  Louise Anderson used the opportunity to take on three events in her first year in the under 15 age group, achieving 3^rd in her 60m heat with 8.86s, was 4^th in long jump final with a 3.70m, and took on her first 200m with a very respectable 30.39s timing.

East District Cross Country League - Saturday 20 January 2007

The Cross Country Course in Broxburn for the final East District League Meeting of the Season proved to be to the liking of Central Athletic Club’s runners.  With all races having to contend with ‘Lungbuster Hill’ this course was a real test of fitness and the strong winter wind that blew throughout the afternoon ensured it was also a test of character, which all Central’s athletes passed with flying colours.

The first race (Under 11 Boys and Girls over 1.5 kilometres) saw Kathryn Gillespie pushing through the field to extend her unbeaten sequence, winning the Girls race in an excellent 5mins 42secs.  Kathryn’s team-mates Farren Parkins 21^st in 7.11; Isla Burns 22^nd in 7.21 and Emily Greenan 31^st in 8.04 all showed great determination in the extreme conditions.

The Under 13 Boys and Girls race over 2.6 kilometres saw Tom Watson winning in 9mins 27secs taking revenge from last week over Dundee Hawkhill Harriers’ Michael Overend. It was no surprise to see Conor Kerr, fourth in 10.11; Ross Milne, fifth and Alexander Coubourgh, sixth, both with 10.13 finishing in close order, to win the Team race and lift the Under 13 Boys League Title for the Season. Roddy Irvine 11^th in 10.39; Logan Bonar 13^th in 10.56; Martin Hall 18^th in 11.09; Kelly Carruthers 27^th in 11.44; William Jamieson 28^th in 11.48; Ryan Butterworth 30^th in 12.32 and Rory Bain 31^st in 12.33, all proving their training was going well. While the Under 13 Girls never threatened to make an impact in the top positions it was good to see Kirsty Buchanan 11th in 11.51; Amy Hendry 27^th and Shona Buchanan 28^th, both in 12.51, triumphing over the conditions.

The third race saw the Under 15 Boys, Under 15 Girls and Under 17 Women tackling a 4.1 kilometre course.  It was Andrew Butchart, making his debut for the Club, who caught the eye with a storming run for 8^th in 16.07. Scott Green again underlined his potential with a 12^th placing in 16.48. It was also good to see Catriona Buchanan having an improved run for fifth in 16.57 in the Under 15 Girls race with Becky Hay 22^nd in 20.05, Mairi Gillespie 25^th in 20.21 and Claire Tunally 26^th in 20.58 all showing good form in the difficult conditions. Rachel Hunter was Central’s sole runner in the Under 17 Womens race and was another to produce an improved run as she came home 16^th in 18.56.

The first lap of the Under 17 Mens race, over 6.2 kilometres, saw a trio of yellow and blue vests leading the field as Sean Reilly, Scott MacDonald and Alexander Hendry dominated proceedings.  The second lap saw these three young men coming home in fine style with Sean winning in 21min 40secs, closely pursued by Scott in second (21.41) with Alexander completing a clean sweep with third in 22.30, with Central taking the Team honours on the day.  Jonathon Tolston continues to show improvement in this age group and here finished in an excellent 12th place in 24.08.

Central’s Senior women entered this race with high expectations, as league title holders for the previous three seasons and well placed this season going into the final match. Quality performances and depth of the squad made four in a row a formality.  Morag MacLarty led the way home with fine third place in 24:08s, closely followed by Ainsley Normand in fourth with 24:23. Hazel Dean continues to improve in form this season and was rewarded with 7^th place (25:03), with Claire Waterhouse 14^th (26:15s) also pleased with her running while newcomer Polly Harrison finished well in 17^th (26:54s). Veterans, Andrina Buchanan (37^th in 28:40) and Mary Kerr (59^th in 30:40) were well up in the large field. Other Central members of the team were Morag Adam (33:16), Janice Leitch (34:12), Tracey McInally (35:47), Helen Campbell (39:30) and Louise Harris (40:54).

By the final race of the day, the Mens race over 9.3 kilometres, much of the course had deteriorated into difficult muddy conditions.  It was former Scottish Cross Country Champion Robert Russell that expunged all memory of an under par run at last week’s televised Inter District event in Edinburgh, by giving a superb front running performance, extending his lead throughout to win in 30mins 44secs.  Alasdair Anthony also underlined his importance to the Club, working his way through the field to finish fifth in 31mins 15secs.  Kyle Cowie was second Under 20 and 20^th overall in 33.19 while Michael Wright 23^rd in 33.32, Murray MacLarty 29^th in 33.51 and Ross Houston 44^th in 34.31 were Central’s other counters in this race. A further 16 athletes strutted their stuff as follows – 51^st Alex Milne 34.55; 52^nd Phil Williams 34.55; 57th Douglas Flynn 35.23; 77th Alan Hume 35.36; 98th Martin Crawford 37.31; 130th Roger Greenaway 39.19; 132nd Hugh Buchanan 39.31; 140th Stuart Watson 39.58; 159^th Cameron Campbell 41.28; 175^th Adrian Louden 43.09; 180^th David Hay 43.21; 185^th Alan Gall 43.55; 188^th Phillip Hendry 44.04; 195^th John Millar 44.48; 211 Jim Drummond 46.50 and 225^th John Dickson 52.57. In a close contest through the Season, Central’s Mens Team finished in third place in the League behind Hunters Bog Trotters and City of Edinburgh AC.

Scottish 4k Cross Country Championships – 27 January

The Scottish 4K shortcourse Championships saw Central AC athletes take both male and female championships at individual and team level. On a flat but soggy Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, both races had final run-ins with riveting finishes. The Men’s race seemed to be settling into a three horse race with one kilometre to go with Robert Russell, Alastair Hay from Central and Southampton-based Simon Plummer running together. Alastair made his break with 600m to go, keeping his head as all changed behind him and taking the gold medal with a time of 12:28. The next medal placings changed hands on the run-in with Robert battling hard to take the bronze medal in a time of 12:36, behind Mark Pollard of Inverclyde who had made up distance on all in the leading trio. Michael Gillespie ran another great race to take 12^th place in 12:50 ahead of many well-known names. Murray MacLarty had the honour of being fourth counter in the Central colours clinching the team gold ahead of Shettleston and Cambuslang. Murray completed the race in 30^th place 13:50, Alex Milne (45^th in 14:42), Michael Wright (47^th, 14:45) and Martin Crawford (62^nd in  15:40) completing a strong squad turnout.

The women’s race saw Central runners gain exactly the same mix of medals as the men. Here there was another pulsating battle for the medals. Catriona Morrison, Stirling-based international triathlete, pulled well away from Glasgow’s Jill Knowles and Central’s Morag MacLarty with a kilometre to go. As the gap opened to over 40 metres with barely 800 metres to go, Morrison looked to be coasting to victory. But this discounted the grit and final finish of Morag. With 200m to go, Morag put in the long scorching finishing burst that has already distinguished her track career to sweep past the triathlete recording a winning time of 15:12. Meanwhile, Ainsley Normand had also been reeling in the lead contenders and took bronze medal placing in the last phase of the race with 15:33. Emma Waterhouse completed the counters with 9^th place in 16:22, with Hazel Dean 11^th in 16:35 and Sarah Pickett 15^th in 16:59.