The first race in the Central Athletic Club’s 2019-20 cross country series was held on Saturday 30 November in frosty conditions with bright sunshine, on a flat course of some 2 kilometres at Airthrey Castle, Stirling University with a field of 27 runners braving the cold conditions.
Euan Docherty’s strong running brought him home in first place with a tasty 7 minutes 22 seconds, leading home fellow Under-15 Ross Lawrie who showed continued improvement with 7:56. Joshua Kennedy also looked in good form as he led home the Under-13 Boys with 7:32 ahead of Aaron Middleton’s fine effort of 7:48. There were further noteworthy performances from the Under-13 Boys through Alex Dunlop (8:12), Fergus Young (8:18), Jamie Connor (8:50), Conall Paterson (9:40) and Scott Hill (10:05). Finlay MacGregor (9:10) proved to be the class of the Under-11 Boys race with Oscar Underwood (10:48), Arthur Carrie (10:57) and Gabriel Stewart (11:40) all laying down targets for the future.
Amongst the girls it was Under-15 runner Amy Cully who led the pack home with a gutsy 7:45 performance ahead of further strong runs from Summer MacLean (7:53), Leona Melville (8:23), Zosia Paddon (8:42), Tara Mathewson (9:05) and Scarlett Roy (9:17). Loren Stewart’s fine effort (8:47) saw her at the head of the Under-13 Girls with Niamh McKinlay (8:52) producing another strong challenge in this age group, as did Emma Anderson (9:18). Dara Clark should be pleased with her 9:24 effort to lead the Under-11 Girls to the finish ahead of another fine effort by Ciara Middleton (10:10). The three Under-9 Girls were not daunted by the cold weather or their older opponents and finished closely together with Eilidh Connor (11:25) taking the honours ahead of Hannah Cowley (11:36) and Jessica Walker (11:56).
Thanks are due to Derek Easton, Raymond Milne and indeed all the helpers who made this another successful event.
| No. | Name | Age Group | Time |
| 136 | Euan Docherty | U15B | 7.22 |
| 233 | Joshua Kennedy | U13B | 7.32 |
| 32 | Amy Cully | U15G | 7.45 |
| 221 | Aaron Middleton | U13B | 7.48 |
| 34 | Summer MacLean | U15G | 7.53 |
| 99 | Ross Lawrie | U15B | 7.56 |
| 210 | Alex Dunlop | U13B | 8.12 |
| 236 | Fergus Young | U13B | 8.18 |
| 222 | Leona Melville | U15G | 8.23 |
| 129 | Zosia Paddon | U15G | 8.42 |
| 105 | Loren Stewart | U13G | 8.47 |
| 228 | Jamie Connor | U13B | 8.50 |
| 223 | Niamh McKinlay | U13G | 8.52 |
| 98 | Tara Mathewson | U15G | 9.05 |
| 143 | Finlay MacGregor | U11B | 9.10 |
| 101 | Scarlett Roy | U15G | 9.17 |
| 164 | Emma Anderson | U13G | 9.18 |
| 48 | Dara Clark | U11G | 9.24 |
| 100 | Conall Paterson | U13B | 9.40 |
| 217 | Scott Hill | U13B | 10.05 |
| 218 | Ciara Middleton | U11G | 10.10 |
| 156 | Oscar Underwood | U11B | 10.48 |
| 162 | Arthur Carrie | U11B | 10.57 |
| 225 | Eilidh Connor | U9G | 11.25 |
| 182 | Hannah Cowley | U9G | 11.36 |
| 216 | Gabriel Stewart | U11B | 11.40 |
| 64 | Jessica Walker | U9G | 11.56 |