The first race of Central Athletic Club’s 2022-23 Cross Country Series was held on Saturday 26 November at Callander Crags Woods and persistent rain made it a challenging day for all 21 athletes.
Craig Walker again set a testing course for the youngsters with the normal fairly demanding uphill finish making it a true trial for the young runners.
The Under-9 and Under-11 athletes raced for just over a mile and were headed home by Under-11 Girl, Hannah Inman (8 minutes 48 seconds) as she again underlined her talent. Second and third Under-11 Girls, Iona Clark (12:14) and Anika Latimer (13:10) should also be proud of their efforts in the less than friendly conditions. Matthew Owen (9:28) proved the strongest of the Under-11 Boys on the day with Thomas Arnott (9:42), Joshua Kingsley (10:07) and Zachary Walker (10:42) all finishing well in this category. Under-9 Girl, Annie Arnott (10:23) and Under-9 Boy, Harris Robertson (10:26) should also be pleased with their efforts as they picked up valuable points in their Under-9 categories.
The second race also proved a tough test of some 1.5 miles which saw Under-17 athlete Henry Crossley (10 minutes 11 seconds) proving his fitness to come home in first place overall. The Under-15 Boys were also well to the fore with Conall Paterson (10:15) prevailing in this age group ahead of further strong efforts from Jamie Connor (10:33), Fraser Kingsley (11:30) and Matthew Inman (12:21). Cameron Tanner (12:53) was the sole Under-13 Boy to take up the challenge and will be well rewarded with top Series points for his efforts.
It was Under-15 Orla Pieroway (12:20) who headed home the Girls’ efforts just ahead of a determined run by Dara Clark (12:24). Jessica Walker (12:50) just prevailed from Ella Tanner (12:52) in the Under-13 Girls category while Nora Thompson (13:31) and Iona McQuater (15:12) both showed great resolve in the difficult conditions.
Full results can be downloaded in the spreadsheet below.
The Race Series now moves on to the Laigh Hills Park in Dunblane on Saturday 17 December with registration from 10.30am and warm-up at 11am.