The Masters cross country championships for 2026 took place at Tollcross Park in Glasgow on Saturday 31 January. The course was an undulating 2km loop with a looping descent from the start followed by a steady climb to some flat zig zags at the top of the course, with panoramic views to Barlinnie Prison, before a rollercoaster return to the finish. Medals are awarded in 5 year age categories from 40 upwards, with the oldest competitor being an 80 year old.

The first race was for Men Over 65 and Women covering three laps of the course. Charles Graham-Marr was the first Central finisher clocking 26:23 to rank 10th in M65, Hugh Buchanan followed as 23rd in the same category in a time of 28:48 and Linda Cunningham finished well in 36:14 giving her 17th place in W55.

The second and larger race was for Men 40-64 with Central represented in every category. In the youngest category, Mario Menier came home as 14th M40 in a time of 29:10 backed up by Andrew Mawer in 30:31 ranking 24th. Our star of the day was Ross Houston who ran with the leading group throughout a tight race to win the M45 silver medal in a time of 27:57. In that same category were Will Hensman who clocked 32:30 to rank 25th and Gordon Appelbe (35:50, 43rd). Jens Subke (34:20, 21st) was our sole M50 representative and led home our over 50 finishers, holding off the challenge from M55 Donald Shaw (34:43, 12th) and M60s David Eckersley (35:23, 8th) and jet-lagged, Parkrun-weary Ally Cunningham (39:33, 23rd).

Full results at https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2026/GBR/masxc/event/ .