Scottish Schools Primary Cross Country

Although the cross country season is just a winter memory for many, a good showing of club members were among the 700 competitors at the Scottish Schools Primary Cross Country championships at Kirkcaldy High School on Saturday 25 April. There were eight events: separate races for P6 and P7, subdivided into boys and girls, with two races per category dividing schools by alphabetical order. In the results, athletes are listed by school, which makes it challenging to pick out club members: here’s who we have spotted.

P6 Girls, A-K

• Kate Logan (Kincardine in Menteith) 20th, 8:23
• Isobel Denholm (Bridge of Allan) 25th, 8:29

P6 Girls, K-Z

• Aila Campbell (Thornhill) 2nd 7:39
• Elona Crolla (Morrison’s) 15th, 8:23

P7 Girls A-J

• Annie Arnott (Dollar) 5th, 7:22
• Ruth Thomas (Doune) 43rd, 8:26
• Skye Pringle (Doune) 67th, 9:10

P7 Girls K-Z

• Gracie Short (Newton) 13th, 7:47
• Elise Barn (Newton) 50th, 8:34

P7 Boys A-K

• Luca Pizey (Buchlyvie) 38th, 7:38

Congratulations to all! Full results at https://results.perfecttimingscotland.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20065&RId=3137

London Marathon 2026

The London Marathon took over the city on Sunday with 59,000 runners finishing in times from just below two hours to over 12 hours and in weather which was warmer than most runners would have chosen. Central’s contingent included youth and experience, united by enthusiasm and self-belief.

At the front of our pack was Chris Fullerton who scored a new PB with his time of 2:32:22, closing at nearly the same pace as he started. He was followed home by club record holder Ross Houston rolling back the years in 2:36:36.

Amy Gough was making her first attempt at the distance and launched into seventh woman in the club’s all-time rankings with 3:09:02, running at a very consistently pace suggesting there might be more in the tank. Ewan “blackcurrant fool” Jack (what else can you call someone with a joint affiliation to Ochil’s purple and our custard yellow) took his time to cross the start line, but worked his way steadily through the field to record 3:25:21.

Stuart Watson started swiftly but his pace suffered over the final few miles as he battled home in 3:37:04. Sally Gallagher was just a little further back and also had to work hard over the last few miles for her 3:41:48 clocking. Lesley Ann Hastie, mum of under 12 club member Niamh Hastie, completed her first marathon by breaking the four hour barrier with a very impressive 3:57:42. Gordon Luke and guide Fergus George put in a steady and consistent performance and reached the line in 4:09:18. Allan Gall added another notch to his long tally of marathons completed with his time of 5:10:34, his first as a V70.

In addition to club members, among the runners were many other friends of the club and local runners from the Stirling area. Full results at https://results.tcslondonmarathon.com/2026/ .

Weekend 10k

For those with a commitment to a shorter, faster race than a marathon, there were a couple of local 10k races which attracted club attention. The Round the Houses 10k is a long-established event with a flat but sometimes windy course starting and finishing at Grangemouth Stadium. It was Kevin Amos who was first home for the club in a rapid 37 minutes and 35 seconds. Tony Disley showed his speed pedigree as he recorded 40:20 and opened a slight gap over Donald Shaw who tallied a determined 42:17. Full results at https://results.perfecttimingscotland.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20065&RId=3139&EId=1

Meantime, in rural splendour near Balquhidder, Neil Ferrier stepped up to meet the challenge of the Hidden Glen 10k on rough trail tracks with a good portion of climbing and did the club proud in 44:15. Full results at https://results.perfecttimingscotland.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=20065&RId=9112&EId=1

Hills and spills

The 26th of April and Falkland in Fife was the venue for the second race in the 2026 Junior Hill Running League. The weather and impressive Central AC performances continued from the previous week’s event at Dumyat.

East lomond offers some fine hill running with steep climbs, fast descents and fabulous views for those runners able to appreciate them!

Organised by Fife AC, the U10’s and U12’s race 2.2km with 100m ascent. In the girls race, Annabel Morrison followed up her 1st place at Dumyat with another fine run and 1st place here in 11:30.

The U14’s race over 3km with 100m ascent, but climb the devilishly steep Eastern flank. Annie Arnott once again showed her hill running talent to finish 1st in 18:22. In the boys race, Jack Morrison produced a strong run to finish 5th in 20:46.

The U16’s covered 5.8km and 200m of ascent with a gruelling double loop incorporating that steep Eastern side of the hill. The outstanding performances from Central’s female athletes continued with Ella Hunter leading the girls home in 1st place in 33.27 and Hannah Inman running superbly to finish 5th in 37.59. There was strong competition in the boys race and Thomas Arnott ran hard to finish in 10th place with a time of 36.26.

The U18’s covered the same route as the U16’s, and with no female athletes, it was left to Joel Gillan to produce another strong run, finishing 2nd in a hugely impressive time of 27:14.

Next stop Broughton on the 16th May for race number 3 and the Scottish champs.

And beyond

There have also been a couple of other excellent club results in the recent past which almost slipped past unnoticed. Grace Whelan travelled down to Loughborough on 18 April to run her first 10,000m track race and delivered a very impressive 34:51 which is a club record!

A few days later on 20 April, Marathon Man Colin McCreadie was in Boston to updated his commemorative t-shirt collection and take part in the oldest annual marathon race in the world – he clocked an excellent 3.07.18.