S.A. Inter District XC inc. Celtic XC & UK Cross Challenge
For the first time this XC season the sun was shining for Race Day at Renfrew and there were several brilliant performances to match the glorious weather. The course was flat, fast, and included some interesting scenery on its winding way around King George V playing Fields.
The U13 girls kicked things off with some gutsy runs as a visitor from Exeter Harriers took the race out hard. We had 4 in the West team and a fabulous 6 running for the club. The West had to settle for the silver medal after a strong showing from the East, with Lucy Tonner (6), Erika Tait (9) and Eve Cameron (10) all as counters. In a tight finish Megan Jackson (41), Eilidh Brown (42) and Eva McGrory (43) pushed hard down the home straight, Chloe Simpson (48), Freya Mearns (51), Rebecca (62), and Ruby McWilliams (66) raced well cheered round by many local supporters.
The U13 boys were up next and 9 of our boys were representing the West squad. The boys all did the Club and West proud and worked hard together as a big group for a good bit of the race. Heading into the final straight a bunch of East and West vests fought it out, with Kian Dick coming out with 3rd in the British Cross Challenge and 2nd in the Inter District competition. Such was the mele in the home straight that supporters thought that Evan had snatched 3rd spot for the districts, but they hadn’t spotted an East vest nicking down the right-hand side! Evan Tyler took and excellent 4thplace, with Sam Deery in 7th and Ewan Kennedy pipping an East vest on the line to take the 6th counter spot and secure West Gold on equal points! Donald MacInnes was inside the top 20 and there were good runs in their West vests for James Andrews (21), Logan McNulty (27), Leo Carroll (28) and Ollie McFarlane (37).
The sun was still shining for the U15 girls race but the course was getting a little heavier underfoot, though the U15 (and U17/20) were spared the tight 180° turn of the earlier and later races. In the West squad we had Hollie Simpson, Amy Gallagher, Eilidh Caldow, Millie Boothman , Isabella Wilson And Nicole Yates with Erin Reilly and Eve Wilkinson running for the club. The girls navigated the course and growing crowds well with Hollie taking an excellent 4th place in the district competition and as the first counter for the West team. Amy was in 16th for the 5th counter. The West team took silver on this occasion after a strong showing from the East team taking the top 3 spots. There were determined runs from Eilidh (29), Millie (32), Isabella (33), Nicole (35) Erin (54) and Eve (60).
The U15 boys went off like a train as expected and stampeded round the tight first right-hand bend. Things soon settled down with a couple of West vests pulling a group of around 7away a little from the rest. The East won this one in the end with Aaron Reid running well to be our sole counter in the West team in 15th spot (11th for district). In the top half of the field with good runs were Finlay Laskey (23) and Cameron Mitchell (28) in their West vests and flying the flag for GNAC were Cameron Nugent (26) and Ethan Scobie (35).
Moving on from the younger age groups we come to the Under 17 and 20 men and women. It was an exceptionally successful day for our men, who were representing Scotland,Team West and Giffnock North. Trying to work out the various team and individual competitions was a bit of a headache, but our guys made it fairly simple by being at the sharp end of the finishers….so here goes……I’ve given overall positions in this report….check the full results via the link below.
Jamie Connor had an inspired day on what was a very flat course…he won the Cross Challenge event, finished first in the under 17 Inter district event and led Team West to team victory. Calum Dick who was running up an age group was first finisher for the Scotland Under 17 team in the Celtic Nations event and mounted the podium in 2nd place with Jamie and Alasdair Nugent who finished 3rd in the Cross Challenge event, with the same placings for the Inter Districts.Our boys did a good job at hogging the podium.
This trio was superbly back up by Oliver MacDonald (21st),Jack Wallace (30th) and Alasdair McLean (54) Jamie, Calum, Alasdair, Oliver and Jack comprised the Inter District gold medal winning team along with James Alexander of Garscube A.C.
Our Under 20 duo of Glen Griffiths and Mathew Knak went well in the mixed under 17/20 race and finished well in Glen(23) overall and Mathew (32) not too far adrift.
Our Under 17 girls were also very much in the mix flying the flag for the West with Ruth Walsh finishing 15th overall followed by Scarlett Wilson (23), Freya Campbell (35), Freya Scobie (38) running up from under 15 age group and representing Scotland under 17, Saoirse McNulty (47), IslaMunro (53) and Iona Stroma Hubbard (58). Ruth, Scarlett, Freya, and Freya were all counting members of Team West who won silver in the Inter District competition.
Returning from injury saw Hannah Ryding having a solid run to finish 11th overall and help her ease back into competition.Esme Dougall (43) was the other member of our Under 20 squad who finished strongly.
Finally, it was the turn of the senior teams and there were still a good number of younger supporters to cheer round their older teammates and coaches even if some were doing so from the lengthy food van queue! Emma Creasey continued her good form with 17th place overall and 12th in the District competition claiming 4th counter for the West team who claimed Silver medal position behind the East. The fantastic coach/athlete duo of Allie Chong (45) and Anji Carson (64) were joined by the inspirational Hilary Carswell (61).
An exciting Senior Men/U23 Celtic race saw Duncan Robinson representing Scotland U23 in the Celtic Nations event set out with intent in an early breakaway group of around 7. In the second lap Jamie Crowe (Central) and Scott Stirling (Falkirk) pulled away leaving Duncan and Lewis Hanningan (Kilbarchan) to fight it out for the bronze position overall and Gold in the U23 Celtic race with a visitor from Aldershot Farnham and District. In the end it was visitor Joseph McConnell who claimed the bronze with Lewis in 4thspot and Duncan 5th. Celtic Nations title went to Scotland with Lewis in 1st and Duncan in 2nd backed by Andrew McGill.
There were 2 other vests to cheer round to finish of the day as Luke Nelson (83) and Scott Kelman (92) took the opportunity to enjoy a competitive local race. All in all an enjoyable and successful day for many and definitely wetting the appetite for the National event in Falkirk on February 24th entries are open so please get your names down soon.
Thanks to Dudley Walker & Eilidh Macdonald for reporting and Jordan Orr for most of the photos from Renfrew
PLACES AVAILABLE for 5-8 year olds
We are delighted to advise that we still have some spaces left at our popular RUN JUMP THROW sessions on Saturdays at Hutchesons’ School Track commencing on Sat 13th January. This is for interested youngsters 5-8 year olds. This block runs until the 30th March.
Entry by Beaton Road Entrance.
SESSION STRUCTURE
The sessions are divided into 3 colour coded groups according to age [ Aprox] All using age appropriate equipment . Children will be introduced to a variety of athletic activity- emphasising fundamental movement skills ABCs Agility Balance & Co-ordination but mostly based on having some fun and developing confidence.
5 Year olds all together RED
6-7 Year olds YELLOW
8 year olds BLUE
If you require any further information, please contact our Administrator admin@giffnocknorth.co.uk
Further too our recent review, below some of the successes of our Masters athletes.
Allie Chong competed in the European Masters Championships at the half marathon. In her first GB Masters vest she brought home individual bronze medal in the v50 category and joined with two other team mates to secure team Gold in the v35 age group.
Several Giffnock North athletes were selected to run for Scotland at the Masters International Cross Country; Yvonne McNairn, Allie Chong, Sheila Lewis, Mary McCutcheon and Doreen Henderson.
Jill Smylie, Yvonne McNairn and Allie Chong are 2023 Scottish Veteran Road Relay Champions.
Allie Chong, Jill Smylie and Catriona Bark won Masters Silver medal at the West District XC and a Gold for the Masters team at the National relays in Cumbernauld consisted of Sheila Lewis, Allie Chong and Mary McCutcheon.
Yvonne McNairn is currently the V35 Champion for the Scottish 10 mile road race.
And in the Ultra Running scene, Rory Matheson completed the UTMB which is no mean feat!
Report by Yvonne McNairne
The Board of the Club would like to wish all our athletes, coaches, officials, parents and supporters very best wishes for a great 2024.
We had some amazing highlights in 2023 which included exceptional individual performances and team work across the Age Groups and all the disciplines. For a relatively young athletics club we have recorded excellent achievements this year and over the 40 years of our existence. In November we celebrated our 40th Anniversary with a local Dinner Dance headed by a great introduction from some of our talented musicians. No end to those talents either.
We had two of our Athletes, Alyson Bell and Neil Gourley, representing GB at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. We saw Neil taking the Silver medal (just behind Jacob Ingebritsen ) at the European Championships in Istanbul – now selected to compete in the refurbished Emirates Arena in Glasgow at the World Indoors in March.
Alyson (2nd left) with the squad
Neil in action at the World Championships. Photo by Mark Shearman
We had Alessandro Schenini taking the Scottish Native Senior Long Jump record with a fantastic 8 metre leap. We have Nikki Manson taking the indoor native record for Long Jump as well as retaining her previous Scottish High Jump record and coming back from complex knee surgeries. David Smith, also after two foot surgeries, this year is back training. Adam Clayton, competing in the University College in the USA, is surpassing some Scottish Sprint records and was rewarded by GB selection for the European Team Championships. Hannah Ryding earned an U20 GB vest to compete in Australia in the World XC Championships in February while Duncan Robinson is making his mark at both XC and on the road.
Alessandro Schenini
Hannah winning the National XC
We await developments for our other USA based athletes, students Conan Harper & Reuben Macdonald and note that Craig Shennan following an impressive year is also headed stateside on a scholarship in the summer.
We are hoping for solid performances in 2024 from all our squads and particularly from many of our athletes returning to competition after injury or illness or an interrupted season including Erin Wallace, Reuben Nairne in Pole Vault, and Murray Fotheringham.
Our YDL team (Youth Development League for u13 & u15) won the Scottish Final in August and went on to represent Scotland in the UK final Manchester.
Many of our athletes were also selected to represent Scottish Schools over XC and Track & Field .
Our Youth Development League team in Manchester
Club athletes have excelled over Cross Country in the 2022-23 season, retaining the Lindsays Trophy, the Pat Spence and the AT May Trophies.
Or Junior XC squads have notched up so many podium places, both individually and as proud members of their teams.
In this XC season already, we are filled with optimism for the Inter District on the 13th January and the National XC in February. Our growing band of Veteran women have graced many podium places. So we can definitely look forward to the rest of the XC season and a great summer season on track & in the field.
We would be delighted if athletes, coaches & parents want to add their own highlights to this very abbreviated review before everyone gets ready to celebrate the New Year.
Report by Clare Stevenson
One outstanding International Masters Highlight we missed was Allie Chong with Bronze at the European Masters Half Marathon Championships in Italy.
The Awards Night for the youngest athletes in the club was held on Sunday 10th of December at GHA
We had the privilege of David Smith our brilliant High Jumper doing the honours on the night. David is now back training hard after 2 surgeries this year . We wish him all the best for 2024
Certificates for performance on the track and over Cross Country were presented and also Medals for the Club Championships held in August.
Finally the awards for U11 Athletes of the Year were presented to Darcey Waddell and Christopher Cameron
This is always a difficult category for us to decide as we have so many talented athletes at the club and many developing all the time as they go up the Age Groups , but Darcey and Christopher were worthy winners for this season. They should have a look at the previous recipients of the U11 awards on the shields.,
We also took the time to say thanks to a large number of our volunteers who assisted at the Summer Camps and always make a substantial contribution to the success of the Holiday Athletic camps.
We think everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves on the dance floor The pizza was devoured ,the great prizes of Bobble Hats from Migos went down well and, all in all, it was a good start to the holiday festivities.
Many thanks to Alison Watson, Caroline Hunter & Ashley Cornfoot for all their input. Stacie Macintyre for sorting all the certificates. Disco Man – David- for the tunes & the games. Allan Cameron for the photographs. Dudley Walker for inimical MC duties. David Smith for presenting, and lastly thanks to all the athletes & Parents attending .
Medal Winners
Under 11 Girls 80 metres:
Bronze: Quinn Granger
Silver: Aurora MacIntyre
Gold: Darcey Waddell
Under 11 Girls 600 metres:
Bronze: Anna MacFarlane
Silver: Darcey Waddell
Gold: Abbie Gallagher
Under 11 Girls Shot putt:
Bronze: Anna MacFarlane
Silver: Lola Saez
Gold: Darcey Waddell
Under 11 Girls Long Jump:
Bronze: Niamh Marr
Silver: Iona Cornfoot
Gold: Aurora MacIntyre
Under 11 Girls Overall:
Bronze: Quinn Granger
Silver: Aurora MacIntyre
Gold: Darcey Waddell
Under 11 Boys 80 metres:
Bronze: Christopher Cameron
Silver: Andrew Mitchell
Gold: Hugo Stewart
Under 11 Boys 600 metres:
Bronze: Andrew Church
Silver: Hugo Stewart
Gold: Christopher Cameron
Under 11 Boys Shot putt:
Bronze: Euan Moir
Silver: Andrew Mitchell
Gold: Hugo Stewart
Under 11 Boys Long Jump:
Bronze: Andrew Mitchell
Silver: Christopher Cameron
Gold: Hugo Stewart
Under 11 Boys Overall:
Bronze: Andrew Mitchell
Silver: Christopher Cameron
Gold: Hugo Stewart
What a great time was had at the Awards Night!
Over 100 athletes, parents and coaches celebrated another great year for the club on Saturday.
The awards were Introduced by our usual outstanding MC, Dudley Walker assisted by Club President Billy Glasgow; and it was a great privilege and honour to have our own Alyson Bell presenting the awards. It was a great way to celebrate the successful year she has had. She is the excellent role model we have come to expect and appreciate at Giffnock North AC.
First up, medallists from the August Club Championships received their medals – wooden ones organised by Anne Stewart.
Next, athletes who won national titles received commemorative certificates. This year we have had the highest ever number of national title winners across Track and Field, Cross Country and Road Racing. 31 athletes won 39 Titles. Masters titles awards will be presented later in the year.
Finally, there were the age group awards from U13 to Senior. The task of deciding who should receive these awards gets harder each year! On occasions, it feels we have to miss out outstanding candidates who achieved really excellent performances but just missed out.
We managed to miss Alex Clark’s National Title at U15 Sprints. Apologies to Alex ! He is another athlete who had an outstanding year having only recently started in athletics.Don’t worry we know who you all are.
We also recognise the contribution of every single squad member to development and improvement. Indeed, Alyson consistently acknowledges how the support of her training group has supported her progress from a successful junior athlete to the World Championships this year as part of the Senior Women’s Sprint Relay Squad.
The Awards Night was a chance to reflect on the progress of Giffnock North in our 40th Anniversary Year, from a Senior only endurance club to the entity we are today – with enormous achievements across all age groups and disciplines including athletes competing in the World Championships – Alyson and Neil Gourley – Scottish record holders and athletes highly ranked in the All Time performance lists. We hope these achievements will continue to inspire all our athletes.
Thanks from the organisers go to:
Alyson for doing the presentations & cheerfully posing for extra photos
Anne Stewart for Club Championship Medals.
Graham Dunn for the production line in National Title Certificates required this year
Gerry Duggan for the photographs
Dudley and Billy for slick organising of the Awards aided by Jenny Simpson & Lynne MacDougall
Sara Sinclair and Staff from Nosh Catering
Maccabi Staff
Alyson and Rachel Callan for leading the dancing and proving they’ve got more than the sprints moves going! Check out the Video!
And, of course, to all of you for coming!
This week to celebrate WOMEN IN SPORT WEEK , we bring you this amazing effort
Ever watched synchronised running drills by Ethiopians and Kenyan endurance athletes on YouTube? Well now our very own U17 and U20’s women endurance squad have given it a go in celebration of our 40th Anniversary. We think it’s brilliant and a fun and effective way for the athletes to engage and improve their running skills. Many thanks go to the U17 and U20‘s women Middle Distance squad.
Take a look here – we hope you like it !!
Many thanks to Chief Choreographer & Coaches Laurence McGregor and Lynne MacDougall !
CLUB AWARDS NIGHT
APOLOGIES FOR LATE REMINDER, DETAILS NOW AVAILABLE .
The Annual Club Awards Night will take place in the MACCABI CLUB, May Terrace, Giffnock, Glasgow G46 6LD
Saturday 7th October 7.30pm to Midnight
This event takes place in the Year that marks 40 Years of Giffnock North and we hope everyone – Athletes & Coaches & Parents / Guardians – can make an effort to come along and celebrate the Club’s overall success in 2022-23 .
All of our athletes have contributed to Giffnock North’s success on the Track, in Field events and over the mud in Cross Country & Hills as members of Training squads Competing teams and as Individuals.
On the night the following will be presented :
- Medals for the Club Track & Field Championships
- Certificates for those attaining National Titles
- Age Group Awards & some other important club awards for Senior & Junior Athletes
This is the main Awards Night for the Club U13s & up as sadly due to the size of the Club, we cannot accommodate everyone at one event now.
We have arranged a Hot Buffet and there will be a Disco so make sure you’re ready for the dancing. It will be BYOB on the night.
The cost of £12 is being subsidised by the Club and we have kept it as low as we can in the face of rising costs for Catering etc . If there is any problem re hardship please let us know.
Our Endurance squads will be hotfooting it to the Maccabi following the District XC Relays
PLEASE BOOK ON your LOVE ADMIN account AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Further Events
There is a DINNER DANCE on 4th November for the Over 18s on 4th November in Parklands.
We will have a separate XMAS DISCO on Sunday 10th December for our Youngest athletes U11s et al at GHA aproximately 4..00pm to 7.00pm
UK YDL Lower Age Group Final 2/9/2023
Forty-seven of our young U13/U15 male & female athletes, coaches and officials headed off to Manchester on the 1st of September to compete and represent Giffnock North A.C and Scotland in the UK YDL Lower Age Group Final at the Manchester Sports Arena on the 2nd of September.
We headed off from GHA about 12.30 however, given the heavy traffic we didn’t get to the Premier in Denton until about 5.45 so rooms were allocated and we all headed for our evening meal, which everyone enjoyed. After the meal we had a quiz for all the athletes which seemed to go down well as it was pretty competitive. After the results were announced by our quiz master Andy Munro the athletes were encourage to head off to their rooms for a bit of chill time before lights out.
Following a good night’s rest, it was an early start at 7.00a.m.for all the coaches as it was anticipated that the athletes might be a bit blerrie eyed. However, we were pleasantly surprised that most were up and ready at 7.15a.m. After breakfast all boarded the bus and our Four graded officials Anne Stewart, Craig Fotheringham, James Coyle & Amparo Ruiz headed off to the track by car.
Upon arrival we met up with Jackie, Sara & Garry who travelled to the track by car. We took a prime viewing space in the stand on the first bend. First up were the field events in the U15 Boys Hammer with Freddie Scott and Alex Black & the U13 Girls High Jump, with Celeste Sheridan & Laura Tedesco followed by the sprinters at 11.00 a.m. and first up was the U13 Girls Amy Plunket & Bethany McNeil, in the 150m Bethany won a bronze medal in the B race. Although we got off to a slow start as far as medals were concerned all our athletes gave their all and it wasn’t long until it was the start of the middle-distance events with the 800m picking up Four A & B string medals.
In total Giffnock North AC won Twenty-Six A/B medals and the Frank Starkie Cup for the winner of the Under 15 Boys 1500m was awarded to Calum Dick (Giffnock North) in a time and new club record of 4:05.62 Although we finished 7th it was great experience for all, particularly the young athletes who did the club proud
Many thanks to all the coaches and officials who supported the trip to Manchester.
Report by Billy Glasgow
Many congratulations to the following medalists from the Club Track & Field Championships
Under 11 Girls | Under 11 Boys | ||||
1. | Darcey Waddell | 887 pts | 1. | Hugo Stewart | 706 Pts |
2. | Aurora MacIntyre | 746 Pts | 2. | Christopher Cameron | 651 Pts |
3. | Quinn Granger | 688 Pts | 3. | Andrew Mitchell | 615 Pts |
Under 13 Girls | Under 13 Boys | ||||
1. | Erika Tait | 906 pts | 1. | Austin Summerhill | 874 Pts |
2. | Erica Ross | 859 Pts2. | 2. | Finlay Hamilton | 851 Pts |
3. | Eilidh Brown | 818 Pts | 3. | Charlie Murray | 793 Pts |
Under 15 Girls | Under 15 Boys | ||||
1. | Eilidh Caldow | 1122 Pts | 1. | Zander Summerhill | 1437 Pts |
2. | Sarah McNulty | 1079 Pts | 2. | Angus Weir | 1145 Pts |
3. | Charlotte Malcolm | 879 Pts | 3. | Nathan Booker | 1078 Pts |
Under 17 Girls | Under 17 Boys | ||||
1. | Helen Adakomola | 1119 Pts | 1. | Ryan Davie | 1296 Pts |
2. | Freya Campbell | 978 Pts | 2. | Ewan Cornfoot | 1284 Pts |
3. | Madeleine Mackenzie | 964 Pts | 3. | Myles Socrates | 1234 Pts |
Senior Women | Senior Men | ||||
1. | Emily Watson | 1012 Pts | 1. | Unisa Kargbo | 1831 Pts |
– | 2. | Edward Joyce | 1710 Pts | ||
– | 3. | Neil Hutchison | 15.04 Pts | ||
Masters Women | Masters Men | ||||
1. | Allie Chong | 638 Pts | 1. | Chris Hawthorne | 1179 Pts |
– | 2. | David Edelman | 616 Pts |
The sun shone and the stadium was in great order for our Club Championships at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena in Kilmarnock It was a great day and we need to thank many people for their contribution to that .
First of all
Thanks to all the athletes who came , competed , performed gave their all & achieved . To all the parents and supporters for all the amazing & generous donations to the raffle , tombola and the great Home baking. to Alison Watson & Caroline Hunter who took that task on again . To all the coaches who gave up their time to assist at the championships -hoping to see the fruits of their input – as athletes performed- but mostly too busy helping at events to see the races & events properly. To all the parent helpers who raked, measured, retrieved , recorded ,assembled at all the events. To the results team Elaine Paul, Kathleen Nolan and Kate Paul who along with Graham Dunn’s huge input as ever produced the results on the day and now the final results duly scrutinised . To Lynsey Church &Caroline Cameron for a great job organising all the catering and to Laura Swan Fiona Dorrian & Humera Ashraf for the lovely food for the officials( have to look after them well) – some was available for spectators too . To the 4 Photographers- no complaints about that fantastic coverage .Thanks to Allan Cameron, Alan Stewart, Colin Mearns & Jordan Orr. To the excellent hardworking, obliging and encouraging officials who ensured the athletes had the best experience. Some had travelled far to grace our club championships and we are very lucky to have them every year .Mike & Lynne Belch, Christine Stoops ……..you are all legends . To Jason Pender’s Photo finish Team with Alyson & Craig Fotheringham who were ace- using our newly acquired shared PF equipment ( Shettleston IAC , Kilbarchan & GNAC – it cost a fortune) To Dudley Walker in his familiar and very much appreciated Announcer spot. To Anne Stewart a special mention as she had the onerous compiling of a Timetable across all age groups and events and assembled the officials with whom we could not survive as a sport. On the day, we were able to hand out quite a number of AAA Certificates reflecting the high standards achieved by our athletes These were presented by Erin Wallace & Murray Fotheringham . Erin & Murray very kindly gave up their time reminding us all of the excellent role models that they are – while young athletes queued up to have photos taken with them . Thanks again Erin & Murray. It takes this kind of combined effort to stage the Club Championships. If you enjoyed the day – an appeal . We desperately need more assistance in the club with more Officials or if coaching is your interest please let us know. ell done everyone .
Many congtaulations to our u13/u15/u20 athletes who competed at the Scottish Age Group Championships in Aberdenn over the weekend (19th/20th Aug) They came home with a total of 24 medals in total including 6 National titles.
Under 13s
Under 13s claimed four National Titles. Amy Plunkett did the 100m/200m double. Kian Dick took the 800m title and Bethany McNeil leapt to Long Jump glory. Medalists below.
- Amy Plunkett – 100m – GOLD – 13.03
- Amy Plunket – 200m – GOLD – 27.31
- Kian Dick – 800m – GOLD – 2.19.17
- Bethany McNeil – Long Jump – GOLD – 4.64
- Logan McNulty – 1500m – SILVER – 4.49.53
- Austin Summerhill – High Jump – SILVER – 1.37
- Sam Deerey – 1500m – BRONZE – 4.52.36
- Eve Cameron – 1500m – BRONZE – 5.14.74
- Bethany McNeil – 200m – BRONZE – 28.62
- Lucy Tonner – 800m – BRONZE – 2.29.41
Photo by Bobby Gavin
Under 15s
Zander Summerhill bagged a full set GOLD,SILVER & BRONZE and Alexander Clark took a brace of SILVERS in the 100/200m
- Zander Summerhill – 300m – GOLD – 37.85
- Calum Dick – 1500m – SILVER – 4.06.03
- Angus Weir – Long Jump – SILVER
- Alexander Clark – 100m – SILVER – 11.49
- Alexander Clark – 200m – SILVER – 23.63
- Zander Summerhill – Shot Putt – SILVER – 11.47
- Zander Summerhill – 100m – BRONZE – 11.78
- Sarah McNulty – 300m – BRONZE – 43.34
Photo by Bobby Gavin
Under 20s
Many congratulations to Hannah Ryding who was our only National Title winner in the u20 age group, winning the 1500m
- Hannah Ryding – 1500m – GOLD – 4.29.40
- Emma McLennan – 1500m S/Chase – SILVER – 5.17.58
- Ryan Davie – High Jump – BRONZE – 1.72
- Scarlett Wilson (u17) – 800m – BRONZE – 2.18.78
- Ross O’Brien – 1500m – BRONZE – 4.04.60
Photo by Bobby Gavin
Alyson has thoroughly earned her place in the sprint relay squad at just 19 years of age, following the steady but impressive progress she has made over recent years.
Neil has continued his exceptional rise towards the top of the World Rankings for 1500m with a phenomenal season, rewriting his own PBs and taking medals (silver at the European Championships, behind only Jakob Ingebrigtsen) and another British Championships crown.
Whatever the next week or so holds, Alyson and Neil are established as exceptional athletes as well as outstanding role models.
As our pictures show, we send them world-class best wishes for their Budapest adventure. Go, Alyson! Go, Neil!
Thanks to Luca, Lola & Keira Saez for making their poster and to Isla Mostyn whose poster is on its way to Budapest with Neil’s Dad Ronnie We hope to catch sight of it in the stadium perhaps!
The Scottish u17/Senior Track & Field Championships took place over the weekend (12/13th August) at Grangemouth and was a very successful weekend for Giffnock athletes. Our senior athetes won four Golds, two Silver and one Bronze medals including a Scottish Native record. Our under 17s went two better bagging four Gold, two Silver and three Bronze medals.
Senior Medals
- GOLD – 100m – Adam Clayton – 10.46
- GOLD – 400m – Kyle Alexander – 46.94
- GOLD – Long Jump – Alessandro Schenini – 8.00 (Scottish Native Record & CBP)
- GOLD – High Jump – David Smith – 2.17
- SILVER – 200m – Finlay Waugh – 21.68
- SILVER – 100m Hurdles – Erin Campbell – 13.83
- BRONZE – Pole Vault – Mark Herbert-Ruiz – 4.05
Many congratulations to Alessandro Schenini on his Scottish Native record. Check out his jump and interview below.
Under 17 Medals
- GOLD – Shot Putt – Courtney Barbour – 12.20
- GOLD – 1500M Steeple Chase – Ruth Walsh – 5.16.22
- GOLD – 100m Hurdles – Angus Rennie – 13.92
- GOLD – 1500m – Scarlett Wilson – 4.57.54
- SILVER – 1500m Steeple Chase – Jack Wallace – 4.29.07
- SILVER – High Jump – Ryan Davie – 1.73
- BRONZE – 800m – Scarlett Wilson – 2.15.36
- BRONZE – High Jump – Isla Ross – 1.54
- BRONZE – 1500m – Jamie Connor – 4.02.95
Full results can be found here
Our brilliant Under-17 Track and Field athletes have secured top spots in the inaugral Scottish National Athletic League (SNAL). The four match series, which has been running over the summer months, completed on Sunday 30th July at Grangemouth. The points accumulated across each match have been totalled and our boys have been declared the U17 Mens winner with our girls secured second place in the U17 Womens competition.
SNAL is the new League that combines the old Men’s, Women’s and Junior League into a single match-day. An innovative approach meant that each event was run in “open-graded style”, with heats seeded on ability, rather than age group. This was to maximise the competition in each event. Points are then awarded in age group categories. For example, an u17W might have finished fourth in heat 1 (fastest seeds) of the 100m, but as fastest U17W overall, she would have gained maximum points in the U17W competition.
Our U20s were not that far behind in their League positions with the U20M in fifth place and U20W in fourth place. The Senior men finished 10th and the Senior Women 14th. As with all Athletic Leagues, the key to success is a combination of great individual results along with broad participation across all the events. Our U17s did both spectacularly well. Our u20s and Seniors had a number of great individual performances but lacked the depth of participation of our U17s table-toppers. The call to action for 2024 is already out there – more spikes/throwing shoes on the track, runways and throwing pits will see an even greater result across all the age groups next year.
As well as applauding our athletes, we should also recognise the work of our Jumps, Throws, Hurdles, Middle-Distance and Sprints coaches who prepared our athletes for the leagues matches, our officials and parent volunteers who measured, timed, analysed and marshalled the athletes and finally our parents and loved ones who contributed to transport and moral support.
The picture (curtesy of Dudley Walker) shows Jamie Connor and Jack Wallace bring home the 1500m points for the U17M at Match 4.
Full individual performances can be viewed at aaacresults.com and match points with final league positions can be seen in the attached document.
Looking forward to next season’s SNAL already!
Many many thanks to Team Manager Gerry Duggan for this full report from a great days work at Grangemouth for our U17/U20 Athletes
snal-final-match-scores-1A reminder that the Club Track & Field championships will take place at the Ayrshire Arena on:
Saturday 26th August
As this is our 40th annivesary year, we are looking to make this a bumper event. So please sign up as early as possible so that we can access numbers. Closing date for enrites is midnight on the 19th August. Full details can be found here. Entry is via your LoveAdmin Membership Account.
The club would like to wish two of our finest distance athletes good luck as they travel to America to further their education and athletics careers.
Reuben MacDonald is going to Belmont University in Nashville, Tenessee to study maths and Conan Harper is heading for Charleston Southern University in South Carolina.
Thank you for your support in the club (so far), we will be following your progress from afar with interest.
Giffnock North AC are winners of the Lindsays Trophy once again.
The southside Glasgow club delivered a remarkable 254 finishers across the three main National XC events last winter at Cumbernauld, Kirkcaldy and Falkirk. It’s the first time any club has topped the 250 mark and, just as exciting, we can confirm that 11 clubs now finished more than 100 athletes at the three #LindsaysXC
Edinburgh AC were second with 198 finishers and Garscube Harriers third with 159. Completing the top five are Cambuslang (143) and Central AC (142).
This year, again, the number of clubs with at least one athlete finished at the National XC Relays, the Short Course and the National XC tops 100. The sport is thrilled to have 114 clubs represented in the final table (115 last year).
Sandy Lamb, Glasgow partner for major sponsor Lindsays, awarded the trophy to Giffnock North at a special presentation at a training night at Williamwood High School.
In addition, Scottish Athletics were pleased to present two further trophies from the Lindsays National XC at Falkirk – the AT Mays trophy for overall male performance and the Pat Spence Trophy for overall female performance. These annual trophies are calculated via placings in races at all age groups at Callendar Park.
‘On behalf of everyone at the club, from youngest Junior to most experienced Veteran, let me say how delighted we are to have retained the Lindsays Trophy,’ said Giffnock North AC President, Billy Glasgow.
‘It’s a high-profile, tangible reward for all the hard work – seen and unseen – entailed in supporting the cross-country season’s major events. Fulsome thanks must go to Lindsays for their ongoing and considerate backing of the sport. Having such a far-sighted sponsor makes a real, constructive difference to the sport.’
Added Giffnock North Endurance Coach Lynne Macdougall, ‘The Lindsays Trophy is a prize we enjoy competing for, because it is about getting teams out there racing at blue-riband National events.
‘The more runners, the deeper and keener the competition, the higher the standard, the more exhilarating the atmosphere. It all makes for a thoroughly memorable, big day out for all, including the volunteers, relatives, parents and supporters. It helps give the youngsters in particular a flavour of the best things in sport – camaraderie, trying to be your best, contributing to the team, discovering horizons beyond your own club.”
‘‘Winning five age group golds at the 2023 Lindsays National XC was a nice way to crown a demanding winter for our athletes and coaches. We look forward to defending the Lindsays Trophy next year and going to the start lines alongside even more strong, ambitious clubs.’
Sandy Lamb, a Partner at Lindsays who presented the trophy, said, “It’s a pleasure to present Giffnock North AC with the Lindsays Trophy as the club’s impressive record of success in the competition continues. Our congratulations to their athletes, coaches and supporters.
“It’s clear from everyone involved that this has been another strong season. We are delighted to have seen more than 100 clubs compete, demonstrating the great reach of – and growing participation in – athletics in communities across Scotland.
“The links between participation in sport, good physical health and positive mental health have never been clearer. The three are key to better lives, healthier communities and a thriving economy. This is why we are so proud to put our name to this trophy.”
GB Internationals Duncan Robinson and Hannah Ryding helped make the presentation at the club’s training base at Williamwood High School in East Renfrewshire.
AT Mays & Pat Spence (salroadrunningandcrosscountrymedalists.co.uk)
Each year, there are two overall trophies on offer at the Lindsays National XC.
We are pleased to announce that Giffnock North AC are the successful defenders of both the AT Mays Trophy for overall performances in the male division and the Pat Spence Trophy for overall performances in the female division.
It’s exceptional for one club to put their name on both of these trophies in the same year, never mind two years in a row, so well done the club and all our athletes, coaches and team managers.
Report by Croy Thomson
From Heather Stewart
“ It is coming to the end of “Volunteer Week”, and we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the countless volunteers who dedicate their time and efforts to the Club.
Every act of volunteering has a positive impact on the club, no matter how big or small, across the full scope of track and field disciplines within Giffnock North.
Volunteers come in all guises, from young people undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh awards, young coaches, our outstanding officials, parent helpers, team captains, website manager and of course our coaches & coach assistants who are front-facing, for the kids, young people and adults.
We also have members of our Board , Facilities Committee & Junior Committee who work tirelessly in the background throughout the year to make the club run smoothly and efficiently.We also have a Committee leading the celebrations for the 40th Anniversary & a Festival of Running Committee organising that event.
Everyone will have a different role to play. People will have different life experiences and knowledge to share. They will support the athletes at weekly sessions, athletic competitions & events and will always have the general well- being of the club members at the forefront of their minds.
Each volunteer has the same goal, to fulfil every athletes potential to the best of their ability and to assist them to progress within their chosen field of athletics.
Volunteers are integral to the success of the club. Thank you everyone.
We are always looking to extend our volunteer list. No athletics background is required. Please speak to a coach if you are interested. “
Thanks very much to Heather Stewart for this reminder ! Heather is one of our newest coaches having acted as a parent helper for some considerable time .She wrote this article to pay tribute to her fellow coaches and all those who contribute to the continuing success at Giffnock North.
And yes we need more photos and an update
Another Thankyou to Yvonne McNairn for pic collage skills !
The Night of the 10ks took place at Crownpoint, Glasgow on Friday 28th April and incorporated the Scottish 10k Championships.
Many congraulations to Jill Smylie who took w40 title and was also second female in the race..
Allie Chong was second in the w50 caetegory, taking the Silver medal.
Great running ladies.
Save the Date
This years’ Club Track & Field Championships will take place on Saturday 26th August at the Ayrshire Arena, Kimarnock.
Entry is open to ALL Club Members, the format and events will be as in previous years.
Entries will be made via our LovAdmin system, detais will be advised nearer the time.
The timetable will be finalised when all entries have been received.
We look forward to welcoming all our our athletes, coaches, officials, parents and supporters for a great day.
The 2022 Awards Night belatedly took place on Friday 17th March at the GHA Rugby Club. Awards were made for Club T&F Medalists, National Title Winners and Athletes of the Season in the various age groups.
Twenty one of our athletes won thirty six National Titles. Compare that to twenty years ago when Giffnock athletes won just four titles. For those with long memories they were Matthew Dorrian, James McKenzie, Andrew Allan and David Fitzsimmons. This illustarates the tremendous progress the club has made.
Many thanks to David Smith, Rachel Callan and Murray Fotheringham for presenting the prizes, the organising committee and to Alan Stewart who was photographer on the night.
Seniors Braving the Battery Park .
Some of us have seen this race in brilliant sunshine and relatively wind free . But Sunday the 12th March it was sadly back to the wild, wet and windy best. A good day out across the Seniors and the AGE Groups. Well done all the bravehearts.
U11 BOYS
As usual it was a windy, dreich morning at Battery Park in Greenock for this year’s Renfrewshire Road Race but it didn’t deter an intrepid band of u11 boys from participating in the final event of the winter.
The group has worked hard over the past few months, particularly on the hills at Linn Park, and they have performed admirably in the inaugural West District League growing in confidence with each race. And Sunday was no different.
The start line was a sea of Giffnock yellow and blue with no fewer than 14 athletes representing the team making it almost seem like a club championship event.
The race itself was a 1 mile, one and a half loop of the park and it’s fair to say that the outward run into the blustery gale was a fair bit more challenging than the inward part!
Sam led the way, running strongly from gun to tape to take the victory, followed closely by Finlay with Evan coming in third. Full podium for Giffnock secured was the team gold too! However, they were more than ably backed up by Andrew, Christopher and Cian all with top 10 places.
Big congratulations to all the u11s, who all ran superbly and showed that whilst this was a final u11 outing for some of the athletes, there is good strength in depth and commitment in the cohort for next season. We can look forward with excitement to next season.
As for now, it’s raining and sleeting so it can only mean it’s summer track season!
Paul Tyler
U11 GIRLS
Next up were the U11 Girls in a welcome break from the rain. A strong run from Eilidh saw her just pipped to the post, with Morven following in 3rd and Chloe in 4th giving a Team Gold for Giffnock. The rules for the Renfrewshire AAA Road Race Championships mean only Renfrewshire Clubs can medal. Willow from Springburn Harriers got the win in the closes of finishes.
So in the RAA Champs ,Eilidh took the Gold with Silver for Morven and Chloe with the Bronze on the podium.
Fantastic runs from Ruby 5th, Lotty 6th and Poppy 9th, meant Giffnock took 6 of the top 10 places. The 1st year girls didn’t disappoint with a great turnout and strong performances by Abbie in 13th, Aurora 14th, Iris 18th, Robyn 21st, Emma 24th, Orla 25th and Isla 26th.
Darcey 17th, & Isla 26th meant we had a stunning 15 U11s on the day. Well done all the girls !
Jenny Simpson
U13 GIRLS & BOYS
Well done to the under thirteen squad braving rain and wind to secure brilliant results at Battery Park. With a combined race there was extra incentive for our girls to show what they could do. The boys led off with Louie, Max, Cameron N and Cameron M setting the pace and maintaining those positions for the whole 3k.
Hot on their heels and leading all boys from other teams were Eilidh, Holly and Anna also running home for a 1,2,3. Adam in 7th and Matthew in 13th finished well for the boys. Great running from all the girls as Giffnock dominated the first eight places. Eve C 4th, Isabella 5th, Erika 6th, Eve W 7th and Megan 8th with Erin not far behind in 14th. A clean sweep of medals and gold team medals topped off the day. Off we go to North Berwick on Saturday for the next challenge and final event of the season.
Denny Whiteford
U15s BOYS
Anji Carson Coach was competing herself on the day in the Senior event but was quick to congratulate the U 15 Boys in her Training squad for their performances while getting on a podium herself . First medal in a Giffnock Vest !
Another Podium for GNAC U15 BOYS Squad
– Thomas took the Gold Individual, Matthew with the Bronze and Team Gold for them with Aaron Well done all the U15 Boys !
U15 GIRLS
We will post the Full results of the Scrutinised Age Groups when published
Senior & U20 Results were Chip Timed and available at this link
https://protay.co.uk/raaa-5mile/
Seniors 5 Mile Race
Big smiles from the Seniors despite the Weather! Maybe they were especially happy to be the first Race of the day although they did not escape the wind and the rain . Kiara Meiklejohn for U20, Jacqui Campbell and Anji Carson for Senior Women.
Our competing Coaches , Anji Carson & David Shaw ,[On Tent Duties again, thanks David ! ] both bagged the Veteran 50 Silver Medals and there was a Bronze too for the Senior Mens Team.
Andrew Mostyn U11 Coach & athlete got good cheers from the U11s before Warm up duties with U11s.
In the School Races we also had Elsie & Cameron sister to Evan and Brother to Eilish U11s taking Gold in their P4 and P3 races battling round the 1k loop in the wind. Destined for U11s membership soon!
Well done all those at the Battery Park ! A special thanks to 2 of our Officials Catriona Gourley and Jim Galbraith who braved the elements and were there from Start to Finish [ literally on the Start & Finish lines ]along with all the other officials, Race organisers and Stewards from Inverclyde AC et al with Jon Hammerman and Gerry Gaffney to the fore .
The Club enjoyed a good day at the SCOTTISH ATHLETICS INDOOR LEAGUE RELAYS & FINALS on SUNDAY 5th MARCH
Thanks to Billy Glasgow, SAIL Organiser, who despite a hip replacement mid the series of 3 Matches and Final managed to ensure that the show went ahead and smoothly reached its climax on Sunday. Outstanding efforts and performances by our club athletes across the Age groups and grateful thanks to all the Coaches and all the officials who ensure the continuing success of SAIL within the Indoor Club Competition Calendar
U11s
Fabulous effort from both the U11 relay teams to earn their place in the final of the day, qualifying 1stand 3rd fastest respectively.
Our 600m runners gave their all with a few PB’s thrown into the mix and some amazing fighting spirit from the yellow & blue vests!
A fine run out from our sprinters in the 60m event picking up good points for their team scores.
With the events finished we moved back to the track for the relay finals. The team races didn’t disappoint with the spectators cheering on to see the girls secure silver with Aurora, Lola, Abbie & Darcey, whilst the boys took the gold with Christopher, Murray , Andrew M & Davi.
To cap off the day the boys won the overall SAIL event with lots of smiles on show! Christopher, Andrew C, Andrew M & Davi
Our youngest representatives of Giffnock North were supported by all their fantastic coaches and volunteers and displayed team spirit in abundance. Well done to all!
Report by Cameron M
U13 Girls all pulled together to produce PBS and high places to ensure they got on the podium.
They were duly rewarded with a 3rd place overall which they were delighted with.
All five of the team( Laura, Celeste, Bethany, Eilidh and Katie) were a credit to their coaches and their parents and we very much look forward to the outdoor season.
The U13G relay team ( Mia, Eva, Lauren ,Amy) surprised themselves and made the final and very ably finished 4th despite seeded 6th. Excellent baton work girls!
Not sure how the athletes were but the u13 coaches were exhausted by the end of the day.
Sara Lang Coach U13 Girls
U13 Boys
With PBs a plenty in the Main Sail competition, the U13 boys, Christopher, Charlie, Paul, Kian, Austin and MIchael ran, jumped and threw themselves to gold for a fantastic team performance. Not to be outdone, the relay team of Ayden, Logan, Finlay and Paul qualified fastest from the heats but, despite taking two seconds off their heat time, were pipped by the width of a vest on the line and took silver. It was a fantastic competition all round and they all went home very proud of their performances and of course, their medals.
Jackie Alexander Coach U13 Boys
Double Gold for the U15 Boys Fantastic performances them in every event with a few PBs as well
Calum, Zander, Nathan & Rishon
The Relay team also stormed home for Gold
Calum Zander,Nathan & Rishon
Symon Lipp Coach U15 Boys
U17 Women
Great success today with the U17W! Lots of wins, PBs and close-to-PBs! Everyone contributed to a great team performance and put in a brilliant effort. All the girls were looking forward to a big dinner and sleep when they got home! (So were the parents!) Well done to all athletes and coaches!
“Great team effort- we’re so happy with the outcome!” Madeleine
“Bring on the outdoor season!”Emily
Congratulations to Helen, Madeleine, Caitlin, Emily ,Scarlett Isla, Hannah & Courtney The Gold Winning team and also to Maisie, Cara, Eve & Holly running in the Relay
Report by Emily & Madeleine & Here with Coach Stephen Gourlay
U17 Boys
Giffnock’s U17 boys landed podium finishes with GOLD in the SAIL events and SILVER in the 4x200m relay. Busiest athlete with three SAIL events was Angus R leaping into 2nd place in the Long Jump, sprinting to second in the 60m and finally an emphatic first in the 60m hurdles. Rory was also multi-eventing with 4th in the Shott Putt and then 2nd in the 400m. Thomas was the run-away winner in the 800m, Ryan was the clear victor in the high jump and nobody could catch Felix in the 200m. Well done to Livingston in 2nd and Central in 3rd, making a nail-biting competition.
In the relay, Felix and Rory were joined by Ewan and Myles. Third fastest in the heats, could the boys raise their game in the final? Law AC were uncatchable, but all four Giffnock boys found just a little bit more to upgrade to 2nd, holding off Livingstone in a thrilling race.
A big thank-you to all our wonderful officials for their hard word, not just in the final, but in all three qualifying matches too.
Gerry Duggan Coach U17 Men
U20 Women
A fabulous team performance & PBs from Amy Greene & Sophie Slider in their respective events led the U20 Women’s Team to a strong Silver medal in the final with the events covered as follows:
60m Amy ,200m Rachel ,400m Caroline ,800m Rachel ,60mH Sophie ,LJ Emily ,HJ Rachel ,SP Sophie and the 4/200m Team of Amy, Caroline, Emily & Rachel brought home another Silver in the relay
Thanks to Team Captain Rachel for this
U20 Men
Giffnock North’s U20 men finished a brilliant 3rd overall at this season’s SAIL final and also won bronze in the 4 x 200m relay. Points were won on the day by Henry, Aidan,
Edward, Daniel and Ross. It was a great effort by all involved with every athlete going out of their way to support the team. Thanks to all other U20 men who helped us qualify and to Anne Stewart for organising the team.
Neil Hutchison Team Captain U20 Men
As March 8th International Women’s Day comes to a close, amongst all the other female athletes in the club today we wish to highlight & celebrate Nikki Manson.Not least because Nikki has just undergone major knee surgery today and will now be starting on her recovery and rehab. The club sends Nikki all our best wishes on that journey .
Sam O’Kane has assisted us with this starter profile on her prowess.
Nikki Manson –
Nikki holds the top spot among High Jumpers in Scotland with both the outright Native 1.92m and National High Jump Records 1.93, but don’t let that trick you into thinking she is but a one trick pony in January this year Nikki scored an impressive 3813 points in her senior Pentathlon debut taking the club record and going 10th all time for Scotland and later at the Scottish National Senior Championships in February broke the Indoor Native Long Jump record when she leapt to 6.37m in the Emirates Arena, a mark which puts her second all time indoors for Scotland. A talented allrounder Nikki also holds an impressive 10th place in the Scottish all time Javelin list (with a throw of 41.54), and club records in the senior women’s shot put.
Currently coached by Alasdair Strange and Sam O’Kane, Nikki takes particular pride in the fact that she’s set all her current Personal Bests while based in Scotland, working with Scottish Coaches and hopes to be a visible source of inspiration to developing Athletes around her!
Career Highlights
Ø Scottish National High Jump Record – 1.93M – 1st Place Hustopece Skeskakani 08-02-2020
Ø Scottish Native High Jump Record – 1.92M – 1st Place – Scottish Senior Championships 26-01-2020
Ø Scottish Indoor Native Long Jump Record – 6.37m – 2nd Place – Scottish Senior Championships 04-02-2023
Ø 7th Place 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games – 1.84M – Gold Coast Australia 14-04-2018
Ø 9th = Qualifying European Athletics Championships Berlin – 08-09-2018
Ø NCAA Division First Team All American – 1.85 – 5th Place – NCAA Championships Eugene Oregon 10 Jun 2017
Ø Scottish Senior Javelin Champion 2019 – 41.54M
Many congratulations from all at Giffnock North AC to Neil Gouley, his coaching team and family on his 1500m Silver medal at the Eurpean Indoor Athletics Championships. If you haven’t caught up with the race yet, watch below.
First port of call on his return to Glasgow was to Eastwood and Williamwood tracks to inspire the next generation. What a guy.
COUNT ON GIFFNOCK NORTH AT LINDSAYS NATIONAL XC
NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN NUMBERS, but here are a few anyway: five team golds, two team silvers, one team bronze, two individual champions, one individual silver and five individual bronzes. Add lofty places from our Senior Men and Women’s Teams and you have a sum of a happy day out at Callender Park, Falkirk, although inevitably on such occasions the racing wasn’t without its moments of disappointment for some.
Under 13 Golden Girls. In near ideal, cool, windless conditions, our Under 13 Girls stormed to team gold over 3.2k with outstanding efforts from the consistent Holly in third for individual bronze (12:46, six seconds behind East Lothian’s winner) Eilidh in fourth, ably backed by Millie and Eve, 11th and 13th respectively. Our next four home – Isabella, Emma, Megan and Nicole – would have taken, if rules allowed, second team prize. Major applause also to Samantha, Eve, Erika, Beth, Anna, Rose, Lily-Grace and Lilah for their resolute efforts over the sticky stuff.
No pressure on the U13 Boys then … and they responded magnificently, with Louie determinedly tracking his season-long Victoria Park nemesis, deep into 3.2k of twists, turns and hills, until finally having to settle for individual silver (11:59 to 11:53). The team supported Louie breathtakingly well: hats off to Cameron, Max and Finlay in fourth, fifth and seventh; commiserations to Cameron in eighth, and Ethan, Kian and Adam, whose combined points total of 81 is better than the 94 of Edinburgh who took silver. (Rules is rules … but the whole squad can look back on a memorable performance on the biggest day in Scottish cross country.) Put your frozen hands together once more for James, Noah and Matthew, who also fought hard for the amber and blues.
U15 Girls 10/10. Since and including season 2012/13 Giffnock North’s U15 Girls had won every national XC team gold (though Pandemic AC locked everyone out in 2021). Could this year’s class extend the run to ten in a row? They could. They did. Freya C toughed it out over 4k against Kilbarchan and Inverness rivals, ultimately claiming a fine bronze in 17:01 to lead Scarlett (eighth), Freya S (16th) and Amy (21st) to the top of the podium. Able support came from Lauren, Erin, Isla, Eva, Maya, Hannah and Ella. Certain other Glasgow teams have tried for generations to win ten in a row, but our girls got there first!
U15 Boys polish off a silver. The lads didn’t clinch team gold but it wasn’t for want of trying. Tristan confirmed his winter’s blistering form with a hard-earned individual victory over 4k in 14:43, along with Calum in third to seal a National XC rarity: two athletes from one club on the same podium at the same time. In a white-hot finish, two seconds covered the first three finishers. Sealing team silver (just four points off winners Harmeny AC) were Thomas and Matthew, solidly backed by Aaron, Patrick, Charlie and Myles.
U17 Girls great eight. The club’s eighth U17 Girls crown came courtesy of a powerhouse 6.2k from the redoubtable Esme, who worked her way through the field for fifth in 25:20, backed by great efforts from Ruth and Saoirse in seventh and ninth respectively. Ella gave us another top-twenty finish, and let’s hear it for Tuscany, Mili, Scarlett, Hazel, Amy and Ellie who gave their all for the squad over a demanding 6.2k.
U17 Boys at the double. We haven’t won this age category team prize often at all, so it was extra pleasing to land back-to-back titles after last season’s victory and in one of the lowest points totals yet by any club. Craig led the winning quartet home, individual third behind impressive athletes from Central AC and Fife (20:47 to the winner’s 20:36), after an intense two-lap 6.2k battle that saw Craig’s team-mates Oliver and Alasdair well to the fore in the lead group. Oliver and Alasdair finished fourth and sixth, with the ever-consistent Matthew final counter in 11th.
Also running memorably for the club were Jack, Glen, Calan and Ruari – all in the top 34 – along with Zac and James. Again, our second quartet would have medalled if rules allowed. That’s how strongly this squad run for each other, well done boys.
U20 Women’s individual gold has always eluded us. Until now. Hannah Ryding, only a week after a successful debut for GB&NI at the World XC Championships in Australia, continued to mine her rich vein of recent form and struck gold with a relentless effort over two demanding laps. Hannah’s front running tactic brought her home in 25:09 for the 6.8k, more than 40 seconds clear of Natasha Phillips of Dundee Hawkhill, to lead team-mates Kate Paul and Kiara Meiklejohn to a splendid team bronze.
The injury and illness-hit U20 Men’s team delivered an outstanding performance regardless, with the flying Conan Harper nailing a hard-earned bronze (only our second-ever individual medal in this category) to lead Cameron Deverill, the just back from illness Reuben Macdonal and Innes McPherson to a notable team silver. Backing their team-mates up were Findlay Pryor and Lewis McGuire and we must commiserate with Cameron Green, who’s been enjoying a rewarding winter but had to miss the National through injury. Get well soon, Cameron.
Our Senior Women posted a fine team seventh over 10k.The irrepressible Yvonne McNairn was first back, in 33rd, well supported by Jill Smyllie, Allie Chong, Hilary Carswell, Nicola McBeath and Emily Crusher as team counters, and Sheila Lewis and Jacqueline Campbell also flying the flag for the club in a big field of over 300. Allie was second in the V50 category, Sheila third in V55s. Yvonne and Emily first ran the National for Giffnock as Under 13s – great to see athletes keeping on keeping on.
What might have been for our Senior Men? Before the race, GB&NI international and West District Champion Duncan Robinson called off with an injury. Then mid-race disaster struck Hamish Armitt, who has won two recent West League events. Powering along in a lead group featuring defending champion Jamie Crowe of Central, Hamish fell heavily and, dazed, couldn’t get going again. Ross Good battled through for an impressive 30th place (34:22 for 10k on the country), leading home Calum Young, Ali Stables, Ruairidh MacLean, Jordan Orr and Nicholas Boyle for team twelfth. That’s a solid placing for our Senior Men, with the prospect of even better.
Salute also Andrew Campbell, Oliver Traynor (I apologise for demanding two pieces of the home baking, it was irresistible as usual), Ben Shaw (another athlete who has run through the age groups for us, welcome back Ben), Cris Walsh, Ewan Wallace, Garry Sturgeon, Rob Crusher (I think you and Emily get the father and child prize, no?), Ricky Saez, Ian Millar (Preston North End will be proudya) and William McGuire. I’m delighted to say that Hamish is recovered and intends racing at the Scally Relays on 4th March. Go, Hamish!
When the dust settled, or the mud was mostly scraped off, we made our weary way home, knowing we’d raised our standard higher (still work to do, though) and contributed mightily once again to one of the great days of Scottish sport. Apologies to anyone whose name I have misspelled or missed out. Please note that I’ve used only first names in the younger age groups because of recommended protocols regarding children. But you know who you are!
Thanks go to the officials, sponsor Lindsays, Falkirk Cooncil, course setters, coaches, stewards, starters, volunteers, families, fans, whoever it is who repairs the daffodil shoots on the hill (oops), but most especially the First Aiders who were so good with our upset and injured athletes.
Oh, don’t forget Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius for his wondrous ditch. Porro! Una vincimus!
Report by Croy Thomson
Giffnock athletes were in record breaking form over the weekend in Birmingham at the World Tour Indoor Final and across the pond in Texas.
At the World Tour Indoor Final in Birmingham, the new track at the Utilita Arena is proving to be very quick with no less than three British records falling. Neil Gourley streaked to a new 1500m record in 3.32.48 taking the title from Josh Kerr, who was also in the race. Neil tracked Josh until the last lap and when he faded, Neil took his opportunity and sprinted to the line. Neil’s time is the second fastest this year, only surpassed by Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The two should meet in the Europesn Championships taking place in Istanbul, 2nd-5th March.
Many congratulations to Neil, his coach and family.
Meanwhile in Texas Adam Clayton smashed his own Scottish 200m record (subject to ratification) at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lubbock, Texas clocking 20.59. He also bettered his 60m PB clocking 6.63
Great running Adam, congratulations from all at Giffnock North.
At home all eyes were on the Scottish Cross Country Championships in Falkirk. Giffnock athletes weighed in with another medal haul. There were individual National titles for Tristan Robin (u15B) and Hannah Ryding (u20W) and team titles for u13G, u13B, u15G, u17W & u17M.
Full report to follow soon.
Under 13s
Sunday 19th of February proved to be an excellent day for Giffnock North Athletes competing at indoor venues. With Neil Gourlay and Erin Wallace medalling in the British Championships in Birmingham, the bar was set for our under thirteen athletes competing in the indoor age group championships at the Emirates Arena.
They certainly rose to the challenge. Medal winners were:
Gold:
Austin Summerhill High Jump
Kian Dick 800m (new club record)
Logan McNulty 1500m.
Silver:
Eilidh Brown 200m. A brilliant run and first year in the age group.
Bronze:
Paul Rolfe Hurdles
Bethany McNeil Long Jump
Well done to everyone who competed, gained valuable competition experience, set new personal bests, showed outstanding sportsmanship and hopefully enjoyed the day. Thanks as always to coaches, supporters and officials who make it all possible.
Report by Denny Whiteford
Under 15/20s
Giffnock North had some successes at the U15/U20 Age taking medals
in both age categories
Under 15s
Alex Clark took gold in a superb U15 Boys 200m race with pb of 23.68s.
Zoe McKell won gold, after a tense and unusual jump off for top spot, in the U15 Girls High
Jump in another pb of 1.56m.
Zander Summerhill won his first medal of the day in the shot put, taking silver (unluckily on another unusual count back) with 9.96m
Calum Dick followed up his Gold at the English Champs with a silver in the U15 Boys 800m with 2.01.84. In a great race both the winner and Calum bettered the Championship record.
Zander followed up his shot medal with a bronze in a that superb U15 boys 200m race with a pb of 23.91s.
Angus Weir grabbed another National medal with a bronze in the U15 boys long jump
with 5.06m, this followed his 4th in the 60m hurdles albeit with a new pb of 9.71s.
Other non medalist worthy of a mention are Erin Ramsey making the final of the U20
Women’s 60m, Beth Fyvie making the final in the U15 girls 300m, Eilidh Caldow being 6th
in the U15 Girls 1500m final, Isabella Annand running a pb in the U15 girls 60m semis,
Ahrra Donladson’s new pb in the 60m hurdles and both Isabella and Ahrra jumping
season’s best distances in the U15 girls long jump.
Under 20’s
In the men’s 1500m it was Gold and Bronze for Giffnock athletes with Cameron Deverill taking the title and Ross O’Brien in third.
Mark Herbert-Ruiz cleared 3.65m in the Pole Vault to take the title. He was the only competitor, you’ve got to be in it to win it!
Isla Ross won a Siver in the high jump with 1.63m clearing all heights at the first attempt.
Photo by Bobby Gavin
Report by Finlay Weir
A small band of our finest senior track and field athletes travelled to Birmingham over the weekend of the 18/19th February to sample the new track at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
We had strong athletes in both the Women’s and the Men’s 1500m with Erin Wallace and Neil Gourley, both made it through their heats with ease. In the men’s final, Neil bided his time and he and George Mills (Brighton Phoenix) eventually pulled away from the pack. On the final bend Neil cruised passed George to take the title in a time of 3.41.26 and booked his place for the Europen Indoor Championships in Instanbull in early March.
In the women’s race there was much reluctance to take the lead. Erin finally took the bull by the horns and picked up the pace. She lead until the final bend and was overtaken by the eventual winner Ellie Baker (Shaftesbury Barnet) and Katie Snowden (Herne Hill) . Erin crossed the line in 4.09.22, a seasons best and new indoor club record, for the Bronze medal. Well done Erin, a fantastic run.
In the pole vault Reuben Nairne continued his excellent form and won Silver with a clearnace of 5.05m. In the women’s long jump Nikki Manson had high hopes following her recent Scottish Naitive Record leap of 6.37m. Sadly a knee injury forced her to retire after her one legal jump of 6.01. Nikki finished 5th. The eventual winner was Jasmin Sawyers (City of Stoke with a leap of 6.73m. In the women’s 400m, Rachel Callan clocked 55.66 in her heat, a new pb, and progressed to the semis. In the semis she clocked 55.88 in 5th place. In the mens 400m Kyle Alexander was 4th in his heat in a time of 49.00, which was not quick enough to progress.. In the 200m Murray Fotheringham progressed to the Semi-finals and allthough he finished second, was not quick enough to progress to the final. Alyson Bell qualified third in her heat of the 60m and came fourth in her semi final in a time of 7.46.
Across the pond and locally Giffnock North athletes were in action over the weekend of the 11th & 12th February.
Texas based Adam Clayton put in two great runs at the Jarvis Scott Open Indoor meet in Lubbock, Texas. Adam clocked 6.67 for his 60m, a new pb and club record. This puts him 6th on the All Time List. Later on in the 200m Adam set a time of 20.72, a new Scottish Indoor record. (subject to ratification). Great work Adam, keep it going.
Over in NewYork Neil Gourley was competing in the Millrose Games Wanamaker Mile. Neil clocked a fantastic 3.49.46 finishing second to the American Yared Nuguse who set a new American record. Neil’s time puts him second on the All Time list.
Meanwhile down in Sheffield, Calum Dick was taking Gold in the u15 800m at the England Athletics Indoor Championship. Calum clocked 2.02.24. Well done Calum.
At the Emirates Arena, Glasgow some of our youngest and oldest athletes were taking the honours at the Scottish Masters Championships and Junior Relay Finals. David Edelman (v65) took Bonze in the 60m clocking 9.76 and Silver in the 200m with a time of 31.75. Colin Wylie (v50) won Bronze in the 400m in a time of 61.76. Angela Kelly (v60)won Silver in the 60m and Gold in the 200m in 9.76 and 35.69 respectively.
In the Junior 4x200m Relays our medalists were as follows:
Under 15 Boys – Gold – Alexander Clark, Zander Summerhill, Nathan Booker, Angus Weir
Under 13 Boys – Bronze – Charlie Murray, Ayden Beard, Michael Nordmann, Austin Summerhill
Our u13G and u15G both came 4th and our u17G were 5th.
The Scottish u17/Senior Indoor Championships took place on Saturday 4th February at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow and Giffnock athletes were again in the mix. Over the two age groups they took four Gold, seven Silver and three Bronze medals.
Seniors
Our senior athlese took three National Titles with Alyson Bell winning the Senior Women’s 60m in a time of 7.48. Kyle Alexander clocked 44.63 in the 400m to take the title and Reuben Nairne cleared 5.05 in the pole vault to take Gold. Murray Fotheringham had a bust day taking Silver in the 60m hurdles and 200m and Bronze in the pole vault. Nikki Manson, taking a break from high jump, leapt to a new pb of 6.37 and a new Scottish Native Indoor Record in the long jump. Nikki finished sesond in the competition, only headed by City of York athlete, Lucy Hadaway who jumped a championship best performance of 6.66.Erin Campbell also took a silver medal in the 60m hurdles in a time of 8.74.
Under 17s
Giffnock North’s under 17 athletes had a successful day at the Scottish Athletics Indoor Champs at The Emirates Arena, Glasgow.
Starting in the field Cara Weir struck gold in the Pole Vault with a new PB of 2.89m. Cara then went on to secure the bronze in the high jump (1.58m) with Isla Ross going one better for silver (1.58m pb). Cara Slater was 5th (1.53m). In the boy’s vertical jump Ryan Davie got the bronze with 1.69m. Courtney Barbour won bronze in the shot putt with 11.02m. In the horizontals Hannah Turnbull made it to through to the final three jumps of the Long Jump and finished 7th (5.00m) and Holly Slater finished 7th in the Triple Jump (10.10m).
In the short sprints we had Felix Chan and Ewan Cornfoot competing in both the 60m and 200m and Eve Greene in the 60m. A never say die run from Felix won him silver in the 200m (23.15s pb). Felix also finished 5th in the 60m final (7.44s pb). Solid performances from Ewan (8.05 and 25.69s) and Eve (9.05s) in their 60m and 200m heats. In the longer sprints Madeleine Mackenzie made it to the semi final (45.35s) and Emily Williams one round further to the final, finishing just outside the medals in fourth (43.74s). Rory Taylor-Young, running for Glasgow School of Sport also finished fourth in the 400m final (52.06s).
We had a number of athletes competing in the middle-distance events. Scarlet Wilson and Amy Vincent (2:47.44) took to the track for the 800m. Scarlett raced all the way to silver medal in a pb time of 2:14.33. In the 1500m Freya Campbell, Ruth Walsh Saoirse McNulty, Scarlett Cunningham and Jack Wallace were all racing. In the girl’s final, where a Championship record was set, Freya Campbell secured bronze (4:43.06 a new pb by .02!). Ruth was 5th (4:54.17 pb), Saoirse 7th (4.57.12 pb) and Scarlett 12th (5:36.00 pb). Jack made it to the final, finishing 7th (4:14.55).
Well done to all our athletes and to the coaches and parent helpers for preparing for the event. Thanks also to our officials who supported the event.
High Jump Group Round Up
It’s been a busy and ultimately a successful week for the HJ group. We started on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Scottish schools where a number of the group had been entered. Tuesday saw the U15 boys competition where Noah MacLeod hoped to bring in his fantastic recent form. Unfortunately, Noah finished the competition just outside the medals. He still has the Scottish Nationals in a couple of weeks to make amends.
Wednesday saw the rest of the groups competing which started with Zoe McKell, Michelle Ibe and Edie Campbell in the U15 girls. This finished with Zoe standing on top of the podium with Gold and a new PB to add to her record. Huge congratulations..!!!
U17 girls was a massive pool which had to split over two different mats. Our representation included Cara Weir, Cara Slater, Isla Ross, Lucy Boules and Maisie Ling. This turned into a fantastic competition with Isla taking Silver and the Cara W and Cara S both being awarded Bronze with identical cards.
The day finished with the U17 boys with GNAC represented by Ryan Davie, Michael Gallery and Aaron Muir.
Both Aaron and Michael recorded new PB’s with Aaron only missing out on the podium on count back. Ryan benefited from a clean card to take the Bronze.
The U17 Scottish Nationals followed on Saturday with Isla, Cara W, Cara S and Ryan competing again. The girls all jumped brilliantly with Cara W jumping a new PB to take Bronze and Isla once again taking Silver behind Zoe Loughry (Victoria Park). Cara S just missed out on the medals but it’s great to see her coming back to form again. Ryan took Bronze on the boys side although slightly disappointed in his performances. It’s back to training now for the group with the Summer competitions in mind.
Huge congratulations to all of the group who competed this week. We still have the U15 Nationals to look forward to.
I’m very proud of the whole group who all show great commitment to training and to all the parents (taxi’s) who ferry their athletes every week.
John Davie
HJ Coach
Report on Middle Distance Athletes by Dudley Walker
A Day …..or two, at the Races
The Emirates Indoor Arena,on Tuesday and Wednesday,provided two days of quality athletics at the Scottish Schools Indoor Athletics Championships.
Many of Giffnock North’s endurance athletes were chasing PBs and medals over the two days.The age group format had been changed to reflect Scottish Athletics U/13/15/17 age groups ,which was certainly a big improvement on the previous two age group format.
As a club we did pretty well with many of our athletes going forward to finals,winning medals and achieving PBs.
Calum Dick set the ball rolling on Tuesday with a win in the U/15 800m in what is the fastest time in the UK so far this season….2:01.31.And the following day was denied gold in a thrilling dual with Angus Wilkinson,who set a new Championship best time. Calum’s time of 4.05 however secured the indoor club record previously 4.22
In the U/17B final we had a 1,2,3 in the shape of Thomas Reay,Oliver MacDonald and Tristan Robin.All 3 had vastly improved PBs.
In the Under 20, 800m final Jordan Phillips took bronze.
Scarlett Wilson became our other double medal winner when she won bronze in the Under 17,800m and the 1500m.
Sarah McNulty took a fine silver in the 800m.
Cameron Deverill timed his finish in the Under 20,1500m to perfection when he outsprinted his training partner Jamie Phillips to take the title in a time of 3:54.19.
Well done to everyone who competed in these championships….the Power of Ten will soon be bulging with the superb
Representing their schools on this occasion, there was some decent representation from Giffnock North athletes at the Scottish Schools Indoor Championships this week.
There were some good performances, making finals etc but for space purposes I’ll simply list the medalists. Apologies if I miss someone;
U15 Girls
Zoe Kell 1st High Jump
Sarah McNulty 2nd 300m
U17 Women
Courtney Barbour 1st Shot Put
Isla Ross 2nd High Jump
Cara Weir 2nd Pole Vault
Cara Slater 3rd High Jump
Cara Weir 3rd High Jump
U15 Boys
Zander Summerhill 1st Shot Put
Angus Weir 60mH
Zander Summerhill 2nd 200m
Angus Weir 2nd Long Jump
U17 Men
Angus Rennie 2nd 60mH
Ryan Davie 3rd High Jump
Angus Rennie 3rd 60m
U20 Men
Mark Herbert-Ruiz 1st Pole Vault
Daniel Martin 2nd 60mH
So well done to the above.
times posted by our athletes.
Field & Sprint Report by Finlay Weir
Also representing their schools on this occasion, there was some decent representation from Giffnock North athletes at the Scottish Schools Indoor Championships this week.
There were some good performances, making finals etc but for space purposes I’ll simply list the medalists. Apologies if I miss someone;
U15 Girls
Zoe Kell 1st High Jump
Sarah McNulty 2nd 300m
U17 Women
Courtney Barbour 1st Shot Put
Isla Ross 2nd High Jump
Cara Weir 2nd Pole Vault
Cara Slater 3rd High Jump
Cara Weir 3rd High Jump
U15 Boys
Zander Summerhill 1st Shot Put
Angus Weir 60mH
Zander Summerhill 2nd 200m
Angus Weir 2nd Long Jump
U17 Men
Angus Rennie 2nd 60mH
Ryan Davie 3rd High Jump
Angus Rennie 3rd 60m
U20 Men
Mark Herbert-Ruiz 1st Pole Vault
Daniel Martin 2nd 60mH
So well done to the above.
Thanks to Dudley & Finlay !
The
We caught up with Neil at his base in Flagstaff, Arizona, to ask him how his preparations have been going for the forthcoming indoor season.
‘Training has been going well. It’s been hard graft, not made any easier by the 3 feet of snow that has recently fallen here – which is unusual even for Flagstaff! We’ve been able to work round that, though, and it’s been great to have the chance to consistently undertake the strength work that‘s going to be needed to run the times that are required to do well at championships in the 1500m right now’
Neil raced a couple of times before Christmas, first running an 18 second PB in an indoor 5,000m to improve the Scottish best time he already held. He then won a road mile (3.56) in the altogether sunnier climes of Hawaii where he enjoyed some warm weather training in amongst the sightseeing.
What about his schedule for the indoor season?
‘I’m really keen to get racing as it’s only then that you see where you really are. The races will now come thick and fast over the next few weeks. It’s quite a packed schedule with a race each weekend and hopefully two at the British Champs, where the aim is to qualify for the European Indoor Championships which are being held this year in Istanbul at the beginning of March.’
‘I’m looking forward to being at home for a few weeks, being spoiled by my mum and hopefully I’ll be able to get to one or two Giffnock North training sessions and I’ll be back racing in Giffnock colours at the British Champs.’
Neil’s planned schedule:
Saturday 4th February: New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston – Tommy Leonard Memorial Mile 5.30 pm local time 10.30 pm UK time
Saturday 11th February: Millrose Games, New York – Wanamaker Mile 5.51 pm local time 10.51pm UK time
Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th February: British Championships, Birmingham
Saturday 25th February World Indoor Tour Final, Birmingham
The two American meets are being shown live on Viaplay in the UK, both part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Level which should be available free on Channel 553 on Virgin TV or Channel 422 on Sky.
The fields in both of the American races are really strong, in particular the famous Wanamaker Mile:
Good luck to Neil from all at Giffnock North AC
Giffnock athletes young and not so younger were busy in competition over the weekend. Indoors on the track and on the road.
National Indoor 4x200m Relays
Giffnock teams contested the relays in all age groups except u17 Men. It was double Gold for our senior teams with Ladies team of Rachel Callan, Freya Cowan, Eve Denholm& Caroline MacConnell clocking 1.41.99 for the win. Our senior Men’s team of Murray Fotheringham, Kyle Alexander, Jason Wu & Edward Joyce raced to victory in 1.29.16, a new club record. Check out their race videos below.
Relay Heats for U13, U15 and U17 athletes took place on the same day, with the finals to be run on Sunday 12th February.at the Masters/Para Championships.Giffnock qualified teams in all age groups except u17M.
Scottish Masters Road Relay Championships
Many congratulations to Allie Chong, Mary McCutcheon & Yvonne McNairn who took Gold at the Masters Road Relays which took place in Strathclyde Park. Yvonne running the fastest female leg and Allie the fastest v50 female leg.
The B team of Nicola McBeath, Hilary Carswell & Jill Smylie hunted down the teams from Calderglen and Kirkintilloch to take a well deserved silver medal.
Scottish Indoor Superteams Competition
Sunday January 22nd.
“ Indoor Superteams event took place at the Emirates Arena bringing athletic teams from all across Scotland to compete. Giffnock North entered 6 teams, 3 boys teams and 3 girls teams – all team members compete in four events: the shot putt, long jump, 60m and 4x200m relay. All the Giffnock athletes gave their best performances , pouring their hearts and soul into the different events over the day.
The Girls A team (Poppy McWilliams, Katie Heron, Lauren Belland, Eilidh Brown), performed consistently well across all events winning their 4×200 relay heat in an impressive 2.05.21- the fastest of the day. Poppy McWilliams started the relay off for Team A, making it back first and creating a strong foundation for the others to deliver an overall excellent team performance. The consistency continued in the 60m race with all girls coming first in their respective heats. Poppy said the highlight of her day, “was achieving a new PB in the 60m”.
The Girls B team (Ruby McWilliams, Chloe Simpson, Carmen Sheridan and Bernice Adakamola ) were equally strong, pushing all the way in their 60m heats to deliver outstanding performances. Bernice Adakamola won her heat with a truly graceful finish and later said “it was a clear highlight of her day”. The Giffnock girls continued to impress with the performance of Girls C Team ( Freya Mearns, Abbie Gallagher, Anna MacFarlane, Aurora MacIntyre), who won their 4×200 m relay by 50m and to a huge round of applause. Freya Mearns started the relay off with a fast lap placing the C team in a strong position- her effort was sustained by all other team members and their combined effort saw them win their heat. Abbie Gallagher, of the Girls C team, said “the highlight of her day was winning the relay race”.
The overall results for the Girls Superteams competition saw Kilmarnock claiming 3rd place, Springburn C Team coming in 2nd and the Giffnock Girls A team claiming the title of ‘Superteams Girls Champions’ in overall 1st place, bringing home the gold medals and the trophy. They were truly delighted with their win.
The Boys teams did not disappoint with some truly energetic, consistent, and fierce performances across all events. The Boys A team
(Campbell Miller, Andrew Mitchell, Hugo Stewart and Finlay Hamilton) performed very strongly in the field events with some boys obtaining great new pb’s in the shot putt. It was also an outstanding relay performance with the team winning their heat race by some 50 metres with Finlay
Hamilton pushing to the very end to sustain their leading distance.
he Boys B team (Oliver Hamilton, Zac Hollyman, Evan Tyler and Davi Birnie) won their relay in 2.08.52 in a fiercely fast heat with strong and consistent performances from each athlete across all events. The Boys C team ( Cian Lough, Andrew Church, Calvin Thomson and Christopher Cameron) also delivered a consistent performance across in all events and achieved a strong second
place finish in their relay heat.
The overall Boys Superteams results saw more Giffnock colours on the podium. The Giffnock Boys A team took 3rd place, just pipped by
Springburn in 2nd place and the Central team taking 1st place.
Throughout the day the Giffnock teams demonstrated great sports etiquette, supporting and cheering each other on with amazing energy, if only you
could bottle it and sell it!
A huge thank you goes to Coaches John Shedden & Mark Hamilton & all the parent helpers who chaperoned each team, making sure they warmed up and were in the right place at the right time to compete, and to Orla Lang for keeping everyone organised. Lastly, a big thanks to all the parents who came along to support Team Giffnock, it really made a difference.”
Thanks very much to Jillian McRoberts (Mum to Poppy & Ruby ) for this excellent report of a successful day at the Emirates and to Colin Mearns ( Dad to Freya ) for the brilliant photos ! And to other parents for additional photos.
The Xmas Disco & Awards Night for the youngest members of the club was held at GHA on Sunday evening 11th December. A great time was had by all.
We were privileged to have David Smith, our Internationalist High Jumper (& Club Administrator) to present the awards to the athletes with Dudley Walker at the helm in his usual brilliant job of compère.
The Xmas Disco & Awards Night for the youngest members of the club was held at GHA on Sunday evening 11th December. A great time was had by all.
We were privileged to have David Smith, our Internationalist High Jumper (& Club Administrator) to present the awards to the athletes with Dudley Walker at the helm in his usual brilliant job of compère.
Certificates for performances over Cross Country & Indoor & Outdoor Track were presented, medals for Club Championships overall and in individual performances in the 4 disciplines of 80m /600m/ Long Jump & Shot Putt & finally U11 Athletes of the Year 2022. Eilidh Brown took the U11s Girl’s Award and Finlay Hamilton the Boys. Congratulations to Eilidh & Finlay for this achievement and to all our young athletes for their performances and efforts.
Presentation was also made to all the volunteers who helped at our Summer Holiday Camps. Their input at the camps is much appreciated by the club and, by our Young Coaches who deliver the popular athletics camps.
A few words about David Smith – our celebrity elite athlete. As Dudley pointed out David has scaled the heights literally and metaphorically in High Jump. He has represented Team Scotland at 3 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast, Birmingham and has been in Team GB at countless championships. Check his Power of 10 profile.
David has now returned to Glasgow from a training base in Birmingham and has also returned to train with his first HJ Coach, Ken Allan. He has recently had foot surgery for an injury, even attending the club AGM in his surgical boot. He tells us his recovery is going well. We wish him all the very best as he continues his rehab and returns to competition.
David took the time to say a few words. He recalls being at Awards Nights from when he joined the club at Age 9 and being impressed with those athletes doing the presentations. So, he added that he was very chuffed to be asked to do this. He advised the assembled youngsters, that one day it might be them. David also added that he remains in Athletics because he loves the sport and hopes they do too. He emphasised that above all, athletes need to enjoy themselves.
Then pizza was served and demolished and the Disco really began. There were some great moves on the floor and the DJ had a great repertoire of games and activities. Everyone joined in and the floor was never empty. A very competitive version of musical chairs concluded with exceptional 10 metres shuttle running. It was some spectacle. Well done all the athletes. It looked like great fun was had and certainly that’s the feedback so far.
Thanks again to David for doing the presentation and to the irreplaceable Dudley, to the Junior Committee members of Alison Watson, Caroline Hunter, Tracey Davie, Karen McKnight & Jenny Simpson for organising and our special thanks go to Allan Cameron for the great photos of the occasion. Thanks also to GHA staff for their help on the night. Important to note that the response to our Xmas Courier appeal for Ukraine was magnificent. Parents and supporters brought a fantastic amount of donations for Mykolaiv ! Thanks to everyone!
A RECORD-BREAKING eight team golds were won by Giffnock North at the West District XC Champs last Saturday in Kilmarnock. Add a team silver for our Masters Women as well as individual titles for Duncan Robinson (senior men), Hannah Ryding (U20 women), Reuben Macdonald (U20 men) and Calum Dick (U15 boys), plus eleven more individual medals, and you have another day to remember for our whole endurance squad.
Just to notch up the pressure, the event was the official selection race for the West District teams for the prestigious Inter District Championships in January. First ten finishers enjoy automatic selection, another five at selectors’ discretion. So, lots to play for in all age categories.
SENIOR MEN SWAMP TROMP
In cold but dry and windless conditions, over a flattish testerof a senior course (any 8.5k circuit that features names such as “The Swamp” and “Zig-Zags” deserves respect, surely) Duncan bided his time, covering early efforts from such seasoned athletes as Shettleston’s Lachlan Oates, before letting himself off the leash with about a k to go, thensustaining his surge to hold off Shettleston’s impressive SeydTaha Ghafari by four seconds (26:57 to 27:01).
It was a well-paced, canny win for the former cani-cross champion, who led his team to a fine fourth behind tough rivals Inverclyde, Shettleston and Cambuslang: hats off to another strong run from Ross Good in tenth, backed by fellow counters Nikolai Gajic, Alastair Stables, Conor Drummond and Kieren Mooney among no less than 274 finishers. Major marks also to Andrew Campbell, our phlying photographer Jordan Orr, Jamie Taggart, Nic Boyle and Rob Crusher.
SENIOR & MASTERS WOMEN 8.5K
Our senior ladies took fifth, one point behind Cambuslang in fourth, led home by the irrepressible Yvonne McNairn. Allie Chong (first W50) Catriona Bark and Emily Crusher completed the counting four ahead of team-mate Jacqueline Campbell. Allie and Catriona also counted in the Masters Women’s race, where they won team silver, being joined on the podium for that event by Hilary Carswell.
Big well done and great-to-see-you-again to Heather Barnes, who came up through the junior ranks at Giffnock and currently is gracing the racing in the ebony-and-amber ofGlasgow University – Heather was 16th in the senior event, helping the Uni to the team gold. Flying colours indeed.
ONE TWO THREE GO U20 MEN
Glasgow Uni’s strong-running Andrew McGill looked like he might spoil the party for Giffnock’s Under 20s Reuben Macdonald, Conan Harper and Cameron Green, but the yellow-and-blue trio steadily tightened their grip on their 6.5kchallenge to race to an imperious sweep of the medals and the district title. They fought each other hard for the podiumhonours throughout, with Conan and Reuben sprinting the final 100 shoulder to shoulder, Reuben ultimately edging it 19:43 to 19:45. Cameron nailed down the team gold with 19:55 ahead of McGill’s 20:24. Innes McPherson in eighth can expect a West call-up and Findlay Pryor’s twelfth may get him to the Inters too. Well done, lads.
RYDING STRYDING
Hannah Ryding continued her season’s notable form with an emphatic victory in the U20 6.5k, striding clear of the pack with a mid-race acceleration that no-one had an answer to,and breaking the tape some 40 seconds ahead of Inverclyde’s Meredith Reid (22:08 to 22:54). Valencia Wright raced home fourth and Kate Paul sixth to clinch team gold. Kiara Meiklejohn posted twelfth place, putting herself in the frame for a coveted sky-blue West vest.
The Under 20 titles were the seventh and eighth team golds on an unprecedented day … hold tight, here come the other six:
U17 BOYS HIGH FIVE
Kilbarchan’s Oliver Patton is a class act, and try as they might our own exceptional U17 lads couldn’t quite get a hold of himthis time, as early on he established a little daylight with the accompanying U20 leaders (the two races ran together, albeit over different distances).
Our top five finishers, Alasdair Nugent, Matthew Knak, Jack Wallace, Oliver Macdonald and Calan Chong were always in hot pursuit in a remarkable show of strength in depth. Alasdair closed his Renfrewshire rival down to just six seconds at the end of the 5.5k, taking silver (16:25 to 16:31), with Matthew Knak’s outstanding effort earning him fifth (16:40). Calan powered through late for sixth and his share of the team gold. It’s only three to count in District Champs so it was tough on Jack and Oliver who had to settle for seventh and eighth and the consolation of another brilliant effort for the club. Zac Meiklejohn and Jamie Davidson completed our line-up in this always fiercely contested age group.
U17 GOLDEN GIRLS
Ruth Walsh gave it all she had in the final 100, only to be pipped for bronze by Law’s Jessica Inglis, but Ruth still made it to the top of the podium with her gold-medal winning team-mates Emma McLennan (5th) and Saoirse McNulty (7th). Tuscany Wright’s 10th assures her of a West invitation, while Scarlett Cunningham’s 15th puts her in with a shout. Thumbs up to Hazel O’Donoghue and Megan Smith who also put in great efforts for their team over the 5.5k challenge.
U15 BOYS 1,2, 7
Calum Dick imposed himself on the race from the start and never looked back. If he had, he’d have seen team-mate Tristan Robin just eight seconds back in second, and the ever-reliable Thomas Reay not far behind either, in seventh to wrap up the team crown ahead of Springburn Harriers. Also powering round the 4k of loop and occasional gloop were the redoubtable Matthew Shaw, Aaron Reid, Myles Macaulay, Patrick Fraser and new prospect Dillon Sim. Good shift, gentlemen, another fine squad effort. Lewis Davidson had to withdraw unwell on the day – get well soon, Lewis, your team missed you.
U15 GIRLS 2, 3, 4
Only two seconds separated Giffnock’s Freya Campbell from Kilbarchan’s Zara Redmond at the business end of 4k, but it was Redmond who won out, 15:11 to 15:13. Eight seconds back was Scarlett Wilson for the bronze, followed home by fast finishing Freya Scobie in fourth to seal the team gold. Lauren McPherson, who’s enjoying a consistently good season, nabbed tenth and the final automatic District spot, while Amy Gallagher in 14th has to be in with a shout as well.
Isla Munro, Erin Reilly, Aneesa Phillips and Sarah McNulty raced into the top 25, with Ella McWilliams, Hannah Slumanand Lexie Martin completing a good day’s work for their squad. Coincidentally, the athlete who finished right behind Lexie was called … Lexie. What are the chances? Anyway, you can never have too many Lexies.
U13 BOYS 9 IN 11
There’s a commanding performance and there’s our U13 Boysand Girls. Nine in the top eleven was more than good enough for the boys’ team gold and – had rules allowed – would have taken team silver and bronze into the bargain. However, rules is rules, and Louie Muir (2nd in 11:18), Finlay Laskey (3rd), Ethan Scobie (5th), Kian Dick, Cameron Nugent, Logan McNulty, Joseph Mowat, Cameron Mitchell and Max Deery(6th to 11th respectively) will have to be content with onegleaming team title and the knowledge they’re all pretty much guaranteed West District selection. Adam Tortolano, Matthew Digby, Joseph Igoe, Ruaridh Mostyn and Noah Slumanrounded out a remarkable squad.
Winner was the always impressive Rhuaridh Laing of Victoria Park, who led from gun to tape, covering the 3.2k in 11 minutes flat. He’s small, but then so are diamonds.
U13 GIRLS 10 IN 15
If you think the U13 boys’ squad did well, you’re right … but they had to because in the first race of the day U13 girls hadpacked ten athletes into the top 15 in their 3.2k event. Only Erin Burnett of Garscube in first place prevented Eilidh Caldow, the swift-finishing Holly Simpson and Millie Boothman claiming a clean sweep of the medals on top of the team title. Emma Johnston (8th) and Isabella Wilson (10th) are up for automatic West selection places, and Nicole Yates, April Macaulay, Eve Cameron, Orla Yeates and Anna Ross pack in brilliantly for 11th to 15th.
Also racing hard for the team and helping make everyone’s day were Samantha McKeown, Eve Wilkinson, Megan Jackson, Beth Adams, Gabriella Amorati, Lilah MacIntyreand Neve Reilly.
THANK YOU ALL
Massive applause to every single athlete and the families, coaches, cheerers, consolers, tent putter-uppers, time-keepers, officials, organisers, whoever thought of lining the finishing straight with colourful flags of many nations, host club Kilmarnock Harriers, the cheery bloke in the burger van, the nice ladies who were selling very good cakes in aid of Ukraine, our friendly rivals and anyone else in the general vicinity.
Apologies to anyone missed out, mis-spelled or mistakenly misrepresented.
Full results for your delectation: 12564-2022 WD Results.pdf (sportserve.net)
Report by Croy Thomson
TWO TEAM GOLDS, two team silvers, three national titles and two more individual honours, plus the best-ever Giffnock North Senior Men’s finish at a National Short Course XC Champs: yes, we have exceptional reasons to remember, remember the fifth of November 2022.
The setting was a smirry wet day in Kirkcaldy, surprisingly blessed with decent conditions underfoot, on a rolling course with that good old favourite feature: the uphill start. And since the distances were as billed – relatively short – the pace was mercilessly fast from gun to tape in every race.
LET’S BEGIN AT THE END
In the day’s grand finale, the Senior Men’s 4k, our gents delivered our finest result yet at these championships, with a fighting fourth, denied bronze only on countback to Shettleston Harriers, equal on 102 points (and just six points off silver). Duncan Robinson (6th), Cameron Green (21st overall and 5th U20), Cameron Deverill (35th and 10th U20) and Ross Good (40th) were the athletes bringing us ever closer to a national team medal. All the more impressive to do it among a record field of 484 finishers.
Honourable mentions also to Nikolai Gajic, Conor Drummond, Ross O’Brien, Matthew Cox, Ali Stables, Oliver Traynor, Ruaridh Maclean, Michael Cross, Jordan Orr (special prize for most athletic photographer on the day, he was everywhere at once), Jamie Taggart, Donald Maclean, Eoghan O’Donnell, David Shaw, Garry Sturgeon, Ewan Wallace and Andy Munro. Some shift, lads.
HERE COME THE GIRLS
Never ones to shy away from a challenge, Giffnock’s Senior, U20 and Masters Ladies squad stepped up to their 4k circuit and came away with two national titles.
Young Hannah Ryding (17) gave as good as she got amongst such high-calibre opposition as Jenny Selman (Fife) and eventual runaway winner Megan Keith (Edinburgh University) but settled ultimately for fifth overall, and the not inconsiderable consolation of U20 gold. In close order, in the black and gold of her university this time, was Erin Wallace, claiming eighth overall despite a fall (“It was more embarrassing than painful”). Great to see you back out racing again, Erin, and recovering well from injury.
The composite Ladies team came home eighth overall, so congratulations Hannah, Allie Chong (V50), Kate Paul (U20) and Catriona Bark (V40). The irrepressible Allie confirmed her season’s fine form with national W50 gold, and was joined on the W50 podium by Hilary Carswell for bronze. Also contributing to a solid team effort was Kiara Meiklejohn (U20). No less than 260 women finished the race on another upbeat day for the sport.
UNDER 15 GIRLS SILVERS
In a pulsating finish to the 2k U15 Girls race, Scarlett Wilson stormed into the lead with 100 metres to go, only to be shaded on the line by a never-say-die surge from Inverness Harrier Lois MacRae, 6:36 to 6:37. Freya Campbell endured a foot injury but still raced in ninth, and with Lauren McPherson third counter Giffnock claimed national team silver behind Falkirk Vics.
Let’s also hear it for Isla Munro, Eva Saez (later spotted brandishing a Hallowe’en trident: you can spearhead the next team effort, Eva), Sarah McNulty, Lucy O’Donoghue, Erin Digby, Lexie Martin and major applause to two cross country debutants, Maya Pert and Sophia Hernandez. Welcome, girls, to the greatest show on earth. Well, mud and grass.
U15 BOYS TEAM & INDIVIDUAL GOLD
Calum Dick won the U15 Boys 3k in five minutes, 47 seconds, leading Thomas Reay (5th) and Matthew Shaw (15th) onto the top of the podium, ahead of Harmeny AC and Ross County AC. Also fighting the good fight were Patrick Fraser, Myles MacAulay, Charlie McAllister, Jude McGuigan and Jack Harcombe.
CHAMPION UNDER 17 WOMEN
For the eighth time in the nine editions of this age category, Giffnock North’s U17 women won the team crown. This year it was Ruth Walsh who led the squad home with a powerhouse performance over 3k, in 10:27 for seventh place, backed by Esme Dougall (9th) and Emma McLennan (11th) for the gold. Saoirse McNulty, Tuscany Wright, Scarlett Cunningham, Milli Macfarlane, Hazel O’Donoghue, Amy Vincent and Megan Smith all did the club proud.
Corstorphine – the only club other than Giffnock North to win this category – were second and the ever-improving Falkirk Victoria were third.
U17 MEN KNOCK ON THE DOOR
The U17 men’s Short Course team title has gone to seven different clubs across nine stagings. As yet, Giffnock North AC is not among those seven winners. It’s not for want of talent or trying – and we are very close. Last year and this we landed well-earned silver, and it was another sterling effort from the lads that saw us just edged out this time round.
Alasdair Nugent was first back for the amber and blues’ counting trio, in ninth, one place ahead of team-mate Oliver Macdonald, with Jack Wallace 19th for the medals. In hot pursuit were the redoubtable Glen Griffiths, Calan Chong, Alex Robin (grand to have you back racing, Alex, after injury), James Mowat and James Leaf. It’s worth noting that most of the U17s are first-year in the age group, so there’s more great days ahead for them and the club.
ALL TAKE A BOW
Apologies to anyone and everyone I’ve accidently missed out, mis-spelled or misrepresented. Many thanks to everyone who raced, supported, coached, hosted, officiated, stewarded, put up tents, took down tents, gave out tape, gave back tape, offered to share chips’n’curry sauce (you know who you are), didn’t clype me out for having an early roll’n’square and generally made this another memorable day out in the countryside for the club and the sport.
Report by Croy Thomson
Notice is given of the 2022 AGM of Giffnock North Athletics Club
DATE: Wednesday 23rd November 2022
TIME: 7.30pm
VENUE: Williamwood High School Library
Any motions for discussion can be sent to David Smith, Club Administrator, admin@giffnocknorth.co.uk
Minutes of 2021 AGM, and papers for this AGM & Club reports will be sent out shortly.
We need to fill various posts on the Board, especially Club Secretary & Junior Membership Secretary . Indications of interest to Billy Glasgow chairman@giffnocknorth.co.uk
Giffnock North AC claimed two team titles, a team silver and two bronzes at the Lindsays National XC Relay Championships in a wet Cumbernauld last Saturday, along with a best-ever placing of fifth for the Senior Men and sixth for the Senior Ladies.
YOUNG FEMALES’ GOLD AND BRONZE
On a day of drizzly dreich, Giffnock North’s XC squads lit up proceedings from the word go. Our Young Female teams took their 3 X 2.5k event by the scruff of the neck, with Eilidh Caldow, Millie Boothman and Holly Simpson the first-leg Under 13s who came home in the first five to give Freya Campbell, Scarlett Wilson and Freya Scobie a flying start on their U15 laps. Scottish international hill runner Esme Dougal, Emma McLennan and Ruth Walsh accepted the challenge and powered home an impressive first, third and fifth to dominate the podium. Team East Lothian were a strong second, Falkirk Victoria fourth.
Let me apologise now for not mentioning every Giffnock runner – we started nearly 20 junior mixed-age teams of three, which is a phenomenal turnout – and every last athlete deserves applause for tackling one of the hilliest, skiddiest, drenchiest courses anywhere. We can be proud of them all. Provisional results: MYLAPS Sporthive Event Results
YOUNG MALES’ SILVER AND BRONZE
Next up on the start line were our Young Males and they didn’t hang about either, banging five teams into the top 13. Never ones to respect alphabetical order (or their coaches’ sanity), the B Team of Ethan Scobie, Tristan Robin and Oliver Macdonald raced home for silver just ahead of their A Team club-mates Louie Muir, Matthew Shaw and Alasdair Nugent, who won bronze. The fastest U17 lap of the day by Aberdeen’s Hamish Mackay, in a blistering eight minutes 17 seconds, took the gold north. A notable sixth place went to our C team of Finlay Laskey, Thomas Reay and Glen Griffiths.
LADIES HIT A SIX, V50s CATCH A CROWN
Katy Brown led out the Giffnock Senior Ladies foursome on their 4 X 4k race, handing over in ninth to Yvonne McNairn, who took us into eighth. Rhona Mowat ran a strong third leg before Hannah Ryding posted the 4th fastest ladies’ overall time of 14:10 to claim a fine team sixth. B Team Nicola McBeath, Caroline Munro, Kiara Meiklejohn and Frances Lowrie raced home 37th of the 76 squads.
Allie Chong delivered the quickest V50 Ladies time of the day (16:06) to fire her team of three into pole position over the 4k loops, and Sheila Lewis and Hilary Carswell never looked back (well, maybe once or twice: an ominous Edinburgh trio were doing a bit of looming) as they earned a memorable national crown.
BEST EVER SENIOR MEN
Final event of the day was the always keenly contested Gentlemen’s 4 X 4k, over a course well churned by the previous races and hundreds of athletes. Ross Good – in his first cross country race – led us out with a fighting top-twenty placing, to hand to Reuben Macdonald who raced us into ninth. Conan Harper followed up with a 12:34 lap to go into sixth. Try as he might, GB international Duncan Robinson had to settle for fifth after a gripping 12:31 performance on the looping rollercoaster of a senior course.
Up ahead, the hard core of two Central AC Teams, Kilbarchan and Inverclyde simply refused to let us in, but note that our guys were just 64 seconds behind the winners – we can definitely see them from there! Fifth is our best Senior Males performance in this event yet – great shift, gentlemen.
Our Mens B Team of Ross O’Brien, Calum Young, Josh Adams and Conor Drummond flew round in 55 minutes for 23rd out of 122. Kieren Mooney, Sandy Nimmo (hello again Sandy!), Alastair Stables and Ruairidh MacLean brought the C Team round in a tad over 57 minutes for 35th.
Hats off also to our muddy Masters Cris Walsh, Andrew Campbell, Rob Crusher and Garry Sturgeon (9th Mens Masters division) and David Shaw, Andrew Mostyn, Ewan Wallace and Mark Sutherland (15th of 30).
THANKS
Grand days out in the countryside with your chums don’t happen by accident, so let’s hear it for every runner, the officials, starters, time-keepers, coaches, tent wranglers, social media ninjas, bus bookers, families, friends, fans, safety-pin providers, timing chip lacer-uppers, biscuit offerers, burgeristas in the van, and possibly most of all for the endlessly patient Team Declaration IT Wizard Sophie of SA who serenely put up with me shuffling myriad (okay half a dozen but it felt like more) Boys’ teams as the cut-off time sped towards us.
WHATEVER NEXT?
Onwards, team, to the Short Course XC Champs in Kirkcaldy on 5th November – let’s light the blue (and amber) touchpaper for yet more fun fireworks over the furrowed fields. We should note the Short Course Champs are for U15s & up to Seniors & Masters
Report by Croy Thomson
Photos by Bobby Gavin and Parents on the day at Cumbernauld.
My Return to the Blocks by Angela Kelly Giffnock North A.C.
After a number of years away from the track to have a family, it was always my aim to return to athletics so 1998 saw my return to training at the Sheepmount Stadium Carlisle with my main target the 13th World Masters Championship at Gateshead Stadium in 1999 competing on my birthday in the W40 age group. This was a big step up in competition for me after being away so long. I was however, relishing the new challenge in training and competing at the World Masters Championships. This would be the first time as Master W40 in a GB vest in the 100m & 200m. I enjoyed the experience, for me it was just about competing at the World Championships on home soil, enjoying the momentompeting against some fantastic athletes from around the world andmaking friends who are still great friends to this day. We have continued to meet up on other occasions during the last 23 years.
After competing at the Worlds, I turned my focus to competing at the Home Nations Indoor and Outdoor Championships in England, Scotland and Wales and also basically racing at any open meeting within a 2hr drive of my home in Carlisle just to get races.
In the spring of 1999 I met John Birkett through my daughter Claire. She was being coached by him in Annan with his group of 12 athletes. It was a few years later (2006) I asked him to take me into his training group. To cut it short, after we discussed my thoughts and the direction I wanted to go in and what level of competition, he said it will be tough, but the rewards will be enjoyable. The following week I joined the group and quickly got down to his training plans he laid out for me, so different to what I did before and he also, got me thinking differently about racing before and after, all new ideas to me but they have proved very vital over the years and has helped me to stay fit and keep racing at a high level to this very day aged 62 and hopefully into my next age group W65 in three years’ time.
Since joining up with John in 2006 training was hard, but strangely enjoyable back then, and today in 2022 it still is hard and enjoyable with a different twist to how we train which is why I love to race and challenge myself against the very best in the World, Europe and in the home nations. There have been highs and lows in my athletic journey as I recall, but all in all, it’s been mostly enjoyable and the rewards gained have been great, meeting different athletes and individuals from different countries over the years .
2023 will be no different with new targets set already to compete in the Scottish and British Masters indoor championships February and March, before heading out to Torun in Poland for the World Masters Indoor Championships which start 26th March to the 1st April. In September we will travel to Pescara in Italy for the European Masters Outdoor Championships, but before that we will be racing in the British, Scottish, Northern Ireland, Welsh, and Irish Masters championships before Italy, fingers crossed.
My major achievements over the years, competing in different 5 year age groups from 1999 to 2022 are below:
British Indoor Championship Individual Medals as follows.
2001 W40 Age group Cardiff 400m Silver Medal.
2006 W45 Age group Cardiff 200m Bronze Medal.
2008 W45 Age group Lee Valley Enfield 200m Bronze Medal.
2011 W50 Age group Lee Valley Enfield 200m Silver Medal.
2013 W50 Age group Lee Valley Enfield 60m Bronze Medal.
2016 W55 Age group Lee Valley Enfield 60m Bronze Medal also 200m Silver Medal.
British Outdoor Championship Individual Medals as follows.
2011 W50 Age group Alexandra Stadium Birmingham 100m Gold Medal also 200m Silver Medal.
2013 W50 Age group Alexandra Stadium Birmingham 100m Bronze Medal.
2016 W55 Age group Alexandra Stadium Birmingham 100m Gold Medal also 200m Silver Medal.
2017 W55 Age group Alexandra Stadium Birmingham 100m Bronze Medal.
2021 W60 Age group at Derby 100m Bronze Medal.
2022 W60 Age group at Derby 100m Bronze Medal.
Medals while competing for Great Britain Team Relays since 2006 to 2019 in World Masters Indoor Championships as follows.
2006 W45 GB Relay team in Linz Austria 4 x 200m Gold Medal.
2008 W45 GB Relay team in Claremont-Ferrand France 4 x 200m Silver Medal
2014 W50 GB Relay team in Budapest Hungary 4 x 200m Bronze Medal.
2017 W55 GB Relay team in Daegu South Korea 4 x 200m Bronze Medal.
2019 W55 GB Relay team in Torun Poland 4 x 200m Bronze Medal.
Medals while competing for Great Britain Team Relays since 2005 to 2019 in World Masters Outdoor Championships as follows.
2005 W45 GB Relay team in San Sabastian Spain 4 x 100m Bronze Medal.
2011 W50 GB Relay team in Sacramento California U.S.A. 4 X 100m Silver Medal.
2013 W50 GB Relay team in Porto Alegre Brazil 4 x 100m Silver Medal also 4 x 400m Bronze Medal.
2018 W55 GB Relay team in Malaga Spain 4 x 400m Bronze Medal.
Medals while competing for Great Britain Team Relays since 2003 to 2022 in European Masters Indoor Championships as follows.
2003 W40 GB Relay team in San Sabastain Spain 4 x 200m Gold Medal.
2007 W45 GB Relay team in Helsinki Finland 4 x 200m Gold Mrdal.
2011 W45 GB Relay team in Gent Belgium 4 x 200m Bronze Medal.
2016 W55 GB Relay team in Ancona Italy 4 x 200m Silver Medal.
2018 W55 GB Relay team in Madrid Spain 4 x 200m Bronze Medal.
2022 W60 GB Relay team in Braga Portugal 4 x 200m Gold Medal.
Medals while competing for Great Britain Team Relays since 2006 to 2019 in European Outdoor Championships as follows.
2006 W45 GB Relay team in Poznan Poland 4 x 100m Silver Medal also 4 x 400m Bronze Medal.
2008 W45 GB Relay team in Ljubjana Slovenia 4 x 100m Bronze Medal.
Individual Finals at World Outdoors and European Indoors as follows.
2013 World outdoors at Porto Alegre Brazil 200m Final in 7th Place overall.
2016 European Indoors at Ancona Italy 60m Final 8th place overall.
2022 European Indoors at Braga Portugal 60m Final 6th Place overall and 200m Final 6th Place overall.
Individual various Home Nation Medals at Indoors and outdoors from 2000 to 2022 and in various age groups.
Scottish Indoors 60m & 200m
Scottish Outdoors 100m & 200m
Welsh Outdoors 100m & 200m
Northern Ireland Masters 100m & 200m
Ireland Masters 100m & 200m.
Angela Kelly.
We hope Angela found a trophy cabinet large enough to hold all these medals and achievements over this considerable span of years.
The club would like to take this opportunity of thanking both Angela and John for their outstanding contribution – both of them competing regularly at the CSSAL and always a presence at the Club Championships.
Masters athlete and coach – role models indeed.
GOOD DAY SUNSHINE
Giffnock North AC enjoyed a field day at a sun-drenched Lindsays West District Cross Country Relay Championships 2022 at Kings Park, claiming four titles, two silvers and a bronze across the six team categories. But cold numbers cannot convey the drama that unfolded.
Had there been any seats, everyone would have been on the edge of them. On the final leg of the final race, the Senior Men’s 4x4k, Kilbarchan’s Cameron Wright set out twenty seconds clear. But he was a marked man: Inverclyde’s Andy Douglas and our own Duncan Robinson were in hot pursuit. The gap to the leader shrank, shrank and shrank some more to only three seconds. Pressure built, a super-enthusiastic crowd roared the runners on … 300 metres to go and the tiring Kilbarchan man strayed off course! He gamely returned to the fray but his fragile grip on gold was gone. The door was open for a two-man showdown over the final stretch.
100 metres to go, at the end of a thriller of a hunt, Duncan edged ahead of the tenacious Inverclyder to win by just three seconds. What a race by all three clubs.
TO THE FOUR
On that switchback rollercoaster of a course, Duncan did not do the job on his own: far from it. His 12-minute eight seconds circuit capitalised on outstanding performances by team-mates Reuben Macdonald (fastest U20 12 minutes 12 seconds), new recruit Conan Harper (U20, 12:19) and Cameron Green (U20,12:43). For such a young squad to take gold is a memorable achievement. For the club to retain the title proves that last year was no fluke.
Behind them our B Team of Conor Drummond, Calum Young, Ross O’Brien and Nikolai Gajic raced home a solid ninth. In 17th were Oliver Traynor, Matthew Cox, Josh Adam and Ruaridh MacLean. Russell Whittington, Mark Sutherland, Andy Munro and Cris Walsh were 16th in the Vets category.
LADIES DAY
As ever, Giffnock ladies more than graced the day. Over 4k, our A Squad of Katy Brown, Hannah Ryding and Yvonne Hamilton powered to a fine bronze. Hannah’s 13 minute 57 second effort was third fastest by any woman and took the team into first, but Shettleston’s Fionnuala Ross’s 13:37 on the last leg decided where gold was going. Second-swiftest lady was Giffnock member Lynn McKenna on 13:56, starring in Glasgow University gold and black.
The irrepressible Allie Chong led our Lady Veterans team gold, ably backed by Mary McCutcheon and Jill Smyllie. Allie’s 15:59 was fastest V50; third fastest was Mary, fourth fastest was Sheila Lewis. Catriona Bark was fifth V40.
GIFFNOCK’S JUNIORS always put on a show and they fully lived up to expectations, delivering a double one-two in the Boys and Girls mixed age-groups relays.
GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS
Over 3k, Eilidh Caldow (U13), Freya Campbell (U15) and Esme Dougall (U17) led from start to finish, imperiously lifting the Young Females’ crown in an aggregate 33 minutes 44 seconds, ahead of club-mates Millie Boothman, Freya Scobie and Emma McLennan. Kilbarchan came home third, with Giffnock’s April Macaulay, Amy Gallagher and Ruth Walsh fifth, and another five Giffnock girls’ trios in the top 19.
We had a remarkable turnout of 13 complete teams (39 girls) in the category which attracted 161 finishers in total – well done all, it’s brilliant to see so many youngsters taking part over the country.
BOYS WILL BE BOYS
As is their prerogative as relatively inexperienced athletes who’d had a heavy race schedule in the previous seven days, the U13 boys decided to enliven their coaches’ morning by completing their 3k lap in a refreshingly unexpected order, but hey that’s sport, and, undeterred, the U15s and U17 rapidly set about their own tasks. By the end, the A Team of Cameron Mitchell (U13), Calum Dick (U15) and Craig Shennan (fastest U17 in a blistering nine minutes seven seconds) emerged triumphant, ahead of club-mates Louie Muir, Thomas Reay and Alasdair Nugent.
A formidable fourth were Logan McNulty, Matthew Shaw and Oliver Macdonald; a fighting fifth were Finlay Laskey, Lewis Davidson and Jack Wallace. All in all, we fielded 11 complete Junior Boys teams, contributing significantly to the massed rank of 146 finishers in the category.
THANK YOU
Giffnock North AC hosted the Championships, with the tireless efforts of David Shaw in particular deserving big applause. We must thank near neighbours Cambuslang Harriers for their much-appreciated assistance on the day, as well as help from our other local West District clubs, and the RR & XC Commission. We’re all in this together.
That’s before we get to the hard-working officials, organisers, course setters, marshals and volunteers who gave so generously of their time and talent. Hats off (well, it was a warm day) to the mums, dads, pals and supporters who helped create such an inspirational atmosphere, it really was something special. And it’s never a cross country day without the tantalising aromas of the burger van!
APOLOGIES
There are too many names to be able to include everyone who raced, so apologies to anyone and everyone I’ve omitted. Major cheers to every single athlete in all the squads who turned out, from absolute beginners doing their first ever XC, to the evergreen veterans of many a championship.
For those who didn’t quite get what you wanted, the consolation is you’re another tough race richer and wiser and you’ll be an even better athlete next time out. For those who did achieve their aims and more, good on you, you’ve raised the bar, you’re strengthening the squad and you know how rewarding cross country can be. As we head into winter, remember: EVERYONE is important.
Finally, let me highlight how nice it was to see Andy Macdonald lining up on the start line beside his son Reuben – these are the kind of family moments that help make sport great, come rain, hail and shine.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS (10.10.22): West-District-CC-Relay-Champs-2022-Results-Summary-Provisional-1.xlsx (live.com)
NEXT UP – National XC Relays, Cumbernauld, 22nd October, where even more adventures await us. Won’t you come out to play?
Report by Croy Thomson
Following our Club Track & Field Championships which were held on the 18th September, we can now announce our Club Champions for 2022. Medals will be presented at our Awards Night later in the year. Many congratulations to:
Under 11 Girls | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Eilidh Brown | 932 |
2 | Katie Heron | 743 |
3 | Milly Malcolm | 732 |
Under 13 Girls | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Eilidh Caldow | 780 |
2 | Beatrice Nairne | 773 |
3 | Gabriella Amorati | 740 |
Under 15 Girls | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Isla Ross | 1225 |
2 | Scarlett Wilson | 1184 |
3 | Sarah McNulty | 1140 |
Under 17 Girls | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Emily Watson | 1101 |
2 | Courtney Barbour | 1038 |
3 | Rhuna McCartney | 996 |
Senior Women | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Rachel Callan | 1524 |
2 | Caroline MacConnell | 1081 |
3 | Amy Greene | 873 |
Masters Women | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Catriona Bark | 758 |
2 | Caroline Munro | 662 |
3 | Nina Farmer | 578 |
Download Full Female Results (Excel)
Under 11 Boys | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Finlay Hamilton | 704 |
2 | Hugo Stewart | 521 |
3 | Henry Stewart | 520 |
Under 13 Boys | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Angus Weir | 960 |
2 | Alistair Gear | 873 |
3 | Cameron Nugent | 835 |
Under 15 Boys | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Rory Taylor-Young | 1609 |
2 | Zander Summerhill | 1253 |
3 | Aaron Muir | 1251 |
Under 17 Boys | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Ryan Davie | 1322 |
2 | Jack Wallace | 1272 |
3 | Ewan Cornfoot | 1236 |
Senior Men | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Neil Hutchison | 1371 |
2 | Donald Maclean | 1250 |
3 | Matthew Cox | 1170 |
Masters Men | Points | |
---|---|---|
1 | Chris Hawthorne | 1179 |
2 | David Shaw | 987 |
3 | Colin Wylie | 902 |
Download Full Male Results (Excel)
The Club Track & Field Championships took place on Sunday 18th September at the Ayrshire Arena, Kilmarnock.and was our biggest event to date. Over 250 athletes took to the track to battle to be Club Champions across the age groups. A massive thank you must go to the organising committee, the officials, the coaches and the army of parent helpers who helped to make the event such a success.
While we wait for the results to be collated and scruinised, check out the photographs, courtest of Alan Stewart.