RUNNING ON SUNSHINE, that was our Junior Endurance squads at East Fortune in the National Road Race Championships, in unseasonably warm conditions.

Here’s the projected race schedule for Neil See it on BBC 2
and Erin:
Tonight 6.55pm: Men’s 1500m Round One
Friday 9.15am: Women’s 800m Round One
Friday 8.15pm: Men’s 1500m Final
Saturday 6.53pm: Women’s 800m Semi-final
Sunday 3.33pm: Women’s 800m Final

This weekend the Emirates hosted the 4JStudios Scottish Athletics National Indoor Age Group Championships. Athletes from across Scotland competed over the Saturday and Sunday in U13, U15 and U20 competitions. It was fantastic to see a return to indoor championships after a year off.

On Saturday the Club had success in both sprints and middle distance. Whilst not everyone gained a podium place several PBs were recorded and it was great experience for those that participated.

On Sunday there were 15 Giffnock North girls on the 60m start line, which must be some kind of record for the club!

In the U13 boys 60m we had six boys on the starting line, two of them medalled. Well done to Matthew McLachlan for his well-earned silver medal and Noah Paisley on his bronze. Alongside his podium place, Matthew McLachlan also claimed the Club Record, congratulations!

Teammate Hugo Stewart came away from the day with three medals – bronze in the hurdles, silver in the high jump and topped his day off with gold in the long jump.

Matthew McLachlan and Noah Paisley refocused and got to the 200m final where Noah won his second medal (silver) of the day and claiming a Club record.

Across the two days there were many PBs and it was fabulous competition experience for all the athletes involved. Thanks to everyone who took part, coached and supported.

Podium pics are available on our Giffnock North Facebook.

Saturday

U15 300m

Austin Summerhill – Bronze

U15 200m

Amy Plunkett – Silver

U15 200m

Scot McLachlan – Bronze

U15 1500m

Evan Tyler – Bronze

U15 800m

Kian Dick – Silver

Sunday

U13 60m

Matthew McLachlan – Silver and club record

Noah Paisley – Bronze

U13 200m

Noah Paisley – Silver and club record

U13 1500m

Christopher Cameron – Bronze

U13 Long Jump

Hugo Stewart – Gold

U13 Long Jump

Iona Cornfoot – Bronze

U13 High Jump

Hugo Stewart – Silver

U13 60m Hurdles

Hugo Stewart – Bronze

U20 Hurdles

Angus Rennie – Gold

The EAP (Events for Athletic Promotion) competition came to Emirates Arena on Sunday 2^nd Feb. Among the international competitors from across Europe, Ireland and England were no less than eight Giffnock North Athletes. They didn’t just compete, they broke records too!

Details of  Alessandro Schenini’s new Scottish Indoor and Native record of 7.86 for Gold in the Long Jump and Alyson Bell’s double Gold and double EAP record in the 60 and 200m can be found in the full Scottish Athletics EAP Report.

Alessandro was pushed all the way by Murray Fotheringham who finished third with 7.72m. Great to see two Giffnock athletes dominating this event.

In addition to our medal winning record breakers, Giffnock’s developing athletes were on show. Erin Campbell and Angus Rennie competed in the 60m Hurdles. Erin made the final and Angus set a new club record in his first time over the senior hurdles. Rachel Callan made a double appearance, first in the 60m and then leading the field round as pacemaker for the 800m. Finlay Waugh also raced in the 60m

And what a night for two of our U18 athletes – Angus Weir in the Long Jump and Zoe McKell in the High Jump – who got to compete alongside the established international stars. We are sure that this will be the first of many International competitions for both of them.

To see the results for all the events click here.

Report by Gerry Duggan 

Photos  courtesy of Bobby Gavin/ Scottish Athletics 

Sunday morning, beginning of February… must be Battery Park for the Renfrewshire Road Race Championships. And guess what, it was wild, wet and windy! The conditions for the Seniors were probably the worst with the wind stronger and the rain heavier.

Nevertheless, our Senior Women with Allie Chong, Hilary Carswell and Anji Carson survived all that Greenock could throw at them & with  Bronze made the Podium – actually Hilary wasn’t physically on the steps there as she had to dash but you know what we mean.

The Senior men were well represented with Connor Drummond leading them home, into the wind, in a strong 8th place – also in a faster time than last year. Nick Boyle, Lewis McGuire (before setting off for some warm weather training in Canberra for a semester) Andy Campbell, Kenneth Macleod, Garry Sturgeon and Andrew Mostyn completed the Giffnock team. A mention of our Club coach Tony Connolly who came in 4th for Bella Road Runners. 

Then U11 Boys were on the start line. Kyle Hartley took Silver in the Renfrewshire race (3rd overall) and the U11 Boys Team took the Gold with Murray McKerracher and Carter McLaws. The rest of the U11 Boys were packing!! A great show!  Nihal Lindsay, Leo Mcfetridge, Adam Rai, Lachlan Greenhalgh,  Josh Reid, Finlay Moir and Finlay Rae,  Riley Rhicard & Luke Hamilton

It was not the best year for U11 Girls as some were racing indoors in the Relay Teams at the Emirates.  Moreover, a few were competing in their first race but despite the cold and wet they embraced the experience. That’s what we like to see, and they will be back for more! Alex Rough, Amy Heffron & Ava Campbell nearly made it to the podium . Well done to them and all the other U11 Girls – some competing for the first time- Ana Mcfetridge, Wren Joshi, Kate Cameron, Vidhi Rai ,Skye Thomson & Noelle Macdonald.

Next up were the under 13 squad with boys and girls running together. Great to see so many GN shirts on that start line and the results made us all proud. Individual medals galore with Gold for Anna and Finlay, Silver for Ella and Christopher and Bronze for Lotty and Ben. Team golds for boys and girls with all the individual medallists on the podium again. Great runs from the rest of the squad on a cold blustery day. We’re proud of you all and looking forward to your next outing at Falkirk. Thank you to parents and coaches for your support to this fantastic group of athletes.

By the time the U15s set off, the weather was starting to ease off (Sorry Allie, Anji and Seniors!), though still a healthy Greenock wind with drizzle to contend with. A fantastic 10 Giffnock girls helping to make up a good field of 29 athletes. Grace Barry from Inverclyde set off fast and was being tracked by our own pack of Giffnock grafters. The girls closed the gap, and in an incredible last lap April MacAulay sped past Grace to take gold. Eve Cameron just behind for bronze. Isabella Wilson was 4^th to complete the Team Race counters and another great collective gold. Fantastic runs also from Nicole Yates, Eve Wilkinson, Eleanor Osborne, Megan Jackson, Anna Hill, Ava Taylor and Rebecca Martin. Some invaluable race experience gained.

The U15 Giffnock boys squad of 7 gave a brilliant account of themselves, taking a podium 1,2,3. First in was Donald McInnes in 10mins dead – he was closing on (non-Renfrewshire) athlete Finn Smith of Springburn, but just ran out of tarmac! Connor McCallum and Finn MacDonald took silver and bronze respectively to fill that podium with yellow and blue, as well as picking up the obvious team prize. Terrific runs also by Adam Tortolano, Patrick McGovern, Max McFetridge and Ruaridh Mostyn. Well done boys!

The U17 Women’s race saw 4 Giffnock athletes take part, and coming in 1,2,3,4. Isla Munro and Lucy McGhie ran the first 3 laps side by side, then Isla pulled away on the 4^th and final lap to take the win, with Lucy just 9 seconds behind for silver. Emily Langdon completed the medal haul (bronze) and ensured the team prize, followed by Rachael Hill in 4th.

Giffnock had one valiant solo runner in the U17 Men’s race – Matthew Hill. There was a big pack of Kilbarchan athletes who all set off fast. Matthew bided his time, picking most of them off, to finish a very respectable 3^rd and get on that podium, grabbing some bling to back to the southside!

A good day at the office!

 Report collated by Ian Mcfarlane from all the coaches at the Battery Park on the Day. More photos on our Facebook page.

 Thanks Ian 

 Results 

https://protay.co.uk/raaa2025/results.php

https://protay.co.uk/raaa2025/results.php

The U13 and U15 Scottish Athletics National Indoor 4 x 200m Championships were held on Sunday 2^nd Feb @ Emirates Arena and as ever, Giffnock North teams were out in force.

Our U13 boys – Matthew, Noah, Davi, Andrew and reserve Daniel – finished second in their heat behind Harmeny and were second fastest overall so qualified for the Final. The Final was a repeat of the heat with Harmeny winning Gold and our boys securing the Silver in 1:52.98 almost 2 sec faster than their heat.

The U13 girls had two teams in the heats. Team A was Eve, Darcy, Iona and Fern. Team B was Violet, Abbie, Martha and Amira and the reserves were Quinn and Niamh. With four heats and only the heat winners and 2 fastest losers making the final, qualification was going to be tough. Team A won their heat, automatically progressing to the final and Team B finished second in theirs. Despite running a cracking time, Team B didn’t make it to the next round. In the final Eve, Darcy, Iona and Fern had some brilliant baton changes and finished fourth in a time of 2:02.44, nearly 2.5s better than their heat.

Moving on to the U15 boys, we had one team entered – Charlie, Scott, Austin and Cal. Winning their heat and running 2 seconds faster than any of the other teams, the boys were favourites going into the final. And they didn’t disappoint. Like our teams before them, the boys improved upon their heat team (~1 sec), winning Gold in a time of 1:43.57.

Finally, our U15 girls had two teams entered. Team A was Eilidh, Erica, Bethany and Amy. Team B was Laura, Lauren, Lilah and Katie with reserve Sanika. The U15 girls had the toughest qualifying conditions of the day with five heat winners and only one fastest loser making the final. Team A finished 3^rd in 1:52.60 and Team B 2^nd in 1:57.03 in their respective heats. The harsh qualification rules meant neither team made the final. This was particularly disappointing for Team A who had the fourth fastest heat time.

Well done to all our teams, everyone ran well. Thanks to our coaches for preparing the teams – Sarah Lang and Ashley Cornfoot for the U13s and Chris Hawthorne and Symon Lipp for the U15s. And finally thanks to all the officials for putting on a marvelous event, in particular Craig Fotheringham who not only officiated but had helped coach the U13s.

Report from Gerry Duggan . Thanks Gerry 

We held our annual awards night for our (slightly) older athletes on Saturday 25th January.

Athletes and their parents were invited along to celebrate a fantastic year of achievements at our club champs, National competitions and to honour those that have represented the club so fantastically over the last year.

We are thankful to Anne Stewart for joining us to present the awards and to Dudley Walker for hosting. Thank you both for giving up your time so generously.

The club has had so many highlights across all age groups – new club records have been set, so many podium places for teams and individuals (Scottish Schools, UK Cross Challenge and many more). Well done to all our athletes for a stellar year!

Get ready for a long read – there’s quite a list of winners to acknowledge and celebrate!

Club Awards

U13 Athletes of the Year
Erica Ross and Evan Tyler

U15 Athletes of the Year
Anna Ross & Holly Simpson and Callum Dick

U17 Athletes of the Year
Scarlett Wilson and Craig Shennan

U20 Athletes of the Year
Emma McLennan and Angus Rennie

Commitment Award
Rachel Callan

Lynsey Sharp Trophy for Middle Distance Performance
Oliver MacDonald

Our National Title Winners

U13
Erica Ross – 60m Hurdles (Indoor Champs) and Pentathlon (Outdoor Champs)

U15
Louie Muir – 1500m (Outdoor Champs)

U17
Craig Shennan – National XC Champs
Scarlett Wilson – 800m (outdoor Champs)
Alasdair McLean – Scottish Hill Running Champs

U20
Lucy Boules – High Jump (Indoor Champs)
Emma McLennan – 1500m SC (Outdoor Champs)
Hannah Ryding – 1500m SC (Outdoor Champs)
Angus Rennie – 110m Hurdles (Outdoor Champs)
Oliver MacDonald – 5000m (Outdoor Champs)

Seniors
Kyle Alexander – 400m (Welsh Senior Champs)
Murray Fotheringham – Long Jump (Welsh Senior Champs)
Rachel Callan – 400m Hurdles (Outdoor Champs)
Kyle Alexander – 400m (Outdoor Champs)
Erin Campbell – 100m Hurdles (Outdoor Champs)

Masters
Hilary Carswell – 800m and 1500m (Outdoor Champs) and Mile (Road Champs)

Medallists at Club Champs

U13 Girls

1. Emma Nicholson
2. Erica Ross
3. Eilidh Brown

U13 Boys

1. Finlay Hamilton
2. Evan Tyler
3. Hugo Stewart

U15 Girls

1. Eilidh Caldow
2. Erika Tait
3. Cara Heron

U15 Boys

1. Alistair Gear
2. Angus Weir
3. Callum Data

U17 Girls

1. Edie Campbell
2. Freya Campbell
3. Madeleine Mackenzie

U17 Boys

1. Zander Summerhill
2. Myles Socrates
3. Sandy Heather

Senior Women

1. Holly Slater
2. Cara Slater
3. Eilidh Fraser

Senior Men

1. Angus Rennie
2. Jack Wallace
3. Neil Hutchison

Masters Women

1. Catriona Bark

Masters Men

1. Chris Hawthorne
2. Michael Cross
3. David Shaw

The club are heartbroken at the tragic death on the 21st January of our coach David Lang.

David’s interest in athletics began in his early teens when he joined Shettleston Harriers. He went on to win many honours with the East End club, and then with Cambuslang Harriers. David additionally gained selection for Scotland.

David was always keen to encourage and organise get togethers with Shettleston Harriers athletes from yesteryear. The most recent was a dinner to welcome back, Norman Morrison, home for a visit from New Zealand.

A committed cyclist, he went on to compete successfully in numerous events as an accomplished road and velodrome cyclist.

When his granddaughter came to join Giffnock North, David regained his enthusiasm for athletics.  He helped coach our U11 squads for a considerable time. He regained his coaching qualification and coached with young athletes for several years.

His interest and background in middle distance & endurance athletics led to him then coaching older athletes notably Ross Good.

We send our heartfelt condolences to Eileen, his wife and all his family.

His death will touch many of us in the Club & the athletics community but also in the local cycling community where he played a significant role.

Ross Good has made a heartfelt tribute:

“David was a great man that I looked up to. I only started running roughly 3 or 4 years ago. When I first came up to the track at Giffnock, David took me under his wing straight away. My progress over the past two years is testament to David’s time and effort he invested into my training. Generally, all he wanted was to help athletes that he saw potential in.

Not only was David a coach, he was also a friend. We enjoyed regular coffee catch-ups and David was invited to our wedding. He provided me with guidance and support, not only in my running career but in my personal life too. I really appreciated David in my life, and he will be sorely missed.”

And from Mark Sutherland: 

“I had the privilege of coaching alongside David and getting to know him outside of athletics, as we shared bike rides and cafe visits. He even took me through my paces at the velodrome.

Age was never a barrier to David who was as fit and strong as many of the youngsters he coached. Keeping up with him was a struggle!

David was a remarkable man whose quiet strength and kindness left a lasting impression on everyone he met. Though not the most outgoing, his thoughtful presence and deep understanding made him a trusted confidant and a source of comfort to those around him. He was always on hand to help and support anyone in need. 

David’s sudden passing has left a profound void for all who knew him. He will be cherished forever by those fortunate enough to have known him.” 

Billy Glasgow and Ian McMoneagle present a cheque for £500 to the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Bellahouston – a contribution raised at the recent Junior Xmas Handicap.

The presentation was one of the last formal roles for them both following their announcement of stepping down at the club AGM in November.

Billy has decided the time is right to stand aside, after many years of devoted service to Giffnock North and to the Athletics community as a whole, particularly in his role of coordinating the SAIL (Scottish Athletics Indoor League). This was a task he had taken on from John Innes of VPCOG when the demise of the league was in prospect as John stepped down, also after many years.

Billy’s history with Giffnock North is a long one – almost from the start of the ‘Running Section‘. He was an ex footballer who took to endurance running and then from his marathon, half marathon and 10k days he saw the potential in developing a Junior Section.
His contribution, ironically enough, was as a sprints coach in the club. When asked why he didn’t follow his endurance background, Billy’s answer was, “everyone else preferred the idea of coaching endurance and middle distance, so I went with sprints because that’s what the club needed.” This approach underlined Billy’s selfless attitude in general to the sport and his input over all these years.

We are very glad to note that he will continue his involvement as Honorary President of the club and also his sprints coaching role. More recently Billy had a major role in the development of sprinter Alyson Bell, now on the Olympic Futures Programme.

We also would like to pay tribute to Ian McMoneagle our Treasurer for the last 13 years. Ian has been an outstanding Treasurer for the club having overseen the period where the demands on the club and on the treasurer increased dramatically. He was another stalwart in the Senior Endurance section for many years until injury forced his retirement. Some of us will always remember his email address “marathon9”.

Many thanks to both Ian and Billy from all of us at the club for all the efforts across all the years of service which have massively contributed to the success of Giffnock North.

The U11/U13 Xmas Disco and Awards night was held in GHA on Friday 13th December. The Disco was outstanding and all credit goes to our regular DJ David Kerr who knows a thing or two about getting the party started! David kept the U11/13 athletes on the floor dancing and enjoying themselves after the exuberant gymnastics displays at the outset. The musical chairs definitely challenged the speedsters, there was a dancing competition and then congo lines to finish! 

Dudley Walker was our MC and did us proud as always. Thanks Dudley.

Dudley introduced two of our current great athletes to do the presentations and we were delighted to have Rachel Callan & Murray Fotheringham doing the honours this year. As with all our elite athletes they are incredible role models and an inspiration to the youngest generation – even listing their achievements takes a while.

Star Track Certificates were presented recognising performances at the Club Championships, Scottish Athletics Superteams events (both Regional Heats & National Final in which Giffnock North took the Winners Trophy 🏆) and SAIL (Scottish Athletics Indoor League).

Gold Silver & Bronze Medals from Club Championships were presented for each event category and overall Club Championship Medallists too

Our 2024 award winners:

Long Jump
Gold : Violet Drever & Daniel Rai
Silver : Alexandra Rough &Riley Rhicard
Bronze : Lola Saez & Jacob Prentice

80m
Gold : Violet Drever & Daniel Rai
Silver : Amitris Rahmani & Jacob Prentice
Bronze : Isabella McKenzie & Riley Rhicard

600m
Gold : Violet Drever & Kyle Hartley
Silver : Iona Hannigan & Daniel Rai
Bronze : Martha Ling & Jacob Prentice

Shot Putt
Gold : Iona Hannigan & Daniel Rai
Silver : Violet Drever & Neil Hutchison
Bronze : Martha Ling & Charlie Banning

Overall Club Championships
Gold : Violet Drever & Daniel Rai
Silver : Amitris Rahmani & Jacob Prentice
Bronze : Martha Ling & Neil Hutchison

And finally the Boys & Girls U11 Athletes of the Year Shields were presented to Violet Drever and Daniel Rai. 

Well done all our athletes at U11& U13. We hope, inspired by Rachel & Murray’s achievements that you will all continue to train, develop, improve and succeed. And have fun in your athletics as well as the disco dancing !!

Thanks to Tracey Davie for all the support along with Louise Baillie and all our young helpers on the night, Megan Jackson &  Eve Cameron including last minute input from Lynsey Church & Laura Hartley for the photos.

Thanks also to our amazing volunteers from the Summer Camps – those who managed to get there on the night were Freya & Edie Campbell and Charlie McAllister & Patrick Fraser.

The 2024 Xmas Handicap took place today Sunday 15th December at our location for the last few years at GSCs Auldhouse base in Thornliebank.

Although not as many participating as we’ve come to expect, there were still over 60 athletes – and even a few who had been busy yesterday either running Cross Country in the West District League in the hills at Linn Park on Saturday or on the Track at the Emirates for the GAA U12 Fun Day or the Open Graded pm – who put their foot on the handicap start line .

Some of the youngest were also at the Awards Night Disco on Friday at GHA

The handicap was a flat fast course round the pitches at Auldhouse and many new athletes were enjoying a great handicap and success as coaches had no idea of their form.

Did we get the handicaps all spot on to enable the blanket finish promised to us all for years by Dudley Walker. Did we panic thinking it was all wrong ? Did we have sleepless nights worrying about it ? Ask any coach their perspective but not yet.

In any event it was an enjoyable event we believe for all of us. Even the disappointed went home with a different present from the Santa sack than the one they brought and Abi Reid did a stunning job of keeping them all in order.

Results and photos below

Huge thanks go to the catering team led by Caroline Munro with stalwart assistance from Lesley Campbell ,Fiona Caldow and Jenny Simpson who managed to get the club card reader going so that we could extract even more money from parents for this year’s charity- Prince&Princess of Wales Hospice

The home baking was outstanding The great pots of soup were demolished

Tea Coffee and Hot chocolate consumed by all.

The Results Team were outstanding – despite our last minute entries and changes.

Rowan Wallace drafted in husband , Euan and Son Jack to ensure an extremely efficient operation!! Thanks again Rowan .

Thanks to Danny O Donnell who stewarded and monitored the car parking so we can maybe keep our annual let with GSC. Thanks to GSC & Craig Inglis

Katy Donnelly back from Uni in Edinburgh assisted with the stewarding and all in all we had a great effort from everyone.

All the coaches would like to pay tribute to the athletes coming to run their best even if it is for fun and they didn’t get a medal this year

Thanks to the parents for their Donations and good cheer. Only a few more muddy washes left in 2024 and this one was mild for  XC

We think collectively we raised more than £500

Finally we’d like to thank Craig Shennan our USA based GB representing athlete who did us the honour of handing out the medals and as you will see in the images also dispensing top tips to U11 admirers and good chat to his previous teammates

Thanks very much Craig.

Happy Christmas to all

Many thanks to all who organised and supported this year’s Club Track and Field Championships.  We hope you all enjoyed the day.
Below are the medal winners in all the age groups and links to the full results.

Full results can be downloaded below  (Excel Files)  –

Female Results

While we are waiting for the results to be collated, scrutinised and published, why not check out the fantastic photographs taken by Alan Stewart and Colin Mearns. Click the links below for the full Albums.

Link to Alan’s photos – Here

Link to Colin’s photos – Here

UK YDL LAG Final in Manchester, 31^st August 2024   

52 of our young U13/U15 male & female athletes, 8 coaches and 3 officials headed off to Manchester on the 30th of August 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 31st August 2024.  The athletes were chaperoned on the bus by myself, Simon Lipp, Sara Russell, Chris Hawthorne and Billy Glasgow.  We met up with Coaches Finlay Weir, Craig Fotheringham, Matthew Dorrian and Officials, Alison Fotheringham & Amparo Ruiz at the hotel who made their own way.

We headed off from GHA about 11.15am however, given the heavy traffic we didn’t get to the Premier Inn at Denton until about 6.10pm so the rooms were allocated quickly, and we all headed for our evening meal ASAP, a bit hectic but we got through it, and everyone seemed to enjoy. After the meal we had a quiz for all the athletes led by Coach Simon, and it seemed to go down well as it was pretty competitive. The athletes were then encouraged 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 7.00am for all the coaches, with the breakfast split into 15-minute interval arrivals.   After breakfast we all boarded the bus or cars and headed to the track.

Upon arrival we met up with Chris Deery who travelled to the track by car. We took a prime viewing space in the stand on the first bend (Q Stand).  The Sun was shining, maybe too hot for our athletes, and it got warmer.

First up were the field events in the U15 Boys Hammer with Charlie Murray & Michael Nordmann & the U13 Girls High Jump, with Erica Ross winning Gold & Eilidh Brown winning Bronze, a good start to the day.  Angus Weir won gold and a PB in the U15 Boys Long jump and silver and a PB in the U15 Boys High jump. Christopher Cameron won Bronze and a PB in the U13 Boys Long jump B string.  Katie Heron won a gold in the U13 Girls long jump A string.    Erica Ross won another medal this time Bronze in the Shot A string along with Isla Dorrian a gold and a PB in the shot B string.   Eilidh Brown also won bronze and a PB in the Javelin (and also went on to win a silver medal in the 800m B race)

First up in the Sprints and Hurdles was the U13 Girls Katie Heron & Carmen Sheridan.  In the U15 Boys 80m Alistair Gear won a bronze medal and a PB in the A race.  Charlotte Malcolm won a bronze in the u15 Girls 300m B race. 

Erica & Eildh

The endurance races picked up 4 golds, 4 silvers and 5 bronzes.  Chloe Simpson had a brilliant race just missing out on a medal and Eilidh Brown won a Silver in the B race in the U13 Girls 800m, Emma Nicholson won Gold and a PB and Lotty Martin in B race just missed out on a medal in the U13 Girls 1200m, Sam Deery won Bronze and Finlay Hamilton won Silver in B race in the U13 Boys 800m, Evan Tyler won Bronze and a PB and Ewan Kennedy also won Bronze in B race in the U13 Boys 1200m, Eilidh Caldow won Bronze and Isabella Wilson won silver  in B race in the U15 Girls 800m, Holly Simpson won Bronze and Lucy Tonner won Gold and a PB in B race in the U15 Girls 1500m,  Max Deery ran a great trace just missing out on a medal, Cameron Mitchell won a silver and a PB in U15 Boys 800m, Louie Muir with a huge lead won gold and Cameron Nugent won Gold in the B race for the U15 Boys1500m,  

We had a special visitor through the day, a ‘cat’, yes a CAT wondering on to the track which held up a race or two. 

In Total our athletes achieved 38 PBs, and brought home 25 medals, outstanding.

A 10-year-old GNAC club record broken by Evan Tyler in the u13 Boys 1200m with a time of 3:39:65.

Finishing the day with the relays, our Athletes gave their all and although there were no medals in the 4X100m, they ran brilliantly. The 4×300 U15 Boys race ended the day on a high note, and was very exciting, led off with Cameron Nugent who handed over to Louie Muir passing to last minute change Callum Datta (returning from injury) and finally passing to the glory leg Cameron Mitchell who as always gave a great battle and only just missing out on a silver, brought home a very well deserved Bronze. The boys were chasing the club record and were very close, it was a big ask as it was an extremely hot day but they gave it a good go.

Although we finished 7th it was a great experience for all, particularly the young athletes, they gave their best, lots of ups and downs throughout the day but they did the club proud.

Many thanks to all the coaches and officials who supported the trip to Manchester, and a very big well done to all our athletes not only the ones who travelled to the UK final but all those who competed in the heats to get us there.

Final note of thanks to Jenny Simpson for her very busy day reporting and photographing (until her phone battery died on her) the athletes, thank you. 

Report by Anji Carson

Full Results at this link

and some great photos available at the links below

https://patscaasi.zenfoliosite.com/2024-08-31—lower-ydl-finals

https://www.flickr.com/photos/101542396@N08/albums/72177720319962486/

WELCOME HOME, our very own Olympian, Neil Gourley. He’s tough enough to race against the world’s best; he’s come through the cauldron of a roaring 70,000-strong crowd in a global super-stadium; he’s cool enough to win national titles and set ultra-quick times … but he was rocked back speechless when he arrived home from Paris ‘24 to find his front garden packed with applauding fans and friends from his home club.

After warm words of congratulation from Club President Billy Glasgow, Neil swiftly regained his customary professional poise, thanked everyone for their much-appreciated support, and set about autographing everything in sight for the dozens of GNAC youngsters who had come to set eyes on a genuine, local Olympian.

Overheard, as Neil signed young Evan Tyler’s race number from last weekend’s Scottish Championships:

Neil: “Ah, the Scottish Championships! How did you get on?”
Evan: “I got a bronze.”
Neil: “That’s good – were you happy with your performance?”
Evan: “I was a bit disappointed.”
Neil: “Y’know, I felt that way too.”

 

 Maybe that wee exchange shows there’s no gap at all between young hopeful and seasoned elite athlete. They share the same dreams, disappointments and exultations, the same hard yards and essential camaraderie. As the Paris ‘24 Olympic phrased the Olympic motto: Faster. Higher. Stronger. Together.

 Huge congratulations to Neil on his stellar achievements and best wishes for his upcoming Diamond League races.

Massive “merci” to Neil’s parents Ronnie and Wilma for providing the perfect homecoming venue as well as refreshments, cakes and more (La Bruine du Citron was pure magnifique). They collaborated brilliantly with the conniving conspiratorial crew who put the event together so seamlessly (it was staples, mostly). You know who you are.

  Well done, all. But especially Neil.

Report by Croy Thomson
All photographs courtesy of Colin Mearns

Many congratulation to Alyson Bell (Anne Scott, GN & Glasgow Jaguars) who took a bronze medal as part of the GB 4x100m squad at the World Relay Championships in the Bahamas. The team clocked 42.80 in third place with the USA taking gold and France the silver. This was an impressive run by the quartet as Alyson (leg 1) and Aleeya Stribbons (leg 4) were drafted in for the final overnight to join Amy Hunt (leg 2) and Bianca Williams (leg 3).

Check out the race below:

Duncan Robertson, previously a coach with the Club, has been permanently barred from being involved in athletics by United Kingdom Athletics (UKA), who oversee coaching in athletics.The fact is reported on the UKA website and can be accessed on  https://www.uka.org.uk/uka-licensing-decisions-and-case-outcomes/

Ronnie Stevenson
Welfare Officer

The first Scottish National Athletic League (SNAL) match of the season was held on Saturday 12^th April at Grangemouth. This is the premier track & field league in Scotland for u17, u20 and Senior men and women. Giffnock North fielded a total of 36 athletes across 100m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 2000m SC, long jump and high jump. The weather varied wildly from benign breeze to stormy rain. So well done to all our athletes for battling through the elements. A significant of them even managed to post PBs! Our Endurance group were the headline act scoring maximum, or near maximum point in all events. In terms of overall league position our U20 Women, sitting in first place and our U20 and Senior Men are sitting in third place were our best performing teams on the day. Full league results are in in the linked document and individual performance have now been uploaded onto Power of 10.

If you are not already signed up for Match 2 on the 5^th May at Grangemouth, contact gerryjduggan@gmail.com for more information.

 Grateful thanks also to our officials – Heather Stewart, Amparo Ruiz, Craig Fotheringham and Craig Armstrong who were instrumental in running a successful event.

The picture shows the women’s 1500m athletes fighting through blustery conditions.

Full results here

Report by Gerry Duggan

A really good day at the Scottish Road Relay Championships in Livingstone.

We’d first competed in 1999 where we’d finished 30th.Average finishing position since our first attempt has been 22nd .Best ever finish was 9th in 2007, and worst was back to back 36th in 2011 and 2012.

So to finish 2nd (A team) with Calum Young, Ross Good, Nikolai Gajic, Cameron Green, Glen Griffiths and Duncan Robinson and 24th (B Team) with Mathew Knak, Sandy Nimmo, Jordan Orr, Miles Hollinshead, Scott Kelman and David Shaw (B Team)….was an immense improvement.

Great to see Miles and Sandy teaming up after a bit of a break since their teenage years at Giffnock where they amassed many Scottish titles between them.

Not to forget Emma Creasey who carried the female flag for Giffnock North in the women’s race. She ran a belter of a first leg to bring us home in second place.

Report by Dudley Walker

BRIGHT SUN, DAZZLING RUNNING from all our squads at the National XC, with four team golds two team silvers plus individual gold, silver and bronze. Hats off to everyone who turned out in amber and royal, you all helped deliver another memorable day for the club against Scotland’s best.

U13 Girls were first out on the rolling twisting course, and conjured up team gold on count-back on equal points from Dundee Hawkhill. Good work, Erika Tait, Eve Cameron , Megan Jackson and Eilidh Brown, as well as Chloe Simpson, in ahead of Dundee’s fifth finisher, to emphasise the squad’s grip on the crown.

Our U13 Boys matched the girls with gold of their own: get on that podium, Evan Tyler, Donald MacInnes, Ewan Kennedy and Sam Deery, who rose from a muddy fall to battle on for the team. 

The U15 Girls were squeezed into second by Lasswade in a team race as tight as two coats of paint: Holly Simpson (ind third), Amy Gallagher, Isabella Wilson and Millie Boothman did the business on count-back from Harmeny. Lasswade won by one point. Special mention to Nicole Yates who came home ahead of Harmeny’s fifth counter.

Callum Dick took a hard won individual U15 silver over 4.3k, leading Aaron Reid, Finlay Laskey and Cameron Nugent to team silver behind Falkirk Victoria. 

U17 gents Craig Shennan, Jamie Connor, Alasdair Nugent and Jack Wallace stormed to a dominant win for the club, in first, fifth, sixth and eighth after a tough 6.4K. Craig has now won the National XC at U13, U15 and U17. 

Ruth Walsh claimed a superb individual silver in the U17s, leading Scarlett Wilson and Freya Campbell to the team title after their 6.4k. 

Glen Griffiths and Matthew Knak flew the flag for our U20 Men with highly respectable 10th and 14th places over 6.8k.

Emma McLennan, Ella Youngs and Kiara Meiklejohn went within an agonising two points of a team bronze in the U20 Women’s event, edged by a University triumvirate of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde. 

Fourth was also the tough number for Men’s Senior Duncan Robinson over 10k, after a brilliant effort against top-class opposition, hanging in the pack before fighting it out on the last lap to bring home one of our best ever senior placings. Men’s team were eleventh, again one of our best results.

The Senior Ladies finished a fine seventh, led home by Emma Creasey in 20th, ably backed by Yvonne McNairn, Jill Smylie, Catriona Bark, Nicola McBeath and Jacqueline Campbell.

Big thanks to all who ran, coached, tent wrangled, supported, cheered, clapped, consoled and fed me doughnuts, creme eggs and cheesy chips. Some day. Some team. 

Full Results

Report by Croy Thomson

Photos by Bobby Gavin

The weekend of the 17th, 18th, 19th February was a very busy one for Giffnock’s Track & Field athletes with events taking place in both England and Scotland.

Microplus UK Athletics Indoor Championships, Birmingham

Many congratulations to Erin Wallace who lead out a quality field in the final of the 800m. She was overhauled on the last lap but clocked a new indoor PB of 2:01.35 to take the Bronze medal. Jemma Reekie took the title with Izzy Boffey in second place.

Our sprinters were in fine form with three of them progressing through the rounds to make finals. Alyson Bell (pictured left) clocked 7.41 in her 60m to take 7th place. Adam Clayton was also 7th in his 60m in 6.79. Erin Campbell achieved a new PB of 8.52 in her semi-final of 60m Hurdles and was 8th in the final in 8.84. Rachel Callan, returning from injury, competed in the 200m rather than her favoured 400m. Rachel was 5th in her heat in a time of 25.71

In the field events Long Jumper Alessandro Schenini was placed just outside the medals in 4th place with a best of 7.32. Alessandro (pictured right) sporting his new go faster hair do !

Pole Vaulter Reuben Nairne cleared 4.86 in his event to take 7th place.

Scottish Indoor Championships, Grangemouth

Giffnock high jumpers were in fine form at the weekend in Grangemouth bringing home four medals. Lucy Boules secured the under 20W title clearing 1.49. Cara Weir also jumped 1.49 and was awarded the silver medal on count back. (both pictured right) Under 13G, Erica Ross took a silver medal in her event with a height of 1.43. In the under 17W high jump Zoe McKell took bronze edging out team mate Brooke McClure, both clearing 1.49.

In the Triple Jump, Holly Slater secured a Bronze medal with a jump of 9.86.

Under 13 Erica Ross won her second medal in the 60m hurdles taking the title in 10.05. Erica wasn’t done there, she also took a silver in the shot putt throwing 7.89. A very successful day. Under 15 Angus Weir was also a multi-medal winner, taking a Silver in the Long Jump (5.39) and a Bronze in the 60m hurdles.

A massive Well Done to all who competed at the Championships.

The Club Track & Field Championships will take place on Saturday 7th September 2024 at the Ayrshire Arena, Kilmarnock. Please note the event in your diaries and on your calendars. The club urges all members to support this fun event.

Details of how to enter will be posted nearer the time.

Going from Strength to Strength

Our dedicated Giffnock North coaches are constantly updating their knowledge.  Strength and Conditioning (S&C) expert Dan Jefferson is currently delivering a series of workshops to them. After the initial classroom based session in January, things got a lot more practical at this weekend’s workshop (2^nd Feb). Our coaches watched and learned as Dan put our fantastic volunteer athletes through a series of S&C drills and exercises. We hope the athletes enjoyed the workshop and were not too stiff and sore on Sunday morning. The final workshop, on Saturday 10^th Feb, will enhance our coaches  existing knowledge on flexibility and plyometrics. 

Grateful thanks to Dan Jefferson of Jefferson Performance who is delivering the informative and engaging workshops and to our enthusiastic volunteer athletes – Ryan Davie, Isla Ross, Brooke McLure, Sara Anderson, Edie Campbell, Ida Pickens, Sandy Heather, Fergus Pryor, Aaron Muir and Rishon Xavier (who was with us in spirit, but who had to call off at the last minute due to a football injury).

Report by Gerry Duggan

Click an image to enlarge

Rain battered again in Greenock !!!

Renfrewshire Road Race Championships took place Sunday 4th February at the Battery Park in Greenock . Sadly,  the weather was the  usual miserable variety that we all know and don’t love. Some of us remember sunny days at the Park but the memories are definitely getting stretched.   Despite the rain, the club had a great day with many individual medals, loads of Team Medals – 7 out of 8 for the Juniors -and great performances overall . A special round of applause to all the athletes and especially to those taking part for the first time.  The start – The Senior Men & Women ran the 5 Miles together heading out along that esplanade wrestling with the wild conditions. 

Seniors

Ross Goode took an excellent Silver Medal with Jordan Orr finishing a nippy 22nd to then quickly pick up the camera to capture great pictures of the other races.  David Shaw was trying to erect tents and do a warm up simultaneously (not really possible and not to be repeated) Thanks David ! His run then got him 35th place & 3rd Vet 50 with James Egan closely following David home.  Rob Crusher and Ian Millar completed the senior male entrants with solid runs.  Allie Chong was 7th overall & 1st Vet 50, Kiara Meiklejohn was 8th and 2nd in the U20 Category.

Well done the Seniors who braved the Wet Costa Clyde!

Under 11s

Under 11 Boys had Gold Individual from Christopher Cameron who took a very measured approach initially and then let rip to finish with a flourish, followed by  Ben McKerracher who took a superb Bronze and then with Callum Wilson,  in an excellent 4th place ensured Team Gold for the Giffnock lads. Backing them up was Cian Lough, Nihal Lindsay, Riley Rhicard, Neil Hutchison, Finlay Rae, Elliot Glen, Sam Duffy, Avikrit Pandey, Fearghus McMillan,& Albie Pollock.

In the U11 Girls race Aurora MacIntyre stormed it to take Gold with Abbie Gallagher just missing the Podium for an individual Medal but with a very surprised Grace Costello 7th  the Giffnock U11 Girls got to climb up the Podium – and we mean climb – as the step was nearly bigger than them to take Team Gold Medals  ???? 

Iris Jackson 8th and Emma Wilkinson 9th crossed the line exactly a second behind each other and behind  Grace. That’s packing for you. Jessica Martin, Orla Heron & Robyn Gordon completed the U11 band of girls. 

Photos Courtesy of Alan Cameron

Under 13s

The U13 squad relished the rare opportunity for boys and girls to race together. As the results show this gave everyone an extra boost and all twenty three athletes gave it their all. Sam Deery  and Evan Tyler  showed us outstanding teamwork, running together until the last fifty metres then treating us to a blazing sprint finish with Sam just edging the win and Evan a brilliant second. Logan McNulty sprinted in for third to complete the winning team. With Ewan Kennedy 4th , Adam Tortelano 5th, Monty Finlayson, 6th and Finlay Hamilton , Gabriel Macklin  and Connor Lynch  not far behind it was a triumph for the Giffnock boys.
Not to be outdone our girls showed their speed with Lucy Tonner , Eve Cameron  and Erika Tait taking the top three places and another team gold. Megan Jackson , Chloe Simpson  and Erica Ross all took top ten places with Eilidh Brown , Freya Mearns  , Erin Lough , Rebecca Martin, Amelie O’Donnell , Mia Tomb, Lilah McIntyre and Lotty Martin not far behind. Well done to you all for your outstanding sportsmanship and support for each other.

Under 15s

An incredible 12 U15 Giffnock girls in a field of 18, and all gave a good account of themselves. Holly Simpson controlled things from the front and cruised home in an impressive 10:44. Lucy McGhie left the rest of the pack after 2 laps to take a well earned individual silver. Millie Boothman in 4th made up the 3 girl winning team. Terrific runs also from Isabella Wilson, Nicole Yates, Eve Wilkinson, Emme Johnson, Anna Ross, Erin Reilly, Sarah McNulty, Rose Costello and Ava Taylor.

The U15 boys race saw Louie Muir and Aaron Reid finish 2nd and 3rd respectively, behind the ever impressive Alistair Street from Kilbarchan. Call offs and bugs meant not enough to make a team but Louie and flew the flag brilliantly.

Photos courtesy of Alan Cameron

Under 17s

The U17 races had small fields, but as they were mixed races there was good male competition for our U17 girls and so great preparation for the National coming up in 3 weeks.  Scarlett and Ruth ran strongly at the front of the girls’ race with Scarlett pulling away from Ruth over the final 400m or so of the 4km race.  Saoirse finished next not too far behind Ruth and Scarlett, followed by Isla.  Hazel and Lucy finished strongly to complete the U17 girls’ team.  

The final race of the day saw our Under 17 men continue the excellent work carried out by younger age groups earlier in the day.

Oliver Macdonald followed by Jack Wallace and Alasdair MacLean crossed the finish line in that order to take first team prize.James Mowat came home in tenth position to round off an excellent squad performance over the very flat water side course.

Thanks to David Shaw, Rowan Wallace and Andy Munro for tent transport and Dudley Walker – always the maestro of tent wrangling. 

Thanks also to the excellent organisation on the day – the officials who always bear the brunt of the weather, Gerry Gaffney & all the IAC ( et al) coaches, stewards  & volunteers including the welcome catering . 

Report comes from all the Giffnock Coaches with photos from Allan Cameron.

Lastly well done all our athletes. It’s always a test to race in these conditions and you all passed it . 

Full results at the link below –

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.

SIGN UP HERE >>>>>

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

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 1^st 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 2^nd 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 7^th 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

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 .

While we wait for the results from Saturday’s Club Championships to be collated and scrutinised, why not peruse the many photographs that were taken on the day. Many thanks to Alan Stewart, Colin Mearns, Alan Cameron and Jordon Orr.

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

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

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

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 30^th 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 10^th 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

A 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 !

2023 sees the 40th anniversary of the founding of the club. Below are the events we are planning to celebrate this milestone.