Glasgow Football Centre was the venue for the Young Athletes Presentation Night 2026. Club President Gary Woods welcomed over 150 attendees to the event. The event served as a celebration of our many young athletes, their incredible dedication and hard work over the previous year.
The club also recognises the fantastic job our coaches are doing, as well as the club officials and parents for their hard work and cooperation. Shettleston Harriers operates on a voluntary basis, and it is by the thousands of hours these individuals put in that we can continue providing opportunities for our young people to push themselves, learn, grow and improve.
The presentation evening highlighted the achievements of the athletes over the previous track & field and cross country seasons. As well as the many medals won at various events, it also recognised athletes who achieved merit awards for their rankings in UK Power of 10. Every athlete is important to the club and we celebrate PB performances. Congratulations to the young people who were awarded Bronze Scottish Athletics Volunteering Certificates- a first for the club- for volunteering 30 hours to the club. It is incredibly heartening to see young people taking an active role in the Club.
Several club records, both indoor and outdoor, were broken during the previous year, and the forthcoming Track & Field season looks promising, with the first match of CSSAL taking place on 12th April in Ayr.
It is difficult to highlight any athletes, but two have particularly shone at the highest level over the year. Joseph Lanahan and Zoe Roberts both broke National Records and won a variety of titles at both School and National level. All areas of the club are improving, and membership continues to increase. The club is always looking for help to support our development and, if you think you can help in any way, please contact our Development Officer, Matt Byers, who will work with you to identify an area where you can help.
The club places great importance on positively investing in young people and guiding them through their holistic journey in athletics, where friendships develop, and important life skills are gained. It was great to see all of our young athletes enjoying a superb evening and cheering each other on
Commonwealth Standard for Chris
Chris Bennet achieved the Commonwealth Games Standard in London with a performance of 70.03m. Congratulations to Chris from everyone in the club.
Chris competed in his first Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014. Between now and then, he has represented Scotland at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Olympics. If picked, this would be Chris’s fourth Commonwealth Games, a testament to his longevity and dedication
Sprint Fast 2026
Saturday saw a new event for Scotland – Sprint Fast 2026 – and three of our young athletes travelled to Grangemouth to take part. Molly Brown (U14) and Arianna Obiora (U16) both made the finals of their events over 100m, recording 13.17 (W/S +2.8) and 13.05 (W/S +4.5) respectively. Henoch Woldselassie (U12) also competed, running 15.77.
Birnam Junior Hill Race
Also on Saturday, two Shettleston Harriers competed at the Birnam Junior Hill Race. Euan Grant Pantrey produced an excellent run to finish 4th in 17:58, while Rio Biddlecombe finished 8th in 21:11.
Tom Scott Memorial 10 Mile
Moving to Sunday, the Tom Scott Memorial 10 Mile took place at Strathclyde Park. It may have been the first day of British Summer Time, but it certainly did not reflect that, with heavy rain and strong winds. Evergreen Avril Mason was the star turn for the club, taking the W50 National title. In the supporting 6km event, Charlene McCallum produced a strong run to finish 3rd. A number of men also took part, with the team finishing 7th overall.
Team (7th):
Tom Porter – 55:39 (18th, 15th Senior)
Gerard Pelegri – 59:07 (33rd, 27th Senior)
Callum Butterworth – 59:43 (39th, 32nd Senior)
Calum Oates – 1:00:17 (46th, 37th Senior)
Johnj Duffy – 1:08:34 (126th, 6th V60)
John Oates – 1:14:25 (160th, 12th V60)
Avril Mason – 1:05:00 (1st W50 National)
Park-Run Round-Up
The weekly parkrun round-up saw athletes competing in a number of locations. With blustery conditions remaining in Scotland, Cameron Maguire did the right thing by staying in South Africa.
Tollcross:
Trevor Baker 23:30 (13th)
David Murphy 23:52 (16th)
Joanne Harkins 33:28 (63rd)
Gillian McMillan 35:34 (68th)
Pollok:
Stewart Houston 18:02 (2nd)
Palacerigg Country Park:
David Gillespie 19:45 (2nd)
Greenock:
Marc McColl 20:31 (4th)
Green Point (South Africa):
Cameron Maguire 19:27 (7th)