Weekend report – mega-marathons, young athletes in action and 1-2-3 at Beinn Dubh

It was another busy weekend for Shettleston Harriers athletes, particularly on the marathon front. Weynay Ghebresilase was the star performer for the club finishing 15^th overall in the TCS London Marathon on Sunday.  

In the days before the marathon it had been announced that Wayney has become a Joma Sport sponsored athlete further strengthening our links with the club’s current kit supplier. You can read more on the announcement at https://www.joma-sport.com/blog/joma-sport-anuncia-patrocinio-del-atleta-de-elite-weynay-ghebresilasie/

Wayney recorded his second fastest marathon time of 2:11.21 finishing as third British runner and first in the Scottish Marathon Championships.  Going through the half marathon point just four seconds off his PB it looked like he was going to record a personal best time over the marathon distance but like many of the other top runners in the race the heat of the day took its toll but he was only 90 seconds outside his best time. 

He was not the only Shettleston Harriers athlete in London. Brogan Wallace made her debut at the marathon distance, finishing in a time of 2.44.32. It has still to be confirmed but the club believe Brogan was fourth in the Scottish Marathon Championships behind winner Eilish McGolgan. It is also possible that the club picked up medals in the Scottish/British teams awards. 

Despite suffering an injury last year Fred Davies returned to complete his eighth marathon with an impressive 3 minute PB in 2:23:21.

Our apologies to anyone we have missed from the TCS London Marathon results:

Men
Wayney Ghebresilase – 2.11.21
Fred Davies – 2.23.21 PB
Calum Vogt-Harrington – 2.26.41
Ross McMullen – 2:30:19
Scott McKelvie – 2:40:10
David Houston (M40) – 2.49.15 

Women 
Brogan Wallace – 2.44.32
Anna McFadyen – 3.06:58
Lily Miller – 3.17.13
Holly Morrison – 3.23.50 

Away from London Lachlan Oates returned to Manchester to take part in the 2025 Adidas Manchester Marathon. After finishing fourth last year he had high hopes of running a PB. It wasn’t to be this time but Lachlan managed to finish 17^th with an impressive time of 2.29.08 nonetheless.

Other members who ran in Manchester:
Andrew Shields – 2:52:41 
Lee Mitchell – 3:32:15

Alex Hill was another athlete to take on the marathon distance this weekend, but in Hamburg. Alex finished in a time of 2:51:38.

On the track it was a great weekend for the club in the national medal stakes. At the GAA/National 10000m Championships, at our home track of Crownpoint, Taha Ghafari took third place, winning the bronze medal in the 10000m. Taha improved his PB over the distance by over 50 seconds with a time of 29.15.83 moving him to eighth on the club’s all time list. Sam Lesley also produced a great run winning the B event with a PB of 31.55.6. In the support 800m U15G event Zoe Roberts recorded 2.22.07.

Other track performances were recorded at the Scottish Athletics Open event at Linwood on Saturday

100m
Tanatorn Langjamnong 11.64 +0.8W  LJ 5.84 
Maynard Conteh 11.64  +0.8W

400m 
Kara Lindsay (U/18) 65.56 

HJ/LJ
Abraham Lanahan  1.71  / 5.78 (+0.00)

Whilst the outdoor track and field and road running seasons are well underway there was still some cross country action for our junior athletes this weekend 

First up was the Scottish Primary Schools Cross Country Championships in Kirkcaldy, an annual event that attracts almost one thousand P6 and P7 pupils from all across Scotland.

Rowan Lennox finished sixth in the Primary 6 girls B race (for schools in second half of alphabet).  Rio Biddlecombe sadly fell foul of an administrative problem when he turned up to registration, discovering that his school hadn’t entered him. Despite this he was allowed to race in the P6 boys A race without a number and came from the back of the field to finish third. Unfortunately he wasn’t allowed to receive a medal or appear in results but will be even more determined next year to stand on the podium.

Full results here

On Sunday action turned to the Springburn Harriers Junior XC races in Kirkintilloch. Rio Biddlecombe managed to pick himself up from the disappointment of Saturday and made sure he was on the podium by claiming his first win at a cross country race in damp conditions in Kirkintilloch.

This event had been re-arranged from earlier in the year but still managed to attract a good field of young athletes.

Results 
P3 & P4 girls
7. Rebecca Ryan 3:51
17. Olive Lennox 4:23

P5 – P7 girls
21. Indie Connelly 5:46
30. Emma McLean 6:10
35. Ellie Ryan 6:44

P5 – P7 boys
1. Rio Biddlecombe 4:12

Finally, last Wednesday saw the second Bog n’ Burn race up Beinn Dubh from the shores of Loch Lomond. It was a 1-2-3 for the hill runners with strong running at the front. CJ just missed out on top 3 placing coming in 4^th female.