Erskine was the venue for the Scottish Athletics West District Cross Championships and it proved a impressive backdown with the Erskine Bridge and Old Kilpatrick Hills. It was a great turn out for the club over different age groups from our U/13 to our Master athletes. Lynn McKenna continued her recent great form to take the senior ladies crown for the first time winning by over 30secs. Ladies Captain, Avril, won the W50 age group and was part of the silver winning team. This was Avril’s 10 team medal over the years ! Other members of the team were Hannah Terrance and Charlotte McKenna. Ruth Joss, just returning to racing after the birth of her baby boy, was first W35
Ladies positions below
| 1 | 477 | Lynn MCKENNA | SW | 1 | 24:21 |
| 19 | 489 | Hannah TERRANCE | SW | 16 | 27:14 |
| 20 | 478 | Charlotte MCKENNA | SW | 17 | 27:24 |
| 23 | 583 | Avril MASON | W50 | 1 | 27:42 |
| 27 | 492 | Ruth JOSS | W35 | 1 | 28:14 |
| 28 | 482 | Anna MACFADYEN | SW | 22 | 28:23 |
| 40 | 476 | Gemma GRIFFITHS | SW | 30 | 29:52 |
| 41 | 484 | Hannah GILCHRIST | SW | 31 | 29:53 |
| 46 | 486 | Tara WALKER | SW | 34 | 30:17 |
| 73 | 487 | Amy MACLELLAN | SW | 48 | 32:27 |
| 97 | 491 | Naomi BROWELL | W35 | 9 | 34:30 |
Taha Ghafari has had to wait 3 years to take the senior title finishing 2nd in the previous years. In an exciting race he out sprinted Kevin Campbell of Cambuslang to win by 1 sec. With his young team mate Jamie Burns 3rd , they also helped the team to take 2nd. Taha should have been on a plane to Turkey this week to compete in the European Cross Country Championships but due to a visa problem he will now be home in sunny Glasgow. It was a great turn from the men with the team taking their team 42nd medal at these championships . We had the added bonus of our masters men also taking silver led home by last years Masters Christmas Handicap winner Iain Burns.
Men’s results below
| 1 | 152 | Seyd Taha GHAFARI | SM | 1 | 21:34 |
| 3 | 139 | Jamie BURNS | SM | 2 | 21:48 |
| 17 | 151 | James WOOTTON | SM | 14 | 23:05 |
| 20 | 153 | Sam LESLEY | SM | 17 | 23:28 |
| 26 | 149 | Cameron MUIR | SM | 21 | 23:51 |
| 28 | 145 | Cameron YOUNG | SM | 23 | 23:54 |
| 30 | 144 | Andrew TAYLOR | SM | 25 | 24:02 |
| 32 | 155 | Ryad CHEBBOUT | SM | 26 | 24:08 |
| 56 | 161 | David I HOUSTON | M35 | 8 | 25:27 |
| 57 | 158 | Andrew SHIELDS | M35 | 9 | 25:29 |
| 58 | 157 | Stewart HOUSTON | M35 | 10 | 25:31 |
| 63 | 318 | Iain BURNS | M45 | 3 | 25:43 |
| 64 | 319 | Chris GRANT PANTREY | M40 | 4 | 25:59 |
| 65 | 159 | Calum OATES | M35 | 12 | 25:59 |
| 73 | 320 | Ronald STRACHAN | M40 | 8 | 26:27 |
| 84 | 147 | Callum BUTTERWORTH | SM | 52 | 26:53 |
| 90 | 156 | Gerard PELEGRI | SM | 56 | 27:15 |
| 185 | 314 | John OATES | M65 | 3 | 31:50 |
Moving to the younger age groups it was great to see our U/13 girls taking a bronze team medal led home by Zoe Roberts. It was only the 2nd time in the club history the girls have won a team medal. Hopefully Zoe and Eilidh will make the Inter District Teams
Results below
U/13 Girls
| 7 | 1030 | Zoe ROBERTS | U13G | 7 | 9:05 |
| 13 | 1029 | Eilidh STEPHEN | U13G | 13 | 9:13 |
| 34 | 1031 | Charlotte REILLY | U13G | 34 | 9:51 |
| 69 | 1032 | Molly BROWN | U13G | 69 | 10:47 |
With a couple of boys missing we did not finish a team in U/13 boys – Euan will have a good chance to make the WD Inter District Team. Like wise the U/15 girls were missing a couple of girls but good runs from Mhari Stephens and Emma Locke making her first appearance at a Cross Championships was very promising. Matthew Fox and new athlete Aedan McGonigle were the feature of the U/17 race with both making the top 20. Kate Monaghan was our sole runner in the u/17 ladies race with a solid race finishing 20th. Katie Woods started but was still suffering from her recent injury and was very disappointed not to finish. Many thanks to the parents /team mangers /Officials and tent carriers etc who help at the event. We can’t do it without you! Congratulations to two of our members who competed for Strathclyde University – Ben Seath (8) and Joshua Mirtle (22) who help their team finish 2nd in the U/20 race.
Results below
U/13 Boys
| 13 | 857 | Euan GRANT PANTREY | U13B | 13 | 8:27 |
| 23 | 855 | Ciaran CURLEY | U13B | 23 | 9:13 |
U/15 Girls
| 25 | 922 | Mairi STEPHEN | U15G | 25 | 14:28 |
| 30 | 923 | Emma LOCKE | U15G | 30 | 14:59 |
U/17 Men
14 742 Matthew Fox U17M 14 SHETT 16:10
16 741 Aedan McGonigle U17M 16 SHETT 16:16
U/17 Ladies
20 676 Kate MONAGHAN U17W 20 SHETT 21:52
Further afield in the warm climate of Valencia (Spain) a number of our members were competing in the Valencia Marathon with great success .
Results below
Scott McKelvie 2.38.16 PB, Luke Howard 2.45 PB , Holly Morrison 3.35 PB
Some older members will remember Clement Elliot who during his stay in Glasgow competed for the club on a regular basis and still keeps a close interest .He also ran in Valenica clocking a PB of 2. 23.49