This year’s National cross country championships were once again held at Callendar Park, Falkirk. It was two years since they had last been staged due to the Covid19 pandemic so it was great to have the largest cross country event in Scotland taking place again. The expectation was for a very muddy course due to the recent rain and snow, however the course was in remarkably good condition and not as muddy as expected. The weather on the day was windy but mild and dry which was a bonus!
There were Lasswade AC athletes competing in most races but unfortunately only one complete team in any age group which was disappointing.
The first race of the day was the u13 girls and there were two Lasswade athletes in the race. First home in a very large field was Beth McWilliam in 75th place closely followed by team mate Emma Thomson in 77th place.
The u13 boys was the next race and the only race where we had a complete team of four runners. There was a close battle between club mates Jonathan MacQueen and Rhuaridh Wood with Jonathan coming home first for Lasswade in 57th, Rhuaridh was not far behind in 61st place. Next home for the club was Lauchie Welsh in 91st with club mate Nathan Lawrence completing the team in 115th.
In the u15 girls race we had three Lasswade athletes, Freya Mowbray, Bethan Kitchin and Amy Rutherford. Freya has been running well throughout the cross country season and had another strong run to finish in 16th place , Bethan was next home in 39th with Amy bringing the team home in 79th place.
Andrew McWilliam, Rowan Taylor and Patrick Snowden were our three athletes in the u15 boys race. Andrew was first home just being run out of the medals in the finishing straight to finish 4th. Not too far behind was Rowan with a fine run in 7th place. Patrick in his first National cross country finished 87th.
Unfortunately we had no u17 boys competing today.
There were two u17 women from Lasswade competing. Olivia Meikle was first home with a strong run in 19th. Fiona Eades finished in 56th covered head to toe in mud after falling in a ditch out on the course.
There were no Lasswade athletes in either the male or female u20 races.
The women’s race was the penultimate race of the day and we had three Lasswade athletes Sarah Tait, Amy Frankland and Amy Smith. Sarah Tait and Amy Frankland had a personal battle over the 10k course with Sarah coming home in 7th closely followed by Amy in 8th. Amy Smith was a bit further back in 55th after hurting her foot on the first lap.
The finale was the men’s race and Lasswade athlete David Woods did the same as Fiona Eades and came home in 204th place covered head to toe in mud after a fall (caught on video). Dave Scott was the only other Lasswade finisher in 460th place.
A fantastic days athletics with lots of great performances. Hope that you all had a great day and thanks to our volunteer marshals Ken McWilliams and Steve Brown. Thanks also to our official Linden Nicholson who regularly officiates at these events throughout the winter.
For full results please click here
Looking forward to the track season now!
