The National Cross Country Relays were once again at Cumbernauld on 19 October and Lasswade AC had a number of teams competing in all age groups. It was a mild and beautiful sunny day although the course was quite muddy and wet in sections with the recent wet weather.

The first race of the day was the young females and hopes were high after our young females recent performance in the East District Relays championships where they won gold, however there was a change to the team for the National Relays as Freya Brown was unavailable as she was away on holiday.

Our u13 runner Isla Madhra got the team off to a flying start finishing 2nd on the first leg behind Emma Nicholson of Giffnock. Under 15 Cerys Wright was on our second leg going off a few seconds behind Lucy Tonner of Giffnock but she quickly pulled that lead back and ran an outstanding race to hand over to our third leg runner u17 Bethan Kitchin with a lead of 55 seconds. Bethan made sure she didn’t go off too hard and paced her race perfectly to bring the team home in 1st place to win gold! An excellent start to the day. Our other girls team of Esme Scott, Darcy Esson and Beth McWilliam finished in 50th place.

The second race of the day was the young males and Lasswade AC we were down to one team as one of our under 15 boys was ill so had to withdraw on Friday. Our lead off u13 runner was Fraser Houston who ran well handing over to Struan Milne our second leg runner in 32nd place. Struan had a good run and was 20th quickest u15 of the day to set our final leg runner Charlie Copp off in 29th place. Under 17 Charlie running strongly pulled back another five places to finish in 24th place out of 55 teams.

Next to the start line it was the turn of the Ladies and Lasswade AC had one team with u20 Olivia Meikle leading them off. Olivia a little nervous going off first had a solid run to hand over to second leg runner Amy Frankland in 32nd place. Amy set off on a mission and had a great run with the 4th quickest time on the 2nd leg she tore through the field pulling back 19 places to hand over in 13th place. Our third leg runner was Cathy Dickson V50 who ran well to keep the team just outside the top 20 in 21st place, still in the top third of the field of 73 teams. On the glory leg was Claire Houston v40 who ran well to almost maintain our position finishing in 23rd place. A great effort by the team with a lady from each age group.

The final race of the day was the senior men and we had two teams. I’d hoped to have one team of u20 only but unfortunately we were one short as our fourth u20 was on holiday. I was keen to see how far up the field the boys could get so ran the three u20 men first with Innes Wright leading them off with a fine run coming home in 15th place to hand on to Rowan Taylor. Rowan had a good run to pull back a couple of places and hand on to 3rd leg runner Andrew McWilliam in 13th place. Andrew looking strong ran the 5th quickest time on leg 3 to pull the team inside the top 10 and hand onto final leg runner Gareth Fleming in 9th place. Gareth had a solid run and kept us inside the top 20 bringing the team home in 19th place.

Our second team made up primarily of masters finished 73rd of the 115 teams. Scott Dickson V50 finished 91st on first leg to hand on to Ken McWilliam. Ken v45 ran the quickest leg of the runners in the second team and pulled back 13 places to hand on to Steve Brown v55 in 78th place. Steve ran well to hold the position and hand on to final leg runner Euan Hood. Euan coming back from injury managed to pull back another five places to finish in 73rd place.

Lasswade athlete Harry Henriksen ran well for Edinburgh University on the third leg pulling them up from 6th to 3rd place and running the 2nd quickest time on leg 3. It was also good to see Alastair Scott running for his university Stirling.

For full results please click here

Congratulations and well done to all the athletes. Thanks to Megan for bringing the tent and club flag today and everyone else for their help and support.

Hope to see you next week at Kirkcaldy.

Photographs courtesy of Neil Renton and Bobby Gavin

Our Thursday Multi-Events group coaches are having a well deserved break on the Thursday 17th October. All other groups are training as usual but it would be good if athletes/parents/carers could use the Teams App to confirm attendance.

Wednesday 23rd October, 6:30pm

Anyone wishing to join us for Andy’s Pool Night social at the Ball Room, Meadowbank, please email chair@lasswade-ac.org.uk. There are only 32 spaces available and tickets are just £6. This will take the usual format of three “competitions” over the course of the evening with a short presentation afterwards.

Save the date! Andy Sobik is organising his annual pool night. This is open to over 16s (under 18s with parental permission) and parents are welcome to join in too. Only 32 spaces available though and just £6 per person. Donations for prizes welcome.

Venue: The Ball Room Sports Bar, Meadowbank.
Date: Wednesday 23rd October, Time TBC.

Thursday, 29th August

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped at the club competition this year. At one point, the number of volunteers who had offered to help outnumbered the athletes but a last minute surge of entries meant that for we had 87 athletes turnout to compete on the night. There were still plenty of athletes who missed out we hope that they can make it next year and we can break the magic 100 competitors! As well as all the volunteers on the night, a special Thank You to Susan who put in a lot of time to organise the event again this year. Although it’s the 3rd year that we’ve had the Club Competition in it’s current format, it doesn’t get any easier to organise so any offers to help for next years event are greatly welcomed.

It was an event that very nearly didn’t happen. Just a few weeks before the competition, the campus had a few “guests” which meant that the high jump could have involved jumping over a washing line and saying the weather this summer hasn’t been the best would have been an understatement. Fortunately, although a bit gusty, the rain held off for a good night of friendly competition.

The club competition gives some of younger athletes who have yet to compete for the club an opportunity to see what a proper athletics competition would be like, in a friendly and supportive environment and for those who already compete for the club, maybe an opportunity to try a new event. It was good to hear of athletes proudly going to school the next day to show off their medals and hopefully the first of many medals to come.

Although the outdoor track season is almost done and dusted, the cross country season and indoor athletics season will soon be upon us so there are still plenty of opportunities to compete for the club. Check out the Cross Country and Indoor Athletics fixtures pages or speak to the coaches.

Track Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Field Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Presentations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos courtesy of Terry Sullivan and Barry Munro.

Results

The relevant pages on the website have been updated for the Cross Country and Indoor seasons. Please follow the link below for details of dates, venues and how to declare your availability. PLEASE NOTE ANY CLOSING DATES

Cross Country East District Relays closing 18th Sept

Indoor League SAIL 1 closing Oct 13th

Saturday, 31st August 2024

What a day! Saturday morning started with frantic attempts to help the Forth Valley League organisers source electronic race starting equipment which ultimately fell through and resulted in all races having to be started with a whistle. Whilst this likely means that all the race times are ineligible for the Power of 10 rankings, the day will remain memorable for some great performances and to make up for the rain-soaked CSSAL fixture the previous Sunday, finally some great weather! ?

The first race of the day saw Elsa take on the 70m Hurdles, her first attempt at the event. It was a great effort – an event that is not for the feint-hearted, Elsa safely crossed the line in 16,3 seconds.

In the U15 Girl’s Discus Megan and Emma took 2nd place in both the A & B events, only beaten by the Cumbernauld athletes who both broke the previous FVL League record. Megan smashed her PB by over 4m.

Lara, in the U11 800m ran nearly 10 seconds faster than her time from last season to finish 2nd and won the long jump with 3.78m (no official rankings for the U11 age group, but this would probably put Lara in the top 10 nationally).

Having already won the U15s 800m with ease, Cerys may have found another talent in the high jump clearing 1.40m in her first ever high jump competition!

I could sing the praises of the entire team of 28 athletes competing but special mention should go to Finlay who has been desperately waiting to run in his first race for Lasswade for a long time now (well, what would seem like a long time for a 9 year old!) but only became old enough to compete recently. A gun whistle to tape victory in the U11s 800m clocking 2m41.4 and followed up with a victory in the ‘B’ 200m, Finlay certainly had a day to remember.

Provisional Results seems to show us finishing in 3rd place on the day and 3rd in Division 2 overall.

As always, special thanks for our Officials and parent helpers. We probably set another record with the number of officials and helpers…
Ruth, Linden, Susan, Megan W, John, Harry, Alison were our qualified officials. Ken, Keith and Ainslie helped on the discus and Megan McLaughlin assisted with the results.

This season saw the introduction of the Spirit of the League awards for two athletes who demonstrated outstanding commitment to their training and competition and supporting their teammates. These awards are very special to Lasswade AC as they in memory of two of the Forth Valley League’s biggest supporters, Kenny Marshall and Angela McLaughlin, who were also Lasswade members.

Division 1 winner of the “Kenny Marshall Spirit of the League Award” was Ade Okunfolami from Corstorphine Athletics Club

Division 2 winner of the “Angela McLaughlin Spirit of the League Award” was Natalie Pilcher from Harmeny Athletic Club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More great photos from the FVL photographer here

Crownpoint, 25th August 2024

Well done to all the Lasswade athletes, officials and helpers at the final CSSAL League competition of 2024. It was probably one of the wettest competitions I’ve ever attended and whilst it was never torrential, it was fair to say that it was “character building”

Apart from the 10 minute break in the rain that coincided with the officials having their 20 minute respite from the conditions, the rain was pretty much relentless. Despite this, there were still some good races to watch from under the umbrellas with a double victory in the Senior Mens 400m from Petter and Murray.

Olivia Meikle won her 800m race for the senior women and James T won the B race in the U17s 100m. I’m sure there were many more great performances but it was hard to see whilst hiding from the rain

Provisionally, we finished in fourth place in the league which is a great result after promotion last year. Well done to all the athletes who competed over the three fixtures and hopefully we can see more turning out for the competition next season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Emails have now been sent out to those competing in the club competition on Thursday. Please check your spam folders and if you haven’t received one then please get in touch – chair@lasswade-ac.org.uk.

No training for those who aren’t competing but come along and watch some great competition. First event is at 6pm with registration opening at 5pm.

Refreshments available (cash only!)

Thanks to John McOmish for providing this report from the U13/U15/U20 Championships which took place on the 10th/11th August at Grangemouth. We’re always looking for reports from any competitions that athletes attend so please feel free to send in any news.

U13/U15/U20 Championships

Last weekend at Grangemouth saw the U13/U15 and U20 Championships taking place; with a number of Lasswade athletes competing. 

U13Boys

Archie made the trip through to Grangemouth to compete in the 200m.  The day started off well for Archie, finishing 1^st in his heat with 28.04 to qualify through to the final in a strong position.  Archie then had to wait for the last race of the day for the final and ran a time of 27.87 into a strong wind, finishing 4^th just outside of his PB.  In between the heat and final, Archie put his speed to use in the Long jump, jumping a best distance of 4.84m to get the silver medal!  An outstanding distance when the winner jumped a new championship performance of 5.59m!

U13 Girls

Similar for the U15’s the previous day, the 1500m were ran as timed finals.  Isla M was running in the first of the two heats, finishing 2^nd in 5:16.98.  When combined with the times from the second heat, this placed Isla 5^th overall and smashing her PB by 15 seconds!  Isla also competed in the shotput, finishing 10^th with a best throw of 5.76m.

U15 Girls

First up on the track, the 1500m.  The races went as timed finals; meaning athletes ran as fast as they could.  Times across the two heats were combined then to produce the medallists. Two Lasswade athletes competed; Emma T and Cerys.  Emma finished 6^th in her heat and 16^th overall with a time of 5:26.17.  Cerys was the only athlete to go sub 5minutes; winning the gold medal with a time of 4:51.72!

Two athletes ran in the 800m.  Similar to the 1500m, these were as timed finals.  Beth ran in the 3^rd heat; winning the heat in 2:25.24 to finish 7^th overall when times were combined with other heats.  Freya ran in the 4^th heat, winning the heat in 2:15.84 which, when combined with the three previous heats – was fast enough for the gold medal by 5 seconds!

U20Men

Andrew was next up on day 1 – competing in the 800m.  Running in the second heat, which turned out to be the fastest heat; Andrew finished 3^rd and qualifying with a next best time of 1:57.28 which was a PB…at the time.

Running in the final later that day, the pace was fast from the start.  Andrew ran well in the final to finish 4^th, just outside the medals and smashing his PB set in the heats, running 1:54.19!

There were two athletes in the 200m,  Ramsay and Petter.  Ramsay running in the first heat, finishing 6^th in a time of 23.85, sadly with the wind being slightly too strong to be an official PB.

Petter ran in the 2^nd heat – finishing 6^th in a time of 23.55 – with a much stronger wind than in Ramsay’s heat!

Alec Miller took to the field for the High Jump in the afternoon.  With the wind playing havoc with the bar, athletes were having to time their jumps when the wind was at it’s calmest.  Alec kept his composure throughout the competition clearing a personal best of 1.86m at the second attempt to earn a silver medal.

Day 2 saw Ramsay and Petter back for another sprint – this time the shorter 100m.  Thankfully the wind had died down from the previous day with the boys in heats 3 and 4.  Petter running 11.80 for 4^th in his heat and Ramsay running 11.76 for 5^th in his heat.  Both these times were quick enough to see the athletes into the semi finals.

Into the semi finals, we had Petter running 11.65 to finish 6^th in his semi final; and Ramsay running 11.75 in the other semi final for 7^th.

Back on day 2 also for the 1500m was Andrew, alongside Innes Wright.  Both ended up in the same heat and with the tough qualification of only the top 6 in each heat led it to be a very tactical race.  Andrew came through the heat in 2^nd with a time of 4:03.57.  Innes finished 9^th in the heat with 4:12.18, his second fastest time of the season.  The final proved to be a tactical affair, starting off slow with athletes watching each other and ending with a burn up over the final lap.  Andrew crossing the line in 5^th place with a time of 4:06.72

U20 Women

Two Lasswade athletes stepped up into the 400m at the championships.  Eloise, stepping up an age group, ran a good race in the first heat to finish 4^th in a PB of 61.41 – this time being quick enough to qualify for the final.  Teammate Abbie also stepped up an age group and ran in the 2^nd heat, finish 7^th in 65.29 for her first 400m in competition.  The final saw Eloise run another PB, finishing 5^th in 61.12.

The women’s 1500m ran as a straight final and we had Olivia Meikle take to the track.  The pace was steady and wound up gradually – Olivia coming home in 9^th with 4:53.64 for a new PB.

Scottish Combined Events Championships

July 13th/14th, Dundee

A well overdue report of the Scottish Combined Events Championships that took place in Dundee in the middle of June. Lasswade had three athletes competing over the weekend with Beth and Emma competing in the Under 15s Penthlon and Archie in the Under 13s Pentathlon.

Mixed fortunes for our athletes, with Emma not able to finish the 75m Hurdles race but bravely continuing on in the remaining field events. Beth recorded PBs in the Long Jump, Shot Putt and also improved on her points score from the Scottish Schools Pentathlon to finish 15th overall.

Archie had a fantastic day recording PBs in the 75m Hurdles, Shot Putt and a 13 second PB in the 800m. Even more remarkable was that this was Archie’s first race over the hurdles having only had 2 short sessions in training before the competition. His 12.79s currently puts him in 23rd place in the UK rankings – not bad for a first attempt! His overall points score of 1795 put him in second place, with the winner, Jospeh Lanahan from Shettleston Harriers winning with 2089 points – a Scottish record.

Beth
75mH: 15.58
HJ: 1.20m
LJ: 4.08m PB
SP: 5.68m PB
800m: 2:30.30
Total Points: 1931 PB

Emma
75mH: DNF
HJ: 1.32m
LJ: 3.35m
SP: 5.63m
800m: DNS

Archie
75mH: 12.79 PB
HJ: 1.35m
LJ: 4.72m
SP: 6.04m PB
800m: 2:23.36 PB
Total Points: 1795 Silver Medal