Last weekend the UKA cross challenge took place at Sefton Park, Liverpool with a number of Lasswade AC athletes competing.
Cerys Wright running in the U15 girls race finished 13th overall and 2nd Scot just two seconds behind Lois Macrae of Inverness Harriers.
In the U17 mens race Andrew McWilliam finished 3rd with team mate Innes Wright in 16th place in a field full off Scots with seven in the first sixteen finishers.
In the women’s race Sarah Tait just back from West Virginia, USA, finished in 30th place overall and 7th u23 narrowly missing selection for British team for the European Cross Country Championships in Brussels on 10 December.
Harry Henriksen in the men’s race finished 34th overall and 11th u23. As a first year u23 Harry will have another couple of opportunities to gain selection.
Congratulations to all the athletes on their performances.
As the nights are getting colder, it’s important that athletes are dressed appropriately for training. Athletes who are not suitably clothed for a session maybe asked to sit out the session. We are hoping that this would be a last resort and that we can offer athletes some additional layers to enable to take part in the session. If you have any pre-loved kit that you could donate to the club for this purpose then please hand them into the coaches (ideally kit in good condition and laundered).
An important thing to remember is that the temperature can drop quite quickly at Dalkeith, so whilst the weather at the start of the session maybe “OK”, by the end of the session, the temperatures can easily drop below zero. Children also lose heat much faster than adults so they can develop hypothermia much quicker.
Please look at the chart below for recommendations on what to wear.
This seasons National Short Course Cross Country Championships took place at Lanark on 4 November. The conditions at Lanark were much better this year than in 2022 when it was wet, windy and miserable. This year we were lucky to have a dry and mild day.
Lasswade AC were well represented and had high hopes of winning a few medals both individual and team.
The first race of the day was the under 15 girls and Lasswade AC had a great turnout with five athletes , Cerys Wright, Freya Brown, Beth McWilliam, Isla Taylor and Emma Thomson. Cerys was at the head of the field in a battle with Lois MacRae of Inverness. It was a close race with Cerys just getting pipped in the final stage by one second to finish in 2nd place. There were great performances by team mates Freya Brown in 6th, Beth McWilliam 21st, Isla Taylor 24th and Emma Thomson 33rd.
Cerys, Freya and Beth won the team race – a fantastic start to the days races.
Next to toe the start line were the under 15 boys. We didn’t have a complete team in this race with only two athletes, Howie Allison and Aaden Robertson. It was a solid performance by Howie to finish inside the top 10 in 8th place with Aaden taking part in this event for the first time finishing 24th.
The under 17 ladies were next off and a late withdrawal due to injury meant we only had two athletes Bethan Kitchin and Eloise Scott. Both had strong runs with Bethan 31st and Eloise whose been concentrating more on shorter events over the summer finishing in 57th.
We had a strong team in the under 17 men, Andrew McWilliam, Innes Wright, Rowan Taylor and Laurence Ward and they were the next race. Andrew set off with a clear goal and was in a battle with Oliver Patton of Kilbarchan for much of the race but finally got the better of him over the final stages to win by four seconds. A fantastic race and third title of the year.
Photo Courtesy of Bobby Gavin
Great performances by Andrew’s team mates with Innes 7th, Rowan 11th and Laurence 42nd.
Andrew, Innes and Rowan won the silver team narrowly missing gold by one point.
We had one master in the ladies race with Alison Binns taking part in the race for the first time and finishing 234th overall.
We also had one master in the men’s race with Oscar Gomez Morillo in his first cross country season finishing 462nd.
Well done to all the athletes and congratulations to you all on your individual performances. It was fantastic to see the club so well represented and doing so well on the day.
This seasons National Cross Country Relays took place this today at Cumbernauld. There was some concern about the weather with red and yellow weather warnings for other parts of the country, however although wet and very muddy on some parts of the course it turned out to be a beautiful and mild day in Cumbernauld.
The first event of the day was the young females, we had entered two teams but unfortunately one of our u13 girls had to withdraw. This left one complete team with all three girls running well. The team moving through from 42nd after the first leg to 31st at the end of the second leg and 25th after the final leg. A great performance by Laura, Beth and Bethan.
Laura, Beth and Bethan after their race!
In the young males we had two teams and our first team got off to a good start with Francis Ovanni-Finnegan handing over to second leg runner Aaden Robertson in 17th place. Aaden ran a strong leg to hand on to final leg runner Andrew McWilliam in 11th place. Andrew ran the 2nd quickest leg of the day to bring the team home in 7th place. A fine performance by the boys and arguably better than they ran in the East District Relays two weeks ago.
Our second team finished in 37th place after a solid start by Fraser Houston in 52nd, 2nd leg runner Struan Milne moved the team up a few places to 48th with final leg runner Rowan Taylor posting the 7th quickest leg of the day to bring the team home in 37th place.
Rowan, Aaden, Andrew, Struan and Francis enjoying the sunshine!
We had one ladies team with Amy Frankland having a great run on the first leg, handing over to second leg runner Olivia Meikle in 6th place. Olivia having just moved up to the under 20 age group had a fine run to finish in 9th place and pass on to Claire Houston. Claire ran really well to hand on to final leg runner Alison Binns in 11th place. Alison drafted in at the last minute having raced the Chicago Marathon two weeks ago had a fine run to bring the team home in 22nd place. A fine performance by the ladies and I think we have created a new mixed category with a Senior, U20, M40 and M50 in one team!
Congratulations to all the athletes on their performances.
The first of this seasons East District Cross Country League matches took place at Beveridge Park in Kirkcaldy on Saturday 14 October. It was a dry and sunny afternoon with excellent conditions underfoot for a cross country race.
Lasswade had reasonable numbers competing with 22 athletes taking part on the day, however there were still teams short of runners. All of the female teams with the exception of the senior women were complete, however it was a different story for the boys with only u17 boys fielding a complete team.
Under 17 boy Andrew McWilliam was our highest finisher in 1st place, closely followed by team mate Rowan Taylor in 2nd place with Innes Wright completing the team in 7th place.
Well done to everyone who took part and thanks to everyone for their help on the day.
Good luck to the Lasswade athletes competing in the East District XC Relays in Livingston today. We have a good turn out from the Young athletes with 3 teams in the Young Females and 2 in the Young Males races. There are also one senior women’s team and one Master’s Men’s team also out in action.
We’re urgently looking for volunteers to join the team to help organise the Lasswade 10 Road Race on Sunday, 3rd March 2024. The road race has been one of our major fundraisers in the past and with the cuts in funding that many organisations like Lasswade AC are facing in the current climate, it’s vital that we boost club funds by making sure that this event happens in 2024.
Please email chair@lasswade-ac.org.uk if you can help or speak to Keith or Kirk at training nights.
This is a great result for Lasswade and tops off a great season having also won the CSSAL Division 3 League too. As always, big thanks to all the officials and parent helpers who have volunteered their time this season.
The Forth Valley League really is a great league for all young athletes starting out in athletics and a lot of Scotland’s top athletes started out by competing in the FVL (Fun fact: Edinburgh’s Josh Kerr, winner of the 1500m at the recent World Athletics Championships had his early track races as an Under 11 in the FVL!).
The Bluebell Trail Run, is a well established annual event, Scottish Athletics licenced.
It is organised for Midlothian Young People’s Advice Service (MYPAS), registered charity (Scottish Charity No: SCO29543) as a fundraiser.
MYPAS promotes the positive mental health and wellbeing of young people in East Lothian and Midlothian and delivers a free and confidential School Counselling Service in every primary and high school across East Lothian and Midlothian.
BLUEBELL TRAIL RUN, SUNDAY 12TH MAY 2024, Dalkeith Country Park Participants can enter:
5k (adults and children over the age of 11)
10k (adults and children over the age of 14)
1.2 k junior race for children 10 and under (free entry for adults accompanying them)
Entry is free for children attending East and Midlothian high schools.
Race village includes catering, parking and toilets. Bespoke medal for every runner.
Registration will open once the Scottish Athletics licence is approved. 2024 prices will be unchanged from 2023.
Alison Binns MYPAS Board Member (and Lasswade AC Assistant Coach)
In the absence of the Indoor League this year, take a look at the New Year Sprint competition which is being held at Grangemouth on Saturday, 6th January 2024.
For athletes aged 9-15 years, there is a 90m, 200m and 800m handicap race (which means that “slower” runners get a bit of a head-start over the faster runners).
For athletes 16 years and over, there are handicap races up to 1500m including the main event, the 110m Open Handicap which has a top prize of £4000 ?.
A number of Lasswade athletes have already signed up so if you’re interested or would like more information, please speak to any of the senior sprint squad.
