We’re still looking for volunteers both on the day and in the lead up so get in touch if you can help. This is one of the major fundraisers for the club which helps us to keep our costs down. The money raised goes towards the cost of entering teams into leagues and competitions, equipment costs, coaching courses, jackets to keep our coaches warm on those cold winter nights to name but a few.
The Inter District Cross Country Championships incorporating the Celtic Nations and UKA Cross Challenge took place at King George V playing fields on Saturday 13 January. The course itself was very flat around the playing fields with conditions underfoot good on a cold but beautiful day.
Lasswade AC had a number of athletes competing for both Scotland in the Celtic Nations and for the east of Scotland in the inter district championships. All of our athletes performed well and I’m sure will have enjoyed and benefitted from the experience. A number of our athletes picked up both individual and team medals.
First Lasswade AC athlete competing was Francis Ovanni-Finnegan who was in the under 13 Boys and ran very well to finish inside the top 20 in 18th place.
The next race was the under 15 Girls and Freya Brown had a great run to finish 4th overall and win gold in the inter district race whilst also leading the east of Scotland girls to team gold.
Another Lasswade athlete, Howie Allison also had a great race to finish 5th in the under 15 boys race and win the bronze medal for finishing 3rd in the inter district race also leading the east of Scotland team to gold.
In the under 17/under 20 women Cerys Wright, still an under 15 but running as an under 17 finished 14th overall and 3rd in the inter district race winning the bronze medal. Cerys also helped the East of Scotland u17 ladies and u17 Scotland to team golds. Cerys also won an individual medal as part of the UKA cross challenge. Club teammate Bethan Kitchin had a strong race to finish in 54th place overall and 34th under 17.
In the under 17/under 20 men Lasswade AC had a few athletes competing Andrew McWilliam still an under 17 in the u20 Scotland team and Rowan Taylor and Innes Wright running for the under 17 east of Scotland team. All boys ran very well with Andrew finishing 7th overall and 5th in the Celtic nations helping Scotland to team silver. Andrew also won an individual medal as part of the UKA cross challenge. Rowan finished 11th overall and 4th in the inter district race helping the east of Scotland boys to team silver. Innes finished 50th overall and 32nd in the district race.
In the Womens race Lauren Dickson ran very well to finish 5th overall and 3rd in the inter district race winning the bronze medal. Lauren also helped the east of Scotland to another team gold.
Unfortunately three of our athletes had to withdraw due to illness or injury. Beth McWilliam under 15 girls, Amy Frankland Senior Women and Harry Henriksen under 23 men. Hope you guys are all feeling better and running again soon.
Congratulations to all our athletes on being selected and for their performances on the day.
We’ve opened up entries for the Lasswade 10 Mile Road Race. More details to follow but don’t delay – get the date in your calendar and share with your running community!
Cold weather and an icy track didn’t detract from a great day of running at the new incarnation of the New Year Sprint being held at Grangemouth Stadium. Under the “new management” of James Cunningham (Lasswade club member and also a former winner of the New Year Sprint), the competition saw one of the biggest entries in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the main sprint was well supported by Lasswade, with 7 entered into the main event.
Murray (3.5m), Petter (7m) and Charlie (10.5m) found themselves drawn in the same heat and all three coincidentally happened to be finalists of the Jed Forrest sprint last summer. On that occasion, Murray took the victory and earned a 3m “penalty” in the process which was a little too much for him to progress through the rounds this year. Petter and Charlie did run well to make it through to the cross-ties as fastest losers. Also making it through to the cross-ties were Gregor (13m), Ramsay (8.5m) and Keith (17.5m). Eloise (19.5m), in the final heat drew two of the eventual finalists and despite a strong run from Eloise, did not make it through to the next round.
New Year Sprint 2024 (and photos below) Copyright Bobby Gavin – That One MomentNew Year Sprint 2024 (and photos below) Copyright Bobby Gavin – That One Moment
The cross-ties again saw Lasswade athletes pitted against each other: Charlie and Gregor in the first cross-tie and Petter, Ramsay and Keith in the 2nd. Unfortunately none of the Lasswade athletes managed to progress to the final this time around but there were still some great performances to come from the Lasswade athletes in the supporting events.
In the Youth’s 90m, Ruairidh and Mia ran in their first “pro” races. Ruairidh made it through to the cross-ties where he managed to duplicate his effort from the first round to run the exact same time!
Eloise took part in the Women’s 90m and despite another strong run didn’t make it though to the final.
Charlie moved on to the 400m and finishing 5th. Keith and Gregor ran in the Veterans 90m and both made it to the final with Gregor finishing 3rd and Keith 5th. Alastair, whose winter training has been focussed on longer races, took part in the 800m and finished 9th.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the day for the Lasswade team was the Open 200m. Murray, Ramsay and Petter managed to avoid being drawn against each other in the three heats and each managed to win their races to qualify for the final – a really strong show from Lasswade. The final was a close race and although we didn’t quite manage a clean sweep for the top 3 places, a great run from Ramsay saw him hold on for the win with backmarker Murray finishing 3rd and Petter in 4th. It wasn’t just a Lasswade victory that made this memorable for the club – Ramsay had just won a new trophy for the event – the David Blair Cup which was introduced in memory of Ramsay and Murray’s dad, David, a former parent helper at Lasswade who passed in 2017. The trophy was also sponsored by Andy Sobik, our former coach and Mark Learmonth (father of Lasswade’s international athlete, Guy Learmonth).
Overall, a great winter’s day of athletics in an event that I’m sure will continue to grow over the coming years. If you’re interested in competing in similar events in the future, the Border Games circuit which starts in the summer is a great place to start.
Full results of the New Year Sprint and supporting events can be found here.
Youth’s 90m Sprint Heat – Ruaridh
110m Sprint Cross-tie #1: Charlie (Lane 2), Gregor (Lane 5)
Tonight is that last training session before Christmas for all groups other than Senior Sprints. The first session of 2024 will be on Thursday 4th January.
On behalf of all the coaches, committee and volunteers at Lasswade AC, we hope you all have a fantastic break and thank you for a great 2023. Let’s make 2024 even better!
Apologies for the late notice but unfortunately the track hasn’t defrosted as quick as we’d hoped. Given also that the expected weather conditions for tonight are not favourable, training has been cancelled for Endurance, Multi Events and Susan’s sprints group.
This seasons East District Cross Country Championships took place at Balgownie playing fields in Aberdeen this weekend. It was a beautiful cold and frosty day with good conditions underfoot on the course.
The first race of the day in which Lasswade at any athletes was the under 13 boys. Lasswade got off to a good start with Francis Ovanni-Finnegan having a great race to finish inside the top 10 in 8th place.
The u15 girls were next to the start line and Lasswade had four girls in this race. Cerys Wright had a dominant run to lead from gun to tape for a comfortable win. Team mate Freya Brown had a more conservative start but was always towards the front of the race and worked her way through to finish 3rd place. Team mates Beth McWilliam and Emma Thomson both had strong runs to finish in 15th and 18th place respectively. Fantastic performances by the girls who also won the team race!
Howie Allison was our only competitor in the u15 boys. Howie was in the leading group of athletes with eventual winner Ray Taylor of Falkirk. Ray opened up a little gap with Howie following not too far behind as they began to move away from the field. Ray went on to move further ahead with Howie finishing comfortably in 2nd place.
In the u17 ladies race Bethan Kitchin was our only athlete. Bethan ran well to finish just outside the top 15 in 16th place.
Next it was the turn of the u17 Men with four Lasswade athletes in the race. There was quite a big lead group going into the first lap with both Andrew McWilliam and Innes Wright in amongst the group.Team mates Laurence Ward and Magnus Lawson were just a little further back. Andrew began to move away from the leaders on the first lap and had a gap going into the second lap. Innes was in the chasing pack of around seven athletes before the group broke up in the final section of the race. Great performances by the boys with Andrew in 1st place, Innes 7th, Laurence 20th and Magnus 27th. The boys secured another team win for Lasswade!
Olivia Meikle was our only runner in the u20 women’s race. Olivia had a strong run to finish inside the top 10 in 9th place.
In the ladies race we had three athletes, leading the way was Lauren Dickson pushing in the lead group from the start and looking strong Lauren finished in 2nd place. Team mate Amy Frankland always inside the top 10 worked her way through on each lap with a solid run to finish in 5th place. Cathy Dickson was our third counter in 41st place and 2nd W50 to match Lauren’s finishing position!
In the men’s race we only had one athlete, Ken McWilliam. Ken confirmed post race that he started off a bit quick but still put in a good performance to finish inside the top 100 in 92nd place and 7th M45.
A great day for Lasswade AC with two team wins and five individual medals.
Although still to be confirmed it looks like we will have around 10 athletes automatically selected for the east district team for the Inter District Championships.
Unfortunately due to the track being covered in snow, and for the safety of all coaches, helpers and athletes trying to get to Dalkeith, training sessions are cancelled for all groups.
Enjoy your rest and hopefully it’ll all be gone by Monday!
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.
