3 minute read
Ian Beattie
Whitworth of Livingston AC and William Ronald of Kilmarnock. Giffnock won that team race.
Similarly, Giffnock’s Hannah Ryding won the U15 Girls race from Central AC’s Hungarian athlete, Dorottya Csuta, in second place and Anna Cairns of Inverness was third.
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And Reuben Macdonald made it three wins in a row at that stage Giffnock when taking the U15 Boys race on the final straight after a good run by VP-Glasgow’s Fraser Gilmour with third for Corey Campbell of Team East Lothian. Giffnock won both U15 team races.
At U17 level, there were familiar names on top of the podium with victories for Lucas Cairns of Inverness Harriers and Anna Hedley of Fife AC.
With his sister having already won a medal, Cairns had family pride at stake as well as club glory and he led home Cameron Fordyce (unattached) and Kilbarchan AAC’s Jack Patton. Kilbarchan won the team golds.
Hedley for her part is often unstoppable on these occasion and the Fife AC athlete proved exactly that once again to follow up her Run Stirling win and repeat her success at Callendar Park last year at U15 level. East Kilbride AC’s Hannah Anderson took the silver with Edinburgh AC’s Cade Wright in third to lead her club to team golds.
Lucas Cairns – U17 Men’s gold
Ian Beattie firmly believes there has been a real legacy for athletics from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
‘The role model thing helps. Sixteen Scottish athletes went to the Olympics in Rio and we hope for good representation again this year.
And the hard evidence is there amid the mud underfoot on days like the Lindsays National XC at Falkirk in February.
Multiple ultra and marathon runner Ian competed in the event for the 25th time in his career and is adamant athletics in Scotland is prospering at both participation and performance levels.
‘We are seeing our membership numbers go up and our competition numbers going up, both in track and field and in cross country and road racing,’ said Ian.
‘The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were inspirational. Some of the Government reports said there was no legacy, but in our sport that’s absolute nonsense, frankly.
‘The 2014 Games was a catalyst for a lot of areas. Our top performers looked at that and thought: ‘this is high level athletics and we want to be part of that.’ And the youngsters coming through, they’ve seen what can be achieved and the clubs were in a good position to catch these people.
‘I’ve often said that we really only had two or three weeks, because if folk were going along on the back of having watched the Commonwealth Games and they discovered there weren’t enough coaches or the experience wasn’t great, they’d go somewhere else. ‘It’s great for us to have the likes of Laura Muir, Jemma Reekie and Eilish McColgan being such an inspiration to young girls because a lot of sports have trouble attracting and keeping girls.
‘But most of the men and women at the top of the sport at the moment have come through the club environment, just as these kids are doing at events like the National XC.
You won’t get the chief executive of the Royal and Ancient hitting the first drive at The Open and you certainly don’t get the main man at the All English Lawn Tennis Club on Wimbledon’s Centre Court every summer.
But our chair was in the field at Falkirk – literally.
‘To be fair to the likes of the chairman of the R&A and The All England Lawn Tennis Club, they have to qualify for their events whereas anybody can do ours,’ added Ian.
‘One of the great things about this event is that you’re all in the same race. You all start running when the gun goes.
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