Athletics: Falkirk Vics’ youngsters ace GAA Miler Meet

A host of Falkirk Victoria Harriers’ athletes took part in the 800m races of which there were 12 heats in total, each determined by predicted times.

Kane Elliott, running in the under-23 age group, finished in first having also recorded the fastest heat. He crossed the line in 1:49.13, a fraction of a second off his personal best of 1:49.02.

The first three athletes to cross the line all did so within a hundredth of a second of each other. In heat three, Ben Sutherland, running in the under-20 age group, took second place in 1:56.31.

Luke Culliton, running in the under-20 age group, came third in heat four, finishing in 1:57.31, creating a new personal best and finishing less than a second off first placed Joshua Mungin from Kilbarchan.

In heat six, Ray Taylor, running in the under-15 age group, was delighted to get a new personal best and a sub two-minute time of 1:59.52 to finish first.

Callum Hendry (under-17) came first in heat nine, with this again being a new personal best in a time of 2:04.69. Leya Gibb (under-17) took second place in her heat, crossing the line in 2:26.59 and gaining a new personal best.

Speaking to Scottish Athletics at the Miler Meet, Vics’ star Kane Elliot said: "It was just off my personal best. My aim is always to try and win the race and do it in the fastest time. If did that in this race I knew I would be close to it.

"I went in with a different strategy this time around. I am not the best at getting out hard so the plan there was to get out a little bit harder. It still wasn’t near the front but I was happy enough with it.

“I knew the pace would be fast from the start in this one and my hope was that the guys would be dying by the end of the race so I could pass and happily that is how it panned out at the end."

Elliot also broke the four-minute mile last weekend at the Emsley Carr Mile event, becoming only the 33rd Scot to do so.

On that milestone, he added: "It is one of those things, in a running career, you want to break that four-minute barrier. I am so happy to have gotten it now at such a young age and not later on in life when you are having to chase it.”