Two team golds for Falkirk Victoria Harriers' stars at Lindsays Short Course XC

Falkirk Victoria Harriers star Luke Sedman sealed gold in the under-15 boys’ event at last weekend’s Lindsays Short Course XC in Kirkcaldy (Pictures by Bobby Gavin/Scottish Athletics)

Falkirk Victoria Harriers brought a haul of medals back from the Lindsays Short Course XC in Kirkcaldy last weekend with the boys crowned Scottish champions in two age groups.

The district club punched well above its weight when compared with the bigger clubs from around Scotland with a real togetherness between athletes, coaches and parents.

The annual event attracts around 1300 runners in the U15, U17, U20 and senior age categories from all over Scotland all charging through the short, hilly course. Individual and team medals were up for grabs, with three athletes counting towards a team.

Under-15 Falkirk Vics ace Luke Sedman, cheered on by friends, family, coaches and the huge crowd who were all enthralled by the sprint finish as he attempted to keep Giffnock North’s Max Deery at bay. Sedman succeeded, crossing the finish line in 6:02, 13 seconds faster than his last year’s time.

Falkirk Vics’ Callum Hendry and Ray Taylor with Andrew Baird (Photo: Bobby Gavin)

Also finishing in the top 20 in the same 2k race were Rory MacMillan, fifth 6:17, Harrison MacMillan, seventh 6:35 and Ben Upfold, 19th 6:35.

Thanks to the huge efforts by the boys, the Vics also won team gold, with Sedman and the MacMillan twins all making the podium.

The under-17 boys’ 3k race was just as exciting, with the crowd getting behind the 71 runners and a very vocal Falkirk support. Vics duo Callum Hendry and Ray Taylor chased down Ross County’s Andrew Baird for the last two hundred metres in a sprint to the line with Baird just managing to keep his place, crossing the finish in 8:52 with Hendry in 8:53 and Taylor in 8:54 to take silver and bronze respectively. It was gold for the Falkirk team though with Luke Culliton completing the trio on the back of his tenth place 9:15 result.

Also finishing in the top 20 was Cahal MacAtarsney who finished 20th in 9:29. No medals for the girls this year with the U15s and U17 teams finishing in fifth place overall, but excellent results nonetheless.

Falkirk Vics’ under-17 ace Lucie Gibson powers ahead in Kirkcaldy (Photo: Bobby Gavin)

In the under-15 age category, Emily Christie finished ninth place in 7:06 (2K), U17 Isabella Ogg finished eighth place in 10:47 (3K), U20 Katie Christie 14th place (4K) in 15:02, and Charlotte Horne in 15:12.

Also winning individual gold was club superstar Fiona Matheson (V60) in 15:36. Scott Stirling (senior) came fifth in 11:31, Gary McKenna (V40) was 18th in 13:48 and final medal of the day was Michael McQuaid who won bronze in the V50 age category in an impressive 15:16.

Also running and contributing to the team spirit and success were:

Under-15: Skye Robertson, Aine McAtarsney, Isla Philp, Hannah McMeechan, Thomas Mitchell and Hamish Gillies.

Under-17: Lucie Gibson, Chloe Davis, Fiona Rue, Ève Donaldson and taking part in his first cross country race, Cooper Yuille.

Under-20: Katie Bennie.

Senior and veteran: Calum Little, Niamh Brown, Helena Gribben, Karen McAllister, Janet Murray, Monica Anderson, Ewan Calder, Malcolm Finlayson, Graeme MacGregor, Euan Martin and Derek Esson,

Laura Muir chose this event to present the medals to the winners and clearly enjoyed mingling with the athletes of all ages.