THERE was medal success for Greenock Glenpark Harriers Ladies Team at the Scottish National Road Relays in Livingston last Saturday.

The veteran team of Lynne Harrison, Jill Cox, Cheryl Thomas and Fiona Macfarlane put in a fantastic performance on the day to secure bronze medals on a particularly tough road course and battling against high winds. 

The national relay event covers four legs for ladies teams and six legs for the men, consisting of a short leg of three miles and an alternative six-mile effort with the combined participant time counting toward an overall team score. 

A total of 154 teams took part in the event on the day with Central AC taking gold. 

Scottish Athletics gave a special mention to the Greenock club, who had entered teams for the first time in 20 years.

Their statement said: “It is great to see a range of clubs involved in the race and the likes of Greenock Glenpark Harriers highlighting a return to the event with teams for the first time in a few years.

"This is the commitment required to make national championship races the events we all want them to be.” 

Greenock Telegraph:

For the ladies, the first lap runner was Lynne Harrison (23:43) who ran a fast first leg handing over to Jill Cox. Jill then took on the longer six-mile lap, running a time of 37:26. Next out was Cheryl Thomas who ran another shorter leg lap in 24:30.

Fiona Macfarlane (45:03) ran the anchor leg and said afterwatds: “The course was an almost six-mile route of hills, twists, turns and wind. I pretty much lived in the pain cave for all of it. A nice way to end an emotional day.” 

In a very strong field, the Men’s Senior Team finished a creditable 22nd. First out was Dylan Crawford, who ran a time of 16:31 on the shorter lap. Dylan handed over in 17th place to Oliver Reilly. Fresh from competing at the Tokyo Marathon, Oliver ran a steady lap on the longer circuit, finishing in a time of 35:19. Next out was Kyle Johnstone (17:13) who helped move the team up 8 places. 

Stephen Hanley put in a determined effort, finishing in 27th place in a time of 37:32, followed by veteran runner Stephen Harrison (20:00) who managed to move the team up one place to 26th. Finally, on the anchor leg, Chris Mooney ran a fabulous long leg, moving up a further four places to secure 22nd in a time of 35:23.