Greenock Glenpark Harriers men produced a stunning team performance in the mud at Linwood when they took bronze in the West District cross country championships.

This was their best result since 1989, when that successful squad included top internationalists Tommy Murray, Alan Puckrin and Hammy Cox, such is the quality required to medal at these championships.

This home grown squad had already shown their worth this season through their hard work and team spirit by taking the Renfrewshire County title, and it was this spirit again that was needed in the mud, wind and rain of Linwood.

This group also included its own share of internationalists, with Stephen Trainer and more recently Andrew Harkins and Steven Campbell, who gained the first national call-ups for the Scottish veterans at the British & Irish Masters International at Nottingham.

For four laps these three along with Shaun Lyon, David Henderson, and David Tamburini battled the strength sapping conditions of relentless ankle deep mud, to earn their coveted medals, with all six finishing in the top 50 and Trainer leading the way in seventh.

But it wasn’t just these six, as there was also considerable strength in depth with Kevin O’Donoghue, Paul Monaghan and Andrew White also packing well behind them.

There was a bitter blow for the veteran men who were level on points with Cambuslang Harriers for the bronze but lost out on count back by a single place.

Last finisher for the Harriers was Danny McLaughlin returning to action after surgery, but still showing his longevity, although not quite as fast as when he was the sixth counter for the silver medal winning team 25 years ago.

The Glenpark women also performed well, taking 10th place overall and sixth in the veterans’ competition, but run of the day came from Lorna Coyle who was first back from the club and fastest over-55 in the race.

There were also creditable performances from Gillian Forrest and Rhonda White, who both made the top 10 in the over-40s category.

There were excellent runs from all the youngsters, in particular Nicola Doohan who was the club’s highest finisher, and there were big improvements from Ryan Brown, Beth McKenna, Christie Mulaghton and Megan Rodgers, with an encouraging return from Harry McGill after a long layoff. Special mention goes to Zoe Renfrew whose competitive spirit saw her run through the pain barrier, and doing extremely well to finish.

l10km: Stephen Trainer 35:42, Shaun Lyon 37:51, Andrew Harkins 38:26, David Henderson 38:39, David Tamburini 39:33, Steven Campbell 39:37, Kevin O’Donoghue 40:21, Paul Monaghan 40:54, Andrew White 41:40, Duncan Anderson 46:11, Alan O’Rourke 46:29, Daniel McLaughlin 49:47, l 6.4km: Lorna Coyle 31:31, Gillian Forrest 31:54, Rhonda White 32:09, Donna Clark 32:23, Marian Monk 32:44, Lisa Ruddy 35:39, l 5km: Lauren Mulaghton 24:18, l 4km: Nichola Doohan 16:59, Megan Rogers 18:46, Rachel Mulaghton 19:58, Ryan Brown 17:09, l3.2km: Beth McKenna 14:50, Zoe Renfrew 16:06, Harry McGill 12:56.