INVERCLYDE Athletic Club senior men recorded another milestone by adding the Renfrewshire Road Race title to the other two county honours to seal the hat-trick of available awards.

Having secured the relay title in October and cross country title in December, they completed the treble by winning the road title at Battery Park.

Craig Ruddy led the senior team from the off with cross country champion Mark Pollard in hot pursuit. 

Under-20 runner Ross Gray was keen to stay with his more experienced club mates as the race left the Battery for the stretch along the Esplanade. 

Keeping the local club in team contention were previous winner Graeme Hyett, captain Sean Gaffney and marathon specialist David Tamburini. 

With the six athletes counting toward the title and club rankings at stake, Craig was piling the pressure on at the front as he opened a small gap over Mark. 

Ross was remaining ahead as the trio of Graeme, David and Sean who were making efforts to pull in the athletes just ahead.

With the finish being one lap of the Battery, the local venue proved profitable as Craig strode home to claim the individual title with the remaining five working hard to cross the line and capture the hat-trick of titles, a first under the captaincy of Sean.

In the senior women’s race Sharon Muir was the leading local, taking the over-40 title in the process. A rejuvenated Rachael Bushfield ran her fastest time over the five-mile course and is reaping reward for concerted training plan.

In the younger age groups Inverclyde was to the fore, starting with the under-11 boys where Harris Morrison was always to the fore after winning the cross country a few months back. 

Harris had a steady start before relying on a spirited finish to bring himself through the pack crossing the line in silver position.

Harris was well supported by Keir Arthur and new athlete Scott Newman who reacted to the local support passing their competitors in the last 200m to win team silver on the day.

At under-13 Robert Gray was always in contention for the title until the last bend when a slip allowed the leaders to move ahead. 

Undeterred, Robert raised his game bringing himself into third place. This also assisted his team of Lewis Hainey and Caleb Dunning to win team silver.

Abi Hammerman was the top under-13 girl with an excellent third-place finish after holding off the fast finishers on the home straight. 

In one of the most competitive age groups, under-17 runner Cameron Watson gained the bragging rights over team-mate Ryan Gray. With both boys occupying some of the country’s top placings, the race got off to a steady start before an injection of speed at halfway broke the field. 

Coming into the finish, Cameron was a few strides ahead of Ryan and secured a fine bronze on the day. Ryan was joined by Dylan Crawford to conclude the team counters, winning another trip to the podium to collect silver.

Recognition must go to the volunteers on the day for officiating and catering.