Published: Wednesday, 28th January, 2009 12:30pm

Mackay just fails to grab a medal

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CHRIS MacKay was Inverclyde AC"s top senior performer in the National 4K Cross Country Championships at a very muddy Bellahouston Park on Sunday.

Over the two-lap trail, MacKay finished tantalisingly just outside of the medals in fourth place overall.

He was nine seconds behind the defending champion Alastair Hay of Central AC in third place, clocking a time of 12.46.

Shettleston Harriers" Eritrean junior man, Tsegai Tewelde, just outsprinted team-mate Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab to take the win in the men"s race, recording times of 12.33 and 12.35 respectively. MacKay, coached by Norrie Hay, continues his build-up to the National Cross Country Championships at Callendar Park, Falkirk, over the longer distance of 12K, when he takes in the Alsager five-mile race this Sunday in Cheshire.

Also running at this event is team-mate Mark Pollard.

This is one of the fastest five-mile courses in Britain and always attracts a top quality field.

Under-20 man John Cooke also had a good, steady run at Bellahouston Park to finish in 33rd place overall, clocking a time of 14.15.

Cooke finished just ahead of under-20 team-mate Sean Gaffney in 36th place in a time of 14.26.

Robert Shaw also had a steady run to finish in 77th place in a time of 17.29.

Inverclyde AC finished fifth overall in the team event. Easy winners were Shettleston Harriers from Central AC in second, with Edinburgh AC in third.

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