INVERCLYDE Athletic Club ladies stole the show at the George Cummings relay championship in Houston last weekend. The event, which also contests the Renfrewshire county road relays, added to the delight of trio Rachael Bushfield, Julie Gordon and Sharon Muir.

Rachael set the team up for a solid start over the two half mile hilly terrain around Houston village. Julie set off on the second leg in determined fashion, pulling in the leading athletes before hitting the lead in the second part of the course, arguably the most demanding area.

She then opened up the gap before handing over to Sharon, who enjoyed the challenge and pressure on the last leg to secure victory, the Cummings title and the title of best ladies’ team in Renfrewshire.

In the men’s race Jonny Glen led the A team and hit the front from the gun and was leading the event after 50m. Jonny powered around the course, recording a new best and a lead for Inverclyde. Mark Pollard was out on the second leg and had the challenge of Scotland’s top endurance and Commonwealth athlete Callum Hawkins chasing him down. Mark gave his usual gutsy performance but was unable to hold Callum off before handing over to Dan Mulhare — whose relaxed controlled style is deceiving — as he cruised around the course in a very fast 12.30 minutes.

Captain Craig Ruddy then exploded into the last lap to record a 4.30-minute first mile. Craig continued in his focused fashion, bringing the team home third overall and second Renfrewshire team, also recording a very fast new best of 12.30 minutes.

With a number of other teams competing, there were some exceptional runs, none more so than Michael Houston and Ross Forbes. Michael, moving more comfortably into the senior ranks and benefiting from a disciplined training plan, reaped rich rewards with the fourth fastest time of the day behind Dan, Craig and Jonny. Ross, on his first outing at senior level, proved he will be no easy target for his club-mates with a fabulous leg and a number of local scalps to be proud of.

Chloe Simpson improved her best over the course by over two minutes and will be competing for first team places in weeks to come. John Bannister and Tom Tracey, not normally in the headlines, created their own successes with runs which saw improved performances since last year’s demands. Robert Todd, Matthew Thomson and Callum Hunter created their own mark to improve on in the coming weeks and will progress toward the winter races.

For full results and contact details visit www.inverclydeac.co.uk Pictured are the victorious ladies’ team of Julie Gordon, Rachael Bushfield and Sharon Muir.