AN athletics summer camp is going the distance as it celebrates 21 years up and running in Inverclyde.

Retired PE teacher and Inverclyde Athletic Club coach Janice Hendrie continues to put a crack team of coaches together to nurture a new generation of track and field stars every summer.

Inspired by the Commonwealth Games, this year's camp has been a big success.

The current Scottish Athletics head coach Mark Pollard of Greenock, who led the athletes at the recent games in Birmingham, was one of the first coaches to kick it all off and the programme has gone from strength to strength.

Janice said: "We have been running this now for 21 years and Mark was a coach that first year.

"First and foremost it is about giving youngsters something to do in the summer.

"We get kids who come back year after year.

"It is about getting youngsters active and good experience for some of our young club coaches and runners to take the camps, they love it."

Fifteen-year-old Amy Teasdale, from Kilmacolm, says she has enjoyed coaching the younger kids.

She said: "I'm loving it, it is great fun.

"I joined Inverclyde Athletics after my old club folded during Covid.

"It is brilliant and Janice is so inspiring."

The camp has had a good spin-off from Team Scotland's athletics success at Birmingham 2022.

Coach Evie Semple, who was taking some youngsters on to the field to try javelin throwing, said: "It has been brilliant to see the success at the athletics.

"It has really inspired our older ones."