IT was another successful Friday evening for Inverclyde AC's senior athletes competing at the Tru Wealth Scottish 5K Championships organised by Sri Chinmoy Marathon team at Silverknowes in Edinburgh.

Back on the race calendar for 2022, this event always has a large entry as it is known for being a ‘fast race’.

The event is also the second race in the Scottish Road Grand Prix and shares in the prize pot were also an incentive for those who finished inside either the ‘A’ or the ‘B’ standards.

The wind was a serious challenge, however, as Inverclyde’s Jonny Glen led what was described as a ‘cavalry challenge’ over the finishing line with only two seconds dividing the first three finishers and the top 19 under 15 minutes.

Afterwards, Jonny said that he was ‘pretty happy’ with his performance given the windy conditions.

There was still a large group together at the 3K mark and he decided to push forward at 4K when they turned for home.

This was Jonny’s second national title in as many months, having won the 10-mile Championships at the Tom Scott Race in April.

Currently Jonny is leading in the Scottish Road Grand Prix having won the maximum five shares available in each race completed.

Under-20 athlete Peter Bradshaw was amongst those who finished under 15 minutes and equalled his personal best despite the tough conditions. Peter was awarded the silver medal in the under-20 age category.

Mark Doherty was the next Inverclyde athlete to finish and his 15.01 time agonisingly put him out of the desired sub 15-minute time and slightly slower than the PB he had set at the British Masters 5K at Barrowfield in March.

This, however, was a better time than the parkrun times Mark has posted over recent weeks and his effort gave Inverclyde AC another podium opportunity with a silver team medal with Jonny and Peter.

Nicholas Gemmell, V45, and Paul Friend, V40, while not bettering their PBs, also recorded their fastest times over recent races.

The fourth and final medal for Inverclyde AC came in the women’s race from Meredith Reid, who continued her recent good from by winning the Under-20 Women’s National 5K title in a new PB.

Senior woman Nynke Mulholland was competing for the first time since the National Cross Country Championships in February and while not at her PB level, posted a decent time to build on.

The night before, Jon Hammerman started his Babcock 10K series campaign with the race at Helensburgh.

Jon’s tactic of ‘ditching the watch’ and concentrating on racing those he knew were around his level paid off as he finished first in the V40 category.

Inverclyde AC hold numerous sessions over a range of events throughout the week for both junior (age eight and above) and seniors.

For more information about club activities, either visit the club website www.inverclydeac.org.uk and click on the dropdown button ‘Contact Us’ or email inverclydeac01@gmail.com

Inverclyde AC is supported by Diodes Inc, Inverclyde Council, Inverclyde Leisure, Smiths of Greenock and Succession Wealth.

Inverclyde AC is an accredited club with Active Schools Inverclyde.