Bute Highland Games

22nd August 2026

It was our largest ever turnout for the Highland Games on the Isle of Bute, where we had 28 juniors and 9 seniors travel to compete at the Rothesay stadium. The juniors took to the grass track over 100m, 200m and 800m distances with the main opposition being provided by the local school children. The seniors took on the 10k which started on the grass track, headed down through the town and out towards Port Bannatyne where the runners turned and followed the same route to the applause of the spectators in the packed stadium.

Juniors

There were great performances all round from our youngsters, with many competing for the first time at the Games.

Faith Bradley was leading girl in the U10 category, while Lauryn McLaughlin excelled in the U12s. In the U14s sprints Eilidh Smith was quickest, closely followed by Murrin Ramsay.
In the U16s, new girl Lily Davies showed her turn of speed by taking both the 100 & 200 from Stella McCabe. Stella was to get the better in the 800m with a strong front running display.
Lucy McLaughlin beat off the challenge from Nuala Quigley for a clean sweep in the U18s.
Elijah Taylor led the way in the U12 sprints, with Jay Eardley doing likewise in the U14 category.
Zach McAllister won 2 from 3 in the U16s, as Josh Deegan was made to work for all his wins, as he was pressed all the way by Jonathan Lamont in all three U18 races.
Daniel Masalskis also took part in the Scots back-hold wrestling, and despite his lack of experience, and being at the lower end of his weight category, he scored a point in each of his bouts in the round robin event to claim a very creditable 4th place.
To round the day off the Games trophy for the best girl sprinter went to Lily Davies – after years of trying for a trophy as a Highland dancer at these games, she took top spot at her first attempt on the track. But it was close as she just edged out Lucy McLaughlin by a fraction of a second.

Seniors

In the 10km road race it was the turn of the senior Harriers to dominate with 4 filling the top 6 places. And it was the Bute based harriers who were best placed making the most of home advantage, with pride of place going to Dee Waka with a fantastic win, almost a minute clear of Bellahouston’s Oscar Coetzee. Dee ran a new personal best over the distance running 32:10 taking a huge 19 seconds off his previous best.

Rachel Surgener took the runner-up spot in the Women’s race with an excellent chip time of 45:51. However, Rachel actually ran the quickest time on the day but the prizes are for first across the line, rather than chip time.

In the midst of his marathon training, Neil Lafferty cruised to 4th place overall and 2nd V40 in 34:37 with Andy McCall not so far behind in 5th place (35:14). Steven Campbell was another winner, this time in the V50 category as he finished 6th overall in 37:33. William Taylor was hoping to push his personal best time but coaching duties on the long day out took its toll with Taylor cruising home in 41:18.

Robin McAuslan took 3rd V60 in 46:18, his quickest time on the course. Local runner Wes Pattison finished in 51:43 with Charlotte McKay (66:22) and Sarah Wilkinson (69:00) completing a successful day for the Harriers.