Scotland Vests, Gold Medals, Ironmen

Weekend Update – 12th / 13th September 2026

A huge weekend of running saw runners from Greenock Glenpark Harriers taking part across the country, with some outstanding racing bringing selection for Scotland at Cross Country, and podium finishes for others.

SVHC Masters XC Trials, Tollcross – Great runs across the board at the SVHC XC trials, with some huge performances from the team. Charlotte McKay put in a great run in the opening race, finishing 6th in the W70 category. This was also her quickest time ever over the course, and we wait to see if it’s enough for another Scotland Vest.

Neil Lafferty finished 6th overall and 2nd V45 in a fast 26:22 – just 22 seconds behind the overall winner, Neil looks to have secured an automatic selection for Scotland. Paul Monaghan claimed a fantastic victory in the V55 category, taking 20th overall in 28:35. In a battle that went right to the wire, he held off Stephen Allen by just 4 seconds to take the win and lock in a strong case for automatic selection. Steven Campbell put in a tough, solid effort to capture 4th V50 with a time of 30:36, keeping himself in contention for a potential team spot, and Mick McLoone ran another brilliant race to take 2nd V60 in 31:37, putting himself in a fantastic position alongside Neil and Paul for automatic selection.

Hel’n Back 2026 – Andy McCall had a great run on the Helensburgh Hill Trails, taking overall victory in an official time of 49:34. Delighted to see the race return to the calendar, Andy set a relentless pace right from the gun, pushing hard throughout to take a substantial chunk of time off his previous best on the course from 2020. The win was a welcome one, as after the race Andy noted that it had been over a year since his last race win.

It was a dominant day at the front for Greenock Glenpark Harriers, with McCall leading a magnificent 1–2 finish alongside teammate Kev Craig. Craig put in a stalwart effort of his own to claim 2nd place overall, crossing the line in 53:28 to complete the club’s lockout of the top two spots.

Further down the field, there were plenty of encouraging performances from the Harriers contingent. Owen Atkinson continued his return to full fitness with a strong 11th place finish in 57:22. In the women’s race, Viki Smith and Fiona McFarlane worked well to secure top-ten finishes, placing 8th and 9th female with well-earned times of 73:08 and 74:04 respectively.

Kyles 10 Miles – At the sharp end of the race, Dee Waka had another brilliant run to take the overall victory in a blistering 55:38, setting a new course record in the process. Dee’s form is shaping up just in time for the incoming club season and he’ll be a strong contender for the championship.

Donald Shaw continued his remarkable streak at the Kyles 10 Miles, making his 15th consecutive appearance at the event. Fittingly marking the milestone by crossing the line in 15th place overall, Shaw delivered a strong performance with a time of 70:18 to claim 1st V50.

Wes Pattison nursed a hamstring issue across the 10-mile course, pacing it out alongside training partner Alan Poole. The duo stuck together to finish side-by-side in 68:46, securing 13th place overall.

Cumbernauld 10k / 1k – A great day out on the roads for the Taylor family, kicking off with a dominant performance from Elijah in the 1km race. Charging clear of the competition right from the gun, Elijah stormed home in 3:31 to claim a convincing victory, well ahead of second place. Building on that winning momentum, William Taylor finally bagged another sub-40 10k, crossing the line in 39:56 to claim 35th overall and a strong 10th place in his age category.

Great North Run – Two Harriers were on the ballot for this one, Campbell Macfarlane finishing in 1:57:46 for 11,473 place and June Rattray in 2:24:36 for 27,337 place.

Kilmacolm Running Festival 10k and Half Marathon – Great performances from Orla Trainer and Lacey-mae Mitchell in the 3k event. Running in the F14-16 group, Orla ran 12:56 for third place category and 4th overall female, while Lacey-mae put in a great effort for 16:42.

In the 10k event, Jennifer Rooney continued her fine form of late to record a fantastic third place female overall in 44:26. In the same age category (F30), Olivia Mason ran a fantastic 48:48 for 3rd category finisher, Debbie McKenzie ran the course in 52:19 which secured first place in the F50 category. Over in the men’s race, first Harrier home on the day was Matthew Deegan, 2nd M30 with 43:09. There were fine performances from Martin Aitkenhead (48:12), with Charlotte and Marianne McKay running together for 1:08:58.

In the Half Marathon race there was another gold for the Harriers, with ladies champion Jill Cox going over the line a full two minutes ahead of second place in 1:22:30. A great run from Mabel Balfour put her in third F30, with 1:33:15. There was a 1st F60 place for Terri Wall in 1:51:00 and Susie Gillies was just behind, taking 2nd F60 in 2:01:47. For the men, Stephen Campbell’s brilliant run saw his time of 1:39:33 take 1st M60 ahead of Gordon Robertson 3rd M60 with 1:59:05. Another notable run came from Stephen Reid with 1:38:41, and the Harriers Team was completed by Roslyn Paterson in 1:47:51, Heather Lafferty 1:49:59 and Ryan Beaton in 2:12:45.

Ironman Wales –  Ironman Wales is considered one of the world’s toughest full-distance triathlons, held annually in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, featuring a 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike, and 42.2 km marathon. We had two Harriers taking this awesome challenge on. John Hampsey managed a frankly incredible personal best time of 11:08:34 despite two falls on the bike and broken finger, and taking a brilliant 11th place age category and 88th overall from over 2000 entries – 1h8m swim, 6h12m ride, and a Marathon time of 3h22m. Natalie McKnight also delivered an amazing performance, completing the course in 16:09:45 for 29th place age category and 1,800th overall. Absolutely amazing effort from both runners on this one.