Ben Robinson, Morag Millar and Fiona Matheson were among those to shine at the British Masters Cross Country Champs on March 15
Tollcross Park hosted the championships, as Scotland took its turn to stage the British Masters event, but the entry level was disappointing and the two separate races saw only 130 finishers across all age groups.
Nevertheless, there was still quality as Bristol & West’s Ben Robinson, who was third overall last year and third in the World Masters event, had a comfortable victory overall and took the M35 class.
This was by nearly a minute from top M40 Conrad Franks, who was in the England team in the veterans’ International at the same venue back in November.
Long time Welsh servant Huw Evans retained his M50 crown after being chased home by Cambuslang’s Justin Carter, as Chris Upson, the World Masters 5000m champion, added the M60 crown as his Cambuslang club again scored.
The over-65 men ran with the women, over the shorter 6km distance and Ifan Lloyd, the International Masters champion from November’s race in Belfast, gave Wales another victory and did so by nearly a minute over Colin Donnelly, the 2020 M60 champion who only rarely races outside of the Borders League.
Scottish Masters International runners Tony Martin, Alex Sutherland and three-time International Masters winner Bobby Young, took the M70, M75 and M80 gold medals.
The women’s event saw Central’s Morag Miller, a former junior international, win comfortably from fellow W35 Sarah Winstone as Helen Leigh was top W40 in third.
Miller won the AAA’s under-17 800m title in 2001 and the 2005 under-20 1500m championship before going on to place fourth in the 2008 Euro cross under-23 event.
More recent runs include a second place in the Glasgow leg of the UK Athletics Cross Challenge in January of this year. Leigh was 11th overall and top W40 in that race.
Scottish Masters internationals Katrine Kelly was top W45, whilst Claire Heasman took the W50 crown.
She was chased home by a rare English woman winner Kate Ramsey, who has returned to the sport in recent years after a succession of wins in the younger women’s age groups, took the W55 gold.
Perhaps the most distinguished winner among the women was W60 Fiona Matheson who has won her age group in the Masters International against the Irish, eight times.
The 2023 W60 champion Carole Page returned to win the W65 crown.
Overall (M35-M64, 8km): 1 B Robinson (B&W) 23:54; 2 C Franks (Gate, M40) 24:46; 3 D Alexander (Gate) 35:34
M40: 2 J McCleod (Garst) 26:47
M45: 1 I Reid (Cambus) 26:21; 2 G Robertson (Cambus) 26:21; 3 L Marshall (Newark) 27:01
M50: 1 H Evans (P Bryn) 26:40; 2 J Carter (Cambus) 26:51; 3 B Brodie (Bella) 27:05
M55: 1 R Patterson (I’Clyde) 27:11; 2 S Cairns (HBT) 28:05; 3 M King (Cambus) 28:22
M60: 1 C Upson (Cambus) 27:16; 2 M Whyatt (Eryri) 27:53; 3 M Robinson (B&W) 28:35
M35 TEAM: 1 Inverclyde 85:05; 2 Garstang 85:42
M45 TEAM: 1 Cambuslang 79:39
M55 TEAM: 1 Cambuslang 84:07
M65 (6km): 1 I Lloyd (Swan) 20:58; 2 C Donnelly (Cambus) 21:53; 3 P Merrison (Sund) 22:37
M70: 1 A Martin (Fife) 24:36
M75: 1 A Sutherland (I’ness) 26:59
M80: 1 B Young (C’dale) 32:09
M65 TEAM: 1 Cambuslang 68:55; 2 Warrington 74:01
Women (6km): 1 M Millar (Cent) 20:07; 2 S Winstone (Soton) 20:43; 3 H leigh (B’burn, W40) 21:04
W40: 2 S Green (Gala) 21:16
W45: 1 K Kelly (Kilm) 21:58; 2 M James (S Lon) 22:16
W50: 1 C Heaseman (Helen) 22:51; 2 A Chong (Giff) 23:32
W55: 1 K Ramsey (Charn) 23:04; 2 F Prue (Springwell) 23:57
W60: 1 F Matheson (Falk) 23:56
W65: 1 C Page (Alnw) 25:03
W70: 1 M Statham-Berry (Ling) 28;20
W75: 1 D Henderson (Giff) 35:46
W35 TEAM: 1 Garstang 74:48; 2 Linlithgow 77:16; 3 Forres 80:55
W45 TEAM: 1 Heaton 83:49; 2 Giffnock 85:38
W55 TEAM: 1 Edinburgh 78:49
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