Lanarkshire’s Relay Good for EKAC

The Lanarkshire Road Relay Championships were held at Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge this weekend.
The championships proved to be a memorable day for East Kilbride AC. The conditions however were not so memorable. The kid’s races were run around the loch and they would have been drier running through the loch! The rain was relentless but that did not deter the youngsters.

The U11 girls team finished 9th with Maja Robertson, Robyn McLean and Abbie Kirwan all running well.

The U13/U15/U17 girls A team finished 2nd the team consisted of Sarah Connolly (7:14), Lucy Muirhead (7:14) and Shannon McMahon (7:49). With Sarah and Lucy running the joint fastest time of the day by under 13 girls! The B team consisting of R Peacock (8:22), R Russell (8:04) and M Boyle (7:58) finished 7th.

The U11 boys ran well to claim the Lanarkshire crown. The A team consisted of Owen Selfridge (4:50), Cameron McDonald (5:13) and Elliot Bain (4:38). Elliot claiming the fastest time of the day by an under 11 boy! The B team consisting of E Selfridge (5:29), A Gilbride (5:40) and E Sweeten (5:26) also ran well to claim 5th position.

The U13 boys A team was unlucky not to claim a bronze as they were pushed out to 4th. Gutsy performances all round from Matthew Kirwan (9:48), Ryan Clydesdale (10:41) and Calum Hopkins (9:46) lead to some impressive times.

The U15 boys also ran well to claim the Lanarkshire crown. The A team consisted of Callum Field (8:55), Ross Malloch (9:17) and Martin Lynas (8:28). Martin claimed the fastest time of the day from an under 15 boy.

The senior team is a team of 4 men required to run 4km each. The senior men’s team that was aiming to improve on last year’s 3rd but where hit badly by a number of call offs and injuries.

Fielding just one team this week, the
guys showed good character and battled to a respectable 6th position, not bad considering the average age of the last two runners was 56! The team consisted of Jack Kirwan (13:40), David Thomson (14:52), Derek Leitch (15:39) and Graeme Haddow (15:58).

Mike Skinner runs for EKAC in MacAndrew Road Relay

Great Britain & Northern Ireland athlete Mike Skinner traveled up to Glasgow to compete in the 74th MacAndrew Road Relays around Scotstoun. The international athlete, who has represented GB & NI in five World Cross Country Championships and eight European Cross Country Championships to date, donned the East Kilbride AC vest to compete in the annual event.

Conditions where near perfect, a surprisingly warm day with relatively little wind; uncommon for an October afternoon in Scotland! East Kilbride AC had two teams out on force on the day, and all were in high spirits to be running alongside a GB international.

The MacAndrew Road Relay requires a team of 4 men to run 5K each. The A team consisted of Niall Walker (19:09), Mike Skinner (16:13), Jack Kirwan (19:21) and Vincent Hastings (18:34). The B team consisted of Alessandro Tronconi (17:34), David Thomson (20:11), David Gorman (20:18) and Graeme Haddow (21:39).

With the B team's first leg runner crossing the line ahead of the A team by 1 minute and 35 seconds, some pre-race decisions appeared to have diminished the A team’s chances. However with a GB & NI international on the 2nd leg, the team went from 40th to 5th with Mike Skinner running the 5th fastest time on the day. Jack Kirwan also finished with the 6th fastest juvenile mens time and with Vincent Hastings running the 4th fastest juvenile mens time on the day, the team finished in a very respectable 6th place. The B team, with the added advantage of having Alessandro running such a fast time, also finished high up in the overall standings: a solid 13th out of the 32 men’s teams competing.

Next week will see the EKAC senior team competing at the West district cross country relays where they will be looking to improve on their finish of 7th in the 2012/2013 season.

George Cumming Relays

EKAC's senior men were out in force on Saturday for the first winter race of the season, the George Cumming relays. For the past two years there has been a great turnout and the weather has been kind to us; and this year was no different.

The relay requires teams of four athletes to run 2.7 mile each.

The A-team of Jack Kirwan, Aidan Gilbride, Vincent Hastings and Niall Walker finished in a very impressive 13th. With the average age of the A-team at a new record low (good thing) at 18 years old!

The B-team which consisted of David Thomson, Derek Leitch, Graeme Haddow and David Gorman ran well to finish 32nd.


With four of the stronger senior runners missing things are looking very good for the future!

Confirmed times as follows:

A-team (13th)
JK 14:50
AG 14:43
VH 15:20
NW 15:22

B-team (32nd)
DT 16:22
DL 16:55
GH 17:35
DG 17:09


Next weekend will see the senior teams competing at the MacAndrew road relay.

Lanarkshire Schools’ 6K Road Race

On Sunday more than 2400 teenagers and staff from 39 North and South Lanarkshire Secondary Schools turned up to participate in the Annual Lanarkshire Schools’ 6K Road Race and Fun Run at Strathclyde Park.

And East Kilbride AC’s very own Aidan Gibride was there representing his school, St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School. The youngster came home in second place, crossing the line at 20.07. 

The money raised from the charity event will go towards supporting staff, patients and their families at St Andrew’s Hospice in East Kilbride. 

Well Done Aidan!