Great opening day at Balmoral What a great opening day we had at Balmoral with Great Britain international Rhona Auckland and north east youngster Naomi Lang setting course record times in their respective events. The morning mist and rain cleared away allowing the sun to come out and brighten up the whole occasion. And it wasnt long until we were cheering home the first winners of the day. Ben Cameron, a member of Forres Harriers, won a highly competitive MPH primary schools boys 1.5Km race in which five secs separated the top three finishers. The Applegrove school pupil, who was runner-up last year, sprinted home in 5min 38secs to finish four secs ahead of Aberdeens Lewis Watt (Ashley Road) while Josh Benton (Torphins) was another one sec behind in third position. Aberdeens Laura McNeill won the girls 1.5Km in 6:09. The St Margarets pupil was six secs ahead of Tains Alyth Gollan whose East Sutherland Running Club team-mate Catriona Scott was a further seven secs behind in third position. Next up was the Kongsberg secondary schools 2.5Km in which Aberdeen AACs Stewart Millar missed the boys course record by two secs when winning in 7min. The Alford Academy runner, a past winner of the primary schools race, pulled away from 2013 winner and course record holder Lewis Barnsby (East Sutherland) over the second half of the route to win by nine secs. Calum Kitching (Banchory Stonehaven AC) took third position in 7:29. But while Millars performance was excellent, it was more than matched by Naomi Lang (Aberdeen AAC) who knocked 15secs off the girls course record when taking top spot in 8:03. The previous mark had been set by Gemma Cormack in 2006. It was a case of third time lucky for the Aberdeen Grammar pupil who had finished second in 2012 and fourth last year. North champion Constance Nankivell (East Sutherland) was runner-up in 8:31 with Stonehavens Clare Stewart (Mackie Academy) finishing third in 8:39. Theres little doubt that he classiest performance of the day came from Rhona Auckland in the ConocoPhillips 5Km. The 20 year-old Banchory Stonehaven AC runner finished second overall from a field of almost 700 runners and her time of 15min 54secs knocked a massive 41secs off the mark she set in 2013.Its the third year in a row that she has won and the third year in a row she has broken the record. Fantastic stuff - and it augurs well for Rhonas Commonwealth Games 10,000m selection hopes. Everyone at RunBalmoral will be cheering her on in her quest for a place on the Scotland team. Jenny Bannerman (Inverness Harriers) finished in second position in 17:34 and Gemma Cormack (Aberdeen AAC), who won the secondary schools girls race in 2006 and was third in the 5Km two years ago, was third in 18:38. Carolyn Milne (Garioch Road Runners), the 2012 Balmoral 10Km winner, picked up the over-50 age group prize when finishing fourth in 18:53, two secs ahead of Aberdeens Debbie Moore who would also go on to finish fifth in the 10Km! Ali Hay (Central AC) hopes his second ConocoPhillips 5Km mens race victory in three years will give his Commonwealth Games selection hopes a boost. The Linlithgow runner, who represented Scotland in the 1500m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and would like to run again at Hampden Park this summer, led from the start and went on to win in convincing style in a time of 15:08. North of Scotland under-17 cross country league winner Eoghann Gollan (East Sutherland) was runner-up in the mens race in 16:00 while another teenager, Jordan Chapman (Aberdeen AAC), the Scottish under-17 4Km cross country bronze medallist, was third in 16:07. Deeside runner Robbie Simpson successfully defended his title in the Stena Drilling Tartan 10Km but the Great Britain mountain running international was just a little outside the course record he set last year. Simpson,22, made a strong start and only marathon running specialist Ross Houston (Central AC) was able to match the north east mans pace in the early stages. But before the runners reached the unrelenting 1.2Km uphill section, which ends at the halfway point, Simpson had broken clear and it was obvious he had the race sewn up. He continued to push on and eventually opened a gap of close to 400m as he powered home in 31min 29secs, 12 secs outside the record he set in 2013. Houston, the 2008 winner, who is waiting for his Commonwealth Games marathon selection to be confirmed, was runner-up in 32:24, while 2009 Balmoral champion Keith Hood (Corstorphine AC), competing in the Deeside race for the 14th year in a row, was a further 25secs behind in third position. Alan Reid (Peterhead Running Club), won the prize for being the first kilted runner when finishing 12th overall in 37:26. It was the fifth time he has won this award in ten years, and the first time he has competed at Balmoral since suffering serious injuries in a road traffic accident in 2011. Veteran Aberdeen runner Carolyn McLeod won a hotly contested womens 10Km in which 15secs separated the first three finishers. The orienteering specialist was locked in an intriguing battle for most of the way with Moira Davie (Forres Harriers) and Clare Whitehead (Deeside Runners), but broke clear in the closing stages to secure her first Balmoral victory in 40:30. Davie, who won the kilter prize, took second position in 40:37 and Whitehead was third in 40:45. ** Please note - all times referred to are provisional. Full results will be on the website soon.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 18:16:31 +0000
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