20/05/2006 - Goatfell Hill Race



On Saturday Irvine AC had ten runners making the short trip across to Arran for the annual GoatFell hill race, and amongst the ranks some were doing the race for the first time.

This is a tricky race at the best of times but with the wet weather underfoot conditions were not ideal.

Billy Richardson one of Irvine’s top runners and cross-country internationalist was running the race for the first time and quickly established himself amongst the leading group of four runners.

After a mile and a half the race starts the ascent to GoatFell and the pack was down to three with Billy dropping off the pace over the last few hundred metres to finish 3rd at the top behind two top class hill running specialists.

Colin Miller was also having a good ascent working his way through to 7th at the top but having run the race before knew that the descent requires a technique which many road and croiss country runners lack.

Next to the top was Tommy Begley, one of Irv ines specialist runners, whose strength is on the downhill section, followed by Jim Sneddon and Dougie Connery who decided to do the race to celebrate his fortieth birthday.

On the descent and as expected Richardson and Miller lost around 23 places each finishing in respective places of 23rd place in a time of 1:36 and 30th in a time of 1:38.

The fast finishing Begley was next Irvine finisher in 37th with hist best time in the race of 1:40 with Connery finishing 54th in 1:48 with Sneddon coming home in 65th in 1:52.

Jim White who only came to watch but decided to run was 72nd in 1:56, Findlay Dowell 75th in 1:57, Ian McManus 89th in 2:11, Mary Miller 95th in 2:19 and Iain Hamilton 98th in 2:56.

For more photos go to the snippets page 

Scottish Pentathlon Championships

Following his triple Gold Medal success at West Distict ( Meadowbank ) last
week  John McCafferty (jnr) won the under 15 boys Pentathlon at Scotstoun
on Sat 20th  May 2006, as stated in last weeks local paper report John was
competing in his first multi-event competition, John won the event by a massive
300 points  from his nearest rival with a final total of 2,579 points, Johns
achievement was  even more remarkable due to the fact of heavy rain and large
amounts of standing  water had to be negotiated in all events.
Results as follows

High Jump = 1.85 mtrs
80 mtrs Hurdles = 13.54 secs - PB
Shot Putt = 11.78 mtrs
Long Jump = 5.36 mtrs - PB
800 mtrs = 2min 30secs

Membership Fees

Athletic club fees are now due and should be paid by 31st May.  Jim Sneddon is the club membership secretary and and qustions regarding fees should be directed to him.

Forms are available in the changing room or can be access via the link at the top of the page.

Social Events

A new link has been added at the top of the page called Social Events which will give details of any social related events which we are organising.

The first event will be a Hillwalking day on either the 27th or 28th May to Ben Lawers which is located East of Crianlarich.

Full details of this event can be found under the Social Events page.

 

24/06/04 - Grangemouth 10K

Irvine had three runners at this event which is one of the top 10K road races in the country, attracting at top class field amongst the starting line up of just under 700 runners.

From the gun Dave Millar settled in with the lead pack which included the top two distance runners in Scotland.

As the pace hotted up after about 4K Dave was dropped from the front pack, but he is in excellent form recently and powered his way back to finish 6^th in a time, equal to his best over the distance, of 31:13.

Dougie Connery, approaching the veteran 40 stage had a steady run, getting safely in the top 100, finishing 85^th with a time of 38:11.

The third Irvine runner was Iain Fraser who finished 146^th with a time of 41:00.

17/06/04 - Barrhead 5K

Irvine had three representatives at this short course race which is held annually to coincide with the Barrhead gala day.

First Irvine finisher was George Irving who finished 6^th and 2^nd in the veteran 40 category with a good time of 16:31 which was just over half a minute behind the winner.

Other finishers were Dougie Connery 23^rd in 18:18 and Iain Fraser 38^th in 19:56.

24/04/06 - Arran 10K Road Race

A group of runners from the club made the short trip across the water to Arran to compete in the Ormidale 10K road race.

With conditions ideal for running the race set off at a brisk pace from Ormidale park in Brodick, with Billy Richardson going straight to the front from the gun.

As the race progressed Richardson extended his lead to finish comfortably in first place with a time of 32:22.

Further down the field Colin Miller and his training partner Stephen Daye ran together for most of the race, with Miller getting the better of the younger runner over the last two Kilometers, finishing fourth in 35:23 with Daye holding on well to finish fifth in 35:38.

These three runners were the winners of the team prize.

Brian Craig was the next Irvine finisher in ninth place with a time of 36:52 with the continually improving pair of Jim Sneddon and John Moore having their own personal battle right to the line.

Sneddon just mamaged to win the sprint finishing 11th in 38:30 with Moore one place behind with a time of 38:34.

One place behind them was under-17 runner Nick Emsley who occasionally competes for Irvine, but this time he was running for his home club Arran Runners.

Jim White was next Irvine finisher in 18th place with a time of 40:54, Mike Flinn was 24th in 42:47 and Mary Miller was first veteran-45 finishing 32nd with a time of 47:20.

19/04/06 - Irvine 5 Mile Road Race

Last Wednesday Irvine AC hosted their annual 5 mile road race along the Beach Park path.
From the gun Lee Richardson, who has been in good form recently, hit the front and had a ten second gap over the second place runner at the halfway mark.
On the second half of the race Richardson extended his lead to 14 seconds and came over the line in first place with a new personal best time of 24:41.
Colin Miller and Stephen Daye had a good tussle to the halfway stage with Miller breaking away over the last two miles to finish in 6^th place in a time of 27:56 to take the veteran prize.
Daye held on well to finish one place behind with a new personal best time for the distance of 28:25 and finishing first in the junior category.
These three along with John Moore in 12^th place with a time of 30:48 won the team competition.

In the women’s race Helen Morton finished second in 33:35 with Liz McGarry winning the veteran category with a time of 36:45 and along with Ann-Marie Conway with a time of 40:39 were comfortable winners of the team prize.

Other Irvine finishers were Jim White 21^st (32:48), Bob Nichol 23^rd (33:22), Neil McMullen 29^th (35:31), Stan Thompson 32^nd (36:25), Dave Kerr 39^th (43:56) and Ian Hamilton 40^th (45:15).

Full results will soon be online
 

01/04/06 - National Road Relay Championships

Irvine Athletic club achieved their best ever result in any National competitions when they finished second in the Scottish road relay championships at Livingston.

The team of Dave Millar, Lee Richardson, Billy Richardson, Colin Miller, George Irving and Brian Craig, which has been the backbone of many of the club’s highlights over the years, just missed the gold medals by a mere 21 seconds.

Unlike other Scottish clubs who consist of athletes from various areas of the UK, Irvine is made up solely of athletes from North Ayrshire and this result proves that runners from this area are a match for anyone.

The race itself consists of alternate 3.2 and 5.8 mile legs and with the cream of Scottish distance running competing, George Irving on the first leg had the task of putting the club into a medal challenging position.

George had a steady start on the hilly section but powered through to finish 8^th with a time of 16:59 to hand over to Dave Millar.

Dave was almost a minute down on the leading runner but tore away like a sprinter at the start to put the club into the lead with a time of 29:21 which was the third fastest time of the day for the long leg.

Brian Craig was on the next leg and the plan was that the veteran and weaker runners on the short stages were to run with the intention of damage limitation, in order to keep the faster and younger runners challenging for the medals.

Brian had a good run finishing 4^th on the leg with a time of 17:55 which was right behind the third placed runner at the finish.

Lee Richardson was on the fourth leg and once again ran a stormer to get the club into first place at the handover. His time of 29:18 was the second fastest of the day for the long leg.

By this point in the race it was clear that four teams would now be contesting the medals.  These teams were City of Edinburgh, defending champions Cambuslang Harriers, Kilbarchan Athletic Club and Irvine Athletic Club.

On the penultimate leg the elder statesman of the team Colin Miller, like Brian Craig getting closer to the half century, had to use all his experience to keep the club in contention.

Colin came home in 4^th place with a time of 17:46 and with only 20 seconds separating second and fourth the last leg was going to be a cracker.

Billy Richardson, after a year of injury, ran the last or glory leg, depending on the result, and the question was if he had regained his form of old. Recent results had confirmed he had and with the two runners in sight at the start, he had a steady start and did not panic by going too quick too soon.

After about a mile he had caught and passed the third placed runner and after two miles he had done the same with the second placed one.

At the half mile too go mark the leader was in sight, but although he had taken 45 seconds out of him the end had come too early.

After two hours and twenty minutes of running Irvine had missed being crowned Scottish champions by a mere twenty-one seconds.

Although everyone ran well, Billy Richardson’s run of 29:55 on the last leg proves he is now getting back to form of old and was probably the most important run of the day for Irvine.

The club over the years has grown in stature and the previous best position of 4^th in the now defunct Edinburgh to Glasgow road relay has definitely been eclipsed by this 2^nd place in the National road relay championships.

The club also had an incomplete ‘B’ team competing with youngster Stephen Daye, leading them off with a time 18:21 to finish in 25^th place.
This result by the club should inspire some of the younger runners like Stephen to get their training miles up and force their way into the team as their will no doubt be more honours to come.

On the second leg Dougie Connerry was time at 36:50 for the longer leg to finish in 33^rd place with Ian Berryman running 19:02 on the third leg to finish 34^th and Jim Sneddon timed at 35:58 for the 4^th leg.




Five of the winning team - Dave Millar had to shoot off to Blackpool straight after his leg, for a wild weekend.

25/06/06 - Willie Jukes Memorial 5 Mile Road Race

Irvine AC were invited to attend the Willie Jukes 5 mile memorial race, held by Greenock Glenpark Harriers in Dunoon

This is normally a closed race by the Greenock club but due to the association of Irvine runners with Willie the club along with the other Greenock club Inverclyde was invited to attend.

Conditions on the day were warm but a bit windy and the only disappointment was that only six club members made the trip.

However the Greenock committee were happy with that as it helped to turn the race into a very exciting and top class event.

At the start 98 runners turned out which is remarkable for an internal club event with a great mixture of young and old all looking for a good time.

At the off three runners including Irvine’s Billy Richardson, all Scottish rated athletes took off and were still together at the half way mark.

With the wind now at their back the race really hotted up with Richardson sitting in with the other two until around the three and a half mile mark, where his lack of fitness due to his recent injury problems started to show and he gradually lost ground.

At the end of the race Billy was pleased with his third place in an excellent time of 25:42 and getting closer to the first two who had beaten him in previous week’s races.

Further down the field Colin Miller and Brian Craig were in a group of four all looking to be the first placed veteran and after a steady run into the wind to the half way mark, the old legs started to increase pace on the return

It was a fairly close finish with Miller just been beaten into 2^nd in the veteran category with a time of 28:53 to finish 8^th overall with Craig not far behind in 9^th with a finishing time of 29:12.

Jim Sneddon and John Moore had a good tussle with Sneddon finishing in a time of 31:14 with Moore one place behind in 31:31.

The sole female runner for Irvine, Mary Miller had a good run finishing with a time of 38:34.



Irvine’s finest before sorry, after the race.

Summer Club Championship

The championship will commence 01/04/06 through to 30/09/06 and rules are online and posted on the club notice board.

All relevant results to Jim Sneddon or Colin Miller

 

Dunky Wright 5K

There were 8 runners from Irvine AC competing in this years Dunky Wright 5K race, in Clydebank, on Saturday 18^th March . A top quality line up at the front end of the field produced some very fast times on very cold afternoon. Lee Richardson was first finisher from the club in 5^th place in a time of 15.12.This was a good run by Lee, who was using it to sharpen up for the forthcoming National 6 stage relays in 2 weeks time. Lee’s brother, Billy was next Irvine finisher in 7^th place clocking 15.41.After a year lost to injury Billy is finally getting back to full fitness again. Brian Craig had a fine run to finish 21^st in 16.58 followed by Tony McKnight in 17.38 for 37th place. A close race between Jim Sneddon and Dougie Connery saw Jim just edge it to finish a second in front of  Dougie in 50^th and 51^st positions with times of 18.13 and 18.14. Iain Fraser Was 60^th with a time of 19.12 and ,finally , Davy Kerr was 96^th in 27.48.

Scottish Young Athletes Road Race Championship

Irvine AC’s young  athletes were through at Falkirk competing in the  Scottish Road Race Championships on Sunday 19 March 2006. The Course was set round the new Falkirk Football stadium with a short lap of 825m and a long lap of 1600m. Conditions were good for running and with four U13 girls starting in a field of 60 runners over this 2400m flat course, it would be a fast race. Paige Douglas was well up after the small lap in  23^rd place with Victoria Conway, Molly Bell and Ashley McQueen not far behind. Paige Douglas managed to pick the pace up to run a good large lap to finish 22^nd in 9,43mins. Molly Bell had a excellent lap finishing 28^th in 10mins passing  Victoria Conway 35^th in 10,13mins with Ashley McQueen finishing 37^th in 10,15mins. The team finished 8^th overall.

The U13 boys race was over the same course, Michael Jenks was 25^th after the first small lap with David Kerr 40^th, Lee Simpson 51^st and young Robbie McAdam  running for the first time at this level 61^st. The large lap strung out the runners and Michael Jenks picked up some places to finish 22^nd in 9.08mins. David Kerr was 46^th in 9.44mins, Lee Simpson 52^nd in 9,49mins and Robbie McAdam 61^st in 10,43mins. The team finished 9^th overall.

U15 Girl Sarah Munn running in the 4k race had another excellent race, Sarah was 6^th after the small lap and 7^th after the first big lap and was on for her best championship result ever with 800m to go, unfortunately she was passed by a group of fast finishers, but still managed to equal her previous  11^th place finish in 15,54 mins. a good result for Sarah in a field of 56 runners..

The U15 boys were racing over the same 4k course  Nicky Emsley was the best placed finisher in 21^st  in 15,04mins followed by Gary Kerr 27^th in 15,27mins and John Kerr 32^nd in 15,56mins. the team finished 8^th overall.

The U17 men’s 5.5k race had the usual high class field. William Morgan was up with the leading pack after the fist lap, unfortunately he developed a knee problem going into lap 2 and had to pull out of the race. Irvine’s other runner Alistair Graham was having a steady run and completed the course to finish 21^st in 24,30mins.

Imran Ali was  also in a high class U20 field for his 6k race, he kept a good pace and completed the course in 27,12mins in 15^th place.            

Hill Races

Irvine had two runner down in the borders on Saturday 18^th for the  Chapelgill Hill Race at  Glenholm, Peebleshire. With  Icy winds, and some snow  on this short 1.5 Mile course with over 1400 ft of assent, its heads down and straight up the hill then let yourself go for the descent. Tom Begley had a good ascent and downhill race to finish in 27,20mins. Ian McManus also had a good run finishing in 33,11mins of this  tough leg sapping course.
Veteran Ian McManus decided to stay travel over to Dumfries on the Sunday for the Criffel Hill Race at  New Abbey. This is a  7 Miles course with over 1800 ft of assent. Conditions were heavy with drifting snow from  Knochendoch, to Criffel . The snow was heaviest at the summit which made conditions difficult for all of the  25 runners taking part. It took Ian 1hr37mins to complete the course, which was good going for the veteran Irvine runner. 
 

06/03/2006 - Auchencruive 10K Road Race

Jim Sneddon and Billy Richardson decided to compete in the Auchencruive 10k on Sunday. Billy finished 2^nd behind Scottish international Mark Pollard in a time of 32.38 ,which was a great time on a tough course. Jim Sneddon  took 2 minutes of his time from last year to dip under 40 minutes.

11/03/2006 - Scottish Schools Cross-Country Championships


Irvine AC athletes were competing for their schools at the Scottish Schools Cross Country Championships on Saturday 11 March 2006.  Held at Irvine Beach Park.  With a total recorded 1015 finishers over all the age groups it was the largest participation event taking place in Scotland on Saturday. With a large crowd watching and conditions good there was some excellent races over the afternoon.

Irvine AC’s best result of the day came from Greenwood Academy pupil Sarah Munn who finished 11^th  over the 3k 14-15 girls race in 12,43mins, with another year in this age group Sarah will be in contention for a Scottish Vest next year.  Paige Douglas Irvine Royal and Victoria Conway St. Andrews  both had good runs in the U14 girls 2.4k race In a field of over 160 runners Paige was 24^th in 10,46mins and Victoria was 40^th in 11,15mins.  Cameron Paul and Michael Jenks both running for Arran High  the U14 boys 3k again with over 160 runners Cameron finished 16^th in 12,12mins and Michael 20^th in 12,18mins. In the 5k,  15-16 age group Nicky Emsley from Arran High finished 59^th Gary Kerr 91^st and John Kerr 102^nd both Greenwood Academy. William Morgan Greenwood Academy was in the tough 6k over 17 age group race with 149 runners. William put in a good performance and was well up after the first lap in 10^th place. He lost places in the 2^nd lap to 16^th then held on in the 3^rd lap to finish 16^th in 23,01mins a good performance in this high class field.
 

Trophy missing

We are trying to recover the club 10K handicap trophy, which was donated by Jim White. Could everyone have a think as to where it might be - someone must have it
 

International honour

Lee Richardson was selected to run for the Scotland cross-country team in Ireland on Sunday 5th March against competition from countries including USA and Russia.

Lee had only been notified on Friday that he had been selected but performed well to finish 24th and help the Scottish team to a bronze medal.
 

04/03/06 - British Indoor Track and Field Championships

Irvine AC athlete John McCafferty from Stevenston  achieved a first for athletics in North Ayrshire by winning a British U15 Championship at the Birmingham Indoor Arena on Sunday 5^th March 2006. John is the Scottish Athletics High Jump champion and the Scottish School Champion at this event. John had entered the Pole Vault and the high jump but had to drop the pole vault as it was on at the same time as the high jump. John started at 1.60m with three competitors left one dropped out at 1.72m and the other one dropped out at 1.78m. Making him the British Champion.  The Birmingham crowd got right behind John when he equalled his 1.83m Personal Best (PB) .The bar was raised to 1.85m and the crowd were clapping him on, he failed the first attempt then cleared the second for a new PB. The bar then went up to 1.88 and the stadium crowd were all on edge, the 60m races were halted for John and his new PB. He failed on the first two attempts then cleared at the third. The bar was raised to 1.91m and everyone in the stadium was cheering him on, the sprints were stopped again and with the crown slow hand clapping John he cleared the bar on his  third attempt for a new PB. The second best ever height at this age group. The bar was raised to 1.94 but John failed to clear after two attempts. For his third and last attempt the bar was raised to 1.96m the British record but john just clipped it with the back of his leg. This was a tremendous achievement by the Irvine AC athlete who has the potential to go all the way to the London Olympics in 2012 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
 

22/02/2006 - Scottish Schools Indoor Championships

Irvine AC athletes were competing at the Scottish Indoor Championships at Kelvin Hall Glasgow on Wednesday 22^nd February. Ryan McDonald competing for St..Andrews Academy in the 800m event Qualified for the final in second place in a time of 2.14mins. The final was only one hour later and Ryan’s was a disappointing eighth place  in 2.20mins  William Morgan from Greenwood Academy, who was not in top form run 2.10mins finishing 4^th in his heat and not making the final.      
Star of the day was St.Andrews pupil John McCafferty who was competing in the high Jump. There were 23 competitor starting the competition but 14 year old John decided to start at 1.60m. When he started there were only two other competitors left, one dropped out at 1.70m and the other athlete dropped out at 1.75m making John the Champion of Scotland. John carried on to clear 1.80m his PB being 1.81m he decided to go for 1.83 which he cleared. He then tried for 1.85m  but failed in all three attempts. This was a tremendous achievement from the Irvine AC athlete who is heading down to Birmingham for the AAA championship on the 4/5 March. John will be up against the best in the UK and a top 6placing will be a great result in either the High jump or Poll Vault.

 

18/02/06 - National Cross-Country Championships

Irvine AC athletes were in competition at the Scottish National Cross Country Championships on Saturday.  Held at Callendar Park, Falkirk this 12Km race was the showpiece and climax of the domestic Cross Country season and attracted a field of over 400 runners.  The course which featured 3 laps of the scenic Callendar Park provided a stiff challenge for the runners combining hills,  some mud and other areas of fast running.  With the usual strong field the Irvine runners were keen to stamp their mark as individuals and as a team at the "National".  Club captain Lee Richardson repeated his achievement of last year with another top ten finish, coming home in an excellent 9th place in a time of 40'34, and continuing his superb cross country form.  Not far behind, club mate David Millar matched his best ever finish in the National, 14th in a time of 41'08. These were excellent results, with only one other club managing to get two runners in the top 15.  Both runners will be in contention for selection for the West of Scotland "District" team at the Inter-Counties Cross Country in Nottingham next month.

Next home was Billy Richardson in 41st in a time of 42'57, making more progress in his return from long term injury problems. George Irving was the next Irvine man in 44'52 for 77th, another solid finish for George who felt he wasn't quite at his best on the day.  The next two finishers for Irvine were Brian Craig (128th in 47'03) and Colin Miller (144th in 47'48) which completed the top 6 for the team competition and an excellent 8th place as a team.

Other Irvine finishers were Jim Sneddon (220th in 50'17), Jim White (253rd in 51'38), Scott McKendrick (270th in 52'16), John Moore (276th in 52'39), Iain Fraser (321st in 54'25), Ian McManus (401st in 61'51) and David Kerr (422nd in 81'51).

This was another good display from the Irvine runners who would also like to than the Club Committee for arranging transport to and from the race by coach.  Most of the runners can now look forward to the start of the road season although the more senior members of the team can look forward to donning their spikes again at the Scottish Masters National Cross Country Championships for runners over 35 in a fortnight at Forres in Invernesshire.

Irvine AC’s  Young athletes had a depleted entry for the National Championships due to a virus and injury  that hit four young runners. Medal contender U17 man Daniel Swanson did not start the race and  William Morgan dropped out after only 800m both struck by a cold virus. U15 boy Gary Kerr pulled a stomach muscle and  U13 girls Molly Bell travelled but did not race because of a heavy cold.

Best result of the day was U13 boy Cameron Paul from Arran who finished 19^th in 13.08mins  Michael Jenks also from Arran finished 31^st in 13.24mins over the one lap 3.2k race. Kian Douglas stepped in at the last minute and had a good run finishing 72^nd in 14.39mins.  U13 girl Victoria Conway finished 52^nd in 15.38mins. Paige Douglas 72^nd in 16.16mins. In the U15 boys 4K race Ryan McDonald was 48^th in 15.71mins and John Kerr 71^st in 16.20mins.  U15 girl Sarah Munn had an excellent run finishing 39^th in 17.33mins with Nicole Bunyan in 49^th place in 17.33mins.  U17 man Alistair Graham finished 71^st in 36.36 in the 6.4k race.
 

04/08/2006 - National Indoor Championships


Irvine AC young athlete John McCafferty from Stevenson was competing in the Scottish Indoor Championships at Kelvin Hall on Saturday 04 February. U15 boy John, who is the West District  high jump champion was looking to improve on his 1.81m personal best set at the district championship. With no pole vault competition John was also entered for the shot putt which was starting half an hour after the high jump. There was a large contingent over from Ireland with six entered for the high jump. The bar started at 1.30m but John decided not to jump until 1.55m.

When the bar reached this level there ware only six competitors left and John cleared this height with lots to spare.

John continued to clear the bar right up to 1.75m with only him and an athlete from Ireland left. The shot put competition had started before John got his first jump so he got his first throw of 10.57m which put him in 3^rd place after the first round. His second round putt was a no throw, followed by a third round throw of 11.80 to put him in 2^nd place overall. He was then back at the high jump with the bar now at 1.78m  the Irish boy failed at his first two attempts and John cleared with his second attempt. He would be champion if the Irish boy failed with his third jump which he did making John the Scottish Champion. A tremendous performance from the Irvine AC athlete and the first time the club has had a high jump champion.  John then when back to take his final throws at the shot putt and he threw a magnificent 12,35m increasing his PB by one metre to win the silver medal just behind the athlete from Central AC. To win a gold and a silver medal at a Scottish Championship is a tremendous achievement from John, his target is the AAA at Birmingham where he is entered for the high jump and pole vault. John has ambitions to be the next Daly Thomson and he certainly has the potential to achieve that ambition.     

 

04/02/2006 - Renfrewshire 5 mile road race

Irvine AC had eight runners at the Greenock 5 mile road race. Top performance came from Billy Richardson who is starting to find some form after a year of injury, who finished 6^th in a time of 26:37.
Other finishers were Brian Craig 18^th in 28:30, Colin Miller 29^th in 29:35, Jim Sneddon 39^th in 30:24, Ian Fraser 58^th in 32:11, Jim White 61^st in 32:19 and Ian McManus 88^th in 37:53.
In the women’s race Mary Miller was 22^nd in 38:04.

 

28/01/2006 - Scottish 4K Cross-Country Championships

Irvine AC's men's team won team bronze at the Scottish Athletics 4km Cross Country Championships at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow on Sunday.  Although a number of runners had previously won national championship medals at individual level, this was the first time that the club had managed to win a medal at Senior National level as a team and it was a superb achievement keeping the club at the forefront of Scottish Athletics.

Conditions were perfect with good underfoot conditions on a spring like sunny day although the Irvine men knew the pace would be fast and furious over this the shorter of the cross country disciplines.  The race comprised two 2km laps around the park.   Lee Richardson and David Millar both set off strongly with the leading group on the tight first lap.  Billy Richardson and George Irving were forced to come from deeper in the pack as the large field funnelled down the opening straight.  The pace remained high throughout and it was David Millar who led the team home in 11th place in a time of 12'28 with Lee Richardson next home in 12th place just 3 seconds back in 12'31.  Next, in was Billy Richardson who had come back strongly from a relatively poor start to finish 24th in a time of 13'03 - an excellent finish as he continues his rehabilitation from injury.  George Irving was the final counter in the team of four running another excellent race to finish 35th in a time of 13'24.  Also competing was Brian Craig who finished 59th in a strong 14'09 showing the benefits of a sustained period of injury free running and good progress from the relay season in the Autumn.  Jim Sneddon finished in 81st place with a time of 15'28 hampered somewhat by stomach cramps on the second lap.

The team medal was a deserved reward for the Irvine men as the club has competed strongly at National level for some time and it confirms that despite being relatively small compared to the larger city clubs, Irvine can be ranked as one of the best clubs in Scotland.
 

15/01/2006 - West District Indoor Championships

The West District indoor Championships were held at the Kelvin Hall and U15 boy John McCafferty was the star of the event. John broke two Championship records at the pole vault and the high jump, he also won a silver medal in the shot putt. John has only been coached in the pole vault for three months and already he set a Championship best of 2.60m winning gold in the pole vault. In the High jump he was outstanding clearing 1.81m for a new Personal Best (PB) and a new  Championship record. In the shot Putt John won a silver medal and added nearly a metre to his PB setting a new PB of 11.35m. John has had an outstanding competition and all the top clubs in Scotland are trying to get him to join, John, who is from Stevenson is determined to be patient and continue to support Irvine AC.

 

02/01/06 - Beith Road Race

Irvine results for the Beith Road Race are as follows

Lee Richardson 2nd, 23.50; George Irving 5th, 24.56; Billy Richardson 9th,  25.35; Brian Craig 17th, 27.23; Ian Berryman 23rd, 28.19; Jim Sneddon  25th,  28.34; Dave King 34th, 31.46; Mike Flinn 36th, 32.16; Dave Kerr 47th, 40.46; Ian  Hamilton 48th, 43.15.

49 runners total.