Law AAC aces braved the elements at West District Cross Country Championships

There was more success for Law and District AAC members – among a party of 34 – who braved the elements in Balloch at the recent West District Cross Country Championships, writes Martin Kay.
By Craig Goldthorp
Published 16th Dec 2019, 16:52 BST
Law and District AAC ace James Gillon (1st right) takes place on podium (Pic by Bobby Gavin)Law and District AAC ace James Gillon (1st right) takes place on podium (Pic by Bobby Gavin)
Law and District AAC ace James Gillon (1st right) takes place on podium (Pic by Bobby Gavin)

Dumbarton AAC hosted this year’s event, which featured a tough course in Balloch with big hills and lots of mud or as Darran Muir would say ‘a proper XC course’.The forecast was for rain but Law AAC’s under-13 girls managed to complete their race before the heavens opened. The girls had a great race, just missing out on a team prize with the squad of Joscelyn Kennedy (11th), Jessica Inglis (15th) and Ruth Hynd (18th) finishing fourth.There was great strength in depth on show from the girls with Alayna McCann sprinting home in 22nd followed by Rachel Stevenson (35th), Kirsty Currie (54th), Susannah Kay (58th), Lindsay Wishart (61st) and Katie Towers (63rd) in her first XC event.Ryan Kellock and Daniel Simpson have had close races all season and both had strong runs in the under-13 boys with Ryan home in 26th and Daniel in 28th.The under-15 girls also finished fourth team with Jessie Gilchrist an impressive sixth followed by Hannah Todd (23rd), Fiona Currie (33rd) and Elizabeth Kay (58th). This was a great result given the tough course.The rain arrived for the boys race with Oscar Logan having a great run for seventh followed by Craig Cherrie (17th), Logan Whitton (20th) and Scott McAdam (55th). The boys finished as fifth fastest team on the day.Alison Gilchrist and Margaret Newell ran in the senior women’s race finishing 40th and 113th with rain being a constant companion by now.Donald Gilchrist had another strong XC race finishing a superb fifth with Finn Milligan 34th.James Gillon had the run of the day in the under-20s race finishing in the bronze medal position despite falling three times in the mud.David Nugent, looking stronger with each XC race, was next home in 20th.Matthew Gillon, who had been ill during the week, had the misfortune to run the wrong route and completed the full senior course rather than the under-20 layout, costing the team a bronze medal.The last race saw Law senior men tackle the 8.5km route with eight making the starting line including a welcome return for Bobby Hill, back from a stint working in the States. Younger brother Ross also made the start line despite having been ill since the last race in Liverpool.Darran Muir was first back for Law in 37th followed by Ross Hill (101st), Bobby Hill (170th), Martin Kay (201st), Mark Milligan (203rd), Rich Beattie (227th) and Pat Kelly (255th).Pat gave the entire field a head start of several minutes as he was so busy supporting Law athletes on the course that he missed the start. It didn’t stop him from finishing 1st V70 on the day.