Fife athletes reach the gold standard at Glamis

Isla Thoms leads the pack in the relays.

Despite the wet, slippery conditions, the club returned home with a team gold medal and a handful of fast individual performances across the age groups.

The club’s junior girls ‘A’ team led their race from gun to tape, eventually taking the victory from Edinburgh AC and Corstorphine AAC by nearly two minutes and securing themselves as medal favourites for the Scottish Cross Country Relays at the end of the month.

U13 runner Isla Thoms, who recently won the S1 girls race at the Scottish Schools Road Race Championships, got the team off to a flying start with a 24 second lead on the first leg.

U15 Isla Hedley extended the lead on the second leg before passing on to older sister Anna Hedley on the third and final leg.

The club’s junior girls ‘B’ team of U13 Katie Sandilands, U15 Libby Smith and U15 Anna Dalglish also performed well, finishing in an excellent fifth place just 30 seconds outside the medals over the 7.5k course.

Isla Thoms 9.49 ran the fastest U13 leg of the day, covering the 2.5k course in a speedy 9.49.

Ruby Russell in 10.28 and Katie Sandilands in 10.39 were the sixth and eighth fastest U13 runners of the day.

U15 member Anna Hedley, who had been running up an age group, recorded the fastest leg of the day in 9.25 and was 10 seconds ahead of nearest rival U17 Alice Goodall of Edinburgh AC.

Isla Hedley in 10.04 and Anna Dalglish in 10.11 were the third and fifth fastest U15 runners of the day.

The junior boys team of U13 Marti Penacchio Torres, U13 Guillem Penacchio Torres and U17 Ben Sandilands finished in 15th place, with Ben running the fourth fastest U17 leg of the day in 8.50.

In the senior women’s race, which was won by reigning champions the Edinburgh University Hares and Hounds, the B team of Halina Rees, Megan Crawford and Jen Spence finished fifth while the A team of Jenny Selman, Jen Cruickshanks and Helen Sharpe finished 7th. Jenny Selman’s 10.16 was the ninth fastest leg of the day.

In the senior men’s race, the A team of Sam Fernando, Craig Morris, Akira O’Connor and Hendrik Van Rensburg finished in 21st place.