Falkirk’s Kelpies inspire Kirkcaldy Wizards to chalk up personal bests

The concluding weekend of September proved to be an eventful one for the Fife running community.

Kingdom runners took on half-marathons in Falkirk and Edinburgh, with the second edition of the Kelpies Half-Marathon and the Water of Leith Half-Marathon taking place on Saturday.

Kirkcaldy Wizards runners after taking part in the latest Kelpies Half-Marathon in Falkirk on Saturday

placeholder image — Kirkcaldy Wizards runners after taking part in the latest Kelpies Half-Marathon in Falkirk on Saturday

The weekend also saw Fifers at Inverness for the Loch Ness Marathon and its sister event the River Ness 10k, plus the Linlithgow 10k and London’s Vitality 10k, as well as Stephen Dickson completing the 50-mile Ochil Ultra from Perth to Stirling in 11 hours, ten minutes and 23 seconds as the third-fastest male over 50.

Additionally, Stuart Tite, competing in his first event since a hip replacement in December 2024, completed Kelso’s Floors Castle sprint duathlon in 1:36:18.

Fife Athletic Club youngster Max Callendar-Galbraith, pictured at the finish line with Eilish McColgan, completed London’s Vitality 10k in 34:24 as fifth under-17 runner

At the Falkirk half-marathon, Fife Athletic Club youngster Nellie Luxford was third female overall in 1:29:07 and Robert Mosley crossed the finish line in 1:29:56.

Julian Luxford clocked 1:39:33 and Fiona Mosley achieved a new half-marathon personal best of 1:44:00.

Fellow Wizards were also on the run there, Greg Wilson clocking 1:44:17, Stuart Goodfellow 1:44:27, Elaine Masterton a PB of 1:46:13, coach Nicky Sutherland a two-minute PB of 1:48:17, Carol Batey 1:51:15, Leanne Reid a PB of 1:52:50, Shirley Bremner 1:55:06, Diane Selkirk 1:55:15, Selina Skivington 1:59:22, Allan Skivington a PB of 2:02:38, Lynn Whisker 2:04:25, Graham Keddie 2:05:01, Carol Kirk 2:14:12, Heather Smart 2:15:36, Jenny Ashcroft a 2:17:32 PB, Kerry McGregor 2:25:38 and Sharron Wilson a PB of 2:30:54.

At Blast Running’s 2025 Water of Leith half-marathon, Sean Brown achieved a time of 1:29:27 and Gavin Curran finished third in his male-over-50 age category in 1:31:08.

Fife Athletic Club’s Stephen Dickson finished the 50-mile Ochil Ultra in 11 hours, ten minutes and 23 seconds

Also taking part were Andrew Neenan, recording a time of 1:34:06, Paul Harkins 1:34:16, Esme Armour 1:51:22 and Heather Finlayson 2:00:24.

There were some outstanding performances by runners representing Fife Athletic Club or the Wizards at the 2025 Loch Ness Marathon.

Simon Annetts produced a time of 2:46:52 for 29th place and Daniel Hale crossed the finish line in 2:53:53, ending up 53rd overall.

Janet Dickson clocked 3:09:49, Christine Wilson a 44-minute PB of 3:26:51, Craig Stevenson 4:04:00, Jillian Stevenson 4:34:07, Shona Turner and daughters Mollie and Cara together in 4:50:56, Jack Bathgate 4:56:15, Ian John Ritchie 4:57:27, first-timer Marion McClung 5:04:49 and Daniel Jennings 5:57:33.

Fife Athletic Club’s Christine Wilson completed this year’s Loch Ness Marathon in three hours and 26 minutes

In the River Ness 10k sister event, Logan Rees was second overall in 29:12 and there was a sixth-placed finish for his Fife AC clubmate Andrew Thomson in 30:55.

It also saw James Hall achieve a time of 37:27 and Lucy Stevenson chalk up a PB of 49:05.

At the Linlithgow 10k, Wizards Susan Young and Claire Jurecki clocked 1:01:57 and 1:05:11 respectively.

Further afield, Fife AC youngster Max Callendar-Galbraith competed in the Vitality 10k in London alongside four time Olympian Eilish McColgan, female champion in 30:35, and he managed a time of 34:24 to rank as fifth runner under 17.