On February 3rd the annual Sgoil Ghaidhlig Ghlaschu cross country championships took place in Kelvingrove Park. The championships are open to any S1-3 pupils and the vast majority of the pupils signed up for the event this year which was great to see. All pupils competed for their houses and throughout the fields there were some fantastic performances and individual efforts to get round the challenging course. On the day the weather was cold but the sun was out. There was some snow and ice and of course plenty of mud too, making it a real cross country race.
The S1 race kicked off the event and the boys race once the closest of the day with a group of four runners locked together in a battle over the final lap. Lewis Conley chose to make an early move up the short steep hill 400m from the end to open up a gap on the rest of the pack, this gap was reduced towards the end by the fast finishing Calum Stewart but Lewis did enough to hold on by 3 seconds. Finlay Dickson finished 3rd which was a great effort considering he had been unwell before the race. James Diamond finished fourth but should be pleased with his effort as he made it a fast, difficult race for the rest of the field. In the S1 girls race Johanna Peters finished well in front of the rest of the field. She kept a steady pace over the two laps to become the girls champion 2015. In 2nd was Nairne Kennedy who had a good last lap to over take Abigail Cavanagh who had a good run to finish 3rd.
In the S2 boys race, defending champion Daniel Moran was looking to not only win the race but to set the fastest overall boys time of the day. Daniel set off fast and picked it up in the middle and sprinted to the end to defend his title and set the fastest time of the day, the same as he did 12 months earlier. The race for second was much closer, so close the finishing marshals couldn't separate Calum Brown and Callum Douglas so they were both given 2nd place after an almighty sprint and dip for the line. Benjamin Campbell on his first cross country for the school was not far behind in 4th place. In the S2 girls race the defending champion Louisa Greive had to settle for 3rd this year. Anna Murray put in a good performance to win the girls race. Anna seemed to be comfortable on the mud and snow on the course, running her own race and finished well clear of Catriona MacLeod who was much higher up the field this year in 2nd with Louisa in 3rd.
Both the S3 races were a delight to watch. The boys set off at a fast pace with Jacob Connelly using his superior speed to get the race going up the hill towards the Lord Roberts Memorial at the top of the park. Conall Whyte pursued Jacob and towards the end of the first lap took the lead. Conall maintained this lead and won the race in the second fastest time of the day. Jacob took second place and with a late final surge on the last 100m, Lewis Dickson took 3rd place. In the girls race Amy Craig took the race on and won the race by the biggest margin of the day and in the process beat a lot of the boys. Amy has made fantastic improvements over the last two years and this race was a showcase for her impressive fitness levels. Rowan Moore had one of the best paced races of the day, starting steady and coming through strong over the final lap to take 2nd with Rebecca Smith happy to finish in a well earned third place.
Results of the team races:
S1 winners - Hiort
S2 Winners - Scarp
S3 Winners - Ronaigh
Well done to all participants, there were some very impressive performances throughout the fields. Some great examples of effort, mental toughness and determination. Keep up the good work!
Many thanks to the volunteers for this years event, without your help the event would not be able to go ahead. Next up, the Glasgow Schools Cross Country Championships on the 27th February. Here's a selection of the photos from the races.
