NDCC - Round the Castles Series (2) - Aberdeen - 20/01/08

Caithness athletes were once again on the road, this time to Aberdeen to participate in the second of three Round the Castles fixtures. This league takes place in estate grounds in the Aberdeen area and offers some unforgettable courses in spectacular scenery.

After a successful outing for the athletes at the Keith NDCC League the day before, any tiredness was superseded by anticipation of some excellent performances. All of the performances by the eight athletes was held in high regard by the coaches and parent helper who attended the fixture.

The Under 13 Girls race was of an exceptionally high standard with the second and fifth placed athletes from the Interdistrict Cross Country Championships on the starting list. Kate Murdoch from Aberdeen AAC who is also the 800m National Champion took the race out hard and managed to pull a convincing gap on the rest of the field. In second place home out of 21 runners was Emma Dunnett who likewise was unchallenged coming home in 15.13min ahead of Eilidh Prise also from Aberdeen AAC.

Oonagh Dunnett who has found a return to form took fourth place in 16.12min and along with Jade Currie in 6th place (16.20min), the Caithness girls clinched the gold team medal ahead of Aberdeen.

In the Under 13 Boys race, Rob Murdoch showed his true level of endurance by finished 5th out of 27 runners (15.28min), three places ahead of his last Round the Castles outing. Rob is beginning to see the rewards of some good training over the winter and this can be said for all of the athletes.

The Under 15 Boys race was the most eventful of the day with three of the athletes taking the wrong course due to having not walked the course prior to the race starting. Duncan Patterson and some of the other athletes made the most of their knowledge of the course and surged ahead. Duncan finished in first place in a field of 13 runners after a close fought race with two other runners. He eventually pulled a four second advantage, coming home in a time of 20.22min.

In the Under 17 Men Graeme Taylor continued to improve his form with a convincing second place out of 12 runners (21.51min). Alistair Black in the same age group. Also managed to improve on his previous placing at Round the Castles, taking 7th place this time in 27.00min.

Sophie Dunnett running in the Veteran Women's race finished 7th also in a field of 32 runners. This was a pleasant result having had ten days off training and given that at 3 miles, the cross country is some distance short of ideal but given the surroundings it was well worth getting muddy for.

The athletes are back racing at the final fixture in the Round the Castles series in early March when final placings for the overall League will be decided.

End-of-Document