North District Cross Country Team Relay, Strathpeffer - 11/10/2008

Six Caithness teams comprising of 18 athletes competed recently in the NDCC Relay Championships in Strathpeffer. This Championship so early in the season always provides a good marker as to the level of fitness of individual athletes and the strength of club teams.

The Relay Championships also provide an ideal opportunity for athletes to work together with each team comprising of one Under 13 as a first runner, either an Under 13 or an Under 15 for a second runner and an Under 15 or an Under 17 for a third runner.

Due to the reduction in the number Under 17 athletes in Caithness combined with the strength of the Under 13/15 athletes, many of the Caithness teams comprised of younger runners which only added to the coaches delight at their performances.

With a proven track record of medalling in the boys and girls junior teams in the previous two cross country seasons, the pressure was on Caithness to deliver outstanding performances. The teams did not disappoint.

The 1st Caithness junior girl's team was lead out by Erin Mackay whose role was to take the team into the first change over as close to her two strong Inverness Harrier opponents as possible. She did this with an outstanding run leaving a gap of only 18 seconds between her and the lead Inverness Harriers runner.

Oonagh Dunnett produced a solid second leg promoting the Caithness team into second place, whilst at the same time closing the gap to 6 seconds. Final Caithness runner out and twin sister, Emma Dunnett, produced the second fastest run of all junior girl runners and took the team home in gold position producing a lead on Inverness Harriers of 56 seconds. Moray Road Runners took third place with a final last leg of 7.31 minutes by Gemma Cormack.

Second Caithness girls team of Shannon Eyers, Lauren Lafferty and Leanne Eyers saw consistent running by all three girls resulting in the team placing 8th overall. Shannon and Lauren in the process recorded the 2nd and 3rd fastest times for the Caithness Under 13 girls. Third Caithness team afforded Sarah Henderson and Sharon Mackay their first outing at the Relay Championships supported by Rebecca Manson who had been a member of the silver medal winning Caithness team from last year's Championships. The team placed a well deserved 11th overall.

The first Caithness boy's team saw Ross Gollan in the unfamiliar position of having a runner in front of him as Stornoway AC had fielded an extremely strong boy's team. Ross handed over to David Gardener with a 6 second gap but the strength of Moray Goodfellow from Moray Road Runners saw Caithness heading into the last leg with Moray Road Runners close on their heals.

Duncan Paterson, not known for his love of short courses, produced an outstanding run over the short but extremely hilly 2km course. Although he was caught by Donald Shand from Moray Road Runners he held on to 3rd place ahead of Chris Fife from Inverness Harriers.

The second Caithness boy's team consisting of Alasdair Cooper and Liam McAdie in their fist outing at the Relay Championships were ably supported by Rob Murdoch in his 3rd run at a Relay Championships. After a first hand over in forth place the final two Caithness runners struggled against older athletes and finally came home in 8th place.

The final Caithness team of Dean Britton, Rorie Stewart and Sam O'Kane saw a solid run by all three boys resulting in the team coming home in 9th place, only 27 seconds behind the second Caithness team

The full results with times for the Caithness runners were as follows:-

• Girls:-
  • 1st Team - Emma Dunnett 8.07mins, Oonagh Dunnett 8.28mins & Erin Mackay 9.04mins
  • 8th Team - Shannon Eyers 9.48mins, Lauren Lafferty 9.58mins & Leanne Eyers 10.21mins
  • 11th Team - Sarah Henderson 10.31mins, Sharon Mackay 10.20mins & Rebecca Manson 11.23mins
• Boys:-
  • 3rd Team - Ross Gollan 7.34mins, David Gardener 8.15mins & Duncan Paterson 7.45mins
  • 8th Team - Alasdair Cooper 8.19mins, Liam McAdie 9.27mins & Rob Murdoch 8.26mins
  • 9th Team - Dean Britton 9.02mins, Rorie Stewart 9.10mins & Sam O'Kane 8.53mins

End-of-Document