North District Cross Country, Nairn - 30/01/2010

Athletes from Caithness AAC took to the road recently to compete in the penultimate North District Cross Country fixture of the season. In wintery conditions, the course was always going to be challenging at Nairn beach front with snow providing tough underfoot conditions that tested the strength of the athletes.

To add to this was the now infamous Nairn 'river' which the older athletes had to cross. Because of the attempted thaw in the local area, the water was 18 inches high and the athletes were seen to be split between scientific analysis of how best to cross to a just get on with it attitude.

The Caithness endurance athletes are a tough bunch and definitely went for the later approach much to the delight of the onlookers which at one point was a group of senior men who were definitely planning the scientific approach. This along with a 400m stretch of beach and sandy hills makes Nairn one of the more varied courses which offers something for all the athletes.

There were some excellent performances from the athletes in all age groups with Gabrielle MacGregor leading the way in the Under 11 Girls when she secured her second top 3 placing in two weeks. Hannah MacLeod in the Under 13 Girls waited until this fixture to record her highest placing of the season when she finished 7th.

In the Under 15 Girls/Under 17 Women's combined race, Emma Dunnett finished 30 seconds ahead of the next runner who happened to be twin sister Oonagh. Oonagh not to be outdone produced 40 seconds of daylight between her and the rest of the chasing pack and the girls looked unchallenged throughout the race.

Due to Emma's south commitments Emma is unable to complete the required 4 races for the overall League positions but Oonagh however is well placed to take one of the top three placings overall if she can continue her present form for the final fixture. Likewise in the Under 15 Boys, Rob Murdoch produced his third top 3 placing which sets him up for an excellent overall League position as the athletes prepare for the last fixture in Elgin this weekend.

Sarah MacKinnon and Jake Anderson also kept themselves in the race for overall places by finishing 3rd and 5th respectively.

The full CAAC results were as follows:-

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