A number of endurance athletes from Caithness are making their mark on the national scene and proving that hard work and commitment does pay dividends.

Andrew Douglas, and Emma and Oonagh Dunnett have all enjoyed a fruitful past couple of weeks which has seen them representing their district and country at various events.

London Mini-marathon - 25/04/10

Emma and Oonagh as a result of earlier successes in the cross country session, secured selections to represent Scotland in the London Mini-marathon, running the last three miles of the London Marathon route just ahead of the world's best marathon runners.

Emma who had previously competed in this event was keen to improve on last years 29th placing and did that with ease, finishing in 13th place in a time of 18.08min, 40 seconds faster than last year. Oonagh in her first international outing, demonstrated why she had gained her Scotland vest by placing 52nd out of 260 runners in a time of 20.01min.

BUPA Great Edinburgh 10K - 02/05/10

From this the girls took on their first 10k and nothing like doing this in the mass BUPA Great Edinburgh 10K along with 7000 other runners. Due to Emma and Oonagh's predicted finish times, they found themselves in the elite start line but due to training with senior runners every week, they looked completed unperturbed by this.

The senior men around them however looked slightly more concerned and they had good reason to be. After a conservative start on what is a hilly course, both girls started to work their way through the field of runners mixing with ease with good standard club runners.

Emma completed the course in 39.56min to finish 24th female with 7 of those runners ahead of her being internationalist including Scotland's own Freya Murray who completed the course in 33.35min. Emma also managed to take the scalps of 6 of the Interdistrict women who had been selected to represent their respective Districts or the Scotland University team.

Oonagh finish in 37th place in a time of 42.03min which was 3 minutes inside the time predicted for her and proved her continued improvement in endurance events. Both girls who had just turned 15 two days before the race were the youngest runners and had the chance before the race to meet the three oldest runners for a photo opportunity.

• For Andrew's results - click here.

Scottish Athletics Hill Race Championships, Ben Lomond - 08/05/10

Emma and Oonagh then went on to compete in another first, a hill race, in fact the Scottish Athletics Hill Race Championships at Ben Lomond at Rowardennan. The two loop 4.3k course which included a 235m climb, tested the girl's strength endurance and saw them finishing in 3rd and 4th place respectively. Both girls are seeking international selection for the Junior International which is being held in Ireland in September and they have certainly put themselves in the mix for a team place with their first outing.

Inverness Half Marathon - 27/03/10

Andrew Douglas has been following a slightly less varied competition route for the past 2 months since his return from injury with a succession of road races. His first competitive outing was at the Inverness Half Marathon in March. In a race that was meant to be a tester of his return to form, Andrew decided that a hard race was the best way to do this and completed the course in 68.45min to take second place behind Ben Livesey, Scottish Internationalist.

Jim Dingwall Memorial 10K, Grangemouth - 28/03/10

From this Andrew moved onto the slightly shorter 10k in the 5th Jim Dingwall Memorial 10K in Grangemouth. This high profile race attracted the best of Scotland's senior runners as they vied for places in the Interdistrict teams for the Interdistrict 10K Championships at the BUPA 10K Great Edinburgh 10K. Andrew had a pleasing performance finishing in 7th place in a time of 31.48min.

Scottish Athletics Road Relay Championships - 03/04/10

He then continued to compete for his new club, Inverclyde AC, as a member of their 6 man team in the Scottish Athletics Road Relay Championships. Andrew ran the 2nd leg of the relay and took Inverclyde from 14th to 4th place. Inverclyde eventually came home as 3rd team and this gained Andrew his first national medal.

Portmahomack 10k - 04/04/10

To finish off a good weekend, Andrew travelled to Portmahomack to compete in the local 10k which at 31.43min was an easy win which pleased local runners who have enjoyed Andrew's presence at this event for a number of years now.

Chris Hoy Edinburgh Half Marathon - 18/04/10

Andrew then returned to the longer distance to compete in the Chris Hoy Edinburgh Half Marathon. On the streets of the capital with large crowds lining the route, Andrew took first place in a time of 67.37min. Not only was this a personal best but also saw Andrew finishing 5 minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

Stena Drill Tartan 10k, Balmoral - 24/04/10

An invitation to the Stena Drill Tartan 10k saw Andrew next heading to Balmoral for this popular hilly race. A further win in a time of 32.01 rounded off a hectic racing schedule.

BUPA Great Edinburgh 10K - 02/05/10

Having secured himself a place in the West District team, Andrew then took to the streets of Edinburgh in the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10K. Lining up at the head of the elite men along with world class athletes spurred Andrew on to finish 11th overall, 3rd Scottish athlete in a time of 31.16min. This time was only 20seconds outside of his personal best time and was a season's best on what is not acknowledged as a fast course.

Castle of Mey 10K - 16/05/10

Andrew has had a well deserved rest from racing for a week and will be competing in the Castle of Mey 10K this weekend along with Emma and Oonagh Dunnett who are looking forward to running infront of a supportive home crowd at the event which has attracted a capacity field of 350 runners.

• click here for the FULL listing of results.

report & photos from Sophie Dunnett

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