A NUMBER of solid performances by Irvine Running Club members over the past few weeks highlight the progress that can be made through regular training at a club.

Paul Lafferty (23) has made continual improvements to his times since joining the Marress club earlier in the year.

At the Eglinton Parkrun on January 23, he brought his 5k time down to 18.50, despite the poor underfoot conditions and the twisty course not being conducive to particularly fast times.

Lafferty then followed this with a fine third place finish and another 5k personal best of 17.45 at the Great Run Local held in Glasgow on February 3.

The Great Run Local is a new series of weekly runs which have sprung up in cities all over the UK.

The Glasgow event is held every Wednesday with a 6.30pm start at the Squiggly Bridge on the Broomielaw. Participation is free but runners have to register online first.

To show that his Glasgow time was not a fluke, Lafferty matched it with a 17.53 time at the Greenock Parkrun on February 6, finishing fourth in a good quality field.

Another rising star who is now training at the Irvine club is 11-year-old Merideth Reid.

Merideth, who attends St John's Primary School in Stevenston, recorded her second win in the P7 category in the North Ayrshire Schools Cross Country League races, held at Irvine Beach Park on Saturday.

It was good to see the Eglinton Parkrun back in operation on Saturday after the previous week was again cancelled due to the stormy weather.

There were 131 finishers. including 12 from Irvine Running Club.

Best for the men were Jamie Findlay in third place with 19.10, Mark Livingstone in fourth with 19.22 and Alan Douglas in fifth with 19.32.

Liz Colquhoun emphasised what regular club training can do with a fine 29.17 for 63rd place.