THE Great Scottish Run is the biggest mass participation running event in Scotland and the weekend’s races in Glasgow consisted of a wide range of events to suit all ages and abilities.

On Saturday events were aimed at younger runners with a 100m race for under 5’s, a one-mile race for ages three to eight and a 2.5k race for ages nine to 15. On Sunday there were two events for adults: a 10k race and a half marathon race with both attracting large fields of over 8000 runners in each.

The half marathon race, which started in George Square, took in a number of Glasgow’s main sites including Pollok and Bellahouston Parks, the Transport Museum, the Squinty Bridge before a final sprint underneath the McLellan Arch to finish in Glasgow Green. The race was held in wet conditions which, although not ideal for spectators, can be good for runners as it provides some cooling.

A number of runners from Irvine Running Club took part in the 13.1 mile race and there were some fine performances. Colin Whitby ran a four minute personal best to finish in an excellent time of 1 hour 17 minutes and 7 seconds which was good for 70th position.

Not too far behind in 94th place and also running a new best time was Steve Daye who clocked 1 hour 18 minutes 53 secs. Next to finish were Steven McDougall also in a new best time (1:27:21) and Alan Douglas (1:27:55) with Susan Rhodes (1:52:30) also clocking a new best. The final Irvine finisher was Liz Colquhoun (2:21:39) who was pacing a friend round the course. The half marathon was won by English international athlete Chris Thompson in a time of 1 hour 2 minutes and 44 seconds who led home local favourite Callum Hawkins of Kilbarchan, who recently placed fourth in the World Athletic Championships marathon, by 34 seconds.

In the 10k race, which followed a shortened version of the half marathon course, there were also a number of good performances. Paul Lafferty was the first Irvine finisher, with his time of 35 minutes 55 seconds good enough for 33rd position with Stephen Carlyle (39:12) also running strongly to finish in 116th place. There were also fine runs for Ross Collier (47:24), Gordon Thomson (1:02:08), Fergie Collier (1:10:12) and Maureen Millar (1:14:11). The 10k race was won by Cambuslang Harriers athlete Stuart Gibson in a time of 31 minutes and 37 seconds.