10th October 2009- Scottish Athletics West Disrict Cross Country Relay Championships, Stepps

Strathclyde University playing fields in Stepps was the venue for this event for the first time since 2003. The week's rain had rendered underfoot conditions muddy and slippery but the weather on the day stayed dry. Six Whitemoss athletes took the opportunity to open their winter competition accounts. The club fielded two teams of three in the Junior Boys race, each runner covering 2.4km.

On the initial leg for the first team, Calum Walker clocked 9:11 for 19th place closely followed by Alasdair Stewart (35th, 9:39) for the B team. On second leg, taking over from Calum, Scottish Under 15 High Jump champion Jamie Gemmell stepped into unfamiliar territory, clocking an admirable 8:49. Craig Whyteside finished in 9:14, no doubt hoping to continue his fine finish to the summer. Euan Walker then secured the first team 21st out of 40 teams in a time of 8:52.  Callum Young brought the B trio home in 28th place running 9:40.

I did first leg in the senior men 4x4km relay with the team eventually finishing 5th. Lying 8th as I crossed the bridge near the sports complex, I made my burst for home too early not realising there was still a fair distance left. Still, I couldn't complain with 9th and a time of 12:39.