MILD and calm conditions ensured that the third scheduled race in the Borders Cross Country series was given the green light to go ahead in Peebles last month.

This was welcome news for the 198 runners, after the previous scheduled race – due to take place at Spittal in Berwick – was cancelled as a result of Storm Arwen damage.

The event took place at the hilly Hay Lodge Park, with juniors running approximately 2.2k and seniors about four miles.

In the juniors’ overall race of 92 runners, there was success for Team East Lothian (TEL) athletes, with runners from TEL finishing in first and second places in both the boys’ and the girls’ categories, meaning that TEL topped the leaderboard in the team results.

In the boys’, Aidan Page was first, with team-mates Angus Wright and Jake Page also putting in powerful performances to finish in second and eighth respectively.

In the girls’, Olivia Robbins led the charge and was first to finish, Cerys Wright making light work of the hills to finish second. Eily Sinclair was fourth overall girl.

The strong East Lothian results continued in the age category races.

In the girls’ age 10-11 category, Cerys Wright was first and there were three top-10 finishers from Haddington Running Club – Rosie Tandy (fourth), Rosalyn Weddell (seventh) and Aifric Fisher (ninth). Robyn Lupton, also from Haddington, finished 11th.

In the boys’ age 10-11 category, Alfie Pugh, from Haddington, was the first East Lothian athlete over the line in third place. Olly Hack, from Dunbar, was 16th and Isaac Robbins, Haddington, 20th.

In the boys’ 12-13 age group it was a bit of a Team East Lothian takeover, with half of the top-10 boys coming from TEL. Jake Page was third, Charlie Copp fourth, Fraser Lupton fifth, Thomas Gornall ninth and Ben Krievs 10th. Ted Boyack, from Musselburgh, was 15th.

In the girls’ 14-15 age group, all the girls came from Team East Lothian in first, second, third and fourth – Olivia Robbins, Eily Sinclair, Jessica Bullen and Cristina Elliot respectively.

In the boys’ 14-15, the top three were again from East Lothian – Aidan Page (TEL), Innes Wright (TEL) and Jim Henry (Musselburgh) respectively. Isaac Stevenson (TEL) was ninth and Ross McIntosh and Todd McIntosh from Musselburgh were 10th and 11th.

There were 198 runners in the seniors’ race over the four-mile route, with some fantastic performances from East Lothian runners.

In the female race, Flora Henry, from Team East Lothian, had a top-10 position, finishing seventh overall and first junior lady.

In the F40+, Clare Duncanson, from Musselburgh, was 11th.

In the F50+, Rhona Anderson, from Dunbar Running Club, had a superb run to finish in third. Suzanne Beattie, from Musselburgh, was fifth and Anne Hay, Dunbar, 17th, with Jenny Schwarz, from Haddington, 19th.

In the male race, Angus Wright, from Team East Lothian, ran well and was a fantastic fourth overall and first junior male.

In the men’s 40+ category, Robert Henry from Musselburgh was 11th, while Robin Watson from Dunbar was 21st. Ben Napier from Dunbar was 26th and Ross Beveridge from Haddington 30th.

In the men’s senior category, Dunbar runners Craig O’Donnell and Matt Wanless were 15th and 19th respectively.

In the men’s 50+ category, there were three top-10 finishers from East Lothian. Brian Marshall from Haddington was second, with Paul Slifer from Musselburgh fourth and Caspian Richards from Dunbar fifth. Mike Malcolm-Smith, Musselburgh, was 22nd; Martin MacDonald, Haddington, 24th; Andrew Anderson, Dunbar, 29th; and John Good, Haddington, 42nd.

In the men’s 60+, Willie Jarvie was in seventh place, while Gordon Eadie, from Musselburgh, was 17th and Jamie Wilson, from Haddington, was 19th.

As far as the seniors’ team positions went, Dunbar Running Club finished in fifth place, Musselburgh in sixth and Haddington in 11th.