IT WAS a major medal haul for Team East Lothian athletes at the Inter-Districts Cross Country race in Irvine on Saturday.

Both individual and team performances were outstanding, as the medal tally grew throughout the day.

Runners had to qualify to get selected for the event in the first place, with the main qualifying event for Scotland East being the East District Cross Country Championships held at Stirling last month (see story on facing page).

There were 15 places available for each team – Scotland East, Scotland West and Scotland North, with the top six finishers in each counting towards the overall team position.

Team East Lothian was representing Scotland East and incredibly had 12 athletes selected across the age categories.

Sadly, Olivia Robbins (girls’ U15) was not able to compete due to illness.

The event got off to a flying start with the U13 boys’ race.

They ran 3k over the hilly Irvine Beach Park.

This year’s winner, Howie Allison, was a Team East Lothian (TEL) athlete, representing Scotland East.

Allison ran a brave race to tear through the field, take the lead and hold the winning position, crossing the line first.

Team-mates Jake Page and Joe Smith (both TEL) also had strong runs in the same race, finishing 12th and 18th respectively.

Scotland East won team gold in this category.

The U13 girls covered the same 3k route, with Freya Brown and Cerys Wright, both from TEL, running for Scotland East.

They ran exceptionally well at this level to win individual silver and bronze medals, and contributed to Scotland East team gold.

Innes Wright had a great run in the boys’ U15 4k race and paced the race well to finish in fifth.

He was the third Scotland East boy to finish and helped the team win gold again in this race.

In the women’s U17 race, Maja Thomson was also the third Scotland East finisher, with an impressive time of 24m38s for the 6k course, putting her in seventh place overall.

Ella Nicholson ran very well to finish in 20th place and with an excellent time of 26m30s. Scotland East won silver in this race.

The men’s U17 race was dominated by Scotland East from start to finish, with a battle amongst themselves for the top spots.

The top five runners were all from Scotland East, with the winner, Corey Campbell (TEL), running the 6k distance in an ultra-fast 19m38s.

Also from TEL and running fast in Scotland East vests were Angus Wright and Aidan Page, finishing in 12th and 15th.

Scotland East also won the gold in this race.

Congratulations went to all Team East Lothian athletes and coaches on their team selection, and to Scotland East for such a strong performance.