Mud is good: Lindsays National XC all set to return

Wednesday 23rd February 2022

By Peter Jardine, Head of Communications

Welcome Back!

The ‘Running Event Here’ signs have been back up at Callendar Park in Falkirk for the past week or so and there really are few better sights in athletics in Scotland.

Well, apart from hundreds and hundreds of club vest-clad athletes taking to the start-line at the Lindsays National XC. And crossing the finish-line, for that matter.

We’re back on familiar ground – a fair bit of it mud, of course – and the familiarity may well breed content because Falkirk has played host to this event for more than a decade and remains hugely-popular.

This time last year it was nothing other than hugely frustrating as Covid-19 regulations suspended all club activity and made a national championship event such as this, particularly in large numbers.

Now we’ve more than 2230 athletes on start-lines from 109 different Scottish clubs and anticipation is rising on the destination of medals – for individuals and for teams.

Only a fool would predict outcomes although, in the Senior team races, Central AC men and Fife AC women will start favourites, as they have for recent editions of the Lindsays National XC.

They are ‘defending champions’, after all, albeit with a ‘gap year’ in 2021 and it is difficult to say from where their strongest challenges may emerge.

Central AC are seeking an 11^th successive men’s title while Fife AC are looking for three-in-a-row with the women’s race moving to six to count rewarding strength in depth.

The individual Senior champions offer more variety although there looks to be a strong chance that the 2022 gold medallists will be former champions – here’s the past five:

Men: 2016 Andy Butchart; 2017 Callum Hawkins; 2018 Kristian Jones; 2019 Adam Craig; 2020 Jamie Crowe

Women: 206 Beth Potter; 2017 Morag MacLarty (now Millar); 2018 Mhairi Maclennan; 2019 Steph Twell; 2020 Mhairi Maclennan

We expect all three of the most recent Men’s gold medallists to contest this year’s title and the Women’s may well become a Maclennan v Millar showdown.

But of course the event isn’t only about the medallists. Far from it.

It’s a day when in many ways the club community of athletics in Scotland gathers together and that generates a special atmosphere.

We’re expecting athletes from North Uist and Stornoway in the Western Isles to Gala in the Borders and all points in between and of course the event spans youngsters aged 11 and 12 in the opening U13 races through to those aged 70 plus (or maybe older).

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Vinco are once again our partners in terms of online broadcast coverage. That takes the form of extended highlights on Vinco from 7.30pm on Saturday evening.

This year, we will have commentary from Andy Ronald of Falkirk Victoria Harriers and Kelsey Stewart who ran the National XC as a young athlete with Aberdeen AAC.

Then, come Sunday and Monday, we will be pushing out shorter highlights of each of the ten races on our YouTube channel.

Why not subscribe to our YouTube channel (it’s free) and that way you will receive notifications of all our growing video content.

Scottish Athletics YouTube

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Falkirk Community Trust are the Callendar Park land-owners and Falkirk Victoria Harriers are our host club.

And we are indebted to representatives from numerous clubs who will marshal the course on Saturday under the instruction of Alex Jackson.

Thanks in advance to:

Carnegie Harriers, Central AC, Corstorphine AAC, Edinburgh AC, Falkirk Victoria Harriers, Inverclyde AC, Insch Runners, Kinross Road Runners, Kirkintilloch Olympians, Lochaber AC, Lasswade AC, Law & District

Linlithgow AC, Macclesfield Harriers, Perth Road Runners, Penicuik Harriers, PH Racing Club, Portobello RC, Stirling Parkrun, Sri Chimnoy AC, VP Glasgow, Wee Country Harriers and local volunteers.

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Want to Read More?

Lachlan and Morag still lead our GP tables

Lindsays Trophy: almost 90 clubs listed after two rounds

Vinco to deliver Lindsays National XC coverage once again

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