Olympians Megan and Callum lead their clubs to golds at Livingston

Saturday 22nd March 2025

Photo by Bobby Gavin

Long before they hit the road and the miles to the Olympics, Megan Keith and Callum Hawkins featured in the National Road Relays.

They were back at Livingston on Saturday and Freya Ross made it no fewer than three Olympians racing at the well-known venue based at St Margaret’s Academy.

With Paralympic T20 1500 champion Ben Sandilands on the opening leg for Fife AC, and GB and NI 100k internationals Chris Richardson and Dougie Selman in action as well, it certainly felt like there were top athletes everywhere you looked.

The atmosphere at this event always feels like a great gathering of our clubs and the competition at all three age groups in the two races is intense on an annual basis.

So it proved once again in 2025 and as the stories unfolded both Megan and Callum duly anchored their lifelong clubs to gold medals – each at the sharp end of fine team efforts by Inverness Harriers women and Kilbarchan AAC men.

It was a very first title win in this event for Inverness in the Senior Women’s category.

They did so with a quartet that featured an Olympian, a mum who featured in their only previous medal-winning team in 2015 in Jenny Bannerman, U20 Caitlyn Heggie, and our W40 Masters XC champion, Helen Leigh.

Megan thus raced for the first time since that memorable 10,000m final at the Olympics where she carried an injury for 25 laps before being enveloped in the embrace of Eilish McColgan.

‘I heard whispers that there might be an Inverness team being put together for this event and my coach (Ross Cairns) and I felt it might be a good place to come back and get the race shoes on again,’ said Megan.

‘I’ve had a lot of rehab since the Olympics and I’ve had a lot of support around me. It was a tough night in Paris and it was good to have Eilish waiting at the end to support me.

‘Today there was a gap on leaders Edinburgh when I set off but I could see Kirsty Walker up ahead for most of the race. I just kept trying to chip away at the lead.

‘It’s nice to wear the club vest and it is a special day for us as a team to be National Road Relay gold medallists.’

Edinburgh AC, leaders for so much of the race after Beth Ansell‘s fast first leg, ultimately had to settle for silver medals and there were bronzes for Central AC.

In the Women’s Masters event, there was a win for Garscube Harriers thanks to the efforts of Gill Blee, Mary Senior, Ilona Kriauzaithe and Katie White. Greenock Glenpark took silvers and host club Lothian Running Club won the bronzes.

In the W50 race, there was a win for Giffnock North AC from Edinburgh AC and Kirkintilloch Olympians. Giffnock’s winning team was Hilary Carswell, Allie Chong and Angela Carson.

Photo by Bobby Gavin

Kilbarchan strike gold in Livingston (2014 report)

The Olympian theme extended to the Men’s race when Callum Hawkins closed off a superb team effort by Kilbarchan.

It was a special moment as they repeated their 2014 victory in a week when club legend Arthur Smith was laid to rest. The team dedicated the win to Arthur’s memory.

Landing those gold medals were Jack Patton, Lewis Hannigan, Robbie Ferguson, Jack Heathwood, Fraser Gilmour and Callum. Kilbarchan clocked 2:14.27 to Central’s 2:14.33 with Callum at 28:36 for the long leg last lap.

Central AC took the silvers this time (after three in a row) and Cambuslang Harriers came through in third place (after strong effort by Fife AC).

‘I have a 100 percent record here,’ grinned Callum, who won by just six seconds in the end after fighting to catch Central AC’s sixth runner Hamish Hickey.

”I was in a winning team with Kilbarchan back in 2014 but I am the only one still in this (younger) team now.

‘I’m not sure what the deficit was but by halfway I had closed it by 35 seconds. I probably caught Central AC on the gravel with about a mile to go and thankfully had enough left coming up the hill and into the finish.

‘It was good to wear the club vest again and I hope to do that on future occasions, too.’

Corstorphine AAC are strong in this event in the Masters and M50 races and won the golds in the M40 category. Edinburgh AC were second and Cambuslang Harriers were third. The winning team was Doug McKinnon, Donald McCauley, Moray Anderson, Ian Hutchinson, Chris Poxton and Stewart Livingston.

In the M50 race, the same three clubs shared the medals with the win this time for Cambuslang Harriers from Corstorphine AAC and Edinburgh AC. Cambuslang’s winning team was Chris Upson, Justin Carter, Mark Gallacher and Stevie Wylie.