Flat 'N Fast 6 ready to bring fastest fields to date

Stride Athletics is proud to welcome you back to the West Lothian Cycle Circuit in Linlithgow for Flat ‘N Fast 6, home of Scotland’s fastest 5K.

A total of 662 runners will compete over our signature distance, with 77 junior athletes in Under 14 and Under 12 categories in the three-kilometre race.

The Elite Men’s race sees a dozen runners looking to break the 14-minute barrier, including Flat ‘N Fast 3 winner and Springboard Athlete, Andrew McGill. He will be making his fifth appearance, having finished in the top 10 in each effort so far.

His Cambuslang Harriers teammate Ryan Thomson is aiming for a time of 13min 45sec, a nine-second improvement on his personal best. East Sutherland’s Ross Gollan, who finished third behind McGill at Flat ‘N Fast 3, holds the fastest personal best with a time of 13:52. Garscube Harriers’ Finlay Ross-Davie and Inverclyde AC’s Peter Bradshaw have also gone under 14 minutes before. Bradshaw was second last April, while Ross-Davie has finished fourth the past two Aprils and will hope this time to make the podium.

Shettleston Harriers’ hopes will lie with Jamie Burns, who was pipped to the podium by Gollan at Flat ‘N Fast 3. He has a personal best of 14:04. Kilbarchan AAC’s Robbie Ferguson and Fraser Gilmour finished runners-up to Tom Graham-Marr in September and are back for another bite of the cherry along with teammate Lewis Hannigan who has a personal best under 14:10.

The likes of Corstorphine AAC’s Angus Smith and Fife AC’s Andrew Thomson will be looking to break 14 minutes too.

Ireland’s Emily Haggard-Kearney headlines the Elite Women’s field, having posted a time of 15:13 last year. The Warriors Pentathlon & Athletic Club athlete was ranked 73rd in the world over 5K in 2025, having ran 15:35 at a World Athletics-recognised race in Leicester.

Closer to home, Fife AC’s Annabel Simpson and Central AC’s Morag Millar - the respective winners of Flat ‘N Fast 4 and 3 - will be hoping for an upset against the favourite, while aiming to go under 16 minutes. Edinburgh AC’s Nancy Scott, who was second at Flat ‘N Fast 3, and last April’s bronze medal winner, Kirsty Walker, will look to join them in the front pack as well as Stride Athletics’ Meg Gadsby.

Gadsby, who has a personal best of 15:52, will be the Athlete Springboard’s best shot of a podium position in this race. Another English athlete in contention, Blackburn Harriers’ Isabel Holt, is looking for a time close to 16:10. Expect Central AC’s Grace Whelan, Gala Harriers’ duo Katie Rourke and Isla Paterson, and Edinburgh University Hare and Hounds’ pair Alice Fearn and Imogen Marshall to also feature at the front.

Garscube Harriers’ James Alexander will look to improve on Oliver MacDonald’s 14:25 time from last year, which stands as the best Under 20 Men’s time so far. Inverness Harriers’ Andrew Baird will look to match him. Other youngsters looking to make a statement include Lasswade’s Andrew McWilliam and Falkirk Victoria Harriers’ Callum Hendry.

Fearn and Marshall will be the top Under 20 Women on paper, along with their university colleagues Charlotte-Rose Burton and Caitlyn Heggie, who has just moved into the Under 23 category. Stornoway RAC’s Abbie Stewart will look to show her quality in her debut at the circuit. 

The Elite Women’s race will also feature Under 18 and Under 16 runners, with the pick of the bunch being Harmeny AC’s Nancy Corrie, who looks to break the 17-minute barrier.

In the junior 3K, Aberdeen AAC’s Millie Glass Park returns, hoping to win again at Flat ‘N Fast again after nearly winning the race outright back in September. Now in the new Under 14 category, she will look to challenge at the front once again. Inverness Harriers’ Iyla Souter, Gala Harriers’ Molly Trewartha and Aberdeen’s Coco Czekalowska will also contend in the Under 14 Girls race.

Springburn Harriers’ Thomas Fraser-Moodie, who finished third in September in the Under 13 Boys race, is the quickest on paper in the Under 14 Boys category. Cambuslang’s Carlo Brown, who took silver ahead of him, also returns. Fife AC’s Eddie Niven, Lasswade’s Gregor Wright and Harmeny’s Fynlay McVay will eye the podium too.

The Souter family may see a friendly rivalry between Iyla and younger brother Maverick, who is the fastest Under 12 Boy on the startlist. Garscube’s Ruaridh Maiden, Harmeny’s Jackson McVay, Giffnock North’s Murray McKerracher and Greenock Glenpark Harriers’ Elijah Taylor are amongst the fastest contenders.

The U12 Girls race remains open with the likes of Falkirk Victoria Harriers’ Anna-Leigh Meaney and George Heriots’ Millie Nisbet currently entered. Harmeny’s Francesca Queen and local favourite Akira Nagda of Linlithgow AC will also be aiming to run close to 12 minutes.

Races begin on Saturday, 18 April at the West Lothian Cycle Circuit in Linlithgow at 14:00.

The Elite Men's race will feature 95 athletes aiming to run under 15 minutes, with the same number aiming for well under 19 minutes in the Elite Women's race. A 50% success rate in both would set new best standards.