Pagett and Rourke Become First-Time Winners at Flat 'N Fast 7
Linlithgow, Scotland - Harris Pagett and Katie Rourke were crowned Men's and Women's winners at Flat 'N Fast 7, taking place at the West Lothian Cycle Circuit.
A self-proclaimed debutant in the 5K, Pagett (Strathearn Harriers) came to Linlithgow with a mission in mind: to take the tape. Standing in his way were several contenders including Andrew Thomson (Fife AC), Alastair Marshall (Central AC), Tom Webb (Stirling University) and Christian Graham (Lasswade).
From a lap in, those five had started to move the pace on, and that quickly whittled to three. Graham and Marshall were dropped, and two laps later it became apparent who would stand on the podium. Pagett made the bold move to move away from his competitors, using a strong summer in the hills to his advantage which translated to an enduring performance.
His tactic was rewarded with the win, finishing in a time of 14min 22sec. The Under 20 athlete Webb had been in a one-lap shoot-out with Thomson and snuck ahead in the final straight in 14:26 to the Fife runner's 14:27. The quickest final straight of the race came from Marshall, who overtook Graham with 100 metres to go to finish in 14:31 and 14:34 respectively. Angus Wright (Edinburgh University) was best of the rest in sixth.
Katie Rourke (Gala Harriers) claimed the Women's victory, delivering a third consistent 5K this year to finish her race in a time of 16:14. It was just four seconds shy of her personal best in tricky conditions, two months after winning her race at the Pursuit 5000.
Nancy Corrie (Harmeny AC) worked hard to put herself in with a shot of making the podium and the Under 18 finished second overall, having crossed the line in 16:43. She was far ahead of an exciting battle for the final place. Zoe Bates (Aberdeen AAC), Georgia Ledingham (Carnethy Hill Racing Club), Jessica Taylor (Edinburgh AC), Isabel Mansley (Edinburgh University) and Flora Henry (Glasgow University) were all involved in the quest for third.
Taylor would be the early leader of the bunch, but struggled with two laps to go. Henry would sit with the pace, until the last lap where she dropped off the pace set by the remaining three. Bates would have the slight advantage at the bell and would hold on by a hair, finishing in 16:59, the same time as fourth-placed Ledingham. Mansley completed the top five in 17:01, with Henry and Taylor in sixth and seventh. The latter was the first U20 runner home. Springboard Athlete Hannah Cameron moved up from the 800 metres to compete over the five laps, finishing eighth.
Other notable performances saw Ross County AC's Billy Sutherland finish as the top Under 18 athlete in 18th in a time of 15:08. Rory Beattie was the top Under 16 Boy in 15:53. Giffnock North's Emma Nicholson was the top Under 16 Girl in 18:20.
Abbie Boyle (Law & District AAC) and Carlo Brown (Cambuslang Harriers) were winners in the Under 14 Girls and Boys categories respectively, in the Junior 3K race. Boyle would claim victory in a time of 10:40 ahead of Jessica Davidson (Brentwood Beagles) in 10:54 and Molly Trewartha (Gala Harriers) in 11:01.
Brown crossed the line in a close race with Alexander James (Inverclyde AC) in a time of 9:52, with his opponent ending in 9:58. Fynlay McVay (Harmeny AC) was third in 10:04.
Murray McKerracher (Giffnock North) won the Under 12 Boys race in 10:43, with the top three separated by seven seconds. Rory McIntosh (Dunfermline Track and Field) and Kyle Hartley (Giffnock North) were second and third in 10:48 and 10:50 respectively.
Verity Mackenzie (Caledonian PAC) was impressive to win the Under 12 Girls race in a time of 11:04, followed by Mia Barnett (Linlithgow AC) in 11:21 and Matilda Thomson (Garscube Harriers) in 11:43.
Thank you to all vendors, volunteers and officials for their support including sponsors UNA and Olympic Sport Scholarships.
Results from Flat 'N Fast 7 can be found here.
Comments