Great Edinburgh Runs

Jo Zakrzewski was delighted to be selected to represent the West of Scotland at the Great Edinburgh International Cross-Country on January 7th, having not used her spikes in a year.

This year the race incorporated the U23 InterCeltic competition so the Scottish field was bolstered by many young internationals. Jo started off at the back but worked her way up through the field on the first lap, and continued to pick runners off on each of the next four, to finish the 5K race in 12th position overall (in a time of 20:58) and 3rd counter for the West (behind two U23 internationals).

There was none of last year's snow, but the elements to battle this year included strong winds and ankle-deep mud (with at least one runner having to run the final lap wearing only one shoe). Later on the same day, Kevin Breen ran the Great Winter Run finishing the road 5K in 19:23 for 19th overall, while Mickey Breen represented the East of Scotland in the cross-country. Peter Hutchison, Dougie Brown and David Breen all braved the cold to offer the runners much appreciated encouragement and support.