RUNNERS with PH Racing Club have been on the road to success during a packed season of competition throughout 2023.

The Dunfermline-based club have been represented at a variety of events covering distances from 5k to marathon, and have picked up a number of national medals along the way.

The Inverness Half Marathon, which this year incorporated the Scottish Half Marathon Championships, saw Martin McNellis win his first national medal with V60 gold, whilst Kristin Lownie, Julie Menzies and Malcolm Hammond all won age group silver medals.

The Scottish 10 Mile Championships, held at Strathclyde Country Park, saw Ed Norton collect V70 gold, and Menzies win V50 silver, whilst Scott Love, Alan McGowan and Mark McLean, together with Kinross Road Runners' John Beveridge, finished as the third team in a half marathon event in Prague.

Six PH competitors were in action at the London Marathon, chosen to host the Scottish Marathon Championship, and resulted in Hammond winning a Scottish V70 gold, with Graeme Doig, in the V40 category, winning silver with a new PB, and club record, time to place seventh in the V45 age group.

Elsewhere, Mark McLean took part in the Rome Marathon, whilst Andy Jannetta and Alan McGowan set new best times in the Manchester Marathon, which also saw fine runs from McNellis, who placed 11th in the V60 category, Michael Lindsay and Sarah Paterson, who also claimed a PB.

Menzies (V50), with a silver, and Norton (V70), with a bronze, were once more in the medals at the British Masters Championships, which was incorporated into the 'Round the Houses 10k' and East District 10k Championship in Grangemouth, with the latter also winning a team bronze in the in the V35-55 category, having been 'down-aged' along with Paul Kieran to make a team of three with Mark Ryan.

Norton was also PH's sole representative at the Scottish 10k Championships, held at Glasgow Green, where he picked up another V70 title, which came after he had claimed gold, with a PB, at the Sri Chinmoy Scottish 5k Championships in Edinburgh.

Menzies was also on the podium once more, picking up V50 silver, whilst personal best times were achieved by Aaron Bennet, Andy Jannetta, Michael Lindsay and Susan Allan, the third female PH finisher behind Menzies and Sarah Paterson.

A total of 15 competitors from the club also took part in the Loch Leven Half Marathon, hosted by Kinross Road Runners, and ended with four of them winning their respective age categories.

Ben Hukins, who finished fourth overall, collected the V40 prize, whilst Aaron Bennet took home the junior title.

Judy Turner, the solitary female competitor for PH, and who also finished first V50 in the Ben Lomond Hill Race, was first in the V50 category, whilst Malcolm Hammond was first in the V70 age group. John Crookston was runner-up in the V60 category.

A healthy contingent from the club ran in Perth Road Runners' 'Brig Bash' five-mile race, which saw Gayle Lindsay finish as first female, with a new club record time of 30 minutes and 39 seconds.

She teamed-up with sister Katrina and Sarah Paterson to win the ladies team prize, whilst she also picked up the accolade for the first mile.

Aaron Bennet, in finishing 10th overall, equalled PH's junior club record, whilst Ed Norton took the V70 title, with Iain Wallace and Ian Stewart placing second in the V50 and V60 age groups respectively.

Mark Ryan, who also placed second at the Dick Wedlock Memorial Fire Five Mile Race along the River Clyde, was fourth overall, and first in the V40 category, in the Milnathort Dash, another event organised by Kinross Road Runners.

Phil Waring and Robert Sellar joined him in making up the PH men's team, who won the team prize, whilst Johh Crookston and Ed Norton won the V60 and V70 categories, with Julie Menzies finishing as the second female overall.

Other notable performances included Judy Turner winning the V50 category at the Lairig Ghru Hill Race, which was held over a marathon distance; Martin Butcher completing the West Highland Way Race in under his target time of 20 hours; Ben Hukins winning Fife AC's Hill of Tarvit Race; Julie Menzies winning the women's race at the 7k Benarty Gala Trail Race; and Bryan Innes finishing second overall in the same event.