MEMBERS of PH Racing Club showed that they are among the best of British when they pulled on their trainers for a recent ‘virtual’ event.

Half a dozen of their runners were among a total of 604 entrants for the British Masters Athletics Federation’s Teenage Cancer Trust Virtual 10K competition.

The PH runners were part of 438-strong field that overcame the challenges of the cold snap to complete their self-timed runs and produce some fine performances, while raising money for the charity at the same time.

And the club enjoyed a double tops when Kristin Lownie and Julie Menzies both finished first in their respective age categories.

The duo were among five competing PH athletes who completed their runs at Rosyth Dockyard and it proved to be a winning venue for both women.

Lownie, running in the W35 age group, posted a fine time of 38 minutes and 16 seconds, putting her top of her category and placing her 80th overall.

That achievement was added to by Menzies who, in the W45 category, ran a time of 39:44 which also saw her finish 111th overall, while a superb run of 33:58 by Paul Kieran saw him finish as the second M45 runner, and in an outstanding 11th place overall.

Martin Butcher kept Lownie company during her run but, although he couldn’t quite match her pace, his time of 39:17 was good enough for 27th place in the M40 category.

Iain Taylor had a similar experience while running with Menzies but, nevertheless, he posted a respectable time of 40:16 to finish as the 20th M50 runner.

Completing his run between Dollar and Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire resident Malcolm Hammond completed a fine list of PH achievements by claiming a podium place in the M70 category, running 44:25 to finish third.

Following that event, Scottish Athletics held their latest ‘virtual’ challenge earlier this month, and four PH members took part.

The distance for each competitor was dependent on the age of the participant and Andrew Thomson, an under-17 athlete, embarked on a 5K.

Another to complete his run at Rosyth Dockyard, he produced an excellent time of 16:30 to finish fifth, while PH’s veteran athletes also impressed.

Senior and masters runners were required to run an unusual distance of 8K and, of the three that did, Paul Hammond was the quickest, running 30:43 over a route completed in Kirkcaldy.

Closer to home, Scott Love ran 31:05, with Michael Lindsay running a time of 31:26, allowing the complete PH team of three to finish 14th overall.