PAUL KIERAN, Julie Menzies and Kristin Lownie led the way for PH Racing Club as their members continued to impress in the latest 'virtual' athletics event.

Lockdown restrictions haven't forced athletes from across the country to put their feet up as the governing body, Scottish Athletics, received almost 500 submitted entries in their most recent Lindsays Virtual Road Challenge.

Held over the final weekend of January, the event consisted of different distances for different age groups, as well as a half-marathon option for those looking to test themselves over more miles.

The majority of PH's number chose to do just that and, with Kieran, Menzies and Lownie all achieving first-place finishes, the half-a-dozen members involved all placed in the top five in their respective age groups.

Kieran was the fastest of the six, with his time of 1:15.47 ensuring that he was fourth overall in addition to winning the M45 category, before Lownie, the first female overall, following with a time of 1:21.34, despite suffering a fall towards the end of her run.

In the W45 age group, Menzies then completed a winning PH trio, posting a time of 1:28.22.

Martin Butcher, who, like his three winning team-mates, completed his run at Rosyth Dockyard, finished third in the M40 age group in 1:26.22, while Iain Taylor, in 1:25.00, matched that finish in the M50 division.

Another M50 athlete, Mark McLean, was fifth thanks to a run of 1:27.58 that was completed between Windygates and Leven.

A 5K run awaited the under-17 athletes and, in that, Andrew Thomson excelled, securing fifth place with a fine run of 16:40, but luck was not on Aaron Bennet's side. Despite completing a sub-18 minute run, his effort did not count after he fell foul of the strict rules on start and finish points, having finished at the opposite end of his running route to where he had started.

The seniors and masters athletes were tasked with an 8K run – just shy of five miles – and James Adam was the fastest of four PH runners.

With a time of 28:05, he finished 11th overall, and as the sixth senior runner, while Michael Lindsay completed his run in 33:22 to finish fifth in the M35 category.

M65 runner Ed Norton won his age group with a time of 34:41 while Scott Love, in 29:55, was the eighth quickest M40 competitor.

In addition, the shorter events contained an inter-district element, with Thomson's performance helping the East District to first place in the under-17 age group, while Adam and Love's times contributed to second place in the senior/40/45 banding.

Norton was also a counter in the 50+ band, where the East District were also second, sandwiched between the West and the North.