March 11 2026
Promoting Athletics in Orkney
COMPETITIONS & RUNS
Upcoming Events
| Sunnybank Half Marathon | August 16, 2026 | READ MORE |
| Rousay Lap Half Marathon | August 22, 2026 | READ MORE |
BLOG
Latest News
OARC AGM set for Monday 16th March
February 18 2026
VIEW OUR LATEST UPDATES
Find us on Facebook
We are on Facebook
Primary athletics resumes TONIGHT 5:30 - 6:30. Looking outside it'll almost certainly be in the hall.
That means Secondary training is back to 6:30 - 7:30 for existing athletes. New athletes start next week, 25th August.
A huge amount of new athletes and parents so please welcome them to the club and ask if you have any questions at all!
OTE Sunnybank Half Marathon
19 hardy souls took on the individual event in the latest OTE Sunnybank Half Marathon - the four lap course lends itself to the relay format, so they were joined by eight relay teams for another seventeen runners. Folk will remember that this is the Island Games course, four times up the hill past the golf club, along Sunnybank and then back down to the Picky via the Liberator Path.
Our winning athlete John Gonella took on the hills with aplomb - perhaps aided by the training run at the Stromness 10k a few weeks ago - and finished in a winning time of 1:17:39, nearly nine minutes clear of his nearest challenger Joel Chaney. In winning the race, John completed the 'OTE Double', adding this title to to May's Kirkwall Half Marathon.
Dawn Williams was our first female finisher in 1:49:01, meaning that both our men's and women's events were won by veteran athletes - a return to their dominance of Orkney events after the Stromness 10k temporarily broke the spell.
Alex Brown was the first senior male in 1:32:02, with Marnie Ker the first senior female in 1:55:19. Coming in just under two hours was our first super vet female Ruth Spence (1:59:58) with participation league topper Mervyn Hourston (1:44:49) the leading super vet male.
Elsewhere in the field, we saw a huge PB by Stewart Beattie who took more than ten minutes off his best, with Ewen Harrison also setting a new best in a very impressive time of 1:37:08.
On the relay side of things, we saw a lot of athletes (including your correspondent) delighted to only have two laps of the course to handle rather than four. We had a few family teams, and it was the Budges - Vikki and Mark - that picked up the relay gold medals ahead of Ian Manson and Fraser Christie's Orphir Unathletic Club and our only trio in third - Kristina McPherson, Eilidh Christie & Scarlett Palmer, running under the day's best team name - Chafing the Dream.
Well done to all the participants, and thank you to our fantastic team of marshals, and particularly to Carrie, Sarah and Craig for running another smooth event, and to OTE for sponsoring our Half Marathons this season and for many previously. The next and last OARC road event of the season will be the Dounby 10k on September 20th. See you there!
Here's the start courtesy of lap counter Ava
More photos to come in the morn!
This email was sent to all track and field members, reposting it here in case anyone's spam folder swallowed it. Please let us know if you didn't get it!
The new school year approaches quickly and with it, a lot of new members as well as a lot of former primary members moving up into secondary training. This is a quick overview email of some of the key dates coming up over the next month or so for your diaries.
Primary Training
Primary training starts again on Tuesday 18th August (next Tuesday) between 5:30 - 6:30 PM. We have a huge new intake with about half the group being new starters, so please bear with us while we get into the flow of things! Training will be on the track if the weather is good, and inside in the hall if it isn't.
Please make sure your term fees are paid before the start of term: you should have received a payment request via Coacha.
Secondary Training
Secondary training for continuing athletes has continued through the summer and is on next week (Tuesday 18th), returning to the 6:30 - 7:30 slot on Tuesday rather than the earlier times we've been training at through the summer. Wednesday and Thursday training is 6-7pm with the exception of Thursday 27th when it will be at the earlier time of 4:30 - 6:00pm due to a football booking in the evening.
New secondary members, both S1s and older will start the following week from Tuesday 25th August. Rotas for members rotating between groups will be provided by email and will also be posted on the notice board in the crush area between the S&C gym and the track entrance.
New members, please make sure your payment subscriptions are set up before the start of term: you should have received a payment request via Coacha. If you can choose a start date for the direct debit payment, please make it early September.
Competition
In order to help those aiming for next year's Island Games in the Faroes achieve standards, we have put on a small competition on Sunday 6th September. Track events are open to anyone for this event (1500m and below) but there is only one group for each field event with a maximum of eight spots, with priority going to IG athletes and the remaining spots being first come first served: once events sell out, there will not be further places. Entries are open now via data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2026/GBR/oarcsept26/ Entries close on the 30th.
New Athlete Advice
Our club handbook www.orkneyarc.org.uk/athlete-parent-handbook/ should answer most questions, but please get in touch if you have any questions that aren't covered here. General training advice stands: Bring a bottle of water and layers to training. Stay warm during warm ups etc and then take jackets, hoodies off for session (if warm enough to do so). The weather has to be very bad for sprints and middle distance not to train on the track, although field groups will move inside if space is available.
Who to speak to
Your key points of contact are:
Rob Dinsey - Chair, point of contact for administrative questions - chair@orkneyarc.org.uk
Chris Webb - Welfare Officer, for any concerns - welfare@orkneyarc.org.uk or via www.orkneyarc.org.uk/safeguarding-welfare-hub/
John Cairns - Club Development Officer, point of contact for training and competition related questions or general athletics advice cdo@orkneyarc.org.uk
Your Lead Coaches - Lyle for Primary, Mags and Nigel for Track, Fraser for High Jump, Lyle for Long Jump and John for Throws - will also be happy to answer questions.
I hope everyone has a fantastic term: it's always a busy time of year with lots of people in new groups or starting for the first time, so please help each other and your coaches out by knowing what training group you're in, being on time and bringing everything you need.
Athlete & Parent Handbook | Orkney Athletic and Running Club
www.orkneyarc.org.uk
Last updated 01 Jan 2026 The following is emailed to all new members, but is reproduced here for reference. If any part of it appears to be out of date, ple ...
JOIN US
Become a Member
As well as providing regular athletic instruction and training sessions, one of the key aims of OARC is to promote pathways to performance and as part of this, the Club organises and participates in a range of home and away competitions throughout the year.