Promoting Athletics in Orkney

Orkney Athletic and Running Club

2 days ago

𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝

After the field events at last month’s Sinclair General Stores Open Graded had to be cancelled due to the weather, we ran three of them back tonight in a rare midweek competition outing to give the previous competition entrants a chance to set marks at the end of the 2026 outdoor season.

After a couple of injuries and illnesses, there was only one entrant for the High Jump, but Gerard Enemmuo brought enough energy for a full field, flying past his previous 1.78m PB to clear 1.80m at the second attempt and then 1.85m at the third. By my records, this is an Orkney outdoor record in three age groups (Gerard is an U18, but it will count up to U20 and Senior) as the only three jumps we have recorded higher (Max Linklater and Calum Elder at 1.86m and Scott Milne’s 1.89m) were both indoor. Gerard very nearly made my record keeping a lot easier by clearing 1.90m and taking the record outright, but couldn’t quite make it over in three attempts. This is a fantastic achievement for Gerard, who is still just 16 years old and who made last year’s home Island Games as a sprinter, a sign of the talent and hard work he puts in across multiple disciplines. Congratulations!

It was a busier line up at the long jump with seven participants, with Lizzie Harcus the standout, passing both her official PB of 4.53m and her North Isles Sports record of 4.59m by jumping 4.66m, an Island Games qualifying standard on her second jump - which she actually jumped twice, almost matching with a 4.65m on her fourth jump. Elsewhere, Dillon Hume showed his consistency by passing 5m with all six legal jumps, with 5.32m the longest jump of the night, while Tyler Budge jumped 4.92m, Drew Miller 4.84m, Madison Russell 4.26m, Brooke Learmonth 3.93m and Ruby Bruce 3.43m.

Over at the shot put circle, four throwers lined up, three of whom were throwing new higher weights thanks to the age group categories changing on October 1st. Saffron & Scarlett Hoque had previously thrown the 4kg shot at nationals, with Saffron throwing a PB of 7.98m tonight and Scarlett 8.27m. Ruby Bruce threw 5.80m and Mason Budge 5.65m.

Thank you to the officials and volunteers who meant we could put on this late season mini-competition: Aly, John, Susan, Ian, Joseph, Candice, Judith, Vicki & Katrina. It’s hugely appreciated! ... See MoreSee Less

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Orkney Athletic and Running Club

3 days ago

Doug Gourlay & Karen Petrie were in Aberdeen this weekend to take the Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course with Scottish Athletics, which is the road-equivalent qualification to Coaching Assistant and the one Carrie and Sarah already hold. We're delighted to grow our senior road team, and thank you very much to Doug & Karen for coming forward.

Thank you to OIC Sport and Leisure for the ongoing financial support for Coach Development, which makes a huge difference to what we're able to offer. ... See MoreSee Less

Orkney Athletic and Running Club

1 week ago

Freya and Millie have been down in Glasgow today competing in Sprint Fastest, an invitational 200m event to open the indoor season.

With the age group categories changing as of October 1st, Millie and Freya are both technically U20 but the split was done by the age group in their qualification year, so Millie went in the U20 which was a straight final and Freya the U18 which had heats first.

In her heat, Freya ran 26.50 to secure automatic qualification for the final, just outside her outdoor PB and what would have been an Orkney U18 record if this event had been last weekend before the age group changes!

Millie was very competitive in an event that isn't her strongest distance on the track, clocking 28.58s to finish fourth in the U20 final, just outside her PB again.

Then in her final, Freya ran a time of 26.95s to clinch a bronze medal against some very good competition.

Well done to both for traveling to compete and we hope to see further improvements over the winter with an eye on the Faroes next year. ... See MoreSee Less

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