New records and personal bests were set as we widened our support for athletics in Scotland.
scottishathletics’ first Lindsays Scottish Road Race Series reached the finish line in spectacular style with the 10k championships in Glasgow last weekend.
It rounded off a seven-race national championships series which saw first-class races tee-up an exciting year of athletics across Scotland.
Our support of scottishathletics’ cross country season is already one of the longest-running sponsorship agreements in Scottish sport.
This was expanded this year as part of a dual-sponsorship agreement which will run until 2029.
And we are delighted by its success, as races across the series were hugely in demand with a record 1,450 (combined fields) competing in the 5k and 10k events earlier this month in Edinburgh and Glasgow, representing a new all-time high.
Ian Beattie, our Chief Operating Officer, said: “As a firm, we believe that sport - at any level - is a significant part of communities and plays a positive part in improving peoples’ personal health and wellbeing. The level of competition and stories we’ve heard from the Lindsays Scottish Road Race Series stand testament to that.
“Extending our support of scottishathletics to this national championship series has felt really natural for us."
It’s fantastic to be able to showcase the contribution that athletics makes to life in Scotland, especially as anticipation builds ahead of the return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow this summer.
Among those to break records during the series was Falkirk Victoria Harriers runner Fiona Matheson, who set a new W65 British Best during the Lindsays Scottish 5k Championships at Silverknowes in Edinburgh.
On inspiring others in the sport she told scottishathletics: “That is what I’d like to be known for, to inspire other people. Because if I can do it at my age, what can people be capable of if they’re willing to put in the work. It is such a great hobby to have.”
Fiona, whose journey in sport started as a mum aged in her 40s, added: “I enjoy it so much. I enjoy events like this.
“The number of people out here, the spectators, it’s such a good feeling,
“I’ve got my grandkids here and it’s nice for them to come along and watch their gran and grandpa running.
“Running is my wellbeing, and I’ve met so many great people through this, and it’s my hobby and it’s the people I meet, I just enjoy it so much.”
The Lindsays Road Race Series events were the Scottish 10k Road Champs (Shettleston), Scottish 5k Road Champs Silverknowes), Scottish Marathon Championships (London Marathon), Scottish 10-mile Road Champs (Strathclyde Park), Scottish Road Relay Champs (Livingston), Scottish National Young Athletes Road Race Champs (Greenock) and the Scottish National Half Marathon Champs (Inverness).
