Archie will relish uphill challenge as he looks to peak again...
Ready for more outdoor ‘adventures’
He, too, is always determined to keep up with the fastest times on fitnesstracking application Strava.
Archie said: “My neighbour Brian – a very, very experienced hill runner completing all the Scottish hill races three times over – pushes me to try my luck on the Strava segments on the hill and many others around the area.
“My local hill run that I do is a hill called Craig Rossie which is very steep and gets up to 25 per cent gradient.
“Another run that I do a lot is based around the Knock in Crieff where I go to school, so it’s perfect to just leave my stuff for school and head up for my run.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting racing again post lockdown. The Peebles Cademuir Rollercoaster Race and Salisbury Hill Race were both great season starters and I’m pretty happy with my performance.
“I’m fairly happy with coming in number five out of the under-18 category, being one of the younger ones in the category.
“I do take the age category as a challenge but also enjoy it. There is a great sense of achievement when successful, which is what running is about for me.
“During races it hurts but once complete it feels great and you want to go again. It feels great to beat someone older than you.
“But age shouldn’t matter and I shouldn’t expect someone older than me to beat me purely because they’re older. There’s always that sense of achievement, which can’t be beaten.”
For all of his hill running ability, Archie is also comfortable competing at a slightly lower altitude.
He is a regular at the George Duncan Athletics Arena’s track when training with the Harriers and has also earned Scotland selection in the discipline of cross country.
“Personally I like cross country a lot because I’ve had more success with events like the Scottish Schools XC at Hopetoun House where I managed to qualify to run for Scotland,” Archie explained.
“Unfortunately the race wasn’t run due to my worst enemy COVID-19 but
I’m still happy to say I qualified and still received my Scottish kit which includes jumpers, bags etc.
“The cross country can range from 3-6k at my under-15 age. On the track I prefer the shorter distances such as the 800m or 1500.
“Unfortunately we haven’t had much of a track season but I’m hoping to do well in a mixed age group 1500m race at Meadowmill in East Lothian.”
Archie is in safe hands at a Perth Harriers club which has helped to produce talented endurance athletes in Sol Sweeney and Ben Greenwood, both who have competed for their country.
“It’s great to see the success of both Sol and Ben,” said
Archie. “Personally I have never met Sol but having seen him on TV is pretty cool for me.
“On the other hand I live pretty locally to Ben so I often see him running and I keep up with his runs on platforms like Strava.
“I like to follow the progress of the two and it’s great to have his mum Gail and dad Jonathan both as coaches at the Harriers.
“They push us to do our best and I’m sure they have been a great help to Ben’s success.”