Athletics: Douglas does the double at Run Balmoral.

Caithness athlete Andy runs away with a brace of weekend title sat Balm oral

Great Britain mountain racing international Andy Douglas completed a memorable double at the 21st anniversary Run Balmoral meeting by winning the Stena Drilling Tartan 10K on Saturday then taking top spot in yesterday’s TRAC 15-mile trail race.

The Edinburgh-based Caithness athlete cruised home in the 10km with a time of 32min 16sec before completing the trail run in 1hr 20min 39sec.

It was the third time he has won the 10km, the previous successes coming in 2010 and 2012, while in 2015 he won the trail race in what remains a course record 1:18:30.

It all served as a useful part of his build-up towards the mountain running season which starts in June, but before that he is heading for a spell of altitude training in Boulder, Colorado.

He said: “I’ll be in Colorado for three weeks in May, returning in time for the Great Britain trials for the European mountain running championships at the beginning of June.

“I’ll be training with a couple of guys from the US team and it looks an amazing place for running.

“Hopefully, it will set me up for the summer season.

“I’m hoping to do the European championships in July and the world championships in September. I’ll also be running in the World Cup series of races, so it’s going to be busy.”

Aberdeen AAC’s Owain Bristow finished second in the 10km in 35:12, with JSK Running Club’s Mark McCluskie third in 35:48.

Kyle Greig (Metro Aberdeen) was second in the 15-mile race in 1:23:40, with Callum Symmons (Aberdeen AAC) third in 1:28:25.

Clare Bruce scored an emphatic victory in the women’s division of the 10km, recording 38:35 when finishing 16th overall from a field of 1,901 starters.

The Metro Aberdeen runner, who has battled against injuries and illness over the winter, showed she is getting close to her best form again.

She said: “I am pleased with my run given the stage I have reached with my training and the time is all right. It was quite hot and a bit windy otherwise I might have been closer to 38min.

“When I look back at the list of women who have won this race in the past, it feels really good to have joined them.

“Now I’m looking forward to next month’s Scottish 5K championships, then the Aberdeen BHGE 10K where I’d like to get a fast time.

“Later in the summer I hope to move back to to some half marathons including the Scottish championships in Glasgow although I also plan to do the Stirling 10K and maybe the Great Aberdeen Run 10K.

Kinloss to Lossiemouth half marathon champion Ali Matthews finished second in 41:13 with Kerry Prise third in 42:04.

Scottish duathlon champion Debbie Greig won the women’s 15-mile title in 1:38:39 with Veronique Oldham (Cosmic Hillbashers) second in 1:45:39 and Nicola Duncan (Carnethy) third in 1:47:19.

“I’ll be training in Colorado next month which I hope will set me up for the summer season”

VICTORY SALUTE: Andy Douglas waves to the crowd, while, right, he shows off his prize along with women’s 10K winner Clare Bruce