​Paxton to host first Borders Cross-Country Series meeting of 2024

Organised by Northumberland’s Norham Running Club, it’s being held at Paxton House, with the day’s senior race setting off at noon, preceded by a junior event at 11.15am.

Paxton’s round is the fourth of the current series, following meetings at Lauder and Peebles in November and Spittal in Northumberland at the start of this month, with four more to go, all on Sundays.

They’ll be taking place on January 21 at Dunbar in East Lothian, February 4 at Galashiels, February 18 at Duns and March 10 at Denholm.

This year’s meeting at Paxton was the first to be staged there since January 2020, 2022’s having been called off because of adverse weather and 2021’s, along with all seven other runs, due to coronavirus restrictions.

Lauderdale Limper Marc Wilkinson missed out on victory at Paxton in January gone by a matter of moments, finishing as runner-up in the senior race in a time of 26:13, only 21 seconds behind Team East Lothian Athletics Club’s Angus Wright, with Richie Umpleby, of Edinburgh’s Carnethy Hill Racing Club, getting back third in 28:06.

The only other Borderers besides Wilkinson to make the top ten of the 216 runners competing were fellow Limper Gregor Ker, placing fifth in 28:23, and Gala Harrier Iain Stewart, joint ninth in 28:59.

The first female Borderer back was Caroline Wallace, of Peebles, clocking 32:37 to finish as second woman, 1:48 behind TriWorks Edinburgh’s Hollie Hindley, as well as fastest woman over the age of 40 and 44th overall.

Lauderdale’s Joseph Dawes was runner-up in the junior race, behind Lasswade Athletic Club’s Rowan Taylor, in a time of 11:05.

Five other Borderers featured among the first 20 of the 75 youngsters taking part – Gala’s Iain Haldane, Seb Darlow and Cameron Tunmore, 16th in 12:50, 18th in 12:54 and joint 20th in 12:55 respectively, and Lauderdale’s Stuart Whiteford and Ava Macleod, 18th in 12:54 and joint 20th in 12:55, as well as being fifth fastest girl.

Wilkinson has won one meeting so far this series, Spittal’s, in 22:30, and finished as runner-up in the other two.

Moorfoot Runners’ Thomas Hilton won at Peebles in 23:31 and Tom Martyn, of Edinburgh’s Hunters Bog Trotters, at Lauder in 26:15.