Athlete Adam marks return home with victory in the city

The main objective for Borders runner Adam Craig was to test his fitness and his pace when he lined up for the 10K race at the recent Great Scottish Run.
Adam Craig with former schoolmate Samantha Kinghorn.Adam Craig with former schoolmate Samantha Kinghorn.
Adam Craig with former schoolmate Samantha Kinghorn.

So victory in Glasgow – within his personal target time – was all the more pleasing for the Lauder athlete, who is back in Scotland after graduating from university in the USA.

Adam (23) had aimed to complete the course in under half an hour and was delighted to achieve his objective, breaking the tape in 29 minutes 43 seconds.

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It was his first attempt in the Glasgow race, having spent the last three years across the Atlantic.

And there was further Borders success on the day, with double para wheelchair race world champion, and one of the most respected athletes on the circuit, Samantha Kinghorn, winning the ladies’ 10K wheelchair event.

Adam, however, said he had not raced in Scotland for a couple of years, so it was nice to perform well in front of a ‘home crowd’.

He was at Mount Olive University in North Carolina, studying exercise science while also on a cross-country/track and field scholarship.

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He graduated in May and is working part-time at Run4It in Glasgow.

Having raced competitively for around seven years, Adam said he’s still keen to “take running as far as I can”.

Ten kilometres was a good distance around which to build training during the winter period, said Adam, so he was happy to have done so well at Glasgow Green.

“It’s nice to race at home, with people you know,” he said.

“Having been away, it was nice, but thousands of people are involved in the event, so to be successful was nice to achieve.

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“I had a race plan – a test to see where my fitness was – so to be able to win a race while testing myself was a nice double.”

Knowing he is running well and training well is setting Adam up nicely for his next big event.

He has been selected for the Scottish team at the Leeds Abbey Dash, down in West Yorkshire on November 4.

“It’s a big race on the roads, so I am hoping to get a fast time again and race some of the top guys in Britain,” he said.

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Adam added he was looking forward to the event as another valuable piece of experience.

“It will be just another test, really,” he said.

“There are some quite big names in the race, guys another level above me. So it will be good to bump shoulders with them, use these guys to pull me on, and get a good time.”

Adam added: “It always helps not have any expectations going into a race, Just go in, be where you need to be and see how it goes.”

Adam also enjoyed a mini school reunion in Glasgow when he met up with Samantha Kinghorn – the two were pupils together at Earlston High School.