Moorfoot Runners’ Scout Adkin followed up winning the ten-kilometre senior women’s race at the town’s Callendar Park a year ago in 37:15 by placing third this time round in 36:46, 43 seconds behind winner Alice Goodall and nine shy of runner-up Nancy Scott, both of Edinburgh Athletic Club.
Running in the same race, Gala Harrier Sara Green was first over-40 veteran back for the second year on the bounce, placing 13th overall in 39:17.
Zoe Pflug, a former member of the Galashiels group but now with Glasgow’s Cambuslang Harriers, was fifth in 37:50.
Green was one of seven Gala Harriers to go the distance, the others, among a field of 292, being Katy Barden, 37th in 41:46; Katie Rourke, 40th in 42:00; Pamela Baillie, 74th in 44:19; Julia Johnstone, 145th in 48:48; Gillian Lunn, 170th in 50:12; and Lisa Dalgliesh, 182nd in 50:59.
Adkin’s Moorfoot clubmate Jennifer Misak was 140th in 48:34.
The day’s under-20 women’s 6.8km and under-17 boys’ 6.2km races also saw top-three finishes for Borders athletes, silver medals going to Gala’s Isla Paterson for her time of 26:08 in the former, contested by 43 runners, and Moorfoot’s Kieran Fulton for his 20:52 in the latter.
Paterson finished a minute and 11 seconds behind Dundee Hawkhill Harriers’ Natasha Phillips and Fulton was back ten seconds after Giffnock North Athletic Club’s Craig Shennan.
Fulton’s Moorfoot clubmate Thomas Hilton also made the top ten of that race, getting back ninth in 21:44, with Gala’s Zico Field placing 33rd out of 109 runners in 23:05 and Irvine Welsh 45th in 23:41.
Gala’s Darrell Hastie was 19th overall in the senior men’s 10km race in 33:31, finishing, like Green, as first over-40 veteran for the second year on the trot.
Hastie was one of ten members of his club among a field of 663 for that race, with Gary Trewartha 215th in 39:33, Iain Stewart 231st in 40:01, Wayne McIntosh 237th in 40:07, Tim Darlow 315th in 41:59, Frank McElroy 350th in 43:06, James Dennison 457th in 45:59, Neil Christie 533rd in 48:37, Charlie McCulloch 573rd in 50:23 and James Purves 609th in 52:38.
As well as fielding 19 seniors, the Gala club took 21 juniors up to Falkirk, with two claiming top-ten places.
Archie Dalgliesh was eighth out of 105 in the under-15 boys’ 4.3km race in 15:28, with Gregor Adamson 27th in 16:21, Oliver Hastie 37th in 16:46, Seb Darlow 44th in 17:04 and Charlie Dalgliesh 52nd in 17:17.
Ava Richardson was ninth out of 125 under-15 girls competing over the same distance in 17:14, with Kirsty Rankine 16th in 17:48, Elise Field 62nd in 19:56 and Kacie Brown 109th in 23:02.
Other top-30 finishes went to Gala’s Erin Gray, 28th in the under-17 girls’ 6.2km race in 27:51, and her clubmate Robbie Welsh, 18th in the under-20 men’s 6.8km race in 23:38.