Motherwell AC stars master London Marathon and Youth Development League events

Athletes did well in competitions during April, including a Youth Development League meeting

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06:00, 5 MAY 2024

Motherwell Athletics Club athlete Nicole Gierlowski says she felt like a celeb thanks to supporters during the London Marathon

Motherwell Athletics Club’s stars have been in fine form recently with senior athletes tackling the London Marathon and junior runners competing in the Youth Development League.

Down south, four members of the senior endurance squad tested themselves to the limit by taking on the 26.2 mile distance in London and Jonathan Moore, Chris MacDonald, Nicole Gierlowski and Anthony Devlin can all be proud of their efforts.

Qualifying for a Championship place, Jonathan took on the gruelling challenge for the second time after his marathon debut in Manchester last year. Finishing in an outstanding 2:27:41, Jonathan took 10 minutes off his time from last year.

Chris MacDonald also qualified for a championship place after his run in last year’s Belfast Marathon. He finished in a fantastic time of 2:44:32.

Anthony Devlin also finished in an impressive 3:07:30. Anthony was absolutely buzzing to finish in a new Personal Best time, saying: “It was a great experience and the best marathon for atmosphere.”

Finally, Nicole Gierlowski won the club place in a ballot drawn at their prize giving night last November. It was touch and go whether she’d make it after suffering an ankle injury but she ran her second marathon brilliantly, finishing in 3:48:54.

Afterwards she said: “London was incredible and thank you so much to the club for giving me the opportunity to go down and represent our amazing club, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

“How I managed to pull 3:48:54 out of the bag after dealing with an injury for weeks, I don’t know!

Anthony Devlin recorded a new personal best time during the London Marathon

“The road to London was a stressful and frustrating one but I’m so happy with the final result. The atmosphere and crowds were amazing, there wasn’t a single part of the course without supporters, they definitely helped to power me through and provided some extra energy boosts.

“All the “Go Nicole” cheers had me feeling like a celeb. I got quite a lot of shouts of “Come on, Motherwell” too!”

Elsewhere, the club had eight junior athletes from their Track and Field section who formed part of Team North Lanarkshire, along with friends from Cumbernauld AAC and Airdrie Harriers, in the first match of the 2024 Scottish Youth Development League.

Viktoria Tennant came first in her U15 girls 800m with a new PB time of 2:28:82 in Grangemouth.

Andrew Clinging came first in both his races with 12.02 secs over the 100m and 24.38 over the 200m. He was also part of the 4x100m U15 boys relay team who placed first.

Jonathan Moore was thrilled with his London time, on top of his Manchester Marathon performance

Luke Russell came third in his U15 Boys 800m race in 2:26.75.

Eoghan Connelly placed 2nd in his U13 Boys 150m race in 21.42 seconds and 4th in the 800m in 2:40.93.

Noah MacGregor finished 5th in his U13 Boys 75m race in 11.74 seconds. He also jumped 3.42m in his Long Jump too.

Both Noah and Eoghan also formed part of the 4x100m U13 boys relay team who came second.

Young athletes Ana Muldoon and Viktoria Tennant represented Team North Lanarkshire at the first of this year's Scottish Youth Development League meetings

Lena Skrzdlewska ran 2:49.97 coming fifth in her U13 girls 800m race.

Emily Devine finished the U13 girls 150m in fifth place in 23.40 seconds. She also took part in the 4x100m relay team for her age group which placed 4th.

Ana Muldoon won first place in her U13 girls 800m race in 2:42.28. She also took part in the Shot Putt coming second with a throw of 5.90m.

The club also had senior Peter Gallagher take part in the DAAA 10 mile race recently, finishing with a PB in 1:22:44.