University success for Bristows in top class field

Lerwick athlete Katie Bristow stormed to victory in the Scottish University 10km Championships at the weekend.

Katie and brother Bobby travelled to Grangemouth for the annual “Round the Houses 10km” which incorporates the university championship.

The notoriously fast and flat course attracts many of Scotland’s leading 10km runners.

Katie, 20, representing Glasgow Caledonian University had her best 10km run to date, recording a personal best time of 37mins 10s to take the championship.

She stormed to victory with more than 1min 30s separating herself and second place.

As well as taking the university championship Katie also achieved a second place finish within the whole race, finishing just 14s shy of the leading woman, and beating Scottish international Lesley Chisholm into third.

Katie said: “I’m so delighted to be crowned Scottish University 10km champion and shocked by the fast time despite the unfavourable weather conditions. The windy conditions made it an extremely tough race, giving me confidence in my current form.”

Following on from Katie’s second place finish in the Scottish University Cross Country Championships, she is now one of the leading Scottish university athletes.

Bobby, 21, representing the University of Strathclyde continued his fine form finishing fifth in the Scottish University Championships. He put up a good fight challenging for the medal positions, finishing just 10s behind the third place runner in a time of 33mins 27s. T

his brought him in as 10th overall in the whole race, behind some of Scotland’s leading males. Despite finishing just 13s behind his personal best which he set a month ago, Bobby said: “I was incredibly pleased with my run. Although I didn’t get a personal best, I still believe it is one of the best races I have ever run given the adverse weather conditions and for the first time I found myself running alongside some of the most respected runners in Scotland.

“I hope this provides a good platform for future successes.”

Bobby and Katie’s runs both comfortably qualify them for next year’s Island Games.

They both hope to build on their fitness throughout the summer and achieve more success. They would both like to thank their coach Mike Johnston for his support and guidance.