The Fastest In-Depth 5km In Scotland.
The fastest in depth 5km in Scotland. Pic SCAC
Note ; This blog was originally written following the 2022 5km event
The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team have been organising races on the esplanade at Silverknowes in Edinburgh since 1981. They have organised a 5km race in the first week of May each year for over 15 years. The event has usually been one of the fastest 5km races in Scotland. In 2011 we were asked to host the inaugural Scottish 5km road race championships as part of the Scottish Athletics Grand Prix, a series of road races at all the classic road distances from 5km to the marathon.
The idea was to try and bring a good bunch of runners together to race themselves to “good times”. In the last ten years, the event has certainly achieved that. The quantity of runners, around 500 and growing, is not huge, but the in-depth quality is impressive.
A Simple Look at the Stats
A glance at the Power of Ten /Run Britain rankings for Scotland or Great Britain shows the Armagh 5km race in Northern Ireland, which tend to invite many of the best runners in the UK to their annual event in March, traditionally have the faster overall times. Armagh invites many of the best runners in the UK to their race in February. The growing Podium series in Lancashire and elsewhere attracts some top club runners now incentivised with a large prize list. The Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 5-kilometre in Edinburgh vies for the best in-depth 5km field in Great Britain.
The depth of the Races in 2022
Men Overview 2022
- No fewer than 19 athletes broke 15 minutes.
- With a further 71 breaking 16 minutes.
- 80 athletes ran under 17 mins,
- 87 ran under 18 mins.
- 73 ran under 19 minutes.
- 70 dipped under 20 minutes.
- In total, 375 men ran under the 20-minute barrier.
Women overview 2022
- Four women ran under 17 minutes
- 16 ran under 18 mins;
- 20 ran under 19 mins;
- 21 ran under 20 mins
- A further 22 ran under 21 mins.
A total of 83 under 21 minutes!
OK, you can prove anything with statistics, but further scrutiny of the Edinburgh result reveals over 170 runners set lifetime personal bests. Many more runners set season bests!
What could be the reasons for this?
Two reasons.
It speaks volumes for the vibrant club structure, Scottish Athletics has developed in recent years. Together with a good competition structure for the clubs at cross country and on the roads. Club runners love to have the thrill of racing and knowing they have given their absolute best whatever, their standard on a given day. The Silverknowes event provides a great platform for “Pure Racing”. There are simple trophies for the winners, the lure of Scottish championship medals for a few, but for most it just comes down to “The Buzz” of a well organised but simple grassroots event and great camaraderie within and amongst the Scottish Clubs.
More than that, it simply strives to bring together athletes and runners to compete against each other and bring the best out of one another. The 5km Park Run phenomenon has its role in providing a platform for many runners to have their first communal running outing while also enabling them to improve. The Edinburgh 5km race enables runners of all standards to come and RACE and strive for PBs.
The event has also grown with the support of Athletic Clubs throughout Scotland. Runners travel regularly, not just from Scotland’s central belt, but up to 125 miles and more from Aberdeen, Inverness, and Moray in the North and Dumfries in the South West. Club bragging rights also being very much up for grabs.
Previous winners of the fastest in-depth 5km in Scotland
At the front of the field, some of Scotland’s finest current athletes, like Olympians Callum Hawkins and Andrew Butchart, have used the event as a development race. Butchart was the winner way back in 2013 when a young rising star with 14.35, Hawkins set then current course record of 14mins 17secs in 2015; Kris Jones, multiple GB international on many surfaces, road, track, trails and cross country, not forgetting Orienteering was champion in 2017 and again in 2019 on a windy night in 14.26.
May 3rd 2019 Pic Bobby Gavin
Other winners in recent years have been Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games marathon runner Ross Houston and Forres Harrier Mark Mitchell, who narrowly missed out on selection for Glasgow 2014 at 1500 metres.
The women’s race too has featured some fast times from Scottish and GB Internationals and Commonwealth games representatives Morag Millar (MacLarty) and Sarah Inglis, along with Mhairi MacLennan. Scottish international and Fife AC athlete Annabel Simpson has been the Women’s victor on four occasions.
What’s your best 5km time?
What is your best 5k time? If you feel you have run to your potential, fine. If you still think you can improve, put May 3rd in your diary for 2024, get those speed sessions in and join in the fun at Silverknowes.
Footnote. The early Sri Chinmoy races at Silverknowes were five miles. This was a popular distance in the 1980s. Our 5-mile course record is held by Jim Dingwall, the Scottish Commonwealth Games marathon runner and one of the Greats of Scottish distance running. I have been unable to source Jim’s time, but I seem to remember the minute was 23! Jim, who passed away in 2005, now has an event named after him, The Jim Dingwall Round the Houses 10k event each spring, organised by his old club Falkirk Victoria Harriers.
Results of previous races can be found HERE
The date for the 2024 race is Friday, 3rd May. Details will appear HERE soon.
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