Hunter's Bog Trotters win team gold in National Cross Country

Capital clubs were in the medals as Glasgow's Beth Potter and Central's Andy Butchart grabbed their second Scottish National Cross Country titles at Callendar Park, Falkirk.

Beth Potter won the women's title

The 24-year-old Potter regained the title she first won in 2013 with a great display of front-running over a hilly, two-lap 8000 metres course.

“My training’s been going really well,” said Potter whose target is a GB place at the Rio Olympics.

Fionnuala Ross (Shettleston), the Scottish Inter-District winner at Holyrood last month, chased her home, with third-placed Rosie Smith leading Edinburgh’s Hunter’s Bog Trotters to the team gold with Edinburgh AC second.

The six-times former winner Freya Ross (Edinburgh AC), was fourth, boosting her hopes that she might still make the GB marathon team for Rio.

She leaves today for Boulder, Colorado to train with her coach Steve Jones.

Butchart, who also heads for the US shortly, made light work of a hard, three-lap 12,000 metres to take the men’s title ahead of Inverclyde’s Andrew Douglas and Forres Harrier and former EAC man Mark Mitchell.

Corstorphine bagged team silver behind Central and struck gold when David Addison won the under-13 boys’ race.

Steph Pennycook (Fife AC) won the under-20 women’s title from Edinburgh University’s Louise Mercer, while Eloise Walker (EAC) won the girls under-15 race.