Inverness Harriers athlete called up for Scotland in European Cross Country Trials in Liverpool
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LUCAS Cairns is looking forward to testing himself against the top athletes in the UK after being selected for the British Cross Challenge which takes place in Liverpool on Saturday.
The Inverness Harriers athlete is set to make his debut for Scotland at under-20 level at the event, which is also acting as trials for the European Cross Championship which is scheduled to take place in Belgium next month.
Cairns (19) from Fortrose, but now an civil engineering student at the University of Edinburgh, says representing Scotland was a target he has been aspiring to after previously representing his country in younger age groups.
He says that he will be looking to impress when he competes at Liverpool.
“It is good to be in the team as I haven't been in the Scotland squad for a few years,” said Cairns.
“I represented Scotland at a British Cross race in Stirling in 2019.
“Getting a Scotland vest was a target that I set myself at the start of the season.
“This is the European Trials and I am not 100 per cent sure what I want to achieve, as I don’t know the form of all the guys based in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“I would love to get into the European squad team, but if I finished in the top 10 or 15, I would be happy.”
Cairns first got involved in athletics taking part in park run events with his father Ross, who is his coach as well as fellow Inverness athlete Megan Keith who competed at the World Athletics Championships in August.
Originally taking up running to improve his fitness for football, Cairns concentrated more on athletics in his teenage years. He hopes this weekend can be a springboard to more high profile races in future.
“I want to get back to mixing it with the best in Scotland and UK. In the future, I would love to be selected for a Great Britain team for a European Championship and try and go professional.”
