Ross County Athletic Club athletes claim second and third place at Inverness 5k in field of 1500 runners
Ross County Athletic Club runners finished on the podium at the Inverness 5k held on Sunday.
Lachlan Thomas and Billy Sutherland finished in second and third place respectively with Denis Prikulis from Lochaber Athletics Club winning the title for the first time.
Prikulis (37) from Latvia, who is now based in Fort William and runs for Lochaber Athletics Club took the men’s title in a time of 15 minutes and 29 seconds.
He beat 2023 and 2024 champion, Invergordon teenager Thomas into second place by six seconds.
Sutherland from Latheronwheel in Caithness, who won the River Ness 5k in October, finished in third place in 15:59.
Normally a marathon runner, Prikulis wanted to test himself in a speed event and was delighted to be crowned men’s champion.
He said: “I am not really a 5k runner, I did two marathons in winter so I decided to change my running routine.
“In the winter I did a speed session so I decided to do a 5k here.
“It was a really close race and it was good fun. I don’t do many 5k’s as I focus more on the marathon, but I wanted to do a speed session. I decided that I needed to change my routine.”
Prikulis will now concentrate on marathon running again when he heads back to Latvia to compete in the Riga Marathon in May where he is looking to put himself in contention for a podium finish.
He said: “My next marathon will be in Riga.
“I am from Latvia so for me it is the number one race and I will try to be in the top three, but I will see how it goes.
“This is my main goal. The Riga marathon will be at the same time as the Latvian Championship.”
In the Inverness 5k’s women’s race, Carolyn Cameron claimed victory as she made her debut at the event.
In the Inverness Half Marathon, Jamie Crowe from Dundee claimed the men’s title with Nancy Scott from Edinburgh winning the women’s title.
