Livesey close to his best as he wins Inverness race

FRASER CLYNE

SCOTTISH international Ben Livesey (Forres Harriers) defeated a field of 1,126 to win yesterday's Inverness half marathon in which many of the leading runners produced lifetime best performances.

It was the RAF man's second win in five years and his time of 1hr 8min 3sec was just seven seconds outside his best set at last autumn's Warrington half marathon.

Caithness athlete Andrew Douglas, representing Inverclyde AC, also ran faster than before when clocking 1:08:45 to finish in second position.

Niku Millott, in seventh position, set a best time of 1:14:29 when leading Metro Aberdeen to the men's team prize with backing from Neil Jaffrey (12th) and Rob Taylor (16th).

It was a close call for the Aberdeen men as they tied on points with Bellahouston Road Runners and only secured the trophy because their third counter finished ahead of the Glasgow side's last scorer.

North cross-country champion Melissa Whyte (Inverness Harriers) had to work hard to fend off a strongchallenge from Pamela Tosh (Aberdeen AAC) to win the women's race in which both set personal best times.

Aberdeen's Ian Garioch smashed his personal best time when winning the British universities indoor 400 metres title at Sheffield yesterday in 48.47.