Aberdeen star Calvin Ramsay is urging north-east youngsters to follow in his footsteps by taking part in next month’s Run Balmoral races.
The 19-year-old former Hazlehead Academy pupil is one of the hottest prospects in Scottish football at the moment, but it’s only a few years since the Aberdeen defender was making his mark as a promising young middle distance runner.
Ramsay finished third in the secondary schools 2.5k at Balmoral in 2017 and was fifth the following year.
He was also a regular at the Aberdeen parkrun 5k, completing the weekly run along the beach promenade on more than 70 occasions between 2015 and 2019, finishing first on a number of occasions.
And, in 2015, he was narrowly beaten into second position in the Union Street mile secondary schools race.
Ramsay’s potential also shone through on the track, finishing 10th in the 2017 East of Scotland 1500m championship race at Grangemouth.
But his podium position at Balmoral stands out as one of his best running memories.
He said: “My dad Graham encouraged me to get involved in running along with my football. He wasn’t a runner, but he was a decent footballer, playing as a striker at Highland League level.
“It was him who suggested I should try the Balmoral race. I wasn’t too keen to begin with, but when he told me more about it I decided to give it a go.
“So I went along and loved it. The set-up was brilliant, the road we ran on was great, the event was really well organised and the staff there were fantastic.
“It’s definitely one of the best events for youngsters in this area who want to get involved in the sport.”
Ramsay believes his running background undoubtedly helped his football career, as it boosted his endurance.
He said: “When I was training with the Aberdeen under-14s and under-15s at the Sports Village, there was always athletics going on.
“My dad thought it would be good for me to get involved so I could get a bit of extra training on top of my football, so I would go straight from football training to doing running training with the athletics team. It certainly helped my fitness and I really enjoyed it.
“I even went to a track meeting in Glasgow with Aberdeen AAC. It was a big competition with good runners from all over the country. I didn’t do too well, but it was a good experience.”
Ramsay’s first taste of running came in the local parkrun at which he became a well-known face.
His career as a professional footballer has taken off big-time since his last Aberdeen parkrun appearance in January 2019 – but he might be tempted to give it a go again in the future.
He said: “I enjoyed doing them almost every Saturday morning. I was usually quite high up and even finished first a few times.
“I need to get out and do one again at some point when I have time.”
Meryl Cooper begins season with 62k trail race
Banchory’s Meryl Cooper opened her 2022 account by finishing fourth in the women’s division of the Transgrancanaria 62k trail race.
The Great Britain ultra trail running international completed the challenging course in 6hr 38min 37secs, while Switzerland’s Ariane Wilhelm won in 6:06:16.
She said: “The field was really strong so I am happy with my position. I was just three mins off third place, but I finished strongly by opening up 10-13mins over the final 14k on the girls I was racing with.
Cooper acclimatised for the anticipated warm conditions by regularly sitting in a sauna and taking hot baths.
Now she’s hoping her performance will be good enough to secure selection for the world ultra trail running championships later in the year.
She was selected to represent Great Britain in 2021, but the world event, scheduled for Thailand, was postponed until November 2022.
Cooper said: “The Transgrancanaria event was one of the races identified as one in which we could prove our fitness, so hopefully I have done that and will be selected for GB again.”
