Congratulations to Kebba Sanneh for winning the Youth Community Champion Awards at the Glasgow Times Community Champion Awards!

Kebba is a Local Community Impact Leader, a role funded by Athletics Trust Scotland, to coach athletics to children and young people in the East End of Glasgow. The area is amongst the most deprived in Scotland, with 35% of children growing up in poverty. Without sessions like this one, which is run in partnership with our friends at Scottish Athletics and Scottish Sport Futures, many of these children and young people simply wouldn’t have the opportunity to have fun getting active in a safe and supportive environment.

Kebba brings bucket loads of enthusiasm, positivity and kindness to his role and is an excellent role model for the children and young people to look up to in their local community.

Thank you, Kebba, for helping us to transform lives through the power of athletics!

Edinburgh Marathon Festival 2026

Do you want to race in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 2026 but missed general entries? You’re in luck as Athletics Trust Scotland has limited charity places for all distances from 5k to marathon!

Charity Places

With general entries for the marathon and half marathon having sold out, the only way to take part is to secure a charity place. Running for Athletics Trust Scotland means you’ll be supporting and empowering more people who face barriers to being active to reap the benefits of the sport you love!

We have charity places available across all events, with a discounted registration fee and minimum sponsorship requirement:

• Marathon – £500 minimum sponsorship and £20 registration fee
• Half marathon – £300 minimum sponsorship and £15 registration fee
• Relay – £500 minimum sponsorship and £20 registration fee (both per team)
• 10k – £150 minimum sponsorship and £10 registration fee
• 5k – £100 minimum sponsorship and £5 registration fee

Click here to secure your charity place.

Own Places

If you have already secured your own place in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival but you would like to fundraise for Athletics Trust Scotland, we would love for you to join our team! There are no minimum sponsorship targets for runners with their own place but everything you do raise will help support our work. Contact us at info@athleticstrustscotland.org.uk to confirm your support or ask any questions.

It was another special evening at the Scottish Athletics 4J Studios Annual Awards in Glasgow on Saturday.

Once again, it was an opportunity to celebrate the successes of the individuals and clubs across the country who have achieved great things this year, as well as turn the spotlight on the wonderful volunteers who make the sport happen. Athletics Trust Scotland’s Head of Fundraising and Development, Jenny Selman, and Chair, Graeme Jack, were delighted to attend with some of the charity’s key supporters.

Jake Wightman was named Athlete of the Year, while Melanie Woods was named Para Athlete of the Year.

We were pleased to see friends and supporters of Athletics Trust Scotland receive awards, including Shettleston Harriers (who we work closely with on our free athletics sessions in the East End of Glasgow) win Off Track Club of the Year and Cumbernauld AAC (who use the Athletics Trust Scotland-funded National Wheelchair Racing Hub) win Track and Field Club of the Year.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Athletics Trust Scotland raffle on the night. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we raised an incredible £2,112!

Our raffle winners were:

• Ray Muslah
• Mike Downey
• Wendy Callendar
• Stephen Wallace
• Emma Palmet
• Graeme Brown
• Brendan Flood
• Paul Collins

Athletics Trust Scotland thanks David Ovens for his transformative impact, as he steps down as a Trustee on our Board following the expiration of his term.

David, who has just started a second term as Chair of Scottish Athletics, is an ardent supporter of making athletics more accessible and equitable. He has played a key role in setting our strategic direction – to transform lives through increasing participation in running and athletics – and has provided valuable support and counsel as we established plans to scale up our work following our launch in 2021.

A member of Fife AC, David also supports Steve Doig’s training group, which has produced two Paralympic champions in the form of Owen Miller in 2021 and Ben Sandilands in 2024.

In particular, we would like to David’s commitment to ATS, remaining on our Board while dealing with personal health issues.

On his departure, David said: “I am proud to have served on the Board of Athletics Trust Scotland and to have supported the organisation’s objectives, to promote inclusion and wellbeing across communities all over Scotland, through the sport of athletics.

“Under the leadership of its Chair, Graeme Jack, and its trustees, ATS has developed a clear and ambitious vision for how athletics can drive positive change in people’s lives. I look forward to seeing its impact continue to grow.”

Athletics Trust Scotland Chair, Graeme Jack, said: “I’m very grateful to David, and would like to record my thanks on behalf of the Board as he steps down. He played a key role in establishing this important charity for runners, then supporting it through its start up period. It’s now ready to build on its early successes, and he leaves ATS in great shape with exciting plans for the coming years.”

Thank you, David, and best wishes for the future!

Inverclyde Athletic Club has once again donated £1,000 to Athletics Trust Scotland after its annual hosting of the Loch Thom Trail Race.

Race organiser and club captain Sean Gaffney handed over the donation to clubmate and ATS ambassador, John Bell, and Chair of the Board, Graeme Jack, at the Ravenscraig Stadium in Greenock.

The event started in 2024 and donates all proceeds to the charity. Both years the club has raised a fabulous £1,000, which contributes towards our work supporting communities who face barriers to being active to access opportunities to enjoy athletics and running.

“The mission here is to raise as much money as we can for Athletics Trust Scotland and, at the same time, highlight running in Inverclyde,” said Sean. “We might have one of the highest levels of poverty in Scotland, but we’ve got bags of talent and enthusiasm. We’ve got that terrain, we’ve got places to run, we’ve got great scenery. You can run right along next to the Clyde and if you time it right, you could be running along the Esplanade and see a pod of dolphins.”

“I saw it was going to be Scottish Running Week and I thought, why not? Let’s put it on that same week as well because Athletics Trust Scotland is just everything that I want in athletics.”

In the first edition of the race, the club had approximately 100 runners entered for the 7km kilometre course. This year, a 4km distance was added to make the event more accessible. The race has generated more interest from beginners in the local community and has led to the club developing sessions that accommodate different needs alongside their traditional club nights for more experienced runners.

“It’s been great to see the impact on people’s mental health. For people who have never run before, they come along to our group on a Wednesday, and they might have had a bad day at work, and they run, and they instantly notice how much better they feel after it.”

A huge thank you to our friends at Inverclyde AC and everyone who participated in the Loch Thom Trail Race. We’re so grateful for your support!

Scotland Commonwealth Games athlete Jenny Selman has been appointed Head of Fundraising and Development for Athletics Trust Scotland, the charitable trust established by scottishathletics.

Athletics Trust Scotland raises funds to transform lives through participation in running, focusing on communities in poverty, people with disabilities and ethnically diverse communities.

Jenny, who represented Scotland at the Birmingham 2022 Games, will take up her new role later this month.

The Fife AC athlete joins ATS from Edinburgh Leisure after almost seven years as funding manager. Prior to that, she held fundraising roles for the Stroke Association and Worldwide Cancer Research after completing a law degree at Dundee University.

Jenny combined this with her successful career as an elite middle distance 800m and 1500m runner, including GB and NI honours and that Birmingham selection three years ago.

‘Jenny’s capabilities, knowledge and passion for the mission of ATS shines through and we can’t wait for her to take up this role,’ said Graeme Jack, Chair of Athletics Trust Scotland.

‘She knows through her own experience that participation unlocks life-changing benefits to people’s physical and mental health.

‘I am very confident that she will drive and champion the work of our young charity, as it scales up.’

ATS was established just over four years ago.

‘I am delighted to take up the role of Head of Fundraising and Development at Athletics Trust Scotland,’ said Jenny.

‘It will be a privilege to play a part in furthering the charity’s mission of helping people who face barriers to physical activity to reap the wide-ranging health and social benefits of running.

‘I am convinced this is an exciting time for the charity and I can’t wait to get started!’

About Athletics Trust Scotland

Athletics Trust Scotland was established just over three years ago to transform lives through participation in running and athletics.

It targets areas and groups where there are significant barriers to participation including communities in poverty,  people with disabilities and ethnically diverse communities.

The charity has now funded over 20 projects throughout Scotland, and in addition, it works closely with Scottish Athletics to enable and enhance the work of its community impact team.

It is supported by the running community through events including Scottish Running Week, grant funding organisations and foundations, and the corporate community.

Scottish Running Week is back for 2025 and will take place between Monday 2^nd and Sunday 8^th June 2025.

2025 will be the third Scottish Running Week organised by Athletics Trust Scotland (ATS), and this year we are delighted that scottishathletics is the official delivery partner. The partnership will support efforts to build engagement with Scottish Running Week and celebrate wider the positive impact that running and athletics have.

Scottish Running Week is your chance to celebrate the impact that running, jogging, walking and pushing has on your life. By participating, and donating to Athletics Trust Scotland, you’re helping to share your passion for running and moving with groups and communities across Scotland that struggle to access our sport.

Your kind and generous donations will go directly into ATS’s Transforming Lives project, which aims to transform people’s lives through athletics and running.

Get Active and SMILE!

To celebrate the 2026 Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow, and the inclusion of the mile distance in the track and field programme, we’re absolutely delighted to introduce ‘Get Active and SMILE!’.

‘Get Active and SMILE‘ is our call to action for individual runners, clubs, jog groups, and anyone looking to have some fun while moving, to sign up to our event and complete your mile any time, any where, or any way they can – the more innovative and creative the better!

There are two main ways to get involved:

Individually

Enter the event on Open Track, make your donation to ATS, and receive your virtual medal! For the super-competitive amongst you, log back in once completing your mile to upload your result to be displayed on the national leaderboard.

As a Club or Jog Group

Participating members from your club or group enter the event on Open Track, make their donations to ATS, and complete their mile in as fun, social and creatively a way as possible.

Each club or group member who completes their mile, and logs back into the system and uploads their result, will contribute to the club/group overall ranking! We’ll have separate national leaderboards for clubs and jog groups.

Prizes

We’ll have prizes for the fastest times on the individual national leaderboard for male, female and age groups from Under 11 to ten-year Masters age bands. As well as prizes for the club and jog group at the top of the leaderboards.

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We will also have some prizes for the most creative, social, and innovative ways of completing your Scottish Running Week miles. Make share to share your stories and social media posts with Athletics Trust Scotland and scottishathletics to showcase your activity across Scottish Running Week.

How to Enter

Firstly, you’ll need to have an Open Track account to sign up for Scottish Running Week.

Create or log in to your Open Track account.

Once you have created or logged into your Open Track account, you can enter our Get Active and SMILE event:

Enter Get Active and SMILE.

Please note: The link will be open for entries from Wednesday 7 May – Sunday 8 June 2025.

The minimum donation to Athletics Trust Scotland to enter Scottish Running Week is £5.

However, you can increase this donation to an amount of your choosing! Your generosity is greatly appreciated and will support Athletics Trust Scotland to transform people’s lives through running and athletics.

Other Ways to Get Involved

‘Get Active and SMILE‘ isn’t the only way to get involved in Scottish Running Week, the week is a celebration of running, jogging, and movement, and you can be as creative or simple with any ideas you have to celebrate across the week.

• Organise your own Club or jogscotland challenge e.g. mile, 5K, or themed run!
• Set up a challenge at work
• Meet your neighbouring Club or jogscotland group for a mob match at your local parkrun – recognise participation, volunteering, and/or PB’s!
• Walk, jog, run or push every day of Scottish Running Week

Don’t forget to donate to Athletics Trust Scotland as an individual or group to contribute to the weekly fundraising total, ultimately helping ATS to transform people’s lives through your efforts and generous donations.

Donate to ATS

Need some Inspiration?

West End Road Runners in Glasgow are aiming to get everyone involved in the mile challenge in an inclusive way.

They’re planning to build lots of mixed teams of four runners, including people who are new to the club, those who haven’t run a mile before, together with experienced runners and those who focus on performance. That way each team can compete with the next, building real unity, having fun, and have a great mile experience, whilst raising money to help others.

You participated in record numbers at hundreds of events and in weekly Parkruns throughout the country.

Our Jog Scotland groups and our amazing club network supported us, providing structure, support, friendships and connections, sustaining us both physically and mentally.

Our athletes did it on the track at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, and in Paris at the Olympics and Para Olympics.

And you met another challenge – supporting Athletics Trust Scotland, and enabling others to participate, many for the first time.

That’s right.

Your actions have helped hundreds of people living with a disability, in poverty, or in ethnically diverse communities, to do what most of us take for granted.

So whether you donated directly, or participated in Scottish Running Week, or came along to one of our Takes of the Track and Trails events, thank you!

Next year we go bigger again.

It’s time to scale up and we’ll be doing this by collaborating with partners like Scottish Athletics, SAMH, and of course, our clubs and Jog Scotland groups.

Together, we can build on Scotland’s success in running and athletics. We can transform lives.

Seeing runners come together to help others is a measure of us all. And we can make a huge difference.

But for now, thank you from all of us at Athletics Trust Scotland for supporting us this year. I’m so proud of our community!

Graeme Jack, Chair

Athletics Trust Scotland

The two-year education programme for talented track and field athletes aims to develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will be essential in helping them move toward senior competition. Athletics Trust Scotland were announced as the new title sponsor for our National Academy last month. The new recruits join 17 athletes from last year’s intake who now move to their second year in the Academy.

They will all come together this Sunday (10 November) in Stirling for their first Development Day consisting of education sessions delivered by our partners at the Scottish Institute of Sport. 13 athletes graduate the programme and will continue to receive support & guidance from scottishathletics for the next few years through our event group projects.

National Talent Manager, Allan Hamilton, said:

‘We’re delighted to welcome the new intake of athletes to the Academy, and look forward to working with them and their support teams over the next two years.

‘They have all achieved great things and shown their commitment to athletics in their careers so far, and we are looking forward to helping them develop further as they move through the Academy programme.’

2024 Intake

James Alexander, Garscube Harriers (Coach: Alex Chalmers)

Kishi Aremu, Livingston AC (Coach: Bob Douglas)

Andrew Baird, Ross County (Coach: Ross Cairns)

Luc Macleod, Banchory Stonehaven (Coach: Robert Macleod)

Dylan McCulloch, Central AC (Coach: Francis Smith)

Annie Mclean, Shettleston Harriers (Coach: David Watson)

Cara Murphy, Law & District (Coach: Thomas Mctaggert)

Anna Reid, Aberdeen AAC (Coach: John Davie)

Holly Whittaker, Aberdeen AAC (Coach: Frank Gauld / Margery Swinton)