Alison Smithard has been awarded the title of Forth Valley Orienteers’ athlete of the year, following an incredible year of national and international success.
On Saturday night, her name was added to a list of esteemed previous winners including world class juniors, seniors, and veterans.
Smithard, 40, transferred to Forth Valley Orienteers from Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club in 2024 and has since elevated her performance whilst wearing the club’s blue and gold colours. She has also battled her way back into a Great Britain race shirt this season.
Receiving the award, she said: “I feel very honoured. What a star-studded roster of names! And I beat my husband Chris to it!”
Whilst representing Forth Valley Orienteers, Smithard contributed to elite relay success, as her teams took gold medals at the Scottish Championships and bronze medals at the JK orienteering festival in spring.
She also took top 10 positions at both the British Championships and the JK in the long-distance events in the women’s elite class, and dominated at the Scottish Championships winning W40 by over 10 minutes.
Having delivered impressive domestic results, Smithard was named in the GB squad for the Orienteering World Cup forest races in Sweden in June.
She backed up her World Cup performance with impressive results at selection races and was ultimately named to represent Great Britain at the World Orienteering Championships this summer in Finland, 21 years after her making her debut aged 19.
The World Championships race was made even more special as Smithard was pregnant during the competition.
She said: “Running at the World Orienteering Championships whilst pregnant was amazing. It was a comeback but especially special because I knew I had a new teammate with me.”
She finished 46th in the long-distance competition and was the third placed Brit.
Looking back on her first full season wearing the blue and gold of Forth Valley Orienteers, Smithard is incredibly proud of her story.
She said: “I was very emotional when Jon announced I had won. It rather felt I had to force my way onto the British team ahead of younger future potential that the selectors were favouring. It was really nice to be appreciated by the club.”
Alison Smithard’s achievements in 2025 will now be recognised for years to come as her name is engraved onto the trophy alongside a list of Forth Valley Orienteering greats.
