By Duncan Mackay

Hampen Park has been transformed for the Commonwealth Games ©AFP/Getty ImagesAthletes competed today for the first time on the new running track laid at Hampden Park for the Commonwealth Games.


More than 1,200 children from across the country are taking part in the two-day Scottish Schools Athletics Championships. 

The event is aimed to give local organisers the opportunity to test the venue before the Games, which are due to open on July 23. 

In order to accommodate the track, the pitch at Hampden has been raised by almost two metres using a temporary deck which is made up of 1,200 base panels supported by more than 6,000 structural steel stilts.

Runners in the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships had the honour of competing on the newly laid track at the Hampden Park ©Glasgow 2014Runners in the Scottish Schools Athletics Championships had the honour of competing on the newly laid track at the Hampden Park ©Glasgow 2014

The capacity in the Stadium, which will also host the Closing Ceremony, has been reduced from over 50,000 to 44,000 for the Games.

This weekend's event is officially a closed event, however, around 3,500 friends and family of the 1,200 school children from across Scotland taking part in competition have been invited to attend free of charge.

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