Sunday 27th October saw a myriad of endurance races for our Bellas, all with a European flavour. There was autumn marathon action in Germany and Ireland, a Half Marathon in Spain and hill racing in Italy. At the Frankfurt Marathon, the top trio of Kenny Osborne (2:44:24 PB), Jimmy McGreevy (3:20:22 PB) & Claire Wharton (3:26:11) put in great performances in a fantastic, well supported event. Over at the Dublin Marathon, Tony Connelly ran an incredible 2:29:25 to finish in 39th place overall (15th M35), while Neil McSeveney smashed his marathon PB with 2:46:34. Colin Hughes ran another brilliant race placing 4th VM60 in 2:59:06! In Spain, Debi Scott, building on her recent outstanding form, expertly paced the Valencia Half Marathon to record a PB time of 1:29:04! And congratulations to Cat MacDonald, who helped her Scotland ladies team to a 7th place finish at the mountain international at Trofeo Vanoni, Morbegno, Italy, a classic hill relay over 7.2km with 435m of ascent/descent. Well done everyone, recover well!
Monthly archives: October 2024
Sunday 13th October saw the latest running of the Loch Rannoch Marathon near Pitlochry. It was a chilly Highland morning but it didn’t take long for our Bellas to thaw out on the undulating course, and put in some outstanding performances! The wonderful Tomoyo Fujiwara finished second placed female in 3:29:17. Making their (impressive) marathon debuts were Michael Daniel Rice (3:27:50), Veronica Fusaro (3:51:47) & David Jarrett (3:51:48). Great running all round, and some lovely scenery too! It was also the Manchester Half Marathon on the same day. Three members ran, with Callum Borthwick leading the way in an amazing PB time of 1:11:12. Jamie Wieland also recorded a PB of 1:40:13 and Joni Lindsay continues to improve after her recent injury, finishing in 1:44:02. Well done folks! It’s great running in the autumn. There are still places available for our very own Jimmy Irvine 10k at Bellahouston Park on Sunday 10th November 2024. Enter here: https://www.entrycentral.com/jimmyirvinebella10k
The AJ Bell Great Scottish Run 2024 took place over the weekend of 5th – 6th October in Glasgow. Around 40 Bella members volunteered to marshal the various events over both days. Many thanks to them, and all the other volunteers and emergency service personnel who helped contribute towards another fantastic GSR! On Sunday 6th October, 16 members ran in the 10k. It was an early start with good weather conditions. Our first 3 gents finishers were Sean McAnallen (35:03), James Gray (37:37) & Harris Millar (41:30). For our ladies, it was Jane McNeilly (41:00), Cara Thom (42:59) & Carla Dunn (49:37). An incredible 75 members started the HM with fantastic efforts across the board, and numerous PBs recorded! Our top ten gents were: Tony Connelly (1:11:49, 14th overall), Josh Evans (1:13:35), Grant Murphy (1:16:02), Lewis Roberts (1:16:32), Neil McSeveney (1:16:53, PB), Paul McNairn (1:17:27, PB), Mark Young (1:17:47, PB), Ruairi Barfoot (1:17:51, PB), Kenny Osborne (1:18:15) & Jethro Browell (1:18:49). Our ladies top 10 were: Deborah Gray (1:25:53, 25th lady), Grainne McGrath (1:27:27), Christie Lamb (1:27:31, PB), Emer Campbell (1:28:49, PB), Debi Scott (1:30:28, PB, in her Giffnock North vest), Jen Conway (1:34:12), Cathy Wood (1:37:59), Katie Blackett (1:38:49), Victoria Curley (1:41:02) & Anne Campbell (1:43:14). Brilliant 1:30 pacing duties too by Ross Horgan We also had several members running elsewhere over the weekend. On Saturday, three intrepid Bellas ran the Glasgow to Edinburgh 57 Mile Ultra with outstanding efforts by Tom Thorne (11:48:30), Liam McNally (12:59:03) & Lucy MacKay (14:00:40). On Sunday, Bryan Kerr ran the Chester Marathon in a fantastic 2:52:06 while Jonnie Felton ran in his home town at the Cardiff Half Marathon in a brilliant 1:21:48. What a weekend, well done everyone! If you’ve been inspired to get involved after seeing all those runners in the GSR, remember that our very own Jimmy Irvine Bella 10k race takes place at Bellahouston Park on Sunday 10th November 2024. Enter here at: https://www.entrycentral.com/jimmyirvinebella10k #greatscottishrun #jimmyirvine10k
Sunday 29th September saw two significant marathon races at home and abroad. Firstly, it was the 22nd Baxters Loch Ness Marathon. A record 5,500 runners entered this years race and were blessed with excellent weather conditions on what is a tough undulating course. Seven Bellas ran, with brilliant performances for Oscar Coetzee (2:40:04, 12th place, 2nd MV40), Jordan Davidson (2:53:58 PB), Liam Barrett (3:05:26 PB), Rhona Fraser (3:17:04 PB), Hayley Drysdsle (4:19:29) & Lucy MacKay (4:32:41). Lucy has now run all 22 Loch Ness events since it began in 2002, and is now one of only two ever present finishers. A quite incredible record, and such a strong season having previously run marathons at Loch Rannoch, Rome, Belfast & Strathearn as well as Ultras at Glen Ogle, Forth Scurry & Devil o’ the Highlands! Over in Germany, it was the 50th BMW Berlin Marathon. Two Bellas ran outstanding races with Bruce Carmichael (2:42:40) and Kelly Taylor (2:58:49, PB). Our good friend, Isaiah Kosgei, also ran an amazing 2:24:16, flying the flag for Kenya and the Kosgei Walpole Foundation.