The Kirkintilloch Olympians Neil McCover Memorial Half Marathon & Robert Rogerson 12.5k took place on Sunday 15th February 2026. Neil McCover was a Superintendent with Strathclyde Police, when he was killed while cycling during a lunch break from work in 2010. He was a thoroughly nice guy, a great runner and a Kirky Olympian. An award goes to the first serving police officer at the HM in his memory. And on this occasion, it was our Stuart Douglas! These are tough early season races, with several challenging climbs, and the HM was the first of our ‘long’ club championship events this year. As always, there were great Bella performances across the board. In the Half Marathon we had Jordan Davidson (1:16:55, 2nd, 1st MSnr), Grant Murphy (1:19:00, 4th, 3rd MSnr), Stuart Laurence (1:23:30), Stuart Douglas (1:27:06, PB), Alan Chalmers (1:28:43 PB), Jamie Wieland (1:29:36) & Tomoyo Fujiwara (1:43:42, 1st FV50). This also meant that Jordan, Grant and Stuart L, took the mens team prize! In the 12.5k, we had Bryan Mulgrew (45:24, 5th), Cathy Wood (53:05, 5th lady) & Murdoch Rodgers (1:17:35, 3rd MV70). A great day out again in Kirkintilloch, with thanks to the Olympians and all the volunteers! And some great pictures courtesy of David McNulty Race Photography.
Yearly archives: 2026
Congratulations to Iain Murphy (1:48:53) who finished in seventh place overall and first MV40 at the Glentress Trail 21k near Peebles on Sunday 15th February 2026. It’s a stunning location, but a tough course through woodland trails, with around 2,600ft of climbing! This is a great return to winning ways for Iain after a period of injury, and it’s fantastic to see him getting back to his best. Well done Murph!
It was the Scottish Athletics 4J Indoor Masters and para Championships at the emirates arena in Glasgow on Sunday 8th February. We had two Bellas competing in the 1,500m events. There was great running by David Jarrett, finishing 6th overall, for 2nd MV40 in 4:32:36. Meanwhile, Veronica Fusaro ran a brilliant 5:44:31 in the ladies event for 3rd FV40. Well done both!
We were in Greenock again on Sunday 8th February, for the brilliant annual Renfrewshire AAA 5 Miler. It’s one of our favourite races, and one or our ‘short’ Club Championship events. The weather was kind this year, with heavy early morning rain clearing away, to leave a nice mild, bright day, with only a light wind. We had 32 Bellas on the start line (23% of the field) at Battery Park ready for the out-in course along the Esplanade and back. Laps of Battery Park to start and finish, and great support out on the eroute! Our top 3s were Tony Connelly (25:27, 2nd MSnr), Calum Borthwick (26:25),& Alan Moss (29:02), with Ann Robin (31:37, 1st FV40), Cathy Wood (32:41) & Katie Mathieson (36:06, 3rd FV50). Our ladies took 3rd team prize too! In addition, Shirley Wieland was 2nd FV60 in a 5 Mile PB 39:49. A thoroughly enjoyable morning, in surprisingly good conditions! Many thanks as always to the organisers, officials, volunteers and Protay Timing. Full race results can be found at the undernoted link: https://protay.co.uk/raaa2026/
On Saturday 7th February, it was the brilliant ‘Run ya Rocket’ Ardgartan Trail Race in Argyle. It’s a tough 21+ miles with around 3,500ft of elevation. The route is 90% off road and follows a loop of the Ardgartan Penninsula, with some tarmac, forestry trails and a nice open section that extends across to Lochgoilhead, before a climb to the Rest-and-be-Thankfull then a final downhill to finish. There was an outstanding run by Bryan Mulgrew (2:51:40) to finish 2nd with a course PB! A great tester for his West Highland Way race later this year. And well done to Laura Loddo too, in this challenging event. As always with such events, thanks to the organisers, officials and volunteers!
We had a super six Bellas at the Lindsays Scottish Athletics Masters Cross Country at Tollcross Park on Saturday 31st January 2026. A tough course for our batch of masters athletes who enjoyed decent conditions however. First off was the ladies and M65+ race, which ran over 6k. Well done to Claire Wharton (27:22) & Al MacLachlan (27:35) with solid performances. Next off were the masters men who raced over an 8k distance. Our four gents ran well in a busy field with Oscar Coetzee (29:18), Paul McNairn (30:45), Alan Moss (31:12) & Sam Ramsay (34:33). Next stop is the climax to the Scottish cross country season, the National at Falkirk on 21st February! And thankyou to David McNulty Race Photography from the brilliant pictures from the event!
Eight of our members travelled to Stirlingshire, to the lovely wee village of Buchlyvie on Saturday 24th January 2026, for the annual 10k race. This is another Club Championship ‘medium’ event for us. This is a very friendly event, with a 300 place limit. The course is out and back and begins behind the Primary School, turning left onto Station Road for just over half a mile, then right onto the old railway track (predominantly firetrack and flat). The halfway turning point is at Barbadoes Cottage (situated on the old railway track). On the return, the course finishes at the school. Well done everyone with Ben Law (5th, 2nd MSnr 37:49 PB), Kevin Queenan (46:12), Tomoyo Fujiwara (47:16), Lyndsay Kennedy (47:50), Alice Howe (49:15), Wallace Gray (51:13 2nd MV60), Henry Merriweather (53:43), Louise Gray (58:36). Thankyou to the organisers, officials, volunteers and people of Buchlyvie for another great event! See you in 2027.
There was a brilliant turnout of 22 Bellas at the Maryhill Harriers Nigel Barge 10k, on Sunday 19th January 2026. The weather conditions were perfect, fairly mild with a light breeze and even some sunshine! There were some challenging underfoot sections on the tough undulating course for the 329 starters, but as always, it was a well organised and enjoyable event. This was also our latest ‘medium’ club championship event for 2025/2026. Our amazing Tony Connelly was 3rd in a PB 31:13, which was also a CLUB 10K RECORD. This was an outstanding effort by Tony given the course profile, to beat the club record that has stood since 2010. Tony now holds all of our men’s records, bar Half Marathon. Close on Tony’s heels was Ross Horgan who also ran a brilliant PB of 31:49, with congratulations too, to Oscar Coetzee who was 1st MV40 in 33:33! Jordan Davidson (35:04) completed our first four men, who took second placed mens team. Our ladies had a great day too with Sarah McSharry (43:34), Leanne McIntosh (45:47) and Anne Campbell (47:16) taking our first three spots for Club Championship points. Thanks to Maryhill Harriers for another great event and of course, to the volunteers and officials.
This year, we introduced some new style ‘trophies’ for our major award winners, crafted locally by two of our very own members! Six such trophies were produced for Honorary Life Member, Member of the Year, Male & Female Club Champions and Male & Female Most Improved. The body of these was designed and crafted from stained, leaded glass based on the abstract ‘B’ of our club logo. The base was cut and shaped from hardwood, with an engraved plaque attached to the front. We think these look great and hope that the recipients love them too. So, it goes to show that there’s more to running clubs than running!!
It was great timing in Saturday 10th January 2026 for our latest annual visit to the Emirates Arena in the east end of Glasgow. Outside, it was cold and icy, but inside it was scorching hot on the fabulous indoor track for our mile races! And we saw our head coach Gerry Scullion receive his Honorary Lifetime Membership to the club! This was a ‘short’ Club Championship event ticked off for the 43 Bellas who participated. And, as always, there were some fantastic performances were put in, with lots of PBs recorded. On the day our top 3s were (m) Paul McNairn 4:52, David Jarrett 4:53, Bryan Mulgrew 4:55 (f) Cara Thom 5:38, Cathy Wood 5:47, Emma Peters 5:56. We also managed some bonus races, with our winners being 800m – David Jarrett 2:14 & Cara Thom 2:27, 400m – Paul McNairn 0:59 & Ruth McKelvie 1:17, 200m – Michael Walsh 0:28 & Ruth McKelvie 0:35. Another brilliant, fun morning out! Many thanks to our volunteer members who ran this so smoothly for us.
Huge congratulations to our new, and only our seventh, Honorary Life Member – Gerard Scullion! For many years, Gerry has been our highly respected head coach and an inspiring mentor to countless members. He has also previously served as club captain and on the club committee. Gerry has given an extraordinary amount of time, expertise, and dedication to the club, not to mention his own outstanding achievements as a runner across many age groups. This richly deserved honour is a true reflection of the lasting impact he has made on our club. Well done, Gerry!
Fourteen Bellas headed to Tillicoultry on Sunday 28th December to race the PH Racing Clubs annual Tilli 10k. A great route from Tillicoultry to Dollar and back on the Devon Way, in the shadow of the amazing Ochil Hills. This race always sells out its 800 places very quickly, and is a great finisher to the year, and a great way to shake off that festive overindulgence. Its also one of our ‘medium’distance Club Championship events! It was a great day for it, slightly chilly, but dry and calm. Our star of the day was Stuart Laurence who ran a fantastic 37:05, with the amazing Cathy Wood rounding off a brilliant year with a PB of 41:20! No sooner had 2025 ended, when 2026 arrived with the first 10k of the year at the Beith Harriers annual New Year 10k on Friday 2nd January! Another great event, with a smaller field of 300, on a tough but scenic route around Beith. Kenny Osborne ran a great race to finish in 6th place, 1st MV40 in 34:15, with Cathy Wood 42:48 and Tom Thorne 45:37. So, another year of racing stretches out in 2026, and we can’t wait!