Well done to Tomoyo Fujiwara who recently completed the Loch Rannoch Marathon in 3:28:33 to finish fourth lady, first FV50! That’s now 44 marathons/ultras in the bag for Tomoyo. Meanwhile, the formidable Bruce Carmichael ran an outstanding 2:40:52 at the Frankfurt Marathon to finish fourth MV50. It was also the 30th fastest MV50 marathon by a Brit this year! Two outstanding performances from two of the most consistent Bellas around!
Monthly archives: November 2026
Congratulations to Esther Douglas, who finished first lady at the Blast Running Dalmeny Estate Halloween Trail Half Marathon on Saturday 31st October 2026, with a fantastic time of 1:34:14! A tough event through wooded trails, river paths and farm tracks. Well done Esther!
Saturday 31st October saw the first of this season’s West League Cross Country events in Paisley. A lovely afternoon for this event, hosted by Kilbarchan AC. Well done to our super six who tackled the hilly, 6k course viz. Oscar Coetzee (c.21:40) 2nd, 1st MV40, Sam Ramsay (c.24:30), Mark Young (c.26:41), Jen Conway-Evans (c.27:56), Cathy Wood (c.28:10) & Kirsty MacFarlane (c.32:16). Next up will be Calderglen park on 9th January 2027, before the series finale at Strathaven on 13th February 2027.
Sunday 1st November, saw the return of the Antonine 10k Trail Race that has been resurrected from the old ATRX by Kirkintilloch Olympians, with a new route starting and finishing in Twechar. It was a stunning fresh morning for the event, with registration at the new Twechar Outdoor Pursuits Centre beside the Forth & Clyde Canal. The start was only a short walk away at Colliery Green. The race started promptly at 0930hrs, with an initial short flat section out onto the Main Street, before crossing the road to go straight into the long climb up towards Barhill Fort on a rough farm track. Then it was off left, up and over the fields before hitting another farm track down to Smithstone Road, and a manned crossing. And it was back ascending up Croy Hill, with some steep sections throughout before there was a good, technical downhill section, over large boulders and rough path. Thankfully it was dry, so not quite so tricky to negotiate. A sharp right to the water station, then along a rough path, back over Smithstone Road, before a long climb up the farm track towards Twechar. Finally it was down the track, and a sharp right onto the Main Street and back to Colliery Green to finish. Around 860ft of climbing on the route, so a challenging race, even in perfect conditions. The event was very well organised by the Olympians, with good safety measures at the road crossings (don’t listen to the marshal, then you’re disqualified). A very friendly and welcoming event, with a nice wooden coaster as a memento. As always, there was some fantastic Bella running with Grant Murphy 41:07 2nd, Jordan Davidson 42:11 3rd, Iain Murphy 42:48 5th, Tom Ferris 54:20, Joni Lindsay 1:05:44 and Alison Brown 1:10:05 2nd FV60.
At the Bridge of Orchy 10k on Sunday 1st November, there were brilliant runs by James & Hannah Berry. James finished second overall (42:24) while Hannah was first lady (46:33). This was after a Leverngrove parkrun warm-up the day previous, when James and Hannah finished first and first lady respectively! Not too shabby a weekend! Meanwhile, Stuart Macdougall finished a great second MV40 in 38:59 at the 20th Strathaven Striders ‘Run with the Wind’ 10k on Sunday too.