Our website news page has been a touch quiet over the last wee while, we’ve been busy at the club! Do check out our social media feeds (facebook.com/bellaroadrunner, twitter.com/bellaroadrunner) for the latest. A couple of big highlights from the last month! 2021 President’s Cup The President’s cup is a big part of the club year: It’s run as a handicap, with members setting off in time stagger relative to their estimated time. Theoretically, everybody should finish at the same time, and has a chance of winning, but there’s always a mix of circumstances to add a huge amount of fun. Last year it was run virtually, but with the easing of restrictions and group size limits for organised activities, we were able to stage it ‘for real’ on the 13th June. Organised in a couple of heats, and members who weren’t running or volunteering, were able to support everybody out on the course. Over 90 runners, spectators and volunteers stayed within Covid rules and had a fantastic time. And of course we can’t have a Bella occasion without plenty of cake afterwards!! Congratulations to our winners Joni Lindsay and Nick Windley , who collected their trophies from our President Richard Leyton 2021 AGM Tuesday 15th saw us hold our 2021 AGM, virtually on Zoom. Much as the President’s cup is a big part of the participation, the AGM is a big part of our governance. Member’s can access a recording of the AGM, the video featuring Leanne, Kevin and Richard, reflecting on the last 12 months, on the members’ forum. Our annual report is available on our public website. Key outcomes from the AGM, all of which allowed members an opportunity to question and discuss elements: Finances and Treasurers report were accepted Club annual report from the President was accepted COVID Coordinator, Emer provided an update on our Coronavirus plan Membership secretary Susan updated members on our membership A motion to formalise virtual meetings and voting (per OSCR recommendations) was passed unanimously. Membership fees were retained at present rate. Our Trustees were approved for another year. We held an open discussion about local sports facilities at Nethercraigs, and associated issues. Full details on the members forum
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66 Bellas competed in another hotly contested President’s Cup on Wednesday 20 June. The 5K handicap race around Bellahouston Park was won by Julia McDonald for the women and Andrew Haddow for the men. Each runner sets off after a time handicap based on their recent race performance. So every club member has a good chance of winning and the finish is always exciting. More than three quarters of runners crossed the finish line within one minute of each other. Even so the team of volunteers at the finish funnel coped brilliantly. Club president Richard Leyton led the winners to victory on the lead bike before presenting the prizes afterwards over sandwiches and cake at Nethercraigs. Congratulations to all the runners and well done for all those new PBs. Full results for the race are available on the club member’s forum.
Well done to everyone who took part tonight in the President’s Cup. Congratulations to our winners Stephen Harris and Gillian Hamilton. Fastest times on the night were Bruce Carmichael (16:15) for the men and Shona Docherty (18:34) for the ladies. Shona Donnelly ran exactly her predicted time. Many thanks to all the volunteers tonight who made the event go smoothly, it’s very much appreciated. Full results can be found in the table below. Photo credit Gordon Goldie
It’s now a shield, there’s two of them, and we don’t have a President any more, so “President’s Cup” is perhaps a little inaccurate, but if I’d said “Chairman of the Board of Trustees Shield” race you’d have no idea what I was talking about. The annual 5k handicap race in Bellahouston park takes place on This Wednesday, 21st June. Please wear your vest and we’ll try and get a Club photo if the weather’s half decent. If you don’t wish to run but can make the date, please let us know on the forum, as we always need marshals/timers/finish funnel/registration/camera help. It’s also fun/terrifying (depends on your disposition) to watch a whole heap of runners finish very close together. Numbers can be collected from 6:15pm at Nethercraigs (or in exceptional circumstances from the start at the cycle track in Bella park). If you’ve signed up to Runbritainrankings.com/powerof10.info with Bella as your club and raced a 10k this year we’ll have a time for you. Likewise if you’ve run one of the Club Championship parkruns or 10ks I’ll have a time for you. If you want to make sure then you can add a recent 5k/10k time on the forum. Image designed by Freepik, and font from fontmeme
Results from tonight’s President’s Cup are shown in the table below. Congratulations to tonights winners Barry Freel – 21:33 and Alison Brown – 24:28. Fastest time of the night for the men was 17:00 by Iain Burns, and for the women Ann Robin ran 19:17. Special mention to Lynn Reid who finished bang on her predicted time of 24:40. Thanks to everyone who helped out. It was very much appreciated.
For those coming to the Club tomorrow (Wed 1st June) for the President’s Cup 5k handicap race, don’t forget your club vest for the annual club photo. We’ll allocate numbers at Nethercraigs, before heading up to Bellahouston Park. The presentation will take place back at Nethercraigs after the race, and food will be provided.
Check out details for this year’s President’s cup on the forum: Presidents Cup details Have we got a time for you listed? Photo: 2015 winners Lynne Goldie and Norman Boyle
Well done to everyone who turned out for the President’s Cup 5k Handicap race this evening and thanks to everyone who helped out. Congratulations to Norman Boyle and Lynne Goldie who won the men and ladies trophies, and kudos to Bob Reid who was closest to his predicted time. Bruce Carmichael was the fastest male on the night in 15:52 and Ann Robin fastest female in 19:16. Full results below which allow you to sort on any particular field by clicking the arrows in the column header. Email races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk with any queries.
The 2012 President’s cup took place on Wednesday 27th June. It’s a handicap 5k, using the Bella 5k course, taking the place of training on that night. Provisional results (complete with Oscar’s spelling) are available here: http://bit.ly/QlJJj7 Ladies cup winner: Judith McGregor Gents cup winner: Scott Johston First 3 ladies (by time) 1. 20:17 – Anne Robin 2. 20:23 – Emma Bryson 3. 20:45 – Elsie D First 3 Gents (by time) 1. 16:50 – Bruce Carmichael 2. 16:58 – Bruce Carse 3. 17.03 – Craig Reid Well done to all club members who took part, and thanks to everybody who helped organise the event.
Delighted to report that we featured as ‘Club of the Month’ in the June issue of Women’s Running. It features a super picture of member’s Rhoda, Elizabeth and Roz at the 2019 edition of our President’s cup 5k handicap race, a huge part of our club year (credit: Kevin Queenan), and a brief interview with club secretary, Susan.
We’re delighted to today be publishing our latest annual report, for 2019-20, following completion of our submission to the Scottish Charity regulator, OSCR. You can find it, and all our previous annual reports, on our website’s charitable status page. Club President, and Chair of the Board said the following in his introduction: I’ve great pleasure in sharing Bellahouston Road Runners Trustees’ annual report, covering the period from August 2019 to July 2020. It is only the third such report we’ve produced since we became a charity. But in the full 20 years since the club was first founded, I think it’s fair to say it is probably the most significant 12 month period we’ve experienced. It’s a story in two parts. The first half reflects a forward-looking ambitious running club, celebrating what it’s always done well: supporting members with their personal goals and targets, working well as a team, training and organising events – athletic and social – in the parks, roads and venues of Glasgow, growing our sport. This period culminated in a fantastic 20th anniversary celebration at the amazing indoor track facility at the Emirates arena, and embarking on a potential next chapter with a new training base. The second half was dominated by the fact that almost out of nowhere we found we could no longer meet or train together, no longer race together. Coronavirus meant we were at risk of losing the very thing many of us joined a club for in the first place: support and camaraderie in training and racing. The club’s response was inspirational. Innovative member-led efforts brought the club together, even whilst we couldn’t meet in person. Members supported members to keep training and pushing themselves. The club motivated us, supporting our mental well being as the crisis unfolded. We made waves online, receiving positive coverage and attention, with the club – and its members – going on to win national awards. The challenge for the next twelve months then is how to sustain that positivity, and tackle the uncertainty we face with a changing situation. The club is in a strong position, with a solid coronavirus plan enabling a resumption of training as soon as rules allow, a growing membership, solid financials and brilliant coaches, trustees and volunteers. Most importantly, we have kept that strong sense of community and shared purpose, passion for the sport of running, the benefits being a member of a club brings, both for ourselves, each other and the community in which we all live. Thank you to each and every member over the last twelve months. I hope you enjoy reading the report, and look forward to working together over the next year taking our club forward. Richard Leyton 13th February, 2020 Questions or queries about the annual report, or the club in general, should be directed to the club secretary, via info@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk
💜 Bellahouston Mob Match 2021 💙 💜 Road Runners Champs again!! 💜 We’re delighted to announce that we have won the Bellahouston Harriers v Bellahouston Road Runners Mob Match for the 5th time in a row. 132 members of both clubs ran a virtual 5k at the weekend. 77 competed for us while our friendly local rivals had a commendable 55 members taking part, along with the fastest male and female placings. There were some fantastic performances from both clubs and it’s great to see so many getting involved. Hopefully we can race for real in Mob Match 2022!! *photo from the 2020 mob match 💜💙 THE MOB MATCH 2021 BELLAHOUSTON ROAD RUNNERS V BELLAHOUSTON HARRIERS This was the 5th annual mob match between the two clubs. An idea proposed by Richard Leyton, President of Bellahouston Road Runners and warmly embraced by members of both clubs. It was traditionally run at the Pollok parkrun, with tea and coffee afterwards at the Harriers’ base at Cartha Rugby club. It was agreed between the clubs that we would run it a bit later in the year and it took place over the weekend of the 20th and 21st of March 2021. The clubs roughly followed the guidance supplied by Scottish Athletics for virtual runs. The planning teams led by Kevin Queenan and Mark Matheson made it possible for the event to take place. Members gathered and ran in pairs, singly and small groups all over the South side of Glasgow in Parks, roads, railway tracks and lochs. Members who reside out with Glasgow were encouraged to run. Some members who are currently residing in Spain, USA stepped up to the plate and ran. It was an unexpected bonus that members in far flung places could compete. Bellahouston Road Runners have embraced virtual running this winter and have consistently been the largest club by participation in Scottish Athletics virtual running events. Bellahouston Harriers have had significantly fewer competitors who have embraced virtual running. A key task of the clubs was to encourage members to participate within Government guidelines and regulations through promoting the event on Facebook pages, forums and videos. The number of participants speaks for itself with 77 Bellahouston Road Runners and 55 Bellahouston Harriers making a total of 132. The competition was won by Bellahouston Road Runners for the 5th year in a row. The first male finisher was Miguel Delgado (BH) in a time of 15.41. The first female was Kristina Greig (BH) in a time of 19.25. Of the first six males, 3 were from BRR and 3 from BH. For females, 4 were from BRR and 2 from BH. Richard Leyton, Chair of Bellahouston Road Runners and Tom Keenan, President of Bellahouston Harriers said that the numbers who participated demonstrated the commitment and desire of members to support the mob run. It posed challenges for the planning team which they overcome. If other Scottish clubs wish to participate in this type of event both clubs would be happy […]
We’re excited that with the Covid restrictions having been amended this week, we’re now able to resume group training from next week (15th March). We’ve written to members, but we’re also making our plan available on our website for others to reference. Here’s the letter to members from our Coronavirus coordinator Emer, and club President Richard. Our full club coronavirus plan (v10) is available too. If in doubt, our club Coronavirus plan page at bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk/coronavirus always has the latest version, as well as links to many of the activities and initiatives we’ve been running to keep members motivated! Members can find details for how to sign up for training on the members forum. Thanks to everybody involved in making this possible, at Scottish Athletics, sport Scotland and – of course – at the club.
The club was delighted to receive some awards from the Glasgow Sports Council at the weekend, for both the club itself, and two of its members. Our lead coach Gerry Scullion won “Community Coach of the year”: Gerry worked tirelessly through lockdown to motivate and encourage members with weekly training updates, tips and sessions. Club President Richard Leyton won “Volunteer of the year – senior” for his work through the lockdown helping the club operate and coordinate through this difficult year. In addition to these two individual awards, the club itself took “Club of the year” in recognition of the amazing work right through the club to support each other with challenges, coaching, support, and community efforts including helping at a local foodbank and raising money for local charity. With various social media videos gaining nationwide attention, the club was also delighted to take the “Social media presence of the year” award. The club is very grateful to all of its members, who have been fantastic right through the year and have all contributed in so many ways to help make the club much stronger through this experience. The club, and its membership, are delighted at these awards, and wish to express their thanks and gratitude to the Sports Council for Glasgow for their work throughout supporting clubs and organisations through this most challenging of years. You can find out more about the Sports council for Glasgow on their Facebook and twitter (@scglasgow1000) accounts.
Many thanks to the many members who joined us for our 2020 AGM, the very first one we’ve ever held virtually. We had at great turnout, and with all our content available to view on our YouTube channel, we’re delighted by the engagement and interest shown by club members into our governance. We hope by being open about our governance process, and outcomes, it’ll even interest and engage more of our members, and even a few potential members. A few of our presentations were pre-recorded, and we are delighted to share these with you here if you wanted to watch them. They’re also embedded below. Club President Richard Leyton’s report and club update is here (and embedded below), which contains a fantastic section with our lead coach Gerry, and Team Manager Leanne looking back over the last year of club training and racing, and gives a real taste of what the club has got up to. The ‘Bella Twists’ highlight reel is here (and embedded below), and we’ve shared it on our public social media – We hope it captures the enthusiasm club members have shown for continuing with club activities, just differently, right through the lockdown. If you like it, do please give it a like or better yet, an onward share. The Financial update from treasurer Kenny Crawford is here. There’s detail too in our Trustees’ Annual Report. If you want to watch the entire AGM(!), you can catch the full live stream recording here. Our previous annual reports are all available via bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk/charity/ A few key takeaways to report from the motions that were discussed, and voted on: The membership supports, in principle, a change of training venue: As the President’s report detailed, this is something we’d been working on for some time, which will hopefully continue when restrictions allow. The membership, and club, fully endorses and supports the Run Equal campaign. Whilst gender equality in Scottish running events is well ahead of the UK, there are still unequal events (National Masters XC, and some county events as of 2019/20 season). We’ll be making more public statements about that in due course, and to encourage other clubs in Scotland to take a similar stand. Club members supported continuing the membership fee freeze (and longer-term deferral for impacted members), which the Board will keep under review pending a resumption of training/substantive costs. The fees themselves remain unchanged from last year. Members approved three new Honorary Lifetime Members, in Jane Wild, Oscar Wild and Robert McEwan, who have been important members in the development of the club. We’ll be posting a separate news item to welcome them officially as Honorary Lifetime Members. Thanks again to all our members, and we’d encourage them to get in touch with us on any point. Whilst the AGM is an important point in the year, club Governance is a continual process and really depends on members getting involved and helping out where they can: the Board can only do so much. Plus the club is […]