The main story in town last week was the Great Scottish Run. Firstly, thankyou to our wonderful volunteers who helped out at the GSR Junior races on Saturday 3rd October at Glasgow Green. Sunday 4th October was of course the Great Scottish Run 10k & Half Marathon (HM) and the last day of our 2025/2026 Club Championship. We had 75 members involved in both races. Very well done everyone, including the 20 or so members who recorded Personal Best performances so, some highlights…. Ross Horgan set a new PB and **CLUB RECORD** in the HM with an outstanding time of 1:09:57, finishing in 19th position overall. This record has stood since 2011, and it’s a tribute to Ross’ ongoing dedication to training that he now holds it. Not far behind were Oscar Coetzee (1:22:00) & Paul McNairn (1:13:30 PB) to finish brilliantly as 2nd & 3rd MV40 respectively. Murdoch Rodgers also finished in an amazing 2:09:30 for 3rd place MV75. Our top three ladies were Amelia Matthews (1:23:41), Kelly Taylor (1:26:10) & Deborah Wright (PB 1:31:19). Outstanding performances again. We had four Wieland family members running in the HM with Jonathan (PB 1:23:33), Jamie (1:28:50), Shirley (1:55:23) & Emma, in her first HM (1:56:22).
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Saturday 26th September was the Kelpies Half Marathon. Year 3 for this event which is becoming very popular with a good route from The Kelpies up and over the Clackmannanshire and Kincardine Bridges. Very well done in windy conditions to Martin McNulty 1:39:08, Lyndsay Kennedy 1:43:34 PB, Steff Boyle 1:53:14, Wallace Gray 1:58:43, Roz Wilson 2:00:02, Lynn Stuart 2:08:40, Louise Gray 2:22:06. Then, we had a couple of amazing Bellas down south tackling very tough events. Firstly, Ross Gale took on the GB Ultras ‘Cheshire Ring 100 Mile Ultra’. Actually 102 miles with a mix of trails knitting together the Bridgewater, Ashton, Rochdale, Peak Forest, Trent & Mersey and the Macclesfield Canals. What a performance by Ross clocking 16:54:37 for 3rd place. For context, roughly 4 back-to-back trail marathons averaging 4:14 each! It was also the 5 Valleys Ultra in the Lake District on Saturday. 58k with over 2,300m of ascent. A great performance from Luke Gall to finish in 10:02:05. On Sunday 27th, it was the ever popular Baxters Loch Ness Marathon. This was the 24th running of the event, with our Lucy MacKay having now run every edition among her now 83 marathons. What an achievement, and Lucy crossed the line (4:35:27) with Fiona Rennie, the only other person to have run all 24. Very well done too, to Ben Nurse 3:03:53 PB, Christophe Valtier 4:03:56, Isla Montgomery 4:44:25. Meanwhile, in Germany it was one of the World Marathon Majors in Berlin. A brilliant city for it, on a lovely morning. Fantastic performances by Bryan Kerr 2:41:00, Neil McSeveney 3:00:49 & Rhona Fraser 3:21:36. It was also the Linlithgow 10k on Sunday. Well done to Cathy Wood 40:02 who was 3rd lady.
On Saturday 19th September, it was the ‘Flat n’ Fast 5k’ in a windy Linlithgow. The seventh event in this series, with a great turnout of 11 Bellas in Ross Horgan 15:38, Ross Gayle 16:38, Jordan Davidson 16:58, David Jarrett 17:07, Calum Brown 18:00 PB, Lewis Milligan 18:28, Cathy Wood 18:55 PB, Jen Conway-Evans 20:13, David Pattison 20:52, Frank Thielen 23:44, Katherine Wainwright 26:03. Very well done to Benji Scragg who ran the High Peak 40 in the Peak District on Saturday too. 40.5 mile hilly trail ultra starting and finishing in Buxton. An outstanding performance by Benji in his ultra debut, with an amazing who 5th place finish in 7:05:20. On Sunday 20th, it was a short ferry ride from Largs to the Isle of Cumbrae for the Kenny Phillips 10 Miler. A sunny, but blustery day, with great running by Stuart Macdougall 1:02:48 3rd MV40, Jonathan Wieland 1:03:06 PB, Sam Ramsay 1:03:08 PB, Jamie Wieland 1:07:26, Frans Roelofse 1:15:43, Keir Gowan 1:16:45, Brian Young 1:26:53. Well done to Tomoyo Fujiwara who was 3rd FV50, with 1:41:39 at the Dumfries Half Marathon on Sunday too.
It was the Scottish Veteran Harriers Club (SVHC) Cross Country Trials for the British & Irish Masters on Saturday 12th September at Tollcross Park. 8k for the gents and 6k for the ladies, and always a challenging course. Fantastic performances from Oscar Coetzee 26:02 2nd overall, Cathy Wood 23:46 1st FV35, Jen Conway-Evans 23:52 2nd FV35, Claire Wharton 26:11. So Oscar, Cathy & Jen qualify for the finals in Dublin in November. It was also the hilly Kyles 10 Miler on the same day at Kames. A great Bella turnout and very well done to Bryan Mulgrew, who was 3rd in an amazing 1:00:18! Great going too by Colin Hughes 1:05:57 2nd MV60, Martin Murphy 1:25:23, Shirley Wieland 1:26:37 2nd FV60, Frank Thielen 1:28:05, Roz Wilson 1:28:59, Wallace Gray 1:29:10, Louise Nimmo 1:42:02, Louise Gray 1:44:27, Terry Nimmo 1:49:33, Stevie Bell 2:30:36 1st MV70. First off on Sunday 13th September was the Kilmacolm Half Marathon. A West District Championship event, and a beautiful morning, and some scorching performances too from Oscar Coetzee 1:12:15 3rd 1st M40, Calum Borthwick 1:12:33 5th, 3rd MSr, Amelia Matthews 1:24:50 2nd lady, 1st F30, Ronnie Hart 1:28:14 2nd M50, Jamie Wieland 1:30:33, Deborah Gray 1:30:54 2nd F40+ 1st F50, Conan McCreadie 1:32:57 PB 2nd MU21, Sandy Macdonald 1:34:23, Laura Henderson 1:53:10, Camilla Cunningham 2:07:20, Murdoch Rodgers 2:12:39 1st M70. In the 10k Ross Gale finished 2nd in a brilliant 34:24! It was also the Cumbernauld 10k the same day. Very well done to Cathy Wood 39:57, Katie Mathieson 45:05 1st FV50, Kalonde Kasengele 49:29, Sue Campbell Senior 49:35 PB 2nd FV50, Lucy MacKay 56:56.
The brilliant Cat MacDonald represented Team Scotland again in Italy on Saturday 5th September, at the ‘Vertical’ Trofeo Nasego International Mountain Race in Casto. From bottom to top, 1,000m of ascent up the 4.2k course in 56:04. Well done Cat! Well done too, to Simon Wells, who ran the Ben Nevis Race on Saturday. 14k with 1,345m of ascent to the summit, then back down. A brilliant effort in 1:31:40. Well done to the dynamic duo of Helen Winning & Caroline Munro, who ran the windy Tiree Ultra Relay on Sunday 6th September, completing 17 miles each! And then there were a couple of nice Half Marathon results too. Firstly, in Budapest there was great PB running by Gianluigi Re 1:38:13 & Laura Loddo 1:49:47. And there was a brilliant PB 1:26:15 and 2nd place finish for Michael Rice at the Run Nation Strathclyde Park HM.
Sunday 6th September saw too of our most popular 10k races take place in Stirling and Saltcoats. Both form part of our Club Championship as ‘medium distance’ events. In Stirling, it was the Podfather Stirling 10k, with great results from Oscar Coetzee 32:19 2nd MV40, David Jarrett 35:06, Bruce Carmichael 35:09 2nd MV50, Jay Cowan 37:55, Callum Dickson 39:12, Cara Thom 39:29 PB, Abby McGlone 40:41, Veronica Fusaro 44:12, Nick Smith 44:48, Murdoch Rodgers 55:34. Meanwhile, in Saltcoats, it the North Ayrshire Athletics Club (NAAC) 10k. Well done to Sam Ramsay 39:29 PB, Cathy Wood 40:31 2nd Lady, Robert Smith 42:19, Kalonde Kasengele 48:03, Mandy Morgan 51:14, Wallace Gray 52:36, Emma Queenan 54:30, Gayle McKay 55:49, Pauline Bradley 56:07, Chris Doak 57:21, Katherine Wainwright 59:40. More fantastic podium finishes for Oscar, Bruce and Cathy, and an outstanding run by Cara to finally smash the 40 minute barrier. Well done Bellas!
On Saturday 5th September, our very own Membership Secretary, Rhoda Yarmahoudi celebrated in style at Pollok Parkrun with her completing her 250th run AND her 250th volunteer credit! What an achievement, and even nicer was that this was timed to coincide with our annual parkrun volunteer takeover, meaning there were almost 30 Bellas marshalling, scanning, etc, notwithstanding those running and spectating! Rhoda is one of Pollok’s Run Directors, demonstrating such a commitment to parkrun and to Bellahouston Road Runners. Our President, Emer Campbell, was at the finish line to present Rhoda with some flowers and goodies. Take a bow ma’am!
Sunday 6th September was ‘Scilly Season’ as the amazing Jordan Davidson was in action in the most southerly part of the British Isles, for the Scilly 60k Ultra. Only 430 miles from Glasgow as the crow flies! This annual event is limited to 150 runners and takes place over 5 islands, with boat rides between each island. So, in order of the stages there is St Mary’s (17k), St Martin’s (10k), Tresco (11k), Bryher (8k), St Agnes (9k) and St Mary’s again (5k). Jordan just continues to impress each season with his performances and the variety of races he runs. In this instance, he finished in an incredible 6th place in 4:59:44! What an experience, and what a guy. Well done JDawg!
On Saturday 29th August 2026, it was the 18th edition of the Highland Fling 85k Ultra Trail Race. An epic run on the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Tyndrum. Over 2,300m of ascent on this route too, making it an even tougher challenge on what was a warm day. We had both Grant & Iain Murphy in action in this race with great performances as always. Grant finished in 10:02:00 while Iain wasn’t far behind in 10:48:01. Another ultra ticked off for our Mighty Murphys! Well done guys!
This week saw the unveiling of this years Jimmy Irvine 10k Finisher’s T-shirt!! Our super-talented member Graeme Pert has done it again! Another epic design celebrating one of Bellahouston Park’s iconic landmarks. This long-sleeved beauty features a unique wrap-around print, created with sublimated dye for a seamless, high-quality finish that will look as good as it feels! We love it and can’t wait to see the T-shirt in the flesh. Want one? Sign up below and you’ll get yours on 8th November! https://www.entrycentral.com/form/127858
Very well done to the dynamic duo of Christine Milligan 7:01:58 & Lynne Goldie 7:39:53 at the Breaking Strain 50k ‘Run the Borders Ultra’ from Melrose to Jedburgh on Saturday 22nd August. A fantastic effort on a lovely day. It was the brilliant 7 Mile Tom Robb Trail Race in the Carron Valley Forest on Saturday too. Well done to the brilliant contingent of Brian Mulgrew 46:21, Alice Howe 1:05:56, Fiona Birrell 1:06:50, Roz Wilson 1:07:23, Lynn Stuart 1:09:52. And on Sunday 23rd, it was the Scurry ‘Devilla Forest Trail Races’ on Sunday. In the Half Marathon, there was a brilliant run by the brilliant Jordan Davidson for 2nd place in c.1:24:39. In the 10k, the equally impressive Simon Wells finished 2nd in c.38:58.
Over on the east coast on Sunday 16th August, it was the Scottish Half Marathon. A fast, flat road race along the East Lothian Golf Coast, finishing with a unique final furlong inside Musselburgh Racecourse. Another one of our ‘long’ Club Championship race and brilliant efforts by the 5 Bellas who ran, namely Bruce Carmichael 1:18:49 2nd MV50, Mark Young 1:24:46, Chelsea Cruikshank 1:26:43, Rebecca Croney 1:45:10, Robert Boag 1:56:01.
On Sunday 16th August, it was the Paisley 10k, one of our ‘medium’ Club Championship races. We had the winner this year in the amazing Ross Horgan with a PB 31:36. An outstanding effort and only 24s away from a new club record. And there was another brilliant run by Deborah Gray in 40:47 for 1st FV50. Ross, together with Bryan Kerr 42:47 PB & Calum Borthwick 33:02 PB also took the Mens Team prize. A brilliant day, with at least 9 PB performances from our contingent of 30 Bellas. Well done everyone! Full results are available below: https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=20246&RId=12358
On Wednesday 5th August 2026,we substituted out normal training night for a 5k Time Trial on a measured Strava ‘segment’ within Bellahouston Park. This event counted as a ‘short’ race in our Club Championship for 2025/2026. We had a great turn out of over 40 members running and several more helping out on the sidelines. It was a cool, breezy evening but that didn’t deter our runners who put in great efforts a got a welcome tick-in-the-box towards their Championship standing.
It was the Greenock Glenpark Harriers ‘Bill Elder 10k’ on the evening of Friday 7th August in Greenock. The second ‘public’ running of this great event that takes a scenic, flat out/back route along the Greenock Esplanade. This race served as one of our ‘medium’ Club Championship events again this year with a healthy 14 Bellas making the trip to Inverclyde. As always, there was great running by Team BRR with Jamie Robinson 37:37, Jonathan Wieland 38:07, Calum Brown 39:13, Cathy Wood 39:41 PB 2nd Lady, Jamie Wieland 39:51, Deborah Gray 41:22 1st FV50, Martin McNulty 42:38, David Pattison 42:45, Gerry McDonnell 43:23, Alex Shaw 44:58, Frans Roelofse 45:46 3rd MV60, Tony Breslin 46:24, Murdoch Rodgers 56:42 2nd MV70, Chris Doak 57:31. Another great 10k PB for Cathy who continues in such a strong vein of form and who is now pushing for sub-39 minutes.