Many thanks to everyone who took part in todays race, as well as all those who assisted staging the event. Provisional results are available here. Any queries should be sent to races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk
News
480 posts
The Bella 5K and Bella 10K races took place on Sunday 1st September in Bellahouston Park. The weather stayed dry but the races were impacted by strong winds at various parts of both courses. This was the first time that two races were hosted by the club on the same day giving the runners the choice of the 5K or the 10K distance. The runners responded well with almost 330 runners taking part in the races. This years Bella 5K was run on a new course with almost 120 finishers taking on the shorter distance. The winner was a delighted Graeme Cameron from Kilmarnock Harriers completing the distance in 15 mins 44 secs. A strong run from Kevin Brydon from Shettleston Harriers took 2nd place thirteen seconds behind the first man home. Kieran Docherty from the host club Bellahouston Road Runners took the last placing with a time of 16 mins 09 secs. There was impressive runs in the Ladies 5K race with Jessica Oliver-Bell from Shettleston Harriers winning the event in a time of 17 mins 35 secs. Jenny Bannerman from Inverness Harriers also ran well clocking inside the 18 minute mark by 5 seconds. The third place went to Clare MacAulay from Bellahouston Harriers in 19 mins 41 seconds. The hooter set the 10K runners off at 11am, one hour after the 5K race. Over 200 runners completed the race. David Savage took home the first prize in 34 mins 16 secs, with second place runner Ross Christie from Stirling University exactly one minute behind. Bellahouston Road Runner Grant MacDonald had a strong run after recent injury problems finishing in 35 mins 51 seconds. In the Ladies 10K race Julie Doncaster, a previous winner of the Jimmy Irvine 10K race, ran well to finish in 38 mins and 25 secs. Over one minute behind was Louise Mitchell of Bellahouston Harriers who ran 39 mins and 34 secs. Donna Finlayson from Victoria Park City of Glasgow completed the podium with a frustrating three seconds over the 40 minute mark. All runners received technical t shirts and were able to enjoy a feast after both races. Full results of Bella 5K and Bella 10K 5K 10K The Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K takes place on Saturday 9th November 2013 and entry is available here.
Many many thanks to everyone who made todays events possible. A full race report will be along in due course, for now please see the links for provisional race results below. Bella 5K (click on link) Bella 10K (click on link) Please send any results queries to races@bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk
Report from Craig Reid. Firstly, it was great to see so many Bella’s out for the Helensburgh half marathon on Sunday. Not only were there loads of us running but also a good number of (very vocal) supporters which I know we all appreciated. Its been a wee while since I wrote a race report but for obvious reasons I thought now was as good a time as any to get back in the habit again, so here goes…… Sunday 4th August saw the running of the annual Helensburgh half marathon. A great turn out from Bella club members meant that we were by far and away the most represented club and as we gathered at the start there were plenty of purple vests on show. As the horn sounded I was keen not to make the same mistake as last year and set off at too fast a pace. Within a couple of hundred metres, myself and Steven Prentice of Bellahouston Harriers had moved to the front of the field and made the early pace. For the first three miles we ran at about 5:45 per mile pace which was a little slower than I wanted but I didn’t want to move ahead on my own so early into the race. I was feeling strong and could hear that Steven was breathing quite heavily so expected he would drop off a bit. Around 3.5 miles in, out of nowhere two runners came flying past us, Hayley Haining of Kilbarchan and Stuart Johnston of Edinburgh. They both looked really strong and as they eased ahead I decided to try and stick with them. As the race moved to the uphill section at around 5 miles Stuart had built up a decent lead. Hayley and I were running together and as we came back down the hill onto the main route we received a lot of support from runners going in the opposite direction. OK, most of the shouts were for Hayley but I definitely heard the odd ‘come on Bella!!’ By 7.5 miles we had caught back up with the leader. I felt like I was cruising along and so not content with sitting behind I pushed on up the hill and put a bit of distance between me and the other two runners. As the race wore on I made the fatal mistake of looking behind me at about 9 miles to find they were still a lot closer behind me than I expected. Although I was feeling good, I was starting to doubt whether I could hold them off as I expected them both to finish strongly. There was some great Bella support at around 10 miles and some wise words from Tammy telling me to stay focussed was what I needed. She was right, after all, I felt good and it was them who had to catch me so I decided to up the pace a bit. As I climbed the hill after 11 miles I had […]
Report from Bruce Carse. During our recent holiday to South Korea, Nina and I thought it might be fun to see if there was any races happening while we were there, and sure enough there was – the Jeju Marathon Festival with 10K, half and full marathon options. We thought it best just stick to the 10k, because we all know that 10ks are ‘easy’, right!? Getting our race packs posted out was a bit of a problem, so we ended up picking them up a couple of days before the race at their office. This turned out to be an excellent plan, as the race organisers asked us to come along to a huge banquet dinner at a posh hotel the night before the race, so we obliged and went along and listened to some important people giving speeches and then stuff ourselves with free food. They also gave us a very nice souvenir book of Jeju Island stamps!? Anyway, the race itself started at the Guwja Life Sports stadium, and there was a great atmosphere with plenty of music, sunshine, lots of free food and plenty of supporters. It was pretty warm and humid, but it was by the seaside so a bit of a breeze took the edge off the heat. The 10K race set off 10 mins after the full and half marathons. As it followed the same out-and-back route, this meant overtaking hoards of runners on the way out, and then battling head-on back through them on the way back (plus all the 10K runners) which made life interesting. Especially when they starting trying to high-5 me. I was in the lead at the 5km turn point, and although I wasn’t feeling particularly fast thought I’d better try and hang on. Pouring a cup of sports drink over my head (thought it was water!) didn’t really help matters. Despite a killer last km straight into the wind I managed to keep the pace up to come 1st in the unlikely winning time of 36.34. Turns out South Korea is the place to win a race. There was a proper podium presentation from one of the ‘important people’ who spoke at the previous evening’s dinner, a wreath of olive leaves to wear on my head, a certificate mounted in a leather folder, a big glass trophy, and 300,000 Won of department store vouchers! The best bit of post-race entertainment was the comedy red-stiletto-dash which involved tired 10k runners putting on high heels and trying to outsprint each other. One for next year’s B-in-the-park perhaps? They also had some quality giant animal heads for some of the other races (see picture). I reckon the committee should invest in some of these for Bella race days. All in all, this was a pretty memorable race. And goes to show it’s definitely worth taking your trainers on holiday. A few photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bellarr/
Report from Lucy. The good thing about this race was the fine and early start, 9am. Last time I ran Belfast(in 2003) I started 20 minutes late. On Monday I rose at 5:30 for my porridge and was relieved to make it to the start line, in front of the grand city hall, with 20 minutes to spare. I was hoping to run a negative split so I set off slowly, trying to think metronome, easy pace, steady does it. Just felt joyful to be running again, had not ran for a week. Was trying just to think of it as an ordinary long run (with a wee bonus bit at the end). We headed out of the city centre, along Falls Rd, Shankhill Rd, through housing estates with flags a flying. Ran past some folk out on their front steps, dressing gowns on, having a cup of tea or a fag, watching us with mild curiosity. I was glad to get to the Antrim Rd and lovely Cave hill(I like a nice hill to admire during a run) on our left. There were a few supporters on Antrim Rd, wee kids gleefully giving high 5s and offering sweeties. I couldn’t get a song out of my head, wind the bobbin up kept going through my head (is it called an ear worm?), mental torture. Felt as if I was going really slowly but knew I would feel better in the last few miles if I stuck to a steady pace early on. The water was in wee paper cups so I managed to slosh it all over myself, not being very good at this drinking and running business. By midday the sun was out so getting a wee soaking at the water stations was a blessed relief. There were not a huge amount of marathon runners(less than 3000), but almost 17000 runners altogether, so a lot doing the relay, marathon walk and fun run. The places where the relay runners changed over were great, lots of loud supporters, great cheers(‘Fair play to yis!’). We ran along a cycle path, I could see the harbour and the Stena line boat I’d be on later that day, was thinking of how happy I’d feel to be on that boat, cup of tea, feet up, running over for the day. Ran with a friendly relay runner for a few miles, he was doing the last 2 legs of the relay. Was feeling somewhat weary by this point but he gave me a real boost when he said to me ‘you look like a proper marathon runner.’ Just lifted my spirits & kept me going(the kindness of other runners so touching). Tried to speed up after half way. Had 4 or 5 sweets, sips of water. Had to dig deep, find my inner strength, thought about the long journey to my spring marathons. Thought about all the long runs through the winter with my Bella pals, leaving the house sometimes when it was […]
Report from Craig. On Sunday 21st April I was supposed to be on the start line surrounded by thousands of other runners in the London sunshine for the biggest race in the world. Instead, I was in Monikie Country Park just outside a wet and very windy Dundee for the 2013 Angus Half Marathon. This is a good wee race which I did a couple of years ago. On a good day the scenery is lovely but this is definitely not a PB course with all the hills. I made my way up to the front at the start line and as the whistle went 200 runners set off. Last weekend at the Balloch to Clydebank half I started too slowly and lost early grounds on the leaders so this weekend I was determined not to make the same mistake. I stayed on the shoulders of the 3 leading runners to try and get out of the wind a bit during the first mile. As we approached the second mile marker one runner made a break so I decided to go with him and as we approached the first hill at mile 3 I went past and into the lead. For the next couple of miles the headwind was really strong so I tried to maintain a comfortable pace to reserve energy for later on. By mile 5 I could no longer hear any footsteps behind me and looked round to see I had built up a decent lead. The next few miles were still very undulating but as we turned out of the wind at 8.5 miles I was surprised to see the second placed runner was right behind me. He had obviously been pushing hard on the downhill section. At 8.5 miles you start the first of 3 big ascents. Reaching the top of the first hill I was offered a cup of water but declined and pushed on. I heard the runner behind shouting for a cup and looked round to see that even on that first hill I had moved ahead. I kept working hard up the next hill at 9.5 miles and once it flattened out I picked up the pace and put in a 5:30 mile. The lead cyclist informed me that I now had a huge lead which seemed to spur me on and another quick mile meant I was soon at the dreaded last mile. The last mile is all uphill, it just saps any energy that you might have left in your legs. Fortunately a winter of Sherbrooke hill reps meant I was able to keep a good pace and before I knew it I was at the top. A wee jog down the home straight saw me take first place in 1:16:37. I ended up being a full 2 minutes ahead of the 2nd placed runner. For my efforts I got two lovely trophies to add to my collection which seems to be growing nicely now. Okay so it wasnt […]
Report from Lucy. Thank-you so much to lovely Sandy who made the long journey to Fort William to be a supporter at the Lochaber marathon on Sunday. Was a dreicht day for standing about, but Sandy was always smiling and enthusiastic, and altogether a wonderful supporter. Really helped to get us round. Race was great. Ran with Suzanne, who, like myself, was running her 2nd Lochaber. Last time I ran it was 2001, don’t remember much about that race, apart from it being windy and rainy (much as it was on Sunday). We stuck together for most of the race, was great to have the company (sorry for talking mince, Suzanne. Sorry also for singing. Poor you). Really enjoyed the race. Was chuffed to run 2nd half one minute faster than 1st half. Lochaber doesn’t have the crowds, bands, famous sights or incredible wall of noise London has. It does, however, have:spectacular hills to admire (for many a mile), rousing sound of bagpipes at start and finish, shower at the end(unfortunately mine was cold, but it was good to be clean), post-race best cup of tea EVER, lovely filled roll and a Ben Nevis whisky miniature (my husband quaffed it when we got home, his reward for driving me there and back). Also, a shiny medal in a plush velvet box. Very well done to Suzanne, who ran her first sub 4 hr marathon. John Gilhooly 3:03:57, David Lockhart 3:36:16, Lucy Mackay 3:53:41, Suzanne Motherwell 3:55:49
Entry is now available for this years race series. 2013 sees the introduction of a 10K race distance to accompany the Bella 5K on Sunday 1st September. Minimum age for the 5K is 12 years, with a minimum of 15 years for the 10K. The Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K makes a welcome return on Saturday 9th November. Both races will be in Bellahouston Park. Online entry is available for both races through EntryCentral.com with discounts available when pre entering both 10K events. For more details, please see the Events page.
Report from Gerry. Saturday (23 Feb) proved to be a grand day for us Bellas, with the Scottish National Cross Country championships taking place at Callendar Park, Falkirk followed by a celebratory get together and meal later, open to all club members, at Mother India’s in the west end. For the first time we put on a bus to take us from Bella ski centre to Callendar Park and back. This seemed to go down well developing a good team spirit for the day ahead. Things looked ominous as we boarded the bus with snow starting to fall and cold conditions setting in. Little did we know that by the time we reached our destination we would be set for the finest of spring days, a clear blue sky overhead and fairly mild conditions. With a few call offs, always to be expected at this time of year, we still had a good turnout of 16 guys and 6 girls to take part in the men’s and women’s events. We also had excellent support from club members not taking part on the day (Robert, Tammy, Brian, Elsie, Jackie, Graham and Chi) First off were the girls (Louise, Judith, Sarah, Sabina, Rose and Maree) to tackle two laps (5 miles) of a tough but excellent test of cross country running. We were lucky that the cold conditions leading up to the event meant that the ground was generally firm so allowed for quite a fast course. All appeared to adapt well to the course, putting in sound performances and our girls team finished in 22nd position out of 25 competing teams. For Maree this was her first outing at cross country so well done you. The final race of the day was the senior men’s event over 7.5 miles, three laps of the hilly course. With over 500 guys on the start line, all quite nervy and ready to run, it feels that something special is about to happen. It is. Unlike previous years there was no lead up to the gun to announce the event and some of the main contenders. So the start gun went suddenly and off jolted 500 runners in what felt like a stampede, well an orderly one, with the ground below shaking with all these feet pounding it! The 16 Bellas taking part were: Kieran, Greig, Matt, Ciaran, Craig, Grant, Mark, Brian, Ollie ,Iain ,Gerry, Peter, Barry John, Allan, David and Bryan. The team of 6 counters (Kieran, Greig, Matt, Ciaran, Craig and Grant) put in a very creditable performance finishing eighth place overall of 30 counting teams. So well done guys. After returning home it was a quick turn around to get back out for the all important food and to join up with others who hadn’t signed up for the race earlier. In total 29 turned up for food. Just shows that food is more popular than running in our club! The meal began a little later than expected and in slightly more cramped […]
Report from Gerry An outstanding performance by our ‘A’ team (Bryan, Matt & Mark, Greig, Grant & Andy) got us third position in Saturday’s (9 Feb 2013) Devils Burden’s relays. The day was quite a contrast to the recce held two weeks ago. A good temperature for running, no wind though still a bit tricky underfoot and a mist that would make it a challenge to navigate through the trickier legs of the race. For our A’ team, Bryan had an excellent first leg over mainly good tracks finishing in 6th. Mark and Matt took on the 2nd leg, the longest and most demanding one, and made up a few positions before handing onto Greig in 2nd position. Greig held this position on a steep uphill section before passing onto Andy and Grant for the final ‘downhill’ leg. They were overtaken by one team but held onto 3rd position. Well done to the team. Our mixed team of Emma (making her return to racing after over a year’s absence), Jim & Ciara, Elsie, Gordon & Stuart managed to navigate the course well and put in a good performance. Our ‘B’ team (Gerry, Barry & Andrew, Graham, David & Chris) had less success on the course with navigation problems resulting in a DNF. Despite this all seemed to enjoy the experience of the hills. It wouldn’t be fitting to report on the Burden’s without making mention of the great spread provided afterwards for hungry runners. The homemade soup was excellent and the variety of home baking was just what hungry runners and supported needed after being outside on a winter’s day. This ends a great eight days for Bella, with our men (Greig, Russell, Scott and Peter) taking 4th team place at the masters cross country the previous Saturday in Nairn and both men and women taking 3rd team prizes at the Renfrewshire 5 mile road race on the Sunday. Well done all. We now look forward to one of the biggest events in the callendar, the Scottish National Cross Country championships at Callendar Park, Falkirk on 23 February where we will be well represented in both the men’s and ladies event. Here’s hoping our teams can continue to spread the word that Bella Road Runners do well whether hill, road, country or ultra.
Report from Iain. While in New Zealand for my sister’s wedding I’ve taken the opportunity to explore South Island and experience weather as changeable as the summer at home. During the trip I hoped to find a run to take part in and chose the Race the Train (http://www.activeqt.co.nz/events/race-the-train/race-information/). This event, taking place for a second time, has the unusual appeal of a steam train, the Kingston Flyer, rumbling along near the race route. The railway line once went all the way from Kingston to Invercargill, but in recent decades has been a tourist attraction covering a distance of only 12 km and terminating in a ploughed field. Despite the remote location for this race, it attracted over 150 participants, including some who had travelled from as far as Dunedin. On the morning of 6th January participants and spectators boarded the steam train at Kingston at 9am. The sun was already beating down from a near-cloudless sky so I applied the sun block and drank some extra water as the start time approached. The route for this race passes along dusty and slightly undulating farm tracks towards the southern shore of lake Wakatipu with views of the Southern Alps in the distance. I had spent the previous there days walking in the hills and the day before the race had ended up running part of the way down Ben Lomond to catch the bus to Kingston, so my legs probably weren’t as fresh as they might have been (or at least any excuse is better than none). I hoped for a time of about 45-46 minutes. It was difficult to gauge my pace due to slightly erratic km markers but I was feeling the heat of the sun and soon realised that I probably wouldn’t reach that target. A water station at about half-way was a welcome relief. I felt that I was making poor progress and just wanted to see the finish line. The last kilometre turned out to be quite a lot shorter than some of the others so ultimately I was pleasantly surprised to finish in a time of 47:51. And what about the steam train? It wasn’t visible for much of the race but the sound of it puffing and whistling was an added incentive to keep moving. As it turned out I arrived in Kingston a good five minutes before the train did, which I suppose is a victory of sorts. Overall, I really enjoyed this distinctive event and its stunning surroundings. I wonder if any Bella member has taken part in a race further from Glasgow than this…
Report from Gerry There was a good turnout of Bellas for the west district cross country championships at Ardgowan Estate near Greenock yesterday, 13 guys and 5 girls. The course was one of the flattest courses I have known but that’s not to say it wasn’t testing, the tricky muddy conditions more than made up for the lack of hills and making it difficult in areas to keep on your feet. Fortunately the overhead conditions were good and much milder than the previous few freezing days. In the ladies event, over 6.4km, our girls put in a gutsy performance and our team were 7th out of 9 finishing teams. Romy Beard had an excellent run finishing 12th and just 2mins 40 secs behind the winner who is a high quality runner. It was really good to see us getting an improved turnout for the ladies team and we hope to build on this for the National Cross Country at Callendar Park in February. In the men’s event over 10km our guys put in a strong performance and we were 6th placed team out of 17 as well as 2nd placed men’s team in the vet category. Kieran Docherty was our first home, in an outstanding 16th position. One point learned from the race is to check the map of the route and look carefully at how the races finishes. As we turned a sharp bend into what I had expected was a final half mile + loop I was hearing shouts of “you’re nearly there”. I didn’t pay too much attention until I got around the corner and could see the finishing line less than 100 yards away. Though great to see the finish line a bit frustrating when you’ve been holding back a little for the final push. Still a great workout. Full results on the forum and will appear on the SA website Roll on the National Cross Country and hope to see a large turonout of Bella there.
An autumnal day greeted the runners for the 3rd running of the Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K on Saturday 10th November. Over 500 runners took to the start line in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. Music and commentary from club member Bryan Burnett got the runners set, with club founder Jimmy Irvine sending the runners on their way round the six and a bit miles within Bellahouston Park and the adjacent Mosspark Boulevard. In the men’s race Michael Deason from Shettleston Harriers led from the gun and finished the race 1st overall in a time of 31:52. Second place went to Jozsef Farkas finishing in a time of 32:08. The third man home was Chris Devenney from Kilbarchan AAC with a time of 32:19. The veteran prizes went to Cris Walsh from Bellahouston Harriers (M40, 34:52), Graham McGrattan from Greenock Glenpark Harriers (M50, 37:24) and Norman Baillie from Garscube Harriers (M60, 42:57). The women’s race was a close run affair with first and third only 31 seconds apart. First home for the ladies was Clare MacAuley from Bellahouston Harriers, with a time of 39:18. The host club Bellahouston Road Runners provided the ladies in 2nd and 3rd with Deborah Gray, glowing from a recent PB run at the Dublin marathon, finishing in 39:36 closely followed by Romy Beard in 39:49 and with that Romy’s first sub 40 min 10K run. Prizes in the veteran categories went to Ann Robin (F35, 41:12) from the host club Bellahouston Road Runners, Mary Western from Carnegie Harriers (F45, 42:08) and Denise Lindsay from ADAC (49:24). The team prizes for both men and ladies went to Bellahouston Road Runners who were well represented throughout the whole field. Men’s counters were Ciaran Dougherty, Mark Johnston and Scott Kennedy and the ladies team comprised Deborah Gray, Romy Beard and Ann Robin. There was also a prize for the Bellahouston Road Runners 2012 race series which included the 5K race in August and today’s 10K. These prizes also went to runners from the host club with Scott Kennedy taking the male prize and capping a very successful day, Ann Robin took the female prize. Well done to all the runners who took part today. Everyone who finished took away water, bananas and a goody bag, with some bags having surprise spot prizes. Everyone was cheered home by an enthusiastic support and commentator Bryan Burnett. After the race everyone headed to Mosspark Bowling Club to enjoy a celebratory buffet of sweet and savoury foods washed down with tea and coffee, followed by the presentation ceremony. Another highlight of the day saw Bellahouston Road Runners awarded the Club Accreditation Foundation Award from Scottish Athletics which completes two years of hard work. A massive thanks from all at the club to those who assisted with the event. Thanks to the runners for taking part, all the helpers from the club, their friends and family without which this event would not be able to take place. Thanks to our race sponsors Achilles Heel who provide […]
Full results are available here (click on link). Full race report to come. Any issues should be sent to races@bellahoustonoroadrunners.co.uk.