It was another South African start to Saturday (18/07/2026) when our incredible Oscar Coetzee ran the 50k Cape Town Running Festival Ultra. And what a run too, placing 3rd, 1st Vet in an amazing 3:18:21. It was also the Highlander Back Yard Ultra at the Murthly Castle Estate in Perthshire on the same day. 4.167 mile loops to be completed, starting on the hour from midday. Very well done to Stephen McQuade who completed a PB 21 ‘yards’ totalling 89 miles, with Alan Digweed also racking up a PB 16 ‘yards’ for 67.5 miles.
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It was the Breaking Strain ‘Run the Blades’ weekend begining on a warm, sunny Fair Friday night with the 10k. Brilliant running, and an upgrade from last year’s second place for Jordan Davidson 37:39 1st place, Simon Wells 38:06 2nd place, Jay Cowan 40:21, Alan Chalmers 41:37, Keir Gowan 41:38, Laura Henderson 51:18, Lynne Hamilton 57:09. In the 50k Ultra on Saturday, Jordan Davidson (yes, the same one) battled the heat to run a brilliant 4:19:34 finishing in 9th place. And on a warm Sunday morning, there were scorching performances from Ross Horgan 1:14:23 1st place, Veronica Fusaro 1:39:18 1st place lady, David Jarrett 1:45:32.
On Friday 5th June, it was the 50k Ayrshire Sunset Ultra, starting and finishing at Irvine beach, south past Ayr and back, and designed to run from sunset to sunrise. We had the amazing Murphy brothers running, with Grant finishing 2nd in 3:50:31 and Iain just behind in 4th with 4:06:45. Outstanding by both. On Saturday 6th, Angela Eadie took on her first ultra at The Priory 100k. A trail race along the Northumberland coast, from Bamburgh Castle to Tynemouth Priory. An amazing achievement by Angela, finishing in 17:19:27. It was the Killearn 10k on Saturday, and we had a great turnout for this very popular race, with 38 members running. Some great results too, including Bryan Mulgrew 36:11 2nd overall, 1st MSnr, Amelia Matthews 40:17 1st lady, Colin Hughes 42:45 1st MV60, Sarah McSharry 44:50 3rd FV40, Rebecca Croney 46:33 2nd FSnr, Emma Peters 3rd FSnr, Marty Campbell 47:27 2nd MV50, Tomoyo Fujiwara 48:32 1st FV50, Caroline Munro 49:08 2nd FV50 (in her Giffnock vest), Pauline Wright 50:10 3rd FV50. On Sunday 7th, it was the Kilmarnock Roon the Toon 10k, where we had 8 members running. First home for us was Jamie Wieland in 38:55. Well done to Jordan Davidson, who was 1st place at the latest ‘Up & Running’ Queen’s Park 10k on Sunday. And to Ben Nurse who was 3rd at the Milngavie Trail race. “Twas on the ninth of Joon”..Tuesday night in a very wet Newcastle was the annual Blaydon Race. Just under 6 miles from ‘the Toon’ to Blaydon with a field of 4,600. We had six soggy Bellas running with Alan Moss 34:62, Jim Robinson 45:17, Henry Merriweather 48:04 & Roz Wilson 49:12, and in their Morpeth vests, Cat MacDonald 35:40 & Ant Jannetta 36:56. On Wednesday 10th, it was our annual President’s Cup 5k Race at Bellahouston Park. Eighty six Bellas ran with sixteen more helping-out and lots of supporters too, all making it such a great event. Well done everyone, especially our winners, Murdoch Rodgers & Laura Henderson. On Thursday 11th, it was the Kirkintilloch 10k with Oscar Coetzee 32:09 second & first MV40 and Cathy Wood 40:03 PB third FSnr. Then on Friday night, it was the latest Acorn Trails event at Linn Park with the Toota-Linn 8k. Well done to Terry Nimmo who was first FV60. And it was the very scenic Strathearn Marathon in Perthshire on Sunday 14th. A lovely, but hilly route (500m+ of ascent) starting and finishing at Comrie. Very well done to Jamie Howie 4:20:23 & Lucy MacKay 4:53:49. On Friday 19th June, it was one of our favourite races of the year, the Brian Goodwin 10k at Pollok Park. We had 49 Bellas running with our top threes being: Ross Horgan 32:47, Calum Borthwick 33:40, David Jarrett 34:37 / Amelia Matthews 38:13, Ann Robin 39:43, Sarah Field 41:38. On the podiums were Colin Hughes 39:04 1st MV60, Ann Robin 39:43 1st FV45, Claire Wharton 44:33 1st FV55, Tomoyo Fujiwara 47:28 1st FV50, Bruce Carmichael […]
Sunday 10th May saw the start of this year’s Babcock 10k 3 Race Series, with the Shettleston 10k, doubling as the Lindsays Scottish Athletics 10k Championship. A lovely morning for the 500 strong field at Glasgow Green where we had 21 Bellas running. Some great results, notably Oscar Coetzee 33:02 1st MV40 & Bruce Carmichael 35:07 3rd MV50. On Thursday 21st May, it was the second race in the series at Dumbarton. 460 starters on a rainy but decent night. Brilliant performances from our 25 Bellas, notably Oscar Coetzee 33:10 2nd, Paul McNairn 34:38 6th, 1st MV40, Bryan Mulgrew 35:01 10th, all 2nd place Mens Team. Ann Robin 40:10 2nd FV40, Ruth McKelvie 45:31, Claire Wharton 45:28, all 3rd place Ladies Team. Al MacLachlan 42:04 2nd MV60. On Thursday 28th May, the third and concluding race took place at the Helensburgh 10k. It was a tough one on a warm night for our 19 Bellas participating. Of note, Oscar Coetzee 33:19 2nd MV40, Paul McNairn 33:52 3rd MV40, Bryan Mulgrew 34:07, Al MacLachlan 41:37 2nd MV60, Pauline Wright 48:21 2nd FV50, Pauline Bradley 56:04 3rd FV60. Brilliant again by Oscar, Paul & Bryan, this time winning the Mens Team prize.
Huge congratulations to our amazing Claire Wharton & Shirley Wieland, recently received Bronze medals from Scottish Athletics. Both were confirmed as finishing 3rd W50 & W60 respectively, at the London Marathon, that was the Scottish Athletics Lindsays Scottish Marathon Championship race this year. Fantastic results ladies, well done! Saturday 9th May 2026 started with the tough 7.8 mile, 3,150ft of ascent, Ben Lomond Hill Race, Scotland’s most southerly Munro. The amazing Cat MacDonald was the winning lady in 1:27:54, retaining her title from last year. Ally MacDonald, Cat’s father ran 1:37:35 finish for 2nd place MV60. Huge congratulations to Hannah Berry who ran ‘The Lap Clockwise’ 47 Mile Lake Windermere Ultra on the same day. 1,200 starters, so an outstanding effort by Hannah getting around in 8:31:16 to finish 10th overall, 1st lady. A fantastic performance in her first ultra! Meanwhile, up in the north east, Ian Watt ran a brilliant 4:52:19 to finish 14th overall, 1st MV50, at the 50k Moray Coastal Trail Race. The following day down in a very hilly Yorkshire, in the Leeds Marathon, there was an outstanding PB run by Jordan Davidson to finish 13th in 2:44:39, with Ben Nurse also running a brilliant PB 1:21:26 at the Leeds Half Marathon. It was back to Ayrshire on Saturday 16th May, for the Queen’s Park AC Goatfell Hill Race. 15.5 km with 870m of ascent, starting and finishing at the Ormidale Pavilion in Brodick. On it again were Cat MacDonald first lady, and Ally MacDonald second MV60. It was a brilliant start to Sunday 17th May for our amazing Poppy Bowie over on the Gold Coast, Australia, taking second female at the GC30 Main Beach Trail HM in 1:31:44. And in Austria, Wallace Gray ran the Salzburg Half Marathon (1:55:34) with Louise Gray tackling the 10k (56:39). On Sunday 24th May, at the Cape Town Marathon, Colin Hughes ran an incredible PB 2:54:33 for 10th MV60, and looks like the 6th fastest MV60 marathon time by a British athlete so far this year. The event was also the Abbott World Marathon Age Grade Championship with Colin ranking 9th. Expertly paced with a mere 3s deviation (4:05 – 4:08 per km) and an outstanding 87% age grade performance. It was also the Edinburgh Marathon Festival that same weekend, with Bellas running in the Marathon and Half Marathon. It was a warm day for it so very well done firstly, to our Marathon three of Alan Chalmers 3:30:41, Emma Peters PB 3:42:29, Babs Wilson PB 4:18:22 . And in the HM, brilliant running by Calum Borthwick 1:15:38, Lucy Prior 1:32:38, Laurence Prior 1:32:39, Jishnu Bhattacharya 1:34:17. On Saturday 30th May, at the Blair Castle Trail Weekender, Calum Brown conquered the Full Tilt 58k Ultra (c. 36 miles). Over 6,400 feet of ascent over two Munros. A brilliant Ultra debut in 7:43:25! Down at the Great Manchester Run Half Marathon on Sunday 31st, Jonathan Wieland shaved 8 mins from his PB for a new one of 1:23:58, while his […]
It was Ayrshire for the Troon Tortoises 39th Troon 10k on Wednesday 13th May 2026. 1,151 starters with a fantastic 28 Bellas running! There was an outstanding PB of 33:32 from Paul McNairn, to finish 3rd overall, 1st MV40. Very well done everyone else, with David Jarrett 36:57, Jamie Wieland 38:12 PB, Lewis Milligan 38:26 PB, Chic Forsyth 39:21, Jonny Moran 41:38, Kenny Crawford 41:52, Jen Conway-Evans 42:56, Michael Walsh 44:33, Gavin McGowan 44:37, Lyndsay Kennedy 45:42 PB, Caroline Munro 46:59, Jim Robinson 47:46, Gillian Gallagher 48:36, Lynne Hamilton 48:40, Robert Boag 49:00, Alice Howe 49:28, Lynn Rennie 50:28, Babs Wilson 50:50, Wallace Gray 51:11, Fiona Birrell 51:39, David Boag 52:24, Louise Gray 53:59, Guy Schmidt 55:09, Louise Nimmo 58:13, Nicola Barrington 1:12:18.
On Sunday 3rd May 2026, in British Columbia, Canada, the amazing Ross Horgan ran the BMO Vancouver Marathon in a fantastic 2:33:39 finishing in 14th place from 7,300 participants! An outstanding performance, and even more impressive with Ross only recently back running after injury.
On Sunday 3rd May, it was the ‘Run Nation’ Strathclyde Spring Half Marathon at Strathclyde Park. This was a ‘long’ Club Championship race for us and there were good conditions for it. Brilliant running by Jordan Davidson 1:18:24 2nd, 1st MSnr & Cathy Wood PB 1:32:31 2nd lady, 1st FV35. Another PB in the bag for Cathy who goes from strength to strength. Jordan continues to impression every outing, a real inspiration. Well done you two!
The weekend past was a great one for Grant Murphy, Ross Gale and Ruiari Barfoot! First off, Grant Murphy finished in 3rd place (35:52) at the Neilston pad race on Saturday 2nd May. Saturday was also the Blast Running Fife Pilgrim Way Ultra from North Queensferry to St Andrews Cathedral. 56 miles with 1,200m of elevation. A fantastic effort by Ross Gale, who finished in 4th place in 8:26:33. Then, on the same day, over at the most westerly point of the Inner Hebrides, there was a great performance by Ruairi Barfoot (36:20) in the Tiree 10k, to claim 2nd place. Well done gents, great running all round…literally!
It was the Sri Chimnoy Scottish 5k Championship at Silverknowes on Friday 1st May. This is a fantastic annual event that always guarantees a fast field. And again this year, the conditions were good. Scorching his way around was our sole Bella, Paul McNairn, smashing his 5k PB with 15:52. This follows a week in which Paul, a local Postie, also smashed his 3k (Track Night) and 10k (Round the Houses) PBs, notwithstanding crushing his PBs for Half Marathon (Alloa) and 10 Miles (Tom Scott) just a few weeks back. What a ‘run’ our Paul is on! No doubt kept in check by his champion wife, Yvonne, who runs with our neighbours at Giffnock North! There must be a big mantelpiece in the McNairn household!
It was a great night on Monday 27th April for our annual 3k track races! A brilliant 58 Bellas donned the purple vest and raced on the night, as well as another 20 or so members who voluteered and cheered everyone on. This year again was a ‘short’ race for our Club Championship table. We had three heats running on the night, in lovely spring weather. Well done everyone who took part, with our top 3s (m) Paul McNairn 9:19 (PB), Jordan Davidson 9:30, David Jarrett 9:34 (f) Amelia Matthews 10:26, Ann Robin 11:18, Katie Blackett 11:35. Thankyou too, to our brilliant members with lots of pre-loved gear collected for ‘Make do and Grow’, a Govan-based charity. In addition, our members donated £260 that was donated between Elder Park and Drumchapel parkruns this year.
On Sunday 26th April, over in Greece, Angus Gray finished 13th, 3rd MV40 in 2:41:57 at the Thessaloniki Marathon. At the Rhodes Marathon & Half Marathon, there were brilliant runs by Laura Loddo 4:03:19 Mara PB & Gianluigi Re 1:44:48 HM PB. Bravi a tutti e due! Sunday was also of course the big one, the TCS London Marathon. An historic world first sub-2 hour major, a women’s World Record, even a Scottish record. A warm one to contend with, so many congratulations to the Bellas lucky enough to take part: Bryan Kerr 2:38:10, Ruairi Barfoot 2:39:32, Kenny Osborne 2:43:23, Iain Murphy 2:52:29, Jamie Robinson PB 2:55:28, Mark Young 2:59:21, Chelsea Cruikshank 3:02:41, Lucy Prior PB 3:11:36, Alan Chalmers PB 3:15:00, Claire Wharton 3:26:13, Tomoyo Fujiwara 3:30:25, Christie Lamb PB 3:29:43, Anne Campbell PB 3:37:42, Debi Scott 3:55:22 & Gillian Gallagher 3:55:46 PB (GN vests), David Pattison 4:01:05, Shirley Wieland 4:46:29.
Saturday 25th April saw the latest running of the 42 Mile ‘Devil o’ the Highlands’ Foot Race. Tyndrum to Fort William on the West Highland Way, and thankfully, the weather was good for our Bellas! Well done to Bryan Mulgrew 6:47:09, Ben Nurse 8:00:21 (Glasgow Frontrunners vest), Kenny Mcdonald PB 9:48:22 & Della Lansley 12:20:16. It was also the inaugural Beecraigs Backyard Ultra on the same day. As many 4.167 Mile laps as you can muster every 60 min until there’s only one person left. Stephen McQuade took this on and ran a sensational 20 Full Laps, 83.3 miles, cumulative time 17:58:48, just shy of 85 miles total, a PB. Wow!
Congratulations to Ross Wood who recently made the trip of a lifetime, hiking to Everest Base Camp. Ross loves the mountains of Scotland and had some friends who had undertaken the Everest Base Camp adventure. Inspired by this, he decided to book up and make that same journey to 17,598ft. So, in March 2026, Ross left for Nepal, stopping in Mumbai, before heading to Kathmandu to meet up with his hiking group made up of adventurers from across the globe. What followed was a nervous flight into Lukla Airport with it’s small 500m runway, before the 12 day, 80 mile round trip in the Himalayas. Tea Houses provided overnight accommodation and shelter from the cold (sometimes as low as -15 C). There was also the altitude to deal with, including regular headaches. Notwithstanding, Ross had the best time, making friends and sharing an amazing experience, in stunning surroundings. Well done Ross!
On Sunday 19th April, it was the 2026 adidas Manchester Marathon. The event is the second largest of its kind in the UK and widely regarded as the flattest. Three Bellas made their way south to tackle the race. Thankfully, there were good weather conditions and as usual, it was very well supported. Congratulations to Chic Forsyth PB 3:11.03, Robert Smith PB 3:23:05 & Angela Eadie PB 4:25:44. Three Bellas, three PBs, not too shabby!