Saturday 15th February 2025 saw the 9th running of our annual mob match against our friends and neighbours, Bellahouston Harriers. Pollok parkrun graciously hosted again, and this year saw a record turnout for the event of 172 runners in a parkrun field of almost 550. And it was congratulations to the Harriers on defending last year’s win, to take the total standings to 7 – 2 in favour of us Road Runners. It was another great morning of running and catching up with friends in the blue and purple corners! And to make it more special this year, the event fell on the 90th birthday of our founder and former Harrier, Jimmy Irvine. There was record attendance from both clubs, with 97 Harriers and 75 Road Runners, with the Harriers winning margin coming down to 4 runners. Over 100 members of both clubs and their families attended the after party at Clydesdale Cricket Club, which topped off a fantastic morning! Thanks to the organisers in both clubs and of course to Pollo parkrun, the volunteers and the staff at Clydesdale Cricket Club.
Racing
It was off to Dundee’s Camperdown Park on Saturday 8th February for the Scottish Athletics National Masters XC. It was an 8k course in near perfect conditions, and even the sun made an appearance! Four Bellas participated and ran great races with Oscar Coetzee (28:09, 14th place), Alan Moss (31:04), Rich Evans (33:20) & Alistair MacDonald (34:58). Well done gents, brilliant running! The following day, Bryan Mulgrew & Alan Chalmers ran at the Falkirk 7 Hour Ultra Trail Race at Callander Park. The aim was to cover as much distance as possible on the muddy, hilly 4.089 mile course (800m loop for the last hour). There were decent, if cold, conditions for this epic, with Bryan finishing in a brilliant 7th place in 6:59:00 for 78.4km. Alan, in his first ultra event, covered 56.4km in 6:56:27. Great effort guys!
The Kirkintilloch Olympians Neil McCover Memorial Half Marathon ran on Sunday 9th February, in damp, chilly weather, but this didn’t stop our Bella contingent on what is a tough, undulating course. This was our first Club Championship ‘long’ race of the season. Bryan Kerr was 3rd in a fantastic PB time of 1:15:58. Poppy Bowie finished 2nd lady in 1:35:17, proving that her recent 2nd place finish at the Buchlyvie 10k was no fluke. Our remaining finishers produced fantastic results too: Grant Murphy (1:16:16, 4th), David Jarrett (1:26:36), Cathy Wood (1:38:23, 3rd FSnr), Veronica Fusaro (1:40:17, 2nd FV40, PB), Tomoyo Fujiwara (1:42:32, 1st FV50), Pauline Wright (1:45:05), Andy Tomlinson (1:47:15), Wallace Gray (2:10:52) & Louise Gray (2:13:43). Our top three of Poppy, Cathy and Veronica won ladies team prize and similarly, it appears that Bryan, Grant and David took the mens team prize. Very well done everyone! It was also simultaneously the Kirkintilloch Olympians 12.5k race, with Stuart Macdougall (45:16), Brendan McGuiness (50:35), Anne Campbell (1:00:20) & Kirsteen Waddell (1:22:32) all running. Another great outing for our athletes!
There was a brilliant turnout of Bellas at the Renfrewshire AAA 5 Mile Road Race at Greenock on Sunday. We had 39 finishers from the 108 strong field! It was surprisingly mild for Greenock in early February, and thankfully no snow, hail, flooding or driving rain, just some grey drizzle and the challenge of a cold blustery wind, particularly at Battery Park. There was great running as always from Team Bella, with several medals claimed for: Kenny Osborne (26:49, 2nd MV40) Colin Hughes (32:08, 1st MV60) Louise Ross (32:31, 3rd lady, 1st FV40) Deborah Gray (33:11, 3rd FV50) Al McLachlan (34:20, 2nd MV60) Jane McNeilly (34:29, 2nd FV40) Shirley Wieland (40:40, 2nd FV60) Emma Queenan (41:50, 2nd FU20) Murdoch Rodgers (47:01, 1st MV70) In addition, our gents team (top 6 of Tony Connelly, Ross Horgan, Kenny Osborne, Bryan Kerr, Angus Gray, Stuart Laurence) placed third, while our ladies team (top 3 of Louise Ross, Deborah Gray, Jane McNeilly) placed second! With thanks to Inverclyde AC for hosting another great event, and of course to the brilliant officials and volunteers for making it possible. Over at the Glasgow Winter Warmer 5k at Glasgow Green, also on Sunday, Rachel Fraser finished first lady with a great PB of 20:34!
The latest running of the Buchlyvie 10k took place on Saturday 25th January 2025, having survived the aftermath of Storm Eowyn. Unfortunately, difficult travelling conditions meant a reduced field, including several Bellas who were unable to make it. As always however, it is a well organised and very friendly event. The race is predominantly trail, from the primary school, onto the old railway track to the turn back at Barbadoes Cottage. So it was a wintry scene, with a cold wind, but thankfully not too much of the wet stuff! A big well done to the Bella Buchlyvie 5 who ran the race, with our results being: Iain Murphy (37:00, 6th place), Poppy Bowie (44:00, 2nd lady!), Sarah McSharry (44:05, 3rd lady!), Kevin Queenan (47:06) & Tomoyo Fujiwara (47:28). Great efforts all round!
Well done to the 16 Bellas who ran the Maryhill Harriers ‘Nigel Barge 10k’ today (Sunday 19th). It was an excellent, well organised event around the Garscube and Dawsholm Park grounds. There were near perfect conditions on the tough, undulating course with brilliant performances throughout. Our finishing order was Tony Connelly (31:58, 3rd), Stuart Macdougall (35:11), Bryan Mulgrew (35:24), Stuart Laurence (37:14), Jamie Robinson (37:58), Dave Ferguson (40:51), Ian Watt (42:02), Stuart Douglas (42:45), Ross Wood (43:42 PB), Tom Ferris (45:29), Jamie Howie (49:10), Alex Sutherland (52:30), Gary McIntosh (52:30), Leanne McIntosh (52:31), Murdoch Rodgers (57:49, 3rd MV70), Terry Nimmo (1:00:43). The final Acorn Trails Sx5 at Queen’s Park (series race 6) also took place today. Well done to the Bellas who took part, especially Ryan Macready who with a 5th place finish, took 3rd place overall for the series! There were some other races taking place on Sunday too. Very well done to Jordan Davidson who recorded a PB of 1:18:11 to finish 2nd at the ‘Up & Running’ Glasgow Green HM, where Stephen McQuade finished 5th in PB of 1:20:13. David Jarrett ran a great 1:21:35 at the Santa Pola HM in Spain, while Rich Evans returned to his old stomping ground to complete the St Albans Striders ‘Fred Hughes 10 Miler’ in a brilliant 1:07:07.
The 2024 Tilli 10k, hosted by West Fife’s PH Racing Club, took place on Sunday 29th December, in the shadow of the beautiful Ochil Hills. The course is traffic free and follows the Devon Way cycle path, extending from Tillicoultry to Dollar and back. Registration was smooth and well organised, with a choice of a swanky beer or fancy soft drink for the race recovery! It was a fresh, blustery morning but the rain thankfully held off for the race. The first two miles were busy before the field stretched out, with a bit of shelter from the westerly wind. After the turn in Dollar, the headwind kicked in all the way back to Tillicoultry, but with an overall elevation gain of only 91ft, it was thankfully a fairly flat course! It’s a great event and there was an excellent turnout of 21 Bellas, with our results as follow: Tony Connelly (32:16), Calum Borthwick (33:06), Bryan Mulgrew (35:07), David Jarrett (36:24 PB), Stephen McQuade (36:52), Ryan Macready (38:16), Kelly Taylor (38:36), Dean Dempsey (40:49), Colin Hughes (40:55, 3rd MV60-65), Michael Daniel Rice (41:15), Cathy Wood (43:00), Marty Campbell (43:58), Ross Wood (44:58), Lauren Rice (45:11), Tom Ferris (46:04), Anne Campbell (46:41), Kevin Queenan (48:29), Joni Lindsay (49:36), Laura Wilkinson (50:31), Louise Gray (57:10), Wallace Gray (1:02:09). Well done everyone, and enjoy the beer! #Tilli10k
On Sunday 15th December, the latest edition of the Generali Maratón Málaga took place in Andalusia, Spain. The route crosses the beautiful city of Malaga, and passes by some of its main monuments, through part of its historic centre and along the seafront. It has been held since 2010 and is recognised as part of the official calendar of World Athletics. Conditions on the day were almost perfect. Congratulations to both Sean Coyle (2:39:12) and Ruairi Barfoot (2:48:11) who ran exceptionally well to record outstanding performances. Lots of hard training and preparation paid off on the day. Well done!
Sunday 8th December saw the Lothian Running Club Shale Trail races in West Lothian, with the 50k Ultra extending from Winchburgh to West Calder and back, while the 25k was a one way affair. Thankfully, the weather was good for the participants over the various distances. The trail itself is so named after the production of shale oil in the area which was booming in the early 1900s! Following her brilliant Florence Marathon a fortnight ago, Siobhann Dunn produced another outstanding run at the Ultra to finish 2nd lady in 4:31:13, while also raising funds for Brain Tumour Research is support of her BBC colleague, Glenn Campbell. Stephen McQuade also ran the Ultra in his usual strong and resilient manner, to finish in a fantastic 6th place overall in a time of 4:10:37. Brian McQuade, Stephen’s brother, ran a great 25k in 2:19:05. Great running all round from our latest race trio. Well done! #lothianrunningclub
There was a great showing at the Scottish Athletics West District Cross Country Championship at Barwood Park, Erskine, on Saturday 30th November. Thirty one Bellas ran on what turned out to be a surprisingly calm and mild afternoon. The 7km, three lap, undulating course had some challenging sections, with a lower section of soft, muddy ground leading into a sharp rise, providing an energy sapping stretch. Our excellent ladies ran first with Cat Macdonald leading the way for BRR, finishing in 26:00, placing 5th overall. Second and third Bella ladies to finish were Jen Conway (30:06) & Sophie Jenkins (30:22). The gents race followed with our first three Bellas home being Oscar Coetzee (23:48), Josh Evans (24:23) & Calum Borthwick (24:42). Oscar was first V40, and together with Paul McNairn (26:10) & Bruce Carse (27:10) took third placed Masters Men Team. The Macdonald family rounded things off nicely with Alistair Macdonald finishing first V60 in a brilliant 29:24! Another great XC event, well done everyone!
There’s been a definite shift in the weather this week and winter appears to be upon us. Still, there are plenty of events going on around the country to keep our Bellas busy! It was a brilliant effort on Saturday 16th November, by Ruairi Barfoot (1:59:18) & Stuart McMillan (2:44:12), at the Glentress Winter Trail Half Marathon near Peebles. It was a really tough route, with over 2,600 feet of elevation gain, on a cold day in the Borders. Congratulations to Dean Dempsey who recorded a big PB of 1:29:52, at one of the UKs most southerly races, the Gosport Half Marathon, the following day. Hard training paying dividends for Dean in getting under the 90 minute barrier. On the same day, way further north, Mark Young (in his Metro Aberdeen vest) clocked a brilliant 1:23:13 at a very cold and windy Fraserburgh Half Marathon, providing a great confidence booster for his upcoming Valencia Marathon. And more locally, the latest Acorn Trails ‘South by 5’ race took place on Sunday at a chilly Linn Park on a challenging course. Well done to the Bellas who ran. Now only four races to go in the series!
Sunday, 10th November 2024, saw the latest running of our annual Jimmy Irvine Bella 10k race at Bellahouston Park. The race is named in honour of our founder, and it was fantastic to have both Jimmy and Sandra Irvine in attendance again this year. The event was a sell out, and on the day the murky weather cleared just in time for the participants to tackle the tough, undulating course around the park’s footways. The autumn colours in the park complemented some great performances across the field and across all abilities, with our wonderful volunteer marshals and organisers cheering everyone along the way. The 600 finishers received our Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired long sleeved shirt and were able to fuel-up and enjoy some recovery snacks at our excellent post-race buffet! Congratulations to all of the prize winners: • 1st female – Rosa Donaldson (Bellahouston Harriers): 36.23 • 2nd female – Alicia Paton (Cumbernauld AAC): 37.33 • 3rd female – Kelly Taylor (Bellahouston Road Runners): 38.27 • 1st male – Ryan Thomson (Cambuslang Harriers): 30.49 • 2nd male – Cameron Muir (Shettleston Harriers): 33.06 • 3rd male – Alasdair Campbell (Cambuslang Harriers): 33.20 • V40 female – Jill Smylie (Giffnock North AC): 41.00 • V50 female – Deborah Gray (Bellahouston Road Runners): 40.40 • V60 female – Pauline Henderson (Bellahouston Harriers): 47.26 • V70 female – Charlotte McKay (Greenock Glenpark): 1.03.12 • V40 male – Oscar Coetzee (Bellahouston Road Runners): 33.47 • V50 male – Brent Brodie (Bellahouston Harriers): 35.02 • V60 male – Gareth Walker (Clwb Run Wales): 41.42 • V70 male – Andrew Haddow (Bellahouston Road Runners): 49.41 • 1st female team: Bellahouston Road Runners (Kelly Taylor, Deborah Gray, Louise Ross) • 1st male team: Bellahouston Harriers (Fraser Armstrong, Adam Stark, John Carr) • 1st female member of Bellahouston Road Runners – Kelly Taylor • 1st male member of Bellahouston Road Runners – Oscar Coetzee We are very grateful to Migo Sports for generously sponsoring the race again this year and providing the prizes. We are proud of the efforts of our club members, whether the 54 running, the similar number helping on the course, the organisers behind the scenes and those who contributed to the amazing buffet! Thank you too, to the excellent Brian Burnett for his brilliant, insightful race commentary. Lastly, thank you to everyone who supported us in entering the race and supporting the runners on the day. See you at the Jimmy in 2025! #seeyouatthejimmy
We are well into cross country season, having recently had the various relay events. It’s now the individual races, and it was off to Kirkcaldy for the Scottish Short Course Championship on Saturday 2nd November, where 1,100 athletes across the various age grades competed. The weather was kind and underfoot conditions were good for our wonderful contingent of Bellas who took part. For our ladies, we had Cara Thom, Sophie Jenkins, Jen Conway, Flora Henry, Kirsty MacFarlane, Leanne McIntosh, Laura Wilkinson, Alice Howe & Alison Brown. The gents were represented by Calum Borthwick, Jethro Browell, Stuart Laurence, Rich Evans, Tom Thorne & Gary McIntosh. Great running again by all, on an enjoyable day in Fife. Now it’s onto Erskine at the end of November for the West District Championship! On the same day up in beautiful Perthshire, there was the Glen Ogle 33 Ultra Marathon. Again, there were almost perfect conditions for this testing event that follows part of the Rob Roy Way, from Killin south to Strathyre and back. Fantastic running again by our Bellas with Brian Mulgrew (4:10:40, 9th Place, Course PB), Brendan McGuiness (4:42:02), Stewart Penny (4:42:56), Ian Watt (5:17:23), Simon Wells (5:30:55), Lucy MacKay (6:31:12) & SJ Kissock (7:31:40). Sunday 3rd November saw the first of this seasons Acorn Trails ‘South by 5’ races at King’s Park. Good weather and an undulating course bode well for the runners taking part. Well done to the Bellas who ran, namely Ryan Macready (5th place), Melanie Ovens, Tom Thorne, Jamie Wieland, Andy Tomlinson, John Sandbach, Aileen Coulter, Nicola Barrington, Hugh Brown & club legend Brian Burnett! A great weekend of off-road running across Scotland, very well done!
Sunday 27th October saw a myriad of endurance races for our Bellas, all with a European flavour. There was autumn marathon action in Germany and Ireland, a Half Marathon in Spain and hill racing in Italy. At the Frankfurt Marathon, the top trio of Kenny Osborne (2:44:24 PB), Jimmy McGreevy (3:20:22 PB) & Claire Wharton (3:26:11) put in great performances in a fantastic, well supported event. Over at the Dublin Marathon, Tony Connelly ran an incredible 2:29:25 to finish in 39th place overall (15th M35), while Neil McSeveney smashed his marathon PB with 2:46:34. Colin Hughes ran another brilliant race placing 4th VM60 in 2:59:06! In Spain, Debi Scott, building on her recent outstanding form, expertly paced the Valencia Half Marathon to record a PB time of 1:29:04! And congratulations to Cat MacDonald, who helped her Scotland ladies team to a 7th place finish at the mountain international at Trofeo Vanoni, Morbegno, Italy, a classic hill relay over 7.2km with 435m of ascent/descent. Well done everyone, recover well!
Sunday 13th October saw the latest running of the Loch Rannoch Marathon near Pitlochry. It was a chilly Highland morning but it didn’t take long for our Bellas to thaw out on the undulating course, and put in some outstanding performances! The wonderful Tomoyo Fujiwara finished second placed female in 3:29:17. Making their (impressive) marathon debuts were Michael Daniel Rice (3:27:50), Veronica Fusaro (3:51:47) & David Jarrett (3:51:48). Great running all round, and some lovely scenery too! It was also the Manchester Half Marathon on the same day. Three members ran, with Callum Borthwick leading the way in an amazing PB time of 1:11:12. Jamie Wieland also recorded a PB of 1:40:13 and Joni Lindsay continues to improve after her recent injury, finishing in 1:44:02. Well done folks! It’s great running in the autumn. There are still places available for our very own Jimmy Irvine 10k at Bellahouston Park on Sunday 10th November 2024. Enter here: https://www.entrycentral.com/jimmyirvinebella10k