It was fantastic to see so many Bellahouston Road Runner volunteers helping out with marshalling at the recent GSi Events Ltd, Mens and Womens 10k races in Glasgow on Sunday 16th June 2024. The Club has regularly turned out at these particular events over the last number of years and it’s always a great day out. We had members at the start and throughout the course to help ensure things ran safely and smoothly, to pardon the pun! Seeing so many people being cheered on and enjoying themselves on a great city course was wonderful. Our members also regularly volunteer at other great events including the Bellahouston Harriers Brian Goodwin Memorial 10k, the Great Scottish Run each autumn, cross country league and of course parkrun. It’s a great way to spend a few hours and get to know fellow club members a bit more. It’s also a great way to stay involved if you are between races or are injured, or if you just fancy cheering the runners on! So well done everyone, and “…thanks marshall!!”
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It was a busy race weekend in the midst of 10k season with over 60 Road Runners competing around the country. Firstly, it was the excellent Brian Goodwin Memorial 10k on Friday 7th June, hosted by our Bellahouston Harrier friends. Although there was some sunshine, it was a cold blustery evening around Pollok Park. Some 25 Road Runners tackled the course with an incredibly strong field, headed by local Olympian, Callum Hawkins, who won the race in 29:45. Tony Connelly (32:26, 10th), Calum Borthwick (33:25) & Kenny Osborne (34:39) led our gents home. Katie Blackett (44:23), Kirsty MacFarlane (44:42, PB ) & Charlotte Parkinson (47:48) were our top three ladies. A great run by Lucy Mackay (54:43) saw her take 1st V55. There were numerous PBs for our members too who celebrated with the traditional Goodwin burger and beer. On Sunday 9th June, the 10k racing moved to a sunny Kilmarnock for the increasingly popular ‘Roon the Toon‘ event. Over 1,800 started the race with 22 Bellas among them. Our top 3 gents were Paul McNairn (35:59, 3rd V40), Craig Ross (36:30) & Mark Young (36:38). For the ladies it was Deborah Gray (39:16, 1st V50), Emer Campbell (39:22, 3rd V40, PB) & Anne Campbell (46:03). This meant that our gents and ladies both took silver in the team competition! Connoisseurs of the longer events were out in force too with the ever impressive Colin Hughes putting in another great performance to win V60 (1:27:37) at the Isle of Skye Half Marathon on Saturday 8th June, finishing 17th overall and beating all of the V50s in the process! At the Strathearn Marathon on Sunday, Poppy Bowie, making her marathon debut, had an outstanding performance on a challenging course, to finish 7th lady in 3:35:43. And finally, with all this 10k racing on the go, remember that our own Jimmy Irvine 10k will run at Bellahouston Park on Sunday 10th November. Entries are now open at https://www.entrycentral.com/jimmyirvinebella10k
Saturday saw the annual BRR pilgrimage to the Killearn 10k Trail Race (including the beer festival cool down!). It was a beautiful warm first day of summer for this tough, multi-terrain route from Killearn village out to the Dumgoyne foothills and back. Brilliant running by our 22 Bellas who made up 12% of the field, with our amazing top 3 ladies being Rhona Fraser 42:50 (1st lady), Deborah Gray 44:54 (2nd lady) & Claire Wharton 46:22 (7th lady, 1st FV50). A fantastic run too by Shirley Wieland in 53:05. For the gents it was Craig Ross 40:26 (6th), Alan Chalmers 42:02 (10th) & Colin Hughes 44:13 (15th). Colin and Shirley would normally have won their respective V60 categories, but Killearn was structured slightly differently this year. Nevertheless, brilliant runs and a great event as always. Well done everyone!
2024 was the 6th running of the 3 race babcock 10k Series, formerly the Polaroid Series. 12th May saw the first race at the Shettleston 10k, Glasgow Green. Over 20 Bellas ran on a lovely warm morning on a fast, flat course. Our first three gents were Tony Connelly 33:01 (6th), Oscar Coetzee 33:36 (10th, 1st V40) & Kenny Osborne 34:58 (11th) with the gents also taking a fantastic mens team gold! For our ladies it was the top trio of Rebekah Russell 37:23 (3rd FSnr), Grainne McGrath 40:20 (11th FSen) & Cathy Wood 43:41 (19th FSen). A great morning of running for all of our Bellas. Next up was Dumbarton on Thursday 23rd May, in entirely different conditions with heavy rain on a more undulating suburban route. 22 hardy Bellas raced, with the top three gents being Oscar Coetzee 32:58 (8th, 1st MV40), Calum Borthwick 33:05 (10th) & Bryan Kerr 34:34 (20th). So two straight MV40 wins for Oscar to help the gents team take bronze! Our ladies first three were Rebekah Russell 36:32 (4th FSen), Poppy Bowie 42:05 (14th FSen) & Alice Howe 51:02 (33rd FSen). So it was onto Helensburgh on Thursday 30th May for the final race of the series. What a contrast in weather from Dumbarton, with lovely Spring sunshine although a brisk headwind for the first half. 23 Bellas ran with our top three gents being Oscar Coetzee 33:15 (8th, 1st MV40), Ross Horgan 33:24 (9th) & Kenny Osborne 34:29 (14th). A clean sweep of MV40 golds for Oscar and team bronze for the gents! Our top three ladies were the formidable Rebekah Russell 36:48 (3rd FSen), Kelly Taylor 39:13 (7th FSen) & Cara Thom 45:11 (22nd FSen). Brilliant running from our ladies to also take team bronze! Helensburgh also served as the Scottish Athletics West District 10k Championship with the team competition rising to four members. With Bryan Mulgrew 35:23 (22nd) our gents were West District team runners-up. Lyndsay Kennedy 48:39 (30th FSnr) was our number four lady meaning West District ladies team 3rd. Congratulations to the outstanding Oscar Coetzee, the overall series and West District MV40 winner, 3rd placed gent overall and 3 team awards. The amazing Rebekah Russell had a fantastic series too, finishing ladies runner-up with two 3rd place FSen finishes as well as Helensburgh team bronze and corresponding West District awards! 11 members completed the full 3 race series with fantastic performances throughout from all of our Bellas. A real purple patch in another great babcock series. Well done everyone! https://babcock10kseries.co.uk/ Images courtesy of Daren Borzynsky
Endurance was the name of the game this week with lots of testing events. Cat MacDonald was first lady at the Goatfell Hill Race on Arran on Sunday 19th May. On Thursday 23rd, 22 hardy Bellas raced the second of the Babcock 10k race series at Dumbarton in monsoon conditions. Our gents top three of Oscar Coetzee 32:58 (8th, 1st MV40), Calum Borthwick 33:05 (10th, PB) & Bryan Kerr 34:34 (20th, PB) took the mens team bronze. Great running too from Al MacLachlan 41:44 (2nd MV60) with Rebekah Russell 36:32 (4th FSen) first Bella lady home. There were outstanding efforts by Jordan Davidson & Graeme McNay on Saturday. Jordan completed the West Highland Way Ultra (25:53:19), all 96.5 miles with over 22,500ft of ascent. Graeme meanwhile ran the Cateran Trail Ultra in Perthshire, at 56 miles with 7,500ft of climbing. Very well done to Craig Ross (1:29:26, 4th MV40 ) & Louise Ross (1:41:52, 2nd lady, 1st FV40) at a hot and hilly Kirkcudbright Half Marathon on Saturday. The rain returned for the Edinburgh Marathon Festival on Sunday 26th. In the Half we saw great runs by Ruairi Barfoot (1:19:32), Tom Thorne (1:37:29), Anton Soderqvist (1:50:18), Emily Jackson (2:01:49) & Lucy Mackay (2:06:51). The Marathon followed with great running from finishers Chic Forsyth (3:16:16), Harris Millar (3:23:02), Cathy Wood (3:42:51), Sam Dickson (3:54:38), Conor Cross (3:56:08), Hayley Drysdale (4:17:58), Gerry Hanlon (4:28:03) & Lynn Stuart (4:56:38). A great week, well done everdone!
You may have noticed Bellahouston Road Runner, Andy Tomlinson in the media of late following his gaining entry to the Abbott World Marathon hall of fame after gaining his 6th ‘star’ upon completion of the London Marathon in April 2024. A few weeks down the line, Andy has been reflecting upon his achievement which for most of us is beyond comprehension, never mind doing it while managing Cerebral Palsy. Starting his journey in Berlin 2021, Andy completed New York, Boston, Chicago, Tokyo and London by 2024. 6 world Majors in 24hrs 47min 25sec, averaging 4hrs 7min 54sec, with a PB of 3hrs 45min 53sec in Boston. Quite incredible and a credit to himself. We at BRR are very proud of our fellow member. Andy may well be a record breaker after his efforts and his achievements were recognised globally in the media. Our own Siobhan Dunn penned a fantastic BBC piece on Andy which is available here
What a night at Bellahouston Park on Wednesday 15th May for our President’s Cup 5k Race. A fantastic 74 members ran in this annual ‘handicap’ event with each individuals start time calculated against their recent 5k /10k race performances. This ensures that everyone has a chance of winning, and also involves a very busy finish line! It was fantastic to be holding the event in Bellahouston Park again after a couple of years at Rouken Glen, although a fine substitute. We were blessed with a fine spring evening, with good running conditions on a reasonably flat course. Congratulations to our champions on the night, Graeme Pert & Sarah-Jane Kissock, who were cheered on by our army of volunteers and supporters. Overall, there was some fantastic running and several PBs, with 44 members finishing within 30 seconds of their predicted finish times. Testament indeed to the hard work put in by our stats team. Our President, Emer Campbell, commented “This was another superb night for the club. Huge thanks everyone who helped organise this event, the volunteers, supporters and of course congratulations to Graeme and Sarah-Jane”
It has been seven years since we became a charity and we are very pleased to Trustees’ annual report (2022_23) Final Public. It highlights all the fantastic achievements of members and the incredible events the club has held – we hope you enjoy reading it. The report has been approved by the Scottish Charity Regulator OSCR. We are grateful to everyone who helped write the report, particularly the Board of Trustees. We are especially thankful to Julia MacDonald for the expert, independent examination of the accounts. Note that all our annual reports, and charitable status documents, can be found on our charitable status page.
It’s now six years years since we became a charity, and as part of that we publish an annual report and accounts, for submission to the Scottish Charity Regulator, OSCR. You can read our recently submitted report, for the year 2021-22, on our website. We’ve again used the opportunity to reflect on and highlight the achievements of the club and its amazing members, pick a few of our favourite photographs, and cherish some memories. We hope you enjoy reading it! We’re grateful for everybody who helped contribute to the report, particular our Board of Trustees. We’d also like to once again express our gratitude to Julia McDonald for the independent examination of our accounts. You can find all our previous annual reports on our Charitable Status page.
We’re delighted to today be sharing our Annual Report, for 2020-21. It highlights the achievements, performances and awards from right across the club, a few of our favourite photos, as well as the statements and details our charitable status requires us to make. We hope it helps show what a positive impact being a member can have, both to other members, but also the communities we are a part of. Club President, and Chair of the Board, Richard Leyton, said the following in his introduction: I am delighted to share the Bellahouston Road Runners Trustees’ annual report, covering the period from August 2020 to July 2021. Our previous reporting period was a story of two halves, pre-lockdown normality, followed by the club and its membership coming together over the first Coronavirus Lockdown. All in our 20th anniversary year. This reporting period picks up the story – and challenge we set ourselves – for the club to build forward. It has been a remarkable year. We were honoured and delighted to receive Scottish Athletics’ Impact and Innovation Club of the year award, Glasgow Sports Council’s Club of the year award, as well as many individual nominations and awards for the club and its amazing membership. We think these awards are a reflection on the huge contributions, achievements and innovations from, and inspired by, our members. We continued to innovate. Our Coronavirus plan, built on the Scottish Athletics framework, was widely shared and referenced. Directly because of our plan, our group training setup could respond quickly to rule changes as they impacted group sizes, travel restrictions and social distancing regulations. We were able to organise club-internal training events, enabling members to experience something close to a normal race experience in a club setting. We could also, when rules allowed, work collaboratively with other clubs to organise small scale track events. Looking to the future period, we are mindful of strategic challenges. There are significant changes to our local sports facilities, as well as changes in support from local authorities impacting them, and us. There will be additional risks and costs for event organisation which may have an impact on our finances. I am confident that the club and its membership will respond and adapt to these, and other, challenges. I’m continually reminded that the club has a real appetite to grow, build and innovate. At every training session or event I attend, our members are fostering a friendly, welcoming and supportive environment that embraces everybody. The feedback I regularly hear from members is that the club, and the friendships they’ve made through it, are important parts of their lives, supporting their physical and mental wellbeing. I’ve always felt that if we get these foundations right, everything else flows from that. I think this report reflects that, and I’m confident and optimistic we’ll continue to do so into the next reporting period. Richard Leyton, Chair of the Board of Trustees 20th February, 2022 NB: You can find full details about our charitable status, […]
A massive well done to everyone who raced the Allan Scally 5k relays this weekend. What glorious weather for running! Everyone had a blast and there were some terrific times, plus lots of PBs. Wasn’t it wonderful to be racing in Bella teams again. The awesome Deborah Gray won 1st prize in the Ladies V50 race. Our men’s A team were an impressive 8th and the Ladies team finished in 9th place, both in a very strong field. We’re also delighted that a new club men’s 5k record was set by the flying Tony Connelly. Tony smashed the men’s 5k record in a superb time of 15:26. Absolutely amazing Tony, we knew you had it in you!! Well done! Great effort team Bella and it’s an exciting start to our road racing season! Many thanks to Shettleston Harriers for the organisation.
A super 60 Bellas took on the National XC Champs in Falkirk on Saturday . It was a fantastic day again at Callander Park and we assembled one of the largest club squads for this year’s Nationals! A HUGE well done to all our runners with amazing performances all round. Our Ladies team came home in 8th place and the men’s team came home in 11th place – top running team . We’re delighted to see such great enthusiasm for this year’s cross-country races. We topped the day off with a BIG Bella bake off. Indulging in some amazing home baking was a perfect way to celebrate the end of a successful XC season. Thanks to everyone who baked and took part. A special mention needs to go to the six club members who completed all of the cross-country races this season. Our cross-country performances are going from strength to strength. Now it’s on to the road season, and we’re already looking forward to some more team racing in the upcoming road relay races.
The Bella team had a fantastic day out today at the Renfrewshire AAA county 5 mile road race championships. Despite challenging conditions there were top performances and lots of PBs . It was fantastic to see so many of us smiling and enjoying the day, whilst we braved the windy weather. We had one of our best turnouts for the race, with a tremendous 68 Bellas signing up. A huge well done to everyone who ran! Thanks for making it a top day! We picked up a few prizes too. Our ladies team won 1st prize in the team competition and our men’s team finished on the podium as well, in 3rd place. A huge well done to Rebekah Russell who was 3rd lady in the individual competition. Top running again Bellas!!
What a great morning that was at our Festive Fun Run at Pollok parkrun! Well done to everyone who wore festive outfits, ran the parkrun, and came back to the Cricket Club for the afterparty The brilliant costumes worn by Lucy Mackay and Colin Hughes won them the prizes for the best dressed. Congratulations you two! The parkrun was won by our very own Alan Moss, who ran round in his Christmas jumper!! A fantastic £220 was raised in the charity draw, with Stuart Douglas’s name being pulled out from the hat. Stuart’s charity of choice is the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity The club will match the £220 and donate it to Elizabeth Hughes’s Beatson appeal Merry Christmas everyone!!
What a fantastic day out we all had at the weekend. We’re were there for the West District Cross Country Championships at Balloch Castle . It was terrific to see 42 Bellas racing together again at the first West Champs since 2019! There were wonderful performances across the board and it was especially good to see some club members getting their first taste of cross country racing. To top the day off, our cross country Queen, Cat MacDonald ran a magnificent race to finish a superb 2nd place in the ladies race. Awesome running Cat!! #ProudToBeABella