Some of our amazing vets have been celebrating significant events of late! Lucy MacKay celebrated her 60th birthday recently and decided to spend the morning of her big day completing a marathon around Pollok Park! It’s no surprise really, as Lucy has completed dozens of marathons and other endurance races, and she is one of only two people to have finished every running of the Loch Ness marathon since it began in 2002. Lucy enjoyed the company of some Bella buddies on her 8 laps of the park. Good preparation for her (so far) four planned marathons this year. What a woman! Meanwhile, Alistair (Al) MacLachlan completed his 600th parkrun at Elder Park towards the end of January! An incredible feat, with no stopping Al, who continues to race the MV60 category at various distances, with gusto and repeated success. And last, but far from least, out founder, Jimmy Irvine, celebrated his 90th birthday this week. Jim is a huge inspiration to the club, and the wider running community in the southside of Glasgow, and was an international class athlete in years gone by, having ran competitively for 65 years. An absolute legend.
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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.
Bellahouston Road Runners celebrated it’s 25th anniversary this week. To celebrate, we headed to the Emirates Arena on Saturday 11th January, for a morning of indoor races. Over 70 Bellas ran one mile heats, that counted as a Club Championship ‘short’ distance, before 800m, 400m and 200m ‘fun runs’. It was great to see so many brilliant races and performances on the fantastic new track. It was then on to Glasgow Green Football Centre for lunch, birthday cake and a series of talks and inputs Opening remarks and memories came from our founder, Jimmy Irvine, accompanied as always, by his wife Sandra. We also enjoyed the reflections of our current president, Emer Campbell, and past presidents Oscar Wild, Emma Birnie, Robert McEwan, Brian O’Donnell and Richard Leyton. This really was a thoughtful insight into the formation and development of the club, and as was so aptly put by Robert, a glimpse of the jigsaw that has helped to establish the club with members at it’s core. We had two further distinguished guests who delivered excellent presentations, namely Kilbarchan AAC legend Bobby Quinn and Cambuslang Harrier, and recent Jimmy Irvine Bella 10k winner, Ryan Thomson. Bobby and Ryan’s experience, achievements and perspectives were fascinating and provided real food for thought. Thankyou to both for giving their time and enthusiasm. It was a great day, and a wonderful start to our 25th year. Thankyou again to all of our guests, committee members, coaches and volunteers who put together and ran these events.
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!
We recently received this update from our friends at the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice: “..the total amount raised was an incredible £711.14. The breakdown of this is £392 transferred from you, and £319.14 from the bucket collection. Thank you so much for taking on this challenge in support of the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, please do pass our biggest thanks and gratitude onto everyone who took part and donated to a great cause..” The hospice has over the years, assisted the families and friends of several of our members. It’s an incredible facility with wonderful staff and volunteers. Thankyou so much to everyone who took part in our recent Jimmy Irvine 10k and contributed to this total. https://www.princeandprincessofwaleshospice.org.uk/
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!
On Sunday 24th November, Siobhann Dunn, ran the Florence Marathon, producing an excellent performance to finish in a time of 3:30:56! It was a fantastic route around the heart of the renaissance city and very well supported. Siobhann overcame recent illness to power around and set herself up for her next challenge at the Shale 50k Trail Ultra on the east coast of Scotland on 8th December! Ben fatto, Siobhann! On Sunday 1st December, Mark Young and Stevie Bell competed in the Valencia Marathon. The Romans named the city for valour and strength and that’s what Mark and Stevie displayed. Mark recorded a PB time of 2:47:43, battling recent injury and warm conditions. Muy bien hecho, Mark! And, the legend that is Stevie, completed another tough marathon, possibly his 26.2 swansong. Well done sir! The recent winner of our Jimmy Irvine 10k also ran at Valencia. Ryan Thomson, of Cambuslang Harriers recorded an unbelievable time of 2:15:47! Congratulations Ryan! #cambuslangharriers
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