What a performance from Ross Gale at the Glen Ogle 33 Ultra on Saturday 1st November 2025! 33 miles from the start in Killin to finish in Strathyre, over a beautiful course with 3,000ft of climbing. And it was wet in the run up to this one, and on race day itself. Ross however triumphed to win in a quite incredible time of 3.54.01!
GALE FORCE AT GLEN OGLE 2025
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Congratulations to Kenny Osborne after two great performances and age category wins in consecutive weeks. On Sunday 2nd November it was the Strathaven Striders “Run with the Wind” 10k where Kenny finished in third place and first MV40 in a fantastic time of 35.12! Then on Saturday 8th November, Kenny headed to the Newton Road Runners 10k and placed fifth, and again, first MV40 in an even better 34.34! A great week for Kenny who is recapturing his best form.
Our Poppy Bowie will run in the marathon for Team GB at the Deaflympics in Tokyo in late November 2025! Poppy relocated to Brisbane, Australia, earlier this year and we have been keeping an eye on her training and progress as she builds towards Tokyo. The first bit of good news is that Poppy reached her funding goal in late September with the help of some of her new Australian friends and colleagues. This was fantastic news and means she can hopefully have a fantastic experience in Japan without financial worries. Many thanks on behalf of Poppy to everyone who has contributed towards her funding, it is greatly appreciated. As the temperatures rise in eastern Australia at this time of year, so has the intensity of Poppy’s training. She continues to build upon her regular interval training, mirroring the Bellahouston Road Runners programme, together with long base and mixed pace runs. Poppy has been networking with the Brisbane running community, including with Caine Batten, who is an Australian Deaflympian! Poppy and Caine recently competed in the Brisbane Road Runners Club (BRRC) 20k Road Race. Poppy was 3rd overall, and first lady, while Caine won the race! So with only 5 weeks or so before the big race on 25th November, Poppy has finalised her travel plans. She travels to Japan on 14th November for the Deaflympics opening ceremony and will return to Brisbane on 27th November, following the closing ceremony. We are very proud of Poppy and will be watching Poppy’s progress as the race draws closer!
On Sunday 19th October, it was the latest Amsterdam Marathon. There was a great turn out of Bellas and some fantastic performances too! Very well done to Ruairi Barfoot (2:42:05), Stuart Laurence (2:54:49), Oscar Wainwright (4:08:52), Gayle McKay (4:25:31), Mandy Morgan (4:35:51), Katherine Wainwright (4:43:57) and Pauline Bradley (4:58:39). On the same day, it was Yorkshire Marathon. A start and finish at the University of York and outstanding performances by Grant Murphy 15th place in 2:35:49, David Jarrett PB 2:49:46 and Sue Campbell Senior PB 4:21:17. Well done folks! It was also a great performance at the Yorkshire 10 Miler by Veronica Fusaro in 1:13:40.
We had two Bellas running at the Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra on Saturday 11th October. 57 miles from the Riverside Museum in Glasgow to the Edinburgh Athletics Track with the route largely follows the central belt’s canal network. Laurence Prior had an outstanding race to claim 10th place in an amazing 8hrs 25min! Lucy MacKay also had a great day, finishing on 12hrs 38min. The effort put into training for such events cant be underestimated, so congratulations to both!
What an event for Bellahouston Road Runners at this year’s very scenic Loch Rannoch Marathon! A beautiful day on Sunday 12th October for the event, with three Bellas participating. And it was success for all three! Jordan Davidson, carrying on his excellent form this year, finished in a PB of 2:44:29 to finish second in the race, first Male Senior! Then there was Tomoyo Fujiwara, in 3:34:52 to finish 3rd placed lady, first FV50! Lastly, Ian Watt ran 3:38:20 to claim first MV55! A brilliant treble of prizes for our brilliant Bellas!
It was the Great Scottish Run 10k & Half Marathon on Sunday 5th October. The stormy weather gave way to blue skies and a bit of a breeze for a great event. Excellent support and a new start at the top of St Vincent Street for a record field this year. We had around 100 Bellas running and marshalling! It was an early 10k start, but great running from our 6.2 milers, with our first 3’s being: Ross Horgan (32:35, 15th), Grant Murphy (33:10 PB, 20th), Ross Wood (44:44) – Lauren Rice (43:04), Rachel Fraser (44:41 PB), Alex Shaw (49:39). Then, it was the Half Marathon, where we had around 72 Bellas running. Some amazing PBs achieved and too many great runs to mention. Our top 3s were: Ruairi Barfoot (1:14:52 PB), Ross Gale (1:15:38), Jordan Davidson (1:16:05 PB) – Rebekah Russell (1:25:49, 3rd F35-39), Rhona Fraser (1:30:48, 1st F45-49), Cara Thom (1:31:56 PB). In addition, Al MacLachlan (1:33:56) was 1st M65-69. Elsewhere, Claire Wharton qualified for the British & Irish Masters Cross Country after trials at Tollcross Park! Lynn Stuart ran a brilliant PB at the Chester Marathon, Flora Henry was second lady at the Barry Buddon 10 Miler in Carnoustie, and Poppy Bowie was first lady at the Brisbane Road Runners 20k! Very well done ladies!!
On Sunday 28th, it was the ever popular Baxters Loch Ness Marathon 2025. A spectacular point to point route from the banks of Loch Ness to the finish in Inverness. Great weather conditions this year, and a new course record of 2:15:46. Not too shabby from our Bellas either with Oscar Coetzee (2:32:21 6th, 1st MV40), Bryan Mulgrew (2:43:38, 20th), Debbi Scott (3:34:46), Lucy MacKay (4:33:20). Lucy completed her 80th marathon including every Loch Ness event to date! Oscar retained his MV40 title too taking 8 mins off last years time.
The Kelpies Half Marathon ran on Saturday 27th September. A start & finish at the Kelpies, with two crossings over the Forth at the Clackmannanshire Bridge and then back over the historic Kincardine Bridge. There were perfect conditions and plenty of Bella horsepower too, especially from the race winner, our Grant Murphy, in a PB and Course Record 1:12:15! Another outstanding effort following on from Grant winning the Girvan HM in July. Great running too by Gavin McGowan (1:39:14), Lauren Rice (1:41:53), Anne Campbell (1:44:13), Wallace Gray (1:49:14), Laura Henderson (1:49:52) & Louise Gray (2:08:19).
The 2025 Highland Fling Ultra took place on Saturday 20th September. A point-to-point trail ultramarathon along the southern 53 miles of the West Highland Way, from Milngavie to Tyndrum, with 2,300m of ascent. Congratulations to our fab four of Stewart Penny (9:12:34, 26th), Jordan Davidson (9:42:07), Ross McGeoch (11:50:23) & Della Lansley (DNF but a brilliant effort running for over 14 hours). Sunday 21st September was the BMW Berlin Marathon. One of the world major marathon events in this fantastic city which was tackled by Kenny Osborne (2:51:12), Paul McNairn (3:02:55) and Chic Forsyth (3:21:28). Great running on what was a very warm day.
It was The Kyles 10 Miles on Saturday 13th September in Tighnabruaich, another ‘long’ championship event for us. And it was the Kyles for smiles with Bryan Mulgrew (58:44) winning, while the ever improving Cara Thom (1:11:47) was the winning lady. We also had Leanne McIntosh (1:15:36) finish a great 1st FV40, and the amazing Shirley Wieland (1:23:44) 1st FV60! A brilliant haul of prizes! There was also one of our ‘short’ championship races at the ‘Flat n’ Fast 5k’ in a wet Linlithgow on Saturday. Great running from Ross Horgan 15:37, Josh Evans 15:50, Bryan Kerr 16:25 PB, Jethro Browell 16:54, Bruce Carse 17:27, Jay Cowan 17:34, Jamie Robinson 17:44 PB, Jamie Wieland 18:31, Lewis Milligan 19:36, Cathy Wood 19:55 and Flora Henry 21:10. Well done everyone, including the returning Ross, who was 19th overall! On Sunday we had runners at the Cumbernauld 10k, with Triss Gabert running a nice 39:25, while at the ‘Kenny Phillips Round Cumbrae 10 Miler’, we had Josh Evans (57:39, 8th), John McKenzie (1:06:22), Ronnie Hart (1:06:28), Jamie Wieland (1:06:48 PB) Katie Blackett (1:11:24, 6th lady) and Brian Young (1:26:32). Sunday also had some international events including the Vilnius Marathon, Lithuania, where Ben Law (3:34:16) & Mark Worton (5:02:57) completed their marathons debuts! And at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, one of the ‘Super Half’ events, Andrew McCulloch (1:35:34) was our pick of the bunch.
What a start to September! Such a busy race calendar across various terrains, distances and geography! The Ben Nevis Hill Race took place on Saturday 6th September, with our own Team MacDonald in attendance. Up and down Britain’s highest peak at 4,413ft! Cat was impressive as normal, finishing 4th lady, 3rd FSnr in 2:06:25, while Ally ran a brilliant 2:33:24. The Great North Run on Sunday 7th, saw a great run by Angus Gray in 1:18:43, even with a dodgy tummy and nice going too by Tommy Burridge and Lynn Cumming. At the Kilmacolm Half Marathon, undulating through Renfrewshire were Bruce Carse 1:21:40, Jamie Wieland 1:33:25 PB, Dave Ferguson 1:37:23, Katie Mathieson 1:39:58, Anna Whall 1:47:17 3rd FSnr, Alex Sutherland 1:47:32, Lynne Goldie 2:05:44. It was also the 24th Stirling 10k. A great Central Athletics race as usual brilliant running by Tony Connelly 32:00 (15th), Oscar Coetzee 32:38, 2nd MV40, Grant Murphy 33:49, Bryan Kerr 34:04, David Jarrett 35:29 PB, Sean Coyle 36:25, Jay Cowan 37:57, Sam Thompson 38:31, Alan Digweed 39:57, John McKenzie 40:41, Veronica Fusaro 45:45. Down in a not so sunny Saltcoats, it was the NAAC10k. Wet and blustery, but great going by Jordan Davidson 35:05, 3rd, Sarah McSharry 42:47 PB 1st lady, Marty Campbell 43:02, 3rd MV50, Kevin Queenan 45:07, Anne Campbell 47:24, 2nd FV40, Wallace Gray 49:19. A not too shabby start to the month then!!
It was the last Friday in August this week, so time for ‘3k on the Green’ at Glasgow Green. This is an excellent monthly event billed as ‘The best wee race in Scotland’ and the £2 entry fee goes to charity! This event (29th August) also doubled as a ‘short’ Club Championship race with a healthy fourteen Bellas taking part. The weather was fine for our runners who produced great results: Grant Murphy (9:20, 1st & PB), Josh Evans (9:33, 3rd), Jordan Davidson (9:48), Stuart Macdougall (9:52), Bruce Carse (10:10), Jamie Wieland (10:49, PB), Dean Dempsey (11:01), Barry Edwards (11:14), John McKenzie (11:19), Rhona Fraser (11:55, 3rd lady), Al MacLachlan (12:05), Katie Blackett (12:23), Louise Ross (13:00), Lynne Hamilton (14:40). Many thanks to the 3kotG organisers and volunteers! Read the race report here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Avr7YrdFo/
As you may know, from our previous updates, Poppy Bowie has been selected to represent Team GB in the Marathon at the Deaflympics in Tokyo in November 2025! This is a fantastic achievement for Poppy who was selected after an excellent performance at the challenging Windemere Marathon earlier this year, notwithstanding any other of her impressive performances. Poppy’s selection coincided with her plans to relocate from Scotland to Australia for a year. She left for the southern hemisphere in early August, landing in Brisbane, eastern Australia. Poppy wasted no time in finding her bearings, maintaining her running and training momentum with regular long runs mixed in with shorter interval sessions and strength workouts. She quickly hit the 20 mile mark, and has been averaging weekly miles in the high 40’s. The highlight of her running journey to date in Australia was when she took part in the ‘Surefoot Trail Race’ west of Brisbane on 24th August. A very tough 13+miles, with 3,800 feet of elevation, at Mount Coot-Tha, however an excellent performance saw her claim 3rd placed female! Poppy said “I was a little worried because I didn’t taper for it, and the elevation profile! Also one of the things on the mandatory kit list was a bandage for snake bites! But I loved it. It was mostly on mountain bike track. Trails are always fun but the hills were no joke, and with the downhills so steep, I’d have fallen if I walked, so I had to sprint down them and hope for the best! But no falls thankfully“. So, it’s onto September and a build on miles and intensity. Only 86 days until the start line in Tokyo on 25th November! Poppy has to fund her Deaflympics adventure herself, so thankyou for donating to her ‘Go Fund Me’ page, she very much appreciates this and all the kind words too. You can still donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/poppybowie Tune in next month for another ‘Poppy Post’ update!
Sunday 24th August, what a morning! As part of our monthly events to celebrate our 25th year, we held a special club social run, crossing the Clyde at every bridge from the new Renfrew Bridge, all the way to Glasgow Green. Most took on the 9 mile route, so a meet-up at Glasgow Green before heading west by train to the Renfrew Bridge. A few brave souls however, took on the full challenge, setting off from Glasgow Green, out to Renfrew to meet up for the route back, so taking in a full 25 bridge junctions the whole way around! The run back to Glasgow Green called for a picture at each bridge, and we rounded things off in style with a well earned celebration at ‘West’. A fantastic effort from everyone – well done team Bella!