On Saturday 7th February, it was the brilliant ‘Run ya Rocket’ Ardgartan Trail Race in Argyle. It’s a tough 21+ miles with around 3,500ft of elevation. The route is 90% off road and follows a loop of the Ardgartan Penninsula, with some tarmac, forestry trails and a nice open section that extends across to Lochgoilhead, before a climb to the Rest-and-be-Thankfull then a final downhill to finish. There was an outstanding run by Bryan Mulgrew (2:51:40) to finish 2nd with a course PB! A great tester for his West Highland Way race later this year. And well done to Laura Loddo too, in this challenging event. As always with such events, thanks to the organisers, officials and volunteers!
BRYAN BLAZES A TRAIL
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We had a super six Bellas at the Lindsays Scottish Athletics Masters Cross Country at Tollcross Park on Saturday 31st January 2026. A tough course for our batch of masters athletes who enjoyed decent conditions however. First off was the ladies and M65+ race, which ran over 6k. Well done to Claire Wharton (27:22) & Al MacLachlan (27:35) with solid performances. Next off were the masters men who raced over an 8k distance. Our four gents ran well in a busy field with Oscar Coetzee (29:18), Paul McNairn (30:45), Alan Moss (31:12) & Sam Ramsay (34:33). Next stop is the climax to the Scottish cross country season, the National at Falkirk on 21st February! And thankyou to David McNulty Race Photography from the brilliant pictures from the event!
Eight of our members travelled to Stirlingshire, to the lovely wee village of Buchlyvie on Saturday 24th January 2026, for the annual 10k race. This is another Club Championship ‘medium’ event for us. This is a very friendly event, with a 300 place limit. The course is out and back and begins behind the Primary School, turning left onto Station Road for just over half a mile, then right onto the old railway track (predominantly firetrack and flat). The halfway turning point is at Barbadoes Cottage (situated on the old railway track). On the return, the course finishes at the school. Well done everyone with Ben Law (5th, 2nd MSnr 37:49 PB), Kevin Queenan (46:12), Tomoyo Fujiwara (47:16), Lyndsay Kennedy (47:50), Alice Howe (49:15), Wallace Gray (51:13 2nd MV60), Henry Merriweather (53:43), Louise Gray (58:36). Thankyou to the organisers, officials, volunteers and people of Buchlyvie for another great event! See you in 2027.
There was a brilliant turnout of 22 Bellas at the Maryhill Harriers Nigel Barge 10k, on Sunday 19th January 2026. The weather conditions were perfect, fairly mild with a light breeze and even some sunshine! There were some challenging underfoot sections on the tough undulating course for the 329 starters, but as always, it was a well organised and enjoyable event. This was also our latest ‘medium’ club championship event for 2025/2026. Our amazing Tony Connelly was 3rd in a PB 31:13, which was also a CLUB 10K RECORD. This was an outstanding effort by Tony given the course profile, to beat the club record that has stood since 2010. Tony now holds all of our men’s records, bar Half Marathon. Close on Tony’s heels was Ross Horgan who also ran a brilliant PB of 31:49, with congratulations too, to Oscar Coetzee who was 1st MV40 in 33:33! Jordan Davidson (35:04) completed our first four men, who took second placed mens team. Our ladies had a great day too with Sarah McSharry (43:34), Leanne McIntosh (45:47) and Anne Campbell (47:16) taking our first three spots for Club Championship points. Thanks to Maryhill Harriers for another great event and of course, to the volunteers and officials.
This year, we introduced some new style ‘trophies’ for our major award winners, crafted locally by two of our very own members! Six such trophies were produced for Honorary Life Member, Member of the Year, Male & Female Club Champions and Male & Female Most Improved. The body of these was designed and crafted from stained, leaded glass based on the abstract ‘B’ of our club logo. The base was cut and shaped from hardwood, with an engraved plaque attached to the front. We think these look great and hope that the recipients love them too. So, it goes to show that there’s more to running clubs than running!!
It was great timing in Saturday 10th January 2026 for our latest annual visit to the Emirates Arena in the east end of Glasgow. Outside, it was cold and icy, but inside it was scorching hot on the fabulous indoor track for our mile races! And we saw our head coach Gerry Scullion receive his Honorary Lifetime Membership to the club! This was a ‘short’ Club Championship event ticked off for the 43 Bellas who participated. And, as always, there were some fantastic performances were put in, with lots of PBs recorded. On the day our top 3s were (m) Paul McNairn 4:52, David Jarrett 4:53, Bryan Mulgrew 4:55 (f) Cara Thom 5:38, Cathy Wood 5:47, Emma Peters 5:56. We also managed some bonus races, with our winners being 800m – David Jarrett 2:14 & Cara Thom 2:27, 400m – Paul McNairn 0:59 & Ruth McKelvie 1:17, 200m – Michael Walsh 0:28 & Ruth McKelvie 0:35. Another brilliant, fun morning out! Many thanks to our volunteer members who ran this so smoothly for us.
Huge congratulations to our new, and only our seventh, Honorary Life Member – Gerard Scullion! For many years, Gerry has been our highly respected head coach and an inspiring mentor to countless members. He has also previously served as club captain and on the club committee. Gerry has given an extraordinary amount of time, expertise, and dedication to the club, not to mention his own outstanding achievements as a runner across many age groups. This richly deserved honour is a true reflection of the lasting impact he has made on our club. Well done, Gerry!
Fourteen Bellas headed to Tillicoultry on Sunday 28th December to race the PH Racing Clubs annual Tilli 10k. A great route from Tillicoultry to Dollar and back on the Devon Way, in the shadow of the amazing Ochil Hills. This race always sells out its 800 places very quickly, and is a great finisher to the year, and a great way to shake off that festive overindulgence. Its also one of our ‘medium’distance Club Championship events! It was a great day for it, slightly chilly, but dry and calm. Our star of the day was Stuart Laurence who ran a fantastic 37:05, with the amazing Cathy Wood rounding off a brilliant year with a PB of 41:20! No sooner had 2025 ended, when 2026 arrived with the first 10k of the year at the Beith Harriers annual New Year 10k on Friday 2nd January! Another great event, with a smaller field of 300, on a tough but scenic route around Beith. Kenny Osborne ran a great race to finish in 6th place, 1st MV40 in 34:15, with Cathy Wood 42:48 and Tom Thorne 45:37. So, another year of racing stretches out in 2026, and we can’t wait!
Seven super Bellas were in Spain recently to take on two of the most exciting marathons in Europe. First off, on Sunday 7th December , were four of our members who ran the Valencia Marathon on a warm, sunny day in Catalonia. There was brilliant running from Bruce Carmichael (2:42:25), Neil McSeveney (2:46:34), Bryan Mulgrew (2:47:14) and Sarah McSharry (3:36:02). Next was the Malaga Marathon on Sunday 14th December, where we had three Bellas running, in good conditions in Andalusia. Again, there were great performances from Brian Kerr (2:37:57, PB), Laurence Prior (2:55:50, PB) & Chic Forsyth (3:19:30). A fantastic run from Bryan in particular, who finished in 75th place from 17,500 participants. Bien hecho todos!
It was Barwwod Park in Erskine on Saturday 6th December 2025, for the latest Scottish Athletics West District Cross Country Championship event. We had a quartet of ladies and a dozen gents taking part on a decent day in Renfrewshire. Conditions underfoot were soft, with several tricky sections with an accumulation of some impressive mud! Our ladies set off first, with 3 laps of the course, covering around 4.2 miles. Cara Thom was the first Bella lady home in am impressive 30:30, continuing her impressive form this year. For the gents, the ever impressive Oscar Coetzee was the first Bella gent home in 24:52 to take MV40 bronze, and helping the gents senior team to 4th place, just outside of the medals. Next up is one for the masters at Tollcross Park on 31st January 2026!
Congratulations to our very own Poppy Bowie who ran the Marathon at the Tokyo Deaflympics on Tuesday 25th November 2025. This was the centenary games for this wonderful event that takes place every four years. Poppy was selected after a great 2nd place finish at the Windemere Marathon earlier this year and is the first Scottish woman to represent Team GB in the marathon in games history. Unlike the Olympics and Paralympics, Deaflympics GB athletes need to fund themselves and in Poppy’s case, arrange for their own training and coaching regime. Thanks to some wonderful generosity, Poppy managed to raise the £4,000 required to participate! She will be eternally grateful to everyone who supported this fundraising effort including her BRR club members, Family, friends and the wider public in the UK and Australia where she has been based since the summer. So after training in a very warm Australian climate, it was a grey and wet Tokyo that greeted Poppy on the day itself. The course consisted of a 5km circuit to be completed eight times, a mentally tough challenge for anyone notwithstanding the marathon distance itself. Poppy was also the sole GB representative, male or female, in the race. However, Poppy ran a fantastic PB time of 3:06:52 in what was only her third competitive marathon. This meant that she also broke the GB ladies record for the event! So, what a two weeks in Japan, from Opening Ceremony to tea at the British Embassy with her team mates at the conclusion of the event. You can watch the highlights of Poppy’s marathon at the link below. Congratulations again Poppy, we are a very proud club. https://deaflympicsgb2025.co.uk/daily-highlights/tokyo25-deaflympics-day-11?wvideo=vrksxok47a
The 2025 Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo began on Saturday 15th November. Our Poppy Bowie arrived in Japan safe and sound from her base in Australia, for the opening ceremony where she proudly paraded with Team GB (far right in the above picture). Then, just to shake off the jetlag, she ran the Urayasushi Sogo Koen Parkrun and finished 1st lady in 19:34! It’s the marathon on 25th November so some final prep for Poppy over the next week or so! We’ll be tuned in on the big day! Good luck Poppy!
On Saturday 15th November, Claire Wharton made her debut for Scotland at the 36th British & Irish Masters International Cross Country at Roundhay Park, Leeds. Claire qualified (FV55) via the Scottish Veteran Harriers Club trials at Tollcross Park in early October 2025. The Roundhay course is a long standing Cross Country venue, and is a tough test for anyone. Claire (Bib 55314) ran a brilliant 29:37 over the 6k course and her Scotland V55 team finished just outside the medals in that category, finishing in 4th place. Claire is a long standing, and highly respected member of Bellahouston Road Runners and it is fantastic to see her efforts being rewarded with a Scotland vest. Well done Claire!
Sunday 9th November 2025 saw the latest running of our annual 10k race at Bellahouston Park, the Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K! We had some significant changes this year with a new flatter course and our race HQ being located at Bellahouston Sport Centre. We have had to tweak our course in recent years due to works within the park and we will of course take on feedback regarding this latest version, as we will about our new HQ location. It was pretty wet in the days leading up to the race, and that rain continued on the day, right up to the start of the race (at midday). Thankfully, it eased off for the most part of the race! This year, we had over 800 runners sign up to participate and there were around 640 finishers on the day. We did of course put on our usual post-race buffet which was more accessible this year being house at the nearby sport centre. We also teamed-up with ‘Rerun It’ to collect used sports gear that the charity will ship over to Malawi for use by local athletes. And, as always, we were delighted to partner with The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice to raise funds for the hospice. The race itself saw a new course record set by the winner, Jamie Crowe of Central AC in an amazing 12:41! There was also a fantastic run from Jill Cherry of Victoria Park City of Glasgow with 34:53, only 30s away from a new female record. Bellahouston Road Runners gents and Bellahouston Harriers ladies took the respective team prizes! Some other records fell too with Tony Connelly (31:37) being a new Bellahouston Road Runners course record; FV70 Margo Turner 56:29; Johnny Mair 47:46. Well done folks! The full list of winners reads: 1st female – Jill Cherry (Victoria Park City of Glasgow): 34.53 2nd female – Rosa Ryan (Perth Road Runners): 38.57 3rd female – Kristina Glynn (Bellahouston Harriers): 39.19 1st male – Jamie Crowe (Central Athletics Club): 29.41 2nd male – Lewis Hannigan (Kilbarchan AAC): 30.25 3rd male – John Bell (Inverclyde Athletics Club): 31.09 V40 female – Sarah McSharry (Bellahouston Road Runners): 43.20 V50 female – Allie Chong (Giffnock North AAC): 41.10 V60 female – Shelia Lewis (Giffnock North AAC): 45.22 V70 female – Margo Turner: 56.29 V40 male – Oscar Coetzee (Bellahouston Road Runners): 33.07 V50 male – Brent Brodie (Bellahouston Harriers): 35.29 V60 male – Gareth Walker (Clwb Run Wales): 40.04 V70 male – Johnny Mair: 47.46 1st female team: Bellahouston Harriers (Kristina Glynn, Joanne Frith, Julie Lynch) 1st male team: Bellahouston Road Runners (Tony Connelly, Ross Horgan, Steven Lamb) 1st female member of Bellahouston Road Runners – Cathy Wood: 41.35 1st male member of Bellahouston Road Runners – Tony Connelly: 31.37 Full results at: http://results.perfecttimingscotland.co.uk/Results.aspx?CId=20065&RId=1257 We are very grateful to Migo Sports for generously sponsoring the race again this year and providing the prizes. Thanks to everyone involved in organising the event, the volunteers, marshals, medics, timing […]
The latest Abbott World Major Marathon took place on Sunday 2nd November 2025 in New York City. Four Bellas travelled stateside to tackle this fantastic race that enjoyed great autumn weather. First home was Rhona Fraser, an age category qualifier, in an impressive 3:27:46, followed by Alex Sutherland in a PB of 3:46:47. Alex’ husband, David, also ran and finished in a brilliant 3:23:01! Next home was club legend, and former club president, Robert McEwan who ran with his son, Robert junior, both finishing in 4:31. Last, but by no means least, one of the nicest members of BRR, Robert Boag, completed the race, to be inducted into the Abbott Six Star Hall of Fame! What an achievement for Robert, who has completed Berlin (2018), London (2019), Boston (2022), Chicago (2024), Tokyo (2025), NYC (2025). A heroic effort by Robert, who dedicated his feat to his own hero, his late father. Well done everyone!