The main story in town last week was the Great Scottish Run. Firstly, thankyou to our wonderful volunteers who helped out at the GSR Junior races on Saturday 3rd October at Glasgow Green. Sunday 4th October was of course the Great Scottish Run 10k & Half Marathon (HM) and the last day of our 2025/2026 Club Championship. We had 75 members involved in both races. Very well done everyone, including the 20 or so members who recorded Personal Best performances so, some highlights…. Ross Horgan set a new PB and **CLUB RECORD** in the HM with an outstanding time of 1:09:57, finishing in 19th position overall. This record has stood since 2011, and it’s a tribute to Ross’ ongoing dedication to training that he now holds it. Not far behind were Oscar Coetzee (1:22:00) & Paul McNairn (1:13:30 PB) to finish brilliantly as 2nd & 3rd MV40 respectively. Murdoch Rodgers also finished in an amazing 2:09:30 for 3rd place MV75. Our top three ladies were Amelia Matthews (1:23:41), Kelly Taylor (1:26:10) & Deborah Wright (PB 1:31:19). Outstanding performances again. We had four Wieland family members running in the HM with Jonathan (PB 1:23:33), Jamie (1:28:50), Shirley (1:55:23) & Emma, in her first HM (1:56:22).
10k
Saturday 26th September was the Kelpies Half Marathon. Year 3 for this event which is becoming very popular with a good route from The Kelpies up and over the Clackmannanshire and Kincardine Bridges. Very well done in windy conditions to Martin McNulty 1:39:08, Lyndsay Kennedy 1:43:34 PB, Steff Boyle 1:53:14, Wallace Gray 1:58:43, Roz Wilson 2:00:02, Lynn Stuart 2:08:40, Louise Gray 2:22:06. Then, we had a couple of amazing Bellas down south tackling very tough events. Firstly, Ross Gale took on the GB Ultras ‘Cheshire Ring 100 Mile Ultra’. Actually 102 miles with a mix of trails knitting together the Bridgewater, Ashton, Rochdale, Peak Forest, Trent & Mersey and the Macclesfield Canals. What a performance by Ross clocking 16:54:37 for 3rd place. For context, roughly 4 back-to-back trail marathons averaging 4:14 each! It was also the 5 Valleys Ultra in the Lake District on Saturday. 58k with over 2,300m of ascent. A great performance from Luke Gall to finish in 10:02:05. On Sunday 27th, it was the ever popular Baxters Loch Ness Marathon. This was the 24th running of the event, with our Lucy MacKay having now run every edition among her now 83 marathons. What an achievement, and Lucy crossed the line (4:35:27) with Fiona Rennie, the only other person to have run all 24. Very well done too, to Ben Nurse 3:03:53 PB, Christophe Valtier 4:03:56, Isla Montgomery 4:44:25. Meanwhile, in Germany it was one of the World Marathon Majors in Berlin. A brilliant city for it, on a lovely morning. Fantastic performances by Bryan Kerr 2:41:00, Neil McSeveney 3:00:49 & Rhona Fraser 3:21:36. It was also the Linlithgow 10k on Sunday. Well done to Cathy Wood 40:02 who was 3rd lady.
It was the Scottish Veteran Harriers Club (SVHC) Cross Country Trials for the British & Irish Masters on Saturday 12th September at Tollcross Park. 8k for the gents and 6k for the ladies, and always a challenging course. Fantastic performances from Oscar Coetzee 26:02 2nd overall, Cathy Wood 23:46 1st FV35, Jen Conway-Evans 23:52 2nd FV35, Claire Wharton 26:11. So Oscar, Cathy & Jen qualify for the finals in Dublin in November. It was also the hilly Kyles 10 Miler on the same day at Kames. A great Bella turnout and very well done to Bryan Mulgrew, who was 3rd in an amazing 1:00:18! Great going too by Colin Hughes 1:05:57 2nd MV60, Martin Murphy 1:25:23, Shirley Wieland 1:26:37 2nd FV60, Frank Thielen 1:28:05, Roz Wilson 1:28:59, Wallace Gray 1:29:10, Louise Nimmo 1:42:02, Louise Gray 1:44:27, Terry Nimmo 1:49:33, Stevie Bell 2:30:36 1st MV70. First off on Sunday 13th September was the Kilmacolm Half Marathon. A West District Championship event, and a beautiful morning, and some scorching performances too from Oscar Coetzee 1:12:15 3rd 1st M40, Calum Borthwick 1:12:33 5th, 3rd MSr, Amelia Matthews 1:24:50 2nd lady, 1st F30, Ronnie Hart 1:28:14 2nd M50, Jamie Wieland 1:30:33, Deborah Gray 1:30:54 2nd F40+ 1st F50, Conan McCreadie 1:32:57 PB 2nd MU21, Sandy Macdonald 1:34:23, Laura Henderson 1:53:10, Camilla Cunningham 2:07:20, Murdoch Rodgers 2:12:39 1st M70. In the 10k Ross Gale finished 2nd in a brilliant 34:24! It was also the Cumbernauld 10k the same day. Very well done to Cathy Wood 39:57, Katie Mathieson 45:05 1st FV50, Kalonde Kasengele 49:29, Sue Campbell Senior 49:35 PB 2nd FV50, Lucy MacKay 56:56.
Very well done to the dynamic duo of Christine Milligan 7:01:58 & Lynne Goldie 7:39:53 at the Breaking Strain 50k ‘Run the Borders Ultra’ from Melrose to Jedburgh on Saturday 22nd August. A fantastic effort on a lovely day. It was the brilliant 7 Mile Tom Robb Trail Race in the Carron Valley Forest on Saturday too. Well done to the brilliant contingent of Brian Mulgrew 46:21, Alice Howe 1:05:56, Fiona Birrell 1:06:50, Roz Wilson 1:07:23, Lynn Stuart 1:09:52. And on Sunday 23rd, it was the Scurry ‘Devilla Forest Trail Races’ on Sunday. In the Half Marathon, there was a brilliant run by the brilliant Jordan Davidson for 2nd place in c.1:24:39. In the 10k, the equally impressive Simon Wells finished 2nd in c.38:58.
On Sunday 16th August, it was the Paisley 10k, one of our ‘medium’ Club Championship races. We had the winner this year in the amazing Ross Horgan with a PB 31:36. An outstanding effort and only 24s away from a new club record. And there was another brilliant run by Deborah Gray in 40:47 for 1st FV50. Ross, together with Bryan Kerr 42:47 PB & Calum Borthwick 33:02 PB also took the Mens Team prize. A brilliant day, with at least 9 PB performances from our contingent of 30 Bellas. Well done everyone! Full results are available below: https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=20246&RId=12358
It was the Greenock Glenpark Harriers ‘Bill Elder 10k’ on the evening of Friday 7th August in Greenock. The second ‘public’ running of this great event that takes a scenic, flat out/back route along the Greenock Esplanade. This race served as one of our ‘medium’ Club Championship events again this year with a healthy 14 Bellas making the trip to Inverclyde. As always, there was great running by Team BRR with Jamie Robinson 37:37, Jonathan Wieland 38:07, Calum Brown 39:13, Cathy Wood 39:41 PB 2nd Lady, Jamie Wieland 39:51, Deborah Gray 41:22 1st FV50, Martin McNulty 42:38, David Pattison 42:45, Gerry McDonnell 43:23, Alex Shaw 44:58, Frans Roelofse 45:46 3rd MV60, Tony Breslin 46:24, Murdoch Rodgers 56:42 2nd MV70, Chris Doak 57:31. Another great 10k PB for Cathy who continues in such a strong vein of form and who is now pushing for sub-39 minutes.
It was the Breaking Strain ‘Run the Blades’ weekend begining on a warm, sunny Fair Friday night with the 10k. Brilliant running, and an upgrade from last year’s second place for Jordan Davidson 37:39 1st place, Simon Wells 38:06 2nd place, Jay Cowan 40:21, Alan Chalmers 41:37, Keir Gowan 41:38, Laura Henderson 51:18, Lynne Hamilton 57:09. In the 50k Ultra on Saturday, Jordan Davidson (yes, the same one) battled the heat to run a brilliant 4:19:34 finishing in 9th place. And on a warm Sunday morning, there were scorching performances from Ross Horgan 1:14:23 1st place, Veronica Fusaro 1:39:18 1st place lady, David Jarrett 1:45:32.
On Sunday 12th July, it was the Mens and Womens 10k in Glasgow. We had a brilliant 26 volunteers from the club helping to marshall at the start and out on the course. First off were the men, when it was still cool and breezy. Very well done to Sean Coyle 35:49 3rd M35, Bryan Mulgrew 36:10, Jordan Davidson 37:06, Jamie Robinson 38:16 3rd M40, Michael Rice 38:27, Jamie Wieland 41:11, Benji Scragg 41:46 PB, Al MacLachlan 42:38 1st M65. Our ladies then had to contend with the mid-morning heat with great running by Cara Thom 40:35 4th overall, 3rd OF, Chelsea Cruikshank 42:15, Jen Conway-Evans 44:07 2nd F35, Stef Boyle 51:20, Katherine Wainwright 54:57, Lynn Cumming 1:20:42. Well done everyone!!
Sunday 10th May saw the start of this year’s Babcock 10k 3 Race Series, with the Shettleston 10k, doubling as the Lindsays Scottish Athletics 10k Championship. A lovely morning for the 500 strong field at Glasgow Green where we had 21 Bellas running. Some great results, notably Oscar Coetzee 33:02 1st MV40 & Bruce Carmichael 35:07 3rd MV50. On Thursday 21st May, it was the second race in the series at Dumbarton. 460 starters on a rainy but decent night. Brilliant performances from our 25 Bellas, notably Oscar Coetzee 33:10 2nd, Paul McNairn 34:38 6th, 1st MV40, Bryan Mulgrew 35:01 10th, all 2nd place Mens Team. Ann Robin 40:10 2nd FV40, Ruth McKelvie 45:31, Claire Wharton 45:28, all 3rd place Ladies Team. Al MacLachlan 42:04 2nd MV60. On Thursday 28th May, the third and concluding race took place at the Helensburgh 10k. It was a tough one on a warm night for our 19 Bellas participating. Of note, Oscar Coetzee 33:19 2nd MV40, Paul McNairn 33:52 3rd MV40, Bryan Mulgrew 34:07, Al MacLachlan 41:37 2nd MV60, Pauline Wright 48:21 2nd FV50, Pauline Bradley 56:04 3rd FV60. Brilliant again by Oscar, Paul & Bryan, this time winning the Mens Team prize.
It was Ayrshire for the Troon Tortoises 39th Troon 10k on Wednesday 13th May 2026. 1,151 starters with a fantastic 28 Bellas running! There was an outstanding PB of 33:32 from Paul McNairn, to finish 3rd overall, 1st MV40. Very well done everyone else, with David Jarrett 36:57, Jamie Wieland 38:12 PB, Lewis Milligan 38:26 PB, Chic Forsyth 39:21, Jonny Moran 41:38, Kenny Crawford 41:52, Jen Conway-Evans 42:56, Michael Walsh 44:33, Gavin McGowan 44:37, Lyndsay Kennedy 45:42 PB, Caroline Munro 46:59, Jim Robinson 47:46, Gillian Gallagher 48:36, Lynne Hamilton 48:40, Robert Boag 49:00, Alice Howe 49:28, Lynn Rennie 50:28, Babs Wilson 50:50, Wallace Gray 51:11, Fiona Birrell 51:39, David Boag 52:24, Louise Gray 53:59, Guy Schmidt 55:09, Louise Nimmo 58:13, Nicola Barrington 1:12:18.
The weekend past was a great one for Grant Murphy, Ross Gale and Ruiari Barfoot! First off, Grant Murphy finished in 3rd place (35:52) at the Neilston pad race on Saturday 2nd May. Saturday was also the Blast Running Fife Pilgrim Way Ultra from North Queensferry to St Andrews Cathedral. 56 miles with 1,200m of elevation. A fantastic effort by Ross Gale, who finished in 4th place in 8:26:33. Then, on the same day, over at the most westerly point of the Inner Hebrides, there was a great performance by Ruairi Barfoot (36:20) in the Tiree 10k, to claim 2nd place. Well done gents, great running all round…literally!
On Sunday 8th March, it was the Springburn Harriers Jack Crawford 10k. It was a lovely morning for it on the route from Bishopbriggs, along the Forth & Clyde Canal. A great flat race for testing the winter training pace! We had great efforts by David Jarrett (34:52 PB ), Bruce Carmichael (35:06, 1st MV50), Cathy Wood (40:42 PB), Al MacLachlan (41:45, 2nd MV60), Dave Ferguson (42:01), Veronica Fusaro (42:53, 1st FV40, PB), Murdoch Rodgers (58:38, 1st MV70), Carla Telfer (1:08:01). A great event as always, so thankyou Springburn Harriers!
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.
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!