It was another South African start to Saturday (18/07/2026) when our incredible Oscar Coetzee ran the 50k Cape Town Running Festival Ultra. And what a run too, placing 3rd, 1st Vet in an amazing 3:18:21. It was also the Highlander Back Yard Ultra at the Murthly Castle Estate in Perthshire on the same day. 4.167 mile loops to be completed, starting on the hour from midday. Very well done to Stephen McQuade who completed a PB 21 ‘yards’ totalling 89 miles, with Alan Digweed also racking up a PB 16 ‘yards’ for 67.5 miles.
ultra marathon
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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.
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!
Saturday 25th April saw the latest running of the 42 Mile ‘Devil o’ the Highlands’ Foot Race. Tyndrum to Fort William on the West Highland Way, and thankfully, the weather was good for our Bellas! Well done to Bryan Mulgrew 6:47:09, Ben Nurse 8:00:21 (Glasgow Frontrunners vest), Kenny Mcdonald PB 9:48:22 & Della Lansley 12:20:16. It was also the inaugural Beecraigs Backyard Ultra on the same day. As many 4.167 Mile laps as you can muster every 60 min until there’s only one person left. Stephen McQuade took this on and ran a sensational 20 Full Laps, 83.3 miles, cumulative time 17:58:48, just shy of 85 miles total, a PB. Wow!
Oscar Coetzee has been back home in South Africa of late, and still getting in those challenging races! After finishing first Male Vet (51:41) at the Ravensmead 15k in Cape Town last week, he took on the much tougher Two Oceans Ultra around Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town on Saturday 11th April. This 56k (35 mile) race is said to be the most beautiful of its kind in the world, sitting between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Oscar ran an incredible 3:58:53 to break the four hour mark. His first 30k saw him up with some of the best in the race, including the ladies eventual winner, Gerda Steyn (in the attached image, Oscar is on the far right with Steyn third from the left). So, he continues to go from strength to strength, and is a real credit to himself, his family and luckily, to his adopted Glasgow running club. Well done Oscar!
It was the 50k John Muir Ultra on Saturday 7th March, from Port Seton to Dunbar on the east coast. It was a perfect day for it, with some lovely spring sunshine, but given the wet weather of late, there were some tricky wet sections. especially on the second half of the route. Nevertheless, there was amazing running, pacing and endurance by our two Bella participants, Simon Wells (4:24:16, 50k PB) & Emma McCahill (4:41:53, 4th lady, 1st FSnr). Very well done you two, now get the feet up!
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!
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!
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.
There was a fantastic performance from Pauline Wright at the Reykjavik Marathon on Saturday 23rd August. Overcoming injury, on a tough course, in windy conditions, to produce a brilliant PB of 3:43:19! And great running too from Stewart Penny at the Dunoon Ultra to finish 10th overall in 4:32:41 covering 30.2 miles with 981m of ascent. Saturday also saw the latest running of the Tom Robb Memorial Trail Race, our final Off-Road Championship race this season. 7 miles through the picturesque Carron Valley Forest. A great showing with Alan Moss (47:38), Rebecca Croney (58:41, 2nd FSnr), Victoria Curley (58:45), Brian McQuade (1:03:16), Alice Howe (1:07:05), Sue Campbell Senior (1:09:35), Roz Wilson (1:09:44), Megan Parkinson (1:10:49), Fiona Birrell (1:11:02), Lynn Stuart (1:14:02), Rhoda Yarmahmoudi (1:16:14, 3rd FV60). In Glasgow FrontRunners OUTrun 5 Mile Race at Kelvingrove Park on Saturday, we had Benjamin Nurse (29:42, 3rd), Jamie Wieland (32:24, PB), Cathy Wood (35:10, 3rd FSnr) & Stef Boyle (42:21). On Sunday 24th, Poppy Bowie, tackled the 21.1k Surefoot Trail Race at Mt Coot-Tha, west of Brisbane. 1,112m of elevation to contend with, but a brilliant run to finish 3rd lady in 2:18:03. Great training for that Deaflympics marathon, which will hopefully be a wee bit flatter! Closer to home, Cathy Wood ran the Forth Bridge 10k in 43:13, taking 3rd FSnr.
It was very warm on Sunday 29th June 2025, for three of our members at events far and wide. At the Arran Half Marathon, Tomoyo Fujiwara ran 1:47:27 to take 1st FV50. Down at the Solway Coast Marathon, Lucy ‘Marathon’ MacKay done it again with a time of 4:54:45 in pretty challenging conditions to finish 2nd FV60. Lastly, Ruairi Barfoot completed the Larig Ghru 43k Hill Race in a fantastic 14th place with 3:46:55!. This one stretches from the police stations in Braemar and Aviemore, a Cat ‘C’ Hill Race with a high point of 835m! Well done to our top trio of hardy Bellas!
It was the West Highland Way Race on Saturday 21st June 2025. A summer solstice challenge to test the hardiest of souls. Milngavie to Fort William, 95 miles, over 14,000ft of ascent and warm conditions, even at the 0100hrs start! Step up Bryan Mulgrew. His second time in the race and looking to better his previous attempt which was a very impressive 22.5 hours Bryan set off from Milngavie with 250 others heading north to Drymen, up the east side of Loch Lomond, past Crainlarich, Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy, before heading through Glen Coe and up to the finish in Fort William. An absolutely incredible feat by Bryan, who powered his way through those miles to finish 7th overall, with a massive PB of 19:11:44, ‘shaving’ a mere 3 hours from his previous attempt! And all aided by a fantastic Bella support crew. Take a bow sir!
Saturday 31st May saw the epic 60k Cairngorms Ultra Trail Race. Starting near Braemar with over 1,000m of ascent. A challenging event to say the least. It was an outstanding effort by Iain Murphy (5:18:06) to finish in second place and great efforts too by Kevin Mallon (6:34:21) and Mike Wilkes (7:14:15). The following day, still in the Cairngorms was the Blair Castle Trail Weekender. A great run from Simon Wells in the 13k Banvie Burn Trail Race saw him over the line in 2nd place overall, first MV40.
On Saturday 5th April, Stephen McQuade tackled the Devilla Forest 8 Hour Challenge. The aim was to complete as many 4.36 mile laps as you can muster in the 8 hour limit (although there was dispensation to finish a lap if it started prior to that time). The weather was fine and dry for this inaugural ‘NU Limits’ event and Stephen bagged 5th place after 12 laps in 8:22:02 for a grand total of 52.5 miles! What an amazing effort, and supported by his brother, Brian, who covered over 20 miles himself! The following day, Neil McSeveney finished 3rd (46:00) at the Edinburgh 13.1 Kilomathon. A great route from Ocean Terminal to Murrayfield in great weather. A fantastic performance! And lastly, well done to one of our newest members, Aryan Davani, on completing the Brighton Marathon (4:47:43) on Sunday too. Tough going in warm conditions in what is the UKs third largest marathon.
The John Muir Way 50k Ultra Marathon ran on Sunday 9th March, on a beautiful spring day on the east coast of the country. The route extends from Port Seton promenade, up through Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick, down to East Linton and onto the finish at Foxlake Adventures, Dunbar. A stunning route taking in coastal path, woodland and rural landscape on the historic John Muir Way. A huge well done to Brendan McGuiness with 4:24:49, on the back of his recent, excellent Glentress Marathon, Stuart McMillan with 6:05:34 in his first Ultra, and the legend that is Lucy MacKay with 6:57:18. An excellent, well organised event and as always, thanks to the volunteer marshalls, officials, and sponsors.