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!
ultra marathon
21 posts
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.
The weekend of Friday 19th – Sunday 21st July 2024, saw the annual ‘Run the Blades’ (RTB) races at Whitelee Windfarm. It’s a tough, undulating, exposed, but eerily beautiful place to run, with frequent unseasonable weather changes. The events are always really well organised by Breaking Strain. Begining with the 10k on a pleasant Friday evening, we had brilliant running from Claire Wharton who was 3rd lady home (47:03). Our men finished, Jethro Browell (39:00, 4th), Jordan Davidson (39:10, 5th), Simon Wells (40:43, 11th), Gerry McDonnell (46:00) & Andy Tomlinson (49:05). Great performances, especially given the challenging climbs towards the finish line. It was the big one for our on Saturday with the 50k Ultra Marathon on a cloudy, humid, then rainy day. Amazing running all round from Stephen McQuade (9th, 4:07:47), Jordan Davidson (11th, 4:13:36), Siobhann Dunn (18th, 5th lady, 4:27:27), Brendan McGuiness (4:44:23), Jamie Robinson (5:18:16), Jimmy McGreevy (5:18:18), Alan Digweed (5:51:17) & Cormack Smith (7:58:18). Great commitment and resilience to tackle this discipline, so a huge well done to all. To finish, it was the Half Marathon on Sunday morning. Again, a tough undulating course, starting off in chilly conditions, although not the stormy weather of 2023! It was an absolutely outstanding run from Ross Horgan in 1:15:15 to win and break the course record, while Fraser Kelly finished in a brilliant 3rd place with 1:23:34. Following on were Jordan Davidson (1:32:09, 13th), Alan Chalmers (1:32:40, 14th), David Vallance (1:49:55) & Gavin Elliott (2:02:45). Another great morning of running. And the recurring name in the three races was Jordan Davidson, running 10k, 50k and 21k RTB races in a single weekend. An epic starring role!
Report from Craig. Saturday 3rd November saw 200 runners line up at the new start line for the Glen Ogle ultra marathon. Starting and finishing just outside Strathyre it follows a hilly but amazingly scenic out and back 33 mile route. I did this race in 2011 and know the course well so I went up with a race plan this year, hoping if I stuck to this that I could improve on my 3rd place last year. The start line for the course had moved this year as the route was a bit short in 2011. The newly added mile at the start of the course was straight uphill so when the race started I set off at a very slow pace and eased my way up the hill. As we reached mile 1 I moved into the lead and just continued to run at my own pace over the next 2 miles which were very steep uphills. Miles 4-6 have some good descents, my plan before the race was to take advantage of these and as the course zig-zagged down the hill I looked back up and couldnt even see the runner in second at the top of the hill! Miles 7-12 take you up over the Glen Ogle viaduct. There are a few very steep climbs early on but its mostly just gradually uphill. Despite a fast start my legs felt strong so I kept going at what felt like an easy pace but in reality I was hitting sub 6:30 miles so I knew I would be opening a good lead over the rest of the field. I was caught in a small blizzard during this part of the race, there was already some snow on the hills and path which made the course even more scenic but thanfully it didnt last too long. I passed checkpoint 2 and ran into the 8/9 mile forest loop. The start of this loop is very much downhill so again, I put the foot down and put in some quick miles. Unfortunately the last sections in the forest feature some long, steep uphill sections. I stuck to my plan and decided to run very slowly up these, even walking at a couple of sections. Unlike most races, walking is quite common in ultras to save energy in your legs. It also gives you a chance to refuel so at mile 18 I took my first energy get. I cruised through the rest of the forest section and stopped for a cup of water at the checkpoint before heading back down the Glen. I had made the decision not to carry anything other than 2 energy gels on me and only left a drop bag with a bottle of Red Bull, another gel and 5 jaffa cakes at the last checkpoint at mile 26. As I approached an undulating section at mile 24 I began to feel hungry and my energy levels were dropping. I made steady progressed and reached […]