We’re excited to announce a new range of club kit is now available from Migo Sports. A selection of technical running tops and hoodies, in club colours (purple, white and black), all sporting the club logo, are available. Prices start from a fantastically competitive £12, and can also be customised with your initials. Kit can be posted directly to you for a small fee, or collected in store in Muirend. The club has bought samplers of each item in a variety of sizes, and are available on most club nights, for members to try on and get a sense of size, before placing their order. We look forward to seeing the kit out and about! Lots more at https://www.migosports.co.uk/collections/bellahouston-road-runners
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66 Bellas competed in another hotly contested President’s Cup on Wednesday 20 June. The 5K handicap race around Bellahouston Park was won by Julia McDonald for the women and Andrew Haddow for the men. Each runner sets off after a time handicap based on their recent race performance. So every club member has a good chance of winning and the finish is always exciting. More than three quarters of runners crossed the finish line within one minute of each other. Even so the team of volunteers at the finish funnel coped brilliantly. Club president Richard Leyton led the winners to victory on the lead bike before presenting the prizes afterwards over sandwiches and cake at Nethercraigs. Congratulations to all the runners and well done for all those new PBs. Full results for the race are available on the club member’s forum.
Earlier this month on 2nd June, the Killearn 10k Trail race took place, and Rhoda Yarmahmoudi wrote up a race report for members, available on the members forum: The down hill into the park and the big purple finish sign were a very welcome sight, as soon as I crossed the line a very concerned marshal said “sit down!” Three bottles of water later, and I began to feel human again, and realised that I’d probably been getting dehydrated out there!!! [The club] did very well, with Colin Hughes … the first V50 and 8th male over all, and Romy coming in as 2nd F. The Bella ladies won the ladies’ club title. I had hoped to be sub 60 mins and was delighted with 00:58:23! Well done to the prize winners, particularly in such hot conditions. Full results from the Killearn 10k available here. The next day 20 club members did the rescheduled Alloa Half Marathon in hot and humid conditions. Mark Wilson has put together a race report on the club forum”, [As I] approached the hill I heard everyone talk about before the race as i looked towards the top of thus hill I could see the incline of it with runners streaming up it ahead of me, as I started the incline my first thought was I am not stopping, further and further up the hill I power on through pace now down to something that felt like a brisk jog as I arched the crest of the hill I drove my arms to get me over the last little bit at last I was at the top thank god Well done Mark, and everybody else who took part! Full results are here. A hearty pat on the back (or should that be a nice cold drink!)to everybody who raced that weekend in hot conditions!
A sunny, if slightly windy day in Glasgow today saw the conclusion of the Babcock 10k series at the expertly organised Shettleston 10k on Glasgow Green. A great turnout from members – many of whom were completing the series of three – and some super pics too (a selection below) from the Bella support crew! We’re delighted that Romy Beard, Laura Henderson and Mandy Morgan secured team bronze in the West District championships competition within the race. Full results here, and the team results are on the Scottish Athletics report. Well done Ladies, and well done everybody who took part! Well done too to Stephen McQuade securing a 13 minute PB at the Edinburgh Marathon today (in a time of 3:05:47), and Garry Smith following on from his debut Highland Fling a few weeks ago tackling the Edinburgh Half Marathon. Many members just took advantage of the lovely bank holiday weather to enjoy a ride or run in the sun, whether a parkrun, the Dunblane 12k, or their local park/streets. This week’s training we’re looking forward to track speed sessions, and tempo efforts in Pollok park, all looking forward to next month’s Brian Goodwin 10k. If you fancy getting along to develop your running or improve your 10k time, have a poke about our website, and come along around 6.20pm. Pictures courtesy of Camilla Cunningham and Mhairi Moir. Plenty more on our club member’s facebook group.
We’re out and pounding pavements right through the year in good weather and bad, and enjoy so much of the varied routes we run in and around the beautiful parks on the southside of Glasgow. Alas some routes are blighted with rubbish, and whilst some gets attention, many don’t, and accumulate enough that it winds up looking really quite awful. So earlier this year club member Jane Wild finally had enough, and decided to start doing something about it, and has been organising litter picks with fellow club members. After the first effort tackled the surrounds of Bellahouston park, this month a group of us tackled the stretch of Pollokshaws/Haggs/Dumbreck road from Netherauldhouse roundabout, all the way to Bellahouston park. Thanks to everybody who helped out or contributed to the effort, and to the many people we spoke to out and about our route. Everybody who took part found it far more enjoyable than I think we’d expected (a few competitive dashes for finds!), and we filled a good few bags along the way. Turns out too that picking up litter, and running, even has a name in Scandanavia where it’s known as Plogging (wikipedia too!). So we also plugged our plogging with a bit of coverage in The Evening Times. Thoroughly enjoyable way to give something back to the local community and area we’re based in, and we’re hoping to hit the roads again through the year. Give us a shout if you’d like to get involved, and if you’re not a runner why not check out the Friends of Pollok park, or the Friends of Bellahouston Park to get involved with their localised efforts to support and improve the local parks.
The club has been working to review it’s processes and policies ahead of the new GDPR legislation that comes into effect on 25th May, 2018. This new legislation puts people in firm control of the uses to which their personal data is put, and requires organisations that use that data to be clear and open with the reasons they use it. We’ve recently posted a note to members, available for them to read and comment on via our members’ forum here, and will be updating our website to reflect that over the next 14 days.
The Club held its inaugural 3K track race on 18 April, the sunniest and warmest evening of the year so far. No fewer than 53 club runners competed in three heats, cheered on by fellow club members, and supported by an enthusiastic team of volunteers who worked hard to time each runner individually. It was a great chance for everyone to practise racing on the track in a friendly environment, and a nice excuse to enjoy some food and drink together after the running was over. We hope that this sort of racing evening will become a regular part of the club’s activities. Let us know if you have any ideas for next time! The club is extremely grateful to Doleen and Jim who gave invaluable help on the night, and to Pollok Parkrun and Giffnock North for lending equipment. Congratulations to all the runners who took part and a big thank you to everyone who volunteered. Here is a brilliant video of the event that Kevin Turner has put together.
This article was originally posted on 7th April. 2018, but is kept up to date to reflect the results each year. Saturday 17th February 2018 saw the second Bellahouston Mob match at Pollok parkrun between Bellahouston Road Runners, and Bellahouston Harriers, with a fantastic 134 club members completing the distance, many more supporting their club or helping with the event. The first took place on 4th March, 2017, with 98 runners. Whilst inter-club races, and “mob matches”, are not new, they do appear to have fallen by the wayside a little, certainly in the Glasgow area and elsewhere in Scotland. We’re hoping that the great reception to the event in both years so far, and the hugely positive comments from club members that we’ll be able to encourage other clubs to give the format a try, and hope that what follows here can help with that. The actual result felt secondary to the atmosphere and camaraderie on the day: We’re hoping it painted a positive and welcoming picture of what belonging to a running/athletics club and local community can bring, and that prospective new members might be encouraged to join our respective clubs. We’re mindful though that given the event we are taking part in is staged by parkrun volunteers, it’s important that we recognise the work they do to put the event on, and work with them to minimise the impact the mob match can have. Our club also has two of the current Pollok core team, as well as the previous Event Director, amongst it’s members, which helped with considerations/awareness of issues.
We’re pleased to announce that the club is now in a position to claim back Gift Aid on membership fees, and any donations you have made (or may make in future) to the club, at no additional cost to yourself. This is worth an extra £5 per member from the annual £20 membership fee. You can find the form available on the website at bellahoustonroadrunners.co.uk/gift-aid A few more details about what we’ll plan to do with the money on the member’s forum here.
Many thanks to the many members who came along to last week’s AGM, and helped support the club. We’re absolutely delighted by the attendance, and think it might even be a first to have standing room only! It certainly reflects well on the club to have so many engaged, passionate and interested members. Well done and many thanks to you all! Copies of the slides, and a breakdown of the key decisions reached (full minutes will be available in due course), have now been posted on the club forum for members to access. But a ‘summary of the summary’ amounts to: Procedural motions to review and accept previous minutes, presented finances were accepted. The club strategic plan was presented, and accepted. The proposed adjustment to membership fees, allowing the club to dispense with stripping fees, and introduce a fees structure supporting concessions, and more flexible payment methods and schedules, was accepted. There’s no immediate change, as we’ll be moving forward with this later in the year: We will post details as we proceed with the implementation. We said a big thank you to trustees standing down, and welcomed new members as trustees to help take the club forward. Lots of great questions, suggestions and comments were made by members, and we hope to ensure those are properly considered as we take the key proposals forward. Members do please speak to any of the Board of Trustees with any questions, or post a note on the forum. The new board are all looking forward to getting started with taking the club forward with it’s new strategic plan. If you’re interested in becoming a member (or rejoining if you’ve lapsed), please pop along to training one evening for a chat! Lots of details on our website!
What a fantastic morning at Pollok parkrun! 71 Road Runners competed against 63 Harriers with the Road Runners coming out on top again, to retain the title, although the Harriers had more presence in the top ten. Many PBs were had, and our turnout contributed to the 2nd highest ever attendance at Pollok. Full results are on the parkrun website. Thanks to the Pollok parkrun organising team for accommodating us, and putting on such a great event ? Thanks also to the Harriers for their great hospitality at the after party/presentation back at Cartha. All participants also received a commemorative buff to mark the occasion. C’mon the Bellas! ?? Photos from the day are being added to our facebook page, so give us a ‘like’ there to see them all!
Club members were recently sent formal notification of the club’s first AGM since becoming a SCIO charity. We’re hoping as many members can make it along on the 19th February to help support the club. if you didn’t receive the email, please check your membership to ensure you’re able to take part, or contact the membership secretary, or another trustee, if you’re uncertain. As well as a few housekeeping items (details here), we’ll be putting a couple of proposals to members to review and consider: A Strategy for the club – The Board has taken the results of our recent members’ consultation, and discussions with members over the last six months, to publish an outline strategy for the club over the next 3-5 years. It’s published today on the forum for members to read through and comment on in advance of the AGM. Members can access it here on the club forum. We’re also publishing a proposal to reorganise our club membership fee structure, to replace ‘stripping fees’, to help put us on a strong financial base, and offer greater flexibility to existing members with flexible payment options, concessionary rates, and hopefully extend our appeal to new members as a great value place to train. Members can access the proposal, and figures behind it, on the club forum. We’ll also be taking the time to thank a number of Trustees who are stepping down, as well as appointing a number of new members who are keen to get involved with the club. We look forward to seeing you on the 19th, Bellahouston Road Runners
BELLA MEN WIN SCOTTISH VETERAN HARRIERS ROAD RELAYS! LADIES FINISH THIRD! The men’s team of Bruce Carse, Bruce Carmichael, Graeme Paterson and Andy Campbell ran out of their skins to become Scottish Champions at the SVHC Road Relays, beating 51 other teams to the trophy. Our ladies team of Romy Beard, Emer Campbell and Claire Wharton won a fantastic bronze medal! Congratulations to you all, the club are very proud of you! Well done to everybody who took part and supported our members on the day. Well done!
The Road Runners vs The Harriers! Saturday 17th February. RSVP on Facebook, or just rock up on the day in your purple top! Following on from last year’s brilliant event, we’re bringing it back again for 2018. This time it’s part of our club championships so we’re hoping it’ll be even bigger and better this year! You pitch up at Pollok parkrun on 17th February (you are registered at parkrun, right?). Run 5K, fast. Finish as high up the field as you can. Scan your barcode. Then join everyone back at the Cartha for the after run fun. How does it work? • Turn up ready to run. Wear your club vest so that you can be easily identified. • Run the Pollok parkrun. Trying to finish as high up the field as possible. Your only job is to beat the Harrier in front of you. But watch out behind, there’s a Harrier chasing you! • After finishing parkrun, show your finish token to the Bellahouston Road Runner volunteer (who will be standing near the barcode scanners), they will take note of your name and placing. • All placings will be added up. • We will count the lowest club attendance, minus three. So, if we have 50 runners and the Harriers have 45, then the first 42 places will be counted in each team. (That’s the Harriers attendance (45), minus 3. Equals 42. You still with me!?) • The club with the least number of points will win the prestigious Mob Match Trophy……until the 2019 return of the mob match. After the race we will join the Harriers at the Cartha Rugby Club for food, drinks and prizegiving where we can all make our excuses for not running down that final hill as fast as we could have. If you can, please come along. Every runner counts. There’s no gender, age, or entry requirements. If you are a club member turn up and give it a go. You just have to beat the Harrier in front of you while not losing to the Harrier behind you. This event is designed to be all inclusive. It’s a race. A good ol’ mob match. And hopefully something to give everyone in both clubs some motivation to really attack that parkrun course.If you can’t run, please consider volunteering at the parkrun. Family & friends are more than welcome, both to run with us, and to join us back at the Cartha. Every club member who runs, volunteers or turns up to support will receive a commemorative gift! Event: Mob Match Bellahouston Road Runners vs Bellahouston Harriers Where: Pollok parkrun which starts and ends at the Burrell When: Saturday 17th February 2018 at 9.30am After party: The Cartha Rugby Club, 92 Dumbreck Road, Glasgow, G41 4SN Who: All members, family and friends.
It was a great morning in Bellahouston Park where we held our Annual Festive Fun Run after the weather related call-off of Pollok parkrun, then back to our club base Nethercraigs for the after party. A total of £130 was raised for our winner Norman Boyle’s nominated charity of Alzheimers Scotland. Dancer (Kelly Ludwig) and Buckfast Monk (Gordon Goldie) won the awards for best outfits!