Mucho Mass Bellas as Bernie Bolts to Victory

Some of the 49 Bella Harriers at Pollok parkrun

Jack Arnold

As luck would have it both Bellahouston running clubs had a 'mass' parkrun at Pollok Park on Saturday. The 49 Harriers and 24 Road Runners, helped to squell the ranks to 451 participants, one of the largest ever. 

 Whilst there were no records broken, there were some decent runs in both the men's and women's races. Cambuslang's Gordon Robertson crossed the line first, with a time of 16:24, ahead of Bellahouston Harrier Jack Arnold in 16:37 and Bella Road Runner Ciaran Dougherty in 17:00.

Bernie O'neil

In the women's race, it was a clean sweep for the Harriers, who not only placed 1,2, 3 but also 4,5,and 6 as well. Bernie O'neil led the female Harriers home with a huge PB of 20:21, just ahead of Jennifer Clark (also 20:21), Susan MacRitchie (20:40) placed 3rd, Erica Christie (21:26) 4th, Caroline Cochran (21:43) 5^th and Janine Dickie 6^th with a PB of 21:49.

For my part, I wan't feeling great and had set myself the task of having a steady run, however when Erica Christie overtook me, I immediately increased the pace and returned the compliment, we played leap frog a total of four times before Erica broke away at the 4k point. My strong finish just wasn't quite good enough to catch her for the fifth time and she crossed the line one place and one second ahead of me.  I was happy enough to place 71^st in 21:47, my second fastest time since May 2011 and my eighth fastest time, out of 115 at Pollok.  I also managed a rare victory over Road Runner Keith Gibb for only the fourth time this decade¬

Erica in hot pursuit 

Once again many thanks to all my fellow runners and the volunteers too for making my Saturday morning run a little more fun. A special mention to Bellahouston Harrier Christopher Steward who completed his century of parkruns on Saturday and Dan Maher who ran his 250^th!

Full Results Here

Pics by Brian Douglas

I had a black dog, his name was depression..................................

and the follow up living with a black dog

Super Volunteers Ensure Victoria parkrun 62 Takes Place

Runners listen carefully to an explanation of the amended route

It was 50/50 as to whether Victoria parkrun would take place on the last day of January. The ice had taken its toll on the course, particulary on the route through the floral gardens. However the volunteers excelled themselves by not only braving the cold weather but quickly amending the Start and Finish and rerouting the course along the side of the pond, rather than through the gardens. They even managed to grit some of the worst parts of the path before 176 runners descended on the west end park. Whilst the conditions may have deterred a few regular runners, a number of others had made their way westward from the cancelled Pollok parkrun.

After the route changes had been explained to us and we had been warned of the icy undefoot conditions, we reassembled at the amended Start and were set on our way at 9:36am. It wasn't a day for PBs so I settled into a steady pace. I still had to work hard, particularly in the long sections which ran into the Arctic headwind. After three laps, I sprinted down the rerouted final strait, overtaking, sub 20min runner, Chris Furse to cross the line in 21:14, although this was 30secs slower than my PB but I did manage to place 27^th, my highest ever at Victoria park. I was happy enough with my race in two days, considering the conditions. However one person who performed even better was my fellow Bellahouson Harrier, Derek Shand who ran a PB of 21:00 to place 23^rd.

Results

Up front, Stewarton's Andy McGhee completed the 5k in a time of 18:00 to take Gold, ahead of Keith Wall (18:18) and Iain Littler (18:22).

Antrim's Jo Patterson

In the women's race, Antrim's Jo Patterson ran to glory in a time of 20:16, ahead of Garscube's Aileen Wilson (21:07) and Westerland's Karine Salin (21:46).

In the Super Veteran Category, John Gilhooly's time of 18:28 was enough to beat his Bellahouston RR club mate Al MacLachlan (18:49) with myself (Ian Goudie) placing third.

In the women's 50+ Cat, it was Maggie McKeith who took the honours with a time of 25:30, ahead of Elaine Chellew (26:24) and Jane Scullion (26:35).

Well done to all runners and huge thanks to the volunteers who braved the elements to allow us to run.

Pics by Mary Senior and Ian Goudie Photography

Full Results here  

1,2,3 on the icy Green

1,2,3 for 123 year old Bellahouston Harriers

The inclement weather, which comes with January in Scotland, has made running difficult over the last few weeks and has led to the cancellation, or re-routing, of a number of races, including parkruns. It was no surprise then, that there were concerns as to whether or not the first 3k on the Green of 2015 would take place on the last Friday of the month.

Snow and ice had affected much of Glasgow on the run up to Friday 30^th January but a 9:30am inspection of the 3k course stated: The course is quite icy. The parts that have seen the sun are OK. Turnaround is OK as it's mostly mud and sticks preventing any sliding. Looks like it should mostly clear up for the 12:30 Start of the race. The decision was taken and the race was on!

A number of Bellahouston Harriers had made arrangements, in order to allow them to participate, some for the first time, in the 3k race. They and the others were pleased to get the opportunity to get a race, although a couple of runners decided not to risk the course.

Brrrrr.........

Some 61 runners assembled under the McLellan Arch on Glagow Green and after being reminded that they “run at their own risk” were set on their way at the allotted time.

These were not the conditions for going for a PB, the main target was to get around the course in a reasonable time, without being injured. With a number of runners taking more than 30 seconds longer than usual to negotiate their way around the course, I was happy enough to cross the line in a time of 12:09 and place 29^th. That said, I did have to fight off a strong challenge from the real John Cunningham, particularly around the turning point. I also managed to beat Cambuslang's Eddie Carr for the first time ever.

Up front, Eddie's club mate Shaun Butler placed first with a time of 9:29, ahead of Garscube's Christopher Devine (9:32) and Bellahouston RR Craig Reid (9:40). 

In the women's race, it was 1, 2, 3 for Bellahouston Harriers, with Bernie O'neill, on her debut, taking the honours in a time of 11:44. Fellow debutante, Clare Macaulay, earned Silver with her time of 12:03, with Caroline Cochrane, ensuring a clean sweep for the 123 year old club, with a time of 12:19.

Well done to all the other runners and volunteers for making the event such a success. So much so, that the Herald had it listed as one of the Top 10 things to do this Weekend.

Pics by Darren Murray here

Full Results here