Is there any better way to spend the August Bank Holiday than visiting our Glasgow Friends? I think not!
We said it, We planned it and We did it! Last weekend saw nine Brighton and Hove Front Runners take a trip up to Glasgow for a weekend of sightseeing, socializing and Running. Our first Official club trip (ever!) was the culmination of a number of strategic Whats App planning to come together for a weekend of fun for the Glasgow Front Runners Outrun 2022.
Sponsored by LEAP Sports Scotland & Queens Cross Housing Association, The 5-mile timed race around the beautiful Kelvingrove Park saw members from various Front Runner clubs including Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Manchester join for the run.
The annual race raised money for Time for Inclusive Education, Scotland’s LGBT Inclusive Education charity. They work with schools across the country to embed LGBT themes (such as history, rights, and equality) into ordinary teaching and learning.
The weekend was packed full of events including a Welcome Party, Out Run & Bake Sale, Front Runner Dinner, Front Runner Ceilidh, Sunday Club Run, Sunday Brunch and even Bingo & Karaoke.
The race itself took place on Saturday morning under the beautiful and very welcome Scottish sunshine. Collecting Bibs in Kelvingrove Park the race commenced with a welcome from the Glasgow Front Runner Committee and a hilarious opening act from MISS BELLA HOUSTON followed by a vigorous warm-up with Kelly and a Bagpipe procession to the starting line.
The 8-mile race started off fairly flat under the very leafy path to the cheers of various bystanders. As the race continued so did the incline which saw the path head steeply to the top of the park where runners (approx. 300) were rewarded with a Drumming Band and some sweeping views across the tree tops across to see the spire of Glasgow University. What goes up must come down and just as runners caught their breath at the top we headed down to run alongside some incredibly lush forestry. A very welcome site for us southerners to see such greenery, it was like running through the valley of the Elven city, Rivendell, from Lord of the Rings in full summer bloom. With increasing DPM (Dogs Per Mile) the run continued parallel alongside the crystal clear babbling River Kelvin and one could not help but feel very lucky to be running in such a beautiful place with every inhale of crisp fresh air. Under arches and through dense trees the race path crossed stone bridges, passed some ruins of a mill and crossed the river to turn back on the other side. On return many runners were greeted with friendly smiles, ‘well done’, ‘keep going’ and ‘almost there’ shouts from fellow runners, passers-by and marshals on the way back. Going back of course meant facing the hill again which was no easy task. Especially for runners who did the hill session in Hove Park a couple of days before. Once at the top it was a swift decline to the finish line where runners crossed the bridge arriving to many cheers and friendly faces across the finish line. This was followed by a welcome banana, water and the most glorious bake sale ever seen before. Race Results are below.
The rest of the weekend was spent sightseeing and having a splendid time in the sunshine that lasted all weekend. Many runners took part in the evenings festivities across the weekend as we all had a jolly time mixing and mingling with our Frontrunners friends and enjoying the trip away! I’m sure we’ll be back!
Many thanks to all those that volunteered their time from the Glasgow Front Runners making the weekend’s events amazing.
-Brandon Pfeiffer
Graham Baker 00:35:58
Alex Darsley 00:39:49
Ernie Stoddart 00:40:03
Jason Fairley 00:41:23
Iain Gowers 00:49:56
