Hosted by Bellahouston Harriers, one of the most eagerly anticipated 10k road races of the season is the Brian Goodwin 10k. The race has become one of the ‘must-race’ events in the Scottish running calendar, and this year took place on Friday 7th June, with the race start at 7.30pm. It combines fast racing and a competitive field with a Summer Friday night vibe and the promise of a free beer and burger at the finish line – although an unseasonal cold spell and strong winds made things a lot less comfortable this year.
The race starts and finishes at Cartha Queen’s Park RFC and is staged over a two-loop course largely inside the scenic grounds of Pollok Park. The course route is officially certified and benefits from traffic management controls which ensure that all sections run outside the park on traffic-free roads. A large representation of Glenparkers made the short trip up the M8 to take part, and were rewarded with some great race times and lots of PBs were achieved.
In the mens race, Andrew Osborne and Stephen Harrison set the pace for the Harriers, working together through the first 5k in 19 minutes. Andrew continued his return from injury by upping the pace through the second loop, going over the finish line in a fantastic time of 38:18. Stephen kept up his recent 10k form with a time of 39:10, and a creditable 6th overall in the V50 category. Donald Shaw was agonisingly close to the sub 40, next home with a time of 40:02, and was followed in by Colin McKnight with a strong performance in 40:10. PB’s GALORE…
The story of the night for our runners was the number of Harriers achieving personal bests over the distance. Fiona Macfarlane was first lady over the line, once again showing the training is paying off with a PB of 44:54. In another strong performance, Evie Harrison put in a great effort, taking two minutes off her previous best and also taking 2nd spot in the U20 category with a time of 45:24. Other PB’s came from Sean Macfarlane (43:55), Kevin Begley (44:37), Ced Chesterman (46:37), Helen Crawford (53:12), and Jill Turner (53:13).
Other notable runs came from Erin McEleny, 3rd in the U20 group with time of 53:24, running with Marianne McKay (53:30). Stephen Reid also had a fine run on the night, over the line in 46:29. Lynne Harrison had another great run in 48:37. Alison Smart (1:07:56) and Lynne Fulton (1:11:19) completed the Harriers positions.
As ever, the statistics for team, age and gender positions make for some notable results. Remarkably, our female runners outnumbered the men in this race, and the ladies did the club proud by finishing in 5th place overall. The competition in the Brian Goodwin is extremely tough and the men’s team also did well to finish inside the top 10, nabbing 9th position overall. Lynne and Helen came in at 3rd and 4th in their Age group. Finally, Charlotte McKay had another great run to finish second in her age category in a time of 1.09.22.
Everyone from the Harriers had a great evening at the race, and the hospitality afterward was very welcoming… but we’ll be writing to Bellahouston to see if they can make sure it’s a bit warmer next year!
