Babcock Series 2 – Dumbarton 10k, Tuesday 21st May 2026
The second 10km race in this year’s Babcock series fell on a muggy Thursday night in Dumbarton. The route is well established over the years, and has been known to provide a PB opportunity. Unfortunately this year the cycle path used for the majority of the route was undergoing so major reconstruction, and although this will probably be beneficial in years to come, it did present a challenging reroute for this years competitors (and ran slightly long into the bargain.)
Despite the challenges, there were still some strong performances on the night. Jill Cox went home with the v40 crown in a time of 39.09, picking up one place from the Shettleston event. Natalie Smith and Sarah Jane Whalen were the next two ladies home for the club. Also winning her age category was Charlotte McKay in 64.48, with Doris Heron and Janice Lowles doing well in their category too. Jay Dunning ran well only a couple of days before traveling for the MoK half marathon.
Oliver Reilly was first male finisher for the club in 37.24, just 5 seconds ahead of Stevie Campbell who was 3rd v50. Duncan Anderson and Stephen Hanley were neck and neck for the majority of the race, but Duncan finally pushed ahead with 1 mile to go to finish 9 seconds ahead in 38.39. Andy Osborne made a strong surprise appearance for 39:26, and Colin McKnight and Gerry Gallacher ran well in the v50 category, while Steven Smith finished as 8th v60.
It is now onto Helensburgh for the last 10k in this years series. Dumbarton was a challenge this year with the longer, trickier course, but maybe the heat will be the bigger challenge at Helensburgh as temperatures rise towards Thursday’s race.
Thanks to Stephen Hanley for the report!
