MORE than two years of frustration melted away in the sunshine on Saturday June 4 when the Killearn 10k and Mile finally returned.

Everyone associated with the event was raring to go when they were able to meet again in the village park.

With the long gap since 2019 adding to the feeling of freshness and excitement, it felt like we were in for one of the best days in the event’s history.

And both events lived up to that feeling of promise with excellent turnouts, some splendid running and a park full of beaming smiles afterwards.

Families were out in force for the Mile, hosted by the Killearn 10k and Active Stirling, and the youngsters who filled many of the 200 available places were thrilled to get numbers on their chests and sustainable, personalised medals round their necks after their dash, jog or gentle walk around the streets of the village. 

Even the warm-up, ably led by Chris from Active Stirling, was great fun. Promoting healthy physical activity is one of the main aims of the Killearn 10k and it was wonderful to see so many people getting so much enjoyment from exercise.

The 10k, which took place after the Mile, had been sold out since December 2021 – the month when places went on sale – and the park was full of nervous and excited runners going through their paces as the 11am start time approached.

Plenty of black and white Killearn FC shirts were proudly worn, as they are every year on race day, but the boys in the team were outnumbered by the purple-vested Bellahouston Road Runners. They had so many entrants that they arrived in a bus, and were an impressive sight as they jogged round the park to warm up.

The start, which took place in the park this year to allow all runners to be timed from the instant they crossed the line, was a moving moment for many of the organisers. There were times when we feared our race would not be run again, and it was glorious to see so many runners – many proudly wearing their purple Killearn 10k T-shirts or vests – streaming out of the park to take on our beautiful but challenging course.

It took a remarkably short time for the first of them to arrive back. Finlay Finlay of Garscube Harriers is no stranger to Killearn 10k success after finishing fourth in 2019 and second in 2018, and he was literally streets ahead this year as he romped to victory in 35:53 (chip time).

Second-placed Ross Anderson produced an impressive run that also earned him the G63 prize for first-placed local male, but he was nearly three minutes behind Finlay with a time of 38:47 (chip time). Craig Ross of Bellahouston Road Runners came third in 39:00 (chip time).

The day was a triumph for young Valencia Wright of Giffnock North, who won the females’ race in 39:34 (chip time) and was the fifth runner home overall. She also took the female G63 and Under-20 awards. Aida Rodrigo came second in the females’ race in 42:05 (chip time), with Abby Rowley third in 42:12 (chip time).

Abby was also runner-up in G63, with Shona Nicolson (46:42 chip time) third. Tom Storey of Killearn FC (41:34 chip time) and team-mate Ally Greenhill (41:40 chip time) were second and third in male G63.

Tom’s run also earned him the special football club prize and bragging rights over his mates, but the team were all heroes as they ran to raise cash for children’s hospice charity CHAS.

There were some amazing runs in the age categories, not least that of Norman Baillie of Garscube Harriers who took the over-70 male prize in a rapid 48:05 (chip time). Alistair McDonald of Musselburgh and District won the over-60s in 1:01:49 (chip time) and Kevin Queenan (Bellahouston Road Runners) was the leading male over-50 with 43:04 (chip time).

Kevin’s clubmate Claire Wharton won the equivalent female prize in 45:06 (chip time). Kathryn Scott of Garscube Harriers won female over 60 in 47:18 (chip time), and the ageless Ann Lister of Glasgow Phoenix got one of the biggest cheers of the day when she crossed the line in 1:10:28 (chip time) to claim the over-70s award.

But everyone who crossed the finish line was a winner (corny, perhaps, but true). It warmed our hearts to see so many happy faces as our runners came home.

We have so many people to thank for the success of this year’s event that we’ve put up a (lengthy) separate post to do so. But we can’t end here without paying tribute to our runners, our marvellous marshals, everyone who volunteered their time to help us, our sponsors (particularly main sponsor Turnip the Beet and major sponsors West Homes and A Total Clean) our friends at the Old Mill and the people of our lovely village.

Everything went so well that 2022 will be hard to beat. But still, let’s try in 2023. See you all then!