Men on the move in Glasgow
Father's Day was celebrated in style on Sunday (16 June) in Glasgow at the Men's 10K where there was a bumper turnout (entries were up on last year) despite the rainy morning. Richard Carr stayed focused on the job and broke the tape on 33:27 ahead of last year's winner Kieran Cooper (33:53) and Tony Connelly (35:07).
When reminded that he had ran the 2012 race in 41 minutes, Cambuslang Harrier Carr joked that he hoped to: "take another 8 mins off in the next seven years." Runner-up Cooper was one of numerous runners who formed father and son pairings - dad Richard was placed 17th in 37:20.
Another runner who has seen his times come down consistently in recent years, award-winning blogger Mark Gallacher managed a top 10 finish and V45 category first place. He reported: "Gave all I had today and literally wobbled over the finish line in 36.28 (the legs had totally gone), over two minutes faster than last year."
The big field, encouraging given the demise this year of the iconic Women's 10K, made its way from the start at the Riverside Museum, and headed east along the River Clyde, enjoying views of the Glasgow Science Centre, the Armadillo, the SEC and the SSE Hydro, in the early stages.
Runners were then encouraged by the city centre support before heading east and the second half of the race. At 7.5k runners turned left before heading through Glasgow Green and the final stretches in the Merchant City and the big finish back at George Square.
The Men's 10K has its origins as a vehicle to promote men's health and there were many moving stories of runners who were taking part for good causes and to celebrate their own personal journeys.
William McRuvie was running for official race charity, Cancer Research UK. In 2017 William was diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer. He subsequently underwent a prostatectomy and radiotherapy as part of a gruelling treatment process, which is still continuing. William finds the side effects of his treatment both mentally and physically testing and they can interrupt his training.
However he ran strong on Sunday and commented: "Today's run was both a personal challenge and a way for me to give something back for the support I've received throughout my diagnosis and my continued treatment. Charities like Cancer Research UK are hugely important to those living with cancer both for treatment and investment into research and development."
William's fundraising efforts on Just Giving are going well. Check details here.
For the full race results link from the runABC Scotland website.
Image courtesy GSi Events.
