One month on from Saturday 22 August 2015, when 204 runners joined Glasgow FrontRunners at Kelvingrove Park for our first ever race, OUTrun, we thought you might like to hear from the prize winners about their experiences of the event.
We are so grateful that so many runners and volunteers from near and far joined us and, for once, it didn’t rain. Well, not until the end of the awards ceremony, at least! There were some amazing times for what was, let’s face it, a fairly challenging course, especially at the fourth mile point! Yes, Jason and Richard, why was that?!

Read on to find out more! We hope that the 2015 prize winners will all defend their titles next year but that YOU won’t make it too easy for them!

First male & first male FrontRunner: Steven Duffy, Northern Frontrunners, 28:50

This was my first visit to Kelvingrove Park in over four years and what a four years it had been. I ran the ‘Gay 5K’ in Kelvingrove Park back in 2010 where I finished in second place. Astounded by the cohesion of the LGBT and wider community I took great pleasure in being part of the event. During my visit over that weekend I met Glasgow Frontrunners, a running club for the LGBT community. What a great idea, I thought. Being part of a mainstream Harriers running club since the age of 16 was sometimes problematic as I wasn’t always able to be myself or speak openly for fear of any repercussions. Soon after I picked up a serious injury and being in a city where the Pride event was growing year on year up to 36,000 I began ‘Northern Frontrunners’ with the spare time I had on my hands, inspired by the folks I met at Glasgow Frontrunners. I also organised Newcastle’s first ever ‘Gay 5K’ which this year, in its fourth year, rapidly sold out 550 entries! The club now also boasts nearly 100 members and being back in Glasgow reminded me of where it all began, in fact I wanted to share this story during the presentation awards. Being able to reflect on how far Northern Frontrunners has come as well as the positive impact it has had on so many people made me quite emotional… All because of Kelvingrove Park, the GAY 5K and Glasgow Frontrunners. THANK YOU!

Stephen Duffy

First male over 40: Joseph Lowe, London FrontRunners, 31:31

Thanks to Glasgow Frontrunners for an excellent race, the club’s first. It was a challenging course with two miles of hills, two miles of flat and a final mile of hills, around the grandeur of Kelvingrove Park. The atmosphere was really supportive. Combined with a trip to the Kelvingrove Museum and the Edinburgh Festival, it was well worth the trip up from London.

Joseph Lowe

First male over 50: George Taylor, Glasgow FrontRunners, 31:26

Being a marathon ‘bagger ‘ (I have done 12 in the last 18 months), I had intended doing the Reykjavik marathon the weekend that ‘Outrun’ was on. However, when I saw how many friends were attending Outrun and how important it was to GFR as I club, I decided to ditch the marathon in favour of it. What a great decision that turned out to be! It was an amazingly friendly run with marshals and supporters all giving massive encouragement, and because the course looped back in itself I also saw about 20 friends running the other way who all yelled and waved. The course was hilly towards the end which is good for an old guy who takes four miles to warm up. The scenery was amazing and it was great no roads or traffic but just loads of greenery and a lovely river to look at. Hats off to the organisers! Registration could not have been easier and course was well marked and marshalled. I was pleased to win my age category. Let’s hope it’s an annual event.’

George Taylor (2nd left)

First female: Sharon Muir, Inverclyde Athletics Club, 31:16

I heard about the race through my good friend, Julie, who incidentally was second female in the race. I really enjoyed the course, albeit rather challenging in places! The 5 miler distance was a first for me in terms of racing, but the course was well marked out and the support from the marshals and other runners was amazing, and really spurred me on. I was very impressed with the overall organisation of the event too, from the registration right through to the fantastic prize giving on the bandstand! I’m looking forward to next year’s race already, although with Julie recovering well from a recent injury, I think the top spot may be more of a challenge!! Thanks, and well done to all involved!!

Second female: Julie Gordon, Inverclyde Athletics Club, 32:59
I was delighted to take part in the first ever OUTrun event at Kelvingrove Park last Saturday. I heard about the run through a friend from parkrun, Nicky Imrie, and when I looked it up online I was impressed by the underlying aims of the event to raise awareness of LGBT+ participation in sport. I work in sports development and I am a firm believer in how exercise can transform lives on many levels. On a personal level, I have been injured for months so this was also my first race since March this year. I loved the course. It was tough with the hills but the support from the marshals, supporters and the other runners made even the steepest hills a bit more bearable. My friend Sharon was running also and is on a roll of running well at the moment, so I tried to keep her in my sights for as long as possible, but after the first mile or so her black and white vest faded into a distant dot. However I was delighted to come second to her first and the prize giving on the Kelvingrove Bandstand was an added bonus (although my prosecco was tragically taken from me as I attempted to smuggle it into Glasgow Green later that day …). The weather couldn’t have been better and I’d like to thank Glasgow Frontrunners for such an enjoyable, well-organised event.

Third female and first female FrontRunner: Amy Beckett, Glasgow FrontRunners, 35:51

I love a long distance run but the 5 mile celebration party for the club was a wonderful idea. I have run for many years and shared the club race with fellow runners so ended up seeing running friends I hadn’t seen in years! It was like a happy run reunion with the added bonus of sharing a run with the front runners. I had given up running competitively years ago because of injuries and resigned myself to doing slower long runs which I love because they complement marathon training and jog leadership well. However, the atmosphere, course and encouragement led me to place first Front Runner female and third female overall. The excitement of outrun just took hold and made me realise I do still have a little bit of running power in me! I sure felt it the following day though! After the run we had a great birthday party and later that week I was proud member of the OUTrun race when I saw THREE runners on the Clydeside with a finisher race t-shirt on. I hope to see more Outruns because it was a fantastic day which was organised perfectly. The one grump I have is the hill at the end: my little legs are not as happy, but overall I enjoyed it, and so thankful to everyone that helped out and made the race one of my fondest running memories.

OUTrun: The Prize Winners’ Blog

Victoria Parkrun Results – Grand Prix #1

How can we make OUTrun more inclusive next time?