South By Five – Bellahouston Park race brief

South By Five – Bx5 5th January 2025 – Race Brief

SX5 OUTLINE

South By Five is a series of six 5k races inspired by the iconic Southside Six race. That 16-mile race visited King’s Park, Linn Park, Rouken Glen, Pollok Park, Bellahouston Park and Queen’s Park.

South By Five will host a 5k event in each of the six parks. The series offers a good selection of multi-terrain surfaces, and some original Southside Six race features.

We’re continuing at Bellahouston Park on Sunday with the fifth and penultimate South By Five event.

RE-SHOES

This will be the last collection of shoes for the series. Preloved shoes are donated to our partners, ShoeShareMalawi– bring along your preloved running shoes and donate them at registration. The post Christmas clean out is a good time for these donations, as we are sure you all got nice new shiny shoe from Santa!

FOOD BANK

In lieu of  proper race entry fee we’re collecting donations for the local foodbank in Cardonald.

Their current listed items in need are:
Custard
UHT Milk
Beans
Tinned fish
Diluting juice
Pasta Sauce/Tinned Tomatoes
Toothpaste
Soap
Shampoo

This is not an exhaustive list, all donations are welcome. Please bring to registration. Thanks

LITTER PICK

We’ve conducted a litter pick within the park whilst recce’ing the route.

Please don’t undo the hard work, and that of the Friends of Bellahouston Park during the race! Take your litter home or use a bin!

RACE DETAILS

Time: Sunday 5th January 2025, 10:30am
From: Bellahouston Park, Dumbreck Road/Nithsdale Rd entrance – What3Words ///send.rests.wing
Registration: from 09:30am until 10.20am at the start area
Race brief: 10.25am at start line
Timing: Manual by race team
Numbers: Allocated on arrival. Race series numbers are to be returned to race control at the finish. They will be re-issued at each event. If you took your number home after the last event, please remember to bring it back!

ROUTE

The route has been changed for 2025. We’ve found a wee bit of trail and some good history for you. The overall series is very much multi-terrain, and we figured we needed some yin to Pollok Park’s yang. Bear in mind the paths can be slippery in places with water run-off, and autumn leaves and maybe the odd patch of frost. The race team recommend a road shoe with decent grip. The route is not flat!!! We had to make up for the lack of mud somehow. It has some ups, and some downs, and some flatTER sections!

There is parking within the park adjacent to the ski slope, this is only a short walk from the registration.

MARKING AND MARSHALLS

The course will be marked with high viz arrows and guidance will be from the volunteer team.

They will be dotted at key points, wearing hi-vis vests because they are heroes! Listen to them, follow their instructions, say “hi” and say “thanks” – they are all volunteers there for your benefit.

If, in the unfortunate event, you need to drop out please (if able) return to race control. No-where on the course is too far away from the start/finish. If you are unable to return to race control – inform the next passing runner and/or nearest marshal immediately.

First aid will be provided by a qualified volunteer and will be present on the course.

WATER

There is no water stop on the course. Water will be available at the finish. In an effort to reduce plastic waste, the water will be supplied from expandable water carriers. Please bring your own bottle/cup

RESULTS – PRIZES – MEMENTO

Timing for the event is manual. Please bear with us, we’ll get the results to you as soon as we can.

There are no prizes for the individual events. Individual event entrants will be offered snacks and water at the race finish.

Series prize giving will take place following the final race on January 19th. There will be hot soup and roll available for participants of the QP race. Everyone else can make a donation for theirs! Series prizes will be based on your best 5 race positions from the 6 races – if you miss a race no worries!

RE-GIFT

There will be some podium prizes for the series but we also like to give out other prizes for all sorts of other categories – details on social media soon.

This leads us to another one of those wee friendly quirks of South By Five – Re-Gift.

Re-Gift allows you to donate those unloved Christmas gifts to our prize table.

In addition to standard race series prizes, South By Five has a variety of additional democratic prizes and various spot prizes. Prize winners will get given a choice of the available options on the prize table.

If you have anything you wish to donate, please bring it along on Sunday and pass to the event team at registration.

FACILITIES

There are no facilities available in Bellahouston Park. Please arrive ready to run. We shouldn’t really need to say this but…… PLEASE DO NOT USE THE PARK AS A TOILET!

There will be a small bag drop facility at the start/finish. Items are left at owners own risk.

TRANSPORT AND PARKING

There are numerous local bus routes which serve the park. Check the operator websites for details. And check for latest industrial dispute details.

Nearest train station is Dumbreck – a short distance along Nithsdale Road.

RULES – short and sweet:

1. Respect the marshals. They give their time so you can run!
   2. Always follow the marshal’s instructions, especially at road crossings. Failure to do so could result in being disqualified
   3. Running under a false name/number will result in immediate disqualification from this and all future races. If you are also a member of a running club or SAL, we reserve the right to inform them too.
   4. Don’t litter. Anyone caught littering will be banned from future races and disqualified on the day.
   5. The park is shared with others. Respect them and they will respect you. Smile, say hello and remember you are doing something great!
   6. No dogs. The race is under permit

Happy Running!
Team Acorn

Any queries, drop us a line at hello@acorntrails.run