And so it begins….

They say “mighty oaks from little acorns grow” so it is very fitting that race one of Acorn Trails signature series, South By Five, starts under the aging boughs of an old oak tree.

And so it begins….

Oak trees are well renowned for their strength, resilience, perseverance and endurance.

We’re only at race 1 and already our runners are displaying these traits in abundance.

Entrants travelling from far and wide to make the start line. From as far away as the Rhinns of Galloway and Shropshire!! Not to be outdone one participant got off the plane at the airport, clearing customs and passport control to get an airport transfer directly to Kings Park. One way to stretch the legs after a cramped flight.

Other runners fought through long standing ailments and conditions or even overcoming life changing medical treatment and making that first chequered flag. Truly inspiring! We’ll let these folk tell their own tales if and when they wish.

And so it begins…

Registration is never truly open until Derek the First arrives!

To rapturous applause he made his way along the finish straight to take bib no.1 (actually 801, but what’s 800 between friends?)

Derek Miller of Carluke JogScotland has been the first arrival at so many Sx5 events over the years we renamed him. His club mates at Carluke JS refuse to car share with him as he leaves so early! It will take an early bird to beat Derek to the worms!

And so it begins….

Well we certainly hope this is the beginning.. delicious cake delivered to the finish area by talented runners! Thanks very much Karen McQuarrie. Someone has a tough act to follow for the next event (everyone hopes 😝)

And so it begins…

Naming of route features…🤣🤣 Michelle asked you runners to be inspired by the wee incline towards the end of the loop.

We had a few suggestions most of which were unpublishable!

With Bill stood at the top capturing amazingly the delight on runners faces as they sprinted up the slope, we decided on Bill’s Hill!

At the opposite end of the route, folk slipping and sliding along the freshly named Blythe Bump were again caught on camera. There’s no hiding…..

And so it begins….

That leads us nicely into the latest addition to our paparazzi team. Alan Jones has joined us for the series and you’ll see him about the routes with some hi-tech looking digital devices and cameras including a drone.

We’ll be sharing that footage as soon as his full time work allows him to edit his content.

Many photos from our team have been shared to the Acorn Trails Pinboard on Facebook here

Thanks to the paparazzi: Kev Queenan, Blythe Lindsay, Bill Oliver, George Wilson, Ian Cochrane and Alan Jones.

We’re so lucky to have such an amazing group of folk willing to point their lenses at you to stop you slacking!

And so it begins…

As sure as the rain follows the race, the finish line follows the start. And a finish line can only mean one thing…. results!

Kings Park results have now been uploaded to:

southbyfive.run

Congratulations to our podium stars..

🥇Andrew Anderson (Cambuslang Harriers) & Krisitina Glynn (Bellahouston Harriers)

🥈Callum Wallace (Bellahouston Harriers) & Karen McQuarrie (Bellahouston Harriers)

🥉Ethan Tyler (Garscube Harriers) & Laura Lennon (Victoria Park – City of Glasgow)

We look forward to seeing you all at Linn Park on 16th November.

For those of you who took your race numbers away with you, don’t forget to bring them back! You keep the same number for the whole series.

And so we have begun!

Thanks for making that announcement Gareth 😜

Thanks to all our hi-viz heroes for making this event possible:

Cha Harris, Lynn Connor, Cedric Moreau, Anna Deboub, Andrew Anderson, Garry Smith, Calum Roach, Sheila Murray, Sam Hampton-Smith, Paul Fletcher, Seoras Buchanan, Karis McDermott & Skye, Paul Jenkins (FoKP), Andrew Fullwood and Evie, Robert Hill, Louise Anderson, Siobhan Feeney, Anne Broderick (FoKP), Rod Ross, Colin “The Clown” Gray.

Not to forget Sandy..

Also big shout out to the participants who volunteered at junior parkrun in Kings Park directly before our event, thanks for supporting them: Deidre Parkinson, Simon Parkinson, David Gemmell, Gill Phillips and Andrew Phillips

Thanks also to Friends of Kings Park for their continued support of our event and the ongoing hard work their volunteers put into making Kings Park one of the southside’s hidden gems! We’ll be making a donation to support their efforts.

Huge beneficiaries of the event were St.Vincent de Paul Foodbank at St Columbkilles Church in Rutherglen. Thank you all for your generous donations. Linn Park event will be collecting for East Ren Food Larder based at Muirend just by Migo Sports and Sainsbury’s.