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| May 8, 2011In short: Very enjoyable and quite challenging especially uphil finish. Brilliantly organised and would recommend this 10k for all levels. Will be back next year. Stephen Tominey |
| May 3, 2011In short: There is not a single flat section – its all up and down, so train for hills or feel the pain. Fantastic views if you can lift your head. In full: Lots of really good runners take part so if, like me, you are doing 10k in about an hour, then prepare to watch them flying past on their way back as you head past the 3km marker on the way out! Great local support to cheer you to the finish – but do not underestimate the constant hills especially from 7km to the end! Jane Beaton |
| May 3, 2011In short: A well organised, thoroughly enjoyable event. Jo Caisley 4 |
| May 3, 2011In short: Fantastic race, beautiful setting, well-organised and very enjoyable Jeremy Jones 4 |
| May 3, 2011In short: Taxing hills and no flat sections but well worth a try. Ali McLaren |
| May 3, 2011In short: great scenery, well organised and fun atmosphere. Will be back for 3rd time next year. ewan w |
| May 3, 2011In short: Fantastic view – shame it is not cirucular though Gillian Ashby 2 |
| April 25 2011What a great race and a teriffic atmosphere. We will be back next year. Thanks to everyone that helped on the day. Paul Dickson |
| April 24, 2011In short: second time running this race,will be back next year. jim hamilton |
| April 23, 2011In short: Well organised, great scenery, will be back! Liz Maxwell |
| April 23, 2011In short: Well organised car-free rural undulating 10k In full: Another to add to the well run friendly rural and car-free Scottish races (think Kirkintilloch, Arran, Haddington). Like those enough hills to make it fun and eliminate any PB thoughts. AP58 |
| April 20, 2011Good morning I, and my husband, David White, ran with two friends in Sunday’s 10k and were very impressed with the whole organisation of the race. Everybody was extremely helpful in every way possible. This is the 2nd time we have taken part and would like to be participants in future races. Well done to all concerned. Christine White |
| April 20, 2011In short: Tough course but keep your head up and look around you; the great scenery will keep you going. Donjshaw2 |
| April 20, 2011In full: Great local race for me, never done it before and didn’t know what to expect. The hills were definately challenging even though I like the odd one or two in a race (there were more than I thought, or had been told!)A good race to test fitness ability early on in the year and manage pace effectively. Thoroughly enjoyed it and is definately a permanent fixture in my diary. Highly recommended. Thanks to all who helped in the organisation and delivery. Lorna Mahoney |
| April 19, 2011In short: Beautiful course, beautifully organised, see you next year. Matt Pickles 2 |
| April 19, 2011In short: Thanks again to the organisational team and all helpers. Fantastic event in a great atmosphere. Nigel Johnson 3 |
| April 19, 2011Fantastic 10K !! Stuart Gibson |
| April 19, 2011In short: Fantastic race: closed roads through gentle Stirlingshire hills and great atmosphere. richard fanning |
April 18, 2011 Away from the weekends glamour races (London Marathon, Kilomathon, CAAC Spring handicap), Gillian and myself snuck off to take part in the small but perfectly formed Balfron 10K. Its a tough wee number but a scenic one on quiet farm roads over the west Campsie hills. I wasn’t able to make sub 40 mins (but managed 32nd place), Gillian won (another) prize for CAAC, coming in 3rd female. Pretty good prize: a VIP tour of the Glengoyne distillery. Luck for me Gillian doesn’t like Whisky !!!. Really enjoyed this wee outing and then headed over to Balmaha on the shores of the Bonnie Banks for a spot of lunch. Dean Carr |
| April 18, 2011In short: Everything about this race, its organisers and supporters is first class. MichaelM |
| April 18, 2011In short: Whoever told me before hand that this race was flat – was telling me ‘porkie pies’!! In full: A very well organised event, at the time I said I’d not do it again, in hindsight I’ll probably be back next year! A t-shirt & medal amongst other stuff in the G-bag, 2 water stops, a piper, good support, great photos(just looked through them), lots on offer at the finish, a good DJ & someone constantly on the PA letting folk know whats happening. And good on “No 1” for starting, running, in under an hour too and presenting, well done lass. Big thanks to all involved 🙂 Cheers |
| April 18, 2011In full: Ran the Balfron 10k for the first time and what can i say. If you’ve never done it then get on those running shoes and do this great race. Everyone that was involved from the people that gave you your number to the kids that were passing out the water and scooshing you with it also if you asked, to the Compere at the start to the piper at the half way point, to the people of Balfron and the visitors that gave everyone person running massive encouragement all me and my partner can say is THANK YOU. This race was beautiful in scenery but also a test to which added to it. The preparation of this race was superb and to the race oraganiser and the sponors ,’take your hats of and have a drink’ you were tremendous. ‘ Will my partner and i run this next year? As Noel Edmonds say Deal or No Deal. I will be Dealing this in my calender and to every other runner ‘ deal’ yourselves in to. THANKS BALFRON robert mccoll |
| April 18, 2011In short: Hills were a challenge but still had a great day. Kevin Hastie |
| April 18, 2011In short: Best 10k in Scotland. In full: Great organisation, incredibly friendly, party atmosphere and a must for any serious or beginner. Wonderful scenery. Great goody bag and generous prizes. Well done Balfron! Lou Lou 6 |
| April 18, 2011In short: Great weather, great support, great scenery….now if someone could just iron out the hills! In full: Well done yet again Balfron!! David Esler |
| April 18, 2011In short: The Hills are Alive! In full: A really well organised and challenging 10k. The toughest I’ve ever run! Weather was excellent and the scenery second to none! FuManStu |
| April 17, 2011We had a great day filming for the May Sport Nation tv show at the Balfron 10K. The end result can be seen on Tuesday 3rd May, BBC2 Scotland at 7pm BBC Sport Nation |
| April 17, 2011…But the race was fun. Hang on, wait a minute, did I really just write that? It wasn’t fun at all. It was 10km (6 miles) of torture. A bright sunny day and a start time of 11 am meant it was warmer than I’m used to running in and I was struggling with the heat and dehydration from quite early on. It was really noticeable when I got doused with a garden hose on the return leg and felt the immediate benefit of it. [Note to self to train when it’s hot and hydrate well before my next race]. The beautiful rolling countryside around the Stirlingshire village of Balfron meant – sadly – hills. And lots of them. It was a ‘there and back’ race, which with the hilly terrain was a torture. You know that the down hill you were enjoying on the way out would transform itself into an uphill for the return leg, and all you could do was slog up it. But it truly was a beautiful location and the challenge of the hills did make it a 10k above the ordinary. And apparently I’m not the only one to think that. If you want to see footage of this year’s race, try catching Sport Nation on BBC2 this week. I think I managed to avoid all the cameras but you never know. I’ll be the one with the purple t-shirt and the tomato red face!… Bex http://honeybeedz.blogspot.com/2011/04/another-one-bites-dust.html |
April 17, 2011 Time was 39mins 49secs (chip). Probably the toughest 10K course I have ever run. Killer hill after killer hill. My heart rate average was 169bpm, but for most of the race it hovered around 173bpm. My tactics today were rubbish. For the first 5K I allowed my heart rate to rise as high as 175bpm and even 179bpm (briefly). My 5K split was 18mins 52secs, but I was severely stressed by then and knew there would be no way I could sustain that pace or heart rate for the second half of this out and back course. A lot of people passed me in the second half of the race (seven I think). The last two kilometres was particularly demanding. I sprinted to the finish line to dip under 40mins and was completely shattered at the end. My mate (Robert Gilroy) won it in a great time of 33mins 20secs – fab!!! Jim Breen |
| April 17, 2011The 5th Balfron 10K race took place on Sunday morning starting outside the Balfon High School. Under blue skies and very sunny conditions, surrounded by incredible scenery it’s easy to see why this has been voted by Runner’s world magazine as the best 10K in Scotland. The route is an out and back along traffic-free country roads, fairly undulating with a significant climb from 7 to 8k. The race then finished back at the school with a good crowd cheering us home. The chipped race was very well organised with two water stands along the course and an excellent goody bag at the end with t-shirt, medal etc. A total of 490 runners completed the course. Under quite hot conditions (for April!), the race was won by Robert Gilroy of Ronhill Cambuslang in a time of 33.20. The first women home was Jane Fanning of Serpentine running club in 39.18. The mighty Maryhill harriers were represented by four runners: 29th Andy Sutherland: 40.29 Andy http://www.maryhillharriers.com/viewlatestnews.php?latestnumber=484 |
| April 17, 2011In short: Utterly butterly fabaroonie & hip-hop-happy run! In full: This is the race to spark everyone’s running potential and a must for the diary for any runner and their families – for a true family day it is! For those of us who are priviledged to start and finish, it gives us the opportunity to really see how a race should be managed as well as evaluating our time as a runner on the tarmac. From the meticulous organisation of the key players; the genuine charm of the registering volunteers, to the mighty luminous plentiful effective marshalls and not to forget the cheery children at the 3K and 6K water stations(whom we must especially thank today for their most welcome showers and sprays of water – adeptly targeted!) – it was a joy and priveledge to be part of it all. The sun shone gloriously and the wind blew in exactly the right direction – on our faces homewards up the steady, incline to the finish line at the school. The support was epic from the locals who were out in force, cheering and clapping with gusto – to the piper at the midway 5K as we turned tail. The views were a magical distraction when the uphills seemed endless and the support from fellow runners, near and far, doing high 5’s, simply great cammaradare. All in all – its a great family day out and the local cafe Doyle’s cappucino and cake stand – not to be missed as a spectator or runner! Only 365 days and counting til 2012……………can’t wait! xx Mairi Clark |
| April 17, 2011In short: A fantastic race in a fantasic setting. In full: This was a truly well organised and welcoming event. We will definetly be back for more of the same next year. Can’t wait!!! Paul Dickson |
| April 17, 2011In short: Well organised event. Friendly, encouraging atmosphere. Good challenging course. Steven Bonn |
| April 17, 2011In short: Great Event, Great Location Peter Cunning |
| April 17, 2011In short: hard 10k need to come back and beat my time Caroline Ryan |
| April 17, 2011In short: Excellent Day, Piper at Halfway Nice Touch & Super Scenery In full: So thats what an undulating course looks like 😉 Stuart Gibson |
| April 17, 2011In short: good atmosphere, broad range of abilities within the field, a few even finished behind me….though not many!!!!! Brian Cook |