For the 7th year, plus 2 pandemic years, we were excited in August to take part in the 5-mile OUTrun, a race through beautiful Kelvingrove Park and alongside Kelvin Water in Glasgow. Hosted by our sister club Glasgow FrontRunners, the event supports Time for Inclusive Education.
As she has for the past 3 occasions, local celebrity Miss Bella Houston ensured everyone was entertained and offended in equal measure – berating Liverpool Frontrunners for the stealing of Eurovision, and eliciting a gasp saying she was glad Cilla Black was dead (all in jest of course). She then donned her Lycra to join a mass warm-up before we were all led to the start by a bagpiper – yes, GFR go all out to make it a memorable event.
5 sweaty but scenic miles later we were cheered over the finish line by Bella, by now back in her glamorous red frock, and able to sit in the outdoor auditorium to eat cake, watch the awards and listen to Jordan from TIE* talk about their work.
As with all LGBT-inclusive runs, everyone was encouraged and included, from the very fastest to those making more of a day of it. Having already given running tops in each of the the 6 traditional Pride flag colours, this year’s t-shirt was a pink-and-blue design to represent the transgender community. Hundreds of us posed on stage at the finish to show our support.
Over the rest of the weekend we enjoyed a free ceilidh, a Sunday morning run, and Bella’s Bingo – hosted by, you guessed it, Bella Houston. We loved the whole weekend and can’t wait to go back next August.
*TIE address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic prejudice and bullying through education. They
create resources for schools, run workshops and assemblies for young people, and deliver professional learning for teachers on behalf of the Scottish Government. As the speaker Jordan said afterwards, research has shown that after the programme was introduced it’s rare for any child to now use “gay” to describe a friend’s actions.
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