It was a tale of two brothers – and 2,500 other runners – at the Paisley 10k race and Fun Run earlier today.
The sun shone and the crowds came out to cheer on the 2,500 runners who took part in both events.
And it was Renfrewshire’s own Callum Hawkins who pipped his big brother at the post to win the 10k race in an impressive 30 minutes and 15 seconds.
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Big brother Derek – who’s recently recovered from covid – came second in a fantastic time of 30 minues and 28 seconds.
Callum, 30, who runs with Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club said: “I’m really happy I won especially with Derek taking part as well. I could feel Derek on my shoulder the whole way, but fortunately I managed to hold him off.”
Callum is a double Olympics marathon runner having competed in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil and in Japan in 2021. He is the British all-time number three at that distance behind Mo Farah and Steve Jones.
Older brother, Derek, 33 - who also competed in the marathon during the 2016 Olympics and has represented Scotland in the Commonwealth Games – revealed he had recently suffered from Covid.
Also a member of Kilbarchan AAC, he said: “I had the Covid virus a few weeks ago and I haven’t done as much training as I would usually do for the Paisley 10k.
“There was a little bit of banter between us about who would win, but Callum was just too good on the day.
“Second place was as good as I could have hoped for considering I hadn’t done as much training as normal.”
Bruce Springsteen’s hit song Born To Run could well have been the soundtrack to the Paisley 10k Road Race and Fun Run.
From serious athletes to fun runners in fancy dress, more than 2500 people ran around the streets of Paisley taking part in the two events.
The popular races were organised by OneRen – the local charitable trust providing cultural, leisure and sporting opportunities to help people enjoy active and healthy lives – and supported by Renfrewshire Council and Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club.
The Paisley 10k is Scotland’s third largest road race and the official charity partner this year was the Armed Forces veterans’ charity, Erskine.
There was more than £2000 in prize money up for grabs in the 10K race and trophies for the both boys and girls fun runners who are aged under seven, eight to 12 year old and 13 to 15 year old.
There were 1,505 runners competing in the Paisley 10K Race and 1036 taking part in the Fun Run. A total of £1,736 was donated to the Erskine charity from the events.
Many of the fun runners were sponsored to take part, raising money for charities, good causes and many different sports clubs.
The Paisley 10k Race men’s winner was Callum Hawkins, from Kilbarchan AAC with a time of 30 minutes 15 seconds. Second place in the men’s race went to Derek Hawkins, from Kilbarchan AAC, with a time of 30 minutes 28 seconds and third was Robbie Ferguson, also from Kilbarchan AAC with a time of 31 minutes 14 seconds.
The women’s 10k Race winner was Rebekah Russell, from Bellahouston Road Runners with a time of 38 minutes 11 seconds. Second was Jessica Wilcox, a non-club runner with a time of 38 minutes 43 seconds and third was Gemma Rankin, from Kilbarchan AAC with a time of 38 minutes 48 seconds.
Due to Covid restrictions, the Paisley 10k and Fun Run couldn’t be held in 2020 or 2021.
Mark Tokeley, Head of Leisure and Community Services at OneRen said: “It’s great to be back. The Paisley 10k and Fun Run is one of Renfrewshire’s biggest outdoor participation events and from the reaction we’ve had from the runners, they were as excited as we were that the Road Race and Fun Run was held again this year.
“It was heartening to see so many runners of all ages and abilities taking part and well done to them for not only running on the day, but for their dedication and time they put in training for the races.
“It won’t be long before we start planning next year’s events and we’re aiming to make the Paisley 10k and Fun Run bigger and better than ever.”
Look out for more photos from the race in Tuesday's edition of the Paisley Daily Express
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