Killearn’s popular 10k race is back on the calendar as runners get set to take to the village streets next week for the first time in three years.
The village race takes place next Saturday with 250 runners expected to take part.
To Covid-proof the event, the organisers have taken the decision to move the start line to Killearn Park.
The move means the Killearn 10k now has a chip start as well as a chip finish, giving runners a personal start time instead of a gun start.
David McKay of the Killearn 10k organising committee said: “Everyone involved with the Killearn 10k and mile is thrilled to be planning our first races since 2019. We ran a virtual event last year which was well supported, but it’s great to be looking forward to having the run back in its full form. Local volunteers donate their time and talents to make the 10k happen.
“An awful lot of work goes into it over the full year, from ordering t-shirts and timing chips to delivering flyers, arranging risk assessments, first aid cover, permissions and insurance, and liaising with our sponsors.
“We’re so happy to have Turnip the Beet catering as our main sponsor this year, with A Total Clean window-cleaning and West Homes estate agents as major sponsors and loads of brilliant support from other local businesses including our local, the Old Mill.”
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The Killearn 10k is Scottish Athletics affiliated and organised by members of the local Killearn community.
The race is one of the highlights of the summer running calendar, but plans were thwarted in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. In 2021 the race went virtual. Since the organisers of the popular run in and around the village couldn’t stage a physical race, they instead invited trail running enthusiasts of all abilities to run with them.
This year, the 10k will start in Killearn Park, running up past the Old Kirk and turning left into The Square. Runners will follow The Square round to the Buchanan Monument, turning right into Main Street, past the ‘old’ start line. From there the route is the same as previous years. Runners will head down Main Street and out of Killearn, turning left up to High Lettre Farm to join the Pipe Track. On the Pipe Track runners head south in the direction of Strathblane, past Dumgoyne, before turning and retracing their steps along the Pipe Track.
Running past the top of the High Lettre Farm track, continuing across grassland and into Ibert Wood, runners join Ibert Road to return to the village.
At the bottom of Ibert Road the route turns right up Main Street and left into The Square, finishing in the park.
The race gets underway at 11am on Saturday June 4.
