‘I just enjoy seeing the community come together’: The story behind the Banchory Boxing Day Fun Run

More than 100 runners of all ages decided to briefly forgo Christmas excesses in favour of a morning’s exercise as part of the Banchory Boxing Day Fun Run.

The event, which started in 1981, saw 137 runners show up at 10.30am on Boxing Day to take on the 5km course, which starts and finishes at the Banchory Guide Hut next to King George V Park. The course takes runners through the streets of Banchory and playing fields of Tillybrake.

Only twice before has the Boxing Day Fun Run been cancelled – in 2010 due to dangerously slippery conditions, and again in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions – but last week’s run went ahead as normal despite some icy patches on the roads.

The route takes runners along the relatively flat Dee Street, before the dreaded Corsee Road – the steepest incline of the course – knocks the winds out of the sails of those who have perhaps enjoyed the Christmas festivities a little more than their peers.

Much of the run subsequently involves a gradual descent on road, mud, and grass, with the latter stages taking participants along the banks of the River Dee before runners finish where they started.

Banchory event has been running for 41 years

The event was instigated 41 years ago by the three main figures of what was formerly known as Banchory Amateur Athletic Club. Willy Russell, Alistair Ballantyne, and George Matthewson all helped build the club up in the 1980s, and the creation of the Boxing Day Fun Run was one of their many initiatives as the area became hotspot for developing athletic talent.

Now all in their 80s themselves, Mr Russell, Mr Ballantyne, and Mr Matthewson were all in attendance last Monday as part of the event, but in recent years the chief organiser has been Sandy Reid – another former member of Banchory Stonehaven AC.

The event is not competitive in as much as there are runners and finishers, as opposed to competitors and winners. The event has continued as it started, as a community day which raises money for charity – in this case Kincardine and Deeside Befriending, who offer refreshments for runners at the end of the course.

Having been the organiser for 25 years, Sandy Reid is always on the lookout for more volunteers, and there is, he explains, plenty of satisfaction in seeing the occasion take place as a fun community event.

He said: “I just enjoy seeing the community come together on Boxing Day and see everyone come down, because at the end of the day it’s a community fun run.

“I tend to start setting up just before 8am, but as with all these things, it’s getting harder and harder to get volunteers – so it’s a struggle to make sure it goes ahead safely. I take everything down afterwards at about 1.30pm.

Kincardine and Deeside Befriending group support event and are supported in turn

“I understand Boxing Day is a big family day and people can’t give up an hour or two, and it’s a difficult day to be free for people.

“In the past ten years, we’ve been helped out by Kincardine and Deeside Befriending – they come along and do all the catering and in return keep the donations.”

Although the run costs £2 to enter, the 137 entrants often donate in excess of the requisite fee. A total of £313 was made at the end of the day, which will go towards Kincardine and Deeside Befriending after the hiring costs for the guide hut are offset.

As for the runners, Eve Sealy came home first in the women’s category. The 25-year-old, who was formerly a Scottish U20 steeplechase champion, was closely followed by another former Banchory Stonehaven athlete – and GB representative – in Rhona Auckland.

In the men’s category, Joe Wright – a well-known face in Scotland’s orienteering set-up – was the first finisher. Behind him in second place was Cameron Fordyce.

Taking third place in the men’s category was Duncan Coombs, with his sister, Kirsty Coombs, finishing in the same position in the women’s category.