GFR – who are we really? And why do we do what we do? We promote health and wellbeing for everyone, no matter who they are, through running. We work to combat discrimination and homophobia in sport. We encourage LGBTQI+ involvement in the sporting and local community. And we pursue equal opportunities for everyone.

This year started off steady, with a great Committee – some old faces, some new. We had a great combination of the best bits from past years and fresh ideas and new perspectives. We were surely on for a winner.

For the first time we visibly recognised every day of LGBTQI+ importance – standing in solidarity with our fabulous members, in all their wonderful colours. Truly reflecting the full spectrum of our colourful rainbow.

We acknowledged World Aid’s Day once again, raising £230 for THT.

We had a super Christmas Party.

We welcomed our incredible C25K class of 2020 – unquestionably the best bunch the club has ever had.

We opened our doors to a record breaking 120 runners on a Thursday night.

We trained up a diverse new group Jog leaders.

We re-vamped our social media presence and website.

We celebrated IWD, raising £150 for SAY Women.

We retained our top position for the 4th year running, in the Leap Sports Scotland LGBT History Month ten-pin bowling tournament.

We hosted a successful Rainbow Run – raising more money for charity, this time £430 for LGBT Youth Scotland and welcomed FrontRunners from across the UK.

We started to investigate whether there was merit in transitioning towards obtaining charitable status – which would open different doors.

It just kept on getting bigger and better. Always sticking to our roots – supporting our members personal fitness, wellbeing, social and sporting ambitions – no matter who you are. Helping each other find their tribe.

But then, the world changed.

The day we first cancelled GFR as we knew it – I cried, a lot. I knew we’d all lost our friends, our support network, our community, our family. The club battled so hard. Never ceasing to remain visible. Never giving in.

We quickly formed a private Facebook group, inviting all our members to transition with us together from a physical safe space to a virtual safe space. Here we supported each other; Comforted each other; Cared for each other. Trying our utmost to reassure all our members that they are not alone, regardless of what their own personal stories are. Everyone is fighting their own battle. All in separate wee boats, sailing through the same storm. GFR tried to pull all these wee boats together, to become a fleet. A fleet fighting the storm, together.

• We scheduled regular socials, sometimes biweekly – everything from music bingo to virtual escape rooms.

• We held weekly indoor training sessions from our living rooms.

• We formed creative running challenges.

• We celebrated successes and gave out prizes.

• We pulled the rest of the nation’s FrontRunners together through our Big UK&I club runs.

• We checked in with our members to see how the club could improve during this year unlike any other.

• We’ve watched our C25kers keep going strong, not letting the pandemic be the end of their running career. Some are even as crazy enough to now be running half marathons now!

Then of course there are those of us who had entered half marathons, marathons, ultras. These people had sacrificed other parts of their life to train for their events – and then were faced with the devastating news that they were no longer able to compete. We’ve seen our members show incredible grit and determination to continue to strive for their dreams, to keep going.

• Then we had HomeRun – who could miss it?! We had 300+ participants around the globe and raised more than £2k for THT.

• Did you spot we also celebrated our 10th birthday?!

AND Hot off the press: David Hunter & Kevin Boyle’s own research paper detailing how an LGBT+ support group can lead to happier lives is being published in the British Journal of Nursing next week!

But see all of this - nothing should make us more proud than watching our GFR family reaching out to our friends, in whatever shape or form – supporting each other’s mental health in a way like never before.

But obviously it hasn’t all been plain sailing. And we haven’t always got it right. But through it all, under the circumstances, we’ve ran it the best we could.

And I cannot thank both the Committee and all our members for everything you’ve done over the last year to keep our ship from sinking. This GFR ship has never sunk – not once. And we’ve proved that GFR is still together, even when we are apart. 

This Saturday coming, we’ll find out if we’re crowned the first sports club to be awarded at the Proud Scotland Awards – if you can, tune in to their live FB streaming at 7pm this Saturday night.

But today, as we reflect some more on some of these highs and lows - we should all be proud. Proud of what we’ve done - collectively. Proud of who we are – individually. And proud of GFR.

It’s been a privilege leading Glasgow Frontrunners this year. It’s been incredibly hard, but it’s been a privilege. And I look forward to helping hand over the baton to the new Committee, as they embark upon what will once again be a year unlike any other.

Jo Jeffreys - GFR President (2019 - 2020)