The jogscotland Awards nominees 2021 revealed!

Buy tickets for the 4J Studios Annual Awards Dinner on 9 October

The 4J Studios scottishathletics and jogscotland Annual Awards 2021 are fast approaching, and it’s time for us to unveil the shortlists for this year’s jogscotland Awards!

Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to submit nominations this year. They showed just how well the jogscotland community has bounced back after the difficulties of Covid restrictions. Determined joggers, inspiring leaders, people using jogging to take care of their mental wellbeing, and groups that have uplifted and encouraged their members – the nominations were a real spread of good news stories from right across the country.

The winners will be announced at our Awards Dinner at the Glasgow Hilton on 9 October with Guest of Honour, five-time Olympian Jo Pavey. Tickets are now available on the link above for those that would like to join us in celebrating the very best of jogscotland. The event will take place within Covid guidelines, with numbers capped, more space between tables to allow for safe moving around the venue, and a negative lateral flow test before arrival required for attendees.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you – congratulations to everyone in the running for an Award!

Read the shortlists, then scroll down the page to find the nominations in full…

Achiever of the Year
Glynis Buchan – Ellon Jog Scotland
Fiona Findlay – Anster Allsorts
Alison Miller Duff – Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie

Leader of the Year
Irene Leask – Jog Cowdenbeath
Jane Malcolm – jogscotland Penicuik
Neil Nairn – Fenwick Striders

Group of the Year
Isle Jog
Let’s Go Linthligow
Milestones Jog Scotland

SAMH Mental Wellbeing Award
Laura Heeps – jogscotland Hazlehead
Joanne Tominey – Jiggly Joggers
Laura Wall – Ready Steady Go Pitreavie

Find out more about each of the categories, or read on for more about the nominees.

The nominations in full….

Achiever of the Year
Glynis Buchan – Ellon Jog Scotland
Glynis has been chairperson of Ellon Jog Scotland for seven years. In that time, she has done so much for the club, and is well-known in the community as a friendly face who always has time for everyone.
In 2018 she signed up for Red January, a challenge that seeks to boost mental health by encouraging daily exercise. She completed the month, and didn’t stop – she has run every day since then, clocking up over 11,000K. She is praised as “an awesome human being who deserves to be recognised for her hard work and dedication.”
She steps down as chairperson this year after achieving so much for so many people.

Fiona Findlay – Anster Allsorts
Fiona qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2019 and decided to specialise in Adult Mental Health. After only three months she was redeployed by NHS Fife to prepare wards for Covid patients, help addiction services, and work on dementia wards – not knowing on a daily or weekly basis where and with whom she would be working.
Eventually she started her own job on an adult mental health ward and as life settled, decided to take up jogging with the Anster Allsorts.
Between November 2020 and April 2021, Fiona reduced her 10K time by almost 12 minutes. She has now signed up to complete the Leader in Running Fitness course in October this year and become a jog leader.

Alison Miller Duff – Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie
Alison has a genetic condition, Alport Syndrome, which not only meant her kidneys started to fail in 2018, but also caused deafness in both ears. She promptly signed to her local jogscotland group, to try and stay as healthy as possible. Always cheerful and with a massive smile on her face, she found she thoroughly enjoyed the group. She soon had to begin dialysis, but kept coming back to the group whenever she was able. On top of the other challenges of 2020, she underwent a kidney transplant in September. She started walking for exercise within weeks of her transplant, beginning to run once again in early 2021, rejoining her group and then completing a half marathon in  May 2021. She’s a much valued, fun member of Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie.

Leader of the Year
Irene Leask – Jog Cowdenbeath
Since the start of the pandemic Irene has taken on the role of keeping the group going, come what may. During lockdown she set weekly scavenger hunts and bingo sessions to keep people connected, and then became Covid coordinator, allocating bubbles and keeping records for test and protect. She kept in touch with everyone motivating them during lockdown and taking time to encourage people who were not sure about returning after a long absence.
As a result of her efforts, the group has been able to bounce back incredibly well. She also gives a huge amount to the wider running community, including parkrun volunteering.

Jane Malcolm – jogscotland Penicuik
Jane is described as a super-supportive jog leader, who nurtures joggers and keeps them motivated when things get tough.
She has taken members from an initial walking group, through Couch to 5K, to half marathon training. She always makes sure nobody is left behind and even if it means walking the whole way, Jane will be there to support you.
During lockdown she ran a half marathon in her garden to motivate herself and others, and raise money for SAMH.
She is also very open about the experience of running through menopause, encouraging others to talk about the challenges it brings and support one another through them.

Neil Nairn – Fenwick Striders
Neil founded Fenwick Striders after a number of villagers asked if he would help them start running to improve their mental and physical health. He also coaches and leads two other groups – Glasgow Dental Hospital & School Runners and Parklands Country Club in Newton Mearns.
Neil gives up his time and energy to help anyone who wants to run, and also provides training and pastoral support for mental health issues and suicide prevention. He is a patron of the charity Touched by Suicide.
As well as organising time trials for the group – which went virtual in lockdown – he also organised a half marathon which got the whole village involved – local businesses sponsored the event, the pub welcomed runners and families after the race, and local people were photographers and marshals. He is an inspiration to members and encouraging to all.

Group of the Year

Isle Jog
Isle Jog is based in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, and started two years ago with seven hardy members on a cold, dark February day with horizontal rain.
Members were not deterred and completed their first Couch to 5K, the group quickly growing to 30 joggers. Several members offered to train as jog leaders and support the group’s growth.
Isle Jog is free to join and attend, but members group together to make donations to local charities, including the Leanne Fund, which provides Cystic Fibrosis support across the Highlands, Islands and Grampian. Joggers also designed their own club T-shirt, sapphire blue with the Isle Jog logo and Gaelic Eileen Leodhais design.
In two years, wind and rain have only forced cancellations on two occasions. The joggers are a happy, positive group of all abilities, who have helped each other to progress.

Let’s Go Linthligow
Let’s Go Linlithgow celebrated its third anniversary this year. In that time it has grown from a single jog leader running one session a week, to having 15 jog leaders leading five sessions a week.
The group has always had strong links with Linlithgow AC and is now formally adopted by the club, offering joggers the opportunity to attend beginner track sessions, and bringing a new stream of members, pacers and coaches to the club.
It also operates monthly paced 5ks that our open to all the community.
At the start of 2021, the group offered its first ever virtual C25k and C22K groups with weekly zoom calls, emails and access to a closed facebook group. This was very successful, with most participants now attending in person.

Milestones Jog Scotland
Milestones is praised as a supportive, inclusive and warm group, with runners from all walks of life, ages and abilities. It is a small group, with only one jog leader, but mixed abilities run together, faster runners regularly doubling back to encourage others.
Leader Catriona Whitelaw makes running fun, and is always encouraging people to set and beat new goals.
One nominee said they were convinced they couldn’t run at all until they met Cat, who built their confidence so much they are now considering a half marathon.
Members have found the group tremendously supportive through their own mental health difficulties, through bereavement, and through a period of time spent in hospital.

SAMH Mental Wellbeing Award

Laura Heeps – jogscotland Hazlehead
Laura has been running with jogscotland Hazlehead since 2018, but she lives 27 miles outwith Aberdeen, so when lockdown hit she was isolated without her running buddies for a long time.
To stay active, she set herself challenges such as 100 days of logging an activity – this was such as success that she continued, and by the end of June 2021, had recorded 465 days of exercise.
She documents both her highs and her lows and is praised as an inspiration to other runners, encouraging others and keeping them going when they need a boost.

Joanne Tominey – Jiggly Joggers
Joanne juggles a full-time job with a family including two young children who have learning difficulties and a chest condition requiring daily physio.
She turned to Jiggly Joggers to help her deal with stress and anxiety. Although initially very nervous, she forced herself to attend her first session and has never looked back. She has now completed two half marathons, has given up her anxiety medication, and says that despite the challenges of the pandemic, this has been the first year that she has ever felt truly mentally strong.
She has made many new friendships and has now trained as a jog leader, boosting her confidence further, and she provides a listening ear to others who may be struggling.

Laura Wall – Ready Steady Go Pitreavie
Laura has successfully used running to help manage a long-term health condition called Psoriatic Arthritis, which causes debilitating joint pain. Despite the challenge of chronic pain on top of lockdown and home schooling, she has several times in the past year turned things around by getting back outside to exercise, bringing her pain to manageable levels.
This year she is aiming to exercise for 39 mins, 3.9k or 3.9 miles every day in the lead up to her 40th birthday, to raise money for SAMH.
Her proactive approach to managing her physical health has paid untold dividends for her mental health.