THURSDAY, May 7 should have been one of the biggest sporting nights of the year in Helensburgh.

East King Street, West Argyle Street, Rhu Road Higher, Rhu Road Lower and others. They’d all have echoed to the sound of hundreds of rubber soles on tarmac.

Athletes would return to Hermitage Academy to celebrate a new personal best. One man and one woman would have had the honour of winning the whole thing.

There are, of course, obvious and perfectly valid reasons why those hundreds of runners did not gather at the Academy earlier this week for the Babcock Helensburgh 10k.

It wasn't cancelled altogether. There are plans to reschedule for September, although an exact date is unknown.

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But it’s not going to be an easy task to find one. There are numerous competing events which runners have already signed up for in the autumn and choices may well have to be made. And of course, there’s no guarantee of exactly when races involving hundreds of athletes will be allowed to take place.

Hopefully they can shoehorn it into the calendar somewhere, but this week it was missed. The weather was dry and fairly mild - ideal conditions to get the trainers on and run – or, if that’s really not for you, to line the streets to support your friends and family, or indeed everybody, as many people do.

The Helensburgh race acts as an annual opportunity for participants and supporters to get active, enjoy the scenery of the town, and come away from it all with a medal.

The same can be said of the other Babcock events in Dumbarton and Shettleston, although those too of course won’t be taking place as planned. Let’s just hope that once races are allowed again, there’s a place in people’s calendars for Helensburgh. It may seem different in the autumn, but to some participants, it wouldn’t be a running season without it.

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