Taking steps towards positive mental health: meet Glasgow’s largest LGBTQIA+ running club

A former student is encouraging the GCU community to get involved in Glasgow’s largest LGBTQIA+ running club.

Glasgow FrontRunners was founded in 2010 and now has over 300 members, making it one of the top ten largest FrontRunner clubs in the world. One of those members is former GCU Mental Health Nursing student, Ross Milne.

He said: “I initially joined London FrontRunners when I moved there after my initial degree. I met loads of great people and had a brilliant social life. FrontRunners was the perfect way to meet people in a safe space.

“I had some ups and downs when I was in London and it led to me moving back here with my parents in 2017. Straight away I joined Glasgow FrontRunners. It was the exact same as London; it acted as a support network and a family at a time I needed it most.”

Ross, who has been running since the age of eight, has enjoyed his time being part of Glasgow FrontRunners and now finds himself involved in the club’s committee.

“Our sessions leave from The ARC at GCU and we start by splitting into pace-to-suit groups. We have everything from a slow 5k through to a fast 10k, and there are jog leaders that come up with the route and make sure everyone is ok.

“We also do the Couch to 5k every January and we have up to 50 people do it each year. Someone who completed it earlier this year has now entered a 10k in July, so it shows the positive impact it can have. There’s also no pressure to come and run every single week – you could come once a month or whenever suits you.”

As well as individuals having the opportunity to improve their fitness, the club’s welcoming environment also helps develop friendships.

“We always encourage people who want to improve their running but a huge part of what we do is about socialising. There can be people within our community that maybe don’t have close family or friends and that can lead you down a difficult path - FrontRunners is just a great way of making those supportive connections.

“I now also go open-water swimming and run on other days just by meeting new people through FrontRunners. We actually had a member who was desperate to go and see Wicked when it came out, so we ended up essentially hiring out a screen because there was so many of us wanting to go. Everything is based around the running club but it’s so much more than that.”

Glasgow FrontRunners, who welcome allies as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, is open to anyone over the age of 18 and offers a reduced annual fee of just £14 for students.

Ross said: “Another thing worth noting is that your first four runs are also free to allow anyone to come along and try it out.

“We also have people that come to our club that haven’t come out yet, and we absolutely respect that. On our runs we take a group picture but always say if anyone doesn’t feel comfortable being in it then they obviously don’t have to get involved. We do everything we can to make sure everyone feels welcome.”

Reflecting on his own personal journey, Ross explained the general importance of running in helping him manage his emotions.

He explained: “It has been and always will be the biggest thing in my life. I used to run competitively and then the party side of things took over, but I kept doing it and started to appreciate the mental health benefits associated with it.

“All of this coincided with me coming out as gay, but I was lucky in that I had amazing support from family and friends - I started going to therapy and slowly began to feel better about myself. I’m well aware not everyone has that luxury; however, clubs like Glasgow FrontRunners genuinely can help.

“Running is known as one of the best ways to tackle anxiety, depression and poor mental health. If I’m running then I tend to feel much better about myself. I’ve also witnessed the positive impact it can have on so many other people – that’s the reason we do it.”

Find out more about Glasgow FrontRunners by heading to their website or by following them on Instagram

You can also get involved by emailing Ross at racing@glasgowfrontrunners.org

By Ross Clark
Achieved something related to your course or in your personal life? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk