From First Steps to Two Decades of Dedication
Jack’s role as the youngest entrant in the event underscored what organizers describe as an intergenerational appeal. Alongside him at the starting line was Bertha Reid, who has taken part in every Wastside Smiles event since 2008, making her one of a small core of volunteers and runners who have watched the gathering evolve from a modest local initiative into a fixture that now draws participants from across the Shetland Islands. The nine-year-old Freija Colquhoun, from the nearby village of Skeld, led the one-mile route alongside Reid, a pairing that embodied the range of ages present.
The three-mile course saw ten-year-old Bobby Peterson and Monica Moncrieff finish first, while Norrie Lyall topped the seven-mile route. For the one-mile distance, the mix of participants included families with pushchairs, first-time entrants, and seasoned runners. The event’s design explicitly accommodates that diversity: a seven-month-old and a nine-year-old share the same starting line as adults training for a city half-marathon. That inclusive structure, sustainable without fanfare, has made Wastside Smiles a date families mark on their calendars, drawing returning runners and newcomers alike.
Wheelchair Athletes Train for a Larger Goal
Returning participants Lou Jackson and Laurence Hunter completed the route in their wheelchairs, using the event as part of their preparation for the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run in Glasgow, one of Scotland’s premier road-running events. For them, the supportive environment of Wastside Smiles provides a measured setting to build endurance. The wheelchair route, though not a separate competitive category in the same sense, offers a tangible step toward a larger athletic goal. Jackson and Hunter are among the participants who return year after year, their presence reflecting the event’s quiet expansion into a training venue for serious runners as well as a family-friendly outing.
Bertha Reid’s unbroken streak since 2008 places her among a group of volunteers and runners who have witnessed Wastside Smiles grow without institutional fanfare. The event now draws participants from across the islands, a development that speaks to the broader concept of community spirit — the collective goodwill expressed through shared endeavors. Community spirit, long understood as the willingness of people to take part in activities that strengthen shared local bonds, traces back to the idea of a group united by place, culture, or common goals. In an era when many traditional social structures have shifted, events like Wastside Smiles offer a tangible way for people to contribute to and feel part of something larger than themselves.
Quiet Growth and the Power of Shared Endeavor
What began as a local initiative has, over nearly two decades, become a fixture that families plan around. The very structure — three distances that allow a seven-month-old and an athlete training for a half-marathon to participate on the same stretch of Shetland road — mirrors the principle that such gatherings reinforce social ties and create a sense of belonging that extends beyond individual interests. Lou Jackson and Laurence Hunter, by training for the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run within this environment, illustrate how a modest community event can serve both the novice and the competitive runner, the veteran of 18 events and the first-timer.
The quiet achievement of Wastside Smiles lies in its ability to accommodate these disparate participants without fanfare. It has become a date that families mark on their calendars, drawing runners, walkers, and volunteers from across the islands. The presence of Bertha Reid, Freija Colquhoun, Jack Couper, and others — the youngest and the most seasoned — demonstrates that such gatherings, whether formal or spontaneous, embody the principle of community spirit: the collective goodwill expressed through local events, mutual support, and shared endeavors. In a time when connection can feel fleeting, a stretch of Shetland road on a July day offers a reminder of what that spirit looks like.
