Colin Donnelly

{{short description|British ultramarathon runner}} {{Use British English|date=June 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Colin Donnelly | image = | image_size =  | alt = | caption = | headercolor = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | fullname = | nickname = | nationality = Scottish | ethnicity = | citizenship = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1959|9|5}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | resting_place = | monuments = | residence = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = | employer = | agent = | height =  | weight =  | spouse = | life_partner = | other_interests = | website =  | country = {{SCO}} | sport = Long-distance running | rank = | event = Fell running, mountain running | club = | team = | turnedpro = | coach = | retired = | coaching = | worlds = | regionals = | nationals = | olympics = | paralympics = | commonwealth = | highestranking = | pb = | medaltemplates = {{medalSport|Mountain running}} {{medalCountry|{{SCO}}}} {{medalCompetition|World Mountain Running Trophy}} {{MedalSilver | 1989 Drôme | Short race }} {{medalBronze | 1989 Drôme | Men's team }} {{medalCompetition|World Masters MR Championships}} {{MedalGold | 2001 Ustron | Over 40s}} {{medalGold | 2019 Leece | Over 60s}} | show-medals = | updated = 3 December 2014 }}

'''Colin Kerr Donnelly''' (born 5 September 1959<ref>[http://www.dalesactive.co.uk/up_&_down_pilot_issue.pdf Dave Woodhead, "Interview: Private and Personal", ''Up & Down'', pilot issue (Jul 1990), 10-14.]</ref>) is a Scottish runner who was the British fell running champion three times and finished second in the World Mountain Running Trophy.

==Early life== Donnelly is a son of Raymond Donnelly, a sometime racing cyclist. Colin attended Eastwood High School, Newton Mearns and was a member of the Cambuslang Harriers.<ref name="Herald 28Sep1981">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k8FAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3aUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3255%2C5295707 |title=A runner who can take mountains in his stride |first=Alan |last=Thomson |work=The Glasgow Herald |page=7 |date=28 September 1981 |accessdate=21 August 2016}}</ref> He showed some talent as a youngster, winning the Galloway and Renfrewshire Schools under-19s cross country championships. His first hill race was at Ben Lomond in 1978. The following year, he won the Ben Nevis Race and in 1980 finished a close second in the Three Peaks Race.<ref>Bill Smith, ''Stud Marks on the Summits'' (Preston, 1985), 395-96.</ref> He graduated in Arts from the University of Aberdeen.<ref name="Herald 28Sep1981"/>

==Running career== The peak of Donnelly's running career was in the late 1980s. In 1986 he had another victory at Ben Nevis in one of the fastest times ever recorded for the race.<ref>Hugh Dan MacLennan, ''The Ben Race'' (Fort William, 1994), 166, 189-91.</ref> He won the British Fell Running Championships three consecutive times from 1987 to 1989<ref>Steve Chilton, ''It's a Hill, Get Over It'' (Dingwall, 2013), 164-65.</ref> and in 1988, he won the Snowdon Race.<ref>''The Fell Runner'', Sep 1988, 22.</ref>

Also in 1988, he set a record for the traverse of the Welsh 3000s with a time of 4:19 which stood until 2019 when it was beaten by Finlay Wild.<ref>[https://www.thebmc.co.uk/finlay-wild-breaks-records-for-welsh-3000ers-and-snowdon-horseshoe British Mountaineering Council: Finlay Wild Breaks Records for Welsh 3000ers and Snowdon Horseshoe.]</ref> Donnelly has also won the Welsh 1000 m Peaks Race many times.<ref name="muskett">{{cite web |url=http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=5945 |title= Interview: Colin Donnelly, a Fell Running Great |first=Calum |last=Muskett |website=ukclimbing.com |date=27 November 2013 |accessdate=2 May 2018}}</ref>

Donnelly finished second in the short race at the World Mountain Running Trophy in 1989.<ref>[http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=565&Itemid=4&year=1989&discode=3121&cat=i WMRA: World Mountain Running Trophy 1989.]</ref> As a veteran, he won global titles at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in the over-40 category in 2001<ref>[http://www.wmra.ch/files/results/world-masters/2001-worldmasters-m.pdf WMRA: Masters World Mountain Running Championships, 2001.]</ref> and as an over-60 runner in 2019.<ref>[http://www.wmra.info/files/results/world-masters/2019-Masters-WCh-2019-Results-Ind_All.pdf WMRA: 19th World Masters Mountain Running Championships.]</ref>

He held the course record for the Buckden Pike Race from 1988 to 2022,<ref>[https://run247.com/running-news/trail/british-championship-fell-race-2022-results-report Run247: Wild and Russell show the way at 2022 British Championship Fell Race.]</ref> and still holds the Shelf Moor Race record, set in 1989.<ref>[https://glossopdaleharriers.wordpress.com/club-races/shelf-moor-fell-race/ Glossopdale Harriers: Shelf Moor Fell Race.]</ref> He continued to win races as late as 2017, thirty-eight years after his first Ben Nevis win.<ref>[http://www.durhamfellrunners.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cronkley-fell-race-results-2017.pdf Durham Fell Runners: Cronkley Fell Race 2017 Results.]</ref>

He has completed the Bob Graham, Paddy Buckley and Ramsay Rounds, as well as the South Wales 2,000ers.<ref name="muskett"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://vimeo.com/79447455 Calum Muskett on Vimeo: Colin Donnelly – Welsh 3000ers record] (not filmed during the record run itself but on the route the following year). * {{Power of 10}} * {{ITRA}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Colin}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Eastwood High School, Newton Mearns Category:Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Category:British fell runners Category:British men mountain runners Category:Scottish men long-distance runners Category:British men long-distance runners Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Sportspeople from East Renfrewshire