This isn’t going to be a long blog, I guess it was always going to go out with a whimper rather than a bang, and that’s how it really should be. It’s time to wrap things up, for the foreseeable future anyway, I guess that’s the problem when you have your running club as part of your blog name :). The mac in Markgallmac is Motherwell AC and the blog has really been the story of me and my time at MAC, so if you leave the club then you finish the story and I guess you have to leave that character behind then don’t you? And that’s what I’m doing. I won’t do a big sickly “here’s what MAC did for me” post, as you have read it all over the years but as I head off to another challenge, or to finish off a challenge I left idle years ago, then I just want to say a big thank you to all involved at the club.

Sincerely thank you Motherwell AC.

We adapt, we change, as do our circumstances so sometimes you do have to move on. Despite what the angry hordes will say it’s nothing personal. I’m just a wee guy that runs as a hobby who is looking for something a bit different now. I’m not a key member of any teams although I hope I haven’t let MAC down when I have been called upon, so I am not rocking any boats and I hope over the years I’ve given MAC a lot of good exposure. We have been good together. I can’t recommend them highly enough for anyone in the area.

But yes, I’m moving on, so it is as good a time as any to wind up this blog as markgallmac won’t exist anymore. So I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read this blog since 2014 (how can it really be that long?). The journey has been a huge one, from jogscotland to a Scottish medal with a national award and a half marathon ambulance finish along the way, full of ups and downs but I have made a lot of friends from it, had a lot of support without which I would have no doubt chucked it years ago, and had a fair share of abuse (some of which really made me laugh and some of which did the intended job and indeed hurt me). Above all I have loved the writing and sharing with you, warts and all. I think you can safely say I have always been honest with you, often to my detriment, but the sycophantic “everything is wonderful” approach never rang true to me.

So thank you everyone.

I’ll still be running, at races, parkruns, training. I’ll still be bugging people online and I will still be the same old grumpy and above all irritating person I always was so there’s no need to be strangers. Maybe we will meet on here again, but for now take care, and thank you all so much for everything you have done for me over the years. I may have done the writing but the support from all of you made it all worthwhile and meant a lot to me, a wee baldy guy who was just trying to find his way back into the sport again after a long lay off and make sense of it all. Below are a few pictures from over the years, I’ll always look back at them with a smile, but for now this is Markgallmac signing off, and signing off as the most irritating runner in Scotland.

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye
I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye
Goodbye!
I’m glad to go, I cannot tell a lie
I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly
The sun has gone to bed and so must I.