It’s Friday afternoon, the 9th of January, and I am finally sitting down with a hot cup of tea (rather than slurping a cold one on the go) for the first time since Boxing Day, which feels both like yesterday and a lifetime ago. Four days of course building, a Hogmanay party, a storm, four days of racing, three days of derig, and two days of ‘proper job’ later (and the proper job really does feel like a holiday compared to 15-hour days on site), we have hosted our first (and probably last) National Trophy event. I am absolutely broken, in that good way where you know you’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
I never set out to organise a National Trophy. ‘Race Organiser’ and ‘Alan’s Right Hand Woman’ don’t feature in school careers advice, probably because they don’t involve being paid, which is a shame because this is the only ‘job’ I’ve had that I really love.
Just over ten years ago, Alan needed marshals for Swim-Run Mallorca. As the only person there with a licence to drive a boat, I somehow ended up being marshal, rescue boat, and deputy race director combined. It was fun, albeit a little nerve-wracking. The following year I wasn’t allowed to drive the rescue boat as I was seven months pregnant, but I managed to make myself useful enough that it was worth bringing my mum or aunt along to all events after that to babysit … Morven and Tabitha covered a lot of miles in hire vans when they were little!
In 2019 we set up KOM Events Ltd which give me control of the finances and planning. The plan was that I would do all the ‘boring’ stuff and Alan would turn up and do his thing on race week. People often ask me how I ‘put up’ with him, but honestly, we work well together. His weaknesses (boring admin) are my strengths, and vice versa – as evidenced by anyone unfortunate enough to witness my attempt at prizegiving at Irvine when he was held up with the course walk.
Unfortunately, we had loads of entries by the end of 2019, only to be in lockdown before we could run a single event. 2020 was a terrible year for everyone for lots of reasons, and event organisers are still struggling with the repercussions.
Post-COVID event organising involves lower participation numbers and more hoops to jump through, but Alan and I both had fond memories of Irvine Cyclocross, so when we were offered the opportunity we decided to take it on as a project of love, knowing it was unlikely to even pay pocket money.
We delivered our first Irvine in 2022 as part of the Scottish Series. I’d raced cyclocross for one season before the girls came along and had organised a few sportives, swim-runs, and triathlons, but I’d never run a bike race and knew I had to prove myself to the cyclocross community.
It was a steep learning curve; the British Cycling website has its quirks and setting up an event with multiple races and categories was a minefield. Thankfully, we have an incredibly supportive cyclocross organisers WhatsApp chat full of experience and knowledge. Keith Stocker kindly offered to mentor me, and Fraser Johnston took on the build and delivery of our kids’ course that year.
2022 and 2023 were successful, so naturally Alan had to go bigger and better and volunteered us to host the 2024 Scottish Nationals. This was a step up and involved a lot more infrastructure and some relay races, making it a two-day event.
My annual struggle to find enough marshals was worse than ever, and on the day, many ended up not coming due to back injuries and flu. We scraped by, but it was tough. Euan and I stayed to derig the course in the dark until 8 pm, but ultimately Alan had to come back and do the rest single-handedly during the week while the rest of us went back to our day jobs. We swore never again.
Then we rested, and the photos and videos started flooding in on social media. People made comments about a National Trophy return to Irvine … and Alan can’t help himself. I found myself making enquiries with the council about dates over New Year … and somehow, suddenly, we had committed to going bigger again. This time we were going to need a LOT more help. I drafted in my aunt and my mum an entire year in advance … then realised it was going to clash with my sister’s 40th. SH*T.
So here we are, another year on. A National Trophy turned into a four-day cyclocross festival with three race options over four days for all ages. That’s something Alan and I are passionate about – making the kids’ racing just as good as the adults’ rather than an afterthought tagged onto an adult event.
Cyclocross is an incredibly welcoming, family- and spectator-friendly sport, but as parents of kids who race, we are painfully aware of the challenge families face trying to get small children packed into cars to travel across the country for an 8am start. We try to put as much thought into the kids’ courses as we do the adults’. We don’t always get it right, and every year we come home with lessons learned and ideas for making it better again the next year.
I’ve made so many friends through cyclocross as a rider, and even more as a race organiser. Watching kids discover the thrill of racing, seeing the community come together, and sharing the highs and lows of each event – it’s these moments that make every long day worth it.
Organising a cycling event is never easy, but it’s always rewarding. Every year brings lessons learned, new ideas, and reminders of why we do it: to create a space where people of all ages can ride, challenge themselves, and have fun together.
We may joke about never doing it again, but deep down we can’t wait for the next race! Our regular helpers already do a lot to keep things running – course building, marshalling, and derigging – but a few extra volunteers at all events would make a huge difference. More hands make the work lighter, the day more fun, and the smiles even bigger. Come join in and be part of the action!
Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your story with us.
To learn more about getting involved in events click here.
If you’d like to share your own cycling story in our monthly Scottish Cycling BlogHER feature, please email Melanie, our Women and Girls Development Manager, at [email protected].