Martin Vernon, 67, volunteers at Bellshill Sporting Memories Club helping older people to reminisce and connect through the power of sport and physical activity. In the last year he has tackled marathons on both sides of the Atlantic to raise money for the charity
Last April Martin took on the London Marathon and raised over £1000 for the club when he completed the iconic run around the capital.
He would go on to complete the Chicago Marathon in October, Martin says that staying active is a crucial part of his life and he was determined to do his bit to help other stays active through Sporting Memories
He said: “I’m always running! I’m part of a running club locally, so I’ve just been ticking over since Chicago and hoping to do a few smaller runs later in the year. I’ve already signed up to Great Scottish run in October, so I’m keeping going.
“I think you’ve got to keep going. I don’t like age being a barrier to what you can do. I’m 67 now but that won’t stop, nor has it ever stopped me. I’ve got a dog as well and take that out for an hour every day, so I like to keep myself active. I’m always on the go and I’m not good at sitting down and doing nothing if I’m honest with you.
“The sessions at Bellshill are good fun. We have a chat and then go round the table and do score predictions for the forthcoming weekend, run a couple of quizzes and then have a game of boccia at the end.
“The members seem to enjoy which is the main thing – we all have good banter and it’s fun to be a part of.”
Martin has been part of the Bellshill Club for nearly two years as a volunteer and found out about Sporting Memories when volunteering at a major sporting event held in Glasgow.
He added: “A couple of years ago I volunteered at the World Indoor Athletics Championships and before that I helped at the UCI World Championships held in Glasgow too. I just look to see where the opportunities are and make myself useful. I feel like I’m giving back a bit to society when I do, so I always look for opportunities like these, similar to when I joined the Bellshill Club.
"It’s interesting actually as it was through my volunteering at the Glasgow Indoor Athletics Championships (in 2024) that I found out about Sporting Memories. There was a link to Sporting Memories in one of the emails sent out by the organisers to volunteers about doing something in sport locally; and I saw it and thought ‘Oh why not give that a go?’ So I did and here we are nearly two years later!"
This summer, Martin will be keeping up his volunteering efforts by supporting the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
