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National pride: Scottish ‘Baw Bags’ stoke rivalry with English on 30km Country of Origin trail race

A unique trail race sees runners draw their national lines, unearthing ancient rivalries all in the name of fun

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Tony Lai runs for Scotland in the Country of Origin race. The organisers do not distinct between the four nations of the UK, but some of the participants do. Photo: Handout

Trail races rarely call on national unity and even rarer do they unearth national disunity. But for the Country of Origins (COO) 30km run on Saturday, the battle lines have been drawn. 

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Competitors gather in teams of three and represent their home nations – but for some Scots and English, the UK catchment is not specific enough. 

Glaswegian Tony Lai is a member of Scottish team the ‘Baw Bags’, which is named after a humorous Scottish colloquialism for a scrotum (it is hard to explain to a non-Scot why a team would name themselves after a scrotum).

Despite his parents originating from Hong Kong, it was easy for Lai to choose to represent Scotland.

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“A place like Scotland has such national pride,” he said.

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