Loch Ness Marathon
Mick Playle tells us all about the Loch Ness Marathon…
It’s a Point-to-point race starting 1000ft above sea level at Whitebridge Plantation and ending in Bught Park in the centre of Inverness. Very straight, undulating route with one or two larger hills thrown in at miles 6 and 18. Route starts around three quarters of the length down the loch heading north and closely following the southern bank, meandering in and out from the loch, with the middle 3rd of the race a stones throw from the loch itself. Competitors are bussed out to the start from Inverness.
Travel to Inverness…
Six Allrunners and one ‘almost’ Allrunner travelled to Inverness with everyone flying on the same flight from Bristol. Once landed, we picked up the hire cars and headed towards the shared accommodation in Kiltarlity, about 13 miles from Inverness, stopping off at a supermarket en-route to pick up food and provisions (and alcohol – have never had to carry so much Prosecco/Cava(?) in all my life !).
Registration/touristy bit …
We all had breakfast at the house on Saturday morning before popping in to Inverness for registration. We were greeted by a huge inflatable Nessie (or was it real ?) at registration in Bught Park and we all took the obligatory selfies and photos with the beast. With our numbers collected and second breakfasts consumed we all decided to indulge in some “Outlander” culture and headed off to the famed battlefield at Culloden spending a few hours wandering around, checking out the exhibits, and consuming even more food before heading back to the house for a bit of rest and relaxation before all tucking in to our pre race night favourite food (and some fizz!).
Race day – pre race …
A couple of us rose at 5.45 am, in order to have breakfast, etc, so that we could leave the house at 6.45 for the drive in to Inverness to catch the coach to the start at Whitebridge (and in doing so, ensure there was a car available to us at the finish). It was around a 1hr 15min coach journey south west along the northern bank of the loch passing Castle Urquhart before turning north east again at the southern tip of the loch at Fort Augustus and driving the final 20 mins or so to the start. The others were driven by Andrea to a pick-up point in Drumnadrochit for 8.15 collection and a shorter coach journey to the start.
The start …
It is a 10am start for the marathon so we all had to hang around for 30-40 minutes trying to keep warm, with usual queues for toilets and bag drop, however, there was a troupe of bagpipers keeping us entertained and reminding us exactly what we were about to do. We all managed to meet up at the start, including Fran, and grab some pre-race photos. The weather although breezy at the start would be perfect once we got going. We were all grouped together around 200 yards from the start line once the final countdown commenced. Race started on time and the usual shuffle/walk/run to the start line commenced during which all extraneous layers of clothing were removed and watch fingers primed and cocked ready for the off !
The race …
Pre race preparation had been done thanks to the excellent race review/report shared by Anne-Marie a few days before. Basically, the first 5 miles is a gentle downhill stretch (don’t get carried away and go off too quickly), before the first “hill” at mile 6 after which the course then gently undulates for around 12 miles before the big hill around mile 18-19. Kept all this in mind once the race had started and went at a nice, relaxed, steady and comfortable pace for the first 18 miles. Started tiring around mile 20 and found myself walking/running on several of the many uphill inclines that were still between me and the finish line. It was only when I reached the 23 mile marker and finally hit the first stretch of truly ‘flat’ road (it had been constant up and down until then), and where the roadside support suddenly increased, spurring me on, that I was able to slightly pick up the pace and run the remainder of the race.
Finish …
Spotted Andrea in the crowd, and got a massive bear hug just when I needed it as I was approaching the final stretch. The final stretch was heading north along the east bank of the river Ness and I could finally hear the announcer and music at the finish line. This was it ! Only another 400yds or so to go ! At least that’s what I thought when I spotted the finish line on the other side of the river, and the footbridge that crossed the river only 100 or so yards ahead. Little did I know that we wouldn’t be crossing here but would be using the road bridge another 600 yds or so up the road, so still had around 1.5km to go.
Was finding the going difficult now but was determined to keep running especially as the spectators and marshals were so supportive and encouraging. I managed to keep going and crossed the line well outside the original target time I had in mind when I signed up for the race but still in a time I was very happy with considering I hadn’t managed to train properly due to injury. I have never been overly emotional at the end of a race but that all changed as my medal was placed over my head and I found myself welling up (what a great feeling, will definitely do that again !). Also received a very nice running shirt and goody bag containing tins of soup (Baxters of course), protein bars, non-alcoholic beer (in Scotland !!!), porridge oats, and fruit.
Post race …
Never has an apple tasted so good ! This was closely followed by 2 cups of tea and some dough balls (mini doughnuts) floating in a sea of caramel (I might have been craving sugar for some reason 😊). I then joined Andrea to cheer all the others across the finish line. Then it was back to the house to relax briefly before we all consumed vast quantities of food (and even more fizz !).
Summary …
A brilliant race that I could very well do again. The organisation was spot on and the location stunning. I would definitely recommend it to others.