Record time despite uphill struggle
Eric Baxter • Published 9 Oct 2010 14:00
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IT’S humbling to have a marathon named after you.
And it’s also a humbling experience to take part in the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon, one of the toughest in Britain with a series of killer hills.
I did it last Sunday for the second year in a row and again experienced a curious phenomenon.
Logically, you should be faster on flatter courses like London, Amsterdam and Toronto.
But my times at Loch Ness are my best in recent years.
So possibly its long inclines force you to focus more than normal, and its descents help to shave off seconds.
It was dry and mild at 8am when a fleet of single and double-decker buses left Inverness to ferry the marathoners to the start, and it was raining slightly with a chilly wind when we got there.
The race sets off from the south end of Loch Ness in the middle of the countryside, and heads back to Inverness along the eastern edge of Nessie’s domain.
Lochaber Schools Pipe Band marched through the applauding ranks of runners playing ‘The Battle’s O’er’ to warm us up, and off we went at 10am, reflecting that the physical and mental battle was just beginning.
This was my 36th marathon and, as always when the distance starts to bite, I wonder why I’m doing it. The answer, as always, is the magnetic 26.2-mile challenge as well as the great buzz of crossing the line.
The Loch Ness Festival of Running also features a 10k, 5k and a ‘Wee Nessie’ run for young children.
The festival had a record total of 8,600 competitors from 41 countries, giving a massive boost to the local economy.
And the marathon has the fourth-biggest entry in Britain after London, Brighton and Edinburgh.
Most of the punishing, undulating course was on peaceful country roads through fields and forests, 10 miles of it past Loch Ness. There was no sign of Nessie. A suspicious wake in the Loch was probably a boat, although I didn’t actually spy one!
We went through Foyers, Inverfarigaig and then Dores, where the wonderful villagers came out en masse to cheer us on.
The rain had become heavier, but then petered out at noon to be replaced by warm sunshine.
The half-way point was reached in one hour and 37 minutes. The steepest hills materialised between miles 15 and 21, reducing many to walking. I kept running but was knackered as the final three miles brought us into Inverness.
We ran along the River Ness into Bught Park through cheering crowds who inspired me to a sprint finish in 3-24-39, coming in 232 out of 2,488.
I was 74 seconds slower than last year, but still faster than any other marathon since 2002.
Maybe it’s the Highland air!
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 09 Oct 10
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