Loch Ness Marathon 2/10/05
I travelled up to Inverness on Friday afternoon with Karen and Rab. Karen couldn't have chosen a better location for the B&B. It was about 1 mile away from the sports centre where we had to register and where the race finished. We settled into our 'cozy' family room on Friday night and then hit the town! Karen and I really pushed the boat out with a couple of half pints of Guinness and Rab braved a Red Bull (minus the voddy) and a ginger beer. Back at the room, after having been told to 'keep the noise down' at 11.50pm we tried unsuccessfully to settle down to sleep. I opened the window at one point, but I don't think that was the main cause of the wind in the bedroom that night. Unfortunately Rab chose beans to have with his breakfast the next morning and the next night proved even more breezy.
We registered on Saturday afternoon and headed straight for the pre-race pasta party. Having paid £8 for our party tickets, it was disappointing to find that a plastic cup of tea or coffee was an additional £1. We had a quiet evening in, sorted out our kit for the next day and shared a pizza. Karen introduced me to her fantastic stretching routine. If anyone had walked in, they would have wondered what was going on as we all performed a stretch called 'The Warrior' in what little space there was in between the beds!
Thankfully, it was dry the next morning but also very cold. After a good breakfast with lots of honey, we walked briskly to the meeting point and managed to get on the first coach to take us to the start. I don't think Rab and I were the only people on board that coach who were desperate for the loo. It took 1 painful hour to get to the starting point and another 10 minutes to queue for the loos. I'm glad we didn't have to pay another £1 for the welcoming hot tea and coffee which was provided for us before the start.
It was a bit of a rush to get everyone behind the start line in time for 10am. A local pipe band processed down the middle of us all which created a fantastic atmosphere, and then we were off! I had decided to try and stick to 8 minute miles the whole way round and not go any faster at the start which is so easy to do. I was worried about whether I would be able to do this as I had been on holiday for a couple of weeks prior to the race and only managed one 6 mile run. I kept alongside a guy in a yellow vest for the first 4 miles as we seemed to be going at the same pace. He soon started to edge away from me, so I sensibly held back, not wanting to tire myself out too early. The first 10 miles were very comfortable. I passed the 10 mile marker at precisely 80 minutes and was impressed at my steady pace.
At half way, I was at 1.44.45, so still on target, but was beginning to feel a bit tired and wondered about the reality of maintaining the same pace for the remainder of the race. I did feel strong and carried on with the aid of stinger gels which I took hourly, the fantastic views of the Loch and my carefully programmed MP3 compilation of some of the best motivational music tracks around. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I don't know what I would have done without it.
After the long unforgettable killer of a hill at 18 miles, I spotted Rab about 200m ahead of me and also the guy with the yellow vest who I left at 4 miles. I was quite surprised to see Rab as I remember him saying he was going to set off really slowly and run the 2nd half faster than the 1st. I was expecting him to catch me, not the other way round. I was delighted to overtake the guy in the yellow vest and then caught up with Rab at about 20.5 miles. We cruised the final 5 miles or so, overtaking dozens of people. It was such a great feeling, although my legs were very sore and tired, the fact that we were running together spurred us both on. We must have been running sub 8 m/mile pace for the final few miles. Unfortunately my dream of getting sub 3.30 didn't quite happen, but I was over the moon when we crossed the finish line together in 3.31. A PB for me by 6.5 minutes. Karen was there to meet us. She ran an incredible race, finishing in 3.18, what a star! PB for her by 17 minutes which is an amazing achievement. Well done Karen!
Official chip times
Karen Young 3.18.44
Sally Scott 3.31.14
Robert Henderson 3.31.25
Report and Photos Sally Scott
