Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running (10K and 5K fun run)

[swanscot]

I wish all the best to all those participating in the Loch Ness Marathon, 10K race and 5K Fun Run tomorrow.

My middle son is running in the marathon and my youngest son's girlfriend is doing the 10K race - as I believe is a nhs C25K graduate, Mietjie. Since I've only just graduated I'm doing the 5K Fun Run.

I've run 5 km before, including participating in a Parkrun, and for this run I'm not too concerned about my time and aim to enjoy the run. We 5K runners have an easy route across a park, across islands in the middle of the River Ness, then back along the riverside. As this is close to the city centre I expect there will be a fair number of spectators along the route, so I plan to savour the atmosphere. I just hope I don't get overtaken by too many wee children.

[Deryn61 Graduate]

How lovely, hope you all enjoy! My big sis did loch ness marathon last year and found it quite hard (even compared to her other 6 and then Snowdon!).

[Hidden]

I wish you and your family all the best with their respective races today, Swanscot. I am hoping for a day of reasonable weather, and the run will pan out the way it does! Hopefully without injury and incident.

I have done the Baxters 5k last year and if this is your first time watch out for the bottle necks going through the Islands - and yes I got overtaken by heaps of kiddy winks but that is the way it goes <grin>

Incidentally we had weird goings-on in our house: a strange woman wandered in and then out of our house during the night (we should start locking doors!) and I heard her having a very protracted drunken conversation with her partner just outside our bedroom window a couple of hours later! The joys of country living. There's a lot of tourists in our village at the moment - here for the Baxter races? Whatever is the case our mysterious visitor will have a cracking hangover this morning and I suspect the handbag I found in our living room belongs to her as well.

Oh well, another job to add to today's list of things - hand the bag over to the police.

[swanscot Graduate]

Hi mietjie, how did you do in the 10K race? I loved the atmosphere Festival of Running with the 9000 competitors, The 5K fun run was fun, even if it was a bit frantic at the start! There was 1,600 runners of all ages. The primary school pupils were supposed to start behind the adults, but as soon as they started many dashed forward and were nipping in front from all sides! They were so keen but it meant you had to keep looking to your left or right to avoid tripping over them!

It's a lovely route, with the added fun of the suspension bridges to the island giving an added bounce in your step as they sway to the beat of dozens of thumping runners' feet.

I think I ran the 5K in 32 mins or thereabouts, (I couldn't get a GPS signal for Runkeeper), but I wasn't trying to run fast. My son's girlfriend ran the 10K in 1:14, which is about 10 mins faster than she expected. Other son ran the marathon in 4:19.

A little worrying for you having strangers walk into your house in the night, The woman is very lucky you didn't jump up assuming your were being burgled and confront her armed with a heavy object.

[Hidden in reply to swanscot]

Fantastic time for your 5K race, bet you are pleased with it. I also struggled with aGPS signal for Runkeeper and in the end I just told it to go ahead and it complied with the stats nicely. My race went fine, got very tired at 6.6km and got a second wind at 7km. Hated the strong headwind as I turned left after the bridge but all in all I am happy with the race and my time. I got 1 hour 18 minutes as official race time.

Re the handbag and intruder - we found another(!) abandoned handbag in the field and my husband handed both in to the police who understandably wasn't happy about the intruder either. We have now made a point of locking all the doors.

[swanscot Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Well done on your 10K timing, Mietjie. I probably saw you coming along the final stretch as I was standing at the barrier at the start of the park watching for son's girlfriend to cross the line.

That headwind on the bridge was pretty bad. I felt really sorry for the marathon runners, as I think it was stronger by the time the 3+ hour runners came home.

I watched some of the winning marathon runners cross the line, and some of them collapsed as soon as they crossed the line. The first woman home, Avril Mason was incredible though, she looked so fresh - as thought she'd just done a walk in the park.

[Hidden in reply to swanscot]

I think the marathon runners are pretty brave and tenacious.

What is next for you - are you planning on a few 5k races or are you thinking of a 10K race?

I did three 5k's before I plucked up the courage to train for the 10K

[swanscot Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Hmm, I've signed up for the (new) Culloden 10K run as organised by Chest, Heart and Stroke, Scotland. This is in 4 weeks time!

chssi.org.uk/culloden

I've already run 8.5k at my LSD (long slow distance) training pace of 8.3mins/km and felt I could have gone on further. I did this 2 weeks ago with son's girlfriend and we managed to chat throughout the run as this easy pace.

Last week I managed 7 km in 49 mins at what I felt was a comfortable 10K running pace. I am following a 10K training plan, but struggle to find 5 km and more of roads/tracks without hills in the immediate vicinity.

[Hidden in reply to swanscot]

You are so ready for your 10K race! please post closer to the time, would love to hear how it went.

[George42 Graduate]

Home invasion sounds pretty scary, well done on the run.

I am going to New Lanark tomorrow and will hopefully get a nice long river walk done.