Reunited with Sarah for the WHOLE WEEKEND! đ♀️đ♀️đ
It's been 10 years since I last ran the Loch Ness Marathon, and it was brilliant to do it again - and for the first time with it being my local race! đ´ó §ó ˘ó łó Łó ´ó żThe race starts out near-ish Whitebridge, at the south western end of Loch Ness, and you run all the way back along the south side of the loch, to finish in Inverness.
The race doesn't start until 10am, but it's quite an early start anyway, as you have to be at the finish in Inverness at around 7am to get the buses out to the start (thank you Andrew for the lift!). The bus ride alone is worth getting up early for!
The start is quite surreal - a peaceful spot up in the hills above the loch, with almost 6000 runners suddenly descending on it. It was quite busy and chaotic, but we made it to the start line in time for some Scottish tunes and bagpipes for the off!
The route is very beautiful indeed. The course is entirely road, but it really feels more like you are out on the trails, as the scenery at every step is so gorgeous! Views of the loch, forests, mountains and fields all around. Sadly, Nessie didn't make an appearance (again), but I can understand that with that many people all looking out for her, she probably felt a bit shy.
The weather was great! We were so lucky!!
The event had a brilliant vibe, and felt like a big party all the way along. There was really great support in the villages along the route, and the crowds at the finish in Inverness are best in the whole world!
Saw lots of running pals during the day, Terry P, Jon W, Mel, Paul A, Karin and Tim. And Andrew and Tricia at the finish!
The finish in Bught Park is brilliant, with loads of food stalls and stuff going on. Participants get a cup of soup and a roll at the end (plus 2 cans of soup in the goody bag!)! Sitting in the soup tent, and listening to a band belting out some Scottish music was joyful!
Finished off with some mini hot doughnuts for the walk up to Tricia's, and then ginger tea sat in the sunshine catching up. Fabulous!
The rest of the weekend we spent catching up, sightseeing, and talking about ideas for Phoenix Running Scotland - now my feelings of being overwhelmed, are also mixed with feeling excited as well!
