Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and River Ness 10km Previews

Veteran Kenyan athlete Isaiah Kosgei is hoping it will be a case of third time lucky when he competes in Sunday’s Baxters Loch Ness marathon which has attracted a record 5,200 entries. The River Ness 10km looks to be more of a Scottish battle as Cameron Strachan and Jenny Bannerman head the field of favourites. 

The 44 year-old African, who lives in the town of Iten which is famed for producing a remarkable array of world class distance running talent, finished fifth in the 2017 race and was third last year when Manchester-based Jordanian Mohammad Aburezeq (handicap -4.8) completed a hat-trick of wins.

Kosgei has added motivation for featuring as highly as possible on the prize list as he generously uses any money received from his running success to support not only his family but also the wider community back home.

He said:" I will try my level best to win prize money. It is so important to me because it helps me sustain the life of my family for some time, as well as giving back to my community by helping the needy children in my village to get access to education by paying school fees. I will be running Loch Nesss to raise money to buy uniforms, shoes and school learning material for 21 children under the Kosgei-Walepole foundation."

Thirsk-based Kenyan runner Tarus Elly  (handicap -0.3), who won the Loch Ness race in 2013 and 2015, is making his first appearance in the race since the last of his two victories while Frenchman Gabriel Briand could also be a contender for one of the top prizes as he has some decent shorter distance times to his credit.          

Fife's Sheena Logan (handicap -0.3),  is showing good form in the lead up to the defence of her women's title. The Auchtermuchty runner won last year in a personal best 2:51:11.

"My run at Loch Ness last year was a bit of a dream and I really enjoyed it. However, I have no specific time in mind on this occasion. I suppose anything is possible but you need so many things to align on the day to get a good performance. I'll just try my hardest and we'll see what happens.   It's a great course and we had brilliant conditions last year so fingers crossed for that again."

If Logan is to retain her title she'll have to fend off some strong opposition led by Garscube's Katie White (handicap 1.4),  who has a best time of 2:40:31 set at Frankfurt in 2018. She won the Scottish half marathon title in Glasgow last weekend and it will be interesting to see how well she recovers from that.

***

Metro Aberdeen's Cameron Strachan (handicap -3.6),  is relishing the prospect of facing Dundee Hawkhill Harriers' James Donald (handicap -4.3),  in what promises to be a fascinating battle for top spot in the Baxters River Ness 10km.

The duo were separated by the thickness of a vest in last month's Scottish 10km road running championships at Stirling when Strachan finished fourth in a personal best 30min 12secs with Donald one second behind. The Dundee man's best is 30:11 set at the Brian Goodwin 10km in Glasgow earlier in the year while he also picked up a silver at the Scottish 10,000m track championships when clocking 30:14.18.

Scotland international Jenny Bannerman  (handicap 0.3),  is clear favourite to retain the women's title. The Inverness Harriers club member first ran the 10km in 2009 and has been back for each of the past five years, winning three times and never finishing lower than fifth. In 2018 she set what was then her fastest time of 34min 53secs. Jo Williams (handicap 2.1), has the pedigree to test Bannerman as she has a best time of 35:15 from 2018 and was sixth in the Scottish 5km championships this year.

****

Event Director Malcolm Sutherland is delighted with the quality and record number of entrants for the Baxters Loch Ness marathon and the other events making up the festival of running which has attracted more than 9,400 entrants from 45 countries.

He said: “Interestingly we have a huge number coming from Scandinavia this year with 202 Norwegians entered, 160 of whom are doing the marathon. This is probably due to a TV programme, ‘Dag Otto’s Bucket List,’ which was made at the event last year and which aired in Norway soon after.”

“We have a truly cosmopolitan event, with 60% of our marathon entrants coming from outside Scotland. And we try to cater for participants of all levels of ability and experience. Everyone is treated in the same friendly and supportive way and they’ll all enjoy a wonderful Highland reception.”

“There’s a superb atmosphere at the races with huge number of people turning out to watch and cheer on the competitors, particularly at the finish in Bught Park where the Event Village is located. As usual there will be plenty of activities at the Village to keep everyone entertained and there is always a fantastic atmosphere around the finish area."

“The marathon,10km and 5km are full, but we will be taking limited entries for the Wee Nessie Run for children aged 5 and under over the weekend.”

Full entry details can be found at www.lochnessmarathon.com

KEY EVENT STATS

Baxters Loch Ness Marathon Course Records

Men: Simon Tonui (Kenya) 2hr 20min 13sec (2009)

Women: Megan Crawford (Fife AC) 2hr 44min 50secs (2015)

Baxters River Ness 10K Course Records

Men: Amanuel Hagos (Shettleston) 29min 35secs (2008)

Women: Cathy Mutwa (Kenya) 33min 46sec (2006)