Musselburgh Racecourse glory at the Scottish Half and 10k

East Lothian warmly welcomed runners back to the area over the weekend as thousands poured over the finish line at Musselburgh Racecourse at both Scottish Half Marathon and Scottish 10K events.

The Scottish 10K kicked off proceedings at 9am, basked in beautiful East Lothian sunshine. The race was won by last year’s winner and current course record holder Peter Avent (handicap -4.5)  of Shettleston Harriers in a time of 31:16. He was closely followed by Fraser Brown (handicap 3.6).

The first woman home in the Scottish 10K was Natalie Wangler (handicap 2.7) of Edinburgh University Hare & Hounds who raced home in a time of 37:07. Erika Budge, Orkney AC and Jess Tovey were second and third.

After her impressive win, Natalie commented: “It was very nice to run here. This is my third time doing the 10K because I really like to run on the coast. I will definitely try and do the event again next year!”

At 11am, the Scottish Half Marathon runners set off from Meadowmill Sports Centre for their 13.1 mile challenge. A keenly fought battle unfolded at the sharp end of the field, with Calum Phillip (handicap -3.4)  of Central Athletics Club eventually pulling ahead to take the win in a time of 67:50. He was chased home by Gregor Yates (handicap -3.3), Inverclyde AC and Ewan Cameron (handicap -3.2), Edinburgh AC in third.

After the race, Calum said: “It's a good course, nice and flat, and the support was nice. I enjoyed it. It’s good to be back at these mass participation events.”

“I probably went out a bit too fast, I was 20 seconds off the front which in hindsight, I maybe could’ve sat in a bit, but it worked out in the end! Fast course and good atmosphere, I’ll definitely be back!”

The first female home in the Scottish Half Marathon, setting a new course record was Sara Green (handicap 2.2) of Gala Harriers in a record time of 78:22. Nicola Macdonald (handicap -3.3), of Metro Aberdeen RC took second place.

Sara said: “It was really good, I really enjoyed the course. The route was very scenic, beautiful. I loved running down by the sea. Although it was my first time running the course and I didn’t know what to expect, I really enjoyed it. I will most definitely be back to defend my title next year!”

Further down the field were some incredible stories from runners raising valuable funds for a variety of charities. In excess of a quarter of a million pounds was raised for over 300 charities, led by the event’s official charity Cancer Research UK, and its two premier charities; Mental Health Foundation and Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity. 

Kim McIntosh ran this year’s Scottish 10K for Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal (SIMBA), raising over £3000 for the charity.

Last year, Kim & her family suffered the heartbreaking loss of two babies within the last year. 
Kim commented, “The pain is like nothing we’ve experienced before and during the time I spent recovering I knew I needed to give something back to SIMBA and to help raise awareness of baby loss.”
Despite having no previous interest in running, Kim wanted to set herself a challenge that would push her out of her comfort zone.

“To even just run the 10K was a huge achievement for me but to run it knowing I’ve raised the money I have made it even more of an achievement. Running the 10K certainly is not the end of my running journey, it’s only the beginning!”

Mark Braid ran this year’s Scottish Half Marathon for the Brain Tumour Charity At university in 2005, Mark was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour and had to have a shunt placed in his brain. After complications with an operation, Mark had to receive further treatment a year later. Further treatment was required in 2018 where Mark had to have his shunt revised.

Mark said: “The Brain Tumour Charity is a cause that means a lot to me having spent several months in hospital with a brain tumour and having to overcome the many hurdles I've had over the years.”

Despite previous experiences of running when he was younger, Mark had not run competitively until May this year because of Covid. After a difficult return to running, Mark set his sights on completing this year’s Scottish Half Marathon and wanted to achieve a time he could be proud of.

Mark commented: “I was looking forward to running a route I had never run before and raising money for such a wonderful charity.”

Neil Kilgour, Race Director said: “Congratulations to everyone who crossed the finish line today, you should all be extremely proud of what you have achieved. It’s truly inspiring to watch the determination and strength that each participant demonstrates by placing themselves on the start line and beginning their personal challenge, whether it be to fundraise and raise awareness for a particular cause that has touched their lives or to try something new or gain a PB.
 

With the promise of a beautifully flat route, this event continues to inspire and challenge both seasoned athletes and those who are new to running and we are proud and excited to provide an environment where all participants have the potential to perform to their very best of their ability.  

We want to particularly thank the local communities of East Lothian for their support of all the runners along the route today and for those on the Event Team who have given their time and enthusiasm to support and keep the participants safe as they completed their very personal journey today.”

More information and full results are available via the websites

 www.scottishhalfmarathon.com and www.scottish10k.com

Entries are already open for the 2023 event on Sunday 24th September. Early bird discounted entries are available until Sunday 2nd October.