Running in the Highlands

I haven't blogged for ages. This is because we moved house at the end of September, and we still aren't up and running with our technology at home. Our firm's internet policy doesn't let me blog from there, so I've decided to visit an internet cafe to fill you in on my latest running adventures.

When I last blogged I was in the depths of despair, having just run a personal worst at the Stirling 10k. Well, I'm glad to say that things have improved since then. I went up to the Loch Ness Marathon a mere 2 days after moving house, went out without a care in the world, and ran a pretty respectable 3.18. I ran 1.39 for the first half, then 1.39 for the second half, and must have passed about 30 people over the last 10 miles. That's me done all 5 Loch Ness marathons and, as before, it was a fantastically well organised event. I wonder how many of us have run all 5? I wouldn't have thought there will be too many.

Yesterday I ran in the first Aviemore Highland Half Marathon. What a brilliant race. The first 8 miles were on tracks and trails up in the Glenmore forest area, including a path round Loch Morlich. The course then headed down (yes, down) the ski road for about 4 and a half miles towards Aviemore, before finishing in the Macdonald Aviemore resort. It was by far the most scenic half marathon I have done and, to cap a brilliant day, I managed to reverse my recent poor run of form by finishing in 1.29.17. This was the first time I have been under the magical hour and a half for some time, a fact which pleased me greatly. We took a chalet in Aviemore for the weekend with our friends George and Jean. George was also delighted with his time of 1.33, and we are waiting for the results to see if he won the over 60 category.