Kenyan runner Tarus Elly showed the calmness and composure of an experienced veteran as he cruised to an impressive victory in yesterday’s Baxters Loch Ness marathon – despite this being his first race at the distance.
The Manchester-based athlete, who comes from the western Kenyan village of Eldoret which has produced so many world-class distance runners over the years, was making his marathon debut.
The 28-year-old, who has lived in England for 10 years, never looked to be in any danger of losing and although his winning time of 2hr 27min 21sec was more than 7min outside the course record set by his compatriot Simon Tonui in 2009, Elly looked as though he is capable of running faster.
He said: “I was very cautious at the start because it was my first marathon. But after six miles I was feeling good and I thought the other runners wouldn’t be able to stay with me.
“I began to pull away and ran the rest of the race on my own. Before the start I was looking for a time of between 2:28 and 2:30, so I am very happy to get 2:27.
“The course is really good and I couldn’t believe how perfect the conditions were. It was amazing.
“Now that I’ve done my first marathon I know what it’s all about and I’d really like to come back next year and, hopefully, run much quicker.”
Edinburgh University’s Patryk Gierjatowicz picked up the Scottish marathon title when finishing runner-up in 2:30:49.
The postgraduate maths student becomes the first Polish athlete to win the Scottish title.
Although delighted to win the award, Gierjatowicz was disappointed with his time.
He said: “I’m pleased to be Scottish champion, but my time wasn’t so good as it was about four minutes outside my best. I slowed down quite a lot over the final two miles. It’s frustrating because I have been injured recently and wasn’t able to do all the training I wanted to do.”
Ross Clark (Hunters Bog Trotters) bettered his previous best time to finish in third position overall and second in the national championship.
He said: “I can’t believe it. I’ve taken seven minutes off my previous best. I trained hard. I was aiming for a place in the top 10, but to finish third and win a national medal is amazing.”
Terry Forrest (Cairngorm Runners) won the HSPC Gerald Cooper Memorial Trophy as the first Highland runner to cross the line.