A group of runners from Inverness Harriers will start Sunday’s London marathon full of confidence after being advised in their preparations by one of the north’s most successful distance runners.
Sarah Liebnitz, Paula Ross, Jackie Mair, Roma Shepherd, Fiona Mac-Ritchie, Alison Wilson, Liz Gray and Emily Tomlin have been following a training programme devised by Aberdonian Graham Laing, who finished fifth in the first London marathon in 1981.
Laing, who lives in Inverness and is also a member of the Harriers, recorded 2hr 13min 59sec in the capital 33 years ago which is still the 10th fastest recorded for the distance by a Scot.
He was only too happy to help when the Inverness women decided they wanted to compete alongside 40,000 others in this year’s London race.
Laing said: “At the end of last summer they were all speaking about doing the London marathon so we got together and planned a training programme.
“They have been following it for the past 16 weeks and they have all done very well. The longest run has been about three hours and they’ve also done a lot of shorter, faster sessions as well.
“Sarah and Roma are, I think, the only ones who haven’t run a marathon before, so hopefully they will all do well. Most of them should run between 3hr and 3hr 35min, so it will be interesting.
“Unfortunately one of the group won’t be there. Jodie Lynch, who ran 3:05 at the New York marathon last year, was aiming to run on Sunday, but she picked up a foot injury at the Kinloss to Lossiemouth half marathon in February and it’s still troubling her, so she can’t go, which is a real shame.
“Our club president, Keith Geddes, is also taking part, so there will be a big Inverness presence in the race.”
Laing enjoyed considerable success as one of Scotland’s leading runners in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Aberdeen AAC member struck gold in the 10,000m at the Scottish championships in 1979, won the Aberdeen mara-thon in 1979 and 1980, and was seventh in the mara-thon at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.
The London performance, Laing said, came as a surprise. He said: “I really didn’t think I would run as fast as I did and it was good to finish fifth, but I didn’t really think too much about it. There was such a strong group of Aberdeen distance runners at the time and we all helped each other. So many people were doing well and I benefited from training with a lot of good people.”
Laing, who works in the retail sports business, hopes the Inverness women will enjoy Sunday’s experience, but will only catch glimpses of the race as he will be working.