Aberdonian Andrew Murray (Merrell UK), who is best known for his high-profile adventurous ultra-distance running expeditions, finished fifth when representing Scotland in the Anglo-Celtic Plate and British 100km championships at Gravesend on Saturday.
For a man who has completed a marathon at the North Pole, raced up and down Kilimanjaro in a day and run from Scotland to the Sahara, the prospect of tackling 48 2.1km laps of the Kent cyclopark must have seemed comparably downbeat.
Despite the far from inspiring setting, this was nevertheless another important stage in the Edinburgh-based doctor’s running career as it was the first opportunity he has had to represent his country in international competition.
Murray completed the course in 7hr 22min 1sec, which is the 10th fastest by a Scot, while England’s Steven Way won in 6:19:19, the fastest in the world this year and a British record.
Way’s time eclipsed the 6:24:05 British road record set by Fochabers athlete Simon Pride when winning the world 100km title at Chavagnes-en-Paillers, France in 1999.
Murray, who won the Loch Katrine marathon in March and was runner-up in the Lochaber marathon at Fort William in April, was the second Scot home behind Paisley’s Paul Giblin, who finished third in 7:10:30.
Ian Symington (Penicuik) was the third Scotland scorer, finishing eighth in a personal best 7:28:23. England won the team competition with title-holders Scotland having to settle for second position.
Murray was delighted with the result and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge although admits it was hard work.
He said: “I’ve run in some incredible places with amazing sights to take in such as the pyramids in Egypt and the Sydney Opera House in Australia, so having little more than the pylons on the M25 to look at was just a bit daunting. You just have to be resilient. I took advice from some of the experienced guys and broke the distance down into smaller segments.
“So rather than thinking about doing 48 laps or 100km, I just took it one lap at a time. For the first time, I also listened to music to help me get through it. It was unbelievably hard work and now my legs feel the stiffest they have ever been after a run.
“I took great pride in representing Scotland and because it was a team competition I wanted to give my best. It was three to count in the team event and as we only had three runners while most of the other countries had five, there simply wasn’t the scope for anyone dropping out.
“It would be fair to say that Scottishathletics would have viewed me as a wild card, due to a lack of having done similar type of races before.
“I have done long races before but have actually run more long races in the Sahara Desert than in the UK, so the Scottish Athletics selectors were taking a gamble of sorts. My aim was to run all the way, but if I couldn’t run I would walk I was pleased with my time and to get second place in the Scottish championships, but Paul Giblin ran brilliantly to win the Scottish title.
“Steven Way was outstanding. He has an amazing story, going from, by his own admission, being an overweight smoker to one of the fastest ultra runners on the planet.”