Musselburgh’s Shona McIntosh hopes to plug an important gap in her medal collection when she competes in Baxters Loch Ness marathon on Sunday.
Banchory’s Nicola MacDonald also aims to be among the leading women in the Highland race.
It will be the north’s first major running event since the pandemic brought an end to mass participation races more than 18 months ago and 4,900 people have signed up for the 26.2 mile challenge. A further 1,780 are in the accompanying River Ness 10k and 1,000 in the 5k.
McIntosh, who has a best time of 2:40:06 set at London in 2015, is making her third appearance in the marathon and is aiming for top spot on the podium after two near misses over the past 14 years.
The Musselburgh athlete was runner-up in the women’s division of the race on her first outing, in 2007, then finished third seven years later. Roll on another seven years and
the 38-year-old mum-of-two hopes to complete her medal collection with a gold.
She said: “It would be nice to be on the podium again seven years later. I feel as though my training has been going well, but it’s hard to say as there haven’t been many races.
“Last time I was at Loch Ness I started far too fast on the downhills and paid for that. I’ll try not to make that mistake again. But it’s my first marathon for more than three years so I’m worried I’ve forgotten how hard it can be. Seriously, though, I’m looking forward to running there again.”
Aside from the marathon, McIntosh has an impressive record in the Highland capital, winning the Inverness half marathon in 2011 and 2015 and taking top spot in the Baxters River Ness 10k in 2015.
Metro Aberdeen’s MacDonald hopes to improve on her best time of 2hr 57min 11secs set when winning the 2019 Loch Rannoch marathon.
She has been receiving training advice from Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and fellow Banchory resident Robbie Simpson.
MacDonald said: “My preparations have been going well and it has been great to get help from Robbie. The plan he has given me has made a huge difference. He has introduced some quality and structure to my running.”
Other contenders include 2018 Great Aberdeen half marathon winner Shenna Logan (Fife AC), who won the Loch Ness title that same year, and Luton athlete Charlene Jacobs-Conradie, who has a best time of 2:46:48.
The men’s race appears to be the most open in many years following the withdrawal of the two favourites.
Prolific marathon runner Adam Holland, from Devon, who was second in 2018, and promising young French athlete Guillaume Ruel have pulled out.
In their absence, Welshman Geraint Williams seems to be most likely to lead the contest for the podium positions after setting a personal best 2:30:57 at the Cheshire elite marathon in April.
Inverness duo aiming for home success
Megan Keith and Sean Chalmers of Inverness Harriers hope to produce a memorable double for their club in the Baxters River Ness 10k on Sunday.
The duo are favourites to win the women’s and men’s titles respectively with the tantalising possibility of both course records being put to the test.
Kenyan athlete Cathy Mutwa set the women’s record of 33min 46secs in 2006 and no-one has managed to break the 34min barrier since then.
But Keith has this summer shown the sort of form which suggests she is capable of doing the job.
She made a big impression when winning the 10k two years ago at the age of 17, clocking 34:42, but has progressed significantly since then.
This summer she won the British under-20 5,000m track title and finished inches away from a medal when finishing fourth in the 3,000m at the European junior championships in Estonia.
Her best 5,000m time of 16:08 suggests she is more than capable of testing Mutwa’s record.
She said: “I’d hope to run faster than I did in 2019 and the record is certainly something I’ll keep in mind. I’ll give it a good crack.”
The men’s record of 29:35 was set by Amanuel Hagos (Shettleston Harriers) in 2008, while Chalmers has a personal best time of 29:55 set at Forres last December. However, the Aberdeen-based PE teacher, who was runner-up in 2019, admits he’s not quite sure just how fit he is after a summer disrupted by injury and illness.
He said: “I got a confidence boost when running 14:37 in last week’s Aberdeen parkrun 5k so I’m excited to just get out and race.”
North athletes set for London Marathon
Moray’s Kenny Wilson believes he’s in shape to run a fast time in Sunday’s London marathon.
The Scotland international clocked a personal best 2hr 18min 52sec when finishing fifth in the Cheshire elite marathon at Pulford in April.
Since then he has shown good speed over shorter distances, recording PBs of 14:20 for second position in the Inverness Campus 5k, and 30:20 when placing fifth in the Scottish road 10k championships at Stirling.
The Craigellachie athlete feels his preparations for London have gone well and that he’s up for the challenge.
He said: “I’m ready to go and my coaches have got me into decent shape, so credit to them for that. Now it’s up to me on the day.
“If all goes perfectly I’d like to think I can run a bit quicker than I did in April, but if I can consolidate on that time I’ll be satisfied.
“There’s a few guys in the field who have run a little faster than me so it would be good if I could get dragged along with them. But we’ll see how it goes on the day.”
Metro Aberdeen’s Chris Richardson will also be aiming to improve on his best time of 2:24:54, also set at Pulford in April.
Much depends on how well the Scotland ultra distance international has recovered from his stunning victory in the Anglo Celtic Plate 100k in Ireland just six weeks ago.
Inverness Campus 5k winner Jamie Crowe (Central AC) is expected to make his marathon debut, while 2020 Inverness half marathon champion Weynay Ghebresilasie (Shettleston Harriers) is also in the field.