Loch Ness Marathon

Last updated

Loch Ness Marathon
DateLate September / Early October
Location Inverness, Scotland
Event typeRoad
Distance Marathon, 10K, 5K
Primary sponsor Baxters
Established2002
Course recordsMen's: 2:19:26 (2024)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Moray Pryde
Women's: 2:42:04 (2019)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Katie White
Official site Official website
Participants3,504 finishers (2023)
2,637 finishers (2021)
3,584 (2019)

The Loch Ness Marathon (Gaelic: Marathon Loch Nis) is an annual marathon race in Scotland, held along the famous loch, Loch Ness, ending in Inverness. The event is part of the Festival of Running, held annually at the beginning of October. This also includes a 10K race and a 5K fun run, and attracts over 8,000 participants across all of the events. [1] The first prize in the marathon is approx 1,400 GBP.

Contents

The marathon starts near Whitebridge, and follows the southern side of Loch Ness, passing through the villages of Foyers, Inverfarigaig and Dores. The route goes into Inverness, crossing the River Ness by the Ness Bridge in the city centre, and finishes at Bught Park.

The marathon supports several charities, including Highland Hospice, Leonard Cheshire, Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, and the Scottish Community Foundation. The lead partner charity since 2013 has been Macmillan Cancer Support, who have been involved in the event since 2009.

Kenyan Zakary Kihara was a convincing winner of the 2007 Baxters Loch Ness Marathon in a time of 2 hours 23 minutes. The women's race was won by Banuelia Katesigwa from Tanzania in a time of 2:55. The 2007 event saw 5600 people take part in the three main events - marathon, 10 km, and the 5 km with fifty different nationalities were represented.

In 2005 Simon Pride from Fochabers won in 2:30:15 whilst Julia Myatt won the women's event in 2.51.56. 18 nationalities were represented in the 2005 event.

Winners of the 2010 event were Tomas Abyu of Salford Harriers in a time of 2:20:50 and Dinknesh Mekash Tefera from Ethiopia in 02:46:37, a new course record for the women's race.

Past winners

Key:  Course record

EditionYearMen's winnerTime (h:m:s)Women's winnerTime (h:m:s)
1st2002Flag of Kenya.svg  Eric Kiplagat  (KEN)2:33:36Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Addy Gerrard  (GBR)2:57:06
2nd2003Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Tomas Abyu  (ETH)2:20:59Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Trudi Thomson  (GBR)2:50:42
3rd2004Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Simon Pride  (GBR)2:27:58Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Jan Roxburgh  (GBR)2:59:57
4th2005Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Simon Pride  (GBR)2:30:15Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Julia Myatt  (GBR)2:51:52
5th2006Flag of Kenya.svg  Zachary Njoroge  (KEN)2:22:17Flag of Kenya.svg  Helen Cherono  (KEN)2:46:54
6th2007Flag of Kenya.svg  Zachary Njoroge  (KEN)2:23:17Flag of Tanzania.svg  Banuela Katesigwa  (TAN)2:55:04
7th2008Flag of Kenya.svg  Ezekiel Cherop  (KEN)2:28:03Flag of Tanzania.svg  Banuela Katesigwa  (TAN)2:51:23
8th2009Flag of Kenya.svg  Simon Tanui  (KEN)2:20:13Flag of Kenya.svg  Joyce Kirui  (KEN)2:48:25
9th2010Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Tomas Abyu  (ETH)2:20:50Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Dinkinesh Mekash  (ETH)2:46:39
10th2011Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Tomas Abyu  (ETH)2:20:50Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Lisa Finlay  (GBR)2:59:14
11th2012Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Ross Houston  (GBR)2:20:24Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Avril Mason  (GBR)2:54:54
12th2013Flag of Kenya.svg  Elly Tarus  (KEN)2:27:21Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Megan Crawford  (GBR)2:46:37
13th2014 [2] Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Tomas Abyu  (ETH)2:22:41Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Jennifer Emsley  (GBR)2:46:10
14th2015Flag of Kenya.svg  Elly Tarus  (KEN)2:25:19Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Megan Crawford  (GBR)2:44:50
15th2016Flag of Jordan.svg  Mohammed Abu-Rezeq  (JOR)2:20:52Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Jennifer Wetton  (GBR)2:47:03
16th2017Flag of Jordan.svg  Mohammed Abu-Rezeq  (JOR)2:22:02Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Lesley Pirie  (GBR)2:48:10
17th2018Flag of Jordan.svg  Mohammed Abu-Rezeq  (JOR)2:22:56Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Sheena Logan  (GBR)2:51:11
18th2019Flag of Kenya.svg  Isaiah Kosgei  (KEN)2:29:31Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Katie White  (GBR)2:42:04
19th2021Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Stuart Livingstone  (GBR)2:32:21Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Megan Crawford  (GBR)2:48:15
20th2022Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Dougie Selman  (GBR)2:23:52Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Jemima Farley  (GBR)2:42:36
21st2023Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Moray Pryde  (GBR)2:22:04Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Melissah Gibson  (AUS)2:43:45
22nd2024Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Moray Pryde  (GBR)2:19:26Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Melissah Gibson  (AUS)2:54:39

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverness</span> City in the Highlands of Scotland

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Marathon</span> American race

The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishers in 2019 and 98,247 applicants for the 2017 race. Along with the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon, it is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the United States and is one of the World Marathon Majors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grete Waitz</span> Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder

Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz won nine New York City Marathons, women's division, between 1978 and 1988, the highest number of victories in a single big city marathon in history. She won the silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a gold medal at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. She was also a five-time winner of the World Cross Country Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultramarathon</span> Footrace longer than the marathon

An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres. The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running.

The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual race over 22 miles (35 km), where runners compete against riders on horseback through a mix of road, trail and mountainous terrain. The race, which is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race, takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells every June. There are other Man versus Horse races — in Scotland based at Dores, near Loch Ness, in Central North Island, New Zealand and in Prescott, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mumbai Marathon</span> Annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India

The Mumbai Marathon, is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as the largest mass participation sporting event on the continent. It is the richest race in India with a prize pool of US$405000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Marathon</span> Held every January in Houston, Texas, US

The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently with a half marathon and a 5 km race. The 2007 race included the first-ever satellite running of the event, run simultaneously in Fallujah, Iraq.

The Principality Building Society Cardiff Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race held in the Welsh capital city of Cardiff, taking place in October. The event was established in 2003, initially alongside the Cardiff Marathon, however, due to the increasing popularity of the Half Marathon, the Marathon distance was dropped after 2006. The race was originally organised by the children’s charity Barnardo’s. Now organised by Run 4 Wales, the race has grown to accommodate up to 27,500 runners.

The MoonWalk is a night-time charity event organised by UK based grant-making breast cancer charity, Walk the Walk. Women and men Power Walk either a marathon or half-marathon, wearing brightly decorated bras to raise money for breast cancer causes. The event is held annually in London, Edinburgh and Iceland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Ness</span> Lake in Scotland, United Kingdom

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for claimed sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to the high peat content of the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Marathon</span> Annual event in Brighton, England

The Brighton Marathon is an annual marathon in Brighton and Hove, England. It was first held on 18 April 2010 and has usually been held in April every year since. The inaugural Brighton Marathon was set up by former international athlete Tim Hutchings and local athlete Tom Naylor.

The Chuncheon International Marathon is an annual marathon race which is held in late October in the city of Chuncheon, South Korea. First held in 1946, it is the second oldest marathon in the country after the Seoul International Marathon. Sponsored by The Chosun Ilbo, a major daily newspaper in South Korea, the race is one of two in the country which holds IAAF Silver Label status, along with Gyeongju International Marathon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seoul International Marathon</span> Marathon held in Seoul, South Korea

The Seoul International Marathon, also known as The Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon, is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is hosted by the newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the city, alongside the JoongAng Seoul Marathon which is held in November. It holds World Athletics Platinum Label Road Race status. First held in 1931, it is the third longest-running road running competition in Asia after the Hakone Ekiden and Chugoku Yamaguchi Ekiden in Japan.

The Shoe4Africa 5 km is an annual women's road running event over five kilometres that is held on Christmas Eve in the village of Iten, Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Tokyo Marathon</span>

The 2013 Tokyo Marathon was the seventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 24 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held that year and represented the first occasion that the Tokyo race was part of the elite-level marathon series.

The Stirling Scottish Marathon, previously named the Great Stirling Run between 2018 and 2019, is a long-distance running event held in Stirling, Scotland. The first event was held on 21 May 2017, with the subsequent event taking place on 29 April 2018 when the event introduced a half marathon alongside the existing marathon. After the race cancellation in 2020, the event reverts to its former name and has been scheduled for 15th of May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Half Marathon</span> Annual half marathon race in the city of Newport, Wales

The AdmiralCity of Newport Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race held in the Welsh city of Newport, Wales, taking place in March. The event was established in 2013, organised by the charity St. Davids Hospice Care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trudi Thomson</span> British distance runner

Trudi Thomson is a British former distance runner and ultramarathon runner who competed for Great Britain at the IAU 100 km World Championships in 1993 and 1994, the IAAF 1995 World Cup Marathon, the IAAF 1995 World Championships Marathon and the IAAF 1995 World Championships Half Marathon. She represented Scotland at the 1999 World Mountain Running Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mhairi Maclennan</span> British athlete (born 1995)

Mhairi Carmen Maclennan is a British long distance runner.

References

  1. "allmediascotland". www.allmediascotland.com. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  2. 2014-09-29. New women's course record for Loch Ness marathon. BBC News. Retrieved on 2014-10-06.
List of winners