Loch Ness Marathon

So I completed the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday, and returned back home safely yesterday (but it was late and I was too tired to post... It is a 9-hour train journey from Inverness to London).

First, I have to start with the weather. When I set off to Inverness on Friday morning, it was the blue sky that greeted me. I had expected it would turn into gray as I head the north, and eventually into the rain. I had seen it many times before. Amazingly, however, the good weather stayed with me all the way up to Inverness. Saturday was a cloudy day, but the good weather returned on the race day. There was even a sun at the start! If I heard him correctly, the MC was saying that it was the first time that they had a good weather in the Loch Ness Marathon (and it will be the last). I am told the weather was totally miserable last year, so I definitely got lucky there. (On the other hand, this may be God's balancing act, as I already had a my share of miserable weather already in Boston this year) So the conditions were excellent for running - dry, chilly and no wind. Actually I did not feel the wind at all until I entered Inverness.

Second, the course. The map in the official site does not indicate but I was told by several sources that this is a hilly course. Then just a few days before the race, I finally saw this definitive elevation profile courtesy of Thomas's blog. As he mentions, it looked remarkably similar to the Boston Marathon, and having run there twice I thought this could be my advantage. At the same time, my heart sank as I know how difficult the Boston course is. So was it like Boston? Yes and no. It was generally similar but with important differences. Most of all, for the first ten miles the Boston course is pretty much all downhill. This enables runners to go fast, obviously, but if you get carried away it will also burn your legs (the mistake I made in my first Boston). Whereas the Loch Ness, there were several and quite tough uphill sandwiched between the downhill. As a result I found it very difficult to get into the constant pace. I was hoping to run the first ten miles in a good time, but it wasn't to be. On a positive note, the seemingly difficult long uphill from the mile to 17 and 19 was nothing compared to the Heartbreak Hill in Boston.

Another important difference was that, although the Boston marathon also starts 26 miles away from the city and a majority of course runs through the countryside, from the mile 20 the number of spectators begins to increase, and you feel that you are close to the city and therefore the finish. In the Loch Ness, even at mile 24 I was running in the middle of nowhere. When I saw the castle, I couldn't believe that I was already back in Inverness, but this joy was over in two minutes! After crossing the bridge, I had to run away from the centre towards the athletic stadium where the goal was waiting for us. This was also a tricky path, because the registration on Saturday and the bus ride to the starting line also originated from the same spot, we all knew exactly where the stadium is. However, we were not allowed to take the short cut, and even though the stadium was in sight we all had to go round what felt like miles to the tired legs. That was hard psychologically, although I appreciate its necessity to cover exactly 26.2 miles.

Finally, it was extremely well-organised (the bus to the start departed on time!) and the spectators were vocal and supportive. In such a small marathon you cannot expect a large number of spectators, but my only disappointment was that there was hardly anyone in this long uphill at the 18th mile. I am sorry about repeating the comparison with Boston, but at the Heartbreak Hill spectators are heaving to encourage and push us over the hill. To be fair in the Loch Ness the hill comes in the middle of vast farmland (it is in a residential area in the Boston course) but for us runners this is a make or break point of the race. I really wish in the future the spectators will flock to this hill to cheer us on. Maybe it needs a snappy name and a good marketing campaign - how about "The Monster's Hill"?

Sunday: Loch Ness Marathon, 3 hours 3 minutes and 35 seconds