Running Away To Get Married

Lossiemouth’s Sarah Grigor was once told she would never run again, but on Sunday the 48 year-old personal fitness trainer is to take part in her 100th marathon at Loch Ness.

And, to complete what promises to be a truly memorable day, a few hours after crossing the finishing line she is to marry fiance Chris Cull.

In 2002 Grigor suffered a double disc prolapse,lost all sensation in her right leg, and was subsequently warned by a doctor that her running days were over.

Grigor initially experienced bouts of depression but then decided she wouldn’t accept the verdict and set about rehabilitating her life.

A little over 12 months later she had knocked herself into good enough shape to tackle the Baxters Loch Ness marathon, her first marathon, and it was to mark the beginning of a 14 year adventure which reaches a significant landmark this weekend when she competes in the Highland race for the 10th time to complete her century of long distance runs.

Grigor said:”It was a long road to get back to fitness. I couldn’t walk without crutches for many months but after a lot of rehabilitation and hard work, I gradually improved.

“My first runs were just a short attempt at going round the block in the darkness, but I  gained confidence and was gradually able to do more and more.

“I did my first Loch Ness marathon in September 2003 and it took me 4 hours 28min 6secs. When I finished I vowed I’d never do another one, but two days later I was planning the next.

“It all started for me at Loch Ness so it’s appropriate that I’ll now be doing my 100th one there as well. It’s the marathon I have done most often, this will be my 10th, and I have always enjoyed it. It will be my eighth one this year and I’d like to get round in about 4:30.

“The race organisers have been brilliant in that they have given me race number 100. My daughter, Bethany Hume, is going to run as well. She is 18 and it will be her first marathon. I don’t think we will run together as I expect her to start too fast, but I might catch up with her later on.

“Chris is also doing it and a lot of our friends will be there as well, some taking part, but others will come along for the party afterwards.It’s going to be quite a day.”

Grigor’s marathons haven’t been confined to the traditional 26.2 miles. She has also run in numerous ultra-distance races including twice tackling the West Highland Way 95 mile run, then taking part in the notorious six-day 251km Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert.

She said:”That was a bit scary at times because of the scorpions and camel spiders. It was spooky running at night through the desert with a head-torch and seeing these huge spiders. Thankfully they were too busy eating beetles to notice us.”

“I’ve also done a lot of the big city marathons as well, such as London, Paris, Tokyo and New York and I love the carnival atmosphere at these events.

“I think the toughest marathon I’ve done was in Cuba. The route went up through the mountains and followed some of the trails used by Che Guevara and his guerrillas during the Cuban Revolution.

“It was funny because the organisers had given local farmers lots of bottled water to hand out to runners along the route. The farmers were delighted to receive the bottles, but decided to keep them for themselves.

“That was also the race in which we took raw sugarcane to give us sustenance along the way.”

Grigor has enjoyed many wonderful experiences during her 100-marathon global odyssey but she reckons the most memorable one has yet to happen.

She said:”I think that will be on Sunday. I am so excited about it but I’ll have to wrap myself in cotton wool to make sure I don’t get injured before. I think I’d crawl round if I had to. I am determined to do it.”