Join One of the World’s Most Prolific Race Winners in the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon

Guaranteed entries close on 1^st July

Adam Holland, one of the world’s most prolific and eccentric long distance racers is to compete in the Baxters Loch Ness marathon on 23^rd September, but anyone who wants to be sure of joining him in the starting line-up needs to get off their marks quickly as the countdown is on towards the midnight 1^st July deadline for guaranteed places in the iconic Highland race.

Holland, from Dunsford near Exeter in South Devon, has won more marathons and ultra-marathons than anyone else in Britain. His winning tally recently reached 200 which is the fourth best by any runner in the world, although the 31 year-old still has a bit to go to match the Slovakian Miroslav Krisko who has 316 wins to his credit.

The Tavistock club member has competed in Europe, the USA and Australia but the Baxters Loch Ness marathon will be only his second race in Scotland and will be the most northerly he has tackled anywhere in the world.

Holland’s amazing list of accomplishments also includes setting a world record time of 27 hrs 38 min 36 secs for completing 10 marathons in 10 days, which he achieved at Lake Orta in Italy last August. That’s an impressive average of 2hrs 45min for each one, and it was the ninth time he had successfully completed a 10-in-10 challenge. His fastest marathon time is 2:27:55 which he set at Paris in 2017 but he hopes to be quicker before this year is out.

Holland  said: “I am really looking forward to competing in the Baxters Loch Ness marathon because it’s one I haven’t done before. I have many friends who have done it and said it’s a good one. I am always looking for new venues but this one is a long way from home. The only other race I’ve done in Scotland was the Edinburgh marathon quite a few years ago.

“I  don’t really train at all as I am  racing so much. I have a lot of events between now and Loch Ness including two 10-in-10 marathon challenges. The first is at Bury St Edmunds at the ned of June, which I have won for the past five years. I am also returning to the Lake Orta 10-in10 with the aim of breaking my record.”

Despite his incredibly intensive schedule, Holland doesn’t ever just go through the motions in races and warns he’ll be out to finish as highly as possible at Loch Ness.

He  said: “I always look to be competitive in every event I go to. Sometimes I am tired or a bit achy from a previous event but that can be a help by making sure I don’t start too fast which is a tendency I seem to have.

“I feel I can improve on my best marathon time as I recently knocked three mins off my previous best half marathon when running 1:09:09 at Crawley recently. I’ll be doing a half marathon the week before Loch Ness, but that’s not too long a race so I should be relatively fresh.”

Holland is clear as to his future objectives, saying: “I have a number of goals. I want to raise money for the Kids Run Free charity and to do that, in 2019, I am attempting to run from John o’Groats to Land’s End and back again. My aim is to take about 17 days going down, which is about 50 miles a day. Then, on the return journey I’m aiming for the record for a one-way run, which is nine days or 98 miles a day. I don’t think anyone has managed the double before, so it’s a big target for me.

“Looking ahead, I just want to try for quicker times in everything I do. I want to do things other people haven’t done and things which people say can’t be done. That’s what motivates me.”

Race Director Malcolm Sutherland said: “We are delighted Adam has chosen to run in our event. He is a remarkable athlete and it will be really interesting to see whether he can add to his amazing tally of wins. Even if he doesn’t, I’m sure he will thoroughly enjoy the race and I’m sure others will be delighted to be running alongside him.”

“I would urge anyone hoping to take part to submit their entry before 1^st July. After that date, entries will only be available up to 3^rd September for Scottishathletics members, members of affiliated UK running clubs, overseas runners, and through official charity Macmillan Cancer Support and other affiliate charities.

The Baxters Loch Ness marathon is the premier event on the race day programme but the festival also includes other attractive runs catering for a wide range of ages and levels of experience.

Sutherland added:”We try to offer something for all sectors of the running community. In addition to the marathon we have the Baxters River Ness 10Km, including a Corporate Challenge for teams, the Baxters River Ness 5Km fun run, and the Wee Nessie children’s run. Entries for these are open until 3 September 2018, with limited race weekend entries to the River Ness 5K and Wee Nessie only.”

“This is the 17^th year of the marathon and thousands of runners enjoy the occasion.

There’s also a huge number of people who turn out to watch the races, particularly at the finish in Bught Park where the Event Village is located. As usual there will be plenty of activities at the Village to keep everyone entertained.”

Full details at www.lochnessmarathon.com