Olympian Freya Ross to run first marathon for eight years

While Moray Pryde and Tom Charlton Renew Rivalry in Men’s Race

Freya Ross knows she’s nowhere near the level of fitness which earned her a place on the Great Britain team for the London Olympic Games 12 years ago, but the Larbert athlete, who celebrated her 41st birthday earlier in the month, still hopes to be competitive when she takes part in Baxters Loch Ness marathon on Sunday.

In 2012 Ross recorded 2hr 28min 10secs in the London marathon, a performance which remains the fourth fastest of all-time by a Scottish woman. However, she hasn’t run this distance for eight years, her last outing being at Chicago in 2016 when she clocked 2:37:52.
But now the Falkirk Victoria Harriers club member is excited to be running in the 22nd edition of the iconic Highland race which has attracted a record entry of 5,485 runners from all over the world.

She said: “Since starting a family, I’ve been gradually working back into doing more running and I got to the point where I needed something to aim for, so a friend at work mentioned the Loch Ness Marathon. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and everyone said there’s a great atmosphere and the course is attractive, so I decided to go for it.

“I’ll certainly be racing it, I’m not there to jog round. But I deliberately haven’t thought about any specific time I might do, I just want to enjoy it. I’m not as totally dedicated to running as I used to be. My life used to revolve around it when I was competing at a high level, but now it’s very different. I’m now running 40-50 miles a week whereas previously I might have been doing 80-100 miles. So, I certainly won’t be running at the pace I used to do in the marathon.

“Running has to fit around family. My husband, Michael, and I, have two youngsters, Una who is six and Oran will soon be four and it’s good for them to see that we are enjoying it. That’s important.

“It has been a long time since I’ve run a marathon so I’m looking forward to it.”

The 2023 women’s race champion Melissah Gibson will make a late decision over whether or not to compete. The Ealing Eagles club member was an impressive winner 12 months ago when clocking 2:43:45, which is the third quickest women’s time in the history of the race. But injuries and work commitments have hampered her preparations for the defence of her title.

She said: “I’ve been out of sorts since the end of July with tendonitis in two areas, and I’m also juggling long work hours. I’m still hoping to take part, but realistically I’ll be celebrating just making it to the finish line, and definitely not very competitive. I’m still in two minds.”

Other contenders for the podium positions include Rachel Boswell (Thames Hare and Hounds) who set a personal best 2:50:52 at Chicago last October, and Kate Mactear (Inverness Harriers) who set a lifetime best of 2:55:04 at London in April.

Musselburgh’s Moray Pryde will renew his rivalry with Manchester’s Tom Charles in what has the potential to be another enthralling battle for supremacy in the men’s race. Twelve months ago Charles seemed to be heading for victory as he led through the 20 mile mark before Pryde surged past to claim a dramatic victory in 2:22:04, knocking more than nine minutes off his previous best time in the process.

The duo met up again in May’s Edinburgh marathon when Pryde again got the better of his rival to win by 45secs in 2:23:12. Both men have signed up for Sunday’s race when Pryde, a member of Lothian Running Club, will aim to complete a hat-trick of victories over Charles.

Pryde said: “Last year’s win was a real breakthrough for me. I didn’t expect it in the slightest. My previous best time was 2:31, so I absolutely never believed I could get 2:22. I’d only been with the club for six months and I was playing football three times a week, so I wasn’t really totally organised. After that win I thought 2:20 was achievable, but it hasn’t happened yet.

“My preparations this time have gone pretty well, although you always feel you might have done more. But, I’m definitely more consistent now and my mileage is higher than before.
I got another confidence boost by winning Edinburgh, although the conditions weren’t good. My time was 2:23 but I feel it could have been faster if the weather had been more favourable.”

Pryde wouldn’t be drawn into any predictions about the outcome on Sunday but admitted that if he had to choose between a fast time and winning the race, he would plump for the latter. He said: “I would always choose a high finishing position over a fast time, but let’s see what happens. I like the course as I enjoy running hills. After getting over the long hill at 20 miles the course is mainly downhill or flat, so it’s a good finish.”

Charles, who has a best time of 2:21:59 from 2021, hopes he can work with Pryde for as long as possible into the race in a bid to give both men a decent chance of challenging the course record of 2:20:13 set by Kenya’s Simon Tonui in 2009. He said: “I think we both have it in us to get the course record if we work together for as long as possible. There comes a point, however, where the real race starts and that might be around the 20-mile point.”

Charles, who represents Chorlton Runners, is an experienced campaigner who has competed in more than 20 marathons and this will be his third time at Loch Ness. He added:”I think it was around 2012 when I first ran here, but I hadn’t checked out the course profile or anything. Now I’m much better prepared and there’s no doubt, having the experience of running it previously is a big advantage. I’ve also learned from last year, so I’ll probably be more sensible on the downhills at the start, and I’ve practised my uphill work as well. I’m certainly looking forward to racing Moray again.”

Pryde and Charles may, however, find others who could spoil their party. Shettleston’s Peter Avent for instance, has the potential to take the title if he is in decent form. He has a best time of 2:21:29 set at Edinburgh in 2022, the same year in which he achieved a half marathon best of 1:06:21 when placing second in the Inverness Half marathon.

And Inverness-based Shaun Cumming (Highland Hill Runners), who has finished third in each of the past two Loch Ness Marathons, will be aiming to battle once again for a podium position.

Logan Rees Flies Home to Challenge 10K Record

Logan Rees believes he is in shape to seriously challenge the men’s course record in the Baxters River Ness 10k on Sunday, despite only having had a handful of days to recover from a 5,000 miles Transatlantic journey.

The 27 year-old Fife athlete, who has been living in Sacramento for the past couple of years, is relocating back to Scotland. He flew back to London from California on Wednesday then travelled on to visit his parents in Crail, before heading north to stay with sister Halina in Inverness.

The family reunion will extend to this weekend’s festival of running as Halina will also compete in the 10k in which she should be a contender for a top placing, while dad Roger is tackling the marathon. And Halina’s husband, Rory Scott, is also tackling the 10k.

Glasgow-based Eritrean athlete Amanuel Hagos (Shettleston Harriers) set the 10k current record of 29min 35secs in 2008, but Rees has the credentials to take that apart as he has consistently run faster than 29mins on the track in each of the past three years in America. His best time of 28min 23.50secs was set at Stanford, California in 2023.

He said:”I feel I’m in decent shape but we’ll have to see what impact the travelling has on me. Also, I haven’t been racing very regularly, so it’s difficult to be sure about what I can do.
I ran the River Ness race in 2017, finishing second in 30:01. My aim that day was to get under 30 but I just missed out. I’m obviously aiming for much faster on this occasion.”

Rees was pleased to hear that Scottish 10,000m track champion Max Abernethy will be in the line-up on Sunday. He said: “That’s good. I’m sure we could maybe work together and both of us could have a decent chance of getting under that record time.”

Abernethy, meanwhile, is in the best form of his life and is determined to make every effort possible to retain the men’s title although he knows he faces a formidable opponent in Rees.
The 23 year-old Aberdeen AAC runner burst to prominence 12 months ago when taking top spot in a personal best time of 30:10. He has improved significantly since then, however, and earlier this year won the Scottish 10,000m track title in 29min 42.79secs.

Abernethy tuned up for Inverness by finishing 15th in a top-class international field at the Great North Run half marathon on Tyneside earlier in the month. His time of 65min 13sec is the third fastest by a Scot this year. He said: “I was very happy with that performance and I believe I’m in the best shape I’ve been in, so I’m looking forward to Inverness. My training this year has gone very well and I’d like to think I can get under 30mins if the conditions are good. I haven’t raced many 10ks but I don’t think that’s a big issue. I’ll be well prepared.”

Others aiming to feature in the battle for podium places include Shettleston’s Lachlan Oates who won in 2022 and was third last year, while Great Britain mountain and trail running international Andy Douglas (Inverclyde AC) should also be competitive. He has a long association with the event, having won in 2012 and 2014. Douglas was also third in 2008 when Hagos set the record. Lucas Cairns (Inverness Harriers) will be aiming to make his mark after setting a fine personal best 5k time last weekend.

The women’s race promises to be an open affair in the absence of title-holder Claire Bruce who isn’t defending her crown. The Metro Aberdeen runner is still on the comeback trail after suffering from a stress fracture in her foot earlier in the year.

That could open the door for teenager Caitlyn Heggie (Inverness Harriers) who will hope to build on the third place she achieved in 2023. The Muir of Ord teenager has dominated the North road running scene this year with 10k victories in the Nairn, Moray and Forres races.

However, never discount her experienced clubmate Jenny Bannerman who has a remarkable record in this race, having won three times between 2014 and 2018, while achieving a further four podium positions since 2009. She was fourth last year and is more than capable of achieving another top placing this weekend.
Another Inverness-based athlete, Halina Rees (fife AC), who was third in 2017, is in good form, having set a personal best 36:24 when finishing second behind clubmate Heggie at Nairn. She said: “My training has gone well and hopefully I can run a faster time than before.”

However, Oxford-based Australian athlete Josephine Auer, who set her best time of 35min 32sec in May, could upset hopes of a home win and Edinburgh-based Spanish runner Merce Sanchez Oller, who was third in this year’s Scottish 10,000m track championships, should also be in the mix. Roseanna Andrews (Rugby and Northampton), who was third in 2018, will hope to feature strongly.

Race Director Malcolm Sutherland is delighted with the huge interest in this year’s event which sees the marathon taking place for the 22nd time while the 10k celebrates it’s 20th year and the 5k is being held for the 21st time. He said: “We are excited about what promises to be another amazing festival of running with a record number of 9965 participants from 53 different countries. The marathon has attracted 5485 runners, more than half of whom are from outside Scotland. We also have 2430 sign-ups for the 10k, and a record 1800 in the 5k fun run while the Wee Nessie kids race sold out all of its 250 places early due to unprecedented demand.

“There’s a superb atmosphere at the races with a huge number of people turning out to watch and cheer on the competitors, 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 and there’s always a fantastic buzz around the finish line area.”