Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category

The Loch Ness Marathon had been on ma bucket list for years. Being back hame in the UK and wanting something braw tae work towards, 2026 was finally the year tae dae it. The idea of the race is simple: they bus ye tae the far end o’ Loch Ness, drop ye aff, and ye’ve tae run back tae Inverness.

Training wisnae ideal. I did some long runs up until the start o’ August, but then I was that busy wi’ triathlons it had tae go on the back burner. Still, I reckoned the course couldnae be too hard, seein’ as Amy had set the club record on it. This, it turns oot, was a daft assumption.

We had to be on the buses at 7:30 and the drive took around an hour and twenty minutes. I had a guid blether wi’ the lass sitting next tae me, who was visiting from Florida and this was one of ten global marathons she wanted to run in the next ten years. Once we got aff the bus, we found oorsels in the middle o’ naewhere, and it was Baltic. I had tae pit on ma fleece, gloves, waterproof jaicket and waterproof leggings just tae stop masel shivering. It was just efter nine when we arrived and the race didnae start till ten, so there was plenty o’ time tae queue for a final wee.

The start o’ the race is stunnin’: ye’re up in the glens wi’ peaks everywhere ye look. I stopped at 8km tae take a photie o’ ma shoes, as ma trusty Hoka Skyward X hit 2,000km at this point. Efter 11km the course drops doon tae the side o’ the loch, and for the next 17 kilometres ye can see the watter and the hills on the ither side, maistly through the trees wi’ the odd gap for a clear view. I tried tae enjoy it as much as I could, but I was hurting a lot and ultimately capitulated to sitting with the pain and trying to keep gaun. This section had some steep but short hills and descents in it.

At 28km the route leaves the loch and we found oorsels gaun up a fair bit longer hill, and the road kept gaun up and doon past fields and ferms. Then, at 37km, ye reach the ootskirts o’ Inverness, heid intae the city, alang the side o’ the River Ness, ower the brig and back tae the finish. I was hauf-deid by the time I crossed the finish line but managed a smile for the photies.

Ma wife was waitin’ for me just efter the line. As was a cup of Baxsters soup and a roll. Ye also get two tins o’ soup in yer goodie bag so ye’ll no go hungry for the rest o’ the week. Ma official time was:

4:14:32

I couldnae walk the next day. I’ve never been that sair efter a marathon. Probably a combination o’ no enough long runs, the hills, and spendin’ a lot o’ the next 48 hours drivin’ or hikin’ the West Highland Way.

It’s definitely up there wi’ the maist spectacular races I’ve done. Tollymore was stunning but it was two laps. Man Vs Coast was braw an’ aw, but having a city finish in Inverness added something extra, and made the logistics o’ gettin’ some scran and back tae yer hotel a lot easier.

They were playin’ ‘The Glen’ by Beluga Lagoon the hale weekend, and noo I cannae get it oot ma heid.

Torvean parkrun is the local parkrun in Inverness. They typically get around 200 people. Then, one weekend per year, the Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running descends, and they get 600. Thank you to all of the volunteers for tolerating us!

The course is two and a half laps around the park. There is one hill, nicknamed “heartbreak hill” but it goes up maybe five metres, so I think it is more of an ironic name. Compared with say Sheffield Castle. It’s a scenic park with some trees and a pond. There is a coffee van at the end, too, but alas our pastries were a little stale.

I had the Hyde Park Harriers 20th anniversay relay band on for it, hence me waving my arm in the photo.

Bowling Park is located in Bradford and the parkrun consists of two and a half loops of the park, including doing the massive hill three times. It is a similar profile to Potternewton. Here’s a section of the hill:

Everyone was very friendly and there is a little cafe in the park. It’s been my NENDY for ages so good to get it ticked off.

My final triathlon of the Worfolk Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS) 2026! I’ve done Sundowner several times before, including my first middle distance, but that was back in the Freebird days. The event is now organised by U Prevail and just as good.

There were four waves: fast mixed, fast women, slow mixed, slow women. I went in the third and found that I was pretty good in comparison to the others in my wave. I wasn’t first out of the water: there was a small pack and a few lone swimmers ahead, but I was ahead of most people and it felt great to have the confidence to go out and swim reasonably hard (for me). I came out around a minute faster than Bishopton.

The cycle also went well. I stayed down on my aero bars pretty much the entire time. Not quite as fast or as hard as at Brigg, but my back continued to work even after the race so I feel like the trade was worth it.

The run was a lot different from the old days: it took place entirely inside the grounds of Allerthorpe Lakeland Park and was mostly trail. One of the lovely things about having the middle and standard distance athletes on the course at the same time as I felt pro-level fast overtaking people who were doing four times the distance I was.

My total time was:

1:26:11

And here are my splits with a comparison to Bishopton:

I missed all of the official photos, unfortunately. In a very generous move, they gave out prizes to both the first and second place in each age category. Alas, I came third, but I wasn’t that close to moving up a space so oh well. It’s a lovely race for both beginners and seasoned veterans.

Nostell parkrun is set on the grounds of Nostell Priory. There is in fact no priory, but the stately house that now sits there was built where there used to be one. The National Trust kindly let parkrun use it for free. You just need to avoid all of the electric fences. It’s a two-lap affair with one moderate hill per lap.

Brigg, a market town in Lincolnshire with a population of 5,000 hosts two triathlons per year: and early season run by FastFwd, and an end-of-season race run by local club Lincsquad, which also includes a quadathlon option with paddling.

It is a small race which meant we almost all fitted into the regular leisure centre car park. The transition area was on the astro turf pitches with nice big secure walls so you could leave your bag there. It does mean we all came home covered in those little rubber black balls, though.

Thw swim was pool-based started in two-minute intervals. I was much faster than anyone else in my lane, but everyone who set off with me was about the same speed, so I think I gave an accurate time but given it was small race, it inevitably meant swimming with different abilities. The lanes were wide enough to make passes.

The cycle was a flat route. There were no hills at all that I remember though it did slightly creep up hill at 1-2% max. I decided to get down on my aero bars and see how far I could go. As it turned out, it was the whole cycle leg. This was a decision I would later regret after getting home and having a nap, only to realise my back had ceased up. But, at the time, I was flying. Averaging 31.8 kph from just 177 watts of power. I can’t remember the last time I had a bike split averaging over 30. I got up to 41.8 kph coming back.

The run involves a out-and-back section that involves several road crossings, but once past these, we got onto the canal and things became much more pleasant.

My overall time was:

01:12:07

Splits were given as swim+T1 of 12:10, cycle+T2 of 35:15 and run of 24:41. On my watch, my splits were:

Overall I was position 31 out of 69 and yet somehow 9th in my age category of Masters 40-49. I thought I had now escaped the category of death. A nice event and one I would happily do again. Thank you to Malcolm Dent for the photos.

Harrogate parkrun is three laps of The Stray, specifically the north east corner. I was going to a networking event after so I decided to walk it. But I got a little carried away and ended up going sub-38. It’s a mixture of grass, dirt with tree roots, and tarmac. Well organised and friendly volunteers.

Family outing to East Holmes Field parkrun in Ilkley. It is four laps of the park by the river. All grass and dirt path with plenty of tree roots and nice views. Also ran into Aron and it was lovely to catch up. East was the last point I needed to complete the compass club challenge! Joining Newcastle West, North Yorkshire Water Park and Darlington South.

Bishopton Triathlon is a UPrevail event held at the North East Wake Park near Stockton. They do a variety of distances and it was a club championship race for Hyde Park Harriers. I was taking on the sprint. It was an eye-watering early start: up at 4am to get there for 6am.

Despite it still being August, it was freezing when I got there! Luckily, the water was still a balmy 19 degrees. Classically, by the end of the race it was glorious sunshine and I had to go find my suncream.

The swim was fine. I felt reasonably confident the whole way around (as in, wasn’t panicking I was about to drown). It was super-shallow at the edges and I could have stood up in a lot of it. The cycle route was a lovely tour of the countryside and had plenty of flat to get aero while having a few short punchy hills for variety. The run was two laps of the field which was tough in road shoes.

My overall finish time was:

1:34:57

And my splits were:

I was around three minutes faster on the swim than in Ripon. T1 was slow, though, as it was cool enough to put my gloves on and I fumbled them quite badly with my wet hands.

It was a really friendly race and I would do it again. Congratulations to fellow Harrier Jamie who completed his first Olympic distance triathlon at the race.

Endcliffe parkrun is located in Sheffield and is one of the busier ones, regularly attracting 700+ people. I had a meeting shortly after so I turned up the walk it. It is a two-lap course.

The start was well organised and there was a comprehensive first timers’ briefing. Unfortunately, at the main briefing, there were two dogs constantly barking each other so I couldn’t hear anything despite the speaker system. Once we were going, it was predictably crowded, especially as it starts with a little out-and-back section.

At around 1.5km there was a single-file bridge that we had to queue for several minutes to cross. By this point, the fastest runners were already coming around to lap us, and they seem to be able to skip the queue, which slows things down even more. The same thing happens when the path narrows around 500m further down. You also have fast runners whizzing past you as that part of the track is barely wide enough for two people with a wall on one side and a stream on the other.

Thankfully, by the second lap it has thinned out a bit and I nearly lost my way at one of the series of turns. Those who are not directionally challenged will no doubt remember it from the first loop, though. As you come into the finish, you have to dodge around the crowds of those who have already finished walking out of the park.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who were well organised and friendly.

This ticked off another E for me, which allowed me to finish the spell your name challenge (including my title, full name and middle name) and the Old MacDonald challenge. Edwin Carolan, Illaunmanagh, Endcliffe, Isabel Trail and Oakwell Hall.