Yesterday saw the inaugural staging of the Stirling Scottish Marathon, the race was the Great Run companies first full marathon to take place here in Scotland & part of the reason that I signed up for my first attempt at the 26.2 mile distance.
The race started in the unique setting of Blair Drummond Safari Park where 7 Moray Road Runners took their places on the start line in a field of nearly 6500 like-minded souls, among the more famous names were current Scottish Men’s Marathon Champion Andrew Lemoncello & former GB Olympic athletes Liz McColgan & Zola Budd. Conditions on the morning for the 9am starting gun, fired by the voice of British Marathon running Brendan Foster, were perfect for running with it being cool, dry & virtually wind free.
After leaving the park being cheered on by many staff & 4 legged residents we headed west towards the village of Doune where it didn’t take long for my planned 8 min/mile pace to be lowered by nearly a minute as I got caught up in the atmosphere & was carried along by the many far more experienced runners I found myself alongside. When we reached Doune just after 3 miles we were met by crowds of cheering supporters, pumping music & a pipe band to encourage us on our way back east through the countryside towards Stirling. At 8 miles we reached Dunblane to the sound of the morning church bells where I must admit to missing the Andy Murray Golden Post Box but this may have been caused by the fact I’d just overtaken Olympian & former winner of the London, New York & Tokyo marathons Liz McColgan & was now running at under 7 min/miles & really enjoying myself. The town of Dunblane was also the place where I first passed some familiar faces in the crowd in Sheila Henderson (wife of club-mate & fellow runner Garry) & club-mate Kevin Rae.
Next port of call was Bridge of Allan where the streets were again busy with cheering crowds & then it was on to an undulating circuit round Stirling University Campus before passing the half way point & Wallace Monument. At this point we were refreshed by Mother Nature as the heavens opened for 5 or 10 minutes, not that I was complaining after missing the on course run through shower. After another 4 or so miles we arrived in Stirling to start the city centre lapping section, this had been explained in our pre-race information pack, again at the start & each time (3 in total) you passed under the lapping gantry to avoid any confusion & anyone not completing the full distance. The city centre section was personally my least favourite part of the course due to its various twists & turns, ups & downs & the sheer volume of runners on laps 2 & 3 for me. However the support in this section really helped me along as I was now running a lot slower as a result of my speed earlier in the race, some familiar faces in the crowd in family members, Sheila & Kevin (again), Scarlett & Dave from Outrun in Fochabers & family members of others who I knew that were running really gave me a boost & pushed me on to the finish line below Stirling Castle.
After composing myself & regaining some steadiness in my legs I was able to meet up with family members & start coming to terms with how well I’d done in my first & definitely not last marathon!
Moray Road Runner results:
Martin Bain – 3:17:27
Michelle Green – 3:34:26
Garry Henderson – 3:50:58
Elaine Christie – 3:59:19
Kirsteen Carmichael – 4:05:57
Debbie Barron – 4:05:57
Neil McWilliam – 4:16:33
Report by: Martin Bain