An ultra test of endurance

Perth Road Runners tested their endurance at the Devil o’ the Highland footrace this week.

Four green vests competed in the 42-mile point-to-point scenic ultramarathon along the West Highland Way, starting in Tyndrum and finishing in Fort William.

Robin Livingstone was first Perth member home, finishing in 8:26:53 and third in his age category. Cath Livingstone finished in 9:59:06 and Gillian Smith in 10:32:02. Unfortunately, Robin Wombil’s journey ended in Kinlochleven after 28 miles.

The weekend had started with pacer action at Perth Parkrun where 34 green vests lined up in a field of 282.

Caroline Jones was first road runner across the line and seventh overall in a time of 19:48.

Lorraine Macpherson was second female road runner and third female overall in 21:00 with Rosie Aitken third in 22:37.

Paul Stewart clocked 20:04, Ronnie Glen 21:07 and Grant Strachan 21:28. There were also new personal best times for Catriona Liddell 24:04, Ruth Johnson 24:16 and Douglas Robertson with 32:16.

Elsewhere, carrying out a spot of parkrun tourism was Sue Jones at Wakefield, where she finished as ninth female overall in 24:53.

Garry and Kate Marshall both completed Eastbourne in 24:59 and 30:31 respectively, while Matt Cawood was 12th overall at Prudhoe Parkrun in 21:07.

Richard Hughes and Caroline Hogarth ran the Strathclyde course in 22:48 and 28:19 as Duncan Ryan finished 11th at Burgess in 18:01. Mark Dunn 18:12 also finished 11th at Victoria.

Three green vests completed the Dunfermline route - Simon Grieshaber in 21:12, Gillian Edwards in 23:35, second female overall, and Kevin Riddell in 23:36.

Sunday witnessed eight green vests compete in Perth’s toughest, with 5K or 10K routes around Kinnoull Hill.

Julie Ramsay was first female home in the 10K, while Sara Baillie finished second female in the 5K route. Julie Ramsay and Diane White took the women’s team prize, while Ronnie Glen and Stuart Fraser won the men.

Rounding off the action was Stewart Reid at the third race in the Skull Mountain series in Fife. He finished third overall and currently sits fifth in the series with one race to go.

The fourth race in the summer series - the 3.9 mile Graham Clark memorial race - takes place at Knockhill race track on Tuesday.