Highland flingfor marathon stalwarts

The Highland Perthshire marathon continues to be a popular fixture in the racing calendar.

And this week three Perth Road Runners made the short trip north for the event which starts at the iconic Wades Bridge in Aberfeldy.

A loop around the scenic region returns participants to Breadalbane Community Campus where the muchdesired finish line awaits.

Perth member Kevin Rogers crossed that line third overall and second in his age category with a time of 3:01:10.

He was followed by Roy Mitchell in 3:51:18, who was first in his age category and 28th overall while Gillian Smith completed the lineup with 4:09:27.

Back down the road in the Fair City, it was another record breaking day at Perth Parkrun. The attendance top total was smashed for the second week in a row as 333 runners took part, 37 of which were green vests.

Michael McConnell was first club member home and second overall in a new personal best time of 16:06.

David Knight was the next back, also in a new personal best of 17:27, followed by Andrew Lochhead in 19:29. Lorraine MacPherson was first female green vest in 20:52 as Laurie Carruthers 22:23 and Gillian Edwards 22:25 returned soon after.

Jane Dernie clocked up her milestone 100th parkrun.

Elsewhere, the final race of the Hills are Alive series took place with the Gateside Gallop in Fife, a four mile multi-terrain race.

Ronnie Glen was first road runner home in 27:39 and 13th place overall, followed by Stewart Reid in 28:54 and Derek McIntosh in 28:58. Sonjia Crow was fourth green vest and first female in 30:19 with Ella Webley second in 34:31, then Cheryl Gahan in 35:21.

Stewart Reid completed the fourth race in the Skull mountain series on Sunday, finishing in a time of 27:48 placing him third in the overall standings with a cumulative time of 1:56:08.

Dave Sinclair, meanwhile, was the club’s only representative at the Ben Nevis hill race which involved an out and back route to the top of Britain’s highest mountain.

Reaching over 4,400ft above sea level, Dave finished the nine mile route in 2:51:52.