Make your way to Stornoway
STORNOWAY Running and Athletics Club (SRAC) was ‘up and running’ again as part of Mod nan Eilean’s Royal National Mod week.
For more than 100 years, An Comunn Gàidhealach has followed its motto of Ar Canain ’s ar Ceol - our language and our music. In advance of an Comunn’s week-long celebration of the Gaeltacht’s rich heritage, SRAC ran from Oban to Stornoway. Ten SRAC runners, lead by stalwarts Tony Robson and Jim Bruce and Calbost Harrier Norrie MacKay, ran the 162 miles carrying a message from last year’s hosts Oban to be read at the opening ceremony in An Lantair, Stornoway.
Tony, Jim and Norrie were taking part in their third Mod Relay, the only runners to have completed all three events. As their limbs slow with age, they were delighted to have club speedster Norman Ferguson and international member Gerald Kalchauer, who travelled from Linz, Austria, running with the team.
The previous relays have been the 153 miles between Thurso and Stornoway - the long way - in 2011 and the road between Perth and Stornoway, all 190 miles of it, in 2005.
The team collects donations en route and when passing Dalwhinnie Distillery during the 2005 run the team was gifted a bottle of malt from the distillery.
The following relay of 2011 had pre-arranged stops at Old Pultney, Clynlish and Balblair distilleries and the bottles were auctioned for the cause. Keeping with tradition, the team popped into Oban Distillery at the start of this year’s event. En route, the team visited Ben Nevis and Glen Ord Distilleries. Their contributions are appreciated and will be added to the other money collected.
The team running to promote the 125th Royal National Mod in Lewis was raising funds for the RNLI and Macmillan Cancer Support. Donations can be made through SRAC members or by donating to its Just Giving page.