The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Record run but Sinclair aims to go faster
Athletics: West Highland Way mark cut by 33min
Aberdeen runner Rob Sinclair produced one of the best ultra-distance trail running performances on Scottish soil when obliterating the course record in the classic West Highland Way race.
Sinclair covered the challenging 95-mile route between Milngavie railway station and Fort William leisure centre in 13hr 41min 8sec to cut more than 33min off the previous best time recorded by Paul Giblin in 2015.
Sinclair averaged less than nine minutes per mile for a course which is often rough underfoot and includes a punishing 14,760ft of climbing.
With the race starting at 1am, the first few hours were run in darkness with navigation being made by the use of a head torch which required total concentration in the remote terrain.
He is the first man in the 33-year history of the race to go under 14 hours and he did so with plenty to spare after leading from the first mile to last.
Sinclair was delighted with his performance but believes there is scope for improvement.
He said: “It was an incredible feeling at the finish and I really don’t know when it will really sink in.
“I got into a good rhythm and just seemed to be able to keep it going, but as this was the longest race I have done I knew I was going into uncharted territory
“An incredible feeling at finish and I really don’t know when it will sink in”
and anything might happen.
“But I was able to stay strong throughout and there weren’t really any points where I felt I would blow up.
“Now that I’ve done it, I believe it’s possible to chip a little more from the record. I’ve done this at a fairly early stage in my ultra-running days and I’ve learned from it. If I was to go back again in a year or two it might be possible to go faster.”
His closest challenger, Mark Yule, was runner-up in 16:57:55 while Dave Ward (Hunters Bog Trotters) finished third in 17:43:50. Cumbernauld’s Lynne Allen won the women’s prize in 18:48:31.
Sinclair’s win completed the second leg of his attempt to win the Triple Crown of Scottish ultra trail races.
In April he set a record time when winning the Highland Fling race, which follows the opening 53 miles of the West Highland way, from Milngavie to Tyndrum.
In August he will bid to complete his hat-trick by tackling the 42-mile Devil o’ the Highlands race from Tyndrum to Fort William.
Sinclair said: “I need to be careful to allow myself to recover from the West Highland Way race then just tick over with the training towards the Devil o’ the Highlands.
“It would be great to complete the Triple Crown as that was my aim for the year, but it depends how things go between now and then.”