GB star Greig looks to turn on the style

Metro Aberdeen’s Kyle Greig will start as favourite to win the inaugural Bennachie 50km ultra trail race on Saturday.

The Great Britain international is the most experienced athlete in the 150-strong capacity field for the event which has captured the imagination of the northeast’s long-distance running community.

Greig was bronze medallist in this year’s British 100km championships in Perth and in 2017 he finished 26th in the world ultra trail running championships in Italy.

Race organiser Andrew Gordon is delighted to see his idea come to fruition and has been amazed by the level of interest shown in the event.

He said: “I came up with a 50km course which doesn’t involve going over any of the same paths twice. It involves just over 5,000ft of climbing, so it will be a real test.

“It takes in many of the peaks of Bennachie including Millstone hill, Hermit Seat, Oxen Craig, Little Oxen, Craigshannoch and Mither Tap.

“It’s really varied with single tracks, climbs, some technical ground and a tiny bit of road. It’s a good mix and I’m sure folk will love it. We sold all 120 places the first day entries opened, which was amazing, and all done by word of mouth.

“We decided to keep that number for the first year so we can see how it goes and, hopefully, to make sure the event goes off smoothly. There’s no doubt there’s scope to increase the number of competitors in future.”

Lothian’s Shona Young is expected to be among the leading finishers in the women’s race but Metro Aberdeen’s Sarah Milne should also do well.