The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Chalmers’s choice as he aims to be castle king
● Inverness runner is going at Brodie but undecided on league
Sean Chalmers appears more than capable of testing the course record in Sunday’s Brodie Castle 10km but much may depend on whether the Inverness Harrier decides to compete in the North District Cross-country League match at Evanton tomorrow.
Scotland international Kenny Wilson (Moray Road Runners) set the Brodie record of 32:06 in 2016 but he will be an absentee this weekend as he is recovering from his fine marathon debut in Frankfurt where he recorded 2:22:39 to move into seventh position in this year’s Scottish rankings.
Chalmers set his best 10km time of 30:40 when finishing second, nine seconds behind Metro Aberdeen’s Cameron Strachan, in last month’s River Ness 10km. If Chalmers goes into the race fresh there’s no doubt that Wilson’s mark is within his reach. A tough cross-country race the day before may, on the other hand, take the edge of his sharpness.
Chalmers said: “I’m undecided about doing the league match on Saturday, but I’m definitely running at Brodie. I’ve never raced there before.
“I’ve not done any races since competing in the River Ness 10km so I’d say I’m in about the same shape as I was then. I’ve been training on my own quite a lot recently but I’ve now got back into a group and that will help me.
“I’d like to get my 10km time down under 30min soon, so I’ll be looking for some fast races in the new year.
“I’ll do the North District championships in December, the inter-district at Stirling in January and the national at Falkirk in February.”
Ewan Davidson, who won the Brodie race in 2018, is also in the field as is his clubmate James Wilson, who was third last time out.
Amy Hudson, who recently set a personal best time in the Chicago marathon, is expected to defend her title in the women’s division of the race, which has attracted a capacity field of 450 runners.
Her opponents include clubmate Lesley Hansen, who was second in the Scottish marathon championships earlier in the year, and consistent north runner Louise Cartmell (Moray Road Runners). Marie Baxter (JS Kintore), who wasn’t too far behind Hudson in Chicago, is also in the line-up.
Meanwhile, John Newsom (Inverness Harriers) is among the top runners expected to take part in the Evanton league match.
Teenager Emily Andrew (Inverness Harriers) won the first women’s league race of the season and will aim to build on that.