Loch Ness run was monster challenge

Runners from across the Highlands turned out in force on Saturday for one of Scotland’s most gruelling physical events.

Thousands of participants took part in the brutal Beast Race, held at the Aldourie Estate, Loch Ness.

Brave entrants ran, crawled and dragged their way over muddy obstacles including crossing a chestdeep swamp and a giant A-frame wall.

They battled through freezing loch water and threw themselves down a giant water slide as part of the physically demanding 10k course to raise cash for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS).

The 27 different stages around the Beast race were certainly a monster challenge for Shaun MacLeod and his family team Hilda’s Heroes who signed up to take part in memory of their beloved nannie, Hilda Ramsay, who passed away last year.

“It was absolutely amazing,” said Shaun. “We are all totally buzzing, it was such good fun.

“We helped each other over the course and honestly it was just brilliant. Plus, raising over £2,300 made it even better.”

Among Shaun’s team were his brother Ryan, 23, cousin Shannon Cordiner, 28, of Aberdeen, and Gemma Dawson, 25, of Inverness, alongside Gemma’s partner Aaron Camplin, 27, and Gemma’s brother-in-law, Dylan Burke, 26, of Inverness and Gemma’s mum Kathleen, 57, and her husband James Stewart, 53, of Inverness.

Shaun, who works in IT, said: “We wanted to find a challenge to do as a family that would also be in memory of my nannie, who died last year. She loved nothing more than spending time with her grandkids.

“Dylan also lost his dad to a heart attack in 2019 and because nannie had had a couple of strokes, we knew Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland was the right fit for us. We know the good work CHSS is doing.”

Hayley Simpson, fundraising manager at CHSS said: “What an incredible day we had.

“Our amazing supporters tackled the course with enormous enthusiasm.

“It’s thanks to teams like Hilda’s Heroes raising funds for us that we are able to make sure that people living in Scotland get the support they really need when they return home from hospital.

“Every penny raised will make sure that people can do more than survive.”

MUDDY MARVELLOUS: This shattered – but happy – contestant was one of thousands who took part in the race.

Hilda’s Heroes were all “totally buzzing” at the end.