ATHLETICS

William Stewart’s head torchbobbledupanddown like a wayward star in the night sky as he powered his way to victory in the inaugural Illuminator Run at Aboyne on Saturday evening.

The Aberdeen- based Dundonian completed the testing 15- mile route, which included 2,247ft of climbing over the Fungle and through the beautiful Glen Tanar estate, in 1hr 54min 11sec.

Behind him could be seen a sparkling line of 561 runners who created a spectacular flickering lightshow as they navigated theirway through the darkness in perfect conditions.

Stewart, who moved to the Granite City a few months ago after living in South Africa, enjoyed the experience and adapted to running in the dark quite quickly.

He said: “I was living in Cape Town for 18 months so I’m used to warmer conditions, but the weather was superb, I couldn’t ask for any better.

“The whole thing was great fun. I’ve never done anything like this before so I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve had a head torch for only three weeks so there hasn’t been much time to practice running in the dark.

“It’s funny, you can only see about five or six steps in front but you can’t only watch your feet all the time, so you need to concentrate.

“I had hoped to go over the route beforehand but wasn’t able to. In some respects I’m quite glad I didn’t as Imight have been put off if I’d seen the hill we had to tackle near the end. I wanted to be clear of the other runners so I pushed up the first hill and was in the lead from that point. I’ve never been in that position before so I just kept going.

“The course was great, thereweresomeniceboggy bits to plough through but the final hill was really savage. I was reduced to walking at some points but was able to pick itupagain back down the other side of hill. It’s a superb event and a great addition to the Scottish running calendar.” John Roach, who comes fromBrighton but hasbeen living in Aberdeen for eight years, surprised himself by taking second position in

“I’ve never done anything like this before so I didn’t know what to expect”

1:57:20 in what was the longest competitive run he has done.

He said: “I was amazed to finish second. I’ve taken part in the Bennachie hill

Women’s winner: Steph Provan