The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Focus on Garioch great festival of running.
Roche amazed by win and late decision pays off for Milne
Competing just two years after he took up running as a sport, Tom Roche won yesterday's Dandara 10km ahead of a field of 952 runners at Inverurie.
The Oldmeldrum athlete, who competes for Garioch Gazelles, led confidently from the start and went on to break the tape in a personal best 34min 34sec to finish 11 seconds ahead of Aberdeen's Paul Hadden. David Marshall (Aberdeen AAC) was third in 35:24.
Roche could hardly believe what he had achieved and was ecstatic with the result.
He said: “I have taken about 40 seconds off my previous best time so I am very pleased with that.
“I pushed quite hard early on because I knew a few of the other guys were strong on the hills and I wanted to open up a bit of a gap before we got to the climbs.
“It's a tough course but I just managed to hold on. It feels ace to win.
“The first race I did was this one two years ago. I had followed a 10-week training plan with the Garioch Gazelles and that got me hooked.
“I ran about 41:30 that day so I've come on a bit since then. It was the best feeling ever coming round the bend at the finish today asmy kids were there to see it. It was just amazing."
Veteran Carolyn Milne, who made a late decision to compete, won the women’s race in 40:29.
The Garioch Road Runners club member's time was more than two minutes quicker than she recorded when winning the inaugural Run Garioch 10km in 2006.
She remains the only athlete to have won all three races on the Run Garioch programme, having taken top spot in the half marathon in 2011 and in the 5km in 2014.
Milne said: “I didn't plan to run but one of the Garioch team pulled out and I decided to step in. I haven't even been doing 10km training, so I am very happy with my time.
“It's the fastest I have run here and, given it's a tougher course than in the past, I've got to be satisfied, especially as it was hot and hilly.
“I was behind a fewof the other girls in the early stages but I knew they had set off too fast. I eventually took the lead just before 5km and I knew the last few kilometres were downhill so I was confident I could hang on.”
Milne's Garioch Road Runners clubmate Emma Murray was second in 41: 00 and Sarah Milne (Metro Aberdeen) finished third in 42:11, both times being personal bests.
“I wanted to open up a bit of a gap before we got to the climbs”