Hundreds get off their marks for Castle of Mey 10k
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MEY in May usually only means one thing as hundreds of runners arrived within the grounds of the royal castle to take part in the most famous race in Caithness.
A total of 445 people participated in the three events run by the organisers of the Castle of Mey 10k who hailed this year’s competition as one of the most open ever.
A field of 304 were at the starting line for the annual 10k when the warm conditions were mixed with strong winds midway through the course which proved challenging to runners.
That did not stop Gordon Lennox retaining his title in a time of 33 minutes 45 seconds which was just over one minute off the course record.
His Inverness Harrier club-mate Jenny Bannerman broke the female record after completing the course in 37 minutes and 23 seconds, lopping five minutes off the previous best time.
North Highland Harriers’ (NHH) Matthew Sutherland was the fastest runner from Caithness as he breasted the tape in 34 minutes and 27 seconds to finish second overall.
The fastest female athlete from Caithness was Rhiannon Kirk from Caithness Amateur Athletics Club who finished in 41 minutes 52 seconds, 15 seconds ahead of NHH’s Lorna Stanger.
NHH coach Sophie Dunnett said the Castle of Mey 10K has come of age from becoming known as not just a race but as a community event.
“The key thing for ourselves this year is we have the balance of it being a running event but also a community event where there is something for everybody,” she said.
“The atmosphere was tremendous and the reaction we have received on social media has just been so positive.”
A total of 141 took part in the Mey Mile fun run and a further 20 completed the Mey Meander to raise money for the local branch of ENABLE which helps fund special-needs athletes to take part in sporting events.
Ms Dunnett said the reputation of the Castle of Mey 10K continues to grow from strength to strength and plans are already in place for 2016.
“The fun run saw the biggest field we’ve ever had and that doesn’t include the adults that were supervising,” she said.
“People from as far as the Central Belt and England came up for the event and we were delighted with the response. We’ve already had enquiries about next year’s event due to our massive success last weekend.”
