Edinburgh AC’s Bryan Mackie (pictured) will defend his title at the 2016 Scottish Half Marathon on Sunday 18th September, but will face stiff competition from a competitive men’s field.
Mackie raced to victory in 2015 in a time of 1 hour 11 minutes and 33 seconds and is hoping for another successful run this year: “I’m really excited to be heading back to run the Scottish Half Marathon again, it was such a massive buzz to retain my title last year, so hopefully I can make it three in a row!
“Training has been going well, the group I train with at Saughton has attracted some really talented youngsters recently and us old guys are benefiting from their enthusiasm.”
Second and fifth placed males from last year, Leon Johnson (Edinburgh AC) and Gordon Lennox (Inverness) will be returning to East Lothian hoping to improve on their 2015 performances, while newcomers Nick Hardy (Birchfield Harriers) and Duncan Coombs (Hunters Bog Trotters) could also feature.
Mackie continued: “Hopefully if a few quick guys turn up we can work together and run some fast times.
“Best of luck to everyone taking part, especially those raising money for good causes.”
The female field is headed by Tammy Wilson of Garioch Road Runners and Sarah Douglas of Edinburgh University Hare & Hounds.
Both Wilson and Douglas will be hoping to get on the podium in less than two weeks’ time, having both narrowly missed out in recent events; Wilson finished fourth female at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival Half Marathon back in May, and Douglas finished in the same place at the 2015 Scottish Half Marathon.
The Scottish 10K will kick off proceedings on Sunday 18th September, starting at 9am at Musselburgh Racecourse, before the half marathon gets underway at 11am from Meadowmill Sports Centre.
Late entries for both the half marathon and the 10K are still available, but will close at 5pm on Wednesday 14th September. You can grab an entry at www.scottishhalfmarathon.com.