Press Release

Thousands take part in Scottish Half Marathon

21 Sep, 2015 (Mon)
Credit : Lesley Martin

Around 4,000 runners took part in the second Scottish Half Marathon on Saturday, further building on the huge success achieved at the event’s debut last year.

Thousands packed the streets to support runners in bright and sunny conditions. An estimated £500,000 was raised for charity by runners, in particular for official race charity Cancer Research UK.

The race was won by Bryan Mackie from Edinburgh Athletics Club in a speedy 1 hour 11 mins and 33 seconds, just missing out on beating the previous record he set last year by 11 seconds. He was chased home by Leon Johnson and Matthew Jones in times of 1 hour 13 mins and 20 seconds and 1 hour 13 mins and 40 seconds respectively to complete the top three.

Afterwards, Mackie said: “It was a fast start, we went through first mile in 5 min 5 secs but I didn’t panic and got my rhythm by mile 3. At half way I was thinking I’m on for a really good time here, but the wind caught up with me at 8-9 miles. I’m over the moon. I’ve had a bit of an up and down season and I was a wee bit slower today if I’m honest, but I’m absolutely delighted.”

The first woman home was Jennifer Forbes from Gala Harriers with a new course record of 1 hour 24 minutes and 41 seconds, beating last year’s inaugural record by 1 minute and 30 seconds. Catriona Probert and Tanya Shields completed the top three females, clocking 1 hour 25 mins and 3 seconds and 1 hour 27 minutes and 11 seconds.

Afterwards Forbes said “I’m really surprised – it was a major PB for me! This is the first time I’ve ran in the Scottish Half Marathon and it’s only my third half actually. I loved the route, an amazing guy from Portobello paced a lot of it for me so big thanks to him. Fantastic, loads of support.”

Among those who completed Saturday’s race was Daniel Webb. The Scottish Half Marathon marked the beginning of Daniel’s six half-marathons in six consecutive weeks challenge, in aid of his younger sister Kirsty, who suffered from an eating disorder for over 10 years. He hopes to raise awareness of eating disorders and for the charity, Beat and who were particularly helpful to his family.

Joining Daniel as another inspiring Scottish Half Marathon success story was Cal Inglis. Having overcome testicular cancer, Cal showed his resilience once again to battle through 13.1 tough miles and earn his finishers medal on Saturday. He cited his young daughter as a main driving force behind his recovery. And she was on hand once again, supporting from the sidelines to lift Cal through a tough final few miles. Cal raised a great amount for Cancer Research UK.

Race Director, Sandra Scott said “Huge congratulations to everyone who took part in the Scottish Half Marathon today. It was amazing to see so many runners enjoying the beautiful East Lothian sunshine and proudly wearing their medal after victoriously crossing the finish line at Musselburgh Racecourse. A special thanks goes out to our amazing race crew, if it wasn’t for them, this event simply wouldn’t happen. Come and see us again next year!”

More information and full results will be available via the website www.scottishhalfmarathon.com

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