30 years Running!

Our 30th Year of the Mull Half Marathon on August 4th was a very special day!  Friends, family and FUN was the theme and no-one was disappointed!

The day started with the new format of running the Junior Road Races in the morning which saw over 40 children from 3yrs to 15yrs racing. A fantastic effort from all, inspired by the great tunes from local piper Logie Johnston. As the children crossed the line they were presented with their commemorative medal and goodie bag, compliments of Salen Spar and made even more special this year with Tobermory Rocks, thanks to Naomi Marsh! All Junior results and photos are on our Mull Runners website! Well worth a look to see our up and coming young talent!

The day was set to be one of grit and determination. Weather was not promising many PB’s, overcast and a head wind to battle with! Alistair Hay, Central Athletics Club, fixed his sights on challenging the record set by our Mull Half Rocket Runner, Robert Gilroy, of 1:09:01. He quickly broke away from the rest of the field and battled well however just missed out on taking home CJL’s prize of £250.  Alistair was 48 seconds off the time Robert ran in 2015, the first year of our new course!  One of Mull Half Marathon’s regular runner’s and friend Fionnuala Ross, Shettleston Harriers and Ireland’s own sweet Molly Malone was the first lady crossing the line in 1:16:22.

There was a great turn-out of local runners with 1st local man, Crawford Whyte coming home in a time of 1:22:16 and his bride of this year Emma taking the 1st local ladies prize in a time of 1:28:12, running for Torq Nutrition. The 10k was won by Michael Fullerton of Edinburgh AC in a time of 37:01 with first lady Hilary Robinson from Glasgow crossing the line in 42:48. Local man Jonathon Kellar, Salen took first local prize in a time of 49:41 and our local lass Inese Klucane finished in 57:25 finishing first local lady!

The day was just filled with friendly faces and none more than Ian and Jim Shaw from Edinburgh, with Ian running his 20th Mull Half Marathon and his father Jim who has been a Mull half marathon stalwart over the years although this year decided to run the 10k in his 80th year! It was a pleasure to present Jim with the prize for oldest finisher coupled with being one of our oldest friends! Full Results on www.mullrunners.com for half marathon, 10K and Junior Road Races.

Once again Mull Runners were delighted to have Joe Reade overseeing the chip timing system with an upgrade for this year’s event. As each runner crossed the finish line a text was automatically sent to them with their finishing time!!

A total of 253 runners took part in the days’ running events and as the day progressed there were plenty of smiles all-round greatly helped by the fantastic piping of Andy Lambert and his proteges, Logie Johnston. Also adding to the Fun and Friendship felt throughout the day were our fantastic fruity fraulines at the Quarry water stop. They were announced winners of the best themed water station and received a voucher each, compliments of Mr & Mrs Goldsmith for a Sunday Roast lunch at the Isle of Mull Hotel! Our prize giving was made particularly special this year as we welcomed Eddie and Morag Liddle to present our prizes. Eddie is one of our dearest friends of Mull Half Marathon, running or supporting almost every year, right up to this year when he celebrated his 80th birthday! The day however did not end there as many of Mull’s Half Marathon friends and family descended on Inverinate back garden and into the Community Marquee to dance the night away to the fantastic tunes from Winifred and Richard!

Adrian fitness and his team once again co-ordinated the transport for all our runners, supporters and baggage with precision. Two other teams who pulled out all the stops to ensure our runners were well looked after throughout the day were our Coastguards and Mull First Aiders!

Our 30th year was given the most fantastic support from many local businesses and organisations and amazing volunteers who showed our visitors how a community can really come together to put on a great event!  Thank you all and to our invaluable sponsors, Salen Hotel, Craignure Inn, West Coast Motors, Scottish Water, Isle of Mull Hotel and our new sponsor Run4it represented by another one of our greatest friends and half marathon runner, Scott Kennedy, for making this a special 30th year of Running!