Maryburgh athlete in contention to win River Ness 10k in Inverness
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Maryburgh runner Sean Chalmers will likely be in contention to win the River Ness10k at Sunday’s Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running despite question marks over his fitness.
Running in Inverness Harrier colours, Chalmers’ personal best time of 29:55 at Forres last December appears to put him down as the favourite in the men’s race going into the weekend.
He does have a track record of finishing high in the field for the race, finishing as runner up in 2019, but injury and illness over the last few months have left him unsure of exactly where he stands fitness-wise compared to his rivals.
Chalmers has done shorter races recently to work towards getting back to peak pace, so he believes he is about as ready as he can be for the challenge ahead.
“Things have gone as well as they could over the past five or six weeks, but I had a horrible start to the summer,” the PE teacher, now based in Aberdeen, explained.
“I’d just got over one injury then picked up a nasty back problem which meant no activity for three weeks.
“I got a couple of runs in but picked up the norovirus and then a throat infection, so my summer of running was written off.
“However, my physio, James Cruickshank, got me back on track and things have gone consistently over the past six weeks and the mileage is starting to creep up.
“I’m getting some sessions in now and the pace is getting there. I got a confidence boost when running 14:37 in last week’s Aberdeen parkrun 5k so I’m excited to just get out and race.
“It will be interesting to see how the 10k unfolds but I aim to make it an honest race by setting off at a good steady pace.”
The Festival of Running comprises the Loch Ness Marathon, the River Ness 10k and 5k as well as the 10k Corporate Challenge, and is taking place for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic.
