WATCH: Muir of Ord athlete dedicates River Ness 10k win in her granny’s memory
MUIR of Ord athlete Caitlyn Heggie dedicated her fantastic victory in the River Ness 10k in Inverness to her granny who passed away the previous week.
The 17-year-old Inverness Harriers club member, who recently started studying for a degree in medicine at Edinburgh University, was very emotional as she crossed the finishing line in a personal best time of 35 minutes and 50 seconds.
She claimed victory by 32 seconds with Robyn Pinder of Metro Aberdeen taking second place in 36:22 and Molly Rasch of Highland Hill Runners taking third spot in 36:25.
The former Dingwall Academy pupil says she wasn’t sure if she was going to compete in the race, but says it is what her grandmother would have wanted, as she dedicated her victory to her.
She said: “I was running in my granny’s honour today. She passed away last week so I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the race, but she would have wanted me to.
When it got hard during the race, I was thinking about her. It was very emotional as it meant a lot to me to win today.
“The conditions were perfect and I think I was always in the lead. I didn’t see any other women during the race and I never looked behind as that’s something my dad has always told me not to do.”
The last 17 year-old Inverness Harriers club member to win this race was Megan Keith, who has since gone on to represent Great Britain, competing in this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Heggie said:”Yes, it’s amazing, and I heard Megan out on the course cheering for me at the 8k mark, just when I was struggling. It was so cool. I’ll also be training with her at Edinburgh University this winter which is amazing.”
