Residents have been reassured not to be alarmed if they see a gorilla on the loose rampaging in the streets of Aboyne.
For it won’t be a wild animal, but Bethany Tennant, who is training for the inaugural Simplyhealth Great Aberdeen Run.
Ms Tennant works for treetop adventure company GoApe at Crathes Castle, Deeside, and she has signed up for the race alongside colleagues Pauline Anderson, John Black and Ewan Kerridge.
In a nod to their employers, the foursome will don full gorilla costumes and banana suits for the big race.
Miss Tennant said: “Given the nature of the job, I love putting on the gorilla costume for marketing purposes, but then Pauline came up with the idea of wearing it in the race.
“As John and Ewan are going to be faster than us, she suggested they should dress as bananas as they would be in front of us, while we would put on the gorilla outfits and would be chasing them. It’s crazy, but it should be fun.
“I haven’t done any training runs in the suit yet, but I might have to, just to get used to it because it is quite heavy, although I might scare a lot of people in my home town if I’m seen running around as a gorilla.”
She added: “I’ve only once before tried to do a half marathon, and that was a few years ago, but I picked up an ankle problem. So this is my opportunity to redeem myself.
“I’ve had a look at the route and it looks good. There’s no doubt it’s going to be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.
“The whole thing should be fun, but we are also aiming to raise money for two charities, Befriend a Child and the Archie Foundation.”
Go Ape will be going up against several other north-east businesses in the August 27 event.
Companies can enter male, female or mixed teams to compete for the trophy awarded to the fastest small, medium and large businesses across the categories.
