Donnie Macdonald (Inverness Harriers) showed his preparations for next month’s Manchester marathon are going well by winning yesterday’s Nairn 10km.
The North champion led from the start, although he could not afford to relax as the eventual runner-up, Ross Mackenzie, was never far behind. Macdonald completed the route in 32min 46sec, just 18sec outside his personal best set four years ago.
He said: “I went out quite hard, got a bit of a lead and, after a couple of miles, I felt comfortable. However, with a little less than two miles to go I noticed Ross wasn’t far behind so I had to work a bit harder again.
“I’m in the middle of training for Manchester. I had no idea what sort of time I’d get today or where I’d place, so it’s a bonus to get a win in a decent time.All I was looking for was a hard run.”
“My best time is 2:33:28, which I got when taking the Scottish championship bronze medal at Loch Ness in 2015. I’m hoping for quicker than 2:30 in Manchester and I think that’s achievable if the conditions are right.”
Mackenzie was runner-up in 32:53 while James Wilson (Moray Road Runners), whose brother Kenny won in 2016, finished third in 33:50.
Ross County teenager Hamish Hickey won the under-20s prize when finishing fourth in 34:08 while the over-40s award went to fifth-placed Gareth Jenkins (Moray Road Runners) who recorded 34:17.
There was a battle for the over-50s award with Stan Mackenzie (Cambuslang Harriers) winning in 37:08 with Garry Macinnes (Carnethy) second in 37:29, two seconds ahead of David Weir (Forres Harriers).
Alex Sutherland (Inverness Harriers) was first over-70 in 41:48 while his clubmate Graham Whyte led home the over-60s in 42:12.
