Jamie Pallister won the inaugural Moray Coastal Trail 50-mile race between Forres and Cullen, but it took a few moments before he could fully savour the experience as he believed he’d finished in second position.
The Ellon athlete was unaware that the long-time leader, Penicuik’s Adam Gray, took a wrong turn near the end and failed to make up the lost ground.
Pallister was bemused by the rapturous welcome he received as he completed the course in 6hr 51min 46secs, with Gray eventually taking second spot in 6:59:14.
Fife runner James Crozier was third, first over-50, in 7:06:52, while Andrew Smith was fourth in 7:08:57.
Pallister said: “I got to the end and everyone was screaming and shouting for me. They were holding the finish banner and I thought it was weird they were doing that for second place.
“Then they said I’d won. I wasn’t expecting that and it was a bit surreal. It’s the first race I’ve won.
“Beforehand I was hoping for being in the top five, but I never expected to win. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Shetland’s Charlotte Black emerged triumphant at the end of an intriguing women’s race in which the lead changed hands a number of times over the latter stages.
The former Scotland 100k champion used her vast experience to edge home two mins ahead of Banchory’s Chloe Sangster, completing the course in 7:17:45 – a time bettered by only six men.
Jacqueline MacIntyre (Carnegie Harriers) was third woman overall, first in the 40-49 age group, in 7:28:21, with Michelle Green (Moray Road Runners) fourth in 8:07:02.
It was Black’s first race since the Inverness half marathon in March 2020, so she was pleased with the outcome.
She said: “I enjoyed the race as it has been so long since I did one. It’s also the first time I’ve been off the island for a long time.
“It was a good battle. There wasn’t ever much between us.
“I think I led until about 14 miles to go when Chloe caught up with me. I stumbled and fell at that point, but she stopped to make sure I was alright.
“She then got away from me for a while, but I caught up and we were close together for the next 10 miles or so.
“Sometimes she was ahead, sometimes I was ahead. But I just managed to pull away over the final four miles, although I could never relax.
“Every time I glanced back I could see her. When someone is hot on your heels, the old competitiveness comes out.”
Black enjoyed the occasion and plans to return for another of the Moray ultras later in the year.
She said: “I’ve no other races planned in the near future, but I’ve an entry for the Dava Way 50k in November.”
Zoey Clark edges closer to Olympic qualifying mark
Zoey Clark set herself up for the Olympic trials at the end of the month by setting a season’s best time in a mixed 400m race at Grangemouth stadium.
The Aberdeen AAC sprinter clocked 51.79secs when finishing third behind James McClafferty (Law and District), who won in 50.32secs, and runner-up Ewan Purves (Edinburgh AC), 50.61.
Clark now sits sixth in this season’s UK rankings and the time edges her closer to the Olympic qualifying mark of 51.35secs.
She said: “I’m very happy with that. It was very windy, but having the men to run with helped me put together a good tactical race.”
Another example of how we’ve had to be adaptable this year. I was due to be race in Geneva but due to restrictions we had a last minute change of plans. So grateful to @scotathletics for organising a lane for me in the men’s league and I’m happy to run a SB in windy conditions. pic.twitter.com/qVWXs1H2Or
— Zoey Clark (@_ZoeyClark) June 13, 2021
Meanwhile, Aberdeen AAC’s Naomi Lang slashed a fraction over 15secs from her previous best 5,000m time when finishing third in a British Milers Club meeting at Watford.
The Edinburgh University student recorded 16min 09.16secs, while Newbury’s Izzy Fry won in 15:49.25.
Lang’s clubmate Zoe Bates achieved a personal best 1500m time of 4min 26.25sec when finishing third in her race. She has now slashed more than eight secs off her time this year. Highgate’s Hannah Viner won in 4:24.89.
Hannah Cameron set a season’s best 800m time of 2:07.31 when finishing third in her heat. There was also a season’s best for Stornoway’s Euan Campbell, who clocked 1:55.36 for fifth position in his 800m.
Aberdeen AAC’s Michael Ferguson ran his quickest 1500m time of the year when recording 3:47.88 for fifth behind Alex Melloy (Cambridge and Coleridge), who won a hotly-contested race in 3:46.48.
Abernethy and Barrand beat Fraserburgh race records
Despite the warm and windy conditions, Max Abernethy (Fraserburgh Running Club) and Ginie Barrand (Metro Aberdeen) were in record-breaking form in the Fraserburgh 10k.
It was a second victory on the spin for Abernethy, who led the way home in the previous weekend’s Back-to-Basics 10k at Forres.
And it’s the second time he has won the Broch race, having taken top spot when it was last held, in 2019.
The 20-year-old Aberdeen University student recorded 32min 37secs, making him the first man to crack the 33min barrier for the event. It’s also significantly quicker than his 2019 winning time of 34:19.
Keith McIntyre (Fraserburgh Running Club) was runner-up in 33:17, with Kenny Garden (Metro Aberdeen) third in 34:59.
Barrand was also in fine form when winning the women’s title in 36:28, taking 33secs off the previous women’s record set by her clubmate Nicola Gauld in 2017.
Another Metro athlete, Claire Bruce, finished second in 37:21.
Meanwhile, Caithness athlete Andy Douglas had to settle for 18th position from a field of 750 in the opening race of the Golden Trail series in Spain.
The North Highland Harriers club member, who arrived in the country less than 24 hours before the race, recorded 2:18:54 for the high altitude Olla de Núria run near Girona, which was held over a 21k course with 1,940m of elevation gain. Norway’s Stian Angermund won in 2:04:16
Douglas said: “It was pretty brutal. The altitude beat me and the climbs were so tough.
“I managed to run quite well on any flat bits and the descent, but I can’t really be competitive on courses like this against guys who are able to regularly train at altitude.”
