Adam Johnston, Chris Shields, Bill Ferguson, Coinneach Morrison, Cailean McCombe, Kathleen Macleod, Murdo Morrison
Kenny McArthur, Domhnall MacDonald, Ross Munro, Neil MacRury. 

Last Tuesday evening a total of 11 runners took part in the annual SRAC Pentland Rd 10K including 5 runners from Harris who travelled up from Tarbert in order to take part in the event. The race is a fairly low key affair with no marshals or water-stops but the course, which is largely straight & flat, has regularly been the venue of many a PB (personal best) for local athletes, and the runners limbering up at this years start line hoped that this particular race would bring them similar rewards.

As well as being a favourable course, one of the other reasons that this race has regularly produced such fast times is due to the handicap system in place which sets off the slowest runner first with those that follow being despatched at staggered intervals depending on their expected finish time. With this in mind, most runners will always be in pursuit of a slightly slower runner and the incentive to maintain a quick pace is increased.
Ross Munro had the unenviable task of allocating the handicap times to all the runners before the 6.2 mile race got under way with Domhnall Macdonald setting off along the Pentland Rd heading for Marybank. After each runner had been despatched according to their allocated handicap, a full 18 minutes & 40 seconds separated the first runner and Ross Munro who as the last starter, had a formidable task on hands if he was to catch the runners ahead of him.

As the clock approached the 50 minute mark, 1st to cross the line was Domhnall Macdonald from Shawbost in a time of 49m:45s which was just enough for him to secure the overall winner’s prize. This was a sound performance from the Jujitsu martial arts expert and he will be delighted to have broken the 50 minute barrier. Only 27 seconds behind Domhnall was Kathleen Macleod who ran a PB of 43:25. It requires an average a pace of 8.6 miles per hour to complete a 10K in this time and it takes a great deal of effort to sustain this kind of speed over such a long distance; this was a superb run from Kathleen.

Next past the post was Harris PE teacher Adam Johnston who had a fabulous race when he also achieved a new PB with the most improved performance of the evening in a time of 38:56, a full 5 minutes faster than his time in the recent Harris 10K. Finishing over two minutes behind Adam, Neil MacRury was unlucky to finish a single second beyond the 40 minute mark although the Benbecula man did manage to pass three of the runners who’d set off ahead of him. Murdo Morrison was next to cross the line with a new PB of 47:58 and he will be happy to have produced such a good time as he prepares for the forthcoming Heb 3 races. Eleven seconds later, 16 year old Kenny McArthur from Tarbert had an excellent race to also gain a PB of 45:24. Kenny only took up running 8 months ago but he has already proved himself to be a gifted young endurance runner and we look forward to seeing more of him on the athletics circuit in years to come.

By now the runners were coming in thick and fast and it wasn’t long before Bill Ferguson crossed the line with a credible finish time of 43:54. Immediately behind Bill, the fastest runner of the evening, Chris Shields produced an outstanding performance in order to finish in a brilliant time of 35:32. Chris is clearly in fantastic form just now and he will be looking to build upon this performance at the Stornoway half-marathon this Saturday. The next runner home was Coinneach Morrison in a time of 37:42 who finished only just ahead of fellow Hearrach, Cailean McCombe, completing the course in a time of 38:40 to register a new PB for the distance. Despite the fact that he has only recently come back from injury, 16 year old Cailean once again showed that he is an extremely competent distance runner whose vast racing experience at North District & National level will have helped him run a perfectly paced race in order to produce a negative split of well over a minute. The final runner to cross the line was Ross Munro despite him having the 2nd fastest finishing time of the evening with a time of 36:35.

55 minutes and 15 seconds after the race had begun, eleven pairs of tired legs had reached the finish line and a total of 5 runners had gained new personal bests; further enhancing the reputation of the Pentland Rd 10K as being a fast race.
For many of the athletes competing in this race, they will have little time to rest before they take on the Stornoway Half Marathon which takes place this Saturday. The Half Marathon starts at 10am from Lews Castle College car-park and the Fun-run starts at 10:20am from Porters lodge with registration for the fun run taking place at the retirement centre from 9am. Both events should prove to be a great event for competitors and spectators alike.