Moray Pryde's running career reached new heights at the weekend when the 29 year-old Lothian Running Club member won the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon for the second year in a row in a fabulous course record and personal best time of 2hr 19min 26secs. His performance cut 47secs from the previous mark set by Kenya’s Simon Tonui in 2009.

This was the first time he has ducked under the 2hr 20min barrier and he was obviously thrilled with the outcome, saying: “I have to acknowledge that conditions were absolutely perfect, but I’m really chuffed to win and to get the record. We set off quite fast over the first 10 miles and I actually got a personal best half marathon time along the way and I just tried to keep it going. I was on my own for a long way, but that wasn’t a problem.”

Pryde, who made his marathon debut at Loch Ness in 2019 when he recorded 2:51:04, now has his sights set on a first overseas adventure. He said: “I’m planning to take part in the Seville marathon next February, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ll keep chipping away at it and hopefully the times will continue to improve. I must thank my club and my coach Owen Miller, for great support. I really appreciate it.”

Manchester’s Tom Charles, who finished second behind Pryde last year, and also at Edinburgh, again tried to stay with the  Mussleburgh athlete, but dropped off the pace in the second half and was eventually caught by Shaun Cumming (East Sutherland Running Club). Charles, in obvious discomfort, struggled home in 2:31:59, with Cumming ahead in 2:31:16.

Melissah Gibson (Ealing Eagles) successfully defended her title in the women’s race after an epic dual with Rachel Boswell (Thames Hare and Hounds), while 2012 Olympian Freya Ross came unstuck after leading through the first half of the contest.

Gibson was unsure if she would be able to run because of tendinitis problems, but showed great resilience to hold off a strong challenge from Boswell to win in 2:54:39. She said: “I’m about 11mins slower than last year, so it wasn’t my best run but I was just happy to be here and it was a good tussle with Rachel. Freya was well ahead for a long time and I presumed she would win.”

Gibson also revealed that the Loch Ness race was a warm-up for an even bigger challenge in the near future, saying: “I am competing at the world 100K championships in India in December, so I felt that if I could run sub three hours today, that would be a good indicator that things are heading the right way again. Last year Loch Ness was my 90th marathon and today was my 103rd, so I haven’t been doing as many as usual because I’m looking to the 100K."

Runner-up Boswell celebrated her 32nd birthday by clocking 2:55:14. She said: “Melissah was mainly ahead of me for much of the race, although I tended to catch her on the downhills then she would pull away again. But it was a special day because it was my birthday and it was interesting to finish ahead of an Olympian.”

Katie Wilson (Highland Hill Runners) came through in the closing stages to take third position in 3:03:29 while a very tired Ross finished fourth in 3:05:11.

The 2025 event will take place on 28 September, if you'd like to know more visit the Loch Ness Marathon website.

Image: Loch Ness Marathon