Dougie Selman (Corstorphine AC) scooped the top prize at the 20th anniversary Baxters Loch Ness Marathon with a come-from-behind last ditch victory which left long-time leader, veteran Kenyan athlete Isaiah Kosgei, battling to hold on to second position ahead of fast finishing Shaun Cumming (Highland Hill Runners). 

The Edinburgh athlete didn’t move into pole position until a little more than a mile from the end but opened up a big gap over these closing stages to complete the testing Highland course in 2:23:53. Kosgei, the 2019 winner, came through in 2:26:36 but was almost caught by Cumming whose final sprint took him to within one second of the Kenyan. 

Selman said: “The final mile was very hard and felt like it was never going to end. But it was a good feeling to breast the tape at the finish – I’ve never done that before.” 

Kosgei arrived in the Highlands less than 24 hours before the race, having flown from Nairobi to Frankfurt and on to Glasgow. He then took a train to Aberdeen before catching a bus to Inverness. He was relaxed about the outcome, saying: “I went through halfway in about 1:08 but I got very tired after 22 miles. I don’t think all the travelling over the past few days has helped me. I’ve been sitting down too much. But I’m still happy to finish second."

Third-placed Shaun Cumming was ecstatic about his performance. If the course had been 10 metres longer, he would have caught Kosgei but the Highland Hill Runners club member was delighted. He said: “It’s great. I ran here six years ago and did 3:19 so it’s a big step up from that. My best time before this was 2:32 at Edinburgh in May, so this is another huge improvement.” 

Jemima Farley admitted she was unaware how close she came to breaking the course record when winning the women’s race. The Malta-based Aberdonian doctor lifted the title with a superb time of 2:42:40 to knock close to four mins off her previous best set at last year’s Richmond marathon. The Loch Ness record of 2:42:04 was tantalisingly just 36 seconds outside her grasp. But her time puts her into second position in this year’s Scottish women’s rankings. 

She said: “I didn’t know the course record. To be honest I was hoping I could run around 2:40 but I’m very happy to have improved my best time. It was so nice to be back in Scotland and running along the side of the loch was absolutely stunning.” 

Farley was also unaware of her high placing in the national rankings but acknowledged it would be quite an achievement if that was to be recognised. She said: “There would be nothing better than to be able to represent my country. For now I’m just concentrating on my next marathon which will likely be in Malta next February.” 

Glasgow University’s Rosa Donaldson, competing in only her second marathon, finished in second position in 2:57:01. She said: “I ran my first one in Edinburgh and did over three hours. I wanted under three hours today so I’m very pleased to have done that.” Carolyn Hay (Redhill Road Runners) took third position in 3:02:20.

You can take a look at all the day's results from Loch Ness via the the runABC race listing page.

Image: Loch Ness Marathon