Runners

LET’S BE CLEAR: while you willalmost certainly inish among the top100 at Orkney’s St Magnus Marathon,the chances of a PB on this undulating andwindswept course are slight. But don’t let thatstop you from signing up for what must be theUK’s smallest, and perhaps one of its friendliest,marathons. It’s certainly the most northerly.To do so would be to miss out on a race witha distinctly local and appropriately remotefeel, coupled with organisation slick enoughto rival that of a big-city race. And I haven’teven mentioned the scenery yet. (Or theceilidh, but that comes later...)It’s a bright, blustery morning when I rollup for registration at the town hall in Kirkwall,mainland Orkney’s capital, in the shadow ofthe magnificent St Magnus Cathedral. There’sISLAND OFLOST SOLESSam Murphy toughs it out at thewindy, hilly but fun St MagnusMarathon on Orkney``````a buzz of efficiency –drop-off buckets forthe personalised drinksstations, a bag drop, aprogramme with everycompetitor’s name in itand, best of all, no toiletqueues. Such attentionto detail is down to racedirector Ian Sutcliffe,who was involved withthe highly esteemedHalstead Marathon inEssex before moving tothe islands in 2010.There’s a short pre-racebriefing (no, Ian, you’renot forgiven for promisingit was ‘all downhill’ after23 miles) and then, at acivilised 10am, we set offalong Kirkwall’s mainstreet before climbingout of town and headingwest on a point-to-pointroute that finishes atBirsay, on the island’snorthwest coast.The majestic sandstonecathedral we’ve just left``````LET YOUR RUNNING LOOSERACE088 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK JULY 2018