Baxters Loch Ness Marathon 2011
27-year-old Claire Kelly runs her own fitness and wellness company, Vito Fitness. She had a baby in January this year then regained her fitness by training for the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon. Here she gives a quick taster of race day.
I really enjoyed the race, but I definitely experienced some low points. The first 23 miles were through the countryside, which was stunning. It was terrific that people had come out of their houses in the rain to cheer on the runners. The scenery was breath taking and when the sun broke through the cloud and shone on the Loch it was just wonderful, and really made the long stretches of road far easier to bear. The highest point for me was the last two miles. At this point I really hurt and was struggling to keep myself motivated not to walk. I looked to my side and saw a lady running for MacMillan, who I had spoken to on one of the hills at 19 miles, was next to me. Running with someone at this point was exactly what I needed to keep me going and we ran together to the end. Having felt so low to suddenly being with someone who motivated me was just fantastic.The best part of the course for me came after mile 13, the sun was coming out and the rain had stopped. At this point the ups and downs of the roads had become the norm and, dare I say it, quite therapeutic.The majority of the crowd were in the town and they were amazing, as were the pockets of people who came out to support us along the country roads. There were long stretches of road with no one at all, so it made such a difference to see smiling faces cheering us on. The crowd whooping and cheering our names and numbers was fantastic, and certainly spurred me on to go for a sprint finish. 
It was a beautiful route and, despite those hills around mile 20, it was great to run. I would definitely recommend it to others and will do it again, although I will make sure I have fully charged my iPod next time for those lonelier stretches that you think are never going to end. I would tell them to do lots of hill training, as there were plenty of undulations along the route.
I really enjoyed the race, but I definitely experienced some low points. The first 23 miles were through the countryside, which was stunning. It was terrific that people had come out of their houses in the rain to cheer on the runners. The scenery was breath taking and when the sun broke through the cloud and shone on the Loch it was just wonderful, and really made the long stretches of road far easier to bear. The highest point for me was the last two miles. At this point I really hurt and was struggling to keep myself motivated not to walk. I looked to my side and saw a lady running for MacMillan, who I had spoken to on one of the hills at 19 miles, was next to me. Running with someone at this point was exactly what I needed to keep me going and we ran together to the end. Having felt so low to suddenly being with someone who motivated me was just fantastic.The best part of the course for me came after mile 13, the sun was coming out and the rain had stopped. At this point the ups and downs of the roads had become the norm and, dare I say it, quite therapeutic.The majority of the crowd were in the town and they were amazing, as were the pockets of people who came out to support us along the country roads. There were long stretches of road with no one at all, so it made such a difference to see smiling faces cheering us on. The crowd whooping and cheering our names and numbers was fantastic, and certainly spurred me on to go for a sprint finish. It was a beautiful route and, despite those hills around mile 20, it was great to run. I would definitely recommend it to others and will do it again, although I will make sure I have fully charged my iPod next time for those lonelier stretches that you think are never going to end. I would tell them to do lots of hill training, as there were plenty of undulations along the route.