Inverness Amateur Athletics Club win double in Baxters River Ness 10k while Moray Road Runners' Ewan Davidson finishes third
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Scotland cross country international Sean Chalmers dominated the Baxters River Ness 10k with a commanding performance in which he led from gun to tape.
The Inverness Harriers club member, who was runner-up when the event was last held two years ago, overcame blustery conditions to complete the course in 30min 15secs.
He said: "I realised it was very windy in the first 2k and I thought about tucking in, but felt the pace might be too slow. So, I decided to push on hard enough so that no-one would be able to sit in behind me.
"I opened up a 10m gap right away and from that point it was a solo run, which made it a hard graft. It was fine in the middle stages with the wind behind and I was able to push on, but when I turned back into the wind for the final stretch I realised I was spent. So, it was a case of settling for the win rather than chasing a fast.”
Max Abernethy also found himself alone for much of the way when achieving a personal best time of 30:58 for second position. The Fraserburgh runner, who was sixth two years ago, was delighted with the outcome.
He said:"Overall, the wind wasn't as bad as I expected although it was really tough towards the end. But I'm very happy with second position and chuffed with the time as its a big PB."
Ewan Davidson (Moray Road Runners) was third in 31:24 while Scotland 100k international Jason Kelly (Metro Aberdeen) showed good speed over what is for him a short distance to take fourth spot in 31:29. Donnie Macdonald (Inverness harriers) was first over-40, 11th overall, in 33:02 while Gareth Jenkins (Moray Road Runners) lifted the over-50's prize in 34:33.
Great Britain junior international Megan Keith (Inverness Harriers) was an impressive winner of the women's race. The Edinburgh University sports science student recorded 34:22, a time bettered by only 15 men.
The difficult conditions meant she was unable to take the course record of 33:46 set by Kenya's Cathy Mutwa in 2006 but her time is still the second quickest in the 17-year history of the 10k.
She said:"It was a tough one today, especially as I've just come back from Fresher's Week at the Uni. I wanted to start conservatively but after the first kilometre I got a bit isolated so I then probably went too fast to catch a group.
“I went through 5k at a decent clip but struggled towards the end when I was on my own again. I think I was on track for 34min until the final kilometre but I just couldn't keep the momentum going into the wind.
"But, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Inverness crowd is just amazing. They really kept me going over the closing stages."
Three-time previous winner Jenny Bannerman (Inverness Harriers) was runner-up in 36:27 with Michelle Slater (Moray Road Runners) taking third position, and first in the over-40 age group, in 40:18.
Jennifer Robertson (Peterhead AC) was fourth, second over-40, in 41:48 and Nicole Murray was fifth in 43:11. Rachel McCuaig (Nairn Road Runners) was first over-50 in 43:28.
