Inverness runner Shaun Cumming proud to finish on the podium at Loch Ness Marathon as Highland Hill Runners member claims bronze medal
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Highland Hill Runners athlete Shaun Cumming says he was ecstatic to finish on the podium at the Loch Ness Marathon.
The Inverness athlete won a bronze medal as he completed the 26.2 mile course in a time of two hours, 26 minutes and 37 seconds.
He almost claimed second after a sprint to the finish with Isaiah Kosgei of Kenya, but missed out on the silver medal by one second.
The race was won by Corstorphine Athletics Club athlete Dougie Selman who won in a time of 2:23:36.
But Cumming beat his personal best over the distance by six minutes and was thrilled that he earned a place in the top-three.
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.”
Kosgei was leading the race for 24 miles but a sudden loss of pace allowed Selman to take over and win the marathon.
Selman said afterwards: “I don’t know what Kosgei went through the halfway point in, but when I got there he was out of sight.
I ran quite consistently from that point on but quite suddenly after about 23 or 24 miles I could see the gap was closing and I could see he was slowing down.
"I passed him after the 24 mile mark and just kept going. 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 the Inverness.
He was relaxed about the outcome, saying: “I went through halfway in about one hour and eight minutes in, 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."
