Whyte Christmas at Nairn

30 DEC2009

Despite its claims of being one of the sunniest and driest places in the country, the annual turkey trot in the popular holiday town of Nairn was affected by the adverse weather conditions. The icy underfoot conditions on the traditional course meant that organisers had to spend some of their Christmas Day rerouting the race along the Highland town's sandy East Beach.

Although the numbers were down a little on recent years, some 88 hardy souls braved the freezing conditions to burn off their Christmas calories. Amongst those taking part in the Boxing Day event were Mrs Santa Claus, who finds herself at a loose end at this time of the year, as well as DC's Batman, Robin and the Joker. The cartoon characters were joined by some serious runners, with Paul Rogan and Melissa Whyte being the stars of the day.

Although the fast times indicate that the alternative route was significantly shorter than 5k, there were still some fine performances on the day.

Foress Flier

In the absence of last year's winner Ross Milne, 40 year old Rogan continued the improvement which saw him earn second spot last year by going one better to claim gold with a new PB of 17:11. In a repeat of last year's race the Foress runner put on an impressive display to see off a strong challenge from former Scottish North District Cross Country Champion, Ross Arbuckle (M45). The Keith runner having finished third in there last year's event earned second this year with a time of 17:19.

Whyte Christmas

Cross Country and 10k specialist Melissa Whyte transferred her fine form to the shorter distance, winning the woman's race, and placing third overall, in a time of 17:27. It was 1,2,3 for the Inverness women as the 45 year old super vet was followed over the line 95 seconds later by her younger rival Jenny Bannerman. The 22 year old Inverness runner settled for second place with 19:02 with 40 year old Inverness runner Julie Wilson earning third position with 20:45.

Ani Jones closed the race finishing in 88th spot, with a time of 44:12.

Full Results