27 & 28 April 2024
Run Balmoral 2023 Annual Report
Each year we produce an annual report with a summary of the event, so if you would like to find out more you can download the report here.
You can find out more about the team at Run Balmoral on our About Us page.
What’s New?:
Saturday Events
Stena Drilling 10K
The Stena Drilling 10K takes you through some beautiful Highland scenery on the Balmoral Estate and will be clearly marked and well marshalled.
Harbour Energy 5K
The Harbour Energy 5K all takes place on estate tarmac roads. The race begins heading west from the Castle adjacent the river Dee to a turn point at the Highland Pony Stud. There is a slight incline as the route returns to the castle via the “top road” which has magnificent views of Balmoral Castle and gardens.
MPH Primary Schools Run 1.5k
The race where some of our national and International runners started! The race is completely contained on tarmac roads in the estate and passes right in front of Balmoral Castle! Well marshalled and signed throughout with a lead cyclist and sweep runner. The race starts and finishes at the main finish gantry.
NFU Mutual Secondary Schools 2.5k
Once past primary School age many of our runners graduate to the 2.5K event. The race is completely contained on tarmac roads in the estate and passes right in front of Balmoral Castle! Well marshalled and signed throughout with a lead cyclist and sweep runner. The race starts and finishes at the main finish gantry.
Sunday Events
Apollo Duathlon
Aberdeen based engineering and project services provider Apollo are our sponsor for the duathlon featuring a 16K mountain biking stage with a 6k run to start and a 5k run to finish.
Bristow 15 Mile Trail Race
An epic 15 miles of Highland scenery. There is something special about this event! You start in view of Balmoral Castle and run out west adjacent the magnificent river Dee before beginning a gradual climb through the Ballochbuie pine forest. Then at mile 8, you leave the river and begin a climb to the base of Lochnagar, an ascent of about 120 meters. The last 3 miles are a rush as you hurtle down towards the Castle once again; but beware..there is a sting in the tail!
Bristow 3 Mile Trail Race
Don’t be fooled into thinking the Bristow 3 Mile trail race is an easy option! This fast little trail race heads off adjacent to the river Dee before turning up hill. In just 2 miles you climb 350 Meters, before a fast descent for the last mile. A mix of tarmac, track and slippy grass, this is a true all terrain event!
Weekend Challenges
John Clark Motor Group Devil of Deeside
Can you handle the John Clark Motor Group Devil O Deeside? To dance with the Devil you have to complete the Stena Drilling 10K, Harbour Energy 5K, Bristow 15 Mile Trail race and the Apollo Duathlon! There will be two categories of winner; male with the fastest overall cumulative time and female with the fastest cumulative time. That’s it!
Stena Drilling / Harbour Energy Corporate Team Challenge
Corporate Challenge Trophy The StenaDrilling – Harbour Energy Corporate Team Challenge is an exciting competition embodied within RunBalmoral. It provides a wonderful opportunity for you to get together with your work / colleagues to compete for the magnificent team trophy to be awarded to the RunBalmoral Corporate Team Challenge Champions.
welcome
reasons to run with us!
Be Healthy
Regular running helps you stay fit and healthy.
Spectacular Scenery
Enjoy the fresh air and the spectacular scenery, from mountains to the castle and its landscaped grounds.
Fun for friends and families
A great day out for runners and spectators, with an event village on site.
Raise money for charity
It is an opportunity to not only get fit and have a great day out, but to make a donation to a nominated charity.
We are thrilled to announce that entries have now opened for Run Balmoral 2024. The event will take place over the weekend of April 27-28 and we are already putting our plans in place to welcome thousands of runners back to the magnificent grounds of the Balmoral estate for what promises to be another wonderful occasion.
The 2023 event was extremely successful with lots of positive feedback from many runners and spectators who enjoyed the family atmosphere which makes this such a special event.
We will once again hold races for all ages groups, over a variety of distances. So, no matter what your preference, there’s something for you at Run Balmoral. And, of course, the John Clark Motor Group Devil of Deeside offers the ultimate challenge.
We will be continuing with our series of special medals depicting notable landmarks within and around the Balmoral Estate. Look out for details coming soon as to what will be on the 2024 medal.
So, don’t delay. Sign up today
James Knowles
Chairman, Balmoral Road Races Ltd
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) is the People’s Helicopter – saving and improving lives in every corner of Scotland, 365 days a year.
Support Women’s Health Research at the University of Aberdeen
Friends of the Neonatal Unit is the official charity of Aberdeen Maternity Hospital’s Neonatal Unit for premature and sick babies.
The FOS Group has been formed by engineering experts Apollo and offshore construction specialists AquaTerra to give our clients in the North Sea a simpler, smarter alternative to delivering projects on and offshore for the oil and gas business.
CHARITY AIR AMBULANCE RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM RUN BALMORAL
Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) has received a £1000 donation from the organisers of the north east's biggest running event.
Run Balmoral, which attracts 5,000 runners to the royal estate on Deeside every year, offers a programme of races for all ages and is recognised as one of Scotland's most popular events.
But putting on an event of this scale, in a beautiful but relatively remote setting on the edge of the Cairngorms, poses its own challenges and requires the support of many agencies and organisations, including @scaa_charity
Run Balmoral Chair James Knowles said: "Ensuring the safety of our competitors and spectators at Run Balmoral is one of our priorities. Medical and emergency services are among our key partners and you can never be sure when they might be called into action.
SCAA has been one of our official charities and supporters for a number of years and we wanted to show our appreciation of the work they do.
“A runner in this year’s Stena Drilling 10k had to be airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after suffering a cardiac arrest, and the prompt action on the part of a number of people, including other runners in the race, Air Training Cadets and professional medical staff, ensured his life was saved.
“The helicopter on this occasion came from the Scottish Ambulance Service, after liaising with SCAA in Aberdeen, both organisations working in tandem to ensure the quickest possible response.
“We recognise that the Scottish Ambulance Service air ambulance operation is wholly funded by the Scottish Government whereas SCAA relies solely on its own fund-raising initiatives, and receipt of donations. So, we wanted to recognise that.”
Kate Loades, SCAA Community Fundraising Manager, added: “We are very grateful to the team at Run Balmoral for such a generous donation to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance. We rely on donations like this to keep us flying and available to respond to the next person who needs our help. So far this year crews have responded to 857 calls to people seriously ill or injured.”
Photo shows SCAA paramedics Greg Mackay and Claire Allan with James Knowles. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Young artists have just a few more days until the closing date for this year's Run Balmoral t-shirt design competition.
So, if you would like to see your artwork appearing on the tops worn by hundreds of youngsters in the MPH primary schools 1.5k or the NFU Mutual secondary schools 2.5k, get you entry in by November 30th.
There's great prizes up for grabs too, so don't miss this exciting opportunity. Full details in the previous post.
Here's a sample of the great entries received so far. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
So many fabulous designs gonna be a hard task choosing
TIME IS RUNNING OUT - SO SUBMIT YOUR T-SHIRT DESIGN IDEAS NOW FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A GREAT PRIZE
Once again we are looking for a budding young artist/designer to come up with an imaginative and creative image to be printed on the t-shirts awarded to more than 1,000 runners in the 2024 Run Balmoral primary and secondary schools races.
BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT - ENTRIES MUST BE MADE BY 30 NOVEMBER.
There's an awesome prize up for grabs as the winner in each category will receive £50 for themselves with a further £100 cheque to be given to their school,sports club or favourite charity.
The winners will also receive a free race entry for Run Balmoral which is held over the weekend of April 27-28.
The primary school's winner will receive a free entry to the MPH primary schools 1.5k. The secondary school's winner will receive a free entry to the NFU Mutual secondary schools 2.5k - although those aged 15 or over on the day of the race can enter the Harbour Energy 5k if they prefer.
The rules are simple:
The competition is open to anyone attending primary or secondary school or home schooling.
Primary school pupils can enter the primary schools design competition; secondary school pupils can enter the secondary schools design competition.
Your image should be no larger than A4 paper size. You can submit more than one image.
Scan or photograph it, then send it to us at info@runbalmoral.com
Please keep the original version as we may need it at a later date.
IMPORTANT: Please remember to provide us with the following information:
Your name.
Age.
School name.
Contact email address and/or phone number for your school.
Contact name and email address and/or phone number for a parent/guardian.
Name of school/club or charity you would want your prize to go to if successful.
The school or club submitting the most entries in each category will also receive 2 free entries for either the primary or secondary schools races.
Schools can choose how they want to allocate these free places (maybe a lucky draw open to those who submitted entries?)
The closing date for entries is 5pm on 30th November 2023. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
The New York City Marathon is topping the bill on the International road running circuit today, and Kevin McGarry, one of Run Balmoral's top photography team, has captured the magic of one of the world's most famous races.
Kevin's skills have also showcased the spectacular scenery and warm local welcome given to everyone who experiences Run Balmoral.
Here we show a couple of examples of Kevin's work at both venues.
So, follow in the footsteps of @kmcgphoto and sign-up now for Run Balmoral 2024 at www.runbalmoral.com
Link in bio ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Two-time Olympic 5000m runner @andybutchart - a previous Run Balmoral champion - will make his marathon debut in New York on Sunday.
Everyone at Run Balmoral wishes the 32 year-old Scot the best of luck as he races 26.2 miles for the first time.
Andy won the 5k at Balmoral in 2013 and since then he has developed into one of the country's greatest distance runners, holding Scottish records for 3000m,5000m and 10,000m.
But what time do you think Butchy will run this weekend? Can he break Callum Hawkins Scottish record of 2hr 8min 14secs?
Let's hear your predictions. Comment below. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Jennifer Robertson
2:12
2:14
It's Halloween so why not TREAT yourself to a race entry for Run Balmoral 2024 (April 27-28).
If you can't decide WITCH race to do, why not go for the DEVIL OF DEESIDE CHALLENGE and tackle all four adult races over the weekend. That would be a MAGIC idea.
Sign up now at www.runbalmoral.com ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Alex Wilson-MacGillivray
Kelly Robertson Stephanie Wilson
Dochy Ormiston I hope you have your entry in for the 5K and getting the training done . X
Tracy Watt just saying...
Great News!
The clocks go back on Sunday morning which means....you have an extra hour to train for Run Balmoral 2024!
So, get up and get running.
And sign up for one or more of our great races on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th April 2024.
Enter now at www.runbalmoral.com ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
It was fantastic to see thousands of people enjoying the Loch Ness marathon and the Great Scottish Run this weekend.
These are two amazing events, but Scotland has another awesome running festival which you shouldn't miss.
Run Balmoral takes place over the weekend of 27-28 April 2024 and offers races for all age groups over a wide variety of distances.
You can explore the spectacular grounds of the royal estate, run past the famous Castle and tackle the stunning trails in the shadow of majestic Lochnagar.
So, don't miss out. Sign up today at www.runbalmoral.com ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Done it with Sam Sam Lines Rennie great run. 🏃♀️
Deborah Marwick
Super organised races, all start and finish at the same place, take place sequentially so the whole family can take part AND cheer each other on! Fantastic goody bags and atmosphere too, and within travelling distance of leaving Aberdeen at a reasonable time of day! What's not to love?!
Emma Windle nice Drumoak Junior Jog on tour 🥰🥰
Check out the HOBs Hurricane!
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From Berlin to Balmoral
Inspired by the incredible performances and the amazing atmosphere at today's Berlin marathon?
Then why not sign up now for another awesome race in a majestic setting with superb crowd support?
Run Balmoral, held over the weekend of April 27-28 2024, offers a range of exciting challenges.
It's a great family occasion with races for all age groups, plus a vibrant Event Village offering loads of children's activities as well as a range of quality food and drink stalls.
Don't miss it.
Sign up now on www.runbalmoral.com ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Helen Rees can we can we can we?
Scott Boyd
Sara Rennie Balmoral?
Sara Spittal Sandra Doris?