2023 Race Programme (PDF link 13.7MB)

Run Balmoral 2023 Programme

Thank you runners! More than 4,000 of you will be taking part in our varied programme of races over the weekend of 22nd-23rd April. Entries have now closed and we are putting the final arrangements in place to welcome everyone to what promises to be another fantastic weekend of running. See you all there.  Download the 2023 Run Balmoral Race Programme.

 

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Run Balmoral 2022 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 uot more about the team at Run Balmoral on our About Us page.

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Running and biking under atmospheric skies and over historic trails made Run Balmoral day two another memorable occasion. The drama and aura of the occasion has been captured expertly by Stuart Ross Media, with backing from Tidy Green Clean.
Featuring the Apollo duathlon, the Bristow trail races and the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge.
Relive the moment.
... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago

Comment on Facebook

Run Garioch 2023 Livestream 🏃🏃‍♀https://tinyurl.com/yckmjc35

Run Garioch 2023 Livestream 🏃🏃‍♀https://tinyurl.com/yckmjc35

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Saturday Events

Stena Drilling

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

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

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.

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NFU Mutual

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

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Apollo

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.

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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!

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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

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Devil of Deeside

AberNecessities Devil of Deeside

AbernecessitiesCan you handle the 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!

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Stena Drilling
Harbour Energy

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!

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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 2023. The event will take place over the weekend of April 22-23 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 2022 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 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 2023 medal.

So, don’t delay. Sign up today

 

Thank you

James Knowles

Chairman, Balmoral Road Races Ltd

Stay tuned with updates

Facebook Updates

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1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Running and biking under atmospheric skies and over historic trails made Run Balmoral day two another memorable occasion. The drama and aura of the occasion has been captured expertly by Stuart Ross Media, with backing from Tidy Green Clean.
Featuring the Apollo duathlon, the Bristow trail races and the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge.
Relive the moment.
... See MoreSee Less

Comment on Facebook

Run Garioch 2023 Livestream 🏃🏃‍♀https://tinyurl.com/yckmjc35

Run Garioch 2023 Livestream 🏃🏃‍♀https://tinyurl.com/yckmjc35

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Here we go: relive the moment by checking out our awesome video of Run Balmoral day one, produced by Stuart Ross Media with backing from Tidy Green Clean
What a beautiful day, generating beautiful memories.
Day two coming soon.
... See MoreSee Less

Comment on Facebook

Diane Dunbar 🏃‍♀️

Alison Kelly it’s very flattering isn’t it - NOT

Kevin Milne

Kerry Anderson got my good side 😜

Kerry Anderson saw you both in and Jamie in front 🤣👍🏼

Diane Dunbar rubbish you were flying down that hill !

Alison Kelly is that not what gets time good - downhill 🤣

View more comments

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

More photos.. ... See MoreSee Less

Comment on Facebook

Yes it is x

Kenny Dooley Sharon Morrison we’ve made it in the photos! It’s a good photo of us all!

Ann McRobb is that you?

Nick McLean, Gail Barclay

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

And more... ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Here's more awesome photos from the weekend ... See MoreSee Less

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) was in record-breaking form when retaining his title in the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge at the weekend.
The Moray Road Runners club member clocked an awesome combined time of 3hr 47min 47secs for the four races to break the previous best of 3:48:58 by Alan Semple in 2019.
He was 11th in the Harbour Energy 5k (16min 35secs) and fourth in the Stena Drilling 10k (36:34) on Saturday. He followed that with a runner-up placing in Sunday's Apollo duathlon (1:20:09) before finishing off by taking third position in the Bristow 15 mile trail race (1:34:29).
A truly amazing achievement.
... See MoreSee Less

Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) was in record-breaking form when retaining his title in the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge at the weekend.
The Moray Road Runners club member clocked an awesome combined time of 3hr 47min 47secs for the four races to break the previous best of 3:48:58 by Alan Semple in 2019.
He was 11th in the Harbour Energy 5k (16min 35secs) and fourth in the Stena Drilling 10k (36:34) on Saturday. He followed that with a runner-up placing in Sundays Apollo duathlon (1:20:09) before finishing off by taking third position in the Bristow 15 mile trail race (1:34:29).
A truly amazing achievement.

Comment on Facebook

Well done mate

Top effort Sam Milton 👏

👏👏👏👏👏🥇🏆👌

What a man Sam Milton! 😈

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Here's an exciting short preview of our official Run Balmoral 2023 video produced by Stuart Ross Media with sponsorship from Tidy Green Clean .
The full video is to be published later this week, so watch this space!
... See MoreSee Less

Comment on Facebook

Great video stuart. Hope meryl had a great run of ?? Miles. From sunny Ferrara, italy

Made it.....15 seconds in orange t finishing haha

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

Here's our full round - up of the weekend action at the sharp end of the races.

CROWE SETS RECORD BREAKING HAT-TRICK

Jamie Crowe flew into the record books with a series of stunning performances at this weekend’s Run Balmoral meeting which attracted more than 4,000 runners to Deeside.

The 27 year-old Dundee-based athlete, who represents Central AC, opened up by demonstrating a razor sharp turn of speed to smash the course record in Saturday’s Harbour Energy 5k, clocking 14min 20secs to slash four secs off the previous mark set by Sean Chalmers (Inverness Harriers) 12 months earlier. And this was done despite losing his lead after going off-course at one point.

Elgin-based Lachlan Oates (Shettleston Harriers) finished in the silver medal position for the second year in a row when completing the course in 14:45, and former Scottish 1500m track champion Michael Ferguson (Aberdeen AAC), competing at Balmoral for the first time, took third spot in 15:03. Neither could live with Crowe’s pace.

Then, with little more than 60 minutes of recovery, Crowe was back on the starting line, this time for the Stena Drilling 10k which follows a route widely acknowledged as being one of the toughest in the country. This time he shrugged off his opponents with a performance that was oozing with power and strength, to produce another clearcut victory. His time of 31:54 saw him finish well clear of Aberdeen AAC’s Myles Edwards (32:54) and Aaron Odentz (33:44).

But he wasn’t finished. After a good overnight rest, Crowe returned for the Bristow 15 mile trail race, cruising to a relaxed victory in 1hr 22min 26sec, finishing three mins ahead of Metro Aberdeen’s Kyle Greig.

No-one has previously won this incredible treble at the Balmoral meeting which is now in it’s 24th year.
Crowe said: “I’m preparing for next month’s Great Britain team trial for the world mountain running championships so I just want to do as many races as possible to find out about my fitness. I came up to Ballater for the week and decided to make the most of it.

“I was surprised to get the 5k record as I went a wee bit off course. I went straight on at the point where we were meant to turn. Fortunately, Michael Ferguson called me back so I only lost five or six seconds.

“I was surprised my legs felt fine in the 10k as well although the hill was a bit of a surprise. I had been told about it but never realised just how much of a climb it is. But I’m training for mountain running, so it probably did me good. It’s a nice course with most of it off road, which is good.

“And I enjoyed the 15 miler as well. It’s a stunning course and there’s another surprisingly tough hill near the end.”

GB international Meryl Cooper (Deeside Runners) made a late surge to claim top spot in the women’s division of the Bristow 15 mile trail race with a time of 1:45:29. Harriet Cross was runner-up in 1:47:27 and Mhairi McAllister was third in 1:48:28.

Contance Nankivell celebrated her 23rd birthday by winning the women’s division of the Harbour Energy 5k in a personal best time of 17:11. The Edinburgh University student, who comes from Strathpeffer, was competing in the Deeside event for the first time since finishing third in 2015.
She said: “It’s a long time since I’ve been here but I took part every year when I was at school, from about age 10 to 15. This is the first chance I’ve had to come back since going to university.
“It’s a great way to start my birthday and I’m very happy with my time. It’s my first race for a while as I picked up a hip injury in February so it’s good to put in a decent performance. I’m now looking forward to next month’s Scottish 5k and 10k road championships.”

Gemma Cormack (Moray Road Runners) won the battle of the new mums to take second position in 17:57 while Jenny Bannerman (Inverness Harriers) was third in 18:11. Cormack has been a regular competitor at Balmoral over the years, winning the secondary schools race in 2006 and the 5k title in 2015. She said: “My daughter was born last May while Jenny’s son came along five weeks later, so it’s good to see we are both getting back into it. I really enjoyed the run.”
Bannerman also has a fine record at Balmoral, having won the 5k in 2016 and 2018, and she’s been runner-up on a further three occasions.

Nicola MacDonald (Metro Aberdeen) won the women’s division of the Stena Drilling 10k, recording 38:41 to finish comfortably ahead of Clubmate Chloe Gray (40:20) and Moira Davie (Forres Harriers, 43:22).
The late withdrawl of the 2022 champion and course record holder Ginie Barrand, opened the door for MacDonald to step up one place from last year.
She said: “It’s a bit of a bitter sweet feeling as I’d have liked Ginie to be here, but I hope she gets over her injury quickly. I really enjoy this race as there’s no pressure on chasing a fast time, it’s just all about putting in the effort.”

Aberdeen’s Ian Russell won the Apollo duathlon in 1:19:10 with the 2022 champion Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) second in 1:20:08 while Ballater’s Dan Whitehead was third in 1:23:09. Jenny Stanning (Metro Aberdeen) put in a powerful performance to lift the women’s title in 1:36:58. She was followed by Suzanne Matonti (Torphins) in 1:43:39 and Estera Zak (Fleet Feet) in 1:45:45.

Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) won the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge for the second year in a row. He completed the daunting task of tackling the 5k, 10k, duathlon and 15 mile trail race in a combined time of 3:47:47, which is a new record. Estera Zak lifted the women’s title in 4:52:05.

Harry Jackson (Aberdeen AAC) won the Bristow 3 mile trail race in 19:37 while Caris Strachan (Newburgh Dunes) retained the women’s crown in 23:11.

Alex Henthorn (Harlaw Academy) showed outstanding form to outpace his rivals in the NFU Mutual secondary schools’ 2.5k. The Aberdeen AAC runner stopped the clock at 7:43 to finish 16 secs clear of his clubmate Struan McKay (Hazlehead Academy) who outsprinted Gala Harriers’ Gregor Adamson (St Mary’s Melrose) by two secs to take the silver medal position.

There was more success for Aberdeen AAC when Jessica Needs, a student at Peterhead Academy, won the girls’ race in 8:19. She had finished second in 2022. Emily Christie (St Mungo’s High),from Falkirk Victoria Harriers, who equalled the course record when winning the primary schools race in 2022, stepped up a level and did admirably to finish second in 8:29. Rhian Birnie (Inverurie Academy), who represents Metro Aberdeen Running Club, was third for the second year in a row, in 8:57. The 2022 champion Hope Thomson (Banchory Academy) was fourth in 9:04.

Patrick Kennedy, a pupil at Banchory school, led the way in the MPH primary schools 1.5k, clocking 5:46 to finish 13secs ahead of Cullen Bowie (Old Rayne School) while Joe Murray (Strathburn School) was a further five secs behind in third position.
Braemar’s Eilidh Murdoch topped the podium in the girls’ 1.5K, recording 6:00. It’s an impressive time, bettered by only one runner in the boys race. Zoe Bichen (Drumoak school) was second in 6:30 with Rachel Fitzpatrick (Hazlehead School) third in 6:46.
... See MoreSee Less

Heres our full round - up of the weekend action at the sharp end of the races.

CROWE SETS RECORD BREAKING HAT-TRICK

Jamie Crowe flew into the record books with a series of stunning performances at this weekend’s Run Balmoral meeting which attracted more than 4,000 runners to Deeside.

The 27 year-old Dundee-based athlete, who represents Central AC, opened up by demonstrating a razor sharp turn of speed to smash the course record in Saturday’s Harbour Energy 5k, clocking 14min 20secs to slash four secs off the previous mark set by Sean Chalmers (Inverness Harriers) 12 months earlier. And this was done despite losing his lead after going off-course at one point.

Elgin-based Lachlan Oates (Shettleston Harriers) finished in the silver medal position for the second year in a row when completing the course in 14:45, and former Scottish 1500m track champion Michael Ferguson (Aberdeen AAC), competing at Balmoral for the first time, took third spot in 15:03. Neither could live with Crowe’s pace.

Then, with little more than 60 minutes of recovery, Crowe was back on the starting line, this time for the Stena Drilling 10k which follows a route widely acknowledged as being one of the toughest in the country. This time he shrugged off his opponents with a performance that was oozing with power and strength, to produce another clearcut victory. His time of 31:54 saw him finish well clear of Aberdeen AAC’s Myles Edwards (32:54) and Aaron Odentz (33:44).

But he wasn’t finished. After a good overnight rest, Crowe returned for the Bristow 15 mile trail race, cruising to a relaxed victory in 1hr 22min 26sec, finishing three mins ahead of Metro Aberdeen’s Kyle Greig.

No-one has previously won this incredible treble at the Balmoral meeting which is now in it’s 24th year.
Crowe said: “I’m preparing for next month’s Great Britain team trial for the world mountain running championships so I just want to do as many races as possible to find out about my fitness. I came up to Ballater for the week and decided to make the most of it.

“I was surprised to get the 5k record as I went a wee bit off course. I went straight on at the point where we were meant to turn. Fortunately, Michael Ferguson called me back so I only lost five or six seconds.

“I was surprised my legs felt fine in the 10k as well although the hill was a bit of a surprise. I had been told about it but never realised just how much of a climb it is. But I’m training for mountain running, so it probably did me good. It’s a nice course with most of it off road, which is good.

“And I enjoyed the 15 miler as well. It’s a stunning course and there’s another surprisingly tough hill near the end.”

GB international Meryl Cooper (Deeside Runners) made a late surge to claim top spot in the women’s division of the Bristow 15 mile trail race with a time of 1:45:29. Harriet Cross was runner-up in 1:47:27 and Mhairi McAllister was third in 1:48:28.

Contance Nankivell celebrated her 23rd birthday by winning the women’s division of the Harbour Energy 5k in a personal best time of 17:11. The Edinburgh University student, who comes from Strathpeffer, was competing in the Deeside event for the first time since finishing third in 2015.
She said: “It’s a long time since I’ve been here but I took part every year when I was at school, from about age 10 to 15. This is the first chance I’ve had to come back since going to university.
“It’s a great way to start my birthday and I’m very happy with my time. It’s my first race for a while as I picked up a hip injury in February so it’s good to put in a decent performance. I’m now looking forward to next month’s Scottish 5k and 10k road championships.”

Gemma Cormack (Moray Road Runners) won the battle of the new mums to take second position in 17:57 while Jenny Bannerman (Inverness Harriers) was third in 18:11. Cormack has been a regular competitor at Balmoral over the years, winning the secondary schools race in 2006 and the 5k title in 2015. She said: “My daughter was born last May while Jenny’s son came along five weeks later, so it’s good to see we are both getting back into it. I really enjoyed the run.”
Bannerman also has a fine record at Balmoral, having won the 5k in 2016 and 2018, and she’s been runner-up on a further three occasions. 

Nicola MacDonald (Metro Aberdeen) won the women’s division of the Stena Drilling 10k, recording 38:41 to finish comfortably ahead of Clubmate Chloe Gray (40:20) and Moira Davie (Forres Harriers, 43:22).
The late withdrawl of the 2022 champion and course record holder Ginie Barrand, opened the door for MacDonald to step up one place from last year.
She said: “It’s a bit of a bitter sweet feeling as I’d have liked Ginie to be here, but I hope she gets over her injury quickly. I really enjoy this race as there’s no pressure on chasing a fast time, it’s just all about putting in the effort.”

Aberdeen’s Ian Russell won the Apollo duathlon in 1:19:10 with the 2022 champion Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) second in 1:20:08 while Ballater’s Dan Whitehead was third in 1:23:09. Jenny Stanning (Metro Aberdeen) put in a powerful performance to lift the women’s title in 1:36:58. She was followed by Suzanne Matonti (Torphins) in 1:43:39 and Estera Zak (Fleet Feet) in 1:45:45.

Sam Milton (Moray Road Runners) won the AberNecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge for the second year in a row. He completed the daunting task of tackling the 5k, 10k, duathlon and 15 mile trail race in a combined time of 3:47:47, which is a new record. Estera Zak lifted the women’s title in 4:52:05.

Harry Jackson (Aberdeen AAC) won the Bristow 3 mile trail race in 19:37 while Caris Strachan (Newburgh Dunes) retained the women’s crown in 23:11.

Alex Henthorn (Harlaw Academy) showed outstanding form to outpace his rivals in the NFU Mutual secondary schools’ 2.5k. The Aberdeen AAC runner stopped the clock at 7:43 to finish 16 secs clear of his clubmate Struan McKay (Hazlehead Academy) who outsprinted Gala Harriers’ Gregor Adamson (St Mary’s Melrose) by two secs to take the silver medal position.

There was more success for Aberdeen AAC when Jessica Needs, a student at Peterhead Academy, won the girls’ race in 8:19. She had finished second in 2022. Emily Christie (St Mungo’s High),from Falkirk Victoria Harriers, who equalled the course record when winning the primary schools race in 2022, stepped up a level and did admirably to finish second in 8:29. Rhian Birnie (Inverurie Academy), who represents Metro Aberdeen Running Club, was third for the second year in a row, in 8:57. The 2022 champion Hope Thomson (Banchory Academy) was fourth in 9:04.

Patrick Kennedy, a pupil at Banchory school, led the way in the MPH primary schools 1.5k, clocking 5:46 to finish 13secs ahead of Cullen Bowie (Old Rayne School) while Joe Murray (Strathburn School) was a further five secs behind in third position.
Braemar’s Eilidh Murdoch topped the podium in the girls’ 1.5K, recording 6:00. It’s an impressive time, bettered by only one runner in the boys race. Zoe Bichen (Drumoak school) was second in 6:30 with Rachel Fitzpatrick (Hazlehead School) third in 6:46.

Comment on Facebook

Thanks to all making it happen, always a great "hilly of a time" at Balmoral!

It was a lovely weekend - I did the 10k then the 3mile on Sunday - and certainly not at those speeds!! 😂 Amazing race times! I made the most of my entry by taking waaay longer to finish! 😆

1 month ago
Run Balmoral

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Comment on Facebook

Thanks for the photos! Is there a plan to upload the group photo of the Devils taken on the start line of the 15?

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