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.
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
AberNecessities Devil of Deeside
Can 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!
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 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
Hurry! Hurry!
There's just a few days left before entries close for Run Balmoral 2023.
The event takes place over the weekend of 22-23 April, but you must sign-up well before then.
If you want your name to appear on your race number, then you must sign-up by midnight on 31 March. We can accept entries after that - only until 4 April - but these race numbers will not have your name on them.
Entries can be made at www.runbalmoral.com
Public places in the Harbour Energy 5k are already fully subscribed but our official race charities may have some places left. You can find details of these here:
runbalmoral.com/content/run-for-charity/
MCCOLGAN PRAISES RUN BALMORAL
Liz McColgan Nuttall says Run Balmoral was one of her favourite events and she has fond memories of running here when her daughter Eilish was a youngster.
Our photo shows Liz and Eilish at Run Balmoral in 2002.
Liz was one of the world's greatest distance runners in the 1980's and 1990's, winning world championship and Commonwealth Games gold medals as well as an Olympic silver in the 10,000m. She was also a star on the roads, winning the London, New York and Tokyo marathons.
Now Eilish is following in those exalted footsteps. The three-time Olympian, who won Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold last summer, has already broken many of her mum's Scottish records. She's due to make her marathon debut at London in April.
And both have previously run at Balmoral. Liz finished second behind Paula Radcliffe's world record-breaking five mile run here in 1998. She also won the 10k in 2003.
Eilish also ran one of her early races here, taking part in the schools event in the early 2000's.
Liz said:"I have some great memories of running at Balmoral . One year in a blizzard (1998) and in later years it was great to run as a family with Eilish.
It's a testing course but great community support. It was one of my favourite races."
So, now everyone can follow in these famous footsteps on April 22-23 by signing up today for one of our races. Bring the family. You never know - we may be watching a star of the future!
But be quick - entries close soon.
go to www.runbalmoral.com
You fancy coming along this year Eilish McColgan
ONLY A HANDFUL OF PLACES LEFT
It's almost full! There's only a handful of places left in the Harbour Energy 5k, so if you want to be part of this great event, get off your marks now and sign up today at www.runbalmoral.com
If the general entries are full, our official charities may still have some places available.
So check them out here: https://runbalmoral.com/content/run-for-charity/
Robert Lucas Snr
Ashley Walker💪🏼
We are delighted that once again we will be welcoming the Friskiss&Svettis team to Run Balmoral.
They'll make sure everyone is primed and ready for action by taking runners through a series of light warm-up exercises prior to each race.
Friskis&Svettis is a non-profit organisation of Swedish origin aiming at providing various forms of exercise. A unique feature of Friskis&Svettis is that all work in the organisation is based on volunteers.
There's just a few weeks to go before the closing date for race entries, so sign-up today to avoid disappointment.
www.runbalmoral.com
Link in the bio.
So, here it is: your magnificent 2023 Run Balmoral medal.
But time is running out if you want to earn this awesome memento of the north-east Scotland's biggest running event.
Entries will close at the beginning of April, so if you are keen to be part of what is always an amazing sporting occasion, held in an iconic location, then sign up today on www.runbalmoral.com
The medal shows Albert's Cairn, one of the key attractions at Balmoral. It's the largest of 11 cairns on the estate and is popularly known as The Great Pyramid of Scotland. The cairn was erected by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, after his death in 1861.
It's the third in our series of five medals showing important local landmarks and follows Lochnagar (2019) and Balmoral Castle (2022). The series will be completed in future years with the Auld Brig o' Dee and Crathie Kirk.
Who is aiming to complete the set? Have you got the previous two?
Let us know. Post a photo showing your other Balmoral medals - even those from earlier years.
Is this for a certain distance or for all of the races?
Got em all so far ready for number 3
Totally love this medal but might need to pull out due to still getting over a sprained ankle and dodgy Achilles 😭 Not been able to run for a few weeks
Stunning medal.
Morag Annette Anderson - I’m determined to see it this year 🤣
Patricia Stenhouse Alison Fraser Jill Murray Gillian Jones I'm all signed up ✅️
Karen Taylor a nice one to add to the collection but can we miss out the hill 😂
Just a few 😊
Ooh this is cool Feefs Philips
Stuart Olsson
Jennifer O'Brien
Dawn Birnie 😻😻😻
Vicky Weston ........
Sami Stannard 🏅
Denisa Adamcikova 😍
👹
Graham West x
Sara Spittal and Sandra Doris!!!!
It's the ultimate test - the Abernecessities Devil of Deeside Challenge. 💪
4 races in a little over 24 hours. 👍
The Harbour Energy 5k and the Stena Drilling 10k on the Saturday followed by the Apollo duathlon and the Bristow 15 mile trail race on the Sunday.
But the rewards are awesome. Glow in the aftermath of becoming a member of the exclusive Devil of Deeside club, collect your Devil medal and wear it with pride.
Are you ready for it?
There are still places available so sign up now on www.runbalmoral.com
How good does it feel when you reach the end of your race? Finishing line facial expressions illustrate a mixture of elation, exhilaration and exhaustion.
The sense of achievement,however, is always immense.
And once it's all over, you can pick up your hard-earned medal and t-shirt, meet up with family and friends, and relax knowing you have handled the challenge to the best of your ability.
Run Balmoral celebrates ALL finishers and everyone is guaranteed an enthusiastic reception when they cross the line.
Be part of it on April 22-23.
Sign-up on www.runbalmoral.com
Sue Barker hosted BBC Grandstand's live coverage of the very first Balmoral races in April 1998.
You might also recognise the two cap-wearing youngsters trudging through the snow that day.
Hopefully, the weather will be much warmer when the 24th Run Balmoral event takes place on April 22-23.
But whatever the conditions, you will be sure of a warm welcome.
It's a great family occasion with races for all ages and lots of attractions to keep the kids entertained.
Sign-up now on www.runbalmoral.com
Link in the bio
My children and I competed
Sheena 😀
Apollo duathlon competitors - here's the classic 2023 t-shirt you can pick up at the end of the race.
And you'll have earned it after completing the 27k journey through the magnificent grounds of the Balmoral estate.
It kicks off with a testing 6k run, passing the front of the Castle. That's the warm-up before transitioning onto the 16k mountain bike circuit which takes you round the scenic Ripe Hill, providing stunning views of Lochnagar.
It's a route not lacking in interest,including some steady ascents and long descents.
The challenge is topped off with another tough 5k run to the welcome finish line.There you can pick up your iconic medal and Apollo t-shirt.
It all happens on Sunday April 23rd 2023.
Sign up now on www.runbalmoral.com
or via the link in our Instagram bio
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.
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) is the People’s Helicopter – saving and improving lives in every corner of Scotland, 365 days a year.
Hurry! Hurry!
There's just a few days left before entries close for Run Balmoral 2023.
The event takes place over the weekend of 22-23 April, but you must sign-up well before then.
If you want your name to appear on your race number, then you must sign-up by midnight on 31 March. We can accept entries after that - only until 4 April - but these race numbers will not have your name on them.
Entries can be made at www.runbalmoral.com
Public places in the Harbour Energy 5k are already fully subscribed but our official race charities may have some places left. You can find details of these here:
runbalmoral.com/content/run-for-charity/ ... See MoreSee Less
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