Despite strike action affecting ferry services, over 200 runners still rose to the initial challenge of just getting to Barra, before completing this, the 16th Barrathon.
Weather conditions were fair, with a tailwind helping runners for the first half of the course, although they had to battle a headwind on the much hillier east side of the island.
Ray Ward of HBT won the overall race for the second consecutive year, with a time of 1:17:12. The first female home was Megan Mowbray, also HBT, with a time of 1:30:14. Uist Road Runners, made up of Johnny Lawson, Greig Glendinning and Nea MacInnes took the team prize, with a cumulative time of 4:06:11, just ahead of HB Team with their time of 4:06:41 (Ray Ward, Douglas Tullie and Jon Rathjen).
Following a sumptuous seafood buffet, those runners that were still standing were entertained by the infamous Vatersay Boys at the annual Barrathon ceilidh, the proceeds of which are donated to MacMillan Cancer and other local charities.
Katie MacNeil, the race director, said of the event: “Although the recent RMT strike action on CalMac ferry services undoubtedly affected participation, with a significant number of entrants withdrawing over the last few days, we are indebted to the 214 runners who made such an effort to get to Barra for the race. For some, this involved an overnight ferry journey; for others, it meant leaving home at 3am. Thankfully, the lack of sleep did not dampen spirits, and the atmosphere was good. In our eyes, the day has been a success.”
Results for the Barrathon, Fun Run and Junior Fun Run are all listed on the Barrathon website at www.barrathon.org.uk.
