Islay Half Marathon

On the Saturday of our holiday I plod around the Islay Half Marathon which is hosted by the island’s capital Bowmore, home of the famous whisky, but the race is sponsored by Ardbeg, one of the rival distilleries on the island of which there are eight.

The race was tough on a fairly hilly course and it rained throughout. There are some pretty serious straights on the course and I swear that as you come up to one mile marker you can actually see the next in the distance. Perhaps, if your eyesight was better than mine, you’d be able to see the next one too.

I finish in a very pedestrian 1:54 and gagging for a post race pint. Unfortunately Belhaven Best on keg is the best they could offer. I did swear I would not have another one but I do and again it is awful. Much better at the race presentation is the free whiskey from Ardbeg. They give out loads of prizes including gallon bottles to the winners. Clearly they are keen to upstage the local Bowmore distillery but it’s all too late for us. We’re already sold on Bunnahabhain after an excellent sales pitch by their rep on the ferry over, as in free samples.