Athlete interview: Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra

The Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra truly is one of its kind. Spanning across 56 miles of Scotland, the race features sights such as the Falkirk Wheel, Antonine Wheel and Union canals, before finishing in the historic town of Edinburgh.

This year’s winners were Martin Heggie (7:06:26) and Jessica Haney (8:30:47), who also managed new course records for both the male and female categories. We wanted to hear about about experience of Scotland and what strategies they used to win the race.

Martin: The Glasgow to Edinburgh ultra was a really competitive race. I did it last year and I finished fourth place, so I made it one of my A races this year. I had a big training block before this, so I was pretty confident in myself and found it relatively straightforward. It was a great competition with a good field that pushed me. I really enjoyed the race. After doing 50 miles I thought to myself ‘I’m not doing this race again’. But after the dust settled I realised there are a couple of things I can work on. 

What were some of the highlights of the race?

I promised myself last year that one day I would run into tape, and there it was.

Martin: Definitely my crew. I was doing an ultra called Isle of Skye and I met this guy and made pals with him ever since. He came down and crewed for me with his partner. Just having them share the experience with me and have a name at each checkpoint was a highlight. The bagpipes were a brilliant start to the ultra. I’ve done over 30 now and that was definitely one of the best starts.