Posts for January, 2024

Beginning inland at the award winning Grant Park in Forres, you run along the High Street before turning and crossing the A96, towards the famous eco-village of Findhorn. Kinloss Barracks will be on your right (look out for planes!) and the local bay’s nature reserve will be on your left. From here the coastal trail properly begins and the views are incredible!

From the trail at the top of the dunes, you enter Roseisle Forest all the way to Burghead, where a lovely new tarred path will greet you after Burghead Distillery to Hopeman.

The section from Hopeman to Covesea has some superb clifftop trails with even more spectacular views. At Covesea, provided the tide is out, you run along the beach with the lighthouse on your right and you feel like you are on a tropical island all the way to Lossiemouth, which is aid station 1!

You will go over the brand new Lossiemouth Bridge and tackle the “5km from hell” to Kingston, where you follow Garmouth & Kingston Golf Course, crossing the beautiful railway bridge before turning right, heading south towards Fochabers, which is aid station 2.

Continuing south, you pass Boat O’ Brig, and start to climb Ben Aigen and follow a lovely descent into Craigellachie. You are now in whisky country!

Following the Speyside Way to Aberlour and towards Grantown-on-Spey, you pass several distilleries – soak in the sights and smells in this area! Aid station 3 is in the heart of it!

At Grantown, which is aid station 4, you join the Dava Way and have “just” a marathon to go! It is downhill from here, taking in the beautiful Cairngorms around you and the Moray Firth views in front of you.

On re-entering Forres, you will wind through more picturesque trails before finishing back at Grant Park. You have just completed the world’s most beautiful 100 milers… congratulations (not that we’re bias)!

The 1st Speyside Way race first took place on 3rd April 1994 (Easter Sunday as a matter of fact!) as a 50km as opposed to a 35miler (sorry on behalf of the race for adding that extra part for you!). Throughout its 22 year history, legends in not only distance running, but running as a whole, have competed in this event. This event is stacked in history – from the late Don Ritchie himself (former 100km world record holder, who later took on the job as race director) and world 100km champion Simon Pride, to Commonwealth Games runner Fraser Clyne and even 1500m specialist Brian Scally.

The 50km route is a great transition from road running to trail running, and great for a fast time. It is runnable, net downhill (let’s not mention the climb at Ben Aigen to keep you honest!) and has a beautiful finish on a coastal path and a wee sting in the tail before the finish line.

In 2021, we added a 100km option, where runners do an extra epic mountainous section (again, you are going downhill) from Aviemore to Tamdhu Distillery, where they join the 50km route all the way through whisky country to finish at the coast in Buckie.

The Dramathon is actually four races : The Full Dram (nearly 42km), The Half Dram (nearly 21km), The Wee Dram (just over 10km) and the relay (We Dram).

All are trail races, mostly on well-maintained paths along the beautiful Speyside Way. The route takes in several distilleries along the route, offering sights and smells to ignite your senses. Depending on the distance you run you will pick up the corresponding miniatures of single malt at the end of the race.

The finish line for all the races is at Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown. The full marathon starts at Glenfarclas, the half-marathon starts at Tamdhu, the 10K in Aberlour and the various legs of the relay divide up the marathon route into roughly 4 x 10km.

The course is overall pretty flat, as it mostly follows the old railway line of the Speyside Way, but there are a few hills (one ascent in each of the four sections of the full marathon course). The final stretch from Craigellachie to Dufftown is a gradual uphill slope. Some short sections on minor roads (about 5k of the full marathon course in total).

The Spey Valley will be in full spectacular Autumnal bloom on race weekend – come and experience one of the most beautiful and interesting corners of Scotland.

The Dramathon is beautifully structured and well-paced with a great finish. Just like a Speyside malt in fact …

More details are available on the event website – http:www.thedramathon.com

To see the route simply click on this Link below

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/1392766687

Please note that we reserve the right to change the route at any time. Please watch the event’s facebook page for latest updates :

https://www.facebook.com/The-Dramathon-105544339878704/

You can also follow us on Instagram

or join The Dramathon Training Club on Strava : https://strava.com/clubs/302395

The Dava Way is the perfect race to transition from marathons to ultras, or if you are a seasoned ultrarunner looking for a quick 50km.

This trail links the historic towns of Grantown-on-Spey and Forres, with a “fun” finish to show you the RD’s favourite running spots as a child to make the 50km distance! The route predominantly follows the old Highland Railway line, which means an off road yet runnable trail.

The flat line goes up to the Dava Summit (1050ft) – which will keep things interesting! – before descending down to sea level. With a mix of woodland, moorland and farm track, the Dava way is one of Scotland’s hidden treasures!

Highlights include:

The Divie viaduct, the trail’s icon, saved from demolition by Lord Laing
Huntly’s Cove, a gorge where the 2nd Marquis of Huntly holed up in 1645
Dava summit at 321 m/1052 ft, with a replica of the original sign
The Breathing Place at DunphaiI, a place to stop, picnic and enjoy nature, near the viaduct
The Halfway Hut, restored as a shelter and picnic point (with solar panels)
Two wood sculptures: a dragoon near the summit and a collie dog which used to convey messages

Cancelled due to snow conditions…. 12.3.24

A full weekend demo-ing boards, backcountry seminars and BBQ at the Ravenscraig B&B Aviemore on the Saturday evening. It’s going to be a cracking weekend. Keep an eye on our socials for updates.

Yoga class in our fabulous newly refurbished facility here in Ballater. Suitable for all ages and abilities. Bookings are essential to reserve your space.

Every year since 1984, mushers from the UK have gathered in the forests around Aviemore for the biggest event in the British sled dog racing calendar, The Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain Aviemore Sled Dog Rally January 27th-28th will be the 40th anniversary rally and also the last ever SHCGB Aviemore Rally.

Organised by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain in conjunction with Forestry and Land Scotland and sponsored by CSJ specialist canine feeds, Leucillin, and Photizo Light Therapy .The race is run on forest trails around the beautiful Loch Morlich, in the shadows of the Cairngorm mountains.

From an original of only 12 teams, the race is now one of the most prestigious sled dog races in the UK . The race features teams of between two and eight dogs pulling their musher on a sled around a four to seven mile trail. If there’s no snow at ground level for the event, the races still go on with mushers using a three-wheeled or four wheeled rigs. There are eight adult classes and two children’s classes and mushers range from just 8 years old to over 60. Along with the Siberian Huskies, race dogs include Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Dogs and Canadian Eskimo Dogs – the pedigree breeds of dogs first bred to pull sleds in Arctic conditions hundreds of years ago

The trail is a designated cross-country ski course and is clearly defined. The Start lies just over the wooden bridge from the car park and runs parallel to the ski road for a short distance before entering the forest. The first part of the trail is quite demanding, but then runs along the loch side to the Finish without great problem.

Image credit Judy Wakker

Bringing a night out to your workout! Fitness Class – Dancing in the dark with disco lights, suitable for all levels of fitness and ages.

Classes cost £8.00 or BLOCK BOOK 6 WEEKS for £42.50

Reusable Glow Sticks cost £5 and can be purchased at the venue

Clubbercise® is a fun, full-body workout with a BANGING soundtrack that gets great results and suits all fitness levels.

Set to club anthems from 90’s classics to the latest hits, classes and events are held in a darkened room with party lights and trademark LED glow sticks.

Easy-to-follow routines combine dance, toning and combat moves.

Outsider Events are excited to bring to you a bigger and better 4th edition of Blair Castle Trail Weekender on the 31 May – 2 June 2024.

The 2024 event features a wider range of trail races and exciting edition of our outdoor cinema, and range of live music on the Saturday evening…

Staged within the grounds of the iconic Blair Castle on the Atholl Estate, this weekend of trail running has races from Kids, 7km right up to the 60km ‘Full Tilt Ultra’.

All respective races start at the event village based in the grounds of Blair Castle which nestles at the base of the Cairngorm national park.

From here on out, depending on your choice of race, runners either loop round past Hercules Gardens and back to the start, fork off up the winding Glen Tilt or head toward the 1009m high summit of Ben Dearg. Which trail will you take?

Highland League: Strathspey Thistle FC v Inverurie Loco Works FC, Seafield Park, kick-off 2pm (note early kick-off). Parking at ground and at Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club, by their kind permission. Overflow car parking at Burnfield Ave car park (200m). Snack bar, half-time raffle draw, merchandise, team-sheets. (N.B. Fixture is “weather permitting” – if in doubt, check club facebook and website for updates on matchday).