Loch Ness Marathon

The Race

History

The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon has been held annually since 2002, organised as the marathon distance within the wider Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running, a weekend that also includes a 10K, a 5K and a children’s race. Macmillan Cancer Support has been the event’s lead charity partner since 2013. The 2024 edition was a record year for the festival as a whole, with 10,700 entries across all events; the marathon itself accounted for 5,500 of those entries, a figure distinct from the smaller weekend-wide total and the more useful one for judging how busy the marathon field itself runs.

The race is AIMS-measured and UK Athletics licensed, and results are eligible for Boston Marathon qualifying times. The current men’s course record is 2:15:46, set by Alex Milne of Hercules Wimbledon AC in 2025, beating the previous record of 2:19:26 set by Moray Pryde (GBR) in 2024 by almost four minutes. The women’s course record is 2:42:04, set by Katie White (GBR) in 2019.

The course

The Loch Ness Marathon starts on the South Loch Ness road a little south of Whitebridge, roughly 9km from Fort Augustus, and finishes at the Event Village in Bught Park, Inverness, a genuinely point-to-point course of 42.195km. The route runs along the south shore of Loch Ness through Foyers and Inverfarigaig, continues to Dores at the loch’s northern end, then heads into Inverness, crossing the River Ness via Ness Bridge before the final stretch to Bught Park. The course is net downhill overall, starting at roughly 310m above sea level and finishing at close to sea level, but the profile is rolling rather than a steady descent, with testing climbs, particularly in the middle third, that catch out runners who treat the net-downhill reputation as a guarantee of an easy day. A third-party elevation estimate puts total climbing at around 511m; no official course-certification figure for gain and loss was found.

Miles 0-5.5: The South Loch Ness road.The race leaves the start on the South Loch Ness road, immediately quiet and rural, running along the loch’s southern shore with forested hillsides rising on the inland side. This opening stretch sits at the course’s highest elevation, around 310m, and sets the net-downhill tone for the rest of the route.

Miles 5.5-8.8: Foyers. The route reaches the village of Foyers, a small landmark on an otherwise sparsely populated stretch of shoreline, before continuing north.

Miles 8.8-19.5: Inverfarigaig to Dores.The longest single section of the course, passing through Inverfarigaig and continuing along the loch shore to Dores at the loch’s northern tip. This middle third is where the course’s rolling profile bites hardest: net downhill on paper, but with real climbs mixed among the descents, and where quad fatigue from the earlier downhill running tends to catch up with runners who went out too fast.

Miles 19.5-25.5: Dores to Inverness. The course leaves the loch shore behind and heads into Inverness, with the character of the race shifting from remote and scenic to urban and crowd-supported as the city approaches.

Miles 25.5-26.2: Ness Bridge to the finish. The course crosses the River Ness via Ness Bridge before the short final stretch to the finish at the Event Village, Bught Park.

What to wear

Late September in the Highlands is genuinely changeable: a still, clear morning at the loch-side start is possible, but so is cold rain and wind, and the exposed opening miles along the loch shore offer little shelter either way. A throwaway layer for the coach transfer and the wait at the start is worth bringing regardless of the forecast, since runners arrive up to two and a half hours before the 10:00am start and much of that wait happens outdoors at a remote, exposed location.

Entry

Entry is online via the official site, open registration rather than a ballot, though general entry for the 2026 edition sold out, with charity places remaining through partner organisations including lead charity Macmillan Cancer Support. Confirmed 2026 pricing for the early-entry period: £74.99 standard, £72.99 for Scottish Athletics-affiliated runners, and £45 for charity-place runners. The minimum age for the marathon is 18.

Fast Runner / GFA Standards

Not applicable. No Good for Age or fast-runner entry route was found; entry outside the charity pathway is standard tiered registration, sold out well ahead of race day given the field’s popularity.

Race Weekend

Expo

All marathon runners must collect their event pack in person on Saturday 26 September 2026, 10:00am-6:00pm, at the Event Village, Bught Park, Inverness, IV3 5SQ, bringing photo ID. There is no race-morning collection option, so picking up race numbers the day before is essential rather than optional.

Race Morning

All marathon runners travel to the start by coach; there is no runner parking at the start itself. The main coach service departs from the Inverness Ice Centre, with arrival requested between 7:00am and 7:30am and buses departing 7:30am-7:50am for the roughly one-hour journey to the start. Runners staying around Loch Ness itself can pre-book pickup at points along the loch, but this must be arranged in advance, by 20 September for the 2026 race.

Baggage is transported from the start back to the finish at the Event Village, Bught Park, so kit dropped at the coach can be collected after finishing rather than carried on the course. The overall cutoff is 7 hours, giving a 5:00pm finish from the 10:00am start; the organiser asks any runner expecting to take longer than 6 hours 30 minutes to use the pavement through Inverness rather than the closed road.

Logistics Map

The map below shows the point-to-point route along the south shore of Loch Ness from near Whitebridge through Foyers, Inverfarigaig and Dores, into Inverness and on to the finish at Bught Park. Tap any marker for details. An elevation profile below the map shows the course's real shape: a high start near Whitebridge, a rolling middle third with a genuine climb around km 29-32, and a steady descent to the near-sea-level finish.

Nutrition on Course

Seven water stations are spaced along the course, using 330ml recyclable bottled water with a sports cap rather than cups. Four High5 Energy Gel Aqua stations are provided through the course. Portable toilets are available at the start and at every water station.

Spectating

The remote, point-to-point nature of this course makes spectating genuinely difficult compared with a city-loop marathon: much of the route runs along a single rural road with no rail line and limited bus service, so a spectator plan has to be built around a car or a small number of fixed viewing points rather than moving freely along the course. The simplest and most reliable plan is to skip the loch-side miles entirely and position in Inverness itself, ideally near Ness Bridge or in Bught Park for the finish, both reachable on foot or by taxi from central accommodation. Spectators determined to see the loch-side sections need their own transport and should plan around Dores or Inverfarigaig, arriving well before the road closure and expecting to wait, since there is no way to leapfrog ahead of the field along the single shore road once it closes to general traffic.

Post-Race Food

The Mustard Seed, Black Isle Bar and MacGregor’s Bar are commonly cited central Inverness recovery-food options, though their current trading status and Sunday hours were not independently confirmed; the race itself also provides complimentary post-race food at the Event Village in Bught Park for runners who would rather not travel further after finishing.

Where to Stay

The race’s point-to-point structure with a remote start means the finish, not the start, drives the accommodation decision: almost nobody can reasonably base themselves near the start on the South Loch Ness road, so central Inverness is the practical choice for essentially every runner.

Inverness city centre

The best all-round base, walkable or a short taxi ride from the Bught Park finish and close to the coach pickup points for the race-morning transfer. Busy on race weekend but practical.

Bught Park and the riverside

The closest possible finish access, at the cost of a more limited hotel selection than the city centre proper.

Ness Walk

A comfortable, if pricier, riverside stay along the west bank of the River Ness, within easy walking distance of the finish.

Crown / station area

Suits runners arriving by train, with a straightforward walk or taxi ride to the finish.

The Loch Ness villages

A scenic option for runners with a car who want a longer Highland stay either side of the race, but it complicates race-morning and post-race logistics considerably given the mandatory coach transfer runs from Inverness, not from the loch-side villages.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

Book refundable accommodation as soon as entry is confirmed. Inverness has a comparatively small hotel stock for a city of its size, and the Loch Ness Marathon shares race weekend with the 10K, 5K and children’s race under the same festival banner, adding further pressure on top of the marathon field alone. Prioritise finish-side logistics over price when choosing a neighbourhood, since the remote start means every runner already depends on the coach transfer regardless of where they sleep.

See & Do

The finish at Bught Park sits close to central Inverness, within easy walking distance of most of what’s worth seeing in the city itself.

River Ness and the Ness Islands

Near the finish, a low-effort recovery walk along a chain of small wooded islands connected by footbridges, flat throughout and well suited to tired legs.

Inverness Castle viewpoint

In the city centre. A short but uphill walk to a viewpoint over the city and the River Ness; worth a brief visit rather than a long one on tired legs.

Loch Ness cruise

A regional option reached by car or organised tour, giving a good scenic view of the loch the marathon runs alongside with very little walking required. Check the current autumn timetable before booking.

Culloden Battlefield

Outside the city, reached by bus or taxi. The site of the 1746 battle that ended the Jacobite rising, with flat, well-marked paths across the moor itself, though the site is exposed to the weather.

After the Race

The Loch Ness Marathon runs in September. These itineraries range from a same-day trip to Nairn to a four-night extension taking in Fort William and the Moray coast.