This is the third time I have run the Inverness Half Marathon. Being an early spring half marathon (usually about the 2nd weekend of March) it fits in well with many training plans. Inverness is a pretty small city, so the race is essentially "concertinad" into the city. Registration is in the morning from the sports centre in Inverness, with the race starting at the nearby playing fields. The route pretty quickly crosses the River Ness and heads out of town towards Loch Ness, about mile 3 to 4 you hit country roads where there is a bit of a hill before a short "trail" section (rough tarmac road shoes are fine). While this is the most "typically Scottish" section of the route it is, in my opinion, the toughest part. Not made easier by the fact that this is the quietest section with the least support. The route then heads into the suburbs where there are a number of miles through these suburban roads from about mile 6 to about 9. While not the most scenic part of the route the support is pretty good with amateur bands and plenty of people with jelly babies! About mile 9 there is a long downhill before returning to the riverside, the route then finishes with a lap of the sports stadium (near the start line). The route has water stations (with environmentally friendly paper cups) roughly ever three miles, there are no gels at these stations. The goodie bag contains a nice medal, a technical t-shirt, fruit and shortbread. Having run this a number of times, a warning to those coming from further south - the weather can be very changeable! While I have run this in lovely sun, 2019 was particularly cold and wet, which caught some travelling runners out. Pack sunscreen as well as long sleeves and gloves! There is free indoor bag drop at the sports hall at the start. This is a very well established race, with good local support. The organisers are well experienced and run it well. While it may not be the most picturesque of the Scottish races it is a well organised early half marathon and will continue to feature of my (and many others) regular calendar.