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Tartan tornado sweeps through Perth

Posted Jul 1, 2010 By Amy Hogue

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EMC Events - If you were trying to get around Perth on Saturday, June 26, you might have thought we had been invaded by the Scots! Twelve hundred kilted runners lined Gore Street for Perth's World Record Kilt Run, an eight km racing event engineered to place Perth in the Guinness Book of World Records, and which has grown beyond everyone's expectations.

Race director, Terry Stewart, didn't expect this kind of response when the committee first began planning the 2010 kilt run. "We sat around and said 'what can we do with this?' We thought we'd get 100 or maybe 200 runners. Someone said maybe five hundred, and I thought that was crazy."

Stewart thought they would cut off registration at 800 in honour of Scotland's 800th anniversary, but when numbers kept climbing, they decided on 1,210, the date Scotland's Perth was formally named a town or burgh.

Stewart was also a participant in the race, although he wasn't striving for a record time, but instead was just taking in the incredible sight of the kilted runners. Overwhelmed by the picturesque nature of the event, Stewart stopped at the top of the Perth Golf Course during the race, simply to watch the kilts flying.

Although Stewart may not have been racing to win, winning was definitely on the mind of 17-year-old Kieran Day. Kieran was at the forefront of the runners from the beginning, and managed to keep his lead throughout the race, becoming the first participant to cross the finish line, with a final time of 27:20.4 minutes.

With a history of racing, Kieran traveled to Perth from Kanata to participate in the event. "I do a lot of training, I do cross country and track," Kieran said, although he added that he didn't really think he would finish first. "I was told lots of people would be here so I thought maybe I'd be in the top 25. It was a surprise to win."

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Councillor Eric Devlin was reportedly the oldest participant. At 89, Devlin didn't feel up to doing the full course, and, figuring that at his age he deserved a little break, he did a shortened version of the race. "I did my share," Devlin laughed, "At 89, what do you expect?"

Nearly lost among a sea of kilts, spectators may have even seen Mayor Fenik streak past them. "I think I broke my record," Fenik said, before adding, "It's good to see so many people in Perth." Fenik said he would like to see this become an annual event, but organizers for the event aren't so sure.

Shannon Baillon, executive director of the kilt run committee, is leaving soon on sabbatical to spend a year in France, so won't be able to help with the race if it is held again next year.

"We'll definitely do it on Perth's 200th anniversary," Baillon confirmed.