Racing in a kilt? Bring it!

This post gives you a runners perspective on the Perth Kilt Run in Ontario, Canada. This is one of my favorite community races, here’s what to expect if you go. It has a number of unique aspects that make it worth the trip.

Here’s what you need to know about running in a kilt, the Warrior class (running with shield and sword anyone?), and the race in general.

The kilts

Do you actually race in a kilt?

Yes. All runners are required to wear a kilt. This includes the 200 meter Wee Lads and Lassies race for 2-4 year olds. They are so cute!

It started out as a Guinness world record attempt: the most runners in kilts. The race in Perth, Canada would compete with the race in Perth, Scotland to try and set a record for the most runners in kilts. It’s a hassle bringing in Guinness to judge world record attempts, so now they just have everyone race in Kilts because, well because why not!

Where do I get the kilt?

Even if you have an actual kilt, I recommend ordering one when you register. The race kilts are much lighter than real kilts. I think this year it was $35 to purchase a kilt with registration.  If you do the race again, or you have a friend of similar girth who has run the race in the past, you can just re-use a kilt from a previous year. I keep convincing different friends to try the race, and they often give me their kilts afterwards. I now have about 7 different kilts from friends which I loan out to various runners every year. The kilts change color every year, which adds to the pageantry. You see a fine assortment of kilts at the start line.

Do people wear the kilts in the um… traditional fashion?

Not recommended…. chafing is real…I recommend wearing running shorts under the kilt.

NOTE: If you do the warrior challenge you will have to wade through the water. Most warriors lift their kilts to keep them dry. Speaking as someone who enters the warrior challenge and may meet you crossing the water in the other direction, I ask you to please NOT wear your kilt in the traditional fashion. Once seen, things cannot be unseen.

Does the kilt bother you when you run?

No, you won’t even notice it, but it does make for fun race photos

What are the distances?

it varies from year to year but this is definitely a race designed so that the whole family can participate. And yes ALL races must be done in a kilt.

• 5 mile/8 km race – The main event
• 5 mile/8 km Warrior Challenge(more on this later!)
• Wee Lads and Lassies (in 2018 this included 200m for 2-4 year olds, 200 m for 5-6 year olds, and 1 km for 7-8 year olds)
• Wee Warriors (a 1 km warrior class division for 9-12 year olds)
• The royal km (formerly royal mile), a 1 km race for those who aren’t up for 8 km

There was a half and full marathon in 2017, but it is unlikely they will do that again.

Warrior challenge

What is it?

The Warrior races include obstacles. The kids warrior class must be completed while carrying a sword. The adult warrior race must be completed carrying a sword and shield.  I haven’t done the wee warrior, but I have completed the 5 mile warrior challenge. It’s a little confusing the first time you do it “Meet by the horse statue at 5:30 PM to get your sword and shield”… uhhhh where is this horse statue? So if you try it, look around for others wearing Warrior challenge bibs and they can help you figure out where to be and when.

The warrior challenge has a limited number of spots and usually sells out. Warriors are usually one of two types of people. People who are competitive and think… awesome I get to race AND carry a sword how awesome is that! and people who are not competitive at all but think oh cool you get to run with a sword and do silly things on the way, sounds fun.  I’d say it’s about 50/50 split between the two.

How hard is it to run with a sword and shield?

Not as hard as you might expect. You can still set quite a good pace if you want to. Each weighs about 3 lbs. You don’t really notice the weight until about 5 km (3 miles) into the race then you start to feel the weight, but even then it’s manageable.

The sword and shield are both made of wood. You pick them up half an hour before the race starts and you return them at the finish line.

You can put your sword and shield into the same hand so you can still get water at the water stops.

Once you start running it’s easier to carry the sword by grabbing it mid blade (it’s not a metal blade) than by the hilt so its evenly balanced. but make sure you hold the sword by the hilt when you pass the race photographers for the best photos.

I have run the warrior challenge 3 times and never got blisters from the sword and shield, but my friend Randy did get a bit of a red spot on his arm from the shield this year (disclaimer: Randy is a little competitive, and was running hard)

What are the obstacles?

These are not your typical mud hero/Spartan race obstacles. Remember it’s a kilt run, so they are inspired from highland games type activities. The obstacles could change in the future, but the past 3 years they included

• log carry
• spear throw
• rock throw
• hammer throw
• caber toss (NOT a full size caber!)
• wading across a stream to a small island to do a shot of scotch

There are prizes for the fastest overall warrior, the best hammer throw, spear throw and rock throw. They used to have a prize for best costume, but I think they dropped that category this year.
The prizes are not your typical race prizes. Prizes include a buckler shield, an axe, a mace and a hammer!

What’s great about the race?

The finisher ‘medals’

One of the things I love about this race is usually they don’t give out finisher medals. One year they did give out medals and I think all of us complained. Over the years I have received a finisher kilt pin, socks, a quaich, flask of maple syrup, a spurtle, and a celtic cross.

I was disappointed this year not to get free shortbread at the finish line. I always looked forward to the shortbread.

The water stops

This race is only 5 miles/8 kilometers but they have multiple water stops. I believe when they started the race local groups could earn a donation by running a water stop and the best water stop got an extra donation. I don’t know if they still do that, but for a small community race the water stops do frequently surpass expectations with a dance team or Minion costumes and great cheering.  I think there were at least 3 water stops this year, which is pretty impressive for such a short race.

BagPipers

Okay, I know some of you are thinking nooooo not bagpipes. Come on it’s a kilt race, of course there will be bagpipes! They have bag pipers along the route (they used to have one at each km marker, not sure if they still do that) and there is a march to the start where all the 5 mile/8 km runners march to the start following the bag pipers and the warriors banging on their shields with their swords

The age categories

Most race provide awards for 1st, 2nd or 3rd in 5 year or 10 year age groups 40-44, 45-49, etc… The Perth Kilt Run only recognizes 1st place in each age group, BUT, your age group is your age. For example if you are a 72 year old guy you are competing against other 72 year old guys, If you are a 17 year old girl, your age category is 17 year old girls. So you might have a better than usual chance of placing in your age group!

Free race photos from Zoom Photo

In 2017 they did not have free race photos, but in 2016 and in 2018 Zoom photo did the photography and electronic downloads of your race photos are free! I think this is brilliant! I am so sick of being asked if I want to pay $25 for one electronic download. Unless I’m running the Berlin on New York marathon for the first time, it’s highly unlikely I’ll pay that much for a picture. I assume the race pays a fee so we get the ‘free’ photos and builds it into the race registration cost, but I really like this model.

In particular, this is a race where the race pictures can be a lot of fun, run in a kilt, get your face painted, wear a costume or enter the warrior challenge and brandish your sword yelling Freeeeedoooom as you approach the finish line.   My most recent Kilt Run photo is my current Facebook profile picture.  It’s a brilliant bit of marketing really, because the race logo is a watermark in the bottom corner and most of us end up sharing the pictures on social media.

The pre-post race atmosphere

I think one of the things I like about this race is all the little things

• Live band
• Free face painting so you can put on your best Scottish warrior face or tattoo, they always have lots of blue face paint (PRO TIP: Don’t forget you will be sweating, so if you don’t want face paint getting in your eyes mid race, you might want to keep the face paint below the eyes)
• Beer at the finish for those over 19
• Haggis Toss competition (this is earlier in the day)
• Watching the kids races (in kilts of course)
• They used to have a medieval demonstration in the park, but sadly that was not there this year
• A decent number of port-a-potties
• The town crier welcoming you to the race just before the start (sometimes with a little prayer, I’m not religious, and was a little surprised by this, but figure hey roll with it, it’s probably in character for a Scottish town crier)
• Live fiddle music at the start line to keep your energy up just before the gun fires

Running through the campground

Okay for some reason, I always get a kick out of the stretch of the route that takes us through the campground. Campers sit in lawn chairs beside their RVs and cheer us on. You can smell the burgers on the grill as you go by. Not sure why, but for some reason I always look forward to the campground.

Spectator friendly route

If you have friends or family cheering you on, it’s easy to see you multiple times on the route.  The residents always come out to cheer as well, this means a better than average number of spectators for a community race.

The town of Perth

Bib pick up ends at 5 PM and the race is at 6 PM. This means you are going to have a little time to wander around. Main street has some nice little shops and is very pretty. There is also a nice park with a stream running through it.

After the race you are likely going to be hungry, so take advantage of that walk down the street to scope out a spot for post-race food, and make a reservation if you can. You won’t be the only one looking for food after the race. They are also a great place to sit and relax with nibbles and a drink pre-race as well.

What could be better?

This is a community race, so it’s not perfect, and the experience varies a little bit from year to year. Not sure if that’s because they have different organizers, different sponsors, or different relationships with the village of Perth.

The weather

Because this is a night race (the 5 miler starts at 6 PM) and it’s at the end of June it is frequently hot. Very hot!  The race organizers know it and so do the local residents. Every year I have done it there is a fire truck spraying water and a misting station to help you cool down along the route, and on hotter years you might find a friendly resident with a  hose or sprinkler as well. Given the race is only 8 km, that’s pretty good support.

Organization of awards and results

Trying to find out if you won your age group or if they are giving out awards is always a little confusing. You can look up your race results at Running Goat Timing after you finish but you have to scroll through all the previous finishers results and check their ages and genders to figure out if you actually won your age group.  They usually have the results with age groups posted online in the next day or so. In the past they used to give prizes to first place in each age group but you had to hang around a long time to figure out if you had won and claim them. I have a very nice embroidered towel I won my first year. I don’t actually know if they had prizes for the age groups this year. I had 3 friends who won their age groups but only found out two days later.

If you enter the Warrior challenge you have to wait until the Warrior class organizer (the guy in the brown leather warrior costume who gave you the instructions when you got your sword and shield) has a chance to figure out the results and gets on stage to announce the winners. It’s usually pretty obvious who the fastest male and female runners are, but the only way to find out who won best hammer or spear throw is to wait for the announcements.

Parking

Perth is a small town, so plan on finding parking on the street and walking about 500 meters or so to the start area.

The route and the hills

The hills aren’t really that bad. I have certainly run hillier courses. But I just want to make it clear this route is not flat. It changes a bit year to year, but you can count on a decent number of rolling hills through the neighborhoods.

The 5 mile route does some odd little loops and out and back stretches. Great for the spectators, because it allows them to see their runners multiple times, but a little odd for the runners.  It’s tough trying to set up a community race without disrupting traffic in a small town completely.

If you are a true “road” runner be forewarned there will be a stretch on gravel path or dirt road, and this year for the first time there was a short stretch on grass. Personally that doesn’t bother me, in fact I rather enjoy the change in terrain, but I know some runners prefer 100% pavement.

Another note, the course claims to be certified… but (thank you Randy Chafy for the leg work on this one!) it was the 2012 and 2013 routes that were certified as an 8 km. In 2015 it was certified as a 5 mile race.  The two distances are very close but not exactly the same (8 km is 4.97 miles, 5 miles is 8.04 km). They changed the route in 2018. It looks as though the course was a touch short this year, maybe closer to 4.9 miles than 5 miles. For most runners not a big deal, you are just out there to have fun, but if you are trying to set a personal record or are really measuring your splits, it’s something you might want to know.

Overall

If you are looking for something fun and different I recommend the kilt run. It’s a good race for competitive runners, casual joggers or walkers. This year’s top male runner finished the 5 mile in 26:30 but the last finisher came in at 1 hour and 47 minutes. I have done this race with friends who are very competitive and with a friend who had never walked 8 km before. Bring the kids to do the lads and lassies races, bring granny and grandpa to walk, race or spectate (depends on the grandparent!) or just come out on your own for a little fun.

Here the rest of my running related posts and race reports.