A BORDERS MSP took last weekend's windy weather in his stride when he improved his 2013 Jedburgh half marathon time by a minute.

The 2014 Jedburgh Running Festival for the first time included races over two days.

On Saturday October 25, the Three Peaks Ultra Marathon and Cani-cross 6.5K events were held, while on Sunday, the Wheelchair and Hand Cycle Championship 10k race was followed by the Half Marathon and 10K events.

One of the runners taking part in the half marathon was local MSP John Lamont, who managed to finish the race with a time of 1 hour 31 minutes and 40 seconds.

Mr Lamont said: “Despite the windy weather this year, it was great to see such a large turnout. I was delighted to have finished with a strong result and to have taken over a minute off my time from last year. All the other competitors I spoke to seemed to have found the race pretty tough, but had a great time and were pleased to be finished.

“The event felt as well organised as ever and it was a great testament to the popularity of running that the festival has now spread over two days.

“My thanks go to those who organised this year’s half marathon for all the hard work and effort they put in.

Events of this scale only take place thanks to the hard work and efforts of these volunteers and I hope that they know how much it is appreciated.”