Loch Ness 10K Running Kit Test: Shoes, Headphones and Race Watches Put to the Test

Introduction

We headed to Inverness for the Loch Ness 10K to put a full loadout of running kit through real race conditions. With a marathon the following weekend, the plan was to take the race easy and focus on how everything actually performed when it mattered: grip, comfort, fit, sound, GPS accuracy and battery drain.

The kit under test spanned five products: the Hoka Mach 5 running shoes, the Shokz OpenRun Mini open-ear headphones, the AirPods Pro 2, and a head-to-head between the Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin Epix 2 as race watches. Here is how each one fared over a scenic, partly downhill 10K course.

The Test: Loch Ness 10K

The Loch Ness 10K is a friendly, well-organized race with plenty of nice downhill sections and a fun sprint finish back in town. None of the testers went full out, but the course showed quickly which kit could hold a consistent pace and which pieces were worth trusting on race day.

Times came in around the 40-to-42-minute mark, with the testers admitting they got a little overexcited early on. The takeaway: the course rewards a controlled effort, and the gear list below survived that effort comfortably.

Hoka Mach 5: A Comfortable All-Rounder

The Mach 5 was the headline shoe of this test, and for a non-carbon-plated shoe it performed well in race conditions. Both testers found the ride smooth and comfortable, with enough pace to run consistent splits, and grip held up fine even on the wetter parts of the course. One tester noted they felt slightly tight when first putting them on, but out on the road that disappeared entirely.

The honest caveat is zip. Compared with super shoes like the Endorphin Pro 3, the Mach 5 lacks that extra snap you want when racing flat out. One tester felt they could have gone a minute or two faster in a true race shoe. But if you are a runner who prefers not to race in complex plated shoes, the Mach 5 is one of the best options available. Its real strength is versatility: over the weekend it handled shakeout runs, a parkrun and the 10K itself, proving itself as a great all-round option.

Shokz OpenRun Mini: Smaller, Lighter, Just as Good

The OpenRun Mini is the noticeably smaller version of the standard Shokz OpenRun, and the fit turned out to be the big story. Even a tester who admits to having a fairly large head found plenty of room in the Mini size, and another tester with a smaller head absolutely loved them. The conclusion: the Mini should arguably be the default size, with the standard OpenRun positioned more like a large.

Sound quality and situational awareness are essentially identical to the regular OpenRun, since it is the same technology, and both held up well mid-race. Lighter and smaller than the original with no meaningful trade-off, the OpenRun Mini comes across as a genuinely better option and a solid race choice, with a marathon-distance battery test planned next.

AirPods Pro 2: Better Cancellation, Bigger Sound

The AirPods Pro 2 keep a design almost identical to the original AirPods Pro, and they stayed put fine over a 10K. The two headline upgrades showed up clearly in testing: the noise cancellation feels noticeably better than the first generation, and the sound is bigger and bolder, with a real gap in power compared with the originals. One tester actually enjoys running with noise cancellation on to block out the race environment, so this was a plus rather than a drawback.

Battery life was fine too, with roughly a 15 percent drop over the race with ANC switched on. Whether they earn a spot in a marathon rotation is another question, as that tester may stick with his usual training pair for Chicago, but as everyday race-ready earbuds the Pro 2 impress.

Apple Watch Ultra vs Garmin Epix 2: GPS and Battery

The final head-to-head pitted the Apple Watch Ultra against the Garmin Epix 2 over a 10K in race conditions. On GPS accuracy, the verdict was broadly the same for both: the tracks looked pretty similar, and the multi-band GPS mode is the strongest accuracy setting on the Ultra just as it is on the Epix 2. Battery drop-off over the distance was also about the same.

Comfort is where the Ultra quietly wins people over. It is a big watch, but it does not feel big to wear, and the large, colorful, bright screen is a pleasure to glance at mid-race. The overall verdict: you could confidently run and race with the Ultra, and Garmin fans lose nothing with the Epix 2.

Loch Ness Race Tips

If you are heading to Loch Ness for the marathon, two practical tips came out of the weekend. First, the start is reached by bus and the exposed start area gets pretty cold, so bring throwaway layers you are willing to discard while you wait around, even if you never usually need them at a start line. Second, for a shakeout the day before, there is a lovely, quick parkrun close by that makes a perfect easy leg-stretcher and still gets you back in time for breakfast.

Conclusion

The Loch Ness 10K turned out to be a genuinely useful proving ground. The Hoka Mach 5 proved itself as a superb all-round training and racing option for runners who want to skip carbon plates, the Shokz OpenRun Mini is the new default in that headphone line, the AirPods Pro 2 deliver on their promise of better noise cancellation and bigger sound, and both the Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin Epix 2 handled race-day GPS and battery demands without complaint. Whichever piece of this kit matches your gap, it earned its place here the hard way: out on a real course.