My mate Kenny!

If I can describe my old mate Kenny Monk, I'd say diamond, a gent, happy, witty and horizontally laid back! He had a great sense of humour and we enjoyed taking the absolute piss out of everything and each other!

Kenny was from Benbecula in the Western Isles and I first met him in 1993 when he started work as a graduate Engineer at the same company I worked. We became friends and Kenny always told me he could never understand why being a target for a lot of my practical jokes and abuse! Kenny was quick to throw it back though and we enjoyed winding each other up throughout our friendship!

Kenny, myself, Ernie Drews, Athens 

One of my favourite wind ups was when he thought he was receiving a very stern and angry phone call complaint from the CEO of the Japan Radio Company (JRC) who was one of our suppliers when in fact it was just little old me with a very weak Cato from the Pink Panther accent (Yes I know, Cato was Chinese)!
Kenny listened to Mr Takahashi's complaint intently and was most apologetic and promised Mr Takahashi he would do everything he could to rectify the situation.. He was so hooked into my wee scam that I couldn't keep it up and burst out laughing! He eventually saw the funny side after he calmed down a day or 2 later.. :)

Black Spout back in the day, Kenny right at the back

I was lucky enough to work away with Kenny on several jobs offshore and abroad and he really was excellent company who enjoyed a wee dram or 2 which made shore jobs a bit more entertaining! I have several classic stories which are best told at the bar so I won't go into them here.. Ask me about the missing drum of URM67 sometime! ;)

Kenny revisiting Black spout last year

The other bond we had was hills! Myself and a few other guys at work had started up a regular hiking group and it wasn't long before Kenny came out with us for his first mountain. The trip was Lochnagar from Glas Allt and it was winter.

Lairig Ghru race, Braemar

I vividly remember because the rest of us were all geared up to the hilt with all the latest outdoor gear and fashion.. Kenny on the other hand preferred the London "man off the street" look and turned up in jeans, a polo neck jumper, a C&A coat and what looked like a man-bag!
It wasn't long before capillary action had developed on his jeans and cold water had crept up to his knees! The weather had turned bad and I think we bailed under Cuidhe crom so not very far into the hike at all but it was either that or carrying Kenny off the hill in a foil blanket!

Glen Muick

Kenny became hooked though and became a seasoned hiker and went on to do many more Munros building up a good hill fitness. I had moved on with work by this time and lost touch with Kenny for several years.
I bumped into him at one of the first Balmoral 10k's and I was glad to hear he was still hiking but also now running although not very fast or far at that time.. I was running with Cosmics by then and was doing the odd race but nothing serious.

Pentland Skyline and Kenny nae happy with me haha

Fast forward another couple of years and I bumped into Kenny again and he'd gone from average  build to a streamlined racing snake! He told me all about Garioch Road Runners and how he'd been running and training with them and he was keen to get me to come a long so I did, I was keen to reconnect with Kenny for the banter alone.

This is when my running resurgence started again and I quickly got back into training and racing and have never looked back, all because of Kenny!

Isle of Jura Fell race

The jammy git winning the Jura raffle at the ceilidh 

So this was the start of a great rekindled friendship and from then on although I had moved onto 2 other clubs Kenny and I still got together regularly for long days training in the hills and also raced against each other many times including a very memorable Isle of Jura Fellrace in 2018 when we traveled across together for a crazy weekend racing over the Paps and then indulging at the pub and infamous Ceilidh at night! The ferry crossing the next morning was savage!!

Happy, smiling and quick witted it was always a laugh with him no matter where you went or what you did.

Pretending to read a map!

Kenny was a keen cyclist and duathlete too competing in several Duathlons and had also completed the NC500 route only last year. He preferred long trail races though and latterly completed several Ultras being a steady plodder although he still enjoyed the odd shorter race too. In fact he won his home race, the Benbecula Park Run!!

Ord and Kenny, An Socach

Going back to longer races, Kenny managed to clock up no less than 8 Lairig Ghru races!
He really wanted to get into more technical running though and I enjoyed some awesome days just the 2 of us scrambling around the Cairngorms! His goal was to try some Sky races and he was preparing for the Highland Fling and the West Highland Way Ultras this year.

Mount Keen

He was very involved with Garioch Road Runners and was a member for many years taking part in the club's championship races and he was the regular Sweeper for the Bennachie Hill race a long with his faithful companion Teddy!
His dog Teddy was dragged over many hills and had clocked up some serious miles running a long side Kenny although I don't think he was as keen as Kenny was because he had learned to mysteriously go missing in the house when he saw Kenny putting on his running shoes and getting ready to go out for a run!

Ming the Merciless Duathlon and Kenny enjoying cake!

With so many stories and laughs it's hard to recount them all but another stand out day for me was the Moray Challenge. A triathlon with a twist! A 25km road bike around the B-roads of Forres followed by a 6km kayak down the river Findhorn followed by a 12km road run. 

Kenny coming down off Beinn a Bhuird

I was talked into this by a friend who had won it the year before and I had mentioned it to Kenny who seemed interested! The only issue was Kenny had never kayaked in his life! His biking and running were great so all he had to do was grasp paddling a kayak. This is where I come in and off to the river Dee we went to give him a crash course in kayaking! 

The Moray Challenge

That night was hilarious (for me) not because we were taking the piss out of each other or anyone else and not because we were having a laugh or anything but it was because of his sheer frustration, anger and contempt at me because he couldn't keep the kayak in a straight line! Lots of swearing, muttering and evil looks! I was doubled up laughing!
However after the 2nd time out in a boat he'd grasped the basics and was semi confident of getting down the Findhorn alive!

NE Ridge Angels Peak

When race day came he absolutely smashed it and finished 3rd! Legend!!  He even beat off some experienced paddlers because his biking and running fitness was so good!

It goes to show though that Kenny loved a challenge and if he liked the idea of something he would go for it and not let the fact of something so small as never being in a kayak before put him off paddling down a murky river for 6kms!!

The Secret Howff.. Who knew he was a keen flutist!

As you might understand reading all of the above about this legend, it is a very bitter pill to swallow that Kenny suddenly died of cancer on Saturday 4th January at 52 years old with very little warning. I hadn't spoken to him in a few weeks so I was out of the loop and like most folk didn't even realise he was ill. I knew he was slowing down with his running but didn't think anything of it. Saying that I learned tonight that he did a Park run only 2 weeks ago!! A machine to the end!

Kenny's memorial run Old Meldrum

I was invited out by my old club Garioch last night to attend a memorial run for Kenny in Old Meldrum. The route was Kenny's own route, a mixture of road and trail appox 8 miles.
It was great to see so many GRR's and other club runners attend to pay respect to Kenny. A testament to how popular he was. I heard the same opinion of Kenny over and over again throughout the run and at the tea and cake at the end which was of a lovely, happy, gentleman and that he would be sorely missed.

I'm absolutely gutted to lose this absolute gem from the Isles as he really was a one off and I will miss his banter and smiling face and his companionship in the hills.

I looked back through E-mails and Facebook to see some of our recent chats and one of these was a Facebook post I posted on his Timeline for his birthday back in September which sums up our banter which simply read - "Happy 60th ya cock!" :) Kenny wouldn't have wanted it any other way!

I'll miss you loon! RIP! xxx