Brown Out - Ruby wondering what on earth is going on.
Kata drove me (and Ruby) to Calton Hill where the race started. There was a big turn out from HBT - hill runing and Edinburgh are two of HBT's favourite things. The weather was ideal - cool and overcast. There was quite a bit of waiting at the start as the Challenge part of the event set off 30 minutes ahead of The Race. I didn't mind at all - there were plenty of club mates there to pass the time with.
And we're off!
The Challenge got underway at 09:45 and after cheering them on their merry way, the race started at 10:15. On the command of the starter pistol, we ran accross the grass on out way down from Calton Hill and on to the first check point at the top of The Esplanade (Edinburgh Castle). There were some odd looks and laughs from tourists as we pegged it up the hill to the castle. Having never ran this race before or anything like it, I was surprised at the top to find at the checkpoint a number of hole punch type things attached to string. You were responsible for punching your own race number to prove you'd reached this check point, and then you were good to go again. As an aside, no one ever checked my number, but i suppose they weren't interested in the "also-rans", only the winners.
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Proof if it were needed that I reached 6 check points on my way to the finish.
Leaving the castle, I experienced the first doubt. Iturned right and headed towards Corstorphine Hill via Princes St Gardens. SOme othres went Left via (presumably) Grass Market? Had I gone the right way? Who knows? This race is as much about finding a route as it is about running and running up hills. There are decisions to be made. Do you take the direct and steeper (possibly middly and slippy) route, or the easier but longer route? It doens't matter so long as you reach all 7 check points and in the right order. I noticed a few times that a runner beside me would go a different way from me at a turning, only to re-appear next to me again in about 5 minutes.
Corstorphine Hill I can't remember much about. It's a steep hill with some trail sections but it was early in the race and was quite enjoyable. I stamped my race number and ran on to Craiglochart.
There is a long road section to Craiglockart, with busy traffic to be negotiated. It's a tough section. I passed my first runners who were running The Challenge on my way, just near to The Corn Exchange. Craiglockart does have a steep, muddy section that required hands and knees to ascend, but it was quite fun and all was going well. I stamped my race number and ran on to The Braids.
The Braids is a great place to run. I have ran The Braids in a Cross Country race. I have ran it for trainign with HBT, and I have ran it for te pure fun of it. It's scenic, and hilly. At least I knew what to expect at every point and knew where I could push hard. Race number stamped, I ran off to Blackford Hill.
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Looking intense
Blackford Hill I have also ran in trainign and for laughs. It is steep. I was a mess by the time I reached the top. Ther are stairs at one point, but I am not sure if they are better or worse then just runnign up the grassy hill. In this instance I did take the stairs. There was a huge turn out of supported from HBT at the top which was fantastic, and gave me gosse bumps. I was cheered on and the adrenaline surge give me a boost which also sent be slightly the wrong way! I was tired, and excited, and went the wrong way. Oops. I fixed my mistake quickly and headed off to Arthur's Seat, the penultimate hill. I coudl see both Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill from where I was at this point, and frankly, I have to say, they looked pretty far away!
Looking tired. Thansk HBT for the support at the top of Blackford Hill.
I ran towards Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat. I met my friend and fellow runner, Kate at a water statin there. She mentioned something about finishing in an hour, and I thought to myself, "No way is at nearly as much as an hour from here to the end". Ha! Arthur's Seat was one of the worst experiences of my life. The uphill was agony. Torture. Who decided that this was the second last hill on the course (basically the last, Calton Hill is a 'bump')? Sadists! My everythng ached and the sun was properly out at this time so it was hot too. I passed HBT club mate Michael on the way up who was running The Challenge with his girlfriend, Fiona. I'm afraid to say I took some comfort from the fact that they looked as miserable as me. I just kept thinking to myself tht once I got to the top, I was basically done. It was downhill and a short(ish) run to Calton Hill which wasn't really that much of a hill and was all on tarmac. Wrong again. The agony of the uphill paled in comparission to the agony of te downhill. My knees! Oh God, my knees! I remember thinking I was too old for this sort of nonsense. Coming out of Holyrood Park and crossing the road at the bottom of The Royal Mile, I ran half way accross the road adn stopped for traffic, a guy in a car shouted at me out of his window "WHAT ARE PAVEMENTS FOR?!" My temper frayed, my response probably wasn't wise given that if he had decided to up the ante, I had no energy to run away!
I finally made my way up Calton Hill and crossed the finish line in 2:33:33. 127th out of 165 finishers (presumably 35 DNF) isn't great, but it was a strong field, I am not a hill runner, and my time was decent. I was quite pleased. I definitely consider this my time to beat and I woudl love to try agian next year. It was hard. Very hard. But it was great fun and a great achievement.
Here are the official race results.
Best. Supporters. Ever.
