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"Why on earth are you going to do a marathon in Edinburgh? It is cold and wet there and you hate the cold and wet." This was the common reaction Andrew got time and time again when he told people of his latest fitness plans.
As we pulled the curtains aside in our third floor room in the Ardenlee Guest House on the morning of the Edinburgh marathon we were greeted by some nasty looking grey clouds and perpetual drizzle. As we made our way out the front door to await our taxi we were hit by the wind and biting cold. Hmmmm, you would have to decide to come to Scotland to run a marathon wouldn't you!
We arrived in Holyrood Park at about 8.30am (a very civilised time to start a race I must say) to join the 11,000 other people running the marathon and relay, along with all their friends and family. It was still cold, still raining and I thought to myself it is going to be a loooong couple of hours of hard spectating this morning! However the one good thing that can be said about Scottish weather is that it is changeable, and
before too long it had stopped raining and I was being teased by the sight of the odd patch of blue sky overhead. The atmosphere at the start was fantastic, with a very enthusiastic Scottish commentator entertaining the crowd along with some great music played by his DJ friend. And then of course there were the friendly and smiling Scots who cheered every single runner as they set off on their way.
The event was a big fundraiser for many local charities and the spectators were kept entertained by a dozen or so dancing mascots, the most memorable of which was the Hairy Haggis. I was so enthralled that I found myself enthusiastically taking photos of the mascot race ... something I am sure I'll treasure in years to come?! But this of course had nothing to do with the camera battery running out just as Andrew headed towards me to cross the finish line though. Eeek! Thank goodness for professional photogaphers. But enough from me ... here is the race report from the man himself.
The start of a marathon is a much more civilised affair than an ironman - no pumping up of bike tyres, no
coatings of vaseline and sunscreen, no squeezing into wetsuits and no having to arrive at 4.45 in the morning. Aside from the fact is was 7 degrees and drizzling it would have been quite a pleasant way to start a Sunday morning.
I lined up with umpteen thousand other people somewhere near the front and after being led to the start line by a band of bagpipers waited for the sound of a large cannon to send us on our way.
The first two miles were all uphill so I tried to settle into a rythym and not get carried away with the pack. We weaved our way though the Royal Mile, around the magnificent Edinburgh Castle and then headed through the suburbs to the coast. The first half of a marathon is probably the easiest running you have done for quite a while as the legs are fresh as the aim is to settle into a good rythym and try and enjoy the views. Which in Edinburgh was particularly easy to do.
After the inital hilly start the race was no more than gently undulating and took in a large cross section of Edinburgh, from leafy
bike paths, cobblestoned roads with houses hundreds of year old, coastal views and even the Royal Brittania. At around this stage I decided it was time to get serious and try and pick the pace up a bit. I started passing a few people and was feeling quite pleased with my efforts. This is the most enjoyable endurance event I have ever done I thought.
At around the 20 mile mark (thats 32km for everybody in the 21st century) the legs start to hurt and things start to get difficult. I had prepared mentally for this and was dealing with the pain ok, just trying to focus on the keeping relaxed maintaining my speed.
This was working well until I hit the 22mile (35km) mark. The race at this point left the coast and wound its way back up to Holyrod Park. The emphasis here is on up. It climbed pass the 23 mile mark and continued to the 24 mile mark (At this stage I'm starting to regret picking the pace up all those miles ago). Finally I saw the top of this never ending hill. Unfortunately when I got to the top I realised there was
worse in store. A short very painful 200m was followed by another hill, and to top it all off the road turned into cobblestones. Why do I do this to myself - this was meant to be fun, I thought to myself. Well I wasn't going stop now so I pushed on and climbed pass the 25 mile mark. Only a mile to go, this hill must finish soon.
Well depending on your definition of soon it did finish soon - at around the 26 mile mark with only 300m of flat running at the top to finish. I ran the last 300m up Holyrood Park and soaked up the atmosphere of the crowd cheering everyone home. I crossed the line at 2 hours 58 minutes, a little slower than I had hoped but feeling very pleased with myself nonetheless. (I discovered later I had finished 90th out of 4500 which put a smile on my face)
The sense of deep personal satisfaction welling up inside me reminded me why I do these races. This sense of satisfaction more than outweighs all the pain suffered during the run.
After a long hard morning of spectating in the cold ... oh and running 42 kilometres, we decided that we needed an afternoon of decadence and relaxation. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than at the table of an atmospheric cafe with huge picture windows that reveal the site of the spectacular Edinburgh Castle perched serenely on its hilltop overlooking the city. Baguettes, smoothies and a newspaper kept us amused for a good hour or so before we headed out into the cold air again to explore a little. We wandered through Grey Friar's Kirk, a beautiful little church and graveyard, which also happens to have a fantastic view of the ever present castle. The surrounding cemetery contains the remains and a headstone dedicated to Greyfriar's Bobby, a terrier who from 1858 until 1872 maintained a vigil over his master's grave whilst he was fed and cared for by the locals. His story was made into a Disney film of the same name around 1960. Further down the cobblestoned Royal Mile we headed looking in the shop windows and admiring the amazing views that greet you around every corner in this stunning city. Blue sky once again turned to rain so we escaped to a tiny little cafe and got cosy with some tea and cake.
The decadence continued that evening with fish and chips, beer and cider for dinner followed by another drink or two at a fantastic little pub in the new town called the Barony Bar which had a live band and was full of friendly locals and foreigners alike. You have to love the Scots, they know how to have a good time that is for sure!
As if the hilly marathon wasn't enough for poor Andrew's legs he had the added extra challenge of three flights of stairs to navigate up to and down from our room at the bed and breakfast, which proved rather painful for him ... and a source of great entertainment for me (in the most sympathetic of ways of course!). The next day, being the extreme glutton for punishment that he is, Andrew agreed to walk the 251 metres up and more painfully for him back down again, to the peak of Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano that has impressive views over Edinburgh from the castle to the sea. It was blowing a gale and absolutely freezing at the top but the views were definitely worth the effort. The rest of the day we spent picnicing in the presence of that incredible castle before we flew back to London.
It felt rather strange flying back to London ... almost like we should have been going back to Australia, but for now we were going 'home'. The flight was quite amazing as we picked out the places we had visited on the ground in the past few weeks including Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common, Twickenham Stadium, the Thames, London Eye and London Bridge. What a way to spend a weekend!
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Mum and Dad M
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great blog
There is a saying in Scotland that if there is enough blue in the sky to patch your trousers it will be a fine day. The run and the weekend sound fantastic and we loved the pictures. I am living off my story of climbing Dutchmans Stern. It certainly gives me a buzz even if I did it very very slowly. Love from us both.