Wednesday 8 April 2009

Edinburgh Half Marathon

Last weekend, the Edinburgh Half Marathon was held. The normal route is from Ocean Terminal in Leith, to Cramond and back along the seafront - but this year it took an eccentric route from Meadowbank Stadium to Cockenzie and back to Musselburgh.

There were serious runners, fun runners, charity fundraisers, people facing big personal challenges, from the front of the field to the plucky runner keeping up the rear, the sweeper bus growling at her heels. These people would have been out training through the recent cold snap, running round the likes of Arthur's Seat, using the public green spaces and keeping their fitness levels topped up. It was wonderful to see so many people there on a cool sunny day ready to run 13.1 miles.

My knee was delicate from a big day in Glencoe the day before, and a big day was planned for the next day. I didn't want to do anything daft to my joints, so aimed for a personal worst. I managed this by a good margin - it must be the only race I've finished feeling better than I did when I started!

Nessie warming up at Meadowbank:


This meant I was near the end of the field. The local RAF squadron were there in combat gear, rucksack and boots, as were a variety of superheroes - Captain America, Wonder Woman, etc. However all were overshadowed by Nessie, three men running in formation who raised the biggest cheers along the route. There are doing nine races this year - including, of course, a race at Loch Ness - and are raising money for SLA, a small charity providing education for poor Indian children, as well as Cancer Research UK. Good luck to them!

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