Edinburgh Half Marathon

I’m back! I’ve made it. OK, we’ve made it! I’m so happy…

The trip to Edinburgh was a success. We tried to take it slow on Saturday and not stress ourselves or walk too much. We went for the run on Sunday morning!

On the way to the stadium where the start line was, we encountered a group of three older ladies with their race numbers, gears etc. They looked to be in their late fifties or sixties. We started talking to them since it was obvious we were headed in the same direction for the same event. They admitted that a week before they had done the Berlin half Marathon. I was so impressed and jealous. I would so much love to do that, especially at their age! Needless to say that they even walked faster than we did…

Funnily enough, me and JJ, we got some nice remarks for our t-shirts from other runners. As I previously posted we were wearing a ‘Running sucks’ t-shirt on the race day. There is a picture that follows. We had three different people asking about where we got them from. We also had a few funny remarks from spectators and supporters on the way!

Unfortunately, the day of the race was very hot! It was more than 20 degrees (Celsius) which made the run very difficult. Even running along the coast line didn’t make a difference on the temperature. There was simply no breeze whatsoever. The race organisers didn’t think that it could be case since last year was wet and cold and they didn’t thought about extra need for water or drinks. When we arrived at the first water station on the 4th mile there wasn’t any water left. We had to run another 3 miles before getting a drink. That was a bit frustrating to say the least. We had to run half the race before getting some hydration.

In addition, the coastline east of the city centre is a bit rural and rough, so we didn’t have much support. Also, the route was not very well designed. We had to go along a road up to a point, do a complete u-turn and come back. Going to the u-turn and back was more than 6 miles. On the way to the u-turn, for more than 30 minutes, we were watching other runners coming our way while we were trying to guess where the return point is. I found that psychologically draining…

I generally enjoyed my half marathon in Bath last year much nicer, as I’ve explained here. I am however very happy and proud that I’ve finished it with JJ. We had lots of fun while staying in Edinburgh. We did a ghost tour visiting the ‘Underground City’ Vaults and we also did a ‘Whisky tour’. The latter was of course in order to overcome a little bit of muscle pain we had. Alcohol does help. I’m not a great fun of whisky but I have to admit the tour was fun…

Here’s some of the pictures I took:

Street performer

The streets of Edinburgh

'The elephant house' coffee place.

The whiskey tour

Victoria Street

The Balmoral Hotel

Hearing ghost stories during the 'Ghost Tour'

Gathering for the race

Running sucks with the medal on hand

The Outhouse. After run drinks

The Scott Monument

The castle at dusk