Great Edinburgh Run, with Daleks and Stormtroopers!

So I ran in the Great Edinburgh Run today. And walked in it quite a bit as well. This was my second 10k race, but I was just not in the mood. My stomach was aching (thanks to what I took for the headache I woke up with), and my legs were tired for no reason I could figure. And there were hills. And I forgot tissues, so by about kilometer 6 in desperation I turned to wiping my nose on my sleeve, yuck. Given that I'm not one to really push myself on a good running day, I whimped out rather early. Whine, whine, whine.

But, it was a terrific day to be out and about Edinburgh! And I took my camera, because I was already planning to have fun with the race, even before I decided to whimp out.

The race started on the George IV Bridge, right in the middle of Old Town.


We started the race by crossing the Royal Mile and heading down the Mound for views of Edinburgh Castle and the National Gallery.



After a short jaunt through one of the Princes Street Gardens, we headed back up toward the Royal Mile.



Then it was down the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament and and past Holyrood Palace. Most of the rest of the first half of the race was spent running below Arthur's Seat.



The middle bits of the race were less interesting, running through parts of the city that are certainly historical, but not really worth stopping to take a picture. One cool thing about Edinburgh is that the city is 3 dimensional. A bit more than half-way, we actually ran under the George IV Bridge where the race started.


The race ended with a run around the Meadows and back to George IV Bridge for the finish.


In all honesty, Edinburgh doesn't get much prettier than this. If you were ever thinking of visiting, now is the right time of year!



As in many races, there are the folks who like to take it to the extreme with their race kit. Or lack there of. Sorry ladies, I wasn't quite brave enough to snap a pic of the nearly naked guy, who was only wearing shoes and what looked like an adult version of underoos. There was also a guy running in a kilt. But the best costumes by far were the dalek and the storm trooper with cross-dressing Leia.




I just checked my official time, and I finished in 1:19:43. What?! I have how idea how this is possible given how much I walked. That's under a 13 min/mile average pace. Bah!