The Rat Race EDINBURGH Adventure Race

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The Other Edinburgh Fringe

Rob Howard / 21.07.2006

Think of Edinburgh and chances are you’ll associate it with ‘the Fringe’ arts festival. But this year’s Rat Race was the other Edinburgh Fringe, a sporting festival that explored the marginal edges of the city, connected with communities on fringes of society and made racing a performance art.

In the Saturday night prologue teams had already provided pub entertainment, met up with sporting clubs and found ways through the city no other visitor is ever likely to. Now it was the morning after the night before, legs stiff from 3 hours of pounding the streets had to be coaxed back into action and minds focused on a very different kind of course, one with a linear route, but still with its navigational challenges and surprises.

And it started with a steep uphill walk, from the race HQ to the courtyard of the Castle, a grand setting to begin what would be a long and very hot day. Already the mercury was rising and when Gary Tompsett released the rats their competitive urge had to be tempered as they followed a pace runner down the hill and past the National Museum to pick up their bikes in the gardens.

First ‘performance’ of the day came from Team SleepMonsters.com … and it was a farce. Chris McSweeny and Janine Hensman picked up their bikes ahead of Eddie Winthorpe, but his bike was moved and when he arrived he assumed his team mates had taken it ahead for him. A short time later Eddie catches his team who say: “Where’s your bike?�

“I thought you had it!� is the reply. Back to the bike compound goes Eddie to find his bike, but then he’s stuck in a queue on the road out of the gardens and one of the race favourites are off to a poor start. See All Event Posts