The Rat Race EDINBURGH Urban Adventure Race
Hitting the Heights in Edinburgh
Rob Howard / 23.07.2008
The Rat Race arrived on Edinburgh Castle Promenade the morning after The Proclaimers concert, assembling at 07.15 in front of the stage on a bright and sunny morning. The competitors were more concerned with last night\'s Mean Streets Prologue than the concert, two and a half hours running round the city streets had taken its toll. A few competitors were limping, and one or two did not restart at all, deciding the Prologue had been enough for them.For the vast majority there was the main event to look forward to, and having studied their route books and marked up maps they knew most of what lay ahead ... but there are always surprises in a Rat Race!
The race was underway on time at 07.30 with competitors racing out of the castle and down the Royal Mile, passing some rather bemused policemen on the way. (They were on duty to protect unsuspecting pedestrians.) Before teams got back to their bikes at Princes Street Gardens their first task was an urban treasure hunt/quiz … which was definitely easier if you’d followed instruction and brought you’re A-Z map! Local knowledge was an advantage too.
This task spread the teams out before they raced downhill to get their bikes and followed a route out towards the first abseil on a bridge over the Water of Leith. (It was fortunate they had a route book to follow as the one-way system and road works for the new tram installation were playing havoc with all the race support and staff in vehicles!)
Only one racer had to complete the abseil, which was also used last year and offered lots of exposure coming off the top of the bridge and the dubious pleasure of landing in the river. Bruce Duncan of Aberdeen Asset was first to go down and stepped casually over the top with no hesitation at all. “I hope they are all like that!� said one of the ropes staff. They weren’t of course, and while for elite racers this task may have been routine, for many it was a real test of nerve.
There were 8 ropes and the safety staff did an amazing job of getting everyone down an abseil so early in the race, minimising the queues. This activity was also off-the-clock, and helped spread out the field for the ride along one of the many cycle ways around Edinburgh, which make route planning so much easier, and ensure most of the competition is away from busy roads.
Next stop was the ‘Rest and Be Thankful’ bench on the edge of Murrayfield golf course, a spot with a panoramic view of the city, and I was told by a helpful passer-by it used to be on the main road out of Edinburgh and features in the final chapter of Robert Louis Stephensen’s ‘Kidnapped’. Now there is only a narrow uphill track so there was a brief bike carry up the hill and at least one clash of bikes, which left Iona Robertson of Aberdeen Asset with a gashed knee and bloody leg. (The result of trying to get too many bikes onto a trail with room for only one!)See All Event Posts
