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Edinburgh: The Final Hill(s)

I kept it a bit quiet, but a couple of weeks ago I completed a double lap of the Survival of the Fittest event in Nottingham.

It was supposed to be short, and a bit of training for the "main event", but once I'd signed up for an extra go it turned out to be an event all on its own!

At around 24km, it was an obstacle race but there were plenty of running stretches to get a bit of distance into the legs ahead of the big finale this weekend.

The National Watersports Centre was a great setting, and the race took us in and out of their many lakes for some swimming, some climbing, crawling in the mud, a finish slide, and of course - a scaled down version of the famous Rat Race monkey bars!

[Speaking of monkey bars... ask Trent Smith to show you his video - now that's epic!]

There's not much more to say really, as apart from having to do the course twice, and tackling the motivation to restart back into the cold after the first lap water stop, it wasn't super difficult.

A really accessible event, very easy to get to, and worth signing up at an early bird price!

And now here we are.

The finale.

I'd say it's been a long time coming, but in reality I'm not sure it has. I've glimpsed it from a distance, closed my eyes, and BANG it's here.

I'm writing this from a hotel in Edinburgh, ahead of the Ultra Tour of Edinburgh tomorrow.

57 km.

FIFTY SEVEN.

It's going to be the longest event I'm signed up to by around 5 km.

For those who like old money, it's an extra 3 miles over an already tough Man vs Lakes distance.

The added spice here is that THERE ARE SO MANY BLOODY HILLS.

Who knew Edinburgh was such a big sloping bastard with a heck of a gradient.

And it's quite a long way away from the Midlands.

I must admit, I hadn't looked in great detail at either of these elements before I signed up.

The hills were a shock when I turned up to work here earlier on in the year, and the drive was a small surprise as late on as yesterday.

My long suffering wife eventually managed a snooze in the passenger seat, lasting until about Carlisle before dropping off.

After over 6 hours of driving, during which we nearly ran out of fuel on the motorway, we finally swung into the carpark shortly after 1.00 am.

I need to take some time to say a huge thank you. We have the day in town to chill and register for the race, which will be nice, but scant reward for the dedication and support Charlotte has put in for me all year.

I've planned nearly all our leave around getting to races in remote parts of the country. I've dragged her along, spent the evening before and the morning of the events being quiet and nervous, and then abandoned her on the start line for the best part of the day.

Charlotte then spends the day doing her very, very best to reach me on supposedly publicly inaccessible parts of the courses to cheer me on and offer me encouragement, particularly at points that look difficult.

She's climbed some of the same hills, walked miles and miles, carried pit stop rations and water supplies, and she's done it all just to keep me going.

Then a few weeks later we do it again, and we're off somewhere else.

She is AMAZING.

Thank you Charlotte.

And so, here is my final summary of the challenge ahead, with text taken from the Rat Race website.

The Ultra Tour of Edinburgh sets off with a Braveheart charge down the most famous street in Scotland – the Royal Mile. The course then weaves 57km through streets, alleyways, onto hills, up crags, past monuments, museums, seats of Royalty, Government and up and down 3000 feet of ascent and descent. The Ultra Tour of Edinburgh is unique. Many events claim to be. But this one is an Ultra Run in a city – a city like no other

Looking at the photos from the last couple of years, there aren't too many fellow chunks that take centre stage.

It says it's achievable for those that have prepared well and have put in the training miles...

So quick question for you... is now the time to be honest and say that outside of events my last training run was nearly 6 months ago?

As dawn breaks the race will get underway in the city centre, and I'll have 10 hours to complete it. With last year's times ranging from just over 4 hours (what the actual f*ck?) to just under 10, I hope there'll be a little bit of company at the back!

Thank you to all those that have sponsored me, and those that continue to come in. As before - you are all big motivators too!

 My mandatory kit is packed. The weather is suitably chilly, but dry for the moment, and registration opens in a couple of hours.

 Wish me luck...!
Instagram: philvsnature
Twitter: @PhilJ0606

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