Inaugural Rock N' Roll Edinburgh 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

Race Date: Sunday, April 15th, 2012
Start Line: Holyrood Park, Queens Drive
Finish Line:  Holyrood Park, Queens Drive
Start Time: 9:00 am




 Race Course Map

The start and finish line are located at Holyrood Park, against the back drop of Arthur's Seat. It goes through some of the most scenic areas of Edinburgh, including the Portobello Promenade, the Edinburgh Castle, the Meadows, Grassmarket, Cowgate and Princess Street.

 Race Elevation Chart

Pre-race

Thursday, April 15th 2012 - Arrival

I arrived at the Edinburgh airport at 11:00pm, after a loooong 20 hour flight. I was tired but excited. It was my first trip to Scotland and my first international race. At the baggage claim, I received a BIG welcome hug from my mom. She had flown to Edinburgh to see me run, but she wasn't going to be able to do so. No, no sad faces here! She was actually going to do something better. She was going to be the one giving out the finisher's medal out on Sunday.  So special! Another first one for me!  We took the Airlink bus to the city center and walked to our hotel in the Grassmarket area. Oh, I was already in love with Edinburgh!


Friday, April 16th 2012 - Sightseeing

We spent the whole day touring the beautiful city. It was cold but sunny. We walked for at least 10 hours, including a fantastic 4-hour free tour offered by the SANDEMANs group.  I totally recommend it. Our guide, Santi, was excellent.

Saturday, April 14th 2012 - Expo

The expo was located at the Holyrood Park, Queens Drive. It was opened from 10:00am - 7:00pm.  It was rather small in terms of vendors. I counted less than 10 booths including: the official RnR store, Sketchers, GU, a company selling compressions socks, and Run 4 It which was selling a couple of Scottish products ( hats and gloves with Scotland's blue and white flag). However, don't be deceived. There was nothing small about this event.  As I mentioned before, this took place in Holyrood Park. The most beautiful open space I've ever seen, next to magical Arthur's Seat.

View of the Expo from Arthur's Seat

Posing with my friend, Mags Doyle

Posing with Brazilian Olympic runner

He reminded me of my little one but with a kilt

To top the prime location, the organizers surprised us with a free 1-hour concert by non other than the famous Scottish group,  the Red Hot Chili Pipers. It's was out of this world.  

Posing with Kevin MacDonald, the singer of the RHCP

 Race Day 

Sunday, April 15th 2012

I woke up at 7:00am and met my friend Tessa, from San Diego, at the hotel lobby at 7:30. I ate 2 bananas and walked to the starting line with Wendy, another runner from San Diego who was staying at the same hotel. We arrived at the starting area around 8:15 ish and met with other runners from the US.

'Mua'. Tessa. Rick and Wendy

It was cold, verrrrry cold, 1C degree. You could tell who were the locals!

OMG! Half naked in this weather!

The race started at 9:00am. I was in corral 5. The first five miles were flat with some rolling hills. We ran towards Forth of Firth, along the Portobello Promenade and through some residential neighborhood.  Some parts were a little bit narrow but not too bad. We passed 2 golf courses to the left and the Holyrood Park to the right. Breathtaking views!  At around mile 8, I could see the finish line but I knew the BEST was yet to come as we hadn't ran through the castle and the Meadows. Let the hills begin! OMG! It was up up up.

At mile 9, I met Tessa who was cursing at the hills. We passed my hotel in Grassmarket and soon after that the Elephant House, where we went for breakfast the day before. I was in familiar territory. As soon as I saw Princess Street from the distance I started to speed up. I knew it would be all flat and downhill from that point on. The last 2 miles were fast for me. My legs were feeling strong and I was no longer cold.  In the horizon, my mom with the finisher medal. What else could I ask for? :-) My finishing time was 2:07. Not a PR but I was not going for one. After all, this was my last long run before the RnR Madrid Marathon, the following weekend. I was really happy.

The most awesome RnR volunteer EVER! My mom! 

Post-race

Since my mom was working / volunteering for another 2 1/2 hours and my friend Tessa and I weren't tired - after running a half marathon- we decided to hike to Arthur's seat. It took us about 2 hours to go up and down. There is a beautiful view of the city from the top!

Race Review

Pros
- Very well organized.
- Beautiful race course
- Best pre-race concert EVER

Cons
- I am usually very critical but I can't think of anything negative. To me, this  race was superb.

Big thanks to all the organizers!